Ольга Кравцова - Английский язык для специальных и академических целей - Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1

Price of Royalty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx6mTakGbfA

1. Revenue — the income of a government from taxation and other sources, appropriated for public expenses.

2. Austerity — an economic policy by which a government reduces the amount of money it spends by a large amount.

3. Spin (in public relations) is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure.

1. Do you think the British monarchy is a profitable institution?

2. Who covers the expenses of the Royal family?

1. Over 90 per cent of Brits believe the Royal family brings in a lot of money via tourism.

2. According to the UK's national tourism agency, the annual revenue from monarchy-related tourism is 500 million pounds.

3. Republicans claim the monarchy costs Great Britain 30 million pounds annually.

4. The support for monarchy in Great Britain has risen by 20% since 2006.

5. Four million pounds was spent on renovating a house for Prince William.

6. The head of state in the Republic of Ireland costs the country half as much as the Royal family costs the British.

1. Why is the figure for the official expenditure of the Royal family lower than the actual expenses?

2. Do the costs of maintaining the Royal family affect people's attitude to the monarchy?

3. Apart from expenses, what other argument against monarchy do Republicans provide (in the video-clip)?

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

1. Can you come up with any other arguments against preserving the monarchy?

2. What are the most common arguments for retaining the monarchy in Great Britain?

3. Which arguments are more compelling, in you view?

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

Form a team, choose the leader. Discuss with the rest of your group what particular aspect of UK-Russia relations (episodes that had a serious impact on the relations, either positive or negative; crucial moments in history; factors that unite or separate the two countries, future prospects) you are going to focus on.

Individual work

Do your part of the research; prepare to share the data with the rest of the team.

Pool your findings and prepare a power point presentation of the results of team research and conclusions for the rest of the class.

Class work

Present the results of the research.

Ex. 10. Fill in the gaps with prepositions if necessary.

1. First Year academic advising is integral _______ the success of every student who enters the

university.

2. If the legislation is not passed, the government is likely to impose economic constraints ______

those hospitals that do not comply with its policies.

3. With their state sovereignty impaired and their social wealth plundered or destroyed, the Chinese people were deprived ______ the basic conditions for survival.

4. The balance pivots ______the support of three Senate Republicans and several centrist

Democrats who hashed out the Senate bill late last week.

5. The Yuan Dynasty, founded by the nomadic Mongolians, was the shortest of all of China's dynasties and eventually relinquished its land _____ farming peoples.

6. Anecdotal evidence, especially from the media, suggests that the host population (in New Zealand) is not willing to accommodate ____ the cultural differences of immigrants.

7. Members of both Houses of Parliament are required by law to take an oath of allegiance _____

the Crown before they take their seats in Parliament.

8. The devolution of power _____ Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has allowed them to

determine their own political and economic priorities.

9. The US Army's harsh crackdown on media criticizing Washington's policies is reminiscent _____ Nazi Germany's secret police Gestapo, an analyst writes for Press TV.

10. Renoir's works were infused _____ much colour and light, reflecting life around him.

11. Poverty and income inequality are deeply embedded _____ the structure of its society and

the country is characterized by weak government and political instability.

12. The disenchantment of young people _____ politics results in massive democratic deficits in

all aspects of life.

Today, Britain is a very different country than it was in 1) _________ 1970s. It is more comfortable and much more tolerant 2) __________ different personal lifestyles, even as it is less

tolerant 3) ________ extreme political views. 4) _________ all, it is vastly more prosperous. It

is true that the 5) _________ of the current economic crisis are far-reaching and serious: many

people who considered themselves comfortably 6) ______ have found that their 7) _______ of

living is increasingly hard to sustain. The squeeze on living costs is 8) ________ felt by a large

9) ________ of the population. At the 10) _________ time, the disproportionate rewards being

enjoyed by those at the very top are 11) _________ more visible and more pronounced than

ever. This is a 12) _________ more unequal society than it was 40 years ago. Nonetheless, all this

is happening from what is by any historic standards a very high base of material security.

There is extensive historical 13) ____________ that once they pass beyond a certain level of

material prosperity democratic societies are very 14) __________ to experiment with alternative

forms of government. The costs of the disruption are not 15) __________ any possible reward.

1. Эта ситуация напоминает день, который навсегда врезался в мою память.

2. Плюрализм является неотъемлемым принципом демократии, в противном случае это только подобие демократии.

3. Если политик не способен чётко формулировать свои взгляды, то это посредственный политик, чьи успехи будут минимальны.

4. Самодовольство британских политиков привело к бросающемуся в глаза разочарованию молодых британцев в политике, которое проявляется в их нежелании участвовать в выборах.