Unit 5 Demographic Challenges
LEAD-IN
Pre-reading:
 What are the major demographic challenges we face today?
 How can we address and accommodate these changes?
THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE IN EUROPE
By Karoly Lorant
The estimated world population in Christ's time was around 200 million and
it hardly changed during the centuries that followed. When Columbus discovered
the New World there were only 450 million people, the average yearly growth rate
in the first 15 centuries of our Lord was 0,1% which meant stability for the
contemporary societies. The population began to accelerate in the 18th century,
when, partly as a result of improved
nutrition and the impact of new
discoveries in medical science, like
smallpox vaccination, the defeat of
cholera, germ theory of disease, the
discovery of the pathogen of
tuberculosis and so on, there was a
decrease in the crude death rate of the
population, while the birth rate remained
relatively high.
The population reached one
billion in the turn of the 19th Century,
and the yearly growth rate remained
almost unchanged in the next 130 years
hovering around 0,6%. The real
population blow-up came in the middle
of the 20th Century, when the results in
medical science began to spread in the
Asian, African and Latin American
countries. The average growth rate reached the yearly average of 2% which – in a
generation's time – doubled the world population.
Today, the negative demographical tendencies are present in the whole of
Europe including its eastern part with the states of the former Soviet Union and the
symptoms are rather similar. From the second half of the 19 th century, the yearly
growth rate of population in the present European Union oscillated between 0,5
and 1%. However, this trend changed dramatically in the 1960’s and within one
generation the growth rate slowed down to zero. Even the natural growth (the
difference between death and birth number) turned into negative and only the net
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
1
immigration made the population grow. Looking for the reasons we will discover
that against the fact that there was some improvement in the death rate while the
average life span became longer too, these tendencies were unable to balance the
steadily deteriorating total fertility rate. Total
fertility rate is the average number of children
that a woman, in all her lifetime, will give birth
to. This ratio was around 2,66 in the beginning
of the 1960’s and fell back to 1,46 by the end of
the 1990’s.
The decrease in total fertility rate is a
global phenomenon. However while the total
fertility rate in the developing countries – against
a substantial fall – remained well above the
critical 2,1 level which is required for the simple
reproduction of the population, in the developed
world, the rate of 1,46 is not enough to maintain
the current society. This rate, in the long run
when its impact will fully prevail, produces a
yearly decrease of 1% in the population.
Parallel to this, the so called old age
dependency rate (the ratio of the population over 65 years to the population aged
between 15-64 years) will reach 47% against the current 24% which means that the
burden on the working age population to keep the pensioners will be doubled.
 Is population decline good or bad for the economy?
READING 1: OVERPOPULATION vs. POPULATION DECLINE
Pre-reading: Is there a global crisis of overpopulation? If so, is family planning
the solution?
TEXT 1
Overpopulation is a generally undesirable condition where an organism's
numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the
relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth, or
smaller geographical areas such as countries. Overpopulation can result from an
increase in births and decline in mortality rates as well as from an increase in
immigration.
On October 31st, 2011 the world human population hit 7 billion. Most
estimates for the carrying capacity of the Earth are between 4 billion and 16
billion. Depending on which estimate is used, human overpopulation may or may
not have already occurred.
The recent rapid increase in human population over the past two centuries
has raised concerns that the planet may not be able to sustain present or larger
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
2
numbers of inhabitants. Problems commonly associated with overpopulation
include the increased demand for resources such as fresh water and food, starvation
and malnutrition, consumption of natural resources faster than the rate of
regeneration (such as fossil fuels), and a decrease in living conditions. However,
some believe that waste and over-consumption, especially by wealthy nations, is
putting more strain on the environment than overpopulation.
Limiting
birth
rates
through
legal
regulations, educating
people about family
planning,
increasing
access to birth control
and contraception, and
extraterrestrial
settlement have been
suggested as ways to
mitigate overpopulation
in the future. China and
other nations already
have
regulations
limiting the birth rate, with China using the one child policy. Contraception is a
response to the fact that nearly 40% of pregnancies are unintended and that in the
poorest regions mothers often lack information and the means to control the size of
their families.
 Is overpopulation the cause for poverty and underdevelopment?
TEXT 2
The term population decline is used to describe any great reduction in a
human population. It can be used to refer to long-term demographic trends, as in
urban decay or rural exodus, but it is also commonly employed to describe large
reductions in population due to violence, disease, or other catastrophes.
Sometimes known as depopulation, population decline is the reduction over
time in a region's census. It can be caused for several reasons; notable ones include
sub-replacement fertility (along with limited immigration), heavy, disease, famine,
and war.
Sometimes the term underpopulation is applied in the context of a specific
economic system. It is a term which is usually defined as a state in which a
country's population has declined too much to support its current economic system.
An example would be if retirees were supported through a social security system
which does not invest savings, and then a large emigration movement occurred. In
this case, the younger generation may not be able to support the older generation.
Today, emigration and sub-replacement fertility rates as well as high death
rates are the principal issues related to any regional population decline. However,
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
3
governments can influence the speed of the decline, including measures to halt,
slow or suspend decline. Among such measures include pro-birth policies and
subsidies, media influence, immigration, bolstering healthcare and laws aimed at
rooting out vice (lowering death rates). Such is the case in Russia and Armenia, as
well as many Western European nations who have used immigration and other
policies as a means of suspending or slowing population decline.
Russia's total population is among the largest drops in numbers (but not in
percentage). Its peak was 148,689,000 in 1991, and its own estimate was
141,927,297 for January 1, 2011. This represents a 4.7% decrease in total
population since the peak census figure.
 Explain the difference between population decline, depopulation and
underpopulation. Which of them threatens your country most nowadays?
TEXT 3
POPULATION TO HIT SEVEN BILLION: EXPERTS WARN OF
‘BACHELOR NATIONS’
The Telegraph 26 Oct 2011
As the global population hits seven billion, experts are warning that skewed
gender ratios could fuel the emergence of volatile "bachelor nations" driven by an
aggressive competition for brides. Many demographers believe the resulting
shortage of adult women over the next 50 years will have as deep and pervasive an
impact as climate change.
The statistics behind the warnings are grimly compelling. Nature provides an
unbending biological standard for the sex ratio at birth of 104-106 males to every
100 females. Any significant divergence from that narrow range can only be
explained by abnormal factors. In India and Vietnam the figure is around 112 boys
for every 100 girls. In China it is almost 120 to 100 – and in some places higher
than 130. And the trend is spreading: to regions like the South Caucasus, where
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia all post birth ratios of more than 115 to 100, and
further west to Serbia and Bosnia.
Demographers say that figure is now more than 160 million – women
selected out of existence by the convergence of traditional preferences for sons,
declining fertility and, most crucially, the prevalence of cheap prenatal sexdetermination technology. Even if the sex ratio at birth returned to normal in India
and China within 10 years, men in both countries would still face a "marriage
squeeze" for decades to come.
How that change might manifest itself is hotly debated, although nearly
everyone agrees there is no foreseeable upside. Some forecast an increase in
polyandry and sex tourism, while others predict cataclysmic scenarios with the rise
of male-surplus societies where sexual predation, violence and conflict are the
norm.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
4
UN agencies have issued similar warnings about the correlation between a
scarcity of women and increases in sex trafficking and marriage migration, albeit
with certain caveats. But while more and more red flags are being raised over the
long-term implication of skewed sex ratios, few solutions are being offered.
 Do you think sex-selective abortions should be outlawed?
Topical Vocabulary 1
1. rate
(birth~; death/mortality~;)
increase/decline in ~
to halt, slow or suspend decline/increase in ~
2. natural population increase/growth – естественный прирост населения
3. net immigration (migration balance) - чистая миграция, миграционное
сальдо, миграционный баланс
4. average life span/life expectancy– средняя продолжительность жизни
5. fertility (rate) - рождаемость, уровень рождаемости населения
replacement ~ уровень замещения поколений, воспроизводства населения
6. carrying capacity
7. overpopulation - перенаселенность
8. birth control (family planning) – контроль рождаемости
9. urban decay – кризис городов
~ blight – деградация городов
10.
rural exodus - массовый уход из деревни
11.
depopulation - 1) сокращение численности населения
2) геноцид, истребление, уничтожение населения
12.
heavy emigration – эмиграция, отток населения
13.
underpopulation- нехватка населения
14.
ageing – старение населения
Translate the following sentences into English using the topical
vocabulary:
1. Грузия единственная среди стран постсоветского пространства в
прошлом году вышла на позитивный миграционный баланс.
2. Согласно данным управления, показатель чистой миграции стабильно
рос с декабря 2008 года.
3. В сентябре этого года второй раз подряд в текущем году в России
зарегистрирован естественный прирост населения.
4. Рождение более двух детей на одну женщину указывает на рост
населения и снижение среднего возраста населения по стране.
5. По оценкам экспертов, чтобы заместить интенсивно стареющее
население, в Беларусь нужно ввезти 10 миллионов мигрантов.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
5
6. Согласно данным Росстата, за первые девять месяцев естественная
убыль населения составила 125 тысяч человек, что на 80 тысяч меньше,
чем за аналогичный период 2010 года.
7. В современных условиях ведущим фактором замещения поколений
выступает рождаемость.
8. DB отвергает обвинения властей США в том, что его деятельность на
американском ипотечном рынке приводит к деградации городов.
Fill the gaps using the word combinations given below:
birth control, life expectancy, urban decay, overpopulation, heavy
emigration
1. Its spiraling crime rate and rapid __________ drove white business and
residents out.
2. Yet, __________ was insufficient to cope with the surplus population.
3. A team of researchers conducted a state-by-state analysis of __________ and
discovered that white men in the US live about seven years longer than
black men.
4. The cost of __________—and who should pay for it—has been the subject
of a heated national debate in recent weeks.
5. We live on a finite planet with finite resources and the number one problem
in the world today is __________.
Ageing, challenges, compounded, declining, elderly, factors, implications,
migrating, population, present, rates, trends
Statistics show that in many countries the population will decline in the next
50 years. The population of these countries will also age rapidly. What effect will
this have on those countries?
If current __________ continue, then in some countries the __________is
expected to dwindle within the next 50 years. This problem is __________ by the
fact that not only is the number of inhabitants diminishing, but they are also
growing older. This __________ population will bring its own __________. At
__________ there are sufficient younger people to earn money and pay taxes to
support the __________. However, within 50 years this will not be the case. There
are several possible __________ contributing to this problem. First, birth
__________ in these countries are clearly falling. Second, there could be an
increase in the number of people __________ away from these areas. The ageing
and __________ population is expected to have important __________ for the
labour force and the quality of everyday life.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
6
READING 2:
Pre-reading: What are the basic reasons for migration today? Is large-scale
migration a force for good?
TEXT 1
Global migration
During the 1950s, most Western European countries still registered a
negative migration balance. Some countries (for instance Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Portugal and Spain) lost a substantial number of their citizens emigrating for
economic reasons overseas as well as to other European countries.
Western European countries began to "import" guest workers in the early
1960’s to fill jobs Europeans would not consider. These guest workers came
mainly from the Mediterranean (to France) and from Turkey (to Germany).
Most
European
countries
closed their doors to labour
immigration in the 1970s, following
the first Arab oil embargo and the
subsequent economic downturn, yet
some 500,000 immigrants – primarily
family reunification cases – and
400,000 asylum seekers arrive in
Western Europe each year.
Over the past 15 years, the
number of people crossing borders in
search of a better life has been rising
steadily. At the start of the 21st Century, one in every 35 people is an international
migrant.
Global migration affects almost every state – they are all either sending,
transit and/or receiving countries for migrants. While the major countries of
emigration are in the developing world, western industrialised countries absorbed
only about 40% of the world's migrants, the remaining part settling also in
developing countries or the former Soviet Union.
Most of those who have left their countries of origin are motivated by a
desire for better opportunities. But there are also millions of people who have been
forced to migrate for fear of persecution. The current waves of immigrants and
asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa are linked much more to
the worsening conditions in these countries, than with labour shortages in Europe.
At the end of 2002, 10.4 million people around the world had refugee status,
according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. A further one million applied
for asylum that year or had their applications still pending.
As regards intra-European mobility, however, despite the progress made in
removing obstacles to the free movement of people in the EU, its levels are very
low. The most important barriers are the lack of language skills and the problems
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
7
with opportunities for dual careers. Still, the level of push-pull migration is rising,
basically due to insufficient manpower in the cities.
TEXT 2
Should immigration be encouraged? Or do both sending and receiving countries
have an interest in restricting the flow of migrants?
FOLLOW-UP
With constantly increasing flows and varying forms of international
migration, both between and within world regions, an increasing number of
involved countries assume the multiple role of both sending and receiving country,
sometimes even that of a transit country at the same time. It is however obvious
that the primary interests that feature in the migration policy of a country with a net
emigration of migrant workers are different from the interests on the agenda of a
country predominantly at the receiving end.
Labour markets in the countries of destination are usually signalling a
demand for immigrants, for the legal or hidden sides of the economy, often for
both. However, depending on the magnitude of the immigration flow and its size in
relation to the desired scale of legal immigration, the receiving country often
wishes to foremost secure the functioning control and regulation of the scale of
immigration flows. Countries of origin are not to the same extent interested in
regulation of the flows. Rather, countries of origin may adopt active interests in
securing maximum repatriation of emigrant earnings abroad and remittances.
Furthermore the countries of origin have an interest to develop support measures
for families which are divided because of migration. In the international forums
dealing with migrants’ rights, it is predominantly the sending countries that are
active in developing instruments and mechanisms for the improved protection of
the rights and safety of migrants, following their genuine interest to secure the
safeguarding of rights and safety of their own citizens abroad.
Migration related interests and obligations are discussed in the numerous
intergovernmental forums of regional and interregional cooperation on migration
issues that have emerged in the latest few years. Much of the time and effort is
allotted to find commonly agreed solutions to manage irregular migration and
trafficking in migrants, and, if possible, to provide for orderly flows of migration
that could best serve the interests of both countries of origin and destination. These
solutions require cooperation and identifying goals that could comply with the
interests of both sending and receiving countries.
Study additional sources and say, what the benefits and the
drawbacks of migration for both sending and receiving countries are.
http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
8
Topical Vocabulary 2
1. guest worker - гастарбайтер
2. negative migration balance – см. Topical Vocabulary1
3. labour immigration
4. family reunification – воссоединение семьи
5. asylum (seeker) - беженец, просящий о предоставлении политического
убежища; apply for ~ просить о предоставлении убежища
ср. refugee –
refugee status — статус беженца
to be given / granted refugee status — получить статус беженца
6. receiving (host) country; ~ of destination/sending (donor) country
(country of origin)
7. labour shortage – нехватка рабочей силы
8. free movement of people
9. dual career – семья, в которой работают оба супруга
10.
push-pull migration (commuting, commutation – to commute)
маятниковая [челночная] миграция
11.
immigration flow - иммиграционный поток
influx/inflow – приток, наплыв
12.
repatriation
13.
remittances – денежные переводы
14.
irregular migration (illegal, undocumented, informal) –
нелегальная иммиграция
15.
trafficking in migrants – переброска нелегальных мигрантов
Fill the gaps using the word combinations given below:
asylum-seeker, sending countries, immigration flow, labour shortages, guest
workers, remittances, family reunification, receiving countries, dual career,
commuting
1. Germany and Austria warned cash-strapped Greece that they could
reintroduce border controls if Athens failed to stem the __________.
2. The train is by far the most commonly used means of transportation for
__________ in Japan.
3. For the past 20 years, __________ has been one of the main reasons for
immigration to the EU.
4. The most obvious positive impact of __________ family is the greater
economic security with both parents earning income.
5. The Canadian labour market is expected to perform well over the next
decade, with no widespread __________ emerging.
6. The terms __________ and refugee are often confused: an __________ is
someone who says he or she is a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been
definitively evaluated.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
9
7. About 400 __________ from a variety of countries walked off the job and
staged a strike to protest their working conditions and pay.
8. The overall economic gains from international migration for __________
and __________ are substantial.
9. The money sent by immigrants to their families in Latin America, known as
__________, is five times as large as official development assistance.
TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO ENGLISH USING
YOUR TOPICAL VOCABULARY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Поток беженцев с начала 90-х годов стихийно усиливался и никак не
регулировался принимающей стороной.
Маятниковая миграция является результатом несоответствия
размещения производства и расселения людей.
В 2011 году объем частных денежный переводов, поступивших на
Украину через неформальные каналы, составил около $850 млн.
Ежегодно около 10 тысяч человек получают во Франции статус
беженца.
В ближайшее время нехватка трудовых ресурсов будет одной из
сложнейших проблем российской экономики.
Нелегальная миграция связана с такими проблемами, как уклонение от
налогов, нарушение трудового права, эксплуатация детского труда,
преступность, наркоторговля и контрабанда.
Чтобы сократить число иммигрантов во Франции, нужно ввести
экзамен для всех, кто желает добиться воссоединения с семьей.
READING 3
MINORITIES PROJECTED TO OUTNUMBER WHITE AMERICANS BY
2042
Growth in Hispanic population most dramatic. Black population expected
to remain steady
Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk
14 August 2008
The rapidly changing face of the American people is revealed in new census
projections that predict that groups who are now labelled minorities will form the
greater part of the nation's population by 2042.
According to the US Census bureau, the dominance of white people
excluding Hispanics, who today account for two-thirds of Americans, will be
whittled away, falling steadily to less than half in 2042 and 46% by 2050. In the
opposite trajectory, those who describe themselves as Hispanics, blacks, Asians
and native groups will increase in proportion from about a third now to 54% by
2050.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
10
Such a rapid shift in the composition of the American people is in tune with
trends that have been underway for some time, but it is happening much faster than
experts predicted even four years ago. Demographers see it as among the most
intensive changes of a country's racial and ethnic make-up in history, every bit as
dramatic as the huge influx of Italians, Irish and East Europeans that transformed
America in the early 20th century.
The mere shift in majority status from non-Hispanic whites, who have
enjoyed the dominant position since European settlers overtook the native
American population centuries ago, is likely to have profound implications. In the
long term, it could prompt a sea-change in the American understanding of its
politics and culture. More immediately, it is likely to inform debates on
immigration policy and reshape the electoral landscape.
The growth in minority groups is heavily focused on younger age groups.
They already account for 45% of American children, aged under 18, and that
proportion will rise to 62% by 2050. Young adults aged 18 to 29 are already the
most ethnically and racially diverse. By the presidential election of 2028
Hispanics, blacks and Asians will be in the majority within that age range.
The Census Bureau points out that its projections are based on assumptions
about future births, deaths, immigration from abroad and internal migration that it
has extrapolated from trends over the past 20 years. Those factors could change,
particularly the rate of immigration which is already a matter of heated debate
across the country.
 What are the factors that contribute to the changing face of majority
population in some of the developed countries of the world?
DEBATES ON IMMIGRATION
Below you may find arguments in support of the idea that governments in rich
countries should relax the laws controlling immigration. Study them and offer
your counter arguments
 People are being kept in unbearable poverty by immigration laws that bar
them from pursuing work in the countries where it is available. By allowing
them to work in rich countries we improve not only their situation but via
remittances that of their family and home country.
 People are already entering developed countries for work illegally in
enormous numbers. This brings with it dangers that can be stopped by
legalisation.
 Rich countries are in a demographic crisis with an ever decreasing working
population to support pensioners. Developing countries are in the opposite
situation and almost all immigrants are of working age and they will ease
this demographic strain.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
11
 Rich countries are short of both skilled and unskilled workers who are kept
out by stringent immigration law. No economy can grow when there are no
workers to keep up with demand. Immigration makes the whole economy
bigger and everyone richer in the long term.
 This is good for the global economy because it brings workers to where
infrastructure and knowledge are.
 Immigrants are generally seen to be extremely keen to work and work hard
in their new country. The drive to emigrate is a drive from a wish to do well
and tends to translate itself into achievement.
READING 4: Rad the text and do the assignment that follows.
Pre-reading: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of living in a big
city? What amenities should a city offer its residents and commuters?
TEXT 1
CITIES OF THE FUTURE
Today's "Mega-cities" are overcrowded and environmentally stressed
August 31, 2005
We take big cities for
granted today, but they are a
relatively
recent
phenomenon.
Most
of
human history concerns
rural people making a living
from the land. But the world
is rapidly urbanizing, and
it's not at all clear that our
planet has the resources to
cope with this relentless
trend. And, unfortunately,
most of the growth is
occurring in urban centers
ill-equipped for the pace of change.
The world's first cities grew up in what is now Iraq, on the plains of
Mesopotamia near the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first city in
the world to have more than one million people was Rome at the height of its
Empire in 5 A.D. At that time, world population was only 170 million. But Rome
was something new in the world. It had developed its own sophisticated sanitation
and traffic management systems, as well as aqueducts, multi-story low-income
housing and even suburbs, but after it fell in 410 A.D. it would be 17 centuries
before any metropolitan area had that many people.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
12
The first large city in the modern era was Beijing, which surpassed one
million population around 1800, followed soon after by New York and London.
But at that time city life was the exception; only three percent of the world's
population lived in urban areas in 1800.
The rise of manufacturing spurred relocation to urban centers from the 19th
through the early 20th century. The cities had the jobs, and new arrivals from the
countryside provided the factories with cheap, plentiful labor. But the cities were
also unhealthy places to
live because of crowded
conditions, poor sanitation
and the rapid transmission
of
infectious
disease.
Deaths exceeded births in
many large European cities
until the middle of the 19th
century. Populations grew,
then, by continuing waves
of migration from the
countryside and from
abroad.
In the first half of
the 20th century, the fastest
urban growth was in western cities. New York, London and other First World
capitals were magnets for immigration and job opportunity. In 1950, New York,
London, Tokyo and Paris boasted of having the world's largest metropolitan
populations. By then, New York had already become the first "mega-city," with
more than 10 million people.
In the postwar period, many large American cities lost population as
manufacturing fled overseas and returning soldiers taking advantage of the GI Bill
fueled the process of suburbanization. Crime was also a factor. As an example,
riot-torn Detroit lost 800,000 people between 1950 and 1996, and its population
declined 33.9 percent between 1970 and 1996.
Meanwhile, while many American cities shrank, population around the
world was growing dramatically. You've heard of the "birth dearth"? It's bypassing
Dhaka, Mumbai, Mexico City and Lagos. While developed countries are losing
population because of falling birth rates and carefully controlled immigration,
population in the developing world is exploding.
Today mega-cities already suffer from a catalog of environmental ills: level
of pollution is threatening, there are major fresh water challenges, residents,
crowded into unsanitary slums are subject to serious disease outbreaks. But for
many internal migrants, cities offer more hope of a job and better health care and
educational opportunities, so people keep moving to cities, imposing even more
pressure on their infrastructure and resources, leading to social disintegration and
horrific urban poverty.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
13
 Brainstorm to answer the following questions:
 Are you happy to be living in a big city? Give your personal reasons.
TEXT 2
Challenges of Urbanization
Urbanization has played an important role in the development of under
developed and developing countries. It is believed that the developed countries of
the world could achieve fast economic progress due to large-scale urbanization.
Urbanization during the industrial revolution helped fast development of some
European countries. However, the challenges of urbanization have been quite
difficult to deal with.
Environmental pollution and Degradation
Pollution and degradation of the environment is one of the most prominent
challenges of urbanization. The increased number of vehicles on the roads and
industrial wastes are the main sources of air pollution. Urbanization also leads to a
rise in the noise pollution levels. Contamination of sea, river and lake water due to
various human activities is also a serious issue resulting out of fast urbanization.
Land pollution is also a matter of great concern. These types of pollution can cause
adverse effects on the health and well-being of people.
Population Explosion
Population explosion means a great rise in the population of a particular area
over a time. It has been observed that industrialization and urbanization lead to an
increase in the population of the region at a very fast pace, urban sprawl goes out
of control. The population growth results in a situation where the facilities
provided by the government are to be shared among many people. This can further
cause inequitable distribution of wealth and resources. Providing the huge
population with essential resources becomes a big challenge due to population
explosion.
Sanitation, Water and Transport Problems
The rise in the number of vehicles puts a huge strain on the infrastructure
available for transport such as roads and railways. Water problems are quite
common in many parts of urban cities. Keeping the cities clean and well
maintained is surely one of the biggest challenges of urbanization.
Housing
Providing shelter to a big population is indeed a big challenge posed by
urbanization. The lack of space for construction of houses and buildings results in
deforestation which causes several environmental problems. The problem of slums
in urban cities is becoming more and more difficult to tackle due to the issue of
displacement that the huge population residing in these slums will face.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
14
Rising Cost of Living and Wealth Inequality
The cost of living in urban cities is quite high compelling many people to
live in poverty. Inequalities in the distribution of wealth which widens the gap
between the rich and the poor is also a serious problem to deal with.
Increase in Crime
One of the biggest challenges of urbanization is the increase in the crime
rate. Surveys conducted suggest that the crime rate is much higher in urban cities
as compared to backward regions. The rise in the number of crimes is due to the
need to earn wealth which results in people resorting to unfair means. The average
person in the urban areas suffers the most because of the rise in criminal activities.
These are only few of the disadvantages of urbanization. Challenges of
urbanization can be dealt with through efficient government policies and proper
implementation. It is important for all nations of the world to come together and
discuss ways to solve these problems completely.
 What other challenges do contemporary cities face?
 How do immigrants influence the life of big cities?
USE OF ENGLISH: PRACTICE
New York shows way for urban renaissance
It's not ______ pleasant to live in New York in the hot days of August. The
grime on the sidewalk has really begun to reek. The tourist hordes remind you
______ little room you have.
By next year, according to the United Nations, more than half the world's
population will for the first time live in towns and cities. New York's population
growth is not spectacular. It's ______ line with the growth of London, which is
adding around 90,000 each year,
40,000 from natural expansion
and a ______ 50,000 from inward
migration.
But other cities have been
growing ______ faster even than
New York or London - Madrid,
where the foreign population has
multiplied four times in about six
years, and Istanbul, where the
population has increased tenfold
since 1950.
Cities may also be growing
because individuals ______ consumers want to live there. People now want to live
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
15
in dense areas because dense areas offer ______ people want to consume - opera,
sports teams, art museums, varied cuisine.
The number of these "consumer immigrants" is ______ small compared with
the hundreds of thousands of poorer economic migrants who traditionally head to
the inner ______.
Complete the text with suitable adjectives given below (more than one
adjective may be possible).
adequate, basic, booming, catastrophic, decent, enormous, pressing, staggering
Megacities
The world's population is ______, no more so than in its cities. Today, there
are 21 megacities, each containing more than 10 million inhabitants, three-quarters
of them in developing nations. By 2020, there are expected to be at least 27
megacities. Such a ______ rate of urbanisation brings its own problems, especially
in developing nations, where the majority of the megacities will be found.
Employment and educational opportunities are the main attraction of urban
centres. But hopes for a better life are often dashed as overpopulation puts an
______ strain on the infrastructure of the cities and their ability to provide ______
necessities such as clean water and a place to live.
Many rural migrants fail to find ______ work, and therefore cannot afford
______ housing. In some megacities up to 50 per cent of the residents live in
slums. This problem is ______ with the United Nations predicting that half the
world's population will be living in cities by next year. If the infrastructure within
those cities does not grow at the same rate the result will be ______.
Topical Vocabulary 4
amenities – удобства
to urbanize
crowded (conditions) / congested – перенаселенный
poor sanitation- санитарные условия
to offer better (job, educational, health care, etc) opportunities
to impose pressure / put a strain (on infrastructure)
dense (areas, population) - высокая плотность населения
sparsely (~ populated area) малонаселённая местность
READING 3: Working with two texts
Read the following texts about the elderly, answer the questions with a
word or short phrase.
Generation Gap
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
16
Not long ago, while talking to a group of men, none of whom was much
over 50, I was amazed to discover that they were all looking forward to retiring
from work. They seemed to ignore what was obvious to me, that retirement, if it
takes place at a statutory age such as 60 or 65, implies that society in general no
longer considers you capable of pulling your weight and believes you should be
pensioned off. In short, it is a sign that you are getting old, with all that that entails.
What it entails is bound to vary from person to person and in most societies,
where women outlive men by about seven years on average but nevertheless retire
earlier, the period is likely to be much longer for them. The financial circumstances
in which people retire also vary but even those who are fortunate enough not to
have to rely on the Government to provide for them usually need to fall back
eventually in one way or another on the goodwill of their relations.
Old age brings with it a host of problems, physical and psychological, and
these are likely to be a cause of friction if elderly people are in close contact with
younger generations. On the whole, the problems tend to be more acute when the
causes are not immediately evident. If Grandfather or Grandmother has to use a
stick when walking or wears a deaf aid, teenagers will readily appreciate it and for
the most part be happy to lend a steadying arm or repeat what they have just said.
It is much more difficult for them constantly to bear in mind that the short-term
memory of old people is prone to lapses; they may have perfect recall of an
incident from childhood but fail to retain for more than a few minutes the details of
your arrangements for the following day. And it is enough to try the patience of a
saint when they indignantly refuse all offers of help but make it obvious that they
cannot be trusted to be left to their own devices so that you stand by on
tenterhooks, restraining the impulse to interfere but ready to leap to their assistance
at a moment's notice.
Why was the writer surprised by the attitude of the men he was talking to?
What does “pulling your weight” mean?
For the elderly, moving house, either from one neighbourhood to another, or
even more markedly, selling the house and moving in with the family of a son or
daughter, is productive of very great stress that the young frequently fail to
understand, since for them change is generally exciting and desirable. Many
features of old age that irritate the young, such as a resistance to change, are really
a way of disguising failing powers. Old people may be unwilling to alter a familiar
routine because the admission that they might be unable to cope would mean a loss
of cherished independence.
The best way of achieving harmony within a household where an elderly
person lives with younger generations is to try to achieve some kind of balance.
The household must revolve around the active members and it is dangerous to
allow respect for the aged to degenerate into allowing the old person to rule the
roost. A great deal can be achieved by making them feel needed, allowing them to
do useful jobs that are not beyond their capacity, but perhaps the most important
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
17
factor of all is to show them that you care for them, that they matter and are not
just in the way. Even here, however, there are risks to be avoided. Waiting on them
hand and foot is potentially a source of friction almost as bad in the long run as the
tense atmosphere that commonly results when a daughter or daughter-in-law is
obliged to take in her mother or her husband's purely out of a sense of duty. The
happy family will be one where the middle-aged, who are likely to bear the
heaviest responsibility and require the most patience, know when to intervene
kindly and when to let their parents get on with whatever they are straggling to do.
What does 'rule the roost' mean?
What do you understand by the phrase 'waiting on them hand and foot'?
Orally summarise in your own words as far as possible, the main problems
likely to arise when elderly people live in the same household as younger
generations and say how they are best overcome
How Secure is Social Security?
LEAD-IN
Since it was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, Social
Security has been the centerpiece of the nation’s social contract, an
intergenerational commitment to provide at least a subsistence income to the most
vulnerable of citizens. It is not only the biggest government entitlement plan,
comprising over 20 percent of the federal budget, but also the most universal and
the most popular.
According to the Social Security
Administration, in 2011 nearly 55 million
Americans received $727 billion in Social
Security benefits. The recipients are retirees
and their dependents, underage survivors of
deceased workers and the disabled, among
others. The money for this colossal endeavor
comes from payroll taxes (known as Federal
Insurance Contributions Act taxes) on current
workers and on their employers.
Welfare state should be a safety net, not a hammock
By Harry Phibbs
16 September 2010
State spending on welfare benefits is now £192 billion. £50 billion of that
goes to those on above average incomes. When it comes to Child Benefit we have
43 per cent of it going to those on above average incomes. Novelist Jilly Cooper
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
18
once famously said that for her the Child Benefit meant an extra bottle of
Champagne each week from Sainsbury's.
Of course children are a big additional strain on a family budget and having
some extra money to reflect that helps. But if the nation keeps piling its mountain
of debt higher each year then we are not doing our children any favours. They will
be left to pick up the tab.
It is already being planned at the other end of the age scale, with proposals
that we should have to wait until we are 66 to get a state pension - rather than 65 at
present. There is also a suggestion that the Winter Fuel payments should be for
those over 65 or even 70, rather than the current over 60s.
At what point does childhood give way to adulthood? If we take the age at
which you are allowed to leave school then childhood is reckoned to be lasting
longer - the school leaving age was raised from 15 to 16 in 1972. There are moves
to raise it to 17 in 2013 and to 18 in 2015.
There is a paradox about the Government going ahead with this measure to
keep teenagers in school rather than going out and getting a job - while also cutting
the money for their families to provide for them. It would make more sense to
release children from school earlier to go on some sort of apprenticeship - with the
proviso that they must first pass some basic standard of literacy and numeracy.
Teenagers should be expected to get a Saturday job or a holiday job and put
in the very modest hours required to make an alternative revenue stream available.
They could be chipping in for the cost of the weekly groceries. This would be good
for their parents but also good for the teenagers, who would develop the pride,
independence and responsibility of experiencing the world of real, paid, work.
Child Benefit for the oldest teens not only costs £3 billion but it also sends
out the wrong message. It is time for Kevin to get out of bed on Saturday morning
and go to work.
 Give your understanding of the title
 Search the Internet for more information on differences between the
welfare state and safety net concepts.
READING 1
TEXT 1
Social Security, the nation's retirement system, is one of the most popular
government programs in U.S. history, ensuring Americans' stable retirement for 75
years. But now that the first of the 76 million baby boomers have started retiring -and are projected to live longer than any previous generation of Americans -- the
question is how the program can be sustained.
An estimated 10,000 people a day will become eligible for Social Security
benefits over the next two decades, putting an unprecedented strain on the system.
In less than a decade, in 2017, Social Security is scheduled to start paying out more
in benefits than it collects each year in payroll taxes. If nothing is done, the Social
Security trust fund is projected to run dry in 2037. Sometimes people say the
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
19
system will be bankrupt at that point, but that isn't really true. Social Security
would still receive tax revenues and still function – but it could pay only about
three-quarters of promised benefits to retirees.
Nearly everyone believes Social Security is important, but no consensus has
emerged, either in Washington or among the public at large, on what approach the
government should take to keep it financially stable.
At the same time, Americans as a nation only save a miniscule percentage of
their income, and individual investment plans (like the widely used 401K) have
been battered by the global financial crisis and recession. That may leave
Americans' own resources dwindling even as the government safety net begins to
fray.
How Social Security Works
Nearly all Americans over 65, some 53 million people, collect monthly
Social Security benefits, the backbone of the nation's retirement income system.
Social Security was originally designed to provide one leg of a "three-legged stool"
for retirement security, the others being savings and a pension. Now, however, as
many companies have moved away from traditional pensions and fewer people
have adequate personal savings, Americans have become increasingly reliant on
Social Security.
The Social Security Administration says that about a third of the recipients
depend on Social Security for more than 90 percent of their income, while another
third rely on the program for more than half of their money. The agency estimates
that about 13 million would fall below the poverty line without Social Security.
Social Security is a "pay-as-you-go" insurance program, meaning that the
current workforce pays for the benefits of the current retirees. And, eventually,
when people who are working now become retirees, their benefits will be paid by
those who are working in the future.
With the baby boomers still in the workforce and paying into the system,
Social Security has been running a surplus. Since everyone could see this
demographic problem coming, the government set up a "trust fund" for this extra
money. When the system starts to fall short of tax revenue in 2017, Social Security
will be able to draw on this trust fund to keep paying full benefits until 2037.
Other proposals have centered on using the stock market to increase returns,
either by having the government invest part of the Social Security fund or allowing
individuals to do so in private investment accounts.
Other countries do have privatized retirement systems, such as mandatory
retirement savings accounts on a model pioneered by Chile and since adopted in
various forms by Australia and the United Kingdom. Workers would be required to
put their money into the accounts, just as they are required to pay Social Security
taxes, but could decide how their contributions would be invested. The government
would guarantee a certain minimum pension to everyone, but some retirees would
benefit more than others. Advocates say this allows people to take advantage of the
greater long-term returns possible in the stock market – but of course, participants
would also run the risk of losing money.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
20
The Public's View
Public opinion surveys show that most Americans believe they'll need Social
Security in retirement, with eight in 10 saying it will be either a major (34 percent)
or a minor (46 percent) source of income for them. But surveys also show the
public is not confident the Social Security system will continue to provide benefits
of equal value to those received by retirees today, and that younger and lowerincome Americans much more worried about the program than senior citizens.
But what changes are acceptable? Most oppose cost-cutting options such as
increasing the retirement age, raising payroll taxes or cutting benefits. Among the
few measures that elicit majority support would be to reduce Social Security
benefits for high-income families and require upper-income people to pay Social
Security tax on all of their income.
TEXT 2
SOCIAL MOBILITY, NOT SOCIAL SECURITY
It's a toxic mix of welfare dependency, fantasy consumerism and
misguided schooling that keeps the poorest in poverty
John Bird guardian.co.uk
26 April 2010
There is only one cure for poverty and that is social mobility. The problem is
that school life and home life for many of our young people means they will never
get out of poverty.
The worst thing for social mobility is social security. It puts a glass ceiling
over the abilities and aspirational skills of the parents, which can only affect the
ability of their children to get out of poverty.
The second worst must be the watering-down of education into almost a
warm, insipid soup – where education in some ways tries to make up for the social
limitations that the children live under. School teachers become social workers in
microcosm. Schools become last-ditch refuges where some sense can be made for
our troubled children.
But the third and most difficult cause to address is the destruction of social
cohesion in families. The ever-greater encroachment of consumerism is a pallid
replacement for the real needs of growing children. Children are reduced to
appetites. Even among the poorest families, their desires and ambitions are
corrupted through TV and other media by the constant entreaties and
blandishments of the marketplace.
Even the poorest must aspire to a cell phone and designer trainers. Even the
poorest must wish themselves into a haven of commodity plenty. They have no
role to play other than to consume.
The end result is the destruction of children as part of society; they are
broken off into a separate part of the community. From birth until they leave home,
they are reduced to being mouths, forever demanding attention, rather than allowed
to grow up and have a real role in family life. They are turned into a gap between
birth and work, and nothing can be more damaging to their sense of wellbeing.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
21
Why is it that the US and the UK are so bad at creating social opportunity
and mobility for their poorest? Largely because of the interface between welfare
and consumerism.
Welfare has been so distorted in these two economies into a badge of
dishonour. It is not the hopeful thing it was invented to be. Instead of supporting, it
impedes.
The usual rightwing response is to damn and condemn the poor for their
inability to rise. The usual liberal response is to place impediments in the way of
the poor growing into independent people, and thereby condemning their children
to social impoverishment.
If we wish to break the shackles that keep our poor poor, then we need to
liberate them from dependency. And that cannot be done with welfare that breaks
their spirit and imprisons their children.
We need a new welfare: a welfare that enables our children to fare well so
they can say farewell to welfare. And we need to keep the abusive marketplace of
unchecked consumerism out of our children's lives as much as possible.
We owe it to the poorest in society to give them the encouragement of
becoming independent, so that they can choose to live their lives the way they wish
– rather than the way it has been foisted upon them.
Explain and expand on the following:
 It puts a glass ceiling over the abilities and aspirational skills of the parents
 Welfare has been so distorted in these two economies into a badge of
dishonour.
 We need a new welfare: a welfare that enables our children to fare well so
they can say farewell to welfare
Find words in Texts 1 and 2 which mean the same as the following:
Text 1
tension, stress
income
unanimity
extremely small; tiny
decreasing
strength of character
an excess of income
to be the first to use or apply
Text 2
shelter
invasion
request, prayer
flattery
hindrance
barriers
involving injustice or illegality
unrestrained
Topical Vocabulary 3
to provide at least a subsistence income
vulnerable citizens
Social Security benefits
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
22
disability ~ пособие по нетрудоспособности
health-care ~ пособие по уходу за больным
old age ~ / retirement ~ пенсия по старости
unemployment ~ пособие по безработице
dependent (dependant) иждивенец
payroll tax - налог на зарплату
welfare state - "государство всеобщего благосостояния"
safety net - "страховочная сетка" (система федеральных программ помощи
малоимущим, система социальных гарантий)
retiree - пенсионер
individual investment plan – индивидуальная программа инвестирования
to fall below the poverty line
"pay-as-you-go" program - уплата налогов при получении зарплаты
to increase the retirement age to raise payroll taxes
to cut benefits
social mobility
last-ditch refuge
social cohesion
READING 2: READ AND ANSWER T HE QUESTION: What is your
understanding of the “big society”?
Is David Cameron's 'big society' just repeating the same mistakes?
Guardian co.uk
Ray Jones
A lot can change in 30 years, including Margaret Thatcher's assertion that
there is "no such thing as society" being replaced by David Cameron's promotion
of 'big society'. But scratch the surface of prime ministerial statement and slogan
and what we find is a rebranding and relabeling, yet the antecedents of current
policy are similar, the rationale given is the same, and the consequences are likely
to be replicated.
In the late 1970s the new Thatcher-led Conservative government had to
respond to an economic crisis. Its roots were partly from years before when the oil
producing countries hiked up their prices and when the IMF drove a bargain which
demanded big cuts in public expenditure. The monetarists were let loose and gave
an intellectual foundation for a new rampant right-wing politics.
Now take this year. There is a new essentially Conservative government
responding to an economic crisis. Here again the bankers have been wielding
influence and power, and indeed chaos through incompetence and greed. This time
it is not the IMF but the international economic ratings agencies which have given
a rationale for right wing politicians to hit public expenditure and the poor.
It was in the 1980s that a new jargon of 'Yuppies' and 'Nimbies' entered
common usage. There was a new get-(obscenely) rich-quick generation motivated
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
23
by self-interest and self-protection. For them maybe there was no such thing as
society or a mutual and shared responsibility. Quite a contrast with the post-war
welfare state consensus which came out of an experience of battle and blitz shared
across social classes. But in 2010 we have increasing segregation of classes.
Cuts in education and in the entitlement to and payment rates of welfare
benefits generated greater demand for social services. One of the changes with
great impact was the move from rights-based supplementary benefits payments to a
cash-limited and heavily rationed social fund for the poorest.
But Thatcher's intention to cut back heavily on public expenditure was
hardly a success story. Capital investment in schools, hospitals and housing all
declined, but overall spending continued. The consequence was of growing
inequality and of thwarted ambitions. Opportunities for many but the declining
quality of life for others, led to increasing conflict, with riots in Liverpool,
Birmingham, Bristol and elsewhere and industrial conflict including the miners'
strike of 1984.
For public services the drive was for greater efficiency. Value-for-money
and the three 'E's of economy, efficiency and effectiveness were the mantra and the
message was 'private sector good, public sector bad'. The public sector ethos of
service rather than profit was undermined then as it is now. It was a field day for
the international accountancy and management consultancy firms.
It was also intended that as the public sector was to shrink the retreating and
retrenched state commitment would be replaced by the voluntary and community
sectors. There are plenty of portents from the 1980s as to what we might expect in
the 2010s, such as political and economic intentions not delivered as intended
while deprivation and discord increased.
So what of the 'big society'? Is it really likely that as the rich further enrich
themselves, as voluntary organisations have their funding withdrawn, and as more
people endure the debilitating strains and stresses of unemployment, poverty and
homelessness, that there will be a surge in community caring and sharing to
replace public services? I doubt it.
How about instead a 'big society' where risks are shared, inequality is
narrowed, where through progressive rather than regressive taxation and national
insurance we all contribute to a common good. A 'big society' where community
cohesion rather than personal vested-interest and isolation is promoted by a shared
value-base of a collective concern and respect for each other. Now that is a 'big
society' that might be different from the 'no such thing as society' 1980s.
Find contextual synonyms in the text to the words given below:
prerequisite
reasoning
to copy
unchecked
characteristic spirit
freewill
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
24
unity
disagreement
premonition
WORD FORMATION TECHNIQUES: ACRONYMS
In the text you have come across such words as 'Yuppies' and 'Nimbies'.
Yuppie (short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile
professional") is a term that refers to a member of the middle class in their
twenties or thirties. It first came into use in the early-1980s
Nimby is the term for the phrase not in my back yard used to describe
opposition by residents to a proposal for a new local development.
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial
components in a phrase or name. These components may be individual letters or
parts of words.
Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters
o
Scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
o
Quango: non-governmental organisation, and quasiautonomous national government organisation (used notably in the
United Kingdom to label an organisation to which government has
devolved power).
o
Wags: wives and girlfriends of high-profile football
players and sportsmen in general
o
Dinky: dual (or double) income, no kids yet. (It is
occasionally used to describe a high-earning couple who choose not to
have children and are therefore able to afford a more expensive
consumer lifestyle than those with families).
o
WASP - white Anglo-Saxon Protestant
Pronounced both as a word and as names of letters, depending on speaker or
context
o
FAQ: ([fæk] or F A Q) frequently asked questions
Pronounced as a combination of names of letters and a word
o
CD-ROM: (C-D-[rɒm]) Compact Disc read-only memory
Pronounced only as the names of letters
o
SMS: Short Message Systems.
o
CEO
o
POWs: "prisoners of war" this refers to freed prisoners as
well, anyone who spent time as a prisoner of war.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
25
MIA "missing in action" there are a number of charities
and other groups concerned with these people- both of these are read
as the individual letters
o
DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid
o
IRA: When used for the Irish Republican Army
o
GOP - "Grand Old Party" an unofficial but widely used
name for the Republican party.
o
Shortcut incorporated into name
o
401(K) plan - An investment and savings plan that
enables workers to put away money tax free into an account they can
access when they retire (around age 65). 401Ks create a tax incentive
to save money for retirement.
Pseudo-acronyms consisting of a sequence of characters which, when
pronounced as intended, invoke other longer words with less typing
o
CQ: "Seek you", a code used by radio operators
o
IOU: "I owe you" (true acronym would be IOY)
o
K9: "Canine", used to designate police units utilizing
dogs
o
Q8: "Kuwait"
Initialisms whose last abbreviated word is often redundantly included anyway
o
CD disc: Compact Disc disc
o
HIV virus: Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus
o
PIN number: Personal Identification Number number
o
VIN number: Vehicle Identification Number number
READING 3: READ AND DISCUSS
Pre-reading: How important are family values in today’s world? Make up
your own list of top 5 family values which you think are most important.
Families in which children are raised by only one parent are now more
common around the world. Migration, separation, divorce, and widowhood are
influencing this trend. Women who have never been married and who live without
a partner also account for an increasing proportion of single-parent families.
Women’s increased ability to earn an income is also influencing the growth
in single-parent families, since those with independent incomes are better able to
cope on their own. The International Labour Organization reports that economic
need and changes in women’s perceptions of their social roles and priorities have
led to more women entering the workforce in the last few decades. As a result, the
gap between male and female labor force participation has narrowed and the
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
26
number of two-earner and single-parent families has increased—although earning
power is still lower among women.
As women tend to be younger than their male partners and have longer life
expectancies, widowhood is also a cause of single parenthood. In African countries
most seriously affected by AIDS, a substantial number of families are losing one or
both parents to the epidemic.
As more people balance job and family duties, governments and the private
sector are urged to promote greater compatibility between work-force participation
and family responsibilities, especially for single parents. The Programme of Action
adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
recommends that special attention be paid to the provision of health insurance and
social security, day-care centers and facilities for breastfeeding, kindergartens,
part-time jobs, paid parental leave, flexible work schedules, and reproductive and
child-health services.
Give Russian equivalents to the following:
single-parent families
to balance job and family duties
provide health insurance and social security
day-care centers
part-time jobs
paid parental leave
flexible work schedules
VOCABULARY FOCUS: SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOUR RIGHTS:
Read the sentences, translate them into Russian and do the assignments that
follow.
1. The Unite union has raised the prospect of industrial action to fight job
losses.
2. There is a news blackout in Greece as media strike for a second day in
protest at recent layoffs and pay cuts.
3. Ninety-one essential services workers were sacked on Tuesday for taking
part in last year's public sector strike.
4. Nearly £60m of funding is to be slashed from county council services in the
coming year with 750 jobs axed as the ruling Conservative administration
gets set to implement the most far reaching cuts in a generation.
5. Two thousand council workers will be made redundant in Manchester over
the next year, bringing the total jobs cull caused by Coalition spending cuts
to 114,000.
6. Benefits package for the Headteacher includes residential allowance and
relocation expenses.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
27
7. With the introduction of a new system set to take place soon, the Town of
Franklinton’s utilities billing program is “moving into the 21st century
8. The City of Duluth street maintenance crew will resume clearing the
accumulated snow banks to provide improved access to local businesses.
9. The changes to the health-benefits plan shift more co-pay costs to
employees.
10.The 401k was supposed to be a supplemental retirement program. But now
that it's become the main source of old-age security, the rules need
rethinking.
11.The couple does not have a prenuptial agreement, and considering the
massive fortune a speedy divorce is unlikely.
12.In some states, failure to pay alimony may also cause you to lose your
driver’s license.
13.Workers will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme under rules
outlined in the Pension Bill published today.
14.Housing benefit should be maintained to help unemployed and low paid
search further afield for work, says OECD.
15.A housing voucher is a more efficient way to provide housing than directly
building more social housing.
What do you call
 an obligation to provide financial support to one's spouse after separation or
divorce
 the ongoing practice for a periodic payment for the financial care and
support of children of a marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases
never existed
 in the US a type of insurance policy where the insured pays a specified
amount of out-of-pocket expenses for health-care services
 an agreement made by a couple before they marry concerning the ownership
of their respective assets should the marriage fail
Translate the following sentences into English using the topical vocabulary
units:
1. Для оказания помощи населению в оплате жилищно-коммунальных
услуг в Украине действует государственная Программа жилищных
субсидий.
2. На сегодняшний день квартиры или жилищные сертификаты
предоставлены уже 60 процентам военнослужащих, нуждающихся в
улучшении жилищных условий.
3. Президент Дмитрий Медведев в последний день 2010 г. подписал указ
о поэтапном сокращении численности федеральных госслужащих на
20%.
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
28
4. По сообщению службы судебных приставов на начало этого года в
Коми в розыске находилось около тысячи должников по алиментам.
5. Президент побывал в центре, где помогают детям с ограниченными
возможностями, а также малышам из социально неблагополучных и
неполных семей.
6. С апреля в Британии начнут продвигать новую программу
предоставления декретного отпуска для отцов.
7. Во всем мире в развитых странах принята другая модель пенсионной
системы, где пенсионный возраст сильно ниже средней
продолжительности жизни.
8. Число американцев, впервые обратившихся за пособием по
безработице, на прошлой неделе впервые за время экономического
кризиса сократилось на 42 тыс. человек.
9. Руководство автоконцерна Volvo в Швеции уволило троих работников
за нелестные высказывания о компании-работодателе в Facebook.
10. Социальный пакет предприятия включает в себя ряд дополнительных
льгот, включая компенсацию за аренду жилья.
READING 3: READ AND DISCUSS
CLEGG MASIVELY REGRETS TUITION FEES INCREASE
By Andrew Woodcock, PA
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he "massively regrets" being unable
to deliver on his pledge to prevent university tuition fee increases.
But he issued a plea to students taking part in protests to look at the details
of the Government's proposals, which he insisted were fairer than either the
existing regime or the graduate tax backed by the National Union of Students.
"I nonetheless think that when people look at the detail of these proposals
they will realise that all graduates will be paying less per month than they do at the
moment and the poorest quarter will be paying much, much less and we will be
making it easier for some of the youngsters currently discouraged from going to
university to go to university”, he claims.
DIY:
Describe the process of applying to and enrolling in a university (timing,
exams, reference letters, admissions tests) in the US and Great Britain
Topical Vocabulary 4
industrial action
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
29
(strike)
to layoff (Am.) / to fire (Am.) / to downsize (Am.) / to sack (Br.)/ to make
redundant (Br.)
pay cuts (to implement/introduce ~)
to slash funding/jobs/benefits
utilities – коммунальные услуги
street maintenance
сo-pay - совместный [взаимный] платеж
401k –
prenuptial agreement – брачный контракт
to pay alimony (ср. maintenance / child support)
to enroll in a pension scheme
housing benefit/voucher
social housing
single-parent families
day-care centers
part-time jobs
paid parental leave
flexible work schedules
Graduation Course
Продайвода Е.Д.
30