SAFETY

Level: intermediate/advanced

We all have to think about safety: in the home, at work, in school or in the street we must be careful and avoid causing injury to ourselves or to other people.

The events that cause injuries to human beings are usually called ‘accidents’, but in many cases the accident could be avoided if we thought about the risks in advance.

However, it is not enough just to think about safety – we must also do sensible things to reduce the dangers.

It is said that most accidents happen at work or on the roads. In a factory there is a lot of heavy machinery and if workers are not careful when they use it they will be hurt.

But an office can have its dangers too, and almost any building that has stairs has the risk that people will fall down them.

At work we can do a lot of things to cut out accidents and even if we cannot eliminate all dangers, we can reduce the possible damage by wearing protective clothing.

This means wearing a hard hat to protect our head and goggles or glasses to make sure nothing gets in our eyes.

In many activities at work we must wear gloves to protect the skin on our hands because many substances that we touch – or that might touch us – are acids that can burn the skin severely.

We must also think of safety when we use the road. Perhaps the biggest factor in road safety in recent years has been the separation of automobiles and pedestrians.

The highway is simply not a suitable place for pedestrians, and in the cities the use of walkways and cycle paths helps to keep people away from traffic.

Many accidents in the home can be prevented by another kind of separation. As any firefighter will tell you, ‘Oil and water don’t mix.’

If you’re in the kitchen, frying anything in oil, make sure that all the water has been removed from the thing being cooked.

French fries are the most dangerous things. It is essential to dry the raw fries on a towel or kitchen roll before putting them in the oil.

You must also make sure that the oil is not too hot: test this by placing one potato chip carefully in the oil. If there is a violent reaction, the oil is too hot. Let it cool down.

Of course if the oil is not hot enough the action is not really ‘frying’ but ‘boiling’, which is not the desired result. The need for really hot oil is what makes the French fry so dangerous.

There is no doubt that the kitchen is the most dangerous part of a house. The basic safety element that applies on the roads – separation or exclusion – should apply to the kitchen too.

Children under the age of ten should not be allowed in the working part of the kitchen or kitchen/diner while anyone is cooking. This is especially necessary if the kitchen is small and does not have a ‘diner’ area.

QUESTIONS:

1. How could some accidents be avoided?

2. Only one of the following statements is TRUE –

a.    We don’t need to avoid accidents

b.    There is no need to be careful

c.    We must take some intelligent action.

d.    No one ever has an accident.

3. What do we find in a factory?

4. What can happen if workers are not careful?

5. How should we dress to avoid accidents at work?

6. Two things help to protect our eyes – goggles and what else?

7. Only one of the following statements is TRUE –

a.    Water can burn our eyes.

b.    Gloves will protect our ears.

c.    Acid can cause serious burns.

d.    Gloves help to keep our feet warm.

8. In recent years pedestrians have been separated from – what?

9. What do cycle paths and walkways do?

10. What is the most dangerous kind of cooking activity?

11. What can we use to dry raw potatoes?

12. Why would you fry only one French fry?

13. What kind of reaction does the article mention?

14. Only one of the following statements is TRUE –

a.    The bathroom is the biggest room in a house.

b.    The kitchen is the most dangerous area in the home.

c.    A radio presents a great danger.

d.    The patio is the most dangerous part of a house.

15.  para 9: Who should not be permitted in the kitchen?

ANSWERS:

1. If we think (thought) about the risks in advance.

2.   c.

3.   a lot of heavy machinery/workers.

4.   they will be hurt.

5.   protective clothing/hard hat/goggles.

6.   glasses/spectacles

7.   c.

8.   traffic/cars

9.   “keep people away from traffic.”

10. Frying anything in oil/French fries.

11. towel or kitchen roll

12. to test the temperature/to see how it reacts.

13. violent.

14. b.

15. children under the age of ten.