2. Render the text in English:

Н азвание японского магазина Mujirushi Ryohin буквально переводится как «без ярлыка, качественные товары». У компании, известной во всем мире как Muji, сильна японская философия культуры, проявляющаяся во всех ее работах. Дизайн Muji отличается минимализмом, особо подчеркивается возможность переработки продуктов и минимизация отходов при производстве и упаковке. Расцветка товаров сознательная сдержанная, качество – абсолютное. Скрытых смыслов в продуктах, упаковке, рекламе или размещении товаров нет. Политика компании - «без логотипа или бренда». Такой уникальный имидж укрепляет впечатление клиента о надежности товаров. Эффективность производственных процессов и применение новейших материалов в сочетании с безупречным дизайном, означает, что творчески созданный оригинальный продукт приобретает дополнительную ценность. Один из наиболее известных продуктов Muji – настенный проигрыватель компакт-дисков – иллюстрирует философию этой компании. Этот продукт удостоен награды Product Design Award в 2002 году и был вновь выпущен ограниченным тиражом в черном цвете.

Text 18

Read the text and render it in Russian.

IKEA

Founded 1943 Älmhult, Sweden

With a loan from his father of £150, the 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad (b. 1926) founded IKEA in the town of Almhult, a few miles from his home village, in 1943. Situated in the Smaland region, historically one of the poorest parts of Sweden, the company originally sold a variety of products through mail order, from cattle soap to stockings.

In the early 1950s, IKEA began retailing furniture at factory prices through mail-order catalogues. This move was met with such resistance by the established furniture trade that IKEA was not allowed to exhibit at the large furniture trade fair held in Stockholm, and suppliers threatened to boycott the company.

Observing that "most nicely designed products were very, very expensive", Kamprad wanted to manufacture well-designed practical products that the majority of people could afford. With this "social mission" to democratize design, Kamprad realised that there were three essential priorities - aesthetics, function and suitability for mass production.

During the late 1950s he recruited his first designers, Gillis Lundgren, Bengt Rudaand, Erik Worts, who, while working within the Modern idiom, designed furniture for self-assembly a revolutionary development in furniture design. Another concept which IKEA's designers helped to pioneer was "modular thinking" - the development of modular components and interlinking systems rather than individual one-off products.

The advent of particleboard in the 1960s heralded the arrival of really low-cost furniture and influenced IKEA's product-line immensely. An inexpensive yet relatively hard-wearing material, particleboard continues to be used extensively by IKEA for all kinds of self-assembly furniture.

For IKEA the era of mattresses and wooden shelving did not end until the beginning of the 1980s. In the 1970s the company, today the largest furniture chain in the world, sold millions of pieces of basic furniture such as the Ted folding chair. It gradually transformed itself into а lifestyle brand that had а tremendous influence on popular taste, with products that were affordable for the majority of people. With а constant flow of new products and ranges and а comprehensive collection of fabrics and lamps, the blue-and–yellow giant progressed from hallways and children’s rooms into living-rooms and bedrooms. At the same time, the quality of its products improved, and external designers were hired. One of the first was the Dane Niels Gammelgaard from Pelikan Design, who introduced а considerable number of designs. Products such as Moment sofa, as well as Stockholm glass cabinet, typify the move away from provincial respectability to international modernity. For many years IKEA has been а genuine alternative for people who, to quote its advertising, ‘have more taste than money’. In the 1990s the process of globalization moved at а furious pace, but there was also а return to Swedish traditions, the clearest expression of which was the PS furniture series launched by Stefan Ytterborn, Thomas Eriksson and Thomas Sandell.

_{1. Read the text again. Complete the sentences with the information from the text.}

а) The 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad …

b) In the yearly 1950s, …

c) Another concept which Ikea’s designers held to pioneer …

d) It gradually transformed itself …

e) Observing that “most nicely designed products …

2. Match the dates with the important Ikea events. Which event is the odd one out?

_{a) 1943 1) the advent of particleboard}

_{b) early 1950s 2) furniture fair in Stockholm}

_{c) late 1950s 3) globalization and return to the traditions}

_{d) 1960s 4) first designers}

_{e) 1980s 5) the year of the foundation}

_{f) 1990s 6) mail-order catalogue}

_{7) end of the era of mattresses and shelving}

_{3. Answer the questions:}

_{a) What was the first business of Ikea?}

_{b) What did Ikea survive after it had began selling furniture at factory prices through mail-order catalogues?}

_{c) What was the mission Kamprad performed? What were his essential priorities?}

_{d) Explain the concept of “modular thinking”.}

_{4. Retell the text in English.}