Karlovy Vary Film Festival: Enjoying a Cup of Tea at the Unusual Pitch Black Café - Text 2

Karlovy Vary Film Festival: Enjoying a Cup of Tea at the Unusual Pitch Black Café

A The Czech Pop Idol Aneta Langerová has been enjoying quite a bit of success here in the Czech Republic and she’s been using it for a good cause. She staged an open air concert during the Karlovy Vary film festival to which she invited a number of special guests – young and talented singers, who have not been able to make it in the music scene because they are blind. The concert was in support of a Czech Radio project called Světluška, which organized a number of events at the festival to bring people who do not have visual disabilities closer to the world of the blind.

B Dita Asideu spoke to Martina Kaderková, one of the coordinators of the events: “The Czech Radio Foundation has a special project, which is called Světluška or fire-fly. We finance various special aids for the blind such as speaking computers, optical aids, guiding dogs, and different courses, and we support young and talented musicians.”

C “We are standing next to a café that is actually quite unique here. Could you explain to us what it is?” Dita asked. “It is the first café in the dark that has been opened in the Czech Republic. There is absolute darkness inside the café and we have ten blind staff members, who make espresso in complete darkness and who guide the visitors to their tables, and who serve them too. We also have “movie screenings” two times a day but they are only in audio with very detailed commentary,” Martina answered.

D “The main aim is to understand what it is like to be blind. It is actually about an exchange of roles. Inside the café it is the blind guide who you have to rely on. Outside, the blind often have to rely on us. We help them to cross the street or other things. The interior differs from regular cafes. Each letter in Braille has six dots and you use different combinations to form a word. So, we have six tables in our café. There is one main path that only the waiters and waitresses move along, so you cannot really get in their way. We would like to bring this project to Prague and Brno and open a permanent Café in the Dark in Prague. This would bring employment opportunities because the unemployment rate among the visually impaired is 75 percent,” Martina Kaderková explains to Dita.

E Dita visits the café: I have been asked to put my watch and cell phone into my bag just to be sure that there is absolutely no light in the café and Markéta is just about to show me to my table. We’re inside and my guide is holding my hand and telling me where to go. It’s pitch black in here and I have no clue what’s around me. And here is my table. Markéta has just said goodbye and I shall wait for my waiter. There’s music playing in the background but it still seems to me like people are extremely loud in here and I wonder whether it’s just my sense of hearing making up for the fact that I can’t see…

pitch black – černý jako uhel

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 The first café in the dark

2 Světluška finances special aids for the blind

3 Dita’s visit of the café

4 Café in the dark – opportunity for the blind

5 Aneta Langerová supports project Světluška

2) Read the article again and answer the questions.

1 What is the text about?

2 What is Světluška? Who and how does it help? Who does it cooperate with?

3 What is the café in the dark? Describe the place.

4 How does Dita feel in the café?

3) Explain the following words.

1 the blind

2 speaking computer

3 guiding dog

4 Braille

5 employment opportunity

4) Answer the following questions.

What type of impairment is blindness? What are special aids for the blind? What are they used for? Who helps the blind?

Adjusted to:

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/karlovy-vary-film-festival-enjoying-a-cup-of-tea-at-the-unusual-pitch-black-cafe

APLA-Prague – Association in Aid of Persons with Autism - Text 1

APLA-Prague – Association in Aid of Persons with Autism

A According to international statistics, approximately 50 000 persons in the Czech Republic suffer from autistic spectrum disorders. The aim of the civil association APLA-Prague (Association in aid of persons with autism) is to provide individuals with autism the kind of support that will enable them to live, work and educate themselves in the common world.

B Children come to the centre for a specialised examination at the recommendation of a paediatrician, children’s psychiatrist, neurologist or pedagogue. Children are also examined at the request of their parents. The goal of the examination is to confirm or disprove the diagnosis of autism and its related disorders. Another step is to familiarise the parents with the characteristics of the disorder. The specialists also make visits to the household, where they suggest how to modify the environment and regime of the household, or solutions to other problems, which the family may be encountering.

C We offer therapy for problematic behaviour (aggression, auto-aggression, stereotypical movement without a purpose, undressing in public, screaming, verbal abuse, obscenities and more). Within the scope of therapy, we offer group role-play of situations on social behaviour. The groups are held once a week for one hour and are intended for persons from 7 years of age and up. With regards to older participants, cognitive therapy is focussed on possible depression or anxiety. In addition, we offer individual role-play of situations.

D Personal assistance (expert trained University students) provide accompaniment to children to and from school, to extracurricular activities, sports or leisure time activities. Once or twice a month we organise relax weekends for parents of children and adults with autism. From 5.00 pm Friday to 5.00 pm Sunday we take over their care. All children and adults with autism may take part in this service without any restrictions in age and the degree of their problematic behaviour. We organize the summer camp for people with autism and problematic behaviour as well. It runs in two various locations in several terms for the months of July and August.

E When visiting families, we show them, which parts of their home they can modify, the best way they can organise a daily routine for the child, where they should adjust the regime, how they can use communication tables or books. We visit facilities, which the child attends and suggest suitable educational procedures.

disprove – vyvrátit

extracurricular – mimoškolní

familiarise – obeznámit

intended – zamýšlený

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Extracurricular activities 

2 Characteristics of the disorder 

3 Therapies and skills provided to students 

4 Cooperation with families 

5 Introduction

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What is the article about?

2 What is APLA-Prague? How does it help its clients?

3 What are examples of problematic behaviour?

4 What extracurricular activities does it offer?

5 How does it help and cooperate with clients’ families?

3) Explain the following words.

1 autism

2 children’s psychiatrist

3 aggression

4 stereotypical movement

5 anxiety

4) Answer the following questions.

What are examples of mental handicaps? What are examples of physical handicaps? What is the origin of these handicaps? What types of therapies and activities are offered to the autistic clients of Apla?

Adjusted to:

http://www.praha.apla.cz/o-nas-cizojazycne/about-us.html

The Disabled – Vocabulary 2

accessibility of public spaces – přístupnost veřejných prostor

aggression – agrese

anxiety – strach, obavy

autism – autismus

balance disorder – porucha rovnováhy

blindness – slepota

Braille – slepecké písmo

children’s psychiatrist – dětský psychiatr

cognitive deficit – kognitivní porucha

cognitive/mental – kognitivní/duševní

deafness – hluchota

developmental difference – vývojový rozdíl

developmental disability – vývojová porucha

different – jiný, odlišný

disability – porucha

disability benefit – peněžní dávky pro postižené

disability insurance – invalidní pojištění

disability pension – invalidní důchod

disabled – postižený

disturbance – porucha

domestic skills – domácí dovednosti

dyslexia – dyslexie

emotional – citový

employment opportunity – příležitost najít zaměstnání

ergotherapy – pracovní terapie

foundation – nadace

guiding dog – slepecký pes

gustatory impairment – chuťová porucha

hearing impairment – porucha sluchu

impairment – porucha

independent lifestyle – nezávislý životní styl

intellectual disability – porucha intelektu

intolerable – netolerantní

learning aid – učební pomůcka

learning disability – učební porucha

left-hander – levák

mental disorder – mentální porucha

mental retardation – mentální retardace

non-profit organisation – neziskovka

olfactory impairment – čichová porucha

physical – tělesný

physically disabled – tělesně postižený

pre-school children – předškolní děti

sensory – smyslový

housing for disabled youths – ubytování pro postižené mladistvé

somatosensory impairment – somatosenzorická porucha

speaking computer – mluvící počítač

stereotypical movement – stereotypní pohyb

the blind – slepec

wheelchair ramp – rampa pro kolečkové křeslo

The Disabled – Vocabulary 1

accessibility of public spaces

autism

blindness

Brail

children’s psychiatrist

deafness

different

disability pension

disabled

dyslexia

emotional

employment opportunity

ergotherapy

foundation

guiding dog

independent lifestyle

intellectual disability

learning aid

learning disability

left-hander

mental disorder

non-profit organisation

physically disabled

housing for disabled youths

speaking computer

stereotypical movement

the blind

wheelchair ramp

The Disabled – Study Material

A disability in humans may be physical, cognitive/mental, sensory, emotional, and developmental or some combination of these.

An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action.

An individual may also qualify as disabled if he/she has had impairment in the past or is seen as disabled based on a personal or group standard or norm. Such impairments may include physical, sensory, and cognitive or developmental disabilities. Mental disorders (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability) and various types of chronic disease may also qualify as disabilities.

Some advocates object to describing certain conditions (notably deafness and autism) as “disabilities”, arguing that it is more appropriate to consider them developmental differences that have been unfairly stigmatized by society.

A disability may occur during a person’s lifetime or may be present from birth.

Types of disability

Disability is caused by impairments to various subsystems of the body.

These can be broadly sorted into the following categories:

·         Any impairment which limits the physical function of limbs or fine or gross motor ability is a physical disability. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as severe sleep apnoea.

·         Sensory disabilities relate mainly to sight and hearing. The inability to smell or taste is relatively rarer and is not always considered to be a disability. Other sensory impairments such as of the skin senses, the sensing of touch, heat, cold or pain also exist and are commonly associated with physical disabilities involving paralysis.

·         Visual impairment (or vision impairment) is vision loss (of a person) to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction, medication, or surgery. This functional loss of vision is typically defined to manifest with

·         Hearing impairment or hard of hearing or deafness refers to conditions in which individuals are fully or partially unable to detect or perceive at least some frequencies of sound which can typically be heard by most people.

·         Impairment of the sense of smell and taste are commonly associated with aging but can also occur in younger people due to a wide variety of causes. It is called olfactory impairment. There are a wide variety of olfactory disorders:

·         Gustatory impairment: complete loss of the sense of taste is known as ageusia, while dysgeusia is persistent abnormal sense of taste.

·         Somatosensory impairment: Insensitivity to stimuli such as touch, heat, cold, and pain are often an adjunct to a more general physical impairment involving neural pathways and is very commonly associated with paralysis (in which the motor neural circuits are also affected).

·         A balance disorder is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unsteady, for example when standing or walking. It may be accompanied by symptoms of being giddy, woozy, or have a sensation of movement, spinning, or floating. Balance is the result of several body systems working together.

·         Intellectual disability is a broad concept that ranges from mental retardation to cognitive deficits too mild or too specific (as in specific learning disability) to qualify as mental retardation. Intellectual disabilities may appear at any age.

·         A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioural pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which are not a part of normal development or culture.

·         Developmental disability is any disability that results in problems with growth and development. Although the term is often used as a synonym or euphemism for intellectual disability, the term also encompasses many congenital medical conditions that have no mental or intellectual components.

Disability benefit, or disability pension, is a major kind of disability insurance, and is provided by government agencies to people who are temporarily or permanently unable to work due to a disability.

Adjusted to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handicapped

Club Hanoi - Text 4

Club Hanoi

A Club Hanoi is non-governmental non-profit organization uniting those who are interested in Vietnam – its culture, history and traditions – or in the life of Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic.

B Club Hanoi was founded as an informal organization by a group of former students of the Vietnamese studies at the Charles University in Prague. The organization was formally registered with the Czech Ministry of Interior on January 16th 2004. Since then the organization has been comprised of students and professionals in the field Vietnamese studies, as well as members of Vietnamese community or individuals interested in Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic or Europe joined the organization.

C Its mission is to promote Vietnamese culture and integration of Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic while emphasizing the preservation of cultural identity.

D The interaction between the Vietnamese minority and Czech majority is often complicated by the many differences between the Czech and Vietnamese cultures. The aim is therefore to take these differences and highlight their positive aspects and value for the society in the Czech Republic. In doing so, they want to affect the perception of the role and place of Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. This community is often described as self-sufficient, hardworking and inconspicuous. However, its full cultural potential has yet to be recognized – Vietnamese traditions, literature, complex history or natural heritage remains to the majority of the Czech society unknown.

E Besides, raising awareness about Vietnam and Vietnamese culture, they also try to promote and support the principle of equal opportunities for Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic. The club seeks to increase participation of the Vietnamese community in the public life in the Czech Republic; it supports the independence of individuals in their own community and active participation on solving social issues of common interest.

F The members of the club believe that they can contribute in eliminating discrimination against Vietnamese community including the often mutual prejudices, communication and cultural barriers in the Czech Republic. This will be achieved by increasing access to information and by organizing common social and cultural Vietnamese-Czech events. Their goal is to positively affect change of attitudes and behaviour of particular groups in the Czech society – Vietnamese community, the general and professional public – in order to achieve a more open and stronger civil society.

awareness – povědomí

eliminating – vylučující

highlight – zvýraznit

inconspicuous – nenápadná

perception – vnímání

prejudice – předsudek

to promote – propagovat

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Mission of the club

2 Differences between our cultures

3 Eliminating discrimination

4 Foundation of the club

5 Participation of the Vietnamese community in the public life

6 Introduction

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

       1 What is the article about?

2 When, why and who founded the club?

3 What is Vietnamese community like?

4 How do the members want to eliminate discrimination?

3) Explain the following words.

1 non-governmental non-profit organization

2 majority

3 heritage

4 independence

5 behaviour

4) Answer the following questions.

What are typical problems of Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic? What do you know about their lifestyle? What other nationalities live and work in the Czech Republic?

Adjusted to:

http://www.klubhanoi.cz/showpage.php?name=about&rsindexpage=0

Co-Chairs Welcome Justice in Attack on Romani Household - Text 5

Co-Chairs Welcome Justice in Attack on Romani Household

A Leaders of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) today expressed their support for the stiff sentences handed down in the Czech Republic to four neo-Nazis who firebombed a Romani family’s home in 2009.

B The court found David Vaculík, Ivo Müller, Jaromír Lukeš, and Václav Cojocaru guilty of complicity in attempted murder and property damage in an attack that left an infant with second and third degree burns over 80 percent of her body and injured three others. The four men were all sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. The sentences are reportedly the toughest ever handed down for a racially motivated crime in the Czech Republic. The rehabilitation ordeal of Natálka Siváková, who will be maimed for life, has gripped the Czech nation.

C “We welcome the verdict in this case as a small measure of justice for a Romani family that was clearly targeted for no reason other than their ethnicity,” said U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin. “Nothing can compensate for the baby's injuries and suffering, but hopefully this sentence will not only put off future hate crimes, but send a signal to extremist elements in the Czech Republic that their day of reckoning is at hand.”

D The four men committed the crimes to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s 120th birthday. In court one defendant, Lukeš, wore the shirt of a White Power band. In the past three years, the Czech Republic has witnessed an escalation of attacks on Roma, and other manifestations of extremism.

E “I am heartened to hear Czech political leaders supporting justice in this notorious hate crime,” said Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings. “We call on the new Czech Government to address Romani human rights comprehensively, including by strengthening public understanding of Romani experiences during the Holocaust. I will also be greatly interested in the outcome of the ongoing trial of eight alleged perpetrators of the mob attack on Roma in Havirov.”

F In Havířov, a group of men attacked several Roma on November 8, 2008. One teenager was beaten into a coma and suffers permanent disability.

alleged perpetrator – údajný pachatel

attempted murder – pokus o vraždu

comprehensively – zcela

day of reckoning – den zúčtování

maim – zmrzačit

ordeal – muka, utrpení

stiff – přísný

tough – tvrdý

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Cardin sees a signal to extremists

2 Escalation of extremism attacks in the Czech Republic

3 Four men found guilty in the Natálka case

4 The new Czech Government should care for Romani human rights

5 Introduction

6 Another attack in Havířov

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

       1 What is the article about?

2 What happened in the Natálka case?

3 Why was the crime committed?

4 What does Benjamin L. Cardin think about the verdict?

5 What happened in Havířov?

3) Explain the following words.

1 sentence

2 to firebomb

3 prison

4 extremism

5 justice

4) Answer the following questions.

How are Roma people discriminated? What organisations help Romani people and how? How does our school cooperate with Romani community?

Adjusted to:

http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_1977