Английский язык в сфере экономической безопасности. Учебное пособие
.pdfRussian: Such enterprises have no right of ownership of the assets. Assets are assigned to such enterprises to be used for economic activity.
Foreigner: It's an interesting form. And how can foreign firms participate in Russian business?
Russian: Oh, now it can be done in many ways which are stipulated by our
legislation.
Foreigner: If I'm not mistaken, in spite of all your reforms your legislation is still rather complicated.
Russian: Yes, that's true, foreigners wishing to enter our market often have to take advice on legal matters.
3.5 Answer the questions.
3.5.1 Look through the Text A and answer these questions: 1 What comes to mind when you hear the word “security”? 2 Do you have all the security you need?
3 What would life be like with little security?
4 What do you do to make sure your Internet security is strong?
5 Does your country provide good social security if you have no job or home?
6 Douglas MacArthur said: “There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity” Do you agree with this?
7 Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.” Do you agree?
8 How important is financial security to you?
9 Do you worry about job security?
10 Britain's Lord Acton said: “The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities”. Do you agree with this?
3.5.2 Look through the Text B and answer these questions: 1 What do you think of airline security?
2 Do you get nervous going through airport security?
3 Someone once said: “Security is an illusion. Life is either a daring adventure or it
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is nothing at all”. Do you agree? 3.6 Give derivatives of:
security; growth; dilution; hiring; economy; insurance; protection.
3.7 Find in the Text A and Text B (dialogue) English equivalents for the following Russian phrases:
Text A
Безопасность, уровень дохода, развивать чьи – либо способности, достаточные возможности, сокращение, придерживаться чего – либо, преследовать что – либо,
карьера, бедствие, беспокойство, период обучения, доступ, защитные механизмы,
состоять из, полная занятость, когнитивная сторона (аспект), типичные формы,
структурный компонент, условия труда, основное образование, правила, агентства по трудоустройству, экономическая безопасность.
Text B
Формы организации бизнеса, прежде всего, командная и рыночная экономика,
акционерная компания, товарищество, полное товарищество, обязательство,
товарищество с ограниченной ответственностью, главный партнер (с
неограниченной ответственностью), акционер, акция, экономический субъект,
возбудить судебный процесс против кого – либо, предъявить претензию, активы,
образовать акционерную компанию, учредительный фонд.
3.8 Single out the main points of the Text A. Use the following opening phrases:
1The text looks at (the problem of...)...;
2The text deals with the issue of...;
3It is clear from the text that...;
4Among other things the text raises the issue of...;
5The problem of... is of great importance.
6One of the main points to be singled out is...;
7Great importance is also attached to ...;
8In this connection, I’d like to say ...;
9I find the question of... very important because ...;
10I think that... should be mentioned here as a very important mechanism of ... .
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3.9Sum up the content of the Text B (dialogue). Use the following phrases: The dialogue is about...;
According to the dialogue ... .
3.10Read the article and do the following tasks.
3.10.1Supply the articles where necessary.
3.10.2Has the situation changed since 1995? Prove your point of view.
3.10.3Read the text and suggest the title.
... oil and gas industries of... former USSR were one of... very few industrial success stories of the final years of ... Soviet regime. Today, those same industries, now operating within ... CIS, are in deep crises. Production and exports of... sector's two key products – oil and gas – fell by almost... half between 1989 and 1994. It's not all bad news, of course: over ... first eight months of 1995,... rate of decline in fuel and energy production was less than ... 2 % per cent compared to ... last year. Equally dramatic changes are yet to come as
... Russia and ... CIS countries shift to ... market economy.
Major Western oil companies, however, have been moving away from ... Russia because of ... risks involved: unfriendly tax regimes, ... uncertain political climate, financial problems and ... problems of negotiating with local, regional and central authorities. Last but not least, comes the difficulty of repatriating profits. According to ...
official fuel and energy ministry figures, as of January 1, 1995, Russia had 1,910 oil fields and 410 gas fields, of which 1,020 are commercially operated, accounting for 72 per cent of all... reserves. 50.4 per cent of these reserves have already been worked out. ...oil was first produced commercially in ... Russia in 1864.
Based on: European Businessman
3.10.4 Words you may need:
1)CIS – Commonwealth of Independent States – Содружество независимых государств (СНГ)
2)rate of decline – темпы сокращения (производства);
3)equally (adv) – равно, в равной степени;
4)dramatic changes – разительные изменения;
5)shift to a market economy – переход к рыночной экономике;
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6)tax regime – налоговый режим;
7)authorities – власти;
8)to repatriate profits – вывозить прибыль;
9)to account for – составлять.
3.11 Read the article and do the following tasks.
3.11.1Supply the prepositions where necessary.
3.11.2Write down the questions that might have been asked during the survey by the sociological service.
3.11.3Act out the interviews that might have taken place during the survey.
Small Businesses in Russia
Russia now has more than 900,000 enterprises, their number having increased ...
5 % in 1995. According ... the State Committee for Statistics, small businesses accounted, in the first quarter of 1995, ... around 10 % of the gross domestic product and their profits amounted ... 20 % of all enterprises. Small businesses employ 12% of the economy's work-force, or 8,1 million full-timers.
The Cassandra sociological service carried out a survey about the prospects of small businesses in Russia. ... the opinion of 70 % of businessmen questioned ... the Cassandra sociological service, Russia's small business will develop ... moderate rates ... this year; only 13 % hope ... faster development. This skepticism is due above all ... the negative assessment of the country's financial condition given ... 71 % of the respondents ... regard
... the development of small business. Only 1 % of the respondents said these conditions were favorable, while 28 % said they were satisfactory. In the opinion of 70 % of the respondents, budgetary allocations to promote small business are not used effectively. There's no use hoping for any significant improvement... financial backing for small business ... this year, 59 % of the respondents believe.
The businessmen also pointed ... the inadequate role of banks. Forty-five per cent of the respondents believe credit institutions will participate financially in small business projects in 1996, while 31 % believe their participation will not be active enough.
Based on: European Businessman.
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3.11.4 Words you may need:
1)gross domestic product (GDP) – валовой внутренний продукт;
2)moderate (adj) – умеренный;
3)respondent (n) – респондент, участник опроса;
4)inadequate role – недостаточная роль.
3.12 Read the text.
Economic security and economic growth are mutually reinforcing. The more security that people achieve in their personal finances — through personal savings and social insurance — the more confidence they place in the future. Economically secure people are more likely to seize opportunities, bounce back from adverse events, and take risks such as starting a business or trying a new career that can pay off for the individual and the economy as a whole. The Hamilton Project explores innovative proposals to increase individuals' economic security.
Traditional Sources of Economic Security
All peoples throughout all of human history have faced the uncertainties brought on by unemployment, illness, disability, death and old age. In the realm of economics, these inevitable facets of life are said to be threats to one's economic security.
For the ancient Greeks economic security took the form of amphorae of olive oil. Olive oil was very nutritious and could be stored for relatively long periods. To provide for themselves in times of need the Greeks stockpiled olive oil and this was their form of economic security.
In medieval Europe, the feudal system was the basis of economic security, with the feudal lord responsible for the economic survival of the serfs working on the estate. The feudal lord had economic security as long as there was a steady supply of serfs to work the estate, and the serfs had economic security only so long as they were fit enough to provide their labor. During the Middle Ages the idea of charity as a formal economic arrangement also appeared for the first time.
As societies grew in economic and social complexity, and as isolated farms gave way to cities and villages, Europe witnessed the development of formal organizations of various types that sought to protect the economic security of their members. Probably the
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earliest of these organizations were guilds formed during the Middle Ages by merchants or craftsmen. Individuals who had a common trade or business banded together into mutual aid societies, or guilds. These guilds regulated production and employment and they also provided a range of benefits to their members including financial help in times of poverty or illness and contributions to help defray the expenses when a member died.
Out of the tradition of the guilds emerged the friendly societies. These organizations began appearing in England in the 16th century. Again organized around a common trade or business, the friendly societies would evolve into what we now call fraternal organizations and were the forerunners of modern trade unions.
In addition to the types of economic security provided by the guilds, the fraternal organizations and some trade unions would begin the practice of providing actuariallybased life insurance to their members. The friendly societies and the fraternal organizations would grow dramatically following the Industrial Revolution. By the beginning of the 19th century one of out every nine Englishmen belonged to one of these organizations.
Among early U.S. fraternal organizations that we are familiar with even into the present day were: the Freemasons (which came to America in 1730); the Odd Fellows (1819); Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (1868); Loyal Order of Moose (1888); and the Fraternal Order of Eagles (1898).
3.12.1 Words you may need:
1)serfs – крепостные;
2)charity – благотворительность;
3)merchant – купец, торговец; лицо, занимающееся оптовыми продажами;
4)craftsmen – мастер, ремесленник;
5)defray – оплачивать, платить;
6)fraternal – братский;
7)pay off – расплачиваться сполна; рассчитываться с кем-л.; покрывать (долг);
8)realm – королевство; государство; страна , сфера, область;
9)facets of life – стороны жизни;
10)amphorae – амфора;
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11)nutritious – питательный;
12)stockpiled – запас, резер. 3.13 Read the text. Economic Security in America
When the English-speaking colonists arrived in the New World they brought with
them the ideas and customs they knew in England, including the “Poor Laws”. The first colonial poor laws were fashioned after those of the Poor Law of 1601. They featured local taxation to support the destitute; they discriminated between the “worthy” and the “unworthy” poor; and all relief was a local responsibility. No public institutions for the poor or standardized eligibility criteria would exist for nearly a century. It was up to local town elders to decide who was worthy of support and how that support would be provided.
The English “Poor Laws”
As the state began to assume responsibility for economic security, the English began the development of a series of “Poor Laws” adopted to provide help to the poor, as the problem of economic security was seen primarily as a problem afflicting the poor.
The English Poor Law of 1601 was the first systematic codification of English ideas about the responsibility of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens. It provided for taxation to fund relief activities; it distinguished between the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor; relief was local and community controlled; and almshouses were eventually established to house those on relief. The law was at once both generous and harsh. Generous in that it acknowledged the government's duty to provide for the welfare of the poor, but harsh in that it viewed the poor as highly undesirable characters and treated them accordingly.
There were a series of changes and “reforms” of the “Poor Laws” over the years, but this essential structure was the tradition the pilgrims brought with them when they journeyed to the New World.
As colonial America grew more complex, diverse and mobile, the localized systems of poor relief were strained. The result was some limited movement to state financing and the creation of almshouses and poorhouses to “contain” the problem. For much of the 18th and 19th centuries most poverty relief was provided in the almshouses and poorhouses.
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Relief was made as unpleasant as possible in order to “discourage” dependency. Those receiving relief could lose their personal property, the right to vote, the right to move, and in some cases were required to wear a large “P” on their clothing to announce their status.
Support outside the institutions was called “outdoor relief” and was looked upon with distrust by most citizens. It was felt that “outdoor relief” made things too easy on the poor who should be discouraged from the habit of poverty in every way possible. Nevertheless, since it was expensive to build and operate the poorhouses, and since it was relatively easy to dispense cash or in-kind support, some outdoor relief did emerge. Even so, prevailing American attitudes toward poverty relief were always skeptical and the role of government was kept to the minimum. So much so that by as late as 1915 at most only 25 % of the money spent on outdoor relief was from public funds.
3.13.1 Words you may need:
1)distrust – недоверие; сомнение; подозрение;
2)discourage – не одобрять; мешать осуществлению, препятствовать,
отговаривать;
3)nevertheless – тем не менее, однако, несмотря на, всё-таки;
4)to dispense – раздавать, делить, распределять;
5)support – поддержка;
6)harsh – жёсткий, твёрдый, грубый, неприятный;
7)welfare – благополучие; благосостояние, достаток.
3.14 Read the text.
Old Age in Colonial America
Although the need for economic security affects all ages and classes of society, one particularly acute aspect of this need is the problem of old age and the possibility of retirement after a long life of labor. Retirement, a feature of life we now take so much for granted, was not always readily available, and it was a struggle to develop adequate systems of retirement.
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One of the first people to propose a scheme for retirement security that is recognizable as a forerunner of modern social insurance was Revolutionary War figure Thomas Paine. His last great pamphlet, published in the winter of 1795, was a controversial call for the establishment of a public system of economic security for the new nation. Entitled, Agrarian Justice, it called for the creation of a system whereby those inheriting property would pay a 10 % inheritance tax to create a special fund out of which a one-time stipend of 15 pounds sterling would be paid to each citizen upon attaining age 21, to give them a start in life, and annual benefits of 10 pounds sterling to be paid to every person age 50 and older, to guard against poverty in old-age.
3.14.1 Words you may need:
1)acute – сильный, резкий; крайний, критический;
2)retirement – выход в отставку; уход на пенсию; отход от дел;
3)struggle – борьба;
4)controversial – спорный, сомнительный; дискуссионный. 3.15 Read and discuss the text.
3.15.1 Name the facts from the text which are new to you.
3.15.2 Single out the main facts and present them in a short review. The Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression
When the New York Stock Exchange opened on the morning of October 24, 1929,
nervous traders sensed something ominous in the trading patterns. By 11:00 a.m. the market had started to plunge. Shortly after noon a group of powerful bankers met secretly at J.P. Morgan and Co. next door to the Exchange and pledged to spend 240 million dollars USA of their own funds to stabilize the market. This strategy worked for a few days, but the panic broke out again the following Tuesday, when the market crashed again, and nothing could be done to stop it.
Before three months had passed, the Stock Market lost 40 % of its value; 26 billion dollars USA of wealth disappeared. Great American corporations suffered huge financial losses. ATandT lost one-third of its value, General Electric lost half of its, and RCA's stock fell by three-fourths within a matter of months. (It would take 25 years for the stock market to return to its pre-crash level following the 1929 crash.)
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As America slipped into economic depression following the Crash of 1929, unemployment exceeded 25 %; about 10,000 banks failed; the Gross National Product declined from 105 billion dollars USA in 1929 to only 55 billion dollars USA in 1932. Compared to pre-Depression levels, net new business investment was a minus 5.8 billion dollars USA in 1932. Wages paid to workers declined from 50 billion dollars USA in 1929 to only 30 billion dollars USA in 1932.
3.16 Read the text and name the facts from the text which are new to you. Economic policy
A Well-educated Workforce: Vital Component of National and Economic Security The world is awash in change. It is the truism of our times. President Barack Obama
introduced his National Security Strategy with the following statement:
Time and again in our Nation’s history Americans have risen to meet—and to shape—moments of transition. This must be one of those moments. We live in times of sweeping change.... Our strategy starts by recognizing that our strength and influence abroad begin with steps at home. We must grow our economy and reduce our deficit. We must educate our children to compete in an age where knowledge is capital, and the market place is global.
In May 2010, in a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke of the importance of a well-educated citizenry: “America’s success depends on the success of its individual citizens, just as the progress of humanity ultimately depends on the shared progress of nations. I believe that education has immeasurable power to promote growth and stability in the 21st century.”
The history of the United States is replete with examples of the contribution of education to economic and national security. In 1635, less than 30 years after the first settlers landed on North American soil, the Boston Latin School was founded, and the first free school was established in Virginia. In 1636, Harvard College was established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in 1693, William and Mary College was founded in what is now Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act, which established “land grant” colleges: endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one
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