Ф еде рал ьное агент с т во

В оронеж с кий гос ударс т венны й универс ит е т

У чебно-ме т одиче с кое пос обие

по англ ийс кому язы ку

по с п ециал ьнос т ям 080105 (060400) – финанс ы и кредит

080106 (060500) – бухгал т е рс кий уче т , анал из и аудит

Воронеж 2005

2 У т верж дено научно-ме т одиче с ким с ове т ом № факул ь т е т а РГ Ф от

2005г . Сос т авит е л и: Любинс кая Н.А., Спиридонова Н.Б. Пос обие подгот овл ено на кафедре англ ийс кого язы ка факул ь т е т а РГ Ф

В оронеж с кого гос ударс т венного универс ит е т а. Рекомендуе т с я для с т удент ов 1 курс а заочного от де л ения экономиче с кого

факул ь т е т а.

Нас т ояще е ме т одиче с кое пос обие предназначено для с т удент ов 1 курс а за-очного от де л е ния экономиче с кого факул ь т е т а, с пециал ьнос т и – 080105 (060400) – финанс ы и кредит , 080106 (060500) – бухгал т е рс кий уче т , анал из и аудит

Цел ь пос обия – обучение разл ичны видам чт ения и ос новам реферирова-ния, а т акж е вовл ечение с т удент ов в профес с ионал ьно-ориент ированное обще -ние на инос т ранном язы ке и информационны й поис к, знание кот орого необхо-димо л юбому работ нику.

Ст рукт ура данного пос обия предус мат ривае т две час т и. Первая час т ь с о-с т оит из пят и раздел ов, объединенны х по т емат иче с кому принципу и по общ-нос т и вкл юченного в них л е кс иче с кого мат ериала. О ни с т роят ся по одной, об-щей с хеме , хотя и от л ичают ся разнообразием конкре т ного напол нения.

К аж ды й из пят и раздел ов включае т т е кс т и с е рию упраж нений к нему, а заверш ае т ся т е м ил и ины м упраж нением , направл енны м на конт рол ь с т е пе ни с формированнос т и умений и навы ков в от де л ьны х видах речевой деят е л ь нос т и.

К аж ды й т е кс т предваряе т с пис ок пробл емны х вопрос ов, подгот авл иваю-щих с т удент ов к обс уж дению т е мы разде ла. Акт ивная л е кс ика раздел а закреп-ляе т ся в ходе вы пол нения пос л е т е кс т овы х л екс иче с ких упраж нений. У праж не -ния в конце каж дого разде ла рас с чит аны на развит ие навы ков ус т ной речи.

На каж ды й разде л первой час т и рекомендуе т ся от водит ь 4 часа, хотя в за-вис имос т и от уровня подгот овл еннос т и с т удент ов программа мож е т менят ь ся.

В т орая час т ь данного пос обия с ос т оит из конт рол ьны х заданий, кот оры е с т удент ы вы пол няют с амос т оят е л ьно. К онт рол ьны е задания с т роят ся по анал о-гии с разде лами первой час т и.

3

CONTENT

Chapter 1 Unit 1 Russia ready to pay off Paris Club debt by 2008 4 Unit 2 Mayor bans hotel office rentals 6 Unit 3 Japan to offer cheap mortgages in Far East 9 Unit 4 Russian oil giant disclosed its plan 12 Unit 5 Foreigners banned from developing Russia’s rich natural 15 Chapter 2 Test 1 18 Test 2 23 Literature 27

4

UNIT 1

RUSSIA READY TO PAY OFF PARIS CLUB DEBT BY 2008

Lead-in I. 1. What do you know about Russian’s foreign debts? 2. Do you believe that the pre-term debt repayment will be better for Russia? Reading II. Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true or false. 1. Russia and members of the Paris Club of creditors are going to sign an agreement

on the early repayment of Russia’s debt. 2. Russia will be paying 11 billion annually. 3. In 2005 the Russian government may use money from the Stabilization fund to

pay off the country’s all foreign debt. 4. A preschedule pay-off of the debt will save Russia money annually. 5. Putin said that the pre-term debt repayment will increase expenditure linked to

servicing of debts.

TEXT

Russia and 18 members of the Paris Club of creditors are ready to sign an agreement on the early repayment of Russia’s debt worth 30 billion. According to the Vedomosti business daily, it may be signed before Dec. 20, 2004.

The newspaper reported that this agreement presupposes that Russia will be paying 10 billion ($13,4 billion) annually, thus fully repaying its debt by 2008. Economists say that the pre-term debt repayment will considerably improve Russia’s macroeconomic figures.

This was confirmed by two Russian government officials as well as by a source in the Paris Club organization. The source said that the latest consultations on the issue took place in Paris on Dec. 14.

Earlier MosNews reported on an announcement made by Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin who said that in 2005 the Russian government may use $7-10 billion from the Stabilization Fund to pay off part of the country’s foreign debt.

A preschedule pay-off of the core part of the debt will save Russia $700-900 million annually on interest payments. As for the possible writing off a Russian debts, Ministry of Finance experts say that Russia should not expect more that a 100 percent discount.

5 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke about the intention of repaying the

debts to the International Monetary Fund and the Paris Club ahead of schedule on Nov. 18. Putin said that this decision is dictated “by the government’s aspiration to decrease expenditures linked to servicing of debts, that is, to lower the interest pay-ments”.

Language development III. Fill in the correct word from the list below, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

to sign debt macroeconomic government take pay core to decrease

1._________officials 4. _________off 7. _______expenditures 2._________repayment 5. _________figures 8._________place 3._________an agreement 6. _________part

IV. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. an agreement_____, according______, _____ 2008, consultations ____, _____ Paris, ____ December 14, report _____, pay ______, Ministry ____ Finance, speak ______, repay smth ______ smb, ahead _____ smth, linked _____ smth V. Make the new words with the base words, using the suffixes and prefixes. credit announce sign possible agree count pay nation consider head prove decide govern expend consult VI. Define Tense and Voice in the following sentences: 1. Creditors signed an agreement on the repayment. 2. Russia will pay 100 billion. 3. Pre-term debt repayment will improve Russia’s macroeconomic figures. 4. The agreement was confirmed by Russian government officials. 5. The Russian government may use $7-10 billion from the Stabilization Fund. 6. A preschedule pay-off will save Russia $700-900 million annually. 7. Russia should not expect more than a 10 percent discount.

6 Follow-up VII. Answer the following questions. Then using your answers, give your summary of the text. 1. What are Russia and creditors ready to sign? 2. When may it be signed? 3. How much will Russia be paying annually? 4. What do economists say about the pre-term debt payment? 5. What may Russian government use in 2005? 6. How much will a preschedule pay-off of the core part save? 7. What is this decision dictated by?

UNIT II

MAYOR BANS HOTEL OFFICE RENTALS Lead-in I. 1. Do you know what purpose 30 percent of Moscow’s hotel space is used for? 2. Is using hotel space for its design purpose more profitable than renting it out to

commercial tenants? Why? Reading II. Read the text, divide it into logical parts and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-E. A Too many percent of Moscow’s hotel space is not used for its purpose. B Hotel managers are worried about the future. C It is not profitable to rent hotel space out to commercial tenants. D There is an exception. E You can’t lease out hotel’s rooms for office use any more.

TEXT

In an effort to address the problem of Moscow’s dearth of hotel accommoda-

tion, Mayor Yury Luzhkov has signed a decree prohibiting the capital’s hotels from leasing out rooms for office or retail use.

7 The city has 36,000 hotel rooms, but a large number of hotel renovations

means that 2,700 rooms have been subtracted from that total, according to the Hotel Consulting and Development Group.

Accommodation is difficult to find even in four- and five-star hotels. About 30 percent of Moscow’s hotel space is not used for its “ core” purpose,

said Marina Smirnova, deputy director of the Hotel Consulting and Development Group.

Out of the capital’s 162 hotels, 56 were under municipal and six under federal government ownership at the end of 2003, according to Moskomstat figures.

For municipal hotels, the decree comes into effect on Feb. 1. Those hotels that are only part-owned by the city have until the summer of 2005 to come into line with the decree, and all other hotels should do so in the first quarter of 2005.

An exception will only be made for hotel rooms that have been granted an offi-cial permit to be redesigned as office space.

Hotels that have a large number of lettings to businesses include the 3,000-room Rossiya Hotel near the Kremlin, the Kosmos Hotel, the Izmailovsky complex and hotels with multiple buildings near the All-Russia Exhibition Center.

Hotels on the city’s periphery also have significant lettings. However, hotel managers and tenants appear unconcerned about the future of

their business Arrangements. Gennady Lamshin, managing director of Russia’s hotel association, said at the

end of the 90s, the city government granted many hotels the status of Hotel-and-office complexes.

The manager of the Rossiya Hotel confirmed that the majority of its 350 rooms that are leased out as offices had been redesigned as office space with City Hall’s blessing.

Kosmos’ first three floors were transformed into an office complex, said Ma-rina Levchenko, general director of the Tari Tur travel agency, which rents space there. She therefore hopes that her company and other tenants will not be affected by the mayor’s decree.

With demand for room space often outstripping supply – the average vacancy rate in Moscow hotels in 2004 was around 30 percent – using hotel space for its de-sign purpose is more profitable than renting it out to commercial tenants.

“Tour agencies are forced to turn away tourists simply because there is no ac-commodation for them,” said Irina Tyurina, spokeswoman for the Russian Tourism Union.

Renting hotel rooms is currently not very attractive for small businesses given the current lack of competition on the hospitality industry market, according to Vladislav Kochetkov, spokesperson for Magazin Gotovogo Biznesa, which brokers deals between buyers and sellers of existing businesses.

According to the Hotel Consulting and Development Group, hotel rental rates are not very affordable, ranging from $400 to $700 per square meter per year.

8 III. Match the words in (A) with the words in (B) (A) (B) 1. hotel a. hotels 2. office b. government 3. five-star c. accommodation 4. federal d. number 5. “core” e. use 6. official f. lettings 7. large g. purpose 8. multiple h. permit 9. Significant i. buildings 10. business j. agency 11. managing k. arrangements 12. hotel and office l. vacancy rate 13. travel m. decree 14. mayor’s n. director 15. average o. complexes IV. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. prohibit smth ________ smth, _________the end, come ________ effect, be uncon-cerned ________ smth, transform smth ________ smth, be affected _______ smth, accommodation_______ smth, spokesman _______ smth, lack _________ smth, range _______ smth_______smth. V. Passive. Expand the following passive constructions into complete sentences: To have been subtracted, to be used, to be made, to have been granted, to be redes-igned, to be leased out, to have been redesigned, to be transformed, to be affected, to be forced. Follow-up VI. Retell the text using the plan below. 1. What has mayor Jury Luzhkov signed to address the problem of Moscow’s dearth

of hotel accommodation? 2. How many hotel rooms does the city have? 3. How many percent of Moscow’s hotel space is not used for its “core” purpose? 4. How many hotels were under municipal and federal government ownership at the

end of 2003? 5. Who will an exception be made for? 6. Why do hotel managers and tenants appear unconcerned about the future of their

business arrangements?

9 7. Why is not renting hotel rooms very attractive for small businesses?

UNIT 3

JAPAN TO OFFER CHEAP MORTGAGES IN FAR EAST

Lead-in I. Read the sentences and guess whether they are true or false. 1. The bank’s current variable interest rate for mortgages is 7 percent in currency

terms in Russia’s Far East. 2. It is planned to raise interest rate in Russia’s Far East.

Reading II. Read the text, divide it into logical parts and give suitable headings to them.

TEXT

Japan’s Michinoku Bank signed a cooperation agreement with the Khabarovsk

region in Russia’s Far East to offer the local population cheaper mortgages. While credit institutions, like Dalkombank, already offer housing mortgages in

the region, few consumers can afford them because interest rates do not fall below 15 percent, said a representative of the regional government who did not wish to be named.

“ In this pilot program, the government will act as the guarantor for the mort-gages, lowering the risk for the bank and freeing people from providing other prop-erty as collateral,” he said.

Michinoku already offers low-rate mortgages in Khabarovsk, the region’s capi-tal, Yuzhny Sakhalinsk and Moscow, where the bank’s local offices are located. The bank’s current variable interest rate for mortgages is 7 percent in currency terms, but Michinoku plans to lower the rate further through its partnership with the Khabarovsk administration. As a result, the administration projects that more of the region’s 1,4 million population will be able to have a shot at purchasing newly constructed hous-ing.

Akexander Levintal, deputy head of Khabarovsk region’s administration and the signatory of the cooperation agreement with Michinoku Bank’s president Kazuo Harada, said the agreement merely provides a framework.

The exact mortgage eligibility terms and other project specifies are still being ironed out and will be detailed in future agreement. Currently, the program aims to

10 provide mortgages for housing priced at approximately 20,000 rubles (about $715) per square meter.

Another document will be issued in the near future containing more specific provisions and “detailing the direction of cooperation between the region’s govern-ment and Michinoku bank,” Levintal told reporters.

Because of the region’s industry and geography, even in the mid-90s the real estate markets of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok – the largest cities in the Far East – have seen faster growth and higher-than-average prices compared with other regions of the country, said Gennady Sternik, head of analysis at Moscow-based Miel Realty.

The average rate for apartments currently being bought with mortgages in the Far East is 17,548 rubles (about $627) per square meter, according to the Mortgage Housing Credit Agency’s December 2004 figures. The average countrywide rate is 16,341 rubles (about $584) per square meter.

“The Far East, of course, is very far from Moscow, which is a minus,” Sternik said. “However, it is close to economically powerful neighbors like China, which is definitely a plus.”

China, the region’s fifth-largest investor. contributed 9.5 percent of all foreign investment in the Khabarovsk region from 1989 to 2003. Japan contributed 14 per-cent, coming in third behind Austria (15.8 percent) and the United States (25.3 per-cent).

Russia has invited Japan and China to participate in further oil-field explora-tion and development in Eastern Siberia and is seeking low-cost loans from Japan to build a $15.5 billion oil pipeline to Nakhodka on Khabarovsk’s Pacific coast.

Language development III. Fill in the correct word from the list below, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

credit low-rate interest redional lower a shot estate average economically foreign

1. _____________ government 6. _____________ rates 2. _____________ investment 7. _____________ the risks 3. _____________ mortgages 8. _____________ at purchasing 4. _____________ markets 9. _____________ rate 5. _____________ institutions 10. ____________ powerful

IV. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. a guarantor ___________ smth, risk __________ smth, free smb __________ smth, to be ironed _________, an average rate _________ smth, _______ square meter, contribute smth __________ smth, __________ coast.

11 V. Scan the text to find the context for the given words and define their class.

agreement variable offer signatory local merely housing project representative powerful guarantor neighbors providing definitely

VI. Rewrite the following sentences in Past Simple and Future Simple: 1. While credit institutions already offer housing mortgages in the region, few con-

sumers can afford them because interest rates do not fall below 15 percent. 2. Michinoku already offers low-rate mortgages in Khabarovsk. 3. Michinoku plans to lower the rate further through its partnership with the Kha-

barovsk administration. 4. The program aims to provide mortgages for housing prices at about $715 per

square meter. 5. The Far East is close to economically powerful neighbors. Follow-up VII. Answer the following questions. Then using your answers, give your summary

of the text. 1. What did Japan’s Michinoku Bank sign? 2. What are interest rates in Russia’s Far East? 3. What does Michinoku plan? 4. What does administration project? 5. What is happening with the exact mortgage eligibility terms and other project spe-

cifics? 6. Why have the largest cities in the Far East seen faster growth and higher-than-

average prices compared with other regions of the country? 7. What is the average rate for apartments in the Far East? 8. What is Russia planning to do with its economically powerful neighbors China

and Japan?

12 UNIT 4

RUSSIAN OIL GIANT DISCLOSES ITS PLAN

Lead-in I. 1. What do you know about Russian oil company TNK-BP? 2. What do you think about the future of this company?

Reading II. Read the text, for questions 1-4, choose the best answer A, B, C or D.

TEXT

TNK-BP plans to combine units in two stages MOSCOW-Russian oil company TNK-BP showed stockholders its long-

awaited plan to begin melding its more than 15 subsidiaries and 600 legal entities into one company.

The plan set TNK-BP’s value at no less than $18.5 billion. Shareholders in TNK-BP, the Russian joint venture with British energy giant

BP, have been anxiously awaiting details of the restructuring. They will have a choice of swapping their shares for new stock in the umbrella company, or being bought out.

“We’re offering shareholders a fair deal, something they don’t get very often in Russia,” said TNK-BP Chief Financial Officer Kent Potter.

Plenty to combine TNK-BP’s structure – a collection of 17 subsidiaries and about 600 legal enti-

ties like trading companies – was a legacy of Russia’s 1900s privatizations. The company’s founders were Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Viktor Veksel-berg, and the Russian émigré Len Blavatnik. They bought up oil operations to create the country’s third-largest producer after Lukoil and Yukos.

In 2003, BP bought half of TNK in a deal blessed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And amid increasing Kremlin scru-tiny of the energy sector and massive tax claims against Russia’s troubled oil com-pany Yukos, TNK-BP has also legally incorporated in Russia, in the region of Tyumen, near the Kazakh border.

A previous sore point TNK-BP was registered in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, a sore point

for Russia’s government, which wants more transparency in collecting taxes from oil and gas companies.

TNK-BP expects production to grow 7 percent this year, Robert Dudley, its chief executive, said at the news conference.

13 TNK-BP’s output grew 15.6 percent in 2004 to 1,4 million barrels a day, mak-

ing it one of the fastest-growing energy companies in Russia last year. TNK-BP has also helped BP’s fortunes, pumping roughly a third of the British

firm’s oil. One of Moscow’s two major stock exchanges, the RTS, delisted Yokos, and

the Prosecutor-General’s Office said a new criminal investigation had been opened against the oil company’s jailed former CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The reorganization will be carried out in two stages. In the first, minority shareholders in the company’s top three subsidiaries, TNK, Sidanco and Onaco, can swap for stock in the new TNK-BP Holding or be bought out. TNK-BP controls 90 percent of the shares in the three units.

1. Russian oil company TNK-BP is going to meld its subsidiaries and a lot of

legal entities into A two subsidiaries. B two companies. C one company. D five entities.

2. TNK-BP Chief Financial Officer said that they were offering shareholders a fair deal, something A they want to get in Russia. B they never get in Russia. C they always get in Russia. D they rare get in Russia.

3. The company’s founders bought up oil operations A to create USA’s third-largest producer after Lukoil and Yukos. B to create the first-largest producer. C to destroy Lukoil and Yukos. D to start another business.

4. Russia’s government wants A to collect taxes from oil and gas companies. B to collect taxes from everybody. C to make clear collecting taxes from oil and gas companies. D to give up collecting taxes from oil and gas companies.

Language development III. Look at the words in bold in exercise 2 and try to explain them, then choose any three and make sentences.

14 IV. Fill in the correct word from the list below, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

oil long-awaited joint swap a fair legally a sore collect chief stock

1. ______________ plan 6. ______________ executive 2. ______________ point 7. ______________ company 3. ______________ taxes 8. ______________ venture 4. ______________ deal 9. ______________ exchanges 5. ______________ incorporate 10.______________ shares V. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions a choice ______ smth, swap smth ______ smth, buy ______, register ______ smth, collect smth ______ smth, ______ the conference, open investigation ______ smth, carry ______. VI. Make the new words with the base words, using the suffixes and prefixes. hold produce value region structure transparant collect change legal investigate operate VII. Put the verbs in brackets in Present Simple and Past Simple. 1. Russian oil company ____________ (show) stockholders its plan. 2. They ____________ (have) a choice of swapping their shares for new stock, or

being bought out. 3. TNK-BP’s structure ____________ (be) a legacy of Russia’s privatizations. 4. They ____________ (buy) up oil operations to create the country’s third-largest

producer. 5. Russia’s government ____________ (want) more transparency in collecting taxes

from oil and gas companies. 6. TNK-BP ____________ (expect) production to grow 7 percent this year. 7. TNK-BP’s output ____________ (grow) 15.6 percent in 2004. 8. A new criminal investigation ____________ (open) against the oil company’s

former. 9. TNK-BP ____________ (control) 90 percent of the shares.

15 Follow-up VIII. Summarize the text.

UNIT 5

FOREIGNERS BANNED FROM DEVELOPING RUSSIA’S RICH NATURAL

Lead-in !. Read the sentences and guess whether they are true or false. 1. East Siberia and Yakutia make up the most-developed oil and gas basin in Russia. 2. Russia is not the only country that prefers to develop its natural resources on its

own. Reading II. Read the text, divide it into logical parts and give suitable headings to them.

TEXT

It was announced that Russian Ministry of Natural Resources will auction off thirty-eight oil and gas deposits in Eastern Siberia. The deposits mentioned in the list are located in the Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions and in the republics of Yakutia and Evenkia. Among the deposits that will be auctioned off is the Chayandinskoye oil and gas field in Yakutia with recoverable reserves of 1.24 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 50 million tons of oil. Such reserves makes this field one of Russia’s and the world largest. The starting price for the Chayandinskoye field alone, analysts say, will be at least $100 million, with another several billion dollars in required in-vestment. However, investors are expected to seek discounts given the remote loca-tion of the site.

East Siberia and Yakutia make up the least-developed oil and gas basin in Russia. The Natural Resources Ministry says recoverable reserves in this area amount to 1.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 230 million tons of oil, with the estimated resources of 45.9 billion tons of fuel equivalent. Most of the deposits are largely underdeveloped and would need serious investment efforts from the winners of the license auctions.

Though officials have promised a fair competition, experts say that Surgut-neftegaz, TNK-BP, and natural gas monopoly Gazprom are the frontrunners in the race for East Siberian fields. All three majors want to bid in the auction. Gazprom press secretary Sergei Kupriyanov says the joint development of the Chayandinskoye field has been negotiated with Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz. When the auctions was

16 announced, the director of the institute of Energy Policy Vladimir Milov said that he does not believe a foreign company can win a license in East Siberia. However, some experts did not rule out that the wealthy China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) could join Gazprom in the auction. Last year, CNPN announced it was ready to bid for the Chayandinskoye field and a source close to CNPC has confirmed the Chinese major is still interested in Siberian oil and gas assets and is ready to talk with the Russian Government about possible cooperation.

It seems, however, that Vladimir Milov was correct in his guess. Several days later, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal Agency for Subsur-face Use announced their decision to ban foreign controlled companies from taking part in tenders to develop major oil and metals resources in 2005. Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev, who made the statement, said that the tender list included the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas field, which U.S. Exxonmobil had planned to de-velop; the Sukhoi Log gold field, Eurasia’s biggest; and the giant Udokan copper de-posit as well as many others. The companies that will be allowed to take part in the tenders must have no less than 51 percent of Russian ownership. A source in the Fed-eral Agency for Subsurface Use told the agency that “ the state is interested in the de-velopment of strategically important deposits by Russian companies”.

The move, which created quite a stir in the Western media, is, in reality, not surprising. The ban underscores the process which has been discussed for quite a long time: namely, President Putin and his associates are trying to recapture state influence in the oil and gas sector. It has been also said that the government is writing new leg-islation to restrict foreign ownership of mineral deposits, except in special cases.

Still, the Kremlin’s move is not the end of the world. After all, it permits par-ticipation of companies with 49% foreign ownership. This should present no prob-lems for newly created joint ventures, such as the potential ones between China’s CNPC with Gazprom and Rosneft, as well as India’s ONGC with Rosneft. For others, like the Russian-British TNK-BP 50-50 joint venture, the new ban may require some consideration. The desire to partake in the development of Russia’s natural resource riches, however, is a strong enough argument to somewhat change the ownership structure. Like Valery Nesterov, an analyst with the Troika Dialog investment bank told Dow Jones Newswires, “Russia isn’t shutting out foreign investors. It will just regulate the influx of investment depending on the country’s needs.”

After all, Russia is not the only country that prefers to develop its natural re-sources on its own. The United States, for example, develops its oil deposits in Texas and the Mexican Gulf without much help from foreign companies, while it conserves its oil deposits in Alaska for future use. No one seems to have a problem with that no-tion, no one criticizes the US authorities for banning foreign investors. What is so dif-ferent about Russia, besides from the fact that many countries would like to consider Russia as a natural resource backyard that can be used at leisure?

Logically speaking, the Russian government is doing right in giving preference for development to domestic companies. The only problem is that many actions of the Russian government are logical and sound to start with, but somehow good inten-tions get lost along the way. Selling development licenses to Russian companies is a wonderful idea, but will these Russian companies really invest in the development of

17 deposits, or will they simply hold on to their new assets doing nothing? And won’t the authorities themselves actively use the licensing agreement conditions as a pretext for initiating notorious tax checks several years down the road? With unlucky leap year finally over, there is a hope that both sides will “get it right” this time.

Language development III. Look at the words in bold in exercise 2 and try to explain them, then choose any three and make sentences. IV. Fill in the correct word from the list below, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

natural oil and gas starting required investment a fair possible take strategically joint ownership country’s domestic good

1. ____________ field 8. ____________ part 2. ____________ cooperation 9. ____________ investment 3. ____________ ventures 10.____________ structure 4. ____________ efforts 11.____________ intentions 5. ____________ needs 12.____________ competition 6. ____________ price 13.____________ important 7. ____________ resources 14.____________ companies V. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions. auction ____, be located ____, bid ____, be interested ____, ban smth ____ smth, take part _____, development _____ smth, shut ______ smth, ______ one’s own, _____ future use, different ______ smb, besides ______ smth, be right ______ smth, hold ______, pretext ______ smth. VI. Give English equivalents of the following words: запас ы нефт и с овме с т ное предприят ие бол ь ш ие капит ал овл ож ения рас с мат риват ь аукцион инос т ранны е инве с т оры ут верж дение правит е л ь с т во запре т т ребоват ь VII. Make the new words with the base words, using the suffixes and prefixes. develop strategy invest associable

18 negotiate win announce foreign discuss major VIII. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. 1. Investors are expected __________ (seek) discounts. 2. Most of the deposits would __________ (need) serious investment efforts. 3. The director of the Institute said that he does not believe a foreign company can

__________ (win) a license. 4. He is ready __________ (talk) with the Russian government. 5. The Federal Agency announced their decision __________ (ban) companies from

__________ (take) part in tenders. 6. It was planned __________ (develop). 7. I will __________ (regulate) the influx of investment. 8. No one criticizes the US authorities for __________ (ban) foreign investors. Follow-up IX. Read the text again and make notes under these headings. Then use your notes to talk about:

• 38 oil and gas deposits will be auctioned off in Eastern Siberia • serious investment efforts are needed • the state is interested in the development of deposits by Russian companies • foreign ownership of mineral deposits is restricted • Russia is not the only country that develops its natural resources

X. Summarize the text.

TESTS

TESTS I

REDUCING POVERTY. SUSTAINING GROWTH

A global learning Conference in Shanghai, May 25– 27, 2004

Lead-in I. We all know that certain countries achieved significant success in their struggle against poverty. How could they overcome their backwardness and turn into equal members of the international community?

19 II. Read the text and choose the most suitable heading from the list (A-D) for each part (I-IV).

TEXT

I. All over the world, in many different ways, countries have rolled back pov-erty and built the conditions for sustained, equitable growth. How can we find out about the implementation factors that triggered success and foster those approaches on a global scale to shrink poverty in the many parts of the world where it remains widespread? The purpose of this conference is to find out.

Aid alone is not the answer. In spite of improvements in aid allocation and its effective use, many developing countries have failed to reduce poverty, often because of gaps in knowledge and capacity that keep them from adapting to their own circum-stances the successful practices discovered and applied elsewhere.

In a series of United Nations conferences during the 1990s the international community established a set of common goals, the Millennium Development Goals, to be achieved between 1900 and 2015.

II. Hope and some lessons come from the experiences of Asian developing countries, with half the world’s population, that already have met the millennium goal for poverty reduction in the 25 years ending in 2003. The developing countries of Asia collectively reduced extreme poverty by more than 50 percent from 1978 to 2003. Prime examples are China, Korea, Malaysia, and India. However, income dis-parities still remain at the national and regional levels, and threaten to jeopardize pro-gress in the long run.

Pockets of progress exist in other regions as well: Chile in South America, for example, and Uganda in the 1990s in Africa. In addition, many policy lessons can be extracted from programs, projects, and initiatives all over the world, which have helped improve the living standards of the poor, either by providing a better invest-ment climate conducive to economic growth or by promoting social inclusion and empowerment. What is important about all these experiences is that some shift in in-stitutions, policies, and approaches to development took place that enabled poverty reduction on a scale.

Meanwhile, other main regions with large concentrations of poor people – Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia – have made less progress in reducing poverty over the past one or two decades. Despite isolated projects that have improved people’s lives in these regions, prospects for them to meet the MDGs are not very encourag-ing.

Gaps in knowledge, capacity, and policies have limited the number of these successes and kept them isolated, meaning that the good work and experience, which could be making a positive difference in the lives of millions of people, are not being widely shared and implemented. How can countries and communities learn from mis-takes and scale up successful approaches?

III. The eight Millennium Development Goals, embraced by 189 countries in 2000, are now widely accepted as a framework for measuring development progress.

20 The goals focus the efforts of the world community on achieving significant, measur-able improvements in people’s lives. They establish yardsticks for measuring actions, not just of developing countries but of the rich countries whose aid programs and trade policies affect the developing world. The MDGs also guide the World Bank and other multilateral institutions that help countries shape and implement development policies. Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education. Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. Goal 4. Reduce child mortality. Goal 5. Improve maternal health. Goal 6. Combat HIV / AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. Goal 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. Goal 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development.

To meet the MDGs, a new consensus between developing and developed coun-tries must be forged. Developing countries must improve their investment climate, quality of governance, and institutional capacity to provide public services and em-power the poor. They also must undertake a sequenced opening up to foreign invest-ment and trade. Countries willing to make necessary reforms should have the re-sources they need to tackle illiteracy, poverty, and disease. Working with the interna-tional financial institutions, developed countries must also lower trade barriers and improve the quantity and effectiveness of development aid.

IV. Today the possibilities for creating global networks abound. Never before has the developing world had such ample access to cutting-edge information and knowledge as it now has through the Internet and other communication technologies. Dialogues among experts, formerly so costly, are coming well within the reach of most countries. Sharing experience can yield robust solutions for development.

This conference represents an unprecedented opportunity to promote knowl-edge exchange on how developing countries can implement reforms that will acceler-ate progress towards the MDGs, and how foreign aid can be energized by a renewed international consensus to facilitate and harmonize the progress.

A These goals are quite realistic. B The Millennium Development Goals. C The purpose of the Conference. D How can countries learn from mistakes and seal up successful ap-

proaches? Vocabulary Practice III. Match the key terms (1-14) with their explanations (A-N) 1. abound A increase, promote 2. facilitate B turn smth back or further away 3. disparity C a process of putting smth into effect or action

21 4. trigger D put in danger 5. empowerment E a standard used for evaluating qualities of people

or things 6. foster F destroy completely, put an end to smth 7. scale up G help the development, encourage or promote 8. roll back H make smth easy or easier 9. implementation I difference, inequality 10. jeopardize J start a sudden, often violent action or reaction 11. yardstick K disability to read or write 12. illiteracy L giving smb power or authority to act 13. sustain M exist in great numbers or quantities 14. eradicate N keep smth stable, constant, unchanging IV. Fill in the correct word from the list into:

a) adjective – noun collocations sustainability approach poverty education community growth trade inclusion success standards circumstances prospects policy projects practices opportunity solution

1. global________________ 9. encouraging________________ 2. economic_____________ 10. isolated___________________ 3. extreme______________ 11. successful_________________ 4. universal_____________ 12. an unprecedented___________ 5. significant____________ 13. social_____________________ 6. their own_____________ 14. robust____________________ 7. international___________ 15. environmental______________ 8. living________________ 16. primary___________________

b) noun– noun collocations implementation aid poverty income communication knowledge trade gender development investment child

1. ______________mortality 7. _____________exchange 2. ______________factors 8. _____________technologies 3. ______________equality 9. _____________allocation 4. ______________climate 10. _____________aid 5. ______________barriers 11. _____________reduction 6. ______________policies 12. _____________disparities

V. Fill in the following table. Put dashes if there are no corresponding words.

22 Verb Noun Adjective Adverb 1. implementation 2. sustain 3. establish 4. costly 5. growth 6. successful 7. reduce 8. extreme 9. access 10 formerly 11. develop 12. allocation 13. conducive 14. promote 15. inclusion VI. Find in the text and give opposites for the following words: 1. failure 7. project 2. stagnation 8. discourage 3. health 9. deteriorate, make worse 4. cheap 10. increase 5. accelerate 11. wealth 6. start, set up, create 12. make smth difficult Follow-up VII. Answer the following questions. 1. When and where did Global Learning Conference take place? 2. What was its purpose? 3. Which countries have been successful in poverty reduction? Give their brief char-

acteristics? 4. What are the Millennium Development Goals? 5. Which factors are indispensable for reaching these goals? 6. Why did other countries lag behind? 7. Talk about the role of communication technologies on the way of progress. VIII. Using your answers and the following expressions write a summary of the text.

23 trigger success, foster new approaches, roll back poverty, adapt to one’s circum-stances, meet the goals, lessons can be extracted from, encouraging prospects, learn from mistakes, possibilities abound, within the reach, to promote knowledge ex-change, to tackle illiteracy

TEST II

CHILE: SUCCESSES AND FAILURES IN POVERTY ERADICATION

Lead-in I. We all know that certain countries achieved significant success in their struggle against poverty. Here is an example. By combination of economic and social policies Chile reduced by nearly one half the extreme income disparities. What were strong and weak aspects of Chilean program? II. Read the text and say whether the following statements are true or false: 1. The social policies of all three Chilean governments during the 90s were aimed at

economic growth. 2. Pinochet decision to reduce taxes positively affected social policies. 3. During the last decade of the century poverty in Chile was reduced by 20%. 4. Extreme income disparities were eradicated. 5. Chile’s success in overcoming poverty can be mainly explained by economic

growth.

TEXT

Poverty eradication was at the core of development strategies in Chile during the Aylwin, Frei, and Lagos administrations of the 1990s. The social policies of all three government were formed by a particularly difficult beginning. The Chilean economy went through a deep financial crisis in 1982, similar in severity to Argen-tina’s crisis of 2001. In 1982 and 1983, Chile’s GDP fell by 16 percent. The collapse of the financial sector cost Chilean taxpayers between 30 and 40 percent of GDP. Unemployment shot up to 30 percent. Around 50 percent of the population fell below the poverty line. Extreme poverty affected 30 percent of the population.

Starting in 1985, the focus of economic policies shifted toward financial sol-vency and economic growth. Exports grew rapidly and unemployment went down. On the poverty front, however, results were less successful. People living below the poverty line still represented 45 percent of the population in 1987. Additionally, a key decision by the Pinochet government to reduce taxes and government expenditures in 1988 had a further negative impact in social policies. The decrease in social expendi-tures was equivalent to 3 percent of GDP, resulting in severe deterioration in the cov-erage and quality of public health services, lower wages for teachers, and low pen-sions for the elderly.

24 It was against this background that the newly elected government of Patricio

Aylwin came into office in 1990. The new government immediately put the fight against poverty at the top of the agenda. Chile’s new “growth with equity” develop-ment strategy was based on growth strategy balanced by aggressive social policies; the strategy continued through the decade. Between 1990 and 2000, poverty was re-duced from 40 percent of the population to 20 percent. The pro-growth strategy in-cluded:

• Opening the economy to world trade • Conservative fiscal policy pursuing simultaneously a budget surplus and re-

duction of public debt • Expanding of the domestic capital market • Reform of labor and tax policies, including a tax increase that allowed the

government to expand social expenditures by more than 200 percent through the 1990s

The strategy enabled the Chilean economy to grow by 6 percent per year dur-ing the decade. The combination of high growth and active redistributive policies re-duced by nearly one-half the extreme income disparity between the top 20 percent and the lowest 20 percent of the population.

An empirical study comparing social policies in the 1980s and 1990s shows that about 60 percent of Chile’s poverty eradication in the 1990s can be attributed to economic growth and 40 percent to social policies. The “ easy” first phase represents a combination of high growth, increased wages and expansion in income-support schemes for low-income families, and improved minimum pensions with an immedi-ate impact on poverty reduction.

The shift from income-support schemes towards social investment aimed at up-grading education, skills, and access to health services produced a much more grad-ual effect on the incidence of poverty. The initial expansion in funding for public health and education had an impact, as schools and new hospitals were built. Teach-ers, doctors, and health care workers received better pay, and coverage slowly ex-panded.

The slowdown in the second half of the 1990s had to do with decreasing returns to large expenditures in public health and education. After basic coverage problems were solved. Rigid, highly centralized, bureaucratic institutional arrangements in public hospitals, combined with active resistance from doctors and public health workers, resulted in great inefficiency. Though government expenditures in public health increased by 250 percent, output of healthcare services grew only by 22 per-cent.

A similar outcome was observed in education. Following a tripling of public resources, learning scores initially surged, but did not continue to improve. A signifi-cant part of this disappointing result has to do with the poor quality of teaching in the classroom. The National Teachers Unions succeeded in preventing performance evaluations of teachers or school administrators for 12 years. The lessons are that money does not guarantee effectiveness and that more attention should be paid to the political economy of institutional changes required to ensure cost-effective provision of basic health and education services.

25 Vocabulary Practice III. Match the key terms (1– 13) with their explanations (A– M) 1. A a payment, or a subsidy 2. B inequality, difference 3. C list of problems to be discussed 4. D improving, developing smth to a high degree 5. E becoming worse 6. expenditure F acting, functioning 7. severe G an amount of money spent on smth 8. disparity H 1) total capital of a firm or a country

2) justice 9. upgrading I strong effect or influence on smb or smth 10. J bad, intense, strict, difficult 11. K complete destruction, putting an end to smth 12. L the process of giving smb a guaranteed subsidy or

benefit 13. agenda M a payment or a subsidy usually given by the state or

social bodies IV. Fill in the correct word from the list into

a) noun-noun collocations

development poverty government budget tax program income-support key public

1. __________strategies 6.___________subsidies 2.___________line 7.___________surplus 3.___________eradication 8.___________ratio 4.___________policies 9.___________savings 5. ___________policy

b) noun-adjective collocations.

economic municipal local preliminary strong and weak social holistic traditional extreme negative

1._______________poverty 6. _____________expenditure 2._______________aspects 7.______________growth 3._______________districts 8.______________impact 4._______________evaluations 9.______________population 5._______________approach (2)

26 V. Fill in the following table. Put dashes if there are no corresponding words. Verb Noun Adjective Adverb 1. effect 2. extremely 3. evaluation 4. access 5. conservative 6. unemployment 7. represent 8. financial 9. reduce 10. complain 11. conclusion 12. expand VI. Give the opposites for the following words: conservative lack poverty reduce surplus development upgrading similar continue recession Follow-up VII. Answer the following questions. 1. Describe the economic situation in Chile in the decade 1990–2000. 2. What were the priorities of the Patricio Aylwin government? 3. What measures helped to reduce poverty by nearly one half? 4. What has been done in education and health services to reduce the incidence of

poverty? 5. Why did health services fail to improve in the second half of the 1990s? 6. What has been done to improve health and education services? VIII. Using your answers and the following expressions, write a summary of the text. to go through a crises, collapse of financial sector, unemployment shot up to, at the top of the agenda, to pursue a budget, surplus, to enable economy to grow, to reduce poverty nearly by one half, to have an impact on smth, to result in great inefficiency.

27 И СПО ЛЬ ЗО В АННАЯ ЛИ Т Е РАТ У РА

1. Cotton D. World of Business / Cotton D. – England: Tomson, 2000. - 185p. 2. Virginia Evans. Enterprise: Elementary / Virginia Evans - Jenny Dooley. – Eng-

land: Express Publishing, 2000. - 136p. 3. Virginia Evans. Enterprise: Pre-Intermediate / Virginia Evans - Jenny Dooley. –

England: Express Publishing, 2000. - 137p. 4. Moscow News // № 35, 37 2004; № 2, 5 2005.

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Редакт ор: Бунина Т .Д .