A one-way ticketFed up with political and economic restrictions, Iranian expat workers are among the least likely in the world to return home.Not every country benefits when workers go abroad in search of jobs. Each year approximately 200,000 Iranians, many of them highly educated, leave the country for the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. The International Monetary Fund ranks Iran as having the highest rate of brain drain in the world. The reasons aren't difficult to pinpoint: unemployment hovers around 20 percent and the inflation rate is roughly 15 percent. Government restrictions on investment severely limit business opportunities. In Teheran, university teachers and students frequently moonlight as cab drivers to make ends meet.For young university graduates, many of whom have been exposed to Western culture through satellite television and the Internet, social restrictions in the Islamic Republic are the last straw. "The biggest reason for the brain drain is the lack of democracy in Iran," says Hamid Reza Jalaipour, a sociologist at Tehran University. " Young people feel their personal rights are threatened so they say good riddance to the hard-line clerics and decide to leave."

For the same reasons, very few return. Rana Ghahremanpour, 27, left Iran to pursue graduate studies in electrical engineering in the United States four years ago. At first she considered going back to Iran. " I used to think about it a lot," she says. "But with the present situation I don't want to go back. I know many [Iranians] who have sunk into life in the U.S.

In fact, so many university students have decided to leave in recent years that internal networks have sprung up to help them. Nariman Fernardin,47,is the dean of the engineering school at the University of Maryland. Farvadin, who left Iran at the height of the revolution in 1979, also acts as a facilitator: top graduates from Iran e-mail him resumes and he helps them navigate the maze of academic bureaucracy, search for financial aid and, occasionally, get in touch with colleagues. "The majority end up staying" says Farvadin. "Very few go back."

The loss of this talent pool is undoubtedly a set back for Iran. But in the short term, it could be worse if they stayed. Frustrated by lack of opportunity, these highly educated citizens could well contribute to an effective civil opposition. "If these 200.000 or so people weren't allowed to leave, Iran would explode," says economist Sayeed Leylaz. "The economy can't absorb them. And there would be more political and social problems.“Farz Nikoukar is one of those looking for a way out. After graduating with top marks from a Tehran University with an M.B.A. last year, Nikoukar, 28, sent out 50 resumes to Iranians firms. He landed only three interviews, so chose the next best option: hire a lawyer to help him press his case at the Canadian Embassy. He has his sights set on Montreal. "Even if you can find a Job [in Iran], It's difficult to have a good life," he says. Until that changes, Iran's intellectual outflow will produce few returns.

What is the communicative function of the text?

• Expositive-argumentative implicit • Narrative ( )• Comparison and contrast ( )• None of the above.

What are the main linguistic signals or discourse markers?

The linguistic signals employed in an expositive text are: the use of people’s testimonies, quotation marks, citing institutions, authorities, arguments from different people expressed in the text, graphs, tables, charts, measures and so forth. And for argumentative implicit are: It is important…; It is fundamental…; It is well known…;It is simple…;The problem is…; the advantage, the drawback…; It could be dangerous…; Unfortunately…, Actually…

What is the problem given by the author in the text? Use your own words to talk about it.

What is the solution given by the author in the text? Use your own words to talk about it.

A: The problem given by the author is the brain drain in Iran caused by social and political problems and restrictions to have own businesses and a good quality of life.

A:The author did not give solutions to the problem. I think the solution could be a regime change from an authoritarian country to a democratic one.

What is the purpose of the text?

__a. To describe how Iranians are fighting against corruption.__b. To make clear the main function of a student from Iran.__c. To explain the reasons why some workers do not go back to USA.__d. To make the reader aware about the problem of unemployment.__e. None of the above. If you choose this option, write the right answer:

To show the reasons of the Iranian workers wherever they go abroad for finding jobs and good lives.

Do you agree or disagree with the author?

I agree with the author because in Iran the regime limits the opportunities of its people and prefers letting its youth people leave the country to risk its power and control.

Referent Line# It refers to Anaphoric or Cataphoric

Grammatical category

Many of them 4 Iranians ANA Indefinite pronoum (countable and plural) and Indefinite pronoun in 3rd person and plural

Many of who 31 Young university graduates

ANA Indefinite pronoun (countable and plural) and Indefinite pronoun

Who 44 Iranians in USA ANA Relative pronounThat 48 Internal Networks CATA Demonstrative

adjective

Who 53 Nareman Farvadin ANA Relative pronoun

Them 57 Educated citizens ANA Object pronounOne of those 78 Farz Nicoukar ANA Indefinite Pronoun

And Demonstrative Pronoun

•Cohesive Section: Complete the following chart:

-Ing form Line #

Meaning Function

Having 9 Tener PPCEngineering 37 Ingeniería Noun

Engineering 51 Ingeniería Adjective

Graduating 80 Graduarse After preposition

•Gerund Forms: complete the following chart in terms of the context in which they appear.

Verb tense Line # Function Meaning Have been exposed 22 Passive Voice: present

perfect progressive + Past participle

Han estado expuestos

Are threatened 32 Passive Voice: To be (3rd person in plural and present tense) + Past participle.

Están amenazados

Don’t want to go back 42-43 Auxiliary Do in present + negation + certain verb + infinitive phrase verb IMPERATIVE

No deseo regresar/ no quiero volver.

Have decided to leave 47 Present perfect + infinitive verb

Han decidido dejar/ han decidido permitir

Could be 64 Passive voice: modal verb + be

Podría ser

•Write the function in regard to the following verb tenses:

What is the author’s purpose?

Take a sentence from the text context expressing cause/effect or comparison/contrast relationships.Cause/ effect:

The author’s purpose is to show the reasons of the Iranian brain drain, exposing measures, people’s testimonies, and arguments from different people.

Young people feel their personal rights are threatened so they say good riddance to the hard-line clerics and decide to leave.