Unit 3-TACN1
Unit 3-TACN1
Unit 3-TACN1
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1
The arrticle was from Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1988, Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation],
Stockholm, 1989
UN interventions have been in particular demand in the Middle East, both as
regards observer groups and military forces. The UN first took on the task of sending
observers to monitor the armistice between Israel and the Arab states in 1948. Observer
group activity was resumed after the wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973. After the 1956 war,
the first armed UN force was established to create a buffer between Israeli and
Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Ten nations contributed soldiers. Another force was
established after the war between Egypt and Israel in 1967 to monitor the armistice
agreement between the parties. This took place during a period of extremely high
tension both locally and between the great powers. In 1974, a smaller UN force was set
up on the Golan Heights to maintain the boundary line between Syrian and Israeli
forces. The most extensive UN operation in the Middle East is represented by the
formation of UNIFIL, subsequent upon the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978. Its
tasks included watching over the Israeli withdrawal, maintaining conditions of peace
and security, and helping the Lebanese government re-establish its authority. Such
tasks have taxed the capabilities of UNIFIL to the utmost, but the UN forces have
made an important contribution by reducing the level of conflict in the area. However,
this achievement has not come without significant cost. UN casualities now amount to
more than 200.
The UN played an important role during the struggles that erupted when the
Belgian colony of the Congo achieved independence in 1960. As anarchy and chaos
reigned in the area, a UN force numbering almost 20,000 was set up to help the
Congolese government maintain peace and order. It ended up being, above all, engaged
in bringing a raging civil war to an end and preventing the province of Katanga from
seceding. It was while carrying out the UN mission in the Congo that Secretary-
General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in an air crash.
Among other important tasks may be mentioned monitoring the border between
India and Pakistan, and maintaining the peacekeeping force that was established on
Cyprus on account of the civil war that broke out between the Greek and Turkish
populations of the island. The UN force has succeeded in creating a buffer zone
between the two ethnic groups.
The UN has, in these and other areas, played a significant role in reducing the
level of conflict even though the fundamental causes of the struggles frequently
remain.
Guide to Study
A. Pre-reading exercises:
Work in groups and choose one of the following topics to discuss:
1. Main organs of the UN and their functions
2. Specialized agencies of the United Nations and their functions
3. The UN’s role in international system
B. Reading for the gist:
Read the article and then write down what it is about in one complete sentence. You do
not need to understand all the words to do this exercise.
C. True – False – No Information:
Read the passage and tick (ɤ) whether these sentences are true (T), false (F) or no
information (NI):
T F NI
1. The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces are employed by the UN
2. If a conflict proves impossible to achieve a peaceful settlement, the
UN will take actions as an impartial third party to reduce tensions.
3. The Peace Keeping Forces’ Actions would be taken by the General
Assembly.
4. There are more than two main kinds of peacekeeping operations
5. The UN PKO was first taken place in 1948
6. The UN played an important role in the independence achievement of
Congo.
7. The civil war in the Congo does not end.
8. A Secretary-General of the UN was died while carrying out the
mission in the Congo.
D. Words and expressions:
1. Vocabulary building with prefixes:
Try to guess the meaning of the following words and learn about their prefixes by
giving some other examples:
a. re-establish: ………………………………… re-:………………………………...
b. subordinate: ………………………………… sub-: ……………………………....
c. subsequent: …………………………………. sub-:……………………………….
d. self-defense: ……………………………….. self-:……………………………….
e. unarmed: …………………………………… un-:………………………………..
f. entrust: ……………………………………… en-:…………………………………
E. Translation:
Part I: English to Vietnamese Translation
1. Analyzing sentence structures in the article
2. Translate the article into Vietnamese