2. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

To sweep to victory; midterm elections; high-profile; to solidify one's hold on smth; to beat; an outcome; the margin of victory to be small; to fall short of the margin; a runoff election to run well ahead of smb; to prevent smb from doing smth; a nomination; to lose one's bid for; to take a court ruling; incumbent; to put smb ahead; to withstand; to win a second term; to put the best light on smth.

3. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases.

Назначение; требуется судебное решение; выдержать; выдвинуть кого-либо вперед; имеющий большое значение; быть ниже допустимого предела; результат; победа с небольшим преимуществом; мешать кому-либо что-либо делать; промежуточные выборы; потерпеть поражение на выборах на должность; укрепить свой контроль над чем-либо; победить; выиграть второй срок; приукрасить; одержать полную победу; действующий (губернатор); опережать.

4. Read the text again and finish the following statements.

1. The Republicans have swept to...

2. The Republicans captured...

3. The Republicans also solidified...

4. Norm C., a Republican, beat a former Vice President...

5. In South Dakota the margin of victory of the Democratic candidate was...

6. The Democratic candidate in Louisiana fell a bit short of...

7. The outcome of the balloting Tuesday marked a break...

8. Democratic opposition prevented president...

9. Kathleen K., a Democrat and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, lost her...

10. In Alabama, the governor's race was thrown into chaos so the situation most likely will take...

11. In Baldwin County the change of the election outcome will put Republican challenger Bob R....

12. In California, the Democratic candidate, Gray D., withstood...

13. Democrats tried to put the best light on...

5. Answer the following questions using the active vocabulary.

1. What is the outcome of the midterm elections in the USA?

2. What did the Republicans capture?

3. Did the Republicans lose their positions in the House of Representatives?

4. Did the former Vice President win the elections?

5. Was the rivalry tough in South Dakota?

6. What was the election like in Louisiana?

7. What historic patterns did the outcome of the balloting Tuesday mark?

8. What did Democratic opposition prevent the US president from?

9. Did the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy win her bid?

10. How will the election problem be resolved in Alabama?

11. How did the election go off in California?

12. How did Democrats react to the outcomes of the elections?

6. Using the active vocabulary render the article in English.

1 were to be held

2 a bill

3 to bring the country to the point of

4 IMF — International Monetary Fund

5 a runoff election — это последний тур выборов, когда ни один из кандидатов не получил абсолютного большинства

UNIT 5. HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN ISSUES

SECTION A

I

1. Read the article and look up the underlined words and phrases in the dictionary.

Systematic violations of women's rights in Afghanistan

Women in Afghanistan have suffered a catastrophic assault on their human rights during more than twenty years of war and under the repressive rule of the Taliban. Now, as women face further peril with the intensification of conflict following the September 11 attacks on the United States, the international community must make a firm commitment to support women's human rights.

Throughout Afghanistan's civil war, the major armed factions — primarily the Taliban and the United National Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, a coalition of mainly Tajik, Uzbek, and ethnic Hazara parties — have repeatedly committed serious abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law. Women have borne the major part of this violence and discrimination. In the civil war, women have suffered massive and systematic human rights abuses.