The seasons

The poem to enjoy. Try to learn it by heart.

Translate the proverbs, think of Russian equivalents, give a situation using them.

At leisure 1. Read the article without a dictionary, try to retell it.

TROUBLE: FULL OF COMMO TION

When a person is in TROUBLE, his mind is ill at ease. The Latin parent of the word TROUBLE indicates just that, for TURBO meant «disturb». It came to us first with the spelling TURBLE, then TRUBLE, finally TROUBLE. This same Latin word TURBO has given us TURBULENT,

«full of commotion»; DISTURB, «throw into complete disorder»; and TURBID, that is, a TURBID stream which is «all muddied up». to be ill at ease — чувствовать себя неловко.

— To keep a dog and bark oneself.

— What`s done cannot be undone.

I love to go out walking

When spring is all around,

And maybe find a snowdrop,

Peeping from the ground;

Or hear the cuckoo calling clear,

To tell us spring is really here.

I love to go out walking,

Upon a summer’s day,

To see the purple clover

And smell the new mown hay;

While birds sing gaily from each tree

And cherries ripen just for me.

Unit 20

Pre-text exercises

1. Find the transcription of new words in a dictionary.
Through, primary, worth, danger, believe.

Try to read them fluently.

2. Word-building
Compile and translate:
to consume υ. + -r →
to assist υ. + -ance →
un + competitive a. →

Read the text Russia’s foreign trade

Through most of the 20th century, Russia’s, or the USSR as it was known for most of that century, trade with the outside world was mostly limited to trade with other members of the Socialist Bloc. It was self-sufficient in energy resources and primary goods. Its manufacturing industry was for domestic consumption only. Foreign consumer goods simply didn’t exist. Investment from abroad was not encouraged because the government wanted full control of production and prices. But things have changed.

Russia of the 21st century is much more open to business with the rest of the world. In the first six months of 2005, its total international trade turnover was worth about $150 billion. Both exports and imports have grown in recent years, but exports are growing more rapidly in value. This is mainly through the sale of oil and gas. In fact, energy resources make up over two thirds of Russia’s exports. The growing price of these commodities on world markets has brought huge amounts of foreign currency into the Russian economy. Metals are also important for the Russian economy. Russia’s steel industry, for example, is one of the world’s biggest. Other primary goods such as timber, minerals and fish are also important.

The value of trade isn’t the only thing that has changed. There have been changes in Russia’s trading partnerships, too. In the old Soviet days, and even in the years that followed the fall of communism, Russia’s main trading partners were other communist countries that used to be known as the COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) countries. In the early 1990s, for example, Russia still had trade agreements to export energy resources to many former Soviet republics. As oil prices increased, however, many of these countries found it difficult to pay for Russian oil, and exports fell. At the same time, trade with other parts of the world, especially the European Union began to grow. Communist ties have not all been broken, though. One of Russia’s most important trading partners is China.

But what does the future hold for the economy? The danger for Russia is that it relies very heavily on exports of oil, gas and minerals. Prices for these commodities can change suddenly on the world markets. 124

What does Russia have to fall back on? At the moment, not very much. Its industrial sector is mostly run down and uncompetitive. During the Soviet years, a large part of the country’s industrial strength was used to produce arms. Today, military equipment and weapons are still the biggest manufactured exports from Russia. It has to import almost all other manufactured goods.

Many economists believe that Russia must spend its oil money on investing in capital and infrastructure for industry. Doing this will encourage foreign investment and further economic growth. In turn, this will help to spread the benefits of growth to everyone in Russia, not just to a privileged elite.

Words:

self-sufficient — самостоятельный Council of Mutual Economic
sale — продажа Assistances = CЭВ — совет
to make up — составлять экономической взаимопо-
currency — валюта мощи
primary goods — сырьевые товары tie — связь

encourage — поддержка

Post-text exercises

Working on the text

I. Find answers in the text:

1. Did Russia (or the USSR as it was known) trade freely with the outside world?

2. By what was the trade with outside countries limited?

3. Was our country self-sufficient in energy recourses and primary goods?

4. Did we sell our products abroad?

5. Investment from abroad was not encouraged at that period. Why?

6. What is growing more rapidly now: exports or imports?

7. What is the energy export today?

8. What place does Russia hold in steel industry?

9. What are our primary goods for export?

10. What is the danger for Russia concerning exports and imports?

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