ɎȿȾȿɊȺɅɖɇɈȿ ȺȽȿɇɌɋɌȼɈ ɉɈ ɈȻɊȺɁɈȼȺɇɂɘ ȽɈɋɍȾȺɊɋɌȼȿɇɇɈȿ ɈȻɊȺɁɈȼȺɌȿɅɖɇɈȿ ɍɑɊȿɀȾȿɇɂȿ ȼɕɋɒȿȽɈ ɉɊɈɎȿɋɋɂɈɇȺɅɖɇɈȽɈ ɈȻɊȺɁɈȼȺɇɂə «ȼɈɊɈɇȿɀɋɄɂɃ ȽɈɋɍȾȺɊɋɌȼȿɇɇɕɃ ɍɇɂȼȿɊɋɂɌȿɌ»
The World around Us ɍɱɟɛɧɨ-ɦɟɬɨɞɢɱɟɫɤɨɟ ɩɨɫɨɛɢɟ ɞɥɹ ɜɭɡɨɜ ɋɨɫɬɚɜɢɬɟɥɶ ɇ.Ⱥ. Ʌɸɛɢɧɫɤɚɹ
ɂɡɞɚɬɟɥɶɫɤɨ-ɩɨɥɢɝɪɚɮɢɱɟɫɤɢɣ ɰɟɧɬɪ ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠɫɤɨɝɨ ɝɨɫɭɞɚɪɫɬɜɟɧɧɨɝɨ ɭɧɢɜɟɪɫɢɬɟɬɚ 2007 1
ɍɬɜɟɪɠɞɟɧɨ ɧɚɭɱɧɨ-ɦɟɬɨɞɢɱɟɫɤɢɦ ɫɨɜɟɬɨɦ ɮɚɤɭɥɶɬɟɬɚ ɪɨɦɚɧɨ-ɝɟɪɦɚɧɫɤɨɣ ɮɢɥɨɥɨɝɢɢ 10 ɨɤɬɹɛɪɹ 2007 ɝ., ɩɪɨɬɨɤɨɥ ʋ 8
ɍɱɟɛɧɨ-ɦɟɬɨɞɢɱɟɫɤɨɟ ɩɨɫɨɛɢɟ ɩɨɞɝɨɬɨɜɥɟɧɨ ɧɚ ɤɚɮɟɞɪɟ ɚɧɝɥɢɣɫɤɨɝɨ ɹɡɵɤɚ ɝɭɦɚɧɢɬɚɪɧɵɯ ɮɚɤɭɥɶɬɟɬɨɜ ɮɚɤɭɥɶɬɟɬɚ ɊȽɎ ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠɫɤɨɝɨ ɝɨɫɭɞɚɪɫɬɜɟɧɧɨɝɨ ɭɧɢɜɟɪɫɢɬɟɬɚ Ɋɟɤɨɦɟɧɞɭɟɬɫɹ ɞɥɹ ɫɬɭɞɟɧɬɨɜ 5 ɤɭɪɫɚ ɷɤɨɧɨɦɢɱɟɫɤɨɝɨ ɮɚɤɭɥɶɬɟɬɚ.
Ⱦɥɹ ɫɩɟɰɢɚɥɶɧɨɫɬɟɣ: 080500 – Ɇɟɧɟɞɠɦɟɧɬ, 080105 – Ɏɢɧɚɧɫɵ ɢ ɤɪɟɞɢɬ
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ɋɨɞɟɪɠɚɧɢɟ Unit 1. The Truth about Testing........................................................................... 4 Unit 2. MBA Schools ........................................................................................... 7 Unit 3. New Hiring Policy.................................................................................. 10 Unit 4. Bitter Times for a Sweet Town .............................................................. 14 Unit 5. Hard Luck Story..................................................................................... 17 Unit 6. Time to Trade ......................................................................................... 20 Unit 7. Russia’s Need to Belong ........................................................................ 23 Unit 8. France’s Illegal Immigrants ................................................................... 26 Unit 9. Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friends ....................................................... 29
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Unit 1. The Truth about Testing Lead in Exams are formal tests of somebody’s knowledge and abilities in a particular subject. 1. Do you think exams are a perfect way of checking students’ competency? 2. Are you always at your best at exams? 3. Why do people often fail to show themselves to the best advantage during exams? Take out your pencils… Responding to our Sept. 6 cover story on testing, many readers deplored the emphasis schools place on standardized exams like the SAT. “Our world needs more creative, curious and engaged thinkers, not more people who are good at taking tests”, wrote one. “The test can never measure character traits such as determination and a passion for learning”, warned another. Still, one correspondent argued that “social mobility is greater with testing than without it.” One letter took that thought a step further, suggesting that if U.S. leadership is based on meritocracy, “rather than hounding presidential candidates about past drug use, we should require them to reveal their SAT scores.” Compliments for showing how dangerous these new standardized tests are. As a former English teacher who quit rather than “teach for the tests,” I applaud students who refuse to take these exams. Education officials need to find an alternative fast, before our kids grow up with no idea how to think without a No. 2 pencil and a multiple-choice bubble sheet. Jennifer A. Ellis Twice in my more than 30-year teaching career, I’ve seen the educational pendulum swing toward testing. Sure, we can and will adapt so that all of our kids will be “above average.” But a test-driven curriculum saddens me because that’s all it is. The challenge for teachers of the 21st century is to provide mastery of those necessary test-taking skills without losing sight of our deeper mission. To me, the real work of teaching is to help youngsters discover their strengths, to demonstrate the value of cooperation and to model empathy, imagination and tolerance. After parenting, teaching is the most important thing we can do for the well-being of everyone on this planet. Judith M.Halley Peter Jennings never finished high school. Eugene O’Neill and John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature without finishing college. Bill Gates never finished college either. All you need to “succeed” is discipline, drive, de-
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termination and a dream. And I don’t know any school that teaches those things, or any test that can discern or assess them. William J.O’Malley, S.J. I am deeply troubled by society’s attention to the standardized tests used by high school. High SAT scores prove just two things: math ability and good vocabulary skills. Period. No one has invented a standardized test to assess the qualities that really determine a prospective student’s ability to do well in college: willpower, self-control and self-motivation. Will my son or daughter walk away from a party at 1 a.m., knowing he or she has an 8 a.m. class? Will they put down the beer and pick up the books, with no adult around to tell them to do it? Can an SAT score determine the values that are more important to a student’s success in school than any knowledge or skill you can measure? Beverly J.Lynch (Newsweek. 2003. 27 September) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a-j) 1. deplore a. subjects included in a course of studies 2. meritocracy b. pursue constantly in order to discover or reach 3. hound c. a weight hung from a fixed point so that it can swing freely 4. quit d. disapprove of something, condemn with sadness 5. pendulum e. be given a label 6. curriculum f. detect, find out 7. empathy g. leave a job 8. discern h. a full stop, showing that no discussion is necessary 9. be tagged i. the ability to share other people’s feelings 10. period j. a system giving preference to students with high test-scores II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Read the article again and answer the questions What is the subject of the discussion? What is the structure of the text? Comment on the views of correspondents. What is the real mission of education? What is your attitude to SSE?
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B. Language Practice Complete the following table with missing words Verb
Noun
Adjective
Adverb
………………. require assess ………………. ………………. measure ………………. ………………. ……………… ……………… argue drive ………………
determination ………………
………………. ……………….
……………… ……………….
value ……………….. ……………….. ………………... ……………….. ………………. emphasis ………………. ………………. success
………………. sad ………………. multiple curious ……………… ………………. ……………… ……………… ……………….
………………. ………………. ……………… ……………… ………………. deeply ……………… ……………… ……………… ………………
C. Making a Summary Make a short summary of the discussion based on the following plan: 1. Stating the subject. 2. What do the readers say? 3. Your own views on this subject. D. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Follow-up What is your opinion about SSE in Russia? What are their pros and cons? Did corruption in universities decrease with the introduction of SSE? Should all countries follow European and American standards in education, medical care and economics?
E. Writing Write a letter to the Editor (6–9 sentences) expressing your views about SSE. You can use the following ideas: – to place the emphasis on SSE; – to bring up creative, curious and engaged thinkers; – to teach just for tests; – to model empathy, imagination and tolerance; – to measure determination and prospective ability to do well. The following expressions will help to link your sentences: – on the whole; 6
– on the one hand, on the other hand; – in particular; – It’s considered; – This is partly right, but… – It can be argued that…
Unit 2. MBA Schools Lead in 1. What does the abbreviation MBA mean? 2. When did you enter the Economic Faculty? 3. Was there a competition? 4. How did the enrollment * change during the last several years? MBA Schools Face Harder Times After two decades of growing student enrollments and economic prosperity, business schools in the United States have started to face harder times. Only Harvard’s MBA School has shown a substantial increase in enrollment in recent years. Both Princeton and Stanford have seen decreases in their enrollments. Since 1990, the number of people receiving Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degrees, has dropped about 3 percent to 75.000, and the trend of lower enrollment rates is expected to continue. There are two factors causing this decrease in students seeking an MBA degree. The first one is that many graduates of four-year colleges are finding that an MBA degree does not guarantee a plush job on Wall Street, or in other financial districts of major American cities. Many of the entry-level management jobs are going to students graduating with Master of Arts degrees in English and the humanities as well as those holding MBA degrees. Students have asked the question: “Is an MBA degree really what I need to be best prepared for getting a good job?’ The second major factor has been the cutting of American payrolls * and the lower number of entry-level jobs being offered. Business needs are changing and MBA schools are struggling to meet the new demands. (An Economist. 2004. 3 April)
* *
Enrollment – the number of students admitted for the first year of a college or a University. Payroll – a list of employees and amount of money to be paid to each of them. 7
A. Comprehension Multiple choice questions 1.
What is the main focus of this passage? (A) jobs on Wall Street (B) types of graduate degree (C) changes in enrollment for MBA schools (D) how schools are changing to reflect the economy
2.
Which of the following business schools has not shown a decrease in enrollment? (A) Princeton (B) Harvard (C) Stanford (D) Yale
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Which of the following description most likely applies to Wall Street? (A) a center for international affairs (B) a major financial center (C) a shopping district (D) a neighborhood in New York
4.
The phrase “two decades’ in line 1 refers to a period of (A) 10 years (B) 20 years (C) 50 years (D) 100 years
5.
According to the passage, what are two causes of declining business school enrollments? (A) lack of necessity for an MBA and an economic recession (B) low salary and foreign competition (C) fewer MBA schools and fewer entry-level jobs (D) declining population and economic prosperity
B. Language Practice I. The text tells us about a decline in the number of MBA applicants. Here is the list of verbs which we use when we speak about things going up and down (like prices, profits, enrollments). Make two lists showing “up” and “down” directions: Rise, increase, cut, raise, weaken, soar, collapse, fall, gain, improve, reduce, expand, decline, develop, advance, strengthen, drop, decrease, rocket, contract 8
II.
How do you translate the following groups of two or three nouns: Student enrollment A lower enrollment rate Four-year colleges An entry-level-management job An MBA graduate program White collar executive Blue collar worker Top management A human resource specialist III. Word-Formation 1. Study the following list of words connected with the word “real”: Reality, really, realign, realization, unrealistic, realist, surrealist, realize, realistically. Place them into appropriate columns. Verb Noun Adjective Adverb 2. Work in pairs and prepare such lists for the words below. Compare your answers with the rest of the class. Place the words into the right columns. legal roll appear graduate C. Making a Summary Make a plan of your summary. 1. The main idea of the text. 2. What will be the second point? Identify the main idea. Think how you could possibly change this passage to make your information clear and exhaustive. Which sentences could you omit? Read the second passage. Identify the main idea. Summarize the text in 5–6 simple sentences. D. Follow-up 1. What are the most needed professions in your country at present time? 2. What are major trends for future economics student enrollments? Will they continue to grow? 3. What are your forecasts on this subject? 4. Do you think all people should have higher education? You can use the following words and expressions: – A slow down – A continuous rise – A birth rate – The population decrease – The introduction of SSE 9
– The general tendency obviously will be a growing competition – A decline E. Writing Write a mini-composition describing the current situation with students enrollments in Russia and giving reasons for their decline.
Unit 3. New Hiring Policy Lead in University or College graduates look for jobs. They send their resumes to different firms and sometimes they are invited for interviews. Fit for Hiring? It’s Mind Over Matter New York – Members of America’s professional and managerial classes have always left college confident of at least one thing: they had taken their last test. From here on, they could rely on charm, cunning * and / or a record of accomplishment to propel them up the corporate ladder. But that’s not necessarily true any longer. A growing number of companies, from General Motors Corp to American Express Co., are no longer satisfied with traditional job interviews. Instead, they are requiring applicants for many white-collar jobs – from top executives down – to submit to a series of paper-and-pencil tests, role-playing exercises, simulated decision-making exercises and brainteasers * . Others put candidates through a long series of interviews by psychologists or trained interviewers. The tests are not about mathematics or grammar, nor about any of the basic technical skills for which many production, sales and clerical workers have long been tested. Rather, employers want to evaluate candidates on intangible* qualities: Is she creative and entrepreneurial? Can he lead and coach? Is he flexible and capable of learning? Does she have passion and a sense of urgency? How will he function under pressure? Most important, will the potential recruit fit the corporate culture? These tests, which can take from an hour to two days, are all part of a broader trend. “Companies are getting much more careful about hiring,” said Paul R. Ray Jr., chairman of the Association of Executive Search Consultants. Ten years ago, candidates could win a top job with the right look and the right answers to questions such as “Why do you want this job? Now, many are having to face questions and exercises intended to learn how they get things done.
*
Cunning: the ability to deceive people. A brainteaser: a problem which is fun to solve. * Intangible: s.th. that cannot be felt or described. 10 *
They may, for example, have to describe in great detail not one career accomplishment but many – so that patterns of behavior emerge. They may face questions such as “Who is the best manager you ever worked for and why?” or “What is your best friend like?” The answers, psychologists say, reveal much about a candidate’s management style and about himself or herself. The reason for the interrogations is clear: many hires * work out badly. About 35 percent of recently hired senior executives are judged failures, according to the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, which surveyed nearly 500 chief executives. The cost of brining the wrong person on board is sometimes huge. Searching and training can cost from $5000 for a lower-level manager to $250,000 for a top executive. Years of corporate downsizing, a trend that has slashed * layers of management, has also increased the potential damage that one bad executive can do. With the pace of change accelerating in markets and technology, companies want to know how an executive will perform, not just how he or she has performed. “Years ago, employers looked for experience – has a candidate done this before?” said Harold P. Weinstein, executive vice-president of Caliper, a personnel testing and consulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. “But having experience in a job does not guarantee that you can do it in a different environment.” At this point most companies have not shifted to this practice. Some do not see the need or remain unconvinced that such testing is worth the cost. But human-resource specialists say anecdotal * evidence suggests that white-collar testing is growing in popularity. What has brought so many employers around * to testing is a sense of the limitations in the usual job interview. With so little information on which to base a decision, “most people hire people they like, rather than the most competent person,” said Orv Owens, a psychologist in Snohomish, Washington, who sized up executive candidates. Research has shown, he said, that “most decision makers make their hiring decisions in the first five minutes of an interview and spend the rest of the time rationalizing their choice.” Besides, with advice on how to land a better job about as common as a ten-dollar bill, many people are learning to play the interview game. Even companies that have not started extensive testing have toughened their hiring practices. Many now do background checks, for example, looking for signs of drug use, violence or sexual harassment. But the more comprehensive testing aims to measure skills in communications, analysis and organiza-
*
A hire (US); a recruit (GB): someone who starts to work for a company. To slash: to cut. * Anecdotal: based on personal experience * To bring around: to persuade s.b. to agree with s.th. 11 *
tion, attention to detail and management style; personality traits * and motivations that behavioral scientists say predict performance. (New York Times. 2004. 3 November) A. I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Comprehension Match the following words (1–5) with definitions (a–e) simulated a. ome out of place or water to become visible propel b. a problem requiring an immediate solution emerge c. Move, drive or push smb forward accomplishment d. Smth artificial modeled but looking like a real thing urgency e. A social skill that can be learnt or achieved
II.
Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). 1. Traditionally, candidates for executive positions have been evaluated on their technical skills. 2. The principal aim of testing is to find out how candidates have performed in the past. 3. Candidates are now better prepared for interviews than they were in the past. 4. Most interviewers select candidates for their professional abilities. 5. At present time all companies have shifted to new methods of testing. 6. Modern employers are not interested in candidates’ backgrounds. 7. Today, choosing the wrong person for a position can have more serious consequences than 10 years ago. B. Language Practice I. Word-formation Place the following words into appropriate columns in the Table. Managerial, charm, accomplishment, corporate, applicant, tease, psychological, creativity, flexibility, capable, urgency, reveal, hiring, toughen, aim Verb Noun Adjective Adverb II. Compound nouns Compound nouns can be formed by combining two nouns. Match a noun from (1–8) to a noun from (a–h) to form a compound nouns. 1. risk a. earner 2. computer b. winner 3. problem c. breaker *
A trait: a quality in someone’s character. 12
4. 5. 6. 7. 8 III.
award d. shooter wage e. programmer wine f. solver law g. importer trouble h. taker These words are different parts of speech and they are pronounced differently. Explain the difference and continue the list. survey survey contact contact increase increase present present
C. Making a Summary How will you start? The most typical beginnings are “This text tells us about…” or if it is more formal “The subject (the focus) of the text is…” You can start with the paragraph taken from the middle or the end of the text, for example: “Ten years ago, candidates could win a top job with the right look… Cut the text into logical parts. These parts can consist of one or several paragraphs, arranged in a suitable order. You should always try to stick to the plan. Here is the plan but the items have been mixed up. Arrange them in the appropriate order: 1. The cost of choosing the wrong candidate. 2. New methods of testing. 3. What were the things like ten years ago? 4. “Intangible qualities”. Summarize the text in 12–14 simple sentences. You task is: 1. to convey the main idea; 2. to prove your statements with appropriate information; 3. to use new vocabulary. D. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Follow-up What do you think about new hiring policies? Are they really more efficient? Have you sent your Resumes to any companies? Have you ever been invited to interviews? What useful recommendations does the text give potential employees? How do you understand the title? Do you agree that decisions in employment really are “mind over matter”?
E. Writing Write your Resume to one of multinational companies working in your city. 13
Unit 4. Bitter Times for a Sweet Town Lead in I. Brands often have the same name as their manufacturers, e.g. Coca Cola, IBM, Rolex. Can you think of some more examples? II. Can you match these famous brands with their makers? Cinzano Marlboro Smarties Walkman N5 Nescafé 501 Big Mac
III.
Nestlé Rowntree McDonalds Levi Strauss Sony Grand Metropolitan Chanel Philip Morris
What does the title suggest? What do you expect to find out about Hershey business?
Bitter Times for a Sweet Town Hershey, Pennsylvania Fear and loathing in America’s chocolate town Milton Hershey must be turning in his grave. The company he built into America’s biggest chocolate maker, with such gooey offerings as Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, is trying to put itself up for sale. Ironically, it is the Hershey Trust, to which Milton handed his 77% voting stake in Hershey Foods in 1918 after the death of his wife, Kitty, that now seems determined to deliver his life’s work into the hands of a competitors – perhaps even a foreign one. The trust, though, is not really to blame. Its job is to finance a school for disadvantages students set up by the childless Milton and Kitty, both devout Mennonites, and to safeguard an endowment that, at $5–4 billion, is now one of the richest educational institutions in America. Granted, that is a lot of money and explains why the students – who had to milk cows by hand until 1989 – have a full-sized football stadium, marbled halls and chauffeurs to ferry them to class. But the trust wants to expand the number of students from 1,200 to 1,500, and it has a clear fiduciary duty to diversify its portfolio. The stake in Hershey is its only investment. The trouble is that Hershey is not a normal company. Hershey the business and Hershey the town (in Pennsylvania) are intricately intertwined. The self-styled “sweetest place on earth” features streets such as Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue, and street lights shaped like the firm’s Kisses. Milton Hershey designed everything in the town, from its parks to the sewerage systems to 14
improve his workers’ lives. Today, Hershey employs half the town’s 12,000 residents. Many managers, including a former chief executive, are graduates of the trust’s school. Hence the community’s outrage at a possible change of ownership, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Mike Fisher, is capitalizing on local ire and taking the trust to court. Monty Stover, a 102-year-old former executive who knew Milton Hershey personally, is typical in his disdain for the planned sale: “Mr. Hershey would never have considered this proposition. He would have said: “Gentlemen, you are wasting your time and mine. Goodbye.” This means that Hershey will be tricky to integrate for any of its suitors, believed to include Nestlé, Philip Morris’s Kraft subsidiary and CadburySchweppes. Kraft may have the edge, not only in being American, but also because Hershey’s current boss Rick Lenny, used to be a senior executive at Nabisco, which Kraft swallowed in 2000. But then again, Nestlé already has a commercial relationship with Hershey, which distributes its KitKat bar in America. And the Swiss group has already weathered a similar “hostile” takeover in 1988, it bought Rowntree, a British confectionary maker with strong links to its home town of York. In the end, the resistance of the people of Hershey may not be enough to stop their company being snatched from under their noses. After all, if the taste of Hershey’s chocolate – which, legend has it, is made with sour milk – is enough to put off the bidders, what is? (The Economist. 2005. August) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words from (1–10) with their definitions (a–j). 1. devout a. anger, displeasure, annoyance 2. Mennonites b. the system of pipes which bring the human waste out 3. endowment c. a company which offers itself as a buyer 4. fiduciary d. devoted to a religion 5. intertwine e. a sum of money given to schools to provide an income 6. sewerage f. have an advantage over smth, smbd 7. ire g. be joined and twisted closely 8. suitor h. a religious sect known for simplicity of life and rejection of military service 9. have the edge i. to survive, to stand, to bear 10. weather j. Trustful, confident II. 1. 2.
Say whether the following statements are true or false. Hershey Trust donated 77% of its capital to Hershey Foods in 1918. The Trust does not have the right to diversify its portfolio. 15
3. Milton Hershey designed everything in the “sweetest place on earth” to improve his workers’ lives. 4. Hershey employs foreign workers because it pays them less than Americans. 5. Hershey will be an easy prey for all its suitors. 6. Philip Morris has fewer chances to acquire Hershey than NestléȱandȱCadȬ bury. 7. People’s resistance will evidently stop the deal. B. I. a. b. c. d. e.
Language Practice Explain in English the meaning of the following: disadvantaged students a voting stake a hostile takeover to diversify one’s portfolio will be tricky to integrate
II. Fill in with prepositions. 1. Hence the community outrage ____________ a possible change of ownership. 2. Politicians are capitalizing _______ local ire and taking the trust ___________ court. 3. The job of the trust is to finance a school for disadvantaged students set _________ __________ the childless Milton and Kitty. 4. The Trust wants to expand the number of students __________ 1,300 ________ 1,500. 5. The taste of Hershey chocolate which is, as Legend has it, made ________ sour milk is not enough to put _________ the bidders. III. Look at these sentences and answer the questions. 1. If I had sold my shares after six months, I would have made a lot of money. Does this sentence refer to the present or the past? Did the person sell the shares? 2. If I hadn’t taken so many risks, I wouldn’t have lost so much. Did the person take risks? Did the person lose money? 3. What would Milton Hershey have done at that situation? C. Making a Summary Make a summary consisting of 10–12 sentences based on the following plan: 1. State the subject 2. Historical background 3. The present situation 16
D. Follow up 1. Are takeovers, mergers and acquisitions rare things in business? 2. There are rumors that Moscow businessmen intend to buy lands and dying farms in the Voronezh Region? What are pros and cons of this possible intrusion? E. Writing Write 3 sentences about what Milton Hershey would have done or wouldn’t have done about his creation “Hershey Empire”.
Unit 5. Hard Luck Story Lead in 1. What other addictions besides gambling are there? 2. What addictions are closest to business? 3. How do companies make money on people’s weaknesses? Hard Luck Story Canadians like to think of themselves as prudent, level-headed people. Yet that self-image is a little out of date. In less than a decade the amount they lose in lotteries, casinos, slot machines and the like has quadrupled. The average Canadian now admits to spending C$424 ($270) per year gambling. Since most people lie to themselves about such matter, the true figure may be as much as C$1,000. Only a generation ago, charity bingos and church raffles were about as risky as things got. Now there are 60-odd casinos scattered across the country; many are in Indian reservations, where they are valued for jobs as well as revenue. Daily lotteries often pay out C$10m or more. Video-lottery machines, dubbed gambling’s crack-cocaine for their cheap, fleeting thrill, are particularly popular. Staff in corner shops now regularly ask customers whether they want a lotto (loto in French-speaking Canada) with their shopping. All of this is manna for Canada’s provincial governments, who are the monopoly owners of legal gambling outlets. These provided profits totaling C$6 billion in 2001. In Alberta, the richest province thanks to its oil and gas, gambling may soon overtake corporate income tax as a source of revenue. Perhaps that is why governments have seemed reluctant to consider gambling’s social impact. “They don’t ask the questions they don’t want to know the answers to,” says Jason Azmier of Canada West Foundation, a Calgary-based thinktank which recently concluded a three-year study of gambling. But some are starting to ask questions – or at least to look for others to blame for their own stupidity. Loto-Quebec, the agency that runs gaming in the province, is being sued for almost C$700m on behalf of an estimated 125,000 pathological gamblers. This class-action suit is led by Jean Brochu, a lawyer from Quebec city, who embezzled C$50,000 from his professional body to feed 17
into video-lottery terminals. It is backed by another government agency, the coroner’s office, which blames gambling for 71 suicides in the province between 1999 and 2001. More predictable, churches also rail against government’s embrace of gambling. They argue that Canadian Indians are the most hurt by the casinos on their reservations. Pathological gambling is ten times more common among Indian peoples than other Canadians. On and off the reserves, gambling brings child poverty, stress, marital breakdown and crime, say its critics. They include John Ralston Saul, a writer and the husband of Canada’s governorgeneral, who has denounced “the state funding the public good by corrupting the citizen”. But Canadians seem unmoved by these pleas to be protected from themselves. Canada West Foundation found that they placed gambling behind highway speeding in the hierarchy of social ills. Faced with a choice between more gambling or higher taxes, more than three times as many plump for the first. Mr. Azmier reckons Canada has up to 1m problem-gamblers, but they are invisible. “It doesn’t make you stumble. You don’t slur your speech. It can’t be smelled on your breath,’ he says. As a result, Canadians are unaware of the social cost of government’s profitable love affair with gambling. Even if some provinces have made gestures aimed at slowing the industry’s growth, the amount transferred each year from the pockets of citizens to government coffers is set to keep on climbing. (The Economist. 2005. September) A. I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Comprehension Find in the text words and expressions, matching the following definitions 1.become four times bigger spend illegally the money of the company a lottery, a draw a case in law court accusing the whole corporation a consequence, an effect on smbd or smth to protest against smth strongly and angrily (2 words) an official who investigates cases of sudden suspicious death by holding an inquest to start a legal case in court against smbd in order to get a claim or a compensation an urgent emotional request Answer the following questions. Who benefits from gambling in Canada? What part of the population does gambling mostly effect? What statistical data does the author bring? What do Canadians themselves think about this problem? Is the author optimistic about the solution of the problem and if not, why? 18
B. Language Practice I. Explain in English how you understand the following 1. cheap fleeting thrill 2. Manna for Canada’s provincial governments 3. a Calgary-based thinktank 4. hierarchy of social evils 5. government’s love affair with gambling 6. government coffers II. Here are the headings for the text paragraphs. There 7 for 8 passages. Which two passages can you combine? Place the headings in an appropriate order. 1. The most vulnerable people. 2. Some people pay too much for this entertainment. 3. In terms of profits gambling can be compared with oil and gas. 4. The moment of realization hasn’t come yet. 5. An invisible evil is harder to fight. 6. Traditional characteristics of Canadians. 7. The present situation. III. Read the following sentences and say whether the ing-form is 1) a noun, 2) a participle, 3) a verb, 4) an adjective 1. The average Canadian now admits to spending C$424 ($270) per year gambling. 2. Video-Lottery machines dubbed gambling’s crack – cocaine for their cheap, fleeting thrill. 3. Staff in corner shops now regularly ask customers whether they want a lotto with their shopping. 4. But some are starting to ask questions. 5. Loto-Quebec, the agency that runs gaming in the province is being sued for almost C$700m on behalf of 125,000 pathological gamblers. 6. John Ralston Saul, a writer has denounced “the state funding the public good by corrupting the citizen.” 7. Canada West Foundation found that Canadians placed gambling behind high way speeding in the hierarchy of social ills. C. Making a Summary Which paragraphs carry the most significant information? Which would you include in your summary? Which would you omit or shorten? Make a summary consisting of 10 – 12 sentences. D. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Follow-up What can you say about gambling in Russia? In Voronezh? Which part of the populations suffers most? Who is to blame? What can be done in order to eliminate this addiction? 19
E. Writing Think about the words you will need for a mini-composition “How to solve the problem of gambling in Russia.” Write 10 simple sentences based on the plan: 1. Introduction 2. The main part 3. Conclusion
Unit 6. Time to Trade Lead in 1. What is WTO? 2. Has Russia joined this organization? 3. What does membership of WTO give countries? 4. Why are many countries willing to enter? Time to Trade The European Union and America say Russia is a market economy. Yet membership of the World Trade Organization is still some way off It was a big psychological boost to those in Russia who want their country to be treated as a normal part of the world trade system, rather than as a peculiar post-communist place with special rules at home and abroad. Last week America announced that it now considers Russia to be nothing less than a market economy. Not long before, the European Union had taken a similar step, saying it would change Russia’s status by the end of the year. The moves end a period of foot dragging that was urged in part by protectionist forces in the West. On the whole, the endorsements are deserved. Russia’s may not be the very model of a modern market economy. It is governed by forces that might politely be described as unusual – including highly politicized subsidies for energy, transport and credit, a welter of organized crime and arbitrary bureaucratic interference. Still, the laws of supply and demand certainly matter a lot more than they once did. Some bits of the economy, such as a growing software industry, are world-class, although admittedly they are still small. The practical effect of the new status is limited, however. It may give Russia some protection against anti-dumping measures taken by rich countries. The real prize is membership of the World Trade Organization, the body that governs global trade. That would put Russia firmly inside a rules-based system, giving it at least some protection against other countries’ protection. At home, it would also be a useful rod to beat back a capricious but overweening bureaucracy. Another round of formal negotiations over accession to the WTO starts in Geneva next week. Russia has made a lot of progress in recent months, chiefly on passing laws that fit WTO standards, and in bilateral talks on particular issues, such as access for manufactured imports. How ever, the hardest part of the negotiations still lies ahead – in effect, most things involving the bureaucracy, 20
such as sanitary standards (notoriously prone to abuse by officials); the customs system (famously corrupt); and so on. That mirrors the reform process in Russia itself, where legislation has whizzed through parliament, but where anything involving real changes in the way bureaucrats work has been slow or even negligible. The other big looming snag is likely to be protection of intellectual property. After much huffing and puffing, the United States managed to get Ukraine, another WTO applicant, to close some of its most prominent factories producing pirated compact disks. The plants promptly moved to Russia, where the illegal copying industry has close links to the defence ministry. Counterfeiting of consumer goods remains a big headache, too. Dealing with the rich and powerful criminal gangs that run these businesses will be a formidable job, and also dangerous. So far, there is little sign that the Russian state is up to it. Even if a deal is struck on these and other issues some time next year, and Russia formally joins the World Trade Organisation in 2004, the real battles will only just be starting. Whatever promises are given during the negotiations about enforcement, the proof of Russia’s shift to a true market economy one based on rules, will be how far they are observed once the deal is done. (The Economist. 2002. June) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j) 1. boost a. showing excessive confidence and pride 2. endorsement b. move through the air very fast and with a whistling sound 3. welter c. support, an approval of smth or smbd 4. arbitrary d. an increase in smth, especially economics 5. rod e. using power without restriction and without considering others 6. overweening f. stick for hitting people 7. notoriously g. subject to accidents, diseases 8. prone to h. having bad fame 9. whiz i. an uncontrollable mixture of people 10. enforcement j. Making people obey laws by force II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Answer the following questions What period of time does the author refer to? Was Russia a real market economy 4 years ago? What changes have taken place during these years? What was Russia ruled by in 2002 according to the author? What were the main problems blocking Russia’s accession to WTO?
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B. I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Language Practice Say in English how you understand the following : a period of footdragging it was urged in part by protectionist forces in the West bilateral talks that mirrors the reform process the other big looming snag highly politicized subsidies for energy, transport and credit it would be a useful rod to beat back a capricious bureaucracy
Form adjectives from given nouns and verbs with endings – ful; – ous; ȱ–ȱ ive;ȱ–y;ȱ–ative beauty, fame, danger, progress, courage, instinct, forget, dirt, hate, smoky, delight, declare, rain, use, compare, humour. II.
C. Making a Summary Making a summary of the text “Time to Trade” we can start with the following: The subject of the text is Russia’s accession to WTO. The article was written in 2002 and at that time the European Union and America just started to recognize Russia as a market economy. At that time Russia, of course, was not a model of market economy. It was governed by organized crime and arbitrary bureaucratic interference. But there were some shifts to economics based on demand and supply and obvious successes in some industries, in particular, in a growing software industry. – How will you continue your summary? – Which ideas will you mention by all means? – Which paragraphs can you omit? D. Follow-up What is your opinion? 1. Does Russia need a WTO membership? 2. Is the author right in criticism of certain sides of our life? 3. Do you think the general tone of the article is biased? 4. In what way should Russian customs officials and defence ministry react to this criticism? E. Writing Write a list of obstacles blocking Russia’s accession to WTO 5 years ago (4 – 5 sentences).
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Unit 7. Russia’s Need to Belong Lead in The arrest of Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky had different comments in Russia and abroad. The official accusation was avoiding taxes and machinations with “dirty” money. The defence said that taxes had been paid and millions were donated to charities. What do you think about Khodorkovsky’s arrest? What does the word “politicized” mean in this context? Seal of Disapproval Internal affairs are making Russia less welcome in global clubs Russia, unlike Groucho Marx, will join any club that will have it as a member. Pulling his weight internationally has long mattered to President Vladimir Putin. He fought in vain to keep the Iraq war under the control of the UN Security Council, where Russia has a veto. He is pushing to get Russia into the World Trade Organization. He wants to join the OECD rich-country club. And by hosting the G8 summit in 2006, he hopes to put the seal on Russia’s membership of the most elite club of all. Responses to the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky of the Yukos oil firm do not augur well. “The Russian government is not behaving in a manner that qualifies it to belong in the club of industrialized democracies,” said John McCain, an Arizona senator. Richard Perle, an eminence grise of American defence, called for Russia to be kicked out the G8. Chris Patten, the European commissioner for external relations, said the case could slow Russia’s integration into the European economic area. Such comments nay not change much in Moscow. But the American presidential campaign is aligning groups in Washington that are unhappy with Mr. Putin. A small but influential crowd dislikes his anti-democratic tendencies and post-imperial habit of meddling with his neighbours. Human-rights activists fret over Chechnya; last month’s rigged election for the republic’s president has drawn more flak. The often heavy-handed treatment of non-Orthodox Christian minorities upsets the religious wing of the Republican Party. All of which means, says an American official, that “for the first time in twoand-a-half years, there is the potential for Russia policy to become politicized.” Negotiations over WTO membership, to which all existing members must agree, “will be more complicated”. And it is “almost inconceivable” that Congress will repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Soviet-era restriction on trade. The biggest obstacle to WTO membership, though, is the European Union, which gets 20% of its natural-gas supplies from Russia. There is a stalemate over the fivefold difference between Russia’s domestic and export prices for gas. The EU first demanded that Russia abolish the gap, then that it liberalise its gas market and break up the state monopoly, Russia condemns such demands as meddling in internal affairs. A recent EU-Russia summit concluded that Russia 23
might enter the WTO by the end of next year – an unrealistic goal, says Al Breach of Brunswick UBS Warburg, but also a sign that “it’s a deal ultimately about money…and they’re edging towards an agreement.” Yet patience with Russia may be wearing thin. The EU summit communiqué omitted any mention of human-rights abuses in Chechnya because, says one EU official, Mr. Putin insisted that it mention also the supposed abuse of ethnic Russians’ civil rights in Latvia. He also hinted at a trade-off between gas prices and the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, which Russia has not ratified. “The Russians are very good at linking two unrelated issues in a negotiation,” notes the official. Mr. Putin’s insistence at the summit that there was no political motive for Mr. Khodorkovsky’s arrest was implausible. It will not have helped other goals, such as visa-free EU entry for Russians. Not that there is much sympathy for Mr. Khodorkovsky, the richest of Russia’s early capitalists. But all big clubs will now look more critically at Mr. Putin’s membership aspirations. (The Economist. 2005. November) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j) 1. augur a. the situation with no way out 2. implausible b. to worry, become unhappy or anxious about smth 3. align c. withdraw a law officially 4. meddle d. shooting, fire 5. fret e. unlikely to be true, not convincing 6. rigged f. to interfere in smth, that is not one’s concern 7. flak g. to place or arrange things in a straight line 8. orthodox h. to be a sign of smth in future, to foretell 9. repeal i. following the order, more traditional religion 10. stalemate j. artificial, not true II. Here are the headings for the text paragraphs. They have been mixed up. Place them in the right order. You can combine several paragraphs according to the information they carry. 1. The attitude of elite Western clubs to Russian current policies. 2. The biggest obstacle for the accession. 3. Other weal points. 4. The president’s role in Russia’s movement towards the WTO. B. I. a) b) c) d)
Language Practice Say in English how you understand the following: “an eminence” grise (French) there is the potential for Russian policy to become politicized edge towards an agreement a trade off between gas process and the Kyoto Protocol 24
II. Verbs of “demand” The EU demanded that Russia liberalise its gas market. Mr. Putin insisted that EU summit mention the supposed abuse of ethnic Russians’ civil rights in Latvia. The simple verb is used for all persons in a noun clause after the following verbs: demand recommend be necessary insist urge be required require advise be essential suggest request be important Examples:
The manager required that all employees attend the meeting Both sides require that the contract be signed immediately
Say whether the sentences below are correct or not. 1. It was important that money was collected for the cause. 2. The law requires that students attends schools regularly. 3. The supervisor recommended that all employees took a course in speed reading. 4. They insisted that she not called before 8.00 a.m. 5. The police require that a driver renewed his license every three years. C. Making a Summary How will you introduce the text? Look at the title and subtitle. Very often they are quite suggestive. You could start like this: “The text tells us about the attitude of the most elite world clubs to Russia’s attempts to join the WTO.” Compare this text with the previous one. It is obvious that the attitude has changed from friendly and encouraging to critical and disapproving. Now follow the order of headings collected in A and finish the summary. D. Follow-up Answer the following questions: 1. Why is Chechnya a constant point of criticism? 2. Do you think the world democratic communities are right in saying that Russia meddles with its neighbours? Compare the article with the previous one. How did the general tone change? Do you accept the criticism or do you think it is undeserved?
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E. Writing In 8–9 sentences write about your views on Russia’s accession to the WTO. Your ideas should be based on the information and vocabulary of the previous two articles. Choose a suitable title for your composition.
Unit 8. France’s Illegal Immigrants Lead in People visiting different countries are sometimes surprised that they can rarely see native residents in such countries as, for example, Great Britain, France or Germany. The world is flooded by immigrants. What makes people leave their native places? A New Balance France’s new government is trying to create a “balanced” immigration policy How many illegal immigrants reside in France? Whatever the true figure– 2000,000 to 400,000, according to various estimates – they have been enough to discomfort a string of governments by demanding the right to stay. In 1991, for example, a group of unsuccessful Kurdish asylum-seekers embarrassed the Socialists with hunger strikes; in 1996 the centre-right government of Alain Juppé sent in riot police to dislodge 300 Africans, mostly from Mali, who had sought refuge in a Paris church. And now comes the turn of the centre-right government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin: thousands of illegals have greeted its return from holiday with a series of street demonstrations in Paris and other cities – and another is promised for September 28th. All of which could mean a nasty political headache not just for Mr. Raffarin but more particularly for his interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy: a hard line would alarm those many French citizens who take human rights seriously; a soft line would give ammunition to an extreme right whose presidential candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, last April got more votes than Lionel Jospin, the Socialists’ then prime minister. Hence, last-week, Mr. Sarkozy’s careful choice of words: “France needs immigrants, but France cannot and should not welcome all immigrants.” As the minister went on to argue, immigration is an issue all too often taken hostage both by the “fanatics of zero immigration, which is a nonsense given that France is built on its diversity and by liberal “extremists” whose call for automatic legalization would only breed xenophobia. In other words, France must have “a balanced policy, without pretence or hypocrisy.” No hypocrisy? For sure, France does need immigrants. Southern winemakers and fruit-growers, for instance, complain that they cannot get enough workers, despite jobless rates over 9% of the work-force, while United Nations statisticians say that France would need 1,7 m immigrants a year to maintain its demographic status quo. In accordance with European Union policy, however, the 26
country does its best to keep out non-EU migrants. Meanwhile, thousands are smuggled in from Africa, the Middle East and Asia to swell the ranks of the sanspapiers – those who have no identity papers to give them a right to residence. Once arrived, illegal immigrants are unlikely to leave. That holds true even of the minority who are arrested. In 2000, for example, some 43,739 foreigners were given their marching orders, but only 9,230 were expelled. In 1996, when the right was cracking down, some 28,000 foreigners with the wrong papers or no papers were arrested in Paris – but 22,000 were quickly released and only 1,700 left the country. So what will Mr. Sarkozy’s balanced policy amount to? Though there will surely be no blanket legalization of the kind advocated by Jack Lang, a former Socialist minister, to end “inhumane and absurd situations”, a great many of the sans-papiers will probably get their papers, and perhaps sooner rather than later. One reason is that Mr. Sarkozy, saying the authorities previously acted with “excessive administrative zeal”, is setting a new tone. The police chief of Paris, for example, now promises to look “case by case” at demands for legal status, and to do so with “pragmatism and humanity”. The second reason is that the rules have already proved flexible enough to allow for such pragmatism and humanity: of the 140,000 foreigners who sought to “regularize” their status when the left came to power in 1997, some 80,000 succeeded. Marriage to a French citizen; children born in France; severe ill-health; “personal or family links in France”; or simply residence, albeit illegal, in France for ten years or more: all these can give a sans-papier the right to reside. As long as the civil servant making the decision did not vote for the immigrants’ foe, Jean-Marie Le Pen. (The Economist. 2005. September) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j) 1. hostage a. send or force smbd away 2. dislodge b. a person captured and held as a prisoner 3. asylum-seeker c. force somebody to leave a previously occupied place 4. refuge d. although 5. hypocrisy e. shelter or protection from danger, storm or trouble 6. smuggle f. pretending better than one actually is 7. swell the ranks g. take or send smth or smbd illegally across the border 8. expel h. a person who has left his country for political reasons and is looking for protection of the other state 9. zeal i. increase the number 10. albeit j. great energy and enthusiasm 27
II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
B. I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Say whether the following statements are true or false: Thousands of illegals in France organized street demonstrations to greet the centre-right government’s return from holiday. In 1996 the centre-right government of Alan Juppe sent police to protect Kurdish asylum-seekers from extremists, kicking them out of their homes. Liberal extremists call for zero immigration. Automatic legislation can only breed xenophobia. Mr. Sarkozy admitted that the authorities used to act with excessive administrative zeal. Thousands of illegals in France will certainly get their papers under the auspices of Mr. Sarkozy. All foreigners, arrested in 2000 were given their marching orders and expelled. Language Practice Say in English how you understand the following: automatic legalization would only breed xenophobia maintain the demographic status quo excessive administrative zeal pragmatism and humanity the immigrants’ foe
II.
The following verbs: dislodge, discomfort, disappear, discover are formed with the prefix –dis. How does it change the meaning of verbs? Change the following verbs adding one of prefixes: -mis; -re; -over; -under; -up; -down arm lead form calculate pay judge store take cycle behave load qualify screw grade continue root set scale understand
What are the meanings of these prefixes? C. Making a Summary Identifying the main information. Are you going to mention in your summary all names of French politicians? How will you shorten the first paragraph? Here is a possible version: According to various estimates from 200,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in France at present time. There often happen clashes with the police when they try to dislodge them. Thousands of asylum-seekers take part in street demonstrations demanding the right to stay. 28
Look through the second paragraph. You may cut it to one sentence. What is this key sentence? Go on summarizing each paragraph. You can combine two paragraphs into one. Omit some of them if you think it is appropriate. D. Follow-up 1. What is Russian people’s attitude to representatives of former Soviet Republics? 2. What is your attitude to foreign students studying at the University? 3. How can you explain aggression and cruelty towards strange people? 4. What should be done to eliminate the violence? E. Writing Write a mini-composition in 5–6 sentences, stating the main reasons for violence against strangers.
Unit 9. Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friends Lead in Which investments give most profits? new ventures; real estate; stocks and bonds; precious stones and metals; land; bank accounts; objects of art and paintings. Where are the world known diamond mines? Diamonds In a little house down a muddy lane in Saurimo, a remote city in northeastern Angola, Tony Cabengele unfolded a sheet of white paper and rolled a small, cloudy white stone onto the table. “Let me teach you about diamonds,” he said earnestly, unwrapping more stones and piling them a little pyramid. “They are full of surprises.” Despite their differences, these little pebbles shared the unique characteristics of all diamonds: so hard that they can be scratched only with another diamond, so dense that they slow the speed of light by almost two-third, cold to the touch, because they draw heat from your fingers. They were ancient, created from carbon under titanic pressure and enormous heat deep underground when the earth was young, the diamonds had remained just below the deepest layers of the Earth’s crust until, perhaps, a hundred million years ago, they rode up to the surface in a fast-moving eruption of molten rock called kimberlite. The kimberlite cooled in narrow funnels shaped like carrots, with their wide, rounded ends sticking up from the surface. Millions of years of rain and weather inexorably eroded the surface portion of the kimberlite pipes until the freed diamonds washed across the landscape and 29
finally lodged in the gravel of a riverbed or the soft red Lunda Sul soil to wait the day when lucky diggers prized them out and brought them for sale. I pocked up a half dozen and rubbed them with my thumb. They had a smooth, soapy texture. A question formed as I fingered the rough diamonds. Even in their present state they were valuable enough to incite avarice and bloodshed. Transformed from tough to gem, they would come to symbolize romance, more than any other substance on Earth, capture imagination and ignite passion? Beyond de Beers, the South African colossus that dominated the business, stretches an intricate and close-knit world-wide diamonds network that operates in some respects on a vast industrial scale and in others like a medieval guild. Diamonds may be a girl’s best friends, but part of the enticement can be explained by simple arithmetic. The 120 million carats of rough diamonds extracted from the Earth every year weigh a total of just 24 tons, a single truckload, but those 24 tons are sold by the producers for about seven billion dollars. Since they cost less than two billion dollars to extract, the profits are already immense. By the time the diamonds reach the customers waiting at the far end of the pipeline, the truckload, set in jewelry, is worth over 50 billion dollars. Critics insist that the high price of diamonds is purely artificial, not subject to economic constraints of supply and demand but entirely dependent on the machinations of De Beers – a cartel, as it is often called, not least by the antitrust division of the United States Department of Justice. ( De Beers was indicted in a 1994 price-fixing case, and its executives do not set foot on U.S. soil for fear of subpoena.) Under the guiding hand of the Oppenheimer family, De Beers has indeed striven with ruthless efficiency to control supplies and thereby manipulate prices. By tradition De Beers’s 125 carefully screened customers assemble ten times a year in London, Lucerne, and Johannesburg to attend “sights”, where they buy rough stones. “Sightholders”, as customers are called, are presented with an allotment of stones in a plastic zip bag inside a yellow plastic briefcase; they must buy the entire offering at the price named by De Beers. Take it or leave it – negotiations over stones or diamonds that weigh more than 10.8 carats. “Diamonds are not really a commodity like gold or silver”, a leading New York dealer explained to me one day. “You won’t buy a stone from a jeweler and then sell it back to him for the same price – he is not going to give up his profit. But they are definitely the easiest way to move value around. “They are a form of currency,” remarked Mark van Bockstael of the Diamond High Council in Antwerp. “They back international loans, pay debts, pay bribes, buy arms. In many cases they are better than money.” Monrovia, capital of Liberia, for example, is known as a mecca for money launderers seeking to turn questionable cash assets into diamonds that can then be easily moved and sold elsewhere. There have been unconfirmed reports that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization, al Qaeda, made use of this operation. 30
Diamonds are conductive to secrets. With only some exceptions, they give no clue as to where on or in the Earth they originated. Although the industry is moving toward a system for certifying the source of every diamond, the hundreds of millions of stones moving through the pipeline today are anonymous, shedding their history as they pass from rough to polished. (National Geographic. 2005. May) A. Comprehension I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j) 1. unique a. a written order requiring a person to appear in a law court 2. eruption b. inevitable, impossible to change or prevent 3. inexorable c. to burn or to make smth start burning 4. avarice d. to create or cause conflicts, excitement, anger 5. ignite e. unlike anything else, being the only one of its type 6. intricate f. taking place in the Middle Ages 7. medieval g. to accuse officially 8. indict h. extreme desire for wealth 9. subpoena i. composed of many small parts put together in a complex way 10. incite j. throwing out burning lava and rocks II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Answer the following questions. Which factors determine the high cost of diamonds? What pipeline does the author refer to? What do you know about De Beers? Why do De Beers executives avoid visiting the USA? Who are sightholders and why are they carefully screened? Why are diamonds often called “bloodied’? What are unique characteristics of diamonds?
B. I.
Language Practice I. Say whether –ing and –ed forms in the following sentences are 1) nouns; 2) adjectives; 3) participles; 4) verbs “Let me teach you about diamonds”: he said unwrapping more stones and piling them a little pyramid. Diamonds had remained below the deepest layers of the Earth’s crust until they rode up to the surface in a fast moving eruption of molten rock, called kimberlite. The kimberlite cooled in narrow funnels shaped like carrots with their wide, rounded ends sticking up from the surface.
1. 2.
3.
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4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
By the time the diamonds reach customers waiting at the far end of the pipeline the truckload, set in jewelry, is worth over 50 billion dollars. Under the guiding hand of the Oppenheimer family, De Beers has indeed striven with ruthless efficiency to control supplies. “Sightholders” as customers are called are presented with an allotment of stones; they must buy the entire offering at the price named by De Beers. Monrovia, capital of Liberia is known as a mecca for money launderers seeking to turn questionable cash assets into diamonds. Prices have fallen although they have not collapsed, suggesting that supply and demand do indeed apply to the diamond market.
II.
Write out of the text adjectives ending in –able; –ing; –ed; ous; –al; –ie; -y; -less. Some of these endings change the meaning of adjectives in a certain way. What are these endings and what meaning do they have? Can you continue the list? C. Making a Summary The subject of your summary is “Diamonds as a commodity”. How will you shorten the text? D. Follow-up Answer the following questions? 1. Are diamonds as popular in Russia as in the USA, China and Japan? 2. What is your attitude to expensive jewelry? 3. Do you agree that diamonds incite avarice and bloodshed? 4. What famous diamond deposits do you know? 5. What do you know about Siberian diamonds? 6. Does Russia mine diamonds at present time? E. Writing Write a mini-composition (5–7 sentences based on the following article and explain why scandals, robberies and rumours often serve as the best advertising for goods, services and people. The natural shine of diamonds is actively used by those who profit from them. When a gang of thieves with a stolen bulldozer plowed into London’s Millennium Dome in 2000 to steal a 203 carat diamonds from a display sponsored by De Beers, Nicky Oppenheimer, De Beers’s chairman, estimated this unsuccessful robbery as wonderful publicity. “If only we could do this once every six month’s, we could do away with the advertising department altogether.”
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ɉɨɞɩɢɫɚɧɨ ɜ ɩɟɱɚɬɶ 29.10.2007. Ɏɨɪɦɚɬ 60×84/16. ɍɫɥ. ɩɟɱ. ɥ. 1,9. Ɍɢɪɚɠ 70 ɷɤɡ. Ɂɚɤɚɡ 2248. ɂɡɞɚɬɟɥɶɫɤɨ-ɩɨɥɢɝɪɚɮɢɱɟɫɤɢɣ ɰɟɧɬɪ ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠɫɤɨɝɨ ɝɨɫɭɞɚɪɫɬɜɟɧɧɨɝɨ ɭɧɢɜɟɪɫɢɬɟɬɚ. 394000, ɝ. ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠ, ɩɥ. ɢɦ. Ʌɟɧɢɧɚ, 10. Ɍɟɥ. 208-298, 598-026 (ɮɚɤɫ) http://www.ppc.vsu.ru; e-mail:
[email protected] Ɉɬɩɟɱɚɬɚɧɨ ɜ ɬɢɩɨɝɪɚɮɢɢ ɂɡɞɚɬɟɥɶɫɤɨ-ɩɨɥɢɝɪɚɮɢɱɟɫɤɨɝɨ ɰɟɧɬɪɚ ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠɫɤɨɝɨ ɝɨɫɭɞɚɪɫɬɜɟɧɧɨɝɨ ɭɧɢɜɟɪɫɢɬɟɬɚ. 394000, ɝ. ȼɨɪɨɧɟɠ, ɭɥ. ɉɭɲɤɢɧɫɤɚɹ, 3. Ɍɟɥ. 204-133. 33
