1. Doping and sport.

Read a letter to a newspaper complaining about the consequences of doping. The letter is divided into five paragraphs. Choose the correct topic for each paragraph.

2. Write.

Choose ONE of the alternatives below.

Alternative 1 – A letter of complaint
Look at the phrases which the writer uses to complain:

  • to complain about (something)
  • to object to (the fact that / something)
  • to take the matter up with (somebody)
  • to lodge a complaint
  • to be (extremely/very) unhappy about (something)
  • it is (extremely/very) unfair that...

Write a letter to a newspaper complaining about ONE of the following situations:

  • A doctor made you have an operation which you didn't need.
  • The police stopped you in the street and harassed you.
  • You had to pay a large telephone bill although it was not yours.
  • Any other situation in which you were made to do something you didn't want to do.

Use the letter from exercise 1 as a model. Divide your letter into five paragraphs, and try to use some of the same expressions which the letter uses.

Write between 150 and 200 words. Check spelling, grammar and organisation carefully before sending the text to your tutor.


Alternative 2 – Industrial espionage
Read the report about industrial espionage and put the summary notes in the correct order. Note down your answer and then compare it with the correct answer below.

Summary notes:
Why it was stolen
What the reaction was
Where it happened
What happened
What was stolen

Industrial espionage
In the summer of 2013 the US Navy reported that computer hackers had attacked one of its computers.

The hacking attack happened in a Naval research laboratory in Washington, D.C. Naval officials at the laboratory said that the computer was not classified.

The cyber criminals stole the source code for a program called OS/COMET which is used to guide missiles, satellites, spaceships and rockets. The software was secret when it was first used in the 1980s, but it is now available commercially. Officials said that only half the source code was stolen.

The stolen OS/COMET code could be sold to companies in other countries to develop their own guiding programs. Or it could be used by terrorists to interfere with computer systems that guide missiles and space programmes.

The US Navy has improved their network security, and the FBI is investigating the case.

Now compare your answers with the correct answers.

What happened
Where it happened
What was stolen
Why it was stolen
What the reaction was

Write a similar report about another industrial espionage incident that you know about. In your report include information on the following:

  • What happened
  • Where it happened
  • What was stolen
  • Why it was stolen
  • What the reaction was

Write about 150 words. Check spelling, grammar and organisation carefully before sending the text to your tutor.