Ex. 4. Read the article again and decide if the following statements are true

or false:

1. China is going to play a vast role in international relations in the nearest future.

2. Language barriers and cultural discomforts create misunderstanding at the Forum

between China and Western countries.

3. China is eager to boost foreign direct investment in the economy.

4. The topic of Taiwan is a frustrating one to the Chinese.

5. The Chinese rank themselves as a key actor among world nations.

 

Ex. 5. Read the article and explain the following phrases:

To put the bewildering vastness of the topic into a few words, fretting about China's lengthening shadow, crack down on the rampant theft of intellectual property, was billed by the organizers as Beijing's chief operating officer, the problem is less one of legal tradition than cultural disconnect, the Chinese turnout this year has been noteworthy, why the Chinese do not turn out in droves, go to considerable lengths to make this a congenial place for China, spoke about the passionate feelings in China regarding Taiwan's status.

 

Ex. 6. Match words from the article with their corresponding definitions:

1. Staggering a) pleasant, suitable for one's character

2. To dissect b) to know, recognize or understand sth, especially sth that

is not obvious

3. Overriding c) no longer interested or enthusiastic about sth

4. To ease d) to mention sth in an indirect way

5. To discern e) to study sth closely or discuss it in great detail

6. Congenial f) more important tnan anything else in a particular situation

7. To allude g) to become or to make sth less unpleasant, painful, severe

8. Weary h) so large, shocking or surprising that it is difficult to believe

 

Ex. 7. Replace the words in italics with a verb from A and a particle from B in the correct way:

A break crack drive keep turn shy come	B down (*2) out up to (oneself) away (*2)

a Negotiations between two countries failed.

b The subject was mentioned in conversation.

c Police try harder to prevent an activity of drug dealers.

d Terrorist threats make tourists stay far from the place.

e The reporters avoided inverstigating the story.

f A vast crowd was present to watch the procession.

g Nobody knows much about a tribe, it avoids meeting people.

 

Ex. 8. Write the summary of the article.

Ex. 9. Read the text below, use the following words to complete it.

aid, allegations allies, to combat, emerge, favorable, independence, rival, poll, terrorism

Poll Shows Modest Changes in Levels of Anti-U.S. Mood

The anti-Americanism that surged through much of the world over the war in Iraq shows modest signs of abating, although distinctly negative views persist in the Muslim world, an international opinion () ________ released Thursday indicates. Favorability ratings of the United States - while well below levels of 2002, before a trans-Atlantic rift opened over Iraq - improved slightly even in France and Germany, as both sides have sought to mend the earlier wounds.

Still, among America's traditional () ________, only Britain and Canada remained positive in their overall views of the United States. In many countries the unpopularity of President Bush remained a salient factor. Though, 79 percent of Indonesians said they had a more favorable view of the United States as a result of the () _____ Americans provided after the Dec. 26 tsunami. Indians appeared pleased with closer economic ties to the United States, and Russians with cooperation on trade and () _________.

In Britain, Canada and France, about three-quarters of respondents said Mr. Bush's re-election had made them feel less () ___________ toward the United States. The poll, a Pew Global Attitudes Survey, was conducted from April 20 to May 31, surveying nearly 17,000 people in the United States and 15 other countries: Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

Americans appeared quite aware of their image problem. Only one in four thought the country was well-liked abroad. Strong majorities in several countries said they would like to see another military power () __________ to balance the United States, but most, especially in the West, did not want it to be China. Seven in 10 of those surveyed in Britain, France and Russia opposed a rising Chinese superpower, as did about 8 in 10 Germans and Americans. But the idea was much more popular in developing countries: majorities in Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey favored it.

Most West Europeans said they would prefer greater () ___________ from the United States in security and diplomatic affairs. An overwhelming 85 percent of the French said it would be good if the European Union emerged as a military () _________ to the United States.

Over all, the most negative views of the United States were found in Muslim countries. Two countries caught up in the American effort () __________ terrorism, Turkey and Pakistan, were the most negative: only about one in five people in each country said they viewed the United States favorably. In the Muslim world and in Europe, the war in Iraq remained as unpopular as it was in 2003 and 2004. Views in Pakistan turned sharply more negative after () ___________ that American guards at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had abused the Koran.

Ex. 10. Discuss the following issues:

1. Main challenges in modern world.

2. Super Powers vs. the Third World.

3. Geopolitical position of Kazakhstan: advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

Unit 2. International Organizations

Key vocabulary

Give equivalents in your mothertongue to the following English words and phrases:

To alleviate poverty

Blue-helmeted peacekeepers

To contribute troops

Debt relief

To gain entry

To have observer status

To hold sb accountable for

To hold courts-martial

Memorandum of understanding

Monitoring panel

Oil-for-food program

To raise money

To recommend a country for censure

To reduce tariffs on trade in goods and services

To refresh top management team

To root out corrupt officials

To settle trade disputes

On the shopping list

to be subject to the approval of подлежать одобрению

To warrant an independent inquest

To write off debts

Ex. 1. Speak on the following:

1. International organizations, their functions and role: UNO, OECD, G7.

2. International financial organizations: WB, IMF.

3. International trade organizations: WTO, OPEC.

 

Ex. 2. Before reading the newspaper article below discuss in pairs the present

Structure of the U.N. Write 2-3 ideas on changes to be introduced. Read the

Article and see if your ideas were correct.

Annan Offers Plans for Changes in U.N. Structure

By WARREN HOGE

UNITED NATIONS. Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed sweeping changes to the United Nations today that would expand the Security Council to reflect modern realities of global power, restructure the discredited Human Rights Commission to keep rights violators from becoming members and redefine terrorism to end any justifications of its use for national resistance.

Mr. Annan made the recommendations in a speech to the General Assembly aimed at restoring confidence in the United Nations that lapsed after bitter divisions over the war in Iraq, charges of mismanagement and corruption in the oil-for-food program, and revelations of sexual misconduct by blue-helmeted peacekeepers.

"I make no apology for the detailed, matter-of-fact nature of this presentation," he declared, saying his proposals were a package that had to be accepted in total, not something from which nations could pick and choose.

"This hall has heard enough high-sounding declarations to last us for some decades to come," he added. "We know what the problems are, and we all know what we have promised to achieve.

"What is needed now is not more declarations, but action to fulfill the promises already made."

His proposals, drawn from conclusions of an independent panel in November, will be the subject of a gathering of heads of government in September that hopes to reinvigorate the United Nations at a time when its value is being widely questioned.

The speech, while making the case for the relevance of a revised United Nations, will also be seen as a bid by Mr. Annan to shore up his stewardship. While he has maintained much of his once-vaunted reputation abroad, he has come under pointed criticism in Washington, where some members of Congress have called on him to resign before completing his term in office at the end of 2006.

"If any report has Kofi Annan's name all over it, it is this one," said Mark Malloch Brown, Mr. Annan's outspoken new chief of staff.

The measures were outlined in a 63-page report from Mr. Annan titled "In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All." The report was released Sunday after details from drafts emerged in The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.

Mr. Annan said the Human Rights Commission had been undermined by allowing participation by countries whose purpose was "not to strengthen human rights but to protect themselves against criticism or to criticize others." In recent years, the commission's members have included Cuba, Libya and Sudan.

"As a result," he said, "a credibility deficit has developed, which casts a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system as a whole."

He recommended replacing the 53-nation Human Rights Commission with a smaller council, whose members would be chosen by a two-thirds vote of the 191-nation General Assembly, rather than by regional groups. "Those elected," he said, "should undertake to abide by the highest human rights standards."

Mr. Annan called for a definition of terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or noncombatants" aimed at intimidating governments, populations or international organizations. "We must convince all those who may be tempted to support terrorism that it is neither an acceptable nor an effective way to advance their cause," he said.

Regarding the Security Council, Mr. Annan left it up to the General Assembly to decide between basic ideas proposed in November, but he urged the body to reach a decision before the September meeting.

The council now has 5 veto-bearing members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - and 10 members elected to two-year terms. One alternative would add 6 permanent members - likely candidates are Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Egypt and either Nigeria or South Africa - as well as 3 two-year term members. The other would create a new tier of 8 semipermanent members chosen for renewable four-year terms and one additional two-year seat to the existing 10.

Veto power is coveted by nations seeking permanent status; they are likely to continue to press for it even though both recommendations, as now written, limit the veto to the five original permanent members.

The report also reinforces a policy of "zero tolerance" for sexual exploitation by peacekeepers. Mr. Annan urged countries furnishing troops to prosecute wrongdoers in the absence of United Nations authority to do so.

In what appeared to be a reference to the Bush administration's bent for taking aggressive action to project and protect American interests, Mr. Annan said, "In today's world, no state, however powerful, can protect itself on its own."

The spokesman for the United States mission, Richard A. Grenell, said that it was too early to give a full reaction but that "we have been eager to receive the secretary general's reform ideas and are now giving his new report every consideration."

Mr. Malloch Brown said he thought Washington would welcome Mr. Annan's human rights proposal - which he described as "more ambitious than anyone had contemplated or expected" - and his endorsement of a nonproliferation system that Robert C. Orr, the assistant secretary general for policy coordination and strategic planning, noted had been championed by the nominee to be the new United States ambassador, John R. Bolton.

But Mr. Malloch Brown said Washington would probably not be happy with Mr. Annan's insistence that developed nations set aside 0.7 percent of their gross national incomes for aid to developing countries - the United Nations estimates the United States' level at 0.15 percent - or with his reliance on the Security Council to codify rules on using military force and pre-emptive action.

On the dispute between the United States and the United Nations over the use of force, Mr. Orr said: "Certainly Washington has expressed concerns about this, but in fact the discussion has been very constructive. There is not universal agreement on this, but like many parts of the package, we are not starting with agreement; we hope to end with agreement. What you can say is that the U.S. has engaged very sincerely on these discussions, and that's very encouraging."

(Source: New York Times, 2005)

Ex.1. Read the article and answer the following questions:

1. What are the changes aimed at?

2. What was Kofi Annan criticized for?

3. What changes are to be introduced to the Security Council?

4. Why did a credibility deficit to the Human Rights Commission develop?

5. What changes did he recommend to the Human Rights Commission?

6. What is the essence of the definition of "terrorism" given by K.Annan?

7. What was the reaction of the officials to Mr. Annan's recommendations?