Require – need; depend on for success, fulfillment, etc.
Resistance – opposing force; direction in which a force meets least opposition, desire to oppose.
Rigid – stiff, unbending, that cannot be bent; firm, strict; not changing
Maintenance – maintaining or being maintained
Maintain – keep up; continue; support, keep in good repair; defend
Tend – watch over, attend to; be inclined to move; have a direction
Corrode – wear away, destroy slowly by chemical action or disease; be worn away
Lifebelt – belt of corn or other buoyant material to keep a person afloat in water
Capsize – (esp. of a boat in the water) overturn, upset
Access – way to a place; opportunity or means of reaching, approaching
Adverse – unfavourable
Circumstance – conditions, facts, etc., connected with an event or person
Tow – pull along by a rope or chain
Attitude – manner of placing or holding the body
Adopt – take (an idea, custom, etc.) and use
Damage – harm or injury that causes loss of value
Speed – swiftness, rapidity of movement, rate of moving
Knot – measure of speed for ships
Drift – be carried along by a current of water
Gather – get, come or bring together
Inflate – fill (a tiry, balloon, etc.) with air or gas
Course – forward movement in space or time
Capacity – ability to hold, contain, get hold of
Suitable – right for the person or occasion
Craft – 1) occupation, esp. one in which skill in the use of the hands is needed
2) (collective) those engaged in such an occupation, organized in a union
Carry – support the weight of and move from place to place, take (a person, a message, etc.)
from one place to another
Canopy – covering over a bed, throne or held (on poles) over a person; any overhanging
covering
Security – smth. that provides safety, freedom from danger or anxiety
Arrange – put in order, make plans in advance, see to the details of smth.
Board – get on or into (a ship, train, etc.) force a way on board (a ship)
Waterproof = Watertight – made, fastened so that cannot get in or out; drawn up so that there can
be no escape from any of the provisions
Insulate – cover or separate with non-conducting materials to prevent loss of heat, prevent
passage of electricity
Occupant – person who occupies a house, room or position etc.
Fabric – kinds of woven materials; framework or structure; smth. put together
Fibre – one of the slender threds of which many animal and vegetable growths are formed
Fold – bend one part of a thing back over on itself
Rig – supply (a ship) with masts spars, rigging, sails, etc.; (of a ship) be supplied with these
things, prepare for sea in this way
Expose – leave uncovered or unprotected; uncover
Stream – steady flow (of liquid, persons; things)
Clear – apart, without touching; at or to a distance
Pick up – take hold of and lift
Identify – say, show, prove, who or what smb. or smth. is; establish the identity of
Search – examine, look carefully at, through or into in order to find smth. or smb.
Sickness – illness or disease, inclination to vomiting
Administer – control, manage, look after, apply
Adjust – arrange, put in order or agreement make suitable or convenient for use
1. Read and translate the text “Lifeboats and their operating”
There are wooden, steel, aluminium and glass fibre reinforced plastic lifeboats. There are open, partially enclosed and totally enclosed types. Rescue boats may be made of rubber. Wooden, aluminium and steel lifeboats have a skin fitted over frames. Wooden or metal lifeboats require significant maintenance. Metal boats tend to corrode quickly if neglected, wooden ones can dry out and then become leaky. Glass fibre reinforced plastic lifeboats on the other hand have a high corrosion resistance and a low maintenance requirement. For that reason, almost all lifeboats built nowadays are of GRP.
Totally enclosed lifeboats are self-righting if all openings are closed watertight and the persons on board are belted into their seats. That is the normal condition even at launch. If a totally enclosed boat capsizes with the access or ventilation openings open it will in adverse circumstances adopt an attitude, which makes it still possible to leave it above water.
Partially enclosed lifeboats are also used, particularly on passenger vessel. They are not suitable for free-fall launching.
Free-fall boats are totally enclosed lifeboats stowed on specially designed launching appliance at the stern. They are fitted with special bucket seats and safety belts. Rescue boats have two principal purposes, namely:
- the rapid rescue of persons floating in the water;
- the gathering, keeping in position and towing life rafts.
Rescue boats may be of rigid or inflatable constructions or of combination of both. Their length must not be less than 3,8 m and not more than 8,5 m. they may be capable of holding at least five persons seated and one person lying down. Rescue boats have either an inboard or an outboard motor. That enables them to achieve a speed of at least 6 knots running free and 2 knots towing.
1. Operating lifeboats.
Immediately after entering the water a lifeboat must leave the danger zone around the damaged ship as quickly as possible. The biggest danger to the boat and its occupants come from the damaged and sinking ship itself, by its capsizing by explosions, the deck cargo going over the side, drifting pieces of cargo and fuel leaking out.
The best course is at right angles away from the damaged ship. Motor life and rescue boats can in calm water reach the speed of up to 6 knots.
2. Answer the following questions:
1) What material may lifeboats be made of?
2) What are the types of lifeboats?
3) What lifeboats require significant maintenance? Why?
4) What lifeboats are self-righting?
5) What lifeboats are free-fall boats?
6) What are the main purposes of rescue boats?
7) What are the constructions of lifeboats?
8) What is the length, speed and holding capacity of lifeboats?
9) What is the biggest danger to the lifeboats? Why?