Political, economic and moral problems of today´s world
- What are the most burning problems in the world today?
- What is the crime? What types of crime do you know? Why do people commit crimes?
- What are drugs? Why do people take them?
- Speak about job opportunities and unemployment in the world.
- What is “a multicultural society“? What are the problems of multicultural societies?
- Why do people migrate? Speak about the reasons for migrating.
There have always been problems in the world like poverty, disease, natural hazards, crime or war. In the past, the problems were often local. Today, many problems are global.
The most burning (nejpalčivější) problems in today´s world are
- unemployment (high unemployment rate (míra nezaměstnanosti, get unemployment benefit / the Dole (GB) (podpora v nezaměstnanosti) from the government, live on the dole, few job opportunities)
- poverty and hunger (suffer from hunger, die of starvation (zemřít hladem)
- bad living conditions (live in dirty slums)
- bad education (→ results in easy manipulation with people)
- bad medical care (no vaccination, no prevention, many children die)
- natural hazards (flood, drought…)
- climate changes
- growth of world population (some parts of the world are overpopulated)
- dangerous diseases (AIDS, flu…)
- crime (high criminality rate in some regions)
- drugs, gambling, alcoholism etc.
- workoholism, computer addiction etc.
- intolerance and xenofobia, racism (problems within multicultural societies)
- terrorism (in some countries – trying to solve political problems violently, killing innocent people)
- fights and wars
- bad accidents (plane crashes, oil tanker disasters, fires of oil refineries, accidents (havárie) in chemical factories and nuclear power plants,…)
- disbalance of economic development (Europe + North America – rich, highly developed, modern, use advanced technologies, high living standard x Africa, Asia, South America – poor, underdeveloped, low living standard, dependent on the help of the rich – millionaries, charities etc.)
The crime is a bad deed (skutek, čin), something against the law. If you do something against the law, you break the law (porušit, přestoupit zákon), you commit a crime (spáchat zločin). You are a criminal. If you suffer from a crime, you are a victim (oběť).
The police (or the detectives) investigate the crime. They look for evidence and fingerprints, question (vyslýchat) witnesses (svědci) and suspects (podezřelí). They catch and arrest / take prisoner the most probable offender (pachatel). He is then accused of the crime (obviněný z trestného činu) and a trial (proces, soud) starts. If he is found guilty (shledán vinným), the judge (soudce) sentenses (odsoudí) him to prison.
Kinds of crime:
murder (→ to murder, a murderer ) vražda
kidnapping (→ to kidnap, a kidnapper) únos (např. dítě)
taking somebody hostage (→ to take sb. hostage, a hostage), vzetí jako rukojmí
hijacking (→to hijack, a hijacker) únos (např. letadla)
rape (→ to rape, a rapist) znásilnění
terrorism (→ a terrorist)
drug dealing (→ a drug dealer)
smuggling (→to smuggle, a smuggler) pašování
fraud (→ to deceive, a fraud) – podvod
blackmailing ( →to blackmail, a blackmailer) vydírání
theft (→to steal, a thief, a pickpocket) krádež
robbery (→to rob: rob a bank, a robber) loupež
shoplifting (→ to steal from a shop, a shoplifter) krádež v obchodě
burglary / housebreaking (→ to burgle: burgle a house, a burgler) vloupání se (do domu)
mugging (→to mug, a mugger) loupežné přepadení
counterfeiting (→ to counterfeit, a counterfeiter) padělání
bullying (→to bully, a bully) šikana
happy slapping (→ to attack, to slap, a happy-slapper) napadení a zbití někoho a současné natáčení na mobil a poté umístění záznamu na internet
organized crime organizovaný zločin
Drugs are substances (látky) that people use to feel happy and full of energy or to relax their mind and body. Some drugs are very strong and dangerous. People who take illegal drugs are called drug users. They are soon not able to stop taking drugs. They become drug addicts.
The person who sells illegal drugs is called a drug dealer. Drug dealing is a crime.
An addict = podstatné jméno – závislý člověk
Addicted to = přídavné jméno – závislý na
A multicultural society is a society in which various cultures and minorities (= ethnic, religious and other groups) live together. Britain or the USA are examples of multicultural societies.
People from different cultures create communities according to their nation, religion etc. They keep their traditions alive. They celebrate their festivals, speak their own languge, sing their songs, or eat their meals.
In some countries, minorities live together on friendly terms, in other countries, there is tension or there are even fights (as e.g. in Northern Ireland, in Spain, in India, in some African countries etc.).
Peaceful life in multicultural societies is possible only if there is tolerance, respect for each other´s values, traditions, habits and preferences.
It is rude to laugh at other people´s colour of skin, sexual orientation or to make bad jokes about people from other cultures. It can lead to misunderstanding and can cause serious problems.