1. Переведите на слух в быстром темпе следующие слова и выражения:
perquisites - биржа труда — to make sb redundant — бюджетник — to demote sb - сдельная оплата труда - seniority - декретный отпуск - (work) record — пенсии по старости, недееспособности, инвалидности, по случаю потери кормильца — nursing home — репрессированные — life expectancy — умственно отсталые дети — nonsighted – наркомания — substance abuser — дедовщина в армии — generation gap — уступать место пожилым людям в автобусе — deferment of military service — «чернобыльцы» — человек с проблемами речи — benefits-in- kind — льготы на медицинское обслуживание, коммунальные услуги и телефонные переговоры — to call for the restitution of benefits — разогнать митинг — wage arrears — уволить — to quit — почасовик— sick leave — оплата больничного
2. Предложите свой перевод следующих предложений:
На улицы вышли сотни пенсионеров с требованием вернуть им льготы.
По стране прокатилась волна протестов против ущемления прав малоимущих.
Это вызвало негативную реакцию в обществе.
Он является гражданином Канады и Великобритании.
Это позволит увеличить число рабочих мест на 10000.
В прошлом году у нас сократили пять тысяч человек.
У него в трудовой никогда не было замечаний.
В следующем году мой стаж будет 15 лет.
Почему они вам не оплачивают больничный?
Эти льготы распространяются на инвалидов, «чернобыльцев», «участников военных конфликтов в мирное время», «репрессированных» и матерей-одиночек.
Они вот уже пять лет живут только на его пенсию по недееспособности.
Алкоголизм и наркомания — это бич нашего общества.
Его компания обанкротилась, и сам он стал неплатежеспособным. Ума не приложу, как это могло произойти.
Она хочет поместить свою мать в дом престарелых.
Милиция сейчас проверяет удостоверение личности и регистрацию практически у каждого пятого.
Когда в последний раз проводилась перепись населения?
Я ушла на пенсию два года назад. Я проработала в этом НИИ тридцать лет.
Путин не уволил Илларионова, он только понизил его в должности.
Смотрите сами, оплата труда сдельная.
Кто б мог подумать, что они так рано лишатся кормильца.
В России катастрофически падает рождаемость. Думаю, в первую очередь это связано с материальным неблагополучием молодых семей.
К сожалению, у нас очень мало предприятий, на которых бы работали только люди с сильно ослабленным зрением. Государство присваивает им инвалидность и, таким образом, «умывает руки».
В России никто по-настоящему не занимался проблемами инвалидов.
Она со следующей недели уходит в декрет. Даже не знаю, кто ее заменит.
На мой взгляд, проблема отцов и детей существует в любой семье.
Теперь отсрочек от армии будет гораздо меньше.
В отличие от Запада, наше государство не поощряет занятие благотворительностью.
ENGLISH TEXTS
RETURN MY BENEFITS
1. Unimpressed by assurances from president Vladimir Putin that the replacement of Soviet-era benefits would be carried out painlessly, several thousand pensioners staged new protests across central Russia and Siberia on Tuesday, as the Communist Party started collecting signatures to call a vote of no confidence in Mikhail Fradkov's government.
Large rallies of pensioners in Kazan, Tver, Perm, Tomsk and Kaluga demanded the return of free transport rides, subsidized medicines and other benefits, which were supposed to have been replaced with cash allowances on Jan. 1.
Putin weighed in on the weeklong crisis Monday to urge the federal government and regional authorities do more to soften the transition for socially vulnerable groups.
The president also instructed the Cabinet to increase the basic monthly pension by at least 200 rubles, instead of by 100 rubles as originally planned, and to bring forward the raise by a month to March 1. (The Moscow Times, by Francesca Mereu, 19.01.2005)
RUSSIA: ELDERLY IN STREET PROTESTS
2. Pensioners held scattered demonstrations for a third day to protest the government's replacement of Soviet-era social benefits with cash payments. Protests were reported in Barnaul in Siberia, Togliatti on the Volga River and in other cities after similar ones on Sunday and Monday in an unusual expression of public discontent with President Vladimir V.Putin's government. On Monday, several hundred elderly demonstrators gathered at the outskirts of Moscow and briefly blocked the main highway to St. Petersburg; 12 were arrested. On Jan. 1, the government began replacing benefits like free transportation, prescriptions and housing for pensioners and the disabled with cash payments of $20 to $120 a month, which critics argue are too meager to compensate for the lost benefits. (The New York Times, by Steven Lee Myers, January 12, 2005)
CUT MY BENEFITS
3. I am 59 - and Congress should cut my future Social Security and Medicare benefits. The same goes for people 58,48 and even 68. Plenty of present retirees could afford to have their benefits cut. The chances of this happening soon are, of course, about nil. If President Bush and his critics agree on anything in the Social Security debate, it is that existing retirees and "near retirees" shouldn't be touched. This is all about politics. The moral and economic case for shielding these people — people like me - is nonexistent. Give Bush credit for broaching, however indirectly, these sensitive issues. Criticize the Democrats for their limp "how dare you" response. But recognize that Bush's chosen vehicle for overhauling Social Security — "personal" investment accounts - distracts from what ought to be the central question: How much should younger and poorer taxpayers be forced to pay for older and richer beneficiaries? (The Washington Post, by Robert J. Samuelson, February 9, 2005)
MOSCOW BROUGHT TO HALT WITH CUTS PROTEST
4. Vladimir Putin came under additional pressure to sack the ministers who engineered his unpopular benefits reforms when Moscow was brought to a standstill at the weekend by the largest demonstrations held during his presidency.
Throughout Russia 250,000 people took to the streets to voice their disdain — in some cases their support — for the reforms, which are intended to replace Soviet-era benefits with cash payments.
Though the benefits are known as "privileges", for the elderly and disabled they cover such basics as free transport and discounted food and medicine.
For weeks the discontent and political turmoil have been growing, and the president has repeatedly carpeted his senior ministers for the poor execution of the reforms, pushed by calls for him to sack his prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov, and his entire cabinet.
Elsewhere in Russia the anti-Putin voice seemed to be much louder with the Communist party claiming that, away from Moscow, it had gathered as many as 200,000 supporters.
The demonstrations were the biggest expression of discontent so far of Mr Putin's five years in office, and came two days after the Communist faction failed to get a parliamentary majority for a motion of no-confidence in the government. Mr Putin's opinion poll rating has sunk to an all-time low since the protests began. (The Guardian, by Nick Paton Walsh, February 14, 2005)
CHARITY
5. Since Russian tax law offers few incentives for charitable giving, local fundraisers have come up with some creative and savvy projects to entice expats and Russians alike to give to charitable causes.
Read to Help, a collaboration between the Anglia bookstore and British-registered charity Action for Russia's Children, or ARC1, is one such project. Read to Help is a secondhand book sale, the proceeds of which are distributed among several children's charities affiliated with ARC.
The first book sale of more than 400 donated, used books was held on Sept. 19 and brought in about $700. One hundred percent of the remittances from the sale go to support ARC's charitable activities, which aim to educate and empower physically and mentally disabled and poverty-stricken Russian children.
ARC differs from other charities that assist orphanages or state-run children's homes, which is where most of Russia's disabled children end up.
ARC works closely with prominent, family-focused charities such as Down-side Up, a charity assisting children with Down syndrome, and the Taganka Children's Fund, which provides support services to struggling single parents.
Smaller charities that ARC helps include Metis, a support organization and ethnic cultural center for mixed race children; the Toy Library, a lending library of educational toys; the Center for Curative Pedagogics, which provides therapy for autistic and learning disabled children; the Preodoleniye-L, a center offering therapeutic workshops for children with cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities.
Susie Latta, one of six members of ARC's all-volunteer management committee, said that ARC maintains very close contacts with the charities it aids. To be eligible to receive financial support, the charity closely monitors each organization and its activities to be certain that funds will be used responsively and effectively. (The Moscow Times, by Kimberly 0'Haver, October 27, 2004)
WITNESS AT THE WEDDING
6. I was skeptical when I headed to San Francisco's city hall on a drizzly Friday afternoon just before Valentine's Day. Mayor Gavin Newsom, then only six weeks on the job, had announced - to the surprise of even the gay community — that same-sex couples would be granted marriage licenses, effective immediately. I figured the decree was little more than a publicity stunt that would soon be shut down by the courts.
I walked into the grand rotunda, half expecting to see the pride-parade crowd, maybe some guys in leather or dressed as nuns. Instead, as far as the eye could see, there were couples patiently waiting — middle-aged moms with strollers, dads chasing toddlers, a noticeable number of seniors, many perched on those little canvas folding stools you see at sporting events. This was Main Street, not Castro Street2.
After waiting in line for hours, couples climbed the grand staircase to recite their vows before city marriage commissioners. Stripped of the pomp and excess of the well-planned wedding, these ceremonies moved me with their simple dignity: couples, some already together for decades, seeking recognition in this vast public space that they were, in fact, "spouses for life". Some wept openly; others rocked silently in each other's arms. (Newsweek, by Karen Breslau, Dec. 27, 2004/Jan. 3, 2005)
FEELING WANTED
7. At the age of 44, childless and single after the death of her long- term partner, Sarah had given up hope of being a mother. But tomorrow, the part-time teacher from south London will meet Louise — the one- year-old child she is about to adopt.
Sarah has been encouraged to adopt as part of a pioneering drive by Southwark council. The authority's campaign aims to raise adoption and fostering rates by targeting those who assume - wrongly - that they are unsuitable to adopt or foster.
Louise has been in foster care since her young, single mother gave her up for adoption at birth. Her right foot is slightly malformed and will need minor corrective surgery and physiotherapy over the next two years, but she is expected to develop into a healthy child. For her, adoption will give her the stable and permanent home she desperately needs. For Sarah, it will mean she is finally able to realise her desire to care for a child.
"I'd always wanted to have children, but it never happened," says Sarah. "After my partner died I wondered if there was something I could give and something that I wanted and didn't have. I looked into adoption, but thought I'd only be considered for very hard-to-place children. I was bowled over when I heard about Louise — I didn't think I would be a first-choice adopter."
Southwark launched its three-month campaign, entitled Never Thought I Could, at the end of March. The drive — the first actively to recruit people falling outside the stereotypical family unit — was a response to government plans for the biggest shake-up in adoption law in a quarter of a century. The Queen's Speech last week outlined details of the adoption and children bill, designed primarily to speed up the process and aiming to increase adoption rates by 40%.
Southwark's campaign included advertisements on billboards and buses emblazoned with messages such as: "Valued, wanted, needed - whether you're over or under 45, you could be eligible to adopt." The posters were tailored to appeal to couples or single people over 45, those who work full-time, or are unemployed, and gays and lesbians.
The Labour-run council says the response has been huge: the adoption and fostering team has received calls from 204 people wanting to adopt or foster long-term, and another 40 want to foster short-term. The majority of inquiries have been from those who would otherwise have ruled themselves out of being adoptive parents because of their sexuality or age. (The Guardian, by Saba Salman, June 27, 2001)
RUSSIA'S RICH HOUSEWIVES GET DESPERATE
8. THEY live in lavishly furnished mansions, spend thousands of pounds a month on clothes and are the envy of ordinary Muscovites. But the glamorous wives of the novi Russki, Russia's fabulously wealthy business elite, are haunted by a fear of losing their husbands.
A new book that provides startling insights into the lives of Moscow's rich claims that many of the city's most affluent women spend their time desperately trying to hold on to their millionaire spouses.
Paying expensive fortune-tellers to find out about their husbands' affairs and drowning their insecurities in alcohol are part of their everyday life, it seems. Some are reduced to seeking solace in the arms of male strippers and toy boys.
The book, Casual, was written by Oksana Robsky, a new Russian who has been married three times. She describes it as a semi-autobiographical novel, with many characters based on her friends and acquaintances.
The novel is set in Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse, a long tree-lined road in the western outskirts of the capital. It is known as a "billionaires' reserve" and is home to members of both the business and political elites, chief among them President Vladimir Putin. More billionaires are said to live in the area than in New York city and during the rush hour the two-lane highway is jammed with luxurious cars tailed by armed bodyguards in four-wheel drives.
Casual is the story of a woman whose rich husband is gunned down. She hires a contract killer to murder the prime suspect, only to learn that he was innocent. Robsky's second husband was the victim of a contract killing, but she will not be drawn on whether her heroine's act of revenge is pure fiction.
Robsky's female characters lead largely frivolous lives of almost unimaginable opulence. Reflecting a real-life Russian trend, one of them has her poodle dyed to match the colour of her dress. They dine in Moscow's most expensive restaurants, drive the latest sports cars, undergo plastic surgery, take drugs and get drunk on vintage wines. (The Moscow Times, by Mark Franchetti, February 20, 2005)
THE RULE OF LAWLESSNESS
9. In his inauguration speech, Bush sweepingly declared that the United States would champion liberty and challenge repression in every corner of the globe. The speech placed Bush at loggerheads with Putin, who has dismantled many of Russia's democratic institutions and threatened private property rights. The U.S. and Russian leaders' differing approaches toward democracy reveal a profound values gap.
When they met in Santiago, Chile, last November, Putin lectured Bush about how Russia's history dictates that it adopt a limited form of democracy. In Bratislava, however, rather than debating various styles of democracy, Bush emphasized universal principles, including a free press, protection of minority rights, political opposition and, most importantly, the rule of law, which is a crucial guarantee of private property and individual liberty. In turn, Putin changed his tune and acknowledged that democracy should indeed follow certain fundamental principles.
Private ownership and property rights, two of the fundamental elements of democracy, have a short history in Russia. Without longstanding traditions to counterbalance it, Putin's authoritarian model enables officials to easily manipulate state institutions and laws, diminishing individual freedom from government interference. As a result, Russian citizens reportedly pay more than $30 billion per year in bribes to secure business licenses, avoid taxes, win court cases and gain access to medical treatment, education, housing and transportation. Official corruption has become a socially accepted norm that inhibits the growth of civil society.
To establish the rule of law in Russia would require the government to completely change its course. Yet it seems intent on doing just the opposite. The Kremlin used purportedly independent legal institutions to renationalize Russia's largest private oil company, Yukos. But Yukos is not an isolated incident. Nor is it the most important. From the beginning of Putin's presidency, the Kremlin has used government institutions in the name of vaguely defined state interests to take private property from Russian small businesses and foreign investors who are adding value to the economy. To disguise this creeping expropriation, the Putin administration has created a dependent judiciary. As a result, Russia lacks several fundamental building blocks of a market economy, the freedom to engage in commerce based on an enforceable contract and guarantees of private property. (The Moscow Times, by Matthew H. Murray, February 28, 2005)
1 русс, фонд «ARC—благотворительность»
2 Castro Street is the heart of San Francisco's Gay District