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Mobile phones - a danger?

Mobile phones and other gadgets could interfere with sensitive electronic systems, some theories suggest. According to a recent survey four out of 10 jet passengers in the US admitted they frequently leave their gadgets on during the flights. Even a well known Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin reacted furiously after being thrown off a Los Angeles-to-New York flight before take off for refusing to stop playing the online game and turn off his phone.

According to worldwide jet regulations, the use of portable electronic devices is prohibited below around 3,000m , even in "flight mode" which blocks the transmission of signals. Above this height laptops and music players can be used, but phones must be off, to avoid potentially dangerous interference between signals from these devices and sensitive onboard electronic systems. But do these fears have any scientific basis, or is it time to take it easier?

Ipods, laptops, gaming consoles - they all emit radio waves, which may influence the signals in case they are at frequencies close to those of the avionics. The risk increases if gadgets are damaged and begin emitting stronger radio waves than they are presumed to, or if multiple devices work together at the same time. Nevertheless, there are no recorded incidents of crashes having been definitely caused by such problem, but the causes of accidents can occasionally remain unknown. A flight recorder may not identify that a critical system has failed because of electromagnetic interference from passengers' devices.

New Year Resolutions

New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least, most of us compile lists of "do's" and "don'ts". We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat less, find more time to play with children, do a thousand one jobs about the house, be nice to people you don't like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk every day. Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We also make a fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I decided to keep my resolutions to myself and limited myself to two modest ambitions: to do physical exercises every morning and to read more in the evening. I managed to do the exercises for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was this that betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the performance. After all their jokes which I tried to ignore my enthusiasm waned. Little by little the eleven minutes I started my exercises with fell to zero. By January 10th, I was back to where I had started from. (from "Developing Skills" by L.G.Alexander)

Задание 3. A Wintry Night

The sky is dark and

the ground is white

The world is peaceful on

this wintry night.

No one around, not a

sound to be heard. Not a laugh, not a car,

not even a bird.

For a moment, it's just

The snow and me.

I smile inside.

I feel so free.

By L.Kuster

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