Questions. § 6. Определенный артикль the произошел от указательного местоимения that тот

Questions

1. What’s the problem raised in the article?

2. What are the arguments of the right / left parties to the statement “the poor are coddled too much / little”?

3. Why is the year 1997 mentioned?

4. Does the author believe the promises of the Labour party? What implications does he make?

5. What is the crisis of consumption? Who do the right / left blame for it?

6. What’s the relationship between deficit in consumption and the financial crisis?

7. What’s the way out of the crisis in the author’s point of view?

8. Why is the perception “money given to the poor is money wasted” erroneous? How does this idea correspond to money circulation and reality of spending?

9. Is the author’s attitude to the problem socially responsible? How do you know?

Elegiac	Грустный
Resigned	Покорный
Irrefutable	Неопровержимый
Dismissive	Пренебрежительный
Pervasive	Распространяющийся, всеобъемлемый
Latter	Недавний
Disposable	Доступный, наличный
Choate	Полный, законченный
Distraction	Развлечение
Homily	Назидание
Leap	Скачок
Culpability	Вина
Offensive	Атака
Profligacy	Расточительство
Provenance	Происхождение, источник
Demarcation	Разграничение
Hold sway	господствовать
Coddle	Нянчиться
Incense	Разгневать
Sod	Послать к черту
Envisage	Представлять себе
Hoard	Тайно хранить

Article 2

What Europeans think of each other Polls apart May 15th 2013, 17:02 by J.S.

IT IS not hard to find reasons why disaffection with the European Union might be growing within Europe. GDP in the euro area has declined for the sixth successive quarter and unemployment is running at record levels in many countries. Germany resents bailing out profligate neighbours and its relationship with France, which has just slipped into recession, is at a low ebb. In Britain, the Conservative prime minister faces one of the periodic uprisings from within his party against membership of the EU. Nonetheless, it is sobering to see a new survey on public opinion in Europe by the Pew Research Centre confirming much of this disgruntlement, and more besides.

When people in eight countries were asked about monetary union and EU membership, fewer were in favour of either than they were when asked a year ago. But it was a question on attitudes to one another that was arguably most revealing, exposing lingering stereotyping, some historical mistrust and a bit of modern-day resentment about economic power. It also appeared to confirm a puzzling finding from a similar Pew survey a year ago: that Greeks' perception of themselves is out of kilter with everyone else's.

As the table shows, when asked to name the most trustworthy nation, every country voted for Germany except for the Greeks. Instead, they awarded themselves that accolade, while casting Germany as the most arrogant and least compassionate nation. (In the 2012 poll, Greeks considered themselves to be the most hardworking, to general bemusement.) However, this antipathy towards Germany is understandable. As the main paymaster for the euro area, Germany is blamed for the strict austerity measures imposed on Greece as a condition for bailing out the country. These have resulted in a cycle of declining growth, weakening demand and real hardship. Indeed, Germany's economic dominance is reflected in its several nominations as the most arrogant and least compassionate country.

Another striking finding is the dichotomy of opinion within countries. The Poles nominated Germany as both the most and least trustworthy nation, possibly dividing among older Poles with memories of war and younger ones who admire its reputation for prudence. The French, too, appear to be in two minds about their own arrogance—though the Brits are in no doubt about it. In a telling answer, Italians are most mistrustful of one another, perhaps aware that their country ranks badly on international corruption measures. Slovaks may not know whether to be (quietly) proud or slightly miffed that they are named the most humble nation by their bigger neighbour and one-time compatriots, the Czechs.

austerity	строгая экономия
bail out	брать на поруки, вносить залог
disaffection	неприязнь
disgruntlement	недовольство
ebb	спад, упадок; распад; перемена к худшему
miff	обижаться
profligate	неэкономный, расточительный
prudence	благоразумие, дальновидность
resent	негодовать, возмущаться
sober	отрезвлять, возвращать к здравому пониманию чего-л.
uprising	бунт, восстание, мятеж
dichotomy	противопоставление двух объектов
Arrogant	самонадеянный, преувеличивающий свои возможности
linger	сохраняться, не полностью исчезать
paymaster	кассир, казначей
accolade	похвала, хороший отзыв, одобрение
humble	скромный, непритязательный
compassionate	сострадательный; полный сочувствия
telling	выразительный, впечатляющий
kilter	исправность, порядок
bemusement	изумление
cast	браковать

1. What are the 5 reasons for dissatisfaction according to the author?

2. Who was the survey conducted by?

3. What were the 3 questions of the survey?

4. Which question was the most impotant for understanding why the relashionships within the EU have deteriorated? Why?

5. Study the chart and speak about the image of ……………

Article 3

“YOUNG people ought not to be idle. It is very bad for them,” said Margaret Thatcher in 1984. She was right: there are few worse things that society can do to its young than to leave them in limbo. Those who start their careers on the dole are more likely to have lower wages and more spells of joblessness later in life, because they lose out on the chance to acquire skills and self-confidence in their formative years.

Yet more young people are idle than ever. OECD figures suggest that 26m 15- to 24-year-olds in developed countries are not in employment, education or training; the number of young people without a job has risen by 30% since 2007. The International Labour Organisation reports that 75m young people globally are looking for a job. World Bank surveys suggest that 262m young people in emerging markets are economically inactive. Depending on how you measure them, the number of young people without a job is nearly as large as the population of America (311m).

Two factors play a big part. First, the long slowdown in the West has reduced demand for labour, and it is easier to put off hiring young people than it is to fire older workers. Second, in emerging economies population growth is fastest in countries with dysfunctional labour markets, such as India and Egypt.

The result is an “arc of unemployment”, from southern Europe through north Africa and the Middle East to South Asia, where the rich world’s recession meets the poor world’s youthquake. The anger of the young jobless has already burst onto the streets in the Middle East. Violent crime, generally in decline in the rich world, is rising in Spain, Italy and Portugal—countries with startlingly high youth unemployment.

Will growth give them a job?

The most obvious way to tackle this problem is to reignite growth. That is easier said than done in a world plagued by debt, and is anyway only a partial answer. The countries where the problem is worst (such as Spain and Egypt) suffered from high youth unemployment even when their economies were growing. Throughout the recession companies have continued to complain that they cannot find young people with the right skills. This underlines the importance of two other solutions: reforming labour markets and improving education. These are familiar prescriptions, but ones that need to be delivered with both a new vigour and a new twist.

Youth unemployment is often at its worst in countries with rigid labour markets. Cartelised industries, high taxes on hiring, strict rules about firing, high minimum wages: all these help condemn young people to the street corner. South Africa has some of the highest unemployment south of the Sahara, in part because it has powerful trade unions and rigid rules about hiring and firing. Many countries in the arc of youth unemployment have high minimum wages and heavy taxes on labour. India has around 200 laws on work and pay.

Deregulating labour markets is thus central to tackling youth unemployment. But it will not be enough on its own. Britain has a flexible labour market and high youth unemployment. In countries with better records, governments tend to take a more active role in finding jobs for those who are struggling. Germany, which has the second-lowest level of youth unemployment in the rich world, pays a proportion of the wages of the long-term unemployed for the first two years. The Nordic countries provide young people with “personalised plans” to get them into employment or training. But these policies are too expensive to reproduce in southern Europe, with their millions of unemployed, let alone the emerging world. A cheaper approach is to reform labour-hungry bits of the economy—for example, by making it easier for small businesses to get licences, or construction companies to get approval for projects, or shops to stay open in the evening.

The graduate glut

Across the OECD, people who left school at the earliest opportunity are twice as likely to be unemployed as university graduates. But it is unwise to conclude that governments should simply continue with the established policy of boosting the number of people who graduate from university. In both Britain and the United States many people with expensive liberal-arts degrees are finding it impossible to get decent jobs. In north Africa university graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates.

What matters is not just number of years of education people get, but its content. This means expanding the study of science and technology and closing the gap between the world of education and the world of work—for example by upgrading vocational and technical education and by forging closer relations between companies and schools. Germany’s long-established system of vocational schooling and apprenticeships does just that. Other countries are following suit: South Korea has introduced “meister” schools, Singapore has boosted technical colleges, and Britain is expanding apprenticeships and trying to improve technical education.

Closing the gap will also require a change of attitude from business. Some companies, ranging from IBM and Rolls-Royce to McDonald’s and Premier Inn, are revamping their training programmes, but the fear that employees will be poached discourages firms from investing in the young. There are ways of getting around the problem: groups of employers can co-operate with colleges to design training courses, for example. Technology is also reducing the cost of training: programmes designed around computer games can give youngsters some virtual experience, and online courses can help apprentices combine on-the-job training with academic instruction.

The problem of youth unemployment has been getting worse for several years. But there are at last some reasons for hope. Governments are trying to address the mismatch between education and the labour market. Companies are beginning to take more responsibility for investing in the young. And technology is helping democratise education and training. The world has a real chance of introducing an education-and-training revolution worthy of the scale of the problem.

limbo	состояние неопределённости
dole	пособие
spell	заклятие
arc	дуга
reignite	привести к, возобновить
plague	зачумлять
vigour	сила, энергия
twist	изгиб, поворот
glut	избыток, излишек
forge	изобретать, придумывать
revamp	поправлять, ремонтировать
poach	незаконно вторгаться на чью-л. территорию

1. What statistics does the article provide about the young jobless?

2. What 2 factors play a big role in unemployment arte?

3. What economic grounds may cause severe unemployment?

4. What are the ways to tackle the problem?

5. What must be done about education in order to improve the labour market?

6. Is the author optimistic about the future of the labour market?

Article 4

SAUDI ARABIA'S Shura Council, an unelected proto-parliament, agreed on April 22nd to consider a proposal to switch the country’s official weekend from Thursday and Friday to Friday and Saturday. The idea was first mooted in 2007, but was blocked by the council. Some members of the conservative Islamic clergy apparently opposed it on the grounds that it would mean observing the same weekend as the Jews—whose Sabbath lasts from Friday evening to Saturday evening—and might even be a step towards embracing the Saturday-Sunday weekend observed by Christians. So why is Saudi Arabia once again thinking of moving its weekend?

Although the seven-day week dates back at least as far 2350BC—when it was first formalised by Sargon I, king of the Mesopotamian empire of Akkad—the two-day weekend is a more a recent development. For much of history, the norm, first established by the Bible, was to work for six days and rest only on the seventh. For Jews and early Christians, that day was Saturday. When the Roman Empire embraced Christianity, Constantine the Great switched it to Sunday—some say in order to attract converts from the eastern religions who worshipped the Sun. A few hundred years later, the Koran fixed Friday as Islam’s holy day, on which Muslims must gather at midday for communal prayer—though there is no particular requirement to rest. But the idea of a two-day weekend is a product of modern day labour laws. (Indeed, Saudi Arabia is only now mulling legislation that would give private-sector employees the same rights to two days off that public-sector workers now enjoy.) While much of the Middle East established Friday to Saturday weekends, a clutch of Gulf and north African countries took off Thursday and Friday instead. Yet as the economic cost of sharing only three working days (Monday to Wednesday) with international trading partners became increasingly apparent, most switched to Friday and Saturday. The most recent country to do so was Oman, on May 1st.

Saudi Arabia boasts the region’s biggest economy and largest stockmarket. As it tries to promote itself as a regional financial hub, it is paying an especially high price for keeping its calendar out of sync with its neighbours. Opinion polls suggest most Saudis approve of ditching the current weekend. Business has been pressing for change for years. And some private companies are taking unilateral action: the Savola group, a Saudi company that is one of the Middle East’s biggest conglomerates, is considering moving its weekend from the middle of this year to facilitate its operations with the rest of the region.

The issue has become a national topic of debate. Although there is no religious proscription against working on a Thursday, traditionalists balk at change. The switch may still not be approved; the Saudi gerontocracy has been notoriously slow to reform. But as the cost to Saudi Arabia’s economy becomes ever clearer in difficult economic times, the pressure to fall in line will continue to mount. As one of the few countries still resisting the change, commercial interests will probably trump conservatism eventually.