Warm up
You work for a large, multinational company, and have just gained a very big promotion to Chief Financial Officer. You are over the moon, because this means you can now afford to buy a dream house for your family in a nice area, and send your children to an expensive school. However, on the first day of the job, you begin to realise that the company’s accounts are not as they should be. On further investigation, you realise the company has been making a loss for the last four years and has run up a huge debt, while lying to the shareholders in order to keep the share price high. What would
you do? Have a brief discussion.
Ex 1A
Wikileaks was created in 2006, and is an organisation which aims to publish leaked information from governments and whistleblowers (people who make damaging or sensitive information public from inside organisations). It was founded by a group of people from different countries, and its director is Julian Assange. It has caused huge scandals with the amount of secret information it has made public.
leak something (to somebody) (V) to give secret information to the public, for example by telling a newspaper. Disclose. E.g. The contents of the report were leaked to the press.a leaked document.
leak (N) a deliberate act of giving secret information to the newspapers, etc. E.g. a leak to the press about the government plans on tax. There will be an inquiry into the alleged security leaks.
Ex 1B
KEY
1 Information which was previously kept secret by organisations or governments.
2 Anybody can send the information anonymously.
3 It is increasingly hard for them to keep information secret.
Vocabulary
scoop: a piece of important or exciting news that is printed in one newspaper before other newspapers know about it. E.g. reporters at the city’s three tabloid papers usually compete for scoops.
come by something to manage to get something. E.g. Jobs are hard to come by these days.
the chances are (that)… (informal) it is likely that… E.g. The chances are you won't have to pay.
injunction: /ɪnˈdʒʌŋkʃn/ 1. an official order given by a court which demands that something must or must not be done. Sp. requerimiento. E.g. to seek/ obtain an injunction. Injunction against somebody The court granted an injunction against the defendants. 2. a warning or an order from somebody in authority.
take out: to obtain an official document or service. E.g. to take out an insurance policy /a mortgage/ a loan. To take out an ad in a newspaper. To take out an injunction.
whistle-blower: (used especially in newspapers) a person who informs people in authority or the public that the company they work for is doing something wrong or illegal.
steady: constant
drip-feed somebody/something to give somebody something in separate small amounts. E.g.
their correspondence is being drip-fed to newspapers.
drip feed (N) E.g. the steady drip feed of leaked documents in the papers.
strike fear, etc. into somebody/somebody's heart (formal) to make somebody be afraid, etc.
high-profile receiving or involving a lot of attention and discussion on television, in newspapers, etc. E.g. a high-profile campaign.
laud somebody/something (formal) /lɔːd/ to praise somebody/ something. E.g. He was lauded for his courage.
pose something /pəʊz/ to create a threat, problem, etc. that has to be dealt with. E.g. to pose a threat/ challenge/ danger/ risk. The task poses no special problems.
mainstream: (N) the ideas, attitudes, or activities that are shared by most people and regarded as normal or conventional. E.g. His radical views place him outside the mainstream of American politics. He was never part of the literary mainstream as a writer.
mainstream: (adj) belonging to or characteristic of the mainstream. E.g. mainstream pop music.
cryptography: /krɪpˈtɒɡrəfi/ the art of writing or solving codes.
bounce: if something bounces or you bounce it, it moves quickly away from a surface it has just hit or you make it do this. E.g. The ball bounced twice before he could reach it. Short sound waves bounce off even small objects. The light bounced off the river and dazzled her. She bounced the ball against the wall.
unpick: carefully analyse the different elements of (something), especially in order to find faults: E.g. Elisabeth did not want to unpick the past.
(the) truth will out (saying) used to say that people will find out the true facts about a situation even if you try to keep them secret. E.g. one way or another, the truth will out.
Ex 2
KEY
1 investigative journalism
2 scoop
3 injunction
4 whistle-blowing
5 sensitive
6 source
7 leak
8 truth, out
Ex 3A
KEY
1 e)
2 b)
3 d)
4 f )
5 c)
6 a)
Ex 3B
KEY
1 reason
2 sure,
evidence
3 point
4 put
5 account
6 find
7 make
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