LIVES ARE ON THE LINE

1 They're a special breed of highly trained men and women who put their lives on the line to save others in situations so volitile they could break the toughest soul.

2 They're called hostage negotiators and in movies such as The Negotiator and John Q they're depicted as heroes as they do their utmost to talk hostage-takers off the proverbial ledge.

3 Hollywood often gets it surprisingly right, says James Lawrence, who's been a crisis and hostage negotiator in South Africa for 13 years. ʽWhat you see in movies – that's what we do,ʽ Lawrence says, ʽBut sometimes it's 100 times worse.’

4 SA has 365 trained hostage negotiators – full-time members of the police force who are on standby 24 hours a day.

5 Negotiators save lives by the way they communicate with the person holding the weapon. They have just one motto: ʽWe serve through listening.’

6 When they arrive at the scene they're unarmed and without the protection of a bulletproof vest, so the distressed person can relate better to them. The weapons they employ conclude listening skills, courage and patience.

7 Applicants undergo psychometric tests and must be able to really work under pressure, be emotionally stable and show exceptional character.

8 ʽWe're like a submarine,ʽ says Joy Ncebe, who has been a negotiator for six years. ʽPeople don't know about us but we're there when they need us.’

[Source: www.you.co.za]

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

5.1 Correct the spelling error in paragraph 1. (1)

5.2 Explain what the proverbial ledge is that is spoken about in paragraph 2. (1)

5.3 Give the function of the apostrophe in who’s (paragraph 3). (1)

5.4 The word full-time (paragraph 4) is an example of a … (1) Choose the correct option: A contracted-word. B conjunction. C compound adjective. D correlation. (1)

5.5 Correct the malapropism in paragraph 6. (1)

5.6 Identify and correct the split infinitive in paragraph 7. (1) 5.7 Supply the antonym of exceptional in paragraph 7. (1)

5.8 Write down the meaning of the prefix in submarine. (1)

5.9 People don’t know about us, but we’re there when they need us. Rewrite the above sentence in reported speech starting with: Joy Ncebe said that … (2)

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