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Обучение навыкам разговорной речи на английском языке. Страноведение США (120

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сертификатов или научной степени. Каждый год около 13 тысяч студентов занимаются по 550 предметам в области медицины, вычислительной техники, менеджмента и т. д.

Институт иностранных языков был основан в 1950 году, когда в США усилился поток иммигрантов. Институт предлагает вечерние и сокращенные программы для жителей Бостона и окрестностей, для которых английский язык не является родным, это примерно две тысячи человек в год.

Институт для людей пенсионного возраста, основанный в 1977 году, дает пожилым людям возможность следовать своим интеллектуальным интересам, исследовать новые области знания в коллективе учащихся одного возраста; каждый год поступает на обучение более пятисот мужчин и женщин в возрасте «за пятьдесят», а иногда и «за восемьдесят».

Unit 5

GLOBALIZATION

Like it or not, globalization is a reality

Globalization describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through communication and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. However, globalization is usually recognized as being driven by a combination of economic, technological, social, cultural, political, and biological factors. The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or popular culture through acculturation. Most people acknowledge it is like moving towards living in a borderless world.

Globalization provides opportunities and challenges. Each country makes decisions and policies that position them to maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges presented by globalization. The issues and perceived effects of globalization excite strong feelings, tempting people to regard it in terms of black and white, when in fact globalization is an extremely complex web of many things.

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Measuring globalization

Looking specifically at economic globalization demonstrates that it can be measured in different ways. These center around the four main economic flows that characterize globalization:

Goods and services, e. g., exports plus imports as a proportion of national income or per capita of population.

Labor/people, e. g., net migration rates; inward or outward migration flows, weighted by population.

Capital, e. g., inward or outward direct investment as a proportion of national income or per head of population.

Technology, e. g., international research & development flows; proportion of populations using particular inventions (especially technological advances such as the telephone, motorcar, and broadband).

Benefits of globalization

1.Economies of countries that engage well with the international economy have consistently grown much faster than those countries that try to protect themselves.

2.Countries which have had faster economic growth have been able to improve living standards and reduce poverty. Cheaper imports also make a wider range of products accessible to more people and, through competition, can help promote efficiency and productivity.

3.Improved wealth through the economic gains of globalization has led to improved access to health care and clean water which has increased life expectancy.

4.Increased global income and reduced investment barriers have led to an increase in foreign direct investment which has accelerated growth in many countries.

5.Improved environmental awareness and accountability has contributed to positive environmental outcomes by encouraging the use of more efficient, less-polluting technologies and facilitating economies’ imports of renewable substitutes for use in place of scarce domestic natural resources.

6.Increasing interdependence and global institutions like WTO and World Bank, that manage the settlement of government-to-government

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disputes, have enabled international political and economic tensions to be resolved on a ‘rules based’ approach, rather than through war conflicts.

7.Improved technology has dramatically reduced costs and prices changing the way the world communicates, learns, does business and treats illnesses.

8.Modern communications and the global spread of information have contributed to the growth in liberal democracies around the world.

9.The voluntary adoption by global companies of workplace standards for their production facilities in developing countries has made an important contribution to respect for international labour standards.

10.International migration has led to greater recognition of diversity and respect for cultural identities which is improving democracy and access to human rights.

Problems of globalization

Critics of globalization present it as worldwide drive toward a globalized economic system dominated by transnational corporate trade and banking institutions that are not accountable to democratic processes or national governments.

1.There are social and economic costs to globalization. Trade liberalization rewards competitive industries and requires economic restructuring and reform, and the social costs for those affected are high.

2.Some countries have been unable to take advantage of globalization and their standards of living are dropping further behind the richest countries.

3.Increased trade and travel have facilitated the spread of human, animal and plant diseases, like HIV/AIDS, SARS and bird flu, across borders, globalization has also enabled the introduction tobacco to developing countries.

4.The increasing interdependence of countries in a globalized world makes them more vulnerable to economic problems like financial crises.

5.The environment has been harmed as agricultural, forest, mining and fishing industries exploit inadequate environmental codes and

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corrupt behaviour in developing countries. Agricultural seed companies are destroying the biodiversity of the planet.

6.The major economic powers have a major influence in the institutions of globalization, like the WTO, and this can work against the interests of the developing world.

7.Trade liberalization and technological improvements change the economy of a country, destroying traditional agricultural communities and allowing cheap imports of manufactured goods, which can lead to unemployment.

8.Modern communications have spread an awareness of the differences between countries, and increased the demand for migration to richer countries. Richer countries have tightened the barriers against migrant workers, xenophobic fears have increased.

9.Globalized competition can force a ‘race to the bottom’ in wage rates and labour standards. It can also foster a ‘brain drain’ of skilled workers, where highly educated and qualified professionals, such as doctors, engineers and IT specialists, migrate to developed countries to benefit from the higher wages and greater career and lifestyle prospects.

10.National culture and languages can be eroded by the modern globalized culture.

Assignments to the text

1. Context and topical questions.

1.Specify the economic aspects of globalization.

2.Specify the ways economists use to measure globalization.

3.Refer to the role of global institutions in international tensions.

4.Speak on the ideas of free trade and protectionism.

5.Give your assessment of globalization effects.

6.Refer to the benefits of globalization for developing countries.

7.Refer to the benefits of globalization for developed countries.

2. Scan the text and summarise it.

Glocalization

The term glocalization is about product preparedness for international marketing. It emphasizes that globalization of a product or

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service is more likely to succeed when the product is adapted specifically to each locality or culture it is marketed in. It also describes the tempering effects of local conditions on global pressures or as specialists notice ‘glocalization means the co-presence of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies’. How does it work?

McDonaldization and Coca-colonization

The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate the world moving from traditional to rational or unified modes of thought, and scientific management but also losing elements of national culture. However the company adapts its practices, e.g. for promotion in France, the restaurant chain recently chose to replace its familiar Ronald McDonald mascot with Asterix the Gaul, a popular French cartoon character.

Coca-colonization refers to globalization or cultural colonization and is used to imply the importation of Western (particularly American) goods and an invasion by Western and especially American cultural values that threatens the local culture. The expression also became a catch phrase of the anti-globalization movement.

Coca-colonization is resented in many areas of the world, particularly in the Muslim countries, and by some ethnic minorities in the Western world; American brands tend to be boycotted by the consumers there. Alternative products of non-US origin are therefore available on the local markets. The best example is perhaps the range of cola-flavored soft drinks defining themselves as non-American, e. g. Mecca Cola, Parsi Cola, Eram Cola, and Zam Zam Cola.

Americanization

Americanization is used to describe the influence of the US of America on the culture of other countries. It refers to the globalization of American businesses, culture, lifestyle and technology. Americanization often carries a negative connotation.

The television commercials advertise US-based brands around the world. Hollywood, the American film industry, is often considered the biggest and most influential in the world, people in other countries are

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often exposed to American ideals and way of life. These elements especially affect youths in other countries who are exposed to the culturally different aspect of American culture and may be more receptive to Americanization. On the other hand, some cultures and countries, often older people, may not have positive reception of US cultural influence, afraid of losing their unique cultures and ideals to the more American ones.

Anti-globalization

The anti-globalization movement developed in opposition to the negative aspects of globalization. Anti-globalization may involve the process or actions taken by a state or its people in order to demonstrate its sovereignty and practise democratic decision-making. The critics of globalization typically emphasize that globalization is a process that is mediated according to corporate interests, they address the moral claims of poor and working classes throughout the globe. The movement is very broad, including church groups, national liberation factions, peasant unionists, intellectuals, artists, protectionists, anarchists, and others.

3. Render the text into English.

Глокализация

Это слово, являющееся комбинацией слов глобализация и локализация, отражает современную тенденцию «думать глобально, действовать локально». Например, изделие, выпускаемое транснациональной корпорацией, успешнее будет продаваться в какомлибо регионе, если его адаптировать к специфическим требованиям данного региона. Однако пока еще процесс глокализации проходит далеко не всегда успешно, несмотря на то, что некоторые гигантские компании тратят на исследования рынка миллионы долларов.

В качестве примера предложения стандартных продуктов по всему миру часто приводят сеть ресторанов «Макдональдс». Однако президент фирмы «Макдональдс» утверждает, что его фирма максимально приближена к местной культуре. Например, в

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Британии, где очень любят индийскую еду, «Макдональдс» предлагает свои варианты индийских блюд (чаще всего в виде гамбургеров). Кроме того, «Макдональдс» приспосабливает к местным обычаям режимы работы. В Пекине, например, меню то же самое, что и в США, но рестораны являются местом, где посетители любят подолгу засиживаться. Эти рестораны устраивают празднование детских дней рождения, а специальные сотрудники занимаются с детьми и разговаривают с родителями. В Японии, на Тайване, в других странах Юго-Восточной Азии рестораны «глокализируются», постепенно трансформируясь и адаптируясь к местным вкусам. Но главные требования к ресторанам «Макдональдс»: стандарты качества и быстрое обслуживание — соблюдаются везде.

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ЛИТЕРАТУРА

ИванянЭ.А. История США: Пособие для вузов. М.: Дрофа, 2004. Конституция СШA. Текст и постатейный комментарий: B 2 ч. М.,

1984.

Behell, J.T. Harvard Observed: An Illustrated History of the University. Harvard University Press, 1998.

Bhagwati, J. In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Flaherty, E. A Brief History of Central Banking in the US. University of Groningen. Netherlands, 1998.

Geisst, C.R. Wall Street: A History — From its Beginnings to the Fall of Enron. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Hall, M. Harvard University Press: A History, 1986.

Davis, J.W. The American Presidency. Praeger Westpot, Connecticut, 1995.

Friedman, M.J. Outline of the U.S. Economy. Bureau of International Information Programs .US Department of State.2009.

Rydell, R.W., Kroes, R. Buffalo Bill in Bologna. The Americanization of the World, 1869–1922, University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Croucher, S.L. Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.

Special Report — The Global 2000 // Forbes. April 2. 2008.

Steger, M. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

The Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy and the Economy-Everyday Economics-FRB, Dallas.

***

http://www.ausaid.gov.au

http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm#5 http://www.globalisation guide

http://www.nyse.com

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CONTENTS

 

Предисловие......................................................................................

3

Unit 1. American Political System.......................................................

4

The Constitution ..............................................................................

4

The Presidency ................................................................................

5

The Legislative Branch ....................................................................

5

The Judicial Branch .........................................................................

7

Political Parties................................................................................

7

Assignments to the texts ..................................................................

9

The Electoral College ......................................................................

9

Inauguration Day ...........................................................................

10

Предварительные выборы (Праймериз)......................................

10

Unit 2. Economy of the United States................................................

11

Historical Background ...................................................................

12

American Business Life.................................................................

15

Assignments to the texts ................................................................

16

Rochester.......................................................................................

17

Роль США в мировой экономике................................................

19

Unit 3. American Financial System ...................................................

19

Financial Institutions......................................................................

19

The Federal Reserve System ..........................................................

20

Assignments to the text..................................................................

22

The New York Stock Exchange .....................................................

23

Фондовый рынок.........................................................................

24

Unit 4. Education in the US...............................................................

25

The Educational Ladder .................................................................

25

Colleges and Universities...............................................................

26

Assignments to the text..................................................................

27

 

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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ....................................

27

Harvard University ........................................................................

29

Отделение непрерывного образования

 

Гарвардского университета...................................................

30

Unit 5. Globalization.........................................................................

31

Like it or not, globalization is a reality ...........................................

31

Measuring globalization.................................................................

32

Benefits of globalization ................................................................

32

Problems of globalization ..............................................................

33

Assignments to the text..................................................................

34

Glocalization .................................................................................

34

McDonaldization and Coca-colonization........................................

35

Americanization ............................................................................

35

Anti-globalization..........................................................................

36

Глокализация...............................................................................

36

Литература.......................................................................................

38

Contents............................................................................................

39

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