89 Test practice: Understanding homelessness (Transcript and key) Homelessness is a serious issue that presents itself in many different ways. The stereotype of a homeless person sleeping rough in doorways or public spaces is just one manifestation of this very serious social problem. It is a fact that many people who appear to be leading normal lives do not have a home where they can stay. They might be staying with friends, they might be sofa-surfing, they might find other ways to hide their situation. In our society, the general attitude is that everybody can make it, that it is your own fault when you run into problems. That is also one of the reasons why many homeless people try to hide their way of living as long as possible and do not ask for help. And if you think this is a dilemma that only affects a small section of society, you forget the fact that almost everybody can become homeless very, very quickly. The most common reasons why people lose their homes are family breakdowns, divorce settlements, loss of employment, drug and alcohol abuse or simply that people are kicked out of their flats or houses because they cannot afford the rent or the mortgage anymore. Once people are homeless, their social fabric usually deteriorates. They lose their friends very quickly and often the support of their families as well. They are left to themselves and have to live on income support and have to rely on charities that provide them with the basics like food and sometimes temporary accommodation. Apart from these troubles there is one very vulnerable group of people who often end up in homelessness namely people with mental problems that are not really dealt with. The catch phrase “care in the community” often means that they are left to themselves, unable to organise their lives without support. They are usually unemployed and not fit to work anymore, which makes everything worse. Even though local councils try to support them, this is often futile because people with mental problems often do not want to accept help. Another aspect is the fact that house prices have risen enormously in the past few years, making it virtually impossible for somebody on income support to move in. Affordable housing would be the answer, but the local councils do not have the financial means to provide council flats or houses for the most vulnerable. Apart from that, finding a place to stay is extremely challenging for unhoused people anyway. In this situation the work of charities like Shelter or Emmaus cannot be overrated. They are the ones who provide food, medical care and accommodation. They are often funded through donations and charity shops which sell secondhand items which are given to them by people who don’t need them anymore but don’t want to throw them away. However, they can only care for a small number of people compared to the increasing number of homeless people. 0: b, 1: d, 2: a, 3: d, 4: c, 5: b, 6: a, 7: c 17 Politics and public institutions Exploring vocabulary: Politics (Key) b) 1. H, 2. J, 3. L, 4. B, 5. I, 6. N, 7. K, 8. Q, 9. M, 10. O, 11. F, 12. D, 13. P, 14. A, 15. G, 16. E, 17. C KWL Chart: Politics (Key) Individual answers Test practice: Why should I vote? (Transcript and key) Speaker 1: I’m not quite sure what to do. Next month I’ll be 16 and then I’ll have the right to vote in the upcoming general elections. I feel a bit immature. I have no clue what the political parties are all about. To me they seem to be fairly similar. It just doesn’t make sense to prefer one to another. Speaker 2: Well, if you look at their party platforms, you will see that there are considerable differences when it comes to education, the health system, illegal migration and also to political participation. Some of them are more on the left, others are more centre or even right-wing. Speaker 1: Left – centre – right: What does that mean? When I look how they behave in parliament, I get the feeling that most of them behave in a way like nobody in real life would behave if they had the slightest inkling of selfrespect. Speaker 2: You are not serious, are you? They just have to behave like that because the others do it as well. If your opponent becomes aggressive, you cannot just sit there and do nothing. You have to strike back, otherwise the people who have voted for you will think that you’re not up to the job. At least that’s how they explain their behaviour. Speaker 1: Well, that’s exactly what worries me so much. Instead of taking responsibility and doing the sensible thing – in this case 4 + 53 1 2 3 + 54 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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