been a long-term trend, and is unlikely to abate no matter how awful 1) resort – ïðèáåãàòü, îáðàùàòüñÿ the slums become. In 1800, only 2 % of the world's population was 2) grievance – æàëîáà, íåäîâîëüñòâî urbanised; by 2008 more than half of the world's population will be.
3) makeover – ïåðåäåëûâàíèå Because such migration is so predictable, and long established, it might 4) attune – íàñòðàèâàòü, äåëàòü ãàðìîíè÷íûì seem surprising that many governments are ill-equipped for it. But 5) breakneck – îïàñíûé, ñòðåìèòåëüíûé there is little new in that either: the now-rich countries fared just as 6) shabby – çä. óáîãèé, âåòõèé, çàõóäàëûé badly when their cities first began to grow rapidly.
7) demolish – ðàçðóøàòü, óíè÷òîæàòü What can be done Lessons from history make it clear what 8) trigger – ïðèâîäèòü â äåéñòâèå, âûçâàòü should not be done: ignoring slums or harassing the people that live in 9) frenzied – áåøåííûé, áåçóìíûé, íåèñòîâûé them through summary evictions and clearances. Although few gov10) greed – æàäíîñòü, àë÷íîñòü ernments openly advocate such repressive policies, arbitrary evictions 11) connivance – ïîòâîðñòâî, ïîïóñòèòåëüñòâî, ìîë÷àëèâîå are still common in many developing countries. In any case, slum ñîãëàñèå eradication and resettlement create more problems than they solve.
12) intimidate – çàïóãèâàòü, óãðîæàòü, øàíòàæèðîâàòü Most residents pushed out of their homes soon have little option but to 13) meagre – ñêóäíûé, íåäîñòàòî÷íûé return to the same area, because they need the work that drew them to 14) uproot – íàñèëüíî âûñåëÿòü ñ ìåñòà æèòåëüñòâà the city in the first place.
15) idle – çä. áåñïîëåçíûé, òùåòíûé, ïóñòîé Improving slums, rather than relocating their residents, is a much 16) bogus – ïîääåëüíûé, ôàëüøèâûé, ìíèìûé better approach. But in developing countries, resources to build new 2. Make up a plan of the text in English. housing rarely exist. Instead, government-aided "self help" is more re alistic. Loans for home improvement and investment in infrastructure 3. Give a summary of the text. are crucial for upgrading slums. But the central problem is that slum 31 residents rarely have the formal rights to remain on the land they oc- 10) title deed – äîêóìåíò, óñòàíàâëèâàþùèé èëè ïîäòâåðcupy. So they have no incentive to develop the land for the future, and æäàþùèé ïðàâî íà ÷òî-ëèáî 11) title – çä. ïðàâîîñíîâàíèå, ïðàâî ñîáñòâåííîñòè are unable to raise the money to do so.
12) overly – ñëèøêîì, ÷ðåçâû÷àéíî 13) unwelcome – íåæåëàííûé, íåïðèÿòíûé A stake in the future 14) legacy – íàñëåäñòâî Hernando de Soto, a well-known economist from Peru, has long 15) untangle – ðàñïóòûâàòü advocated another solution: giving formal title deeds to the poorest 16) bedrock – áàçèñ, îñíîâà slum dwellers. Possessing, legal proof that they own the land beneath their home, however humble, gives poor people the means to raise fi2. Make up a plan of the text in English.
nance for improving their dwelling and even, in many cases, for starting a business. The Peruvian government has issued well over a million 3. Give a summary of the text.
property titles to the great benefit of impoverished families.
As the UN report points out, awarding titles is not always easy.
Land laws in many developing countries are overly complicated, and government bureaucracies frequently inefficient or corrupt. But legal complications are often the unwelcome legacy of the colonial era, and should be untangled in any case. And bureaucratic inefficiency is a headache for reforms in every area, not just in that of slum policy.
The owners of much slum land have long since abandoned any serious claims to it. In other places, the land belongs to the government. In both cases, awarding a title to slum dwellers can be seen as a fair way to establish property rights, the bedrock of any prosperous society. If governments are brave enough to try it, slums could yet become an engine of growth in poor countries, rather than a crisis in the making.
1. Vocabulary notes:
1) dweller – æèòåëü 2) abate – îñëàáëÿòü, óìåíüøàòü, ñíèæàòü 3) fare – ïîæèâàòü, æèòü, áûòü 4) harass – áåñïîêîèòü, òðåâîæèòü 5) eviction – âûñåëåíèå, ëèøåíèå èìóùåñòâà (ïî ñóäó) 6) eradication – èñêîðåíåíèå 7) upgrade – ïîâûøàòü êà÷åñòâî, èñïðàâëÿòü 8) incentive – ïîáóäèòåëüíûé ìîòèâ, ñòèìóë 9) stake – çä. çàèíòåðåñîâàííîñòü 33 Med Sea Bubble tion volumes have been restricted to 2 000 per session (a figure hit in the first 13 minutes of one day last week).
Even as Alan Greenspan frets about how to handle America’s Although the central bank has tried talking the market down, and stock-market, bubble-watchers should spare a thought for policymakers has asked banks to stop lending to would-be punters, they show no sign on the sun-soaked Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Investors there are of cooling. Almost every day since the exchange reopened, it has hit a taking stock-market mania to new heights.
new high, despite the retreat of foreign investors and Cypriot instituWhen it opened three years ago in Nicosia, the Greek-Cypriot tions. New listings are lapped up : a recent one was 50 times oversubcapital, the Cyprus Stock Exchange seemed set for a quiet life, with scribed. Dinos Papadopoulos, the exchange's chairman, is hoping for an daily turnover last year rarely topping 3m Cypriot pounds ($1,6m).
orderly correction. He sees the euphoric mood "continuing for a while, This year, huge demand for its 50-odd shares has pushed the index up but after that it's hard to predict". Really by more than 500 %. Daily trading volumes have topped $200m, and traders scarcely flinch when the index jumps by 15 % in a day. Share 1. Vocabulary notes:
valuations are in the stratosphere: Bank of Cyprus, the largest listed 1) fret – âîëíîâàòüñÿ, òðåâîæèòüñÿ firm, has a price-earnings ratio of 70. What is going on 2) mania – ìàíèÿ, óâëå÷åíèå One reason for the surge is that Cyprus is seen as a convergence 3) flinch – îòñòóïàòü, óêëîíÿòüñÿ play – yes, really – now that it is in talks to join the European Union;
4) valuation – îöåíêà, îïðåäåëåíèå ñòîèìîñòè the prospect of closer ties with Greece, an EU member, has also 5) surge – âîëíà, ðåçêèé ñêà÷îê boosted takeover activity. Another factor is the increasing prospect of a 6) boost – ïîäíèìàòü, ïîääåðæèâàòü, ïîâûøàòü political settlement of Cyprus's long-standing division into Greek and 7) herd – ñòàäî, òîëïà Turkish zones. Cyprus has also become a favourite destination for Rus8) pile in – çàáèðàòüñÿ (êóäà-òî), òîëïèòüñÿ sian money, some of which goes into the stock-market.
9) fittingly – íàäëåæàùèì îáðàçîì, ñîîòâåòñòâåííî The main factor, though, has been simple herd mentality. As 10) adult – âçðîñëûé, çðåëûé, ñîâåðøåííîëåòíèé soon as returns on shares started looking decent, ordinary Cypriots 11) savvy – ñìåêàëêà, çäðàâûé ñìûñë piled in. Some have bet their life savings on the market; others have 12) fundamental – ïðèíöèï, îñíîâû borrowed to buy shares. Fittingly, in a country where beach restaurants 13) rip-off – âîðîâñòâî, ãðàáåæ, ìîøåííè÷åñòâî, ïëàãèàò tend to raise prices rather than mark them down in the slow season, the 14) bewildered – îçàäà÷åííûé, ñáèòûé ñ òîëêó amateur investors – reckoned to be one in four adults – are more enthu15) backlog – ðåçåðâ, çàïàñ; îòñòàâàíèå siastic than financially savvy. Mamoun Tazi of Salomon Smith Barney 16) slump up – âûêëàäûâàòü äåíüãè, ïëàòèòü íàëè÷íûìè says most look at absolute numbers rather than fundamentals. A share 17) talk down – ïåðåêðè÷àòü, ãîâîðèòü ñ êåì-ëèáî ñâûñîêà priced at 3 Cypriot pounds is good value; one costing 3 000 Cypriot 18) punter – ïðîôåññèîíàëüíûé èãðîê (íà áèðæå) pounds sounds like a rip-off. Small wonder that listed companies have 19) bubble – äóòîå ïðåäïðèÿòèå; âîëíåíèå, øóì (ìîðÿ) been "adding value" by splitting their shares into smaller units.
20) lap up – ãëîòàòü, ïîãëîùàòü, óìûâàòüñÿ (ïåðåí.) All of which has caused plenty of headaches for the financial au21) orderly – ïëàíîìåðíî, îðãàíèçîâàííî, ðåãóëÿðíî thorities. The exchange was forced to close for most of September so 22) oversubscribe – ïðåâûñèòü íàìå÷åííóþ ñóììó that bewildered brokers could clear a backlog of some 60 000 orders.
23) 50-odd – 50 ñ ëèøíèì Investors must now stump up cash before placing buy orders; transac 35 2. Scan the text and find: Patriots too 1) the sentence, expressing the main idea of the article;
The Other Israel: Voices of Refusal and Dissent 2) the passage, describing the reasons of the current financial (Edited by Roane Carey and Jonathan Shainin. Foreword by Tom Segev.) situation in Cyprus;
3) the passage telling about national mentality peculiarities of After the collapse of the Camp David peace talks towards the ordinary Cypriots;
end of 2000, and the start of the Palestinian intifada, many Israelis 4) the passage informing about the consequences for the busistarted to articulate a single, strident message: they had offered the Palness world;
estinians a priceless gift, and been kicked in the teeth for their pains; so 5) the sentence, containing the conclusion.
be it, they would now show the so-and-sos who was master. A substantial majority of voters (twice) elected Ariel Sharon to do just that. But 3. Give a summary of the article.
some disagreed, and a few of those – loyal Israelis all – have packaged their dissent into a neat volume of short essays and articles written over the past two years.
What good will it do asks Tom Segev, an Israeli newspaper columnist, in his foreword. Israelis have an expression "shoot and cry" for those who allow things to happen even as they deplore them.
Maybe, he suggests, he and his fellow dissenters are writing for their own relief, to detach themselves from Israel's "tribal, isolated, emotional and nationalistic mood", and to show future historians that there were white hats around, even if they couldn't do much about anything.
Listen for instance to Ami Ayalon, once head of the Shin Bet security service, describing in an interview with Le Monde the wrongheadedness of current Israeli policy. Freed from American pressure since September 11th – a date that another writer describes as "a Hanukkah miracle" for Israel – the Israeli government ploughs its own path. But time, Mr Ayalon argues, is not on Israel's side. Demographically, it benefits the Arabs. Politically it favours the extremists: Hamas, the militant Islamist movement and the ideological settlers.
He calls, as others do, for withdrawal from the occupied territories to give the Palestinians the hope of a proper state. Gideon Levy is a journalist who, like Mr Segev, writes for Haaretz, the newspaper from which several of these essays are reprinted. Mr Levy questions the wisdom of Mr Sharon's onslaught on terrorism, and laments that "We have again become one nation that speaks with one voice and doesn't ask questions such as… what is the infrastructure of terrorism if not the occupation, the despair and the hatred" 37 The effect on Israel of Mr Sharon's policy of massive reprisal, Smoke and Mirrors his preference for force over diplomacy, is what concerns writer after New York writer. They see a new arrogance and a new cruelty. Michael Ben-Yair, a former attorney-general, writes that occupation has transformed Israel Politicians were delighted by last November's settlement with from a just society to an unjust one. The steps taken to prolong the octobacco manufacturers. There was only one drawback; the $206 billion cupation – killing the innocent, executing wanted men without trial, the deal to compensate 46 states for past smoking-related healthcare costs encirclements, closures and roadblocks – "are causing us to lose the moral would be spread over the next 25 years. Now even that problem has base of our existence as a free, just society". Young reservists explain been solved. This week's decision by Standard & Poor's to give a rating why they refuse to serve in the occupied territories. Meron Benvenisti, to bonds tied to the future tobacco-settlement payments should send the a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, reflects on the arrogance of the solfinancial markets to the rescue. Local governments will now be able to diers at the roadblocks, and, in a concluding essay, looks to a time when get a good deal of their money up-front by selling "securitised" tobacco Israelis will oppose current policy. Yet none of these writers, not even bonds to investors.
Mr Benvenisti, believes that this is likely to happen any time soon.
The first two – issued by New York city and Nassau County (New York) – are expected to raise nearly $1 billion between them in 1. Vocabulary notes:
the next couple of weeks. This dwarfs sums raised by the handful of 1) dissent – ðàçíîãëàñèå, íåñîãëàñèå securitisations carried out before, which involved the sale of bonds 2) articulate – âûðàæàòü, ÿñíî ôîðìóëèðîâàòü backed by the expected future revenues from taxes and parking fines as 3) strident – ñêðèïó÷èé, ðåçêèé yet unpaid.
4) deplore – ñîæàëåòü, îïëàêèâàòü The tobacco money will be especially welcome because it does 5) detach – ðàçúåäèíÿòü (-ñÿ), îòäåëÿòü (-ñÿ) not have to be spent on health care. Politicians will be able to finance 6) tribal – ïëåìåííîé, ðîäîâîé new spending initiatives, cut taxes or, in the case of governments with 7) plough – ïðîäâèãàòüñÿ, ïðîêëàäûâàòü ïóòü budget difficulties (such as Nassau County's), minimise unpopular 8) onslaught – íàïàäåíèå, óäàð spending cuts, or increases in taxes or borrowing.
9) lament – ïëà÷, ðûäàíèå, ñòåíàíèÿ This may not be all it is puffed up to be, however. There is a risk 10) reprisal – îòâåòíûé óäàð, îòâåòíàÿ ìåðà, âîçìåçäèå that not all the settlement cash will come in – for instance, if the to11) arrogance – âûñîêîìåðèå, íàäìåííîñòü, çàíîñ÷èâîñòü bacco firms' legal difficulties get dire enough to bankrupt them. Even if 12) roadblock – çàñàäà, çàãðàæäåíèå íà äîðîãå the cash is delivered, using one-off revenues of this sort can give a 13) so be it – åñëè; ïðè óñëîâèè, ÷òî falsely rosy idea of a local government's finances if the money is used 14) so-and-sos – òàêîé-òî; òàê-òî è òàê-òî 15) white hats – ïîëîæèòåëüíûå ïåðñîíàæè to meet ongoing financial liabilities. And although Standard & Poor's 16) wrong headedness – çàáëóæäåíèå, óïîðñòâîâàíèå â çà- says it will rate tobacco bonds as high as single-A (compared with the áëóæäåíèè best possible rating of triple-A), the ordinary general bonds issued by 17) militant – âîèíñòâóþùèé most local governments typically get a higher rating. In other words, 18) settler – çä. ðåøàþùèé äîâîä general bonds will often be a cheaper way of raising money.
However, these general bonds often require the explicit approval 2. Make up a plan of the text in English.
of voters. By selling tobacco bonds, politicians may be paying extra to borrow in a way that does not look particularly like borrowing and may 3. Give a summary of the text.
escape political oversight. Now, why would they want to do that 39 1. Read the text and say if the following statement are true or Ploughshares into Swords false.
The European Union spends $1) The author of the article describes advantages and disadvanbillion a year of taxpayers' money on tages of “securitised” tobacco bonds.
subsidising farmers through the common 2) The tobacco money will enable politicians to finance new agricultural policy. Taxpayers are fleeced spendings, cut taxes or minimize unpopular spending cuts.
a second time as consumers, because the 3) The author warns of a possible risk that not all the settlement EU protects and rigs the market in farm cash will come in.
goods to ensure that consumers have to 4) Ordinary general bonds issued by most local governments pay artificially high prices for their food.
typically get a higher rating.
The system makes nobody happy. It en5) The author of the article doubts if politicians will want to sell courages high levels of fraud. It appears tobacco bonds.
to encourage the industrialised production of food by disgusting means. And it 2. Make up a plan of the text in English.
creates a riot-prone caste of subsidy-addicted farmers who, despite the transfers they receive from the tax3. Give a summary of the text.
payer, frequently declare themselves poor and miserable.
