Unit 9. DRUG TRAFFICKING GRANNIES

 

A. BEFORE LISTENING

Practice the pronunciation of the following words taken from the text which you are going to listen to.

Police, raided, kilos, cocaine, arrested, charged, trafficking, offences, bedridden, prosecutors, agile, accomplice, women, Chile’s, academy, preventative, custody, frail, instead.

 

Give Russian equivalents to the following English words and word combinations.

To raid the house, to find kilos of cocaine, dollars in cash, to arrest smb, to charge with drug trafficking offence, to be bedridden, prosecutor, to receive drugs, contacts, to pass smth to smb, more agile accomplice, to use the house as a base, police academy, to take into preventative custody, to consider the case, frail state of health, to be placed under house arrest.

 

B. WHILE LISTENING

3. Listen to the text “Drug trafficking grannies”. Make notes about the numbers, personal and geographical names which you might hear.

Agree or disagree to the following statements.

1) Police searched the house of two aged men and found nothing suspicious.

2) All they found in the house was a small amount of euros.

3) 70-year-old Maria Valdebenito and 62-year-old Giselle Gilbert were taken to prison.

4) The women were charged with fraud offences.

5) The problem with the women is that one of them, Giselle Gilbert, is bedridden.

6) Maria Valdebenito says she received the stuff from one of her familiars.

7) Police accused Giselle Gilbert of selling the drugs to young people.

8) Chile’s police academy is a few meters from the women’s house.

9) Prosecutors insist on life imprisonment of the women.

10) But because of the frail state of health, Giselle Gilbert and Maria Valdebenito might be released from custody.

 

Listen to the text again and fill in the gaps using the following words.

to raid, to arrest, to charge, drug trafficking offences, bedridden, prosecutors, contacts, accomplice, base, police academy, custody, case, placed, house arrest

Drug trafficking grannies

Police _____ the house during the night and found two kilos of cocaine and around 65,000 dollars in cash. They _____ 80-year-old Maria Valdebenito and 72-year-old Giselle Gilbert and _____ them with _____ _____ _____.

Mrs Valdebenito is _____. _____ say she received the drugs from her _____ and passed them to her younger and more agile _____ to sell. The house that the women used as their ______ is just a few metres from Chile's biggest _____ _____.

Prosecutors say the women should be taken into preventative _____ while their _____ is considered. But, because of their frail state of health, they might be _____ under _____ _____ instead.

 

C. AFTER LISTENING

Answer the following questions.

1) What did police find while they were raiding the house?

2) Who did they arrest?

3) What did they charge the women with?

4) Who is bedridden?

5) How could Maria Valdebenito have received the drugs?

6) How far is the biggest police academy of Chile from the women’s house?

7) Where should the women be while their case is being considered?

8) What might help them be placed under house arrest and not be imprisoned?

 

Match the following words from the text placed in the left column with their synonyms given in the right column. Consult a dictionary if necessary.

1) to raid 2) charged with 3) trafficking 4) bedridden 5) contacts 6) agile 7) accomplice 8) base 9) take into preventative custody   10) frail

a) a place to conduct illegal business b) physical weakness c) people you know and have dealings with d) to accuse e) illegal transportation and trade f) to search g) weak and fragile h) active i) to place and keep under arrest in a special secure place j) accessory

8. Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1) Police raided the house 2) They arrested two women 3) Mrs Valdebenito received the drugs from 4) The house which the women used as the base 5) Prosecutors say that 6) The women might be placed under house arrest

a) the women should be taken intopreventativecustody. b) and found two kilos of cocaine. c) is just a few metres from Chile's biggest police academy. d) because of their frail state of health. e) her contacts. f) and charged them with drug trafficking offences.