Unit 11. Globalization

1. Read the extract from the article from the CNN Money website and complete it with the expressions listed.

marred              heading off              surged

pickup

continuing

macroeconomic

predict              simmering              retaliation

policies              taking hold              clamp down

G7 Sees Global Recovery

World finance leaders ...

Washington (Reuters) — Finance chiefs from the world’s wealthy nations agreed on Saturday that a global economic recovery is ... (2) as they unveiled a plan for ... (3) debt crises like the one crippling Argentina.

In a closing statement stressing determination to... (4) on groups that fund attacks such as those that leveled the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, Group of Seven finance chiefs vowed to do whatever is necessary to sustain a ... (5) in activity in the face of risks like costlier energy.

But the unity they strove to present was ... (6) over the course of the meeting bv public displeasure from European officials over hefty US steel duties. Europe has put the wheels in motion for ... (7) against some US goods.

“Economic recovery from the slowdown is under way, supported by appropriate and proactive ... (8) that were in part a response to the tragic events of Sept. 11, but downside risks remain, including those arising from oil markets,” the one-page communiquri said.

World oil prices have ... (9) in recent months, largely because of the turmoil in the Middle East. A ... (10) rise could send costs and prices higher in the industrial economies of the G7 — the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

European officials still were ... (11) after the meeting about trade issues, specifically US steel import tariffs.

2. After filling in the gaps read the extract once more and decide which of the statements are True and which are False and write T for True and F for False.

1. Finance chiefs try to do everything to prevent debt crises.
2. G7 is determined to fight against international terrorisms.
3. European officials take measures against some US goods.
4. Oil markets do not pose a threat to the world economic recovery.
5. Events in the Middle East caused a decrease in world oil prices.

3. Give Russian equivalents and make your own sentences:

• press the point;
• investment-grade sovereign debt;
• deficit on current account;
• swift and unsettling swings;
• severe burden.

4. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. As officials mulled the economic future, tens of thousands of protesters marched peacefully through nearby streets, raising their voices against everything from globalization to Israeli military actions in the West Bank.
2. The G7 ministers said that, in the future, agreements by emerging market countries to borrow money should include debt restructuring provisions that will clarify what happens if payment problems arise.
3. This represented at least a partial victory for US officials who have been pushing for a “market-based approach” to handle economic difficulties more smoothly in future than has been the case with Argentina.
4. US Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, host of the G7 ministers’ meeting, said that Argentina is “still a key concern” and urged authorities to work with the IMF to craft a comprehensive and workable reform plan.
5. There are clearly positive signs of an economic recovery in the United States, but the imbalances in its current account are worrying, and they should be addressed soon.

5. Render the extract from the article using the active vocabulary.

To, что события 11 сентября положили начало новому этапу в международных отношениях, не было неожиданностью. Это произошло не внезапно.

Появление супертехнологий, позволяющих небольшим группам наносить такой ущерб, который в прошлом мог быть исключительно делом рук национальных армий, усугубило процесс глобализации, устраняющей барьеры на пути осуществления международных сделок. Все это в конце прошлого века определило уровень глобальной зависимости государств друг от друга.

90-е годы двадцатого века были годами потерянных возможностей. Празднуя победу в холодной войне, Запад замкнулся в себе. Россия пережила несколько кризисов, пытаясь трансформироваться в демократическое общество. Расширение НАТО стало ответом на обеспокоенность некоторых центральноевропейских стран по поводу своей безопасности, однако оно привело к ухудшению отношений с Россией и никак не способствовало предотвращению новых угроз, которые начали появляться на горизонте. Индия и Пакистан открыто провели испытания ядерного оружия и провозгласили себя ядерными державами. Десятки стран занимались разработкой биологического оружия, ракет и даже ядерного оружия. Сочетание невнимательности, традиционного мышления и неадекватной реакции лишило мир зрелой способности контролировать развитие событий, подрывая тем самым мировой порядок и ослабляя действия международных договоров и деятельность международных организаций, в том числе ООН.