Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. make up for (phrasal v.) [meyk uhp fawr] – to do something to make a bad situation better
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. make up for (phrasal v.) [meyk uhp fawr] – to do something to make a bad situation better
Example: The athlete decided to
train harder to make up for his low
scores last year.
2. shortfall (n.) [shawrt-fawl] – a number that is less than what is
needed or expected
Example: There was no shortfall of applicants wishing to work
for Olympics Committee.
3. pitch in (idiom) [pich in] – to help along with others to achieve something
Example: My friends and I
pitched in with the sports club to organize the school’s sports event.
4. amateurish (adj.) [am-uh-choor-ish, -chur-, -tyoor-, -tur-] – not done well
Example: The coach was blamed
for his athlete’s amateurish performance.
5. reimburse (v.) [ree-im-burs] – to pay someone back for something on which they spent time, effort, or money
Example: The insurance company reimbursed the customer’s hospital fees.
Article
Read the text below.
G4S, a private security company in charge of providing security in the London 2012, was 6,000 guards short of the 10,400 guards it promised to supply.
To make up for the shortfall, the British government had to call in 3,500 military
personnel. Extra police were also asked to pitch in, performing tasks that G4S recruits were expected to do,
such as guarding areas with Olympic events, checking people and vehicles for
dangerous items, and operating X-ray machines and CCTV.
As expected,
British lawmakers were angry at G4S’ failure. The CEO of the company, Nick
Buckles, was heavily criticized for his failure to fulfill its contract.
Chairman Keith Vaz of the Parliament’s
Home Security Committee described the company’s performance as unacceptable and
amateurish. He even suggested that
Buckles resign from his post. During the committee
meeting, Chairman Vaz was shocked that G4S’ still wanted to get the $89
million management fee stated in the contract.
The G4S CEO apologized
for the failure and revealed that he too was surprised. Buckles said it was only
on July 11 that he became certain G4S would be unable to provide the
necessary number of guards. According to the company, it could not properly manage
more guards because of a software problem in their systems.
The company
promised to reimburse police
forces who were assigned to do G4S’ work. He also stated that G4S would consider
giving bonuses to the military personnel and police officers who helped. The
company could lose $77 million making up for the inconveniences it caused.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Why should there be a lot of security during
big sports events like the Olympics?
·
What could be some of the security threats
present in an international event like the Olympics?
Discussion B
·
Have you ever heard about a company or a person
who did a very bad job at something? What happened?
·
Why is it important for a company or a person to
do their best at a job given to them?
