World and Press November 1
November 1 2021 • No 21 • 73rd Year of Publication • Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien € 2,50 [d] Sprachtraining • Landeskunde • Vokabelhilfen • Übungsmaterial IN FOCUS • Opinion: The future of cinema • In Focus: To fight vaccine lies, authorities recruit an ‘influencer army’ Pages 2/3 USA • Colorado: Creating a sustainable system for volunteer rescuers • Utah: An American shepherd Pages 4/5 BRITAIN • Lake District: Park in peril due to climate emergency and pandemic walkers • Business: North Sea carbon capture plan unites big energy firms Pages 6/10 OTHER TOPICS • Australia: Some Indigenous Australians to receive reparations • History: ‘Lost Atlantis’ of the North Sea gives up its secrets Pages 8/9 B2–C2 world and press digital Im Web und als App! Coming soon www.sprachzeitungen.de | Photo: Getty Images €2,80 [a] CHF4,50 [ch] | Photo: Picture Alliance The campaign group Republic believes that headlines about the royal family’s recent travails are increasing support for the abolition of monarchy in the UK. Read more on pag e 7 0 – 2 RESTRICTIONS“rI"strIkS´nz‘ Beschränkungen — a spate of e-e Welle von — shortage “"SO…tIdZ‘ Engpass — to set teeth on edge für gereizte Stimmung sorgen — tentative “"tent´tIv‘ vorläufig — inconclusive “ÆInk´n"klu…sIv‘ uneindeutig — freedom of movement Freizügigkeit — to alleviate “´"li… vieIt‘ lindern; abschwächen 3 – 5 consumed verzehrt; eingenommen — shutdown Stillstand — disguise “dIs"gaIz‘ (fig) Schleier — to run out of s.th. etw. nicht mehr haben — to According to a study, loneliness among young people around the globe has skyrocketed since a decade ago – and it may be tied to smartphone use. Read more on pag e 12 The U.K.’s gas crisis is a Brexit crisis, too BRITAIN Until now, the government has blamed COVID-related restrictions for a spate of shortages. By Mark Landler 1 FEW THINGS are more likely to set teeth on edge in Downing Street than the tentative winner of an inconclusive German election declaring that Brexit is the reason Britons are lining up at gas stations like it’s 1974. 2 But there was Olaf Scholz, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, telling reporters Monday that the freedom of movement guaranteed by the European Union would have alleviated the shortage of truck drivers in Britain that is preventing oil companies from supplying gas stations across the country. “We worked very hard to convince the British not to leave the union,” Scholz said, when asked about the crisis in Britain. “Now they decided different, and I hope they will manage the problems coming from that.” 3 For ordinary people, Scholz’s critique might also seem like old news. Britain is no longer debating Brexit. Nearly everyone is exhausted by the issue and the country, like the rest of the world, has instead been consumed by the pandemic. 4 But the coronavirus, and the months of economic shutdown that it forced, also masked the ways that Brexit has disrupted commerce. That disguise fell | Photo: Getty Images away last weekend when gas stations across the country began to run out of gasoline, sparking a panic and serpentine lines of motorists looking for a fill up. 5 While it would be wrong to blame a crisis with global ramifications solely on Brexit, there are Brexit-specific causes that are indisputable: Of the estimated shortfall of 100,000 truck drivers, about 20,000 are non-British drivers who left the country during the pandemic and have not returned in part because of more stringent, post-Brexit visa requirements to work in the country, which took effect this year. 6 Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged as much when he reversed course last weekend and offered 5,000 three-month visas to foreign drivers to try to replenish the ranks (while also putting spark entfachen — serpentine line “"s‰…p´ntaIn‘ Schlangenlinie — motorist Autofahrer(in) — ramifications Auswirkungen — indisputable “ÆIndI"spju… t´b´l‘ unbestritten — shortfall Defizit — stringent “"strIndZ´nt‘ streng — to take effect in Kraft treten 6 – 8 to acknowledge “´k"nÅlIdZ‘ einräumen — to reverse course e-e Kehrtwende vollziehen — to replenish “rI"plenIS‘ auffüllen — to put on standby in Bereitschaft versetzen — business model Geschäftsmodell — labor market Arbeitsmarkt — | Photo: Pixabay military drivers on standby to drive fuel trucks, a move he hasn’t yet taken.) 7 “You have business models based on your ability to hire workers from other countries,” said David Henig, an expert on trade policy for the European Center for International Political Economy, a research institute. “You’ve suddenly reduced your labor market down to an eighth of the size it previously was. There’s a Brexit effect on business models that simply haven’t had time to adjust.” 8 Johnson has warned that the supply disruptions could last until Christmas, though Tuesday the most acute problems at gas stations began to ease. The government is hoping that normal purchasing patterns will resume now that nervous buyers have filled up their tanks. 9 This is not the first trade disruption to hit Britain since it left the single market in 2020. British shellfish producers have lost entire markets in the EU because of new health regulations. British consumers have been jolted by hefty customs duties on shipments of gourmet coffee from Italy. But it is the first disruption to occur since life returned to a semblance of normalcy after 18 months of pandemic-forced restrictions. Schools are open; workers are commuting to offices; sports stadiums are packed on weekends. In that sense, it is the first post-Brexit crisis that has not been masked by the effects of the coronavirus. 10 It is also geographically selective. Gas stations in Northern Ireland, which has an open border Continued on page 12 supply disruptions Versorgungsengpässe — to ease s. entspannen — purchasing patterns “"p‰… tS´sIN‘ Kaufgewohnheiten — to resume “rI"zju…m‘ wieder einsetzen 9 – 10 single market Binnenmarkt — shellfish Schalentiere — health regulations Gesundheitsvorschriften — to jolt “dZ´Ult‘ erschüttern — hefty saftig — customs duties Zölle — shipment Lieferung — semblance “"sembl´ns‘ Anschein — to commute pendeln —
