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Every generation has faced its own fears of an unknown future. The historical record of prior and of civilization scenarios is plentiful. Some of these include the following.
Many fictional (and non-fictional) stories from the era of the Cold War were based on the belief that a nuclear war was inevitable and that this would result in World War III leading to the destruction of all life on the planet Earth.
Nostradamus wrote a prediction that a great catastrophe would occur in the seventh month (July, or some argue September, the seventh month of the premodern calendar) of the year 1999. Many followers of his writings took this to mean that the end of the world would occur. When the chosen date came and went without incident, translators of his works began revising them with new interpretations of what the prediction actually meant. Many now believe that this prediction referred to September 11, 2001. Despite this, some people also believe according to Nostradamus, that the world will end in the year 3797. One leading Nostradamus scholar believes that is the year the sun will explode as a Red Giant, possibly because of extraterristrial intervention.
The Y2K bug was supposed to wreak havoc on computer systems.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) who was involved in alchemy and many other things in addition to science and mathematics, studied old texts and surmised that the end of the world would be no earlier than 2060, although he was reluctant to put an exact date on it.
Many mistakenly believe that the Maya civilization’s long count calendar ends abruptly on 21 December (or 23 December) 2012. This misconception is due to the Maya practice of abbreviating their dates to five decimal places. On monuments where the full date is shown the end of the last creation is said to happen much farther in the future; however, the Mayas did believe that there will be a baktun ending in 2012. A baktun marks the end of a 400 year period and was a significant event on the Maya Calendar. In the Aztec Calendar, 2012 marks the end of a 26.000 year planetary cycle. This cycle is known to be the Great Year and it is most likely to refer to the procession of the equinoxes.
12. Combine the following sentences to make one complete statement. Make any changes you think necessary, but do not change the sense of the original. Refer to the passage when you have finished the exercise.
Sir Isaac Newton was involved on alchemy and many other things in addition to science and mathematics. He studied old texts and surmised that the end of the world would be no earlier than 2006. He was reluctant to put an exact date on it (paragraph 5).
13. Find sentences with: a ) Complex Subject; b) Indirect Statement, c) Do for emphasis. Analyse them and suggest different ways of their translation.
14. Translate the text in writing.
15. Before reading the text, translate the following words into Russian.
1. reveal, revelation, Revelations
2. consequent, consequence, consequential, consequently
3. civilization, civilize
4. influence (n), influence (v), influental
5. science, scientific, scientist
6. conceal, concealment
7. mark, marked, markedly
8. transform, transformation, transformer
9. correlate, correlation, correlative
10. value (n), value (v), valuable, valueless, valuer
16. Match the Russian word combinations on the left with the English equivalents on the right.
1. интеллектуальные возможности a) greatness of human mind
2. внедрение новейших технологий b) civilization structure
3. активно преобразующий c) fatal predestination
4. характерная черта d) introduction of cutting edge
technologies
5. коммуникационные сети e) communication networks
6. роковое предопределение f) intellectual abilities
7. цивилизационный уклад g) turn a blind eye to
8. величие человеческого разума h)common to all mankind values
9. общечеловеческие ценности i)active transformer
10. закрывать глаза на j) distinctive feature
17. Translate the following sentences into English:
1. Отличительной чертой нынешнего этапа развития человека является создание нового цивилизационного уклада.
2. Внедрение новейших технологий преобразует среду, природу и самого человека.
3. Научно-технический прогресс таит в себе определенные роковые предопределения.
4. Современный мир, созданный человеком, является слишком сложным для его интеллектуальных возможностей.
5. Люди не должны закрывать глаза на то, что сегодня не всегда можно предсказать направление развития человечества.
18. Translate the text in writing.
Современная наука и техника раскрыли величие человеческого разума. Они изменили мир и представления о нем.
На нынешнем этапе прогресса науки и техники, в условиях внедрения новейших технологий, человек обладает уникальной возможностью быть существом не только мыслящим, но и активно преобразующим.
Поразительное по своим следствиям развертывание потенциала науки и техники оказывает воздействие на все стороны социальной жизни. Меняется не только содержание труда, существенные преобразования происходят в строе культуры и цивилизации. По существу, рождается новый цивилизационный уклад. Но что такое наука и техника? Каковы формы и пределы их воздействия на человеческое бытие? Является развитие науки и техники благом или проклятием для человечества, скрывающим в себе непредвиденные роковые предопределения?
Как отмечают многие исследователи, характерной чертой нынешнего этапа научно-технического прогресса является то, что, создав всемирные коммуникационные сети, человек окончательно превратил себя в часть чего-то большего, чем он сам. Вот почему новые технологии, единые рынки и системные кризисы не единственные приметы нового времени. Главным является то, что человек создал слишком сложный для своих интеллектуальных возможностей мир и поэтому больше не может эффективно предсказывать направление своего собственного развития.
Мы, конечно, не должны закрывать глаза на то, что с возрастанием мощности техники, увеличивается как уровень благополучия людей, так и опасность для их существования. Культурные аспекты всякого развития, включая научно-техническое, означают его оценку соотнесения с общечеловеческими ценностями. А это в свою очередь означает также, что центром всех изменений и преобразований является человек.
19. Translate the following questions and give the answers in English.
1. Какие факторы изменили наши представления о мире?
2. Какие уникальные возможности появились у человека на современном этапе развития научно-технического прогресса?
3. На какие сферы воздействуют современная наука и техника?
4. Что позволяет считать современную науку переломной?
5. Почему человек утратил возможность эффективно предсказывать направления развития человеческой цивилизации?
6. Каковы основные приметы нового времени?
7. Считаете ли вы научно-технический прогресс благом или проклятием для человечества?
8. Почему размышления о судьбе человечества являются типичными для конца столетия?
9. Какие сценарии развития человеческой истории вам известны?
10. Какие идеи и принципы могут обеспечить более высокую степень динамизма и развития человечества?
20. Give the summary of the text in English.
Unit 3
Democracy at work
1. Before you read answer the following questions.
1. Do you know what the Magna Charta is?
2. Does Great Britain have a written Constitution?
3. What is the attitude of British politicians to getting constitution in writing?
2. Read and translate the text.
Getting It in Writing
The Magna Charta, signed by King John of England in 1215, has been enshrined through the centuries as the symbol of the rule of law over the arbitrary rule of kings. Although it was imposed on King John by rebellious barons, revised and revised again, and then reissued by the young King Henry Ш after John's death, the Great Charter proved to be a magnificent document, setting forth a body of common law that provided the basis not only for Britain's constitutional monarchy but also for a host of individual liberties, including the rights of trial by jury, habeas corpus and the principle of no taxation without representation, that have been recognized the world over.
Thus it may come as a surprise that a constitutional convention is meeting in .Manchester this week to consider four drafts for a written constitution, which, despite the Magna Charta and the various laws flowing from it, Britain has never had. Naturally the prospect of writing down the rules has raised questions about what the rules should be.
Although a written constitution has been the subject of drawing-room debate for decades, there is a growing feeling that it is an idea whose time has come. Support for it is building not only from those worried about the erosion of civil liberties but from some of the country's most eminent judicial and legal experts as well. Politicians of varying loyalties are also weighing in. The Liberal Democrats have made a written constitution the centerpiece of their electoral platform. The Labour Party has stopped short of that, but it has endorsed major constitutional reforms, from devolution of power to Wales and Scotland to abolition of the House of Lords and creation of a bill of rights.
Few would dispute that basic constitutional rights, at present, are better protected in Britain than in most other countries. But the economic and political union within Europe has infused the issue with a certain urgency. Britain alone among members of the 25-nation Council of Europe, established in 1949 to promote human rights and democracy, does not have a written constitution. After calls in Parliament last year for incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, legal opinion stood firmly in favor of a British bill of rights.
One reason is that Britain persistently finds itself in conflict with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court has ruled, for example, that prisoners may not be lengthily detained before trial. Britain, which claims lengthy detentions of prisoners before trial as its prerogative under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, refused to accept the ruling. For that matter, when human rights are infringed, it is often difficult to obtain a remedy in British courts and British subjects go to the European Court. Says Anthony Barnett, coordinator of Charter 88: "There's a dynamic in Europe both in and out of the E.C. that is constantly posing constitutional issues for the United Kingdom which it can't handle." Opponents of constitutional change argue that it is better for Parliament to decide issues through legislation. The rights embodied in statute and common law are "real rights," argues Tory M.P.: John Patten, because they enjoy the protection of the people. Patten, along with other critics, also feels that a freedom of information act and proportional representation – both high on the list of features many Britons would like to see included in a new constitution – would make the government less, rather than more, responsive to change.
The four constitutional drafts to be considered this week have been put forward by the Liberal Democrats; the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market association; and the Institute for Public Policy Research, a London think tank. They variously call for a bill of rights, a freedom of information act, proportional representation, an elected chamber instead of the present appointed House of Lords, and a reduced role for the crown. Benn would abolish the monarchy altogether in favor of an elected President as head of state – but would permit Queen Elizabeth II, of whom he is fond, to continue to reside in Buckingham Palace.
While it is safe to say none of the documents will become law, they will provide grist for a debate that is likely to intensify over the next few years. Should it wish, Parliament could call a constitutional convention or write a new charter itself. More likely, if change comes, it will be through a series of parliamentary acts, which could then be enshrined as a new constitution. For all the pressure that is building, though, Britain's political establishment, tradition-bound as it is, may yet prevent constitution backers from getting it in writing.
3 . Answer the questions.
1. Who signed the Magna Charta and when?
2. What has it symbolized through centuries?
3. Why did it prove to be a magnificent document?
4. What subject did a constitutional convention in Manchester want to consider?
5. What party has made a written constitution the centerpiece of its electoral platform?
6. How does Britain differ from members of the 25-nation Council of Europe?
7. Why did legal opinion stand in favour of a British bill of rights?
8. Why do British subjects go to the European Court of Human Rights?
9. What is the argument of opponents of constitutional change?
10. What do supporters of a written constitution call for?
4. Match the words on the left with the definitions on the right.
1. rebellious a) a state ruled by a king or a queen
2. revise b) bringing to an end by law
3. monarchy c) a person kept in a prison for a crime or while waiting to be tried
4. draft d) allowed or made by law
5. power e) disobedient and hard to control
6. devolution f) to read through carefully, making improvements and changing
something because if new information
7. abolition g) the first rough and incomplete form of something written,
drawn or planned
8. legal h) the system of laws and principles according to which a country
or an organization is governed
9. prisoner i) control over others; right to act given by law, rule, or official
position
10.constitution j) the giving of governmental or personal power to a person or
group at a lower or more local level
5. Find synonyms to the following words in the text.
1. a hundred years 6. topic
2. grand 7. discuss
3. supporter 8. alter
4. a large number 9. in spite of
5. different 10.too
6. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
1. Хартия Великих вольностей пересматривалась много раз и в конце концов учредила орган общего права, базу для конституционной монархии Британии.
2. Кажется, сейчас пришло время, чтобы Британия имела писаную конституцию.
3. Несмотря на то, что в Британии нет писаной конституции, основные конституционные права защищены там не хуже, чем в большинстве других стран мира.
4. Парламент призывал ввести Европейское Соглашение по Правам человека в Британское право, но большинство членов Парламента было против этого предложения.
5. Если бы Парламент захотел, он бы сам смог созвать конституционную конвенцию или написать новый устав.
7. Look through the text and suggest a headline.
Democracy itself guarantees nothing. It offers instead the opportunity to succeed as well as the risk of failure. In Thomas Jefferson's ringing but shrewd phrase, the promise of democracy is "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Democracy is then both a promise and a challenge. It is a promise that free human beings, working together, can govern themselves in a manner that will serve their aspirations for personal freedom, economic opportunity and social justice. It is a challenge because the success of the democratic enterprise rests upon the shoulders of its citizens and no one else.
Government of and by the people means that the 'citizens of a democratic society share in its benefits and in its burdens. By accepting the task of self-government, one generation seeks to preserve the hard-won legacy of individual freedom, human rights and the rule of law for the next. In each society and each generation, the people must perform the work of democracy anew – taking the principles of the past and applying them to the practices of a new age and a changing society.
Josef Brodsky, Russian-born poet and Nobel Prize winner, once wrote, "A free man, when he fails, blames nobody." It is true as well for the citizens of democracy who, finally, must take responsibility for the fate of the society in which they themselves have chosen to live.
In the end, we get the government we deserve.
All democracies are systems in which citizens freely make political decisions by majority rule. But rule by the majority is not necessarily democratic: no one, for example, would call a system fair or just that permitted 51 percent of the population to oppress the remaining 49 percent in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be coupled with guarantees of individual human rights that, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities – whether ethnic, religious or political, or simply the losers in the debate over a piece of controversial legislation. The rights of minorities do not depend upon the goodwill of the majority and cannot be eliminated by majority vote. The rights of minorities are protected because democratic laws and institutions protect the rights of all citizens.
Diane Ravitch, scholar, author and currently an assistant U.S. secretary of education, wrote in a paper for an educational seminar in Poland: "When a representative democracy operates in accordance with a constitution that limits the powers of the government and guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens, this form of government is a constitutional democracy. In such a society, the majority rules, and the rights of minorities are protected by law and through the institutionalization of law."
These elements define the fundamental elements of all modern democracies, no matter how varied in history, culture and economy. Despite their enormous differences as nations and societies, the essential elements of constitutional government – majority rule coupled with individual and minority rights, and the rule of law – can be found in Canada and Costa Rica, France and Botswana, Japan and India.
Democracy is more than a set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government functions. In a democracy, government is only one element coexisting in a social fabric of many and varied institutions, political parties, organizations and associations. This diversity is called pluralism, and it assumes that the many organized groups and institutions in a democratic society do not depend upon government for their existence, legitimacy or authority.
Thousands of private organizations operate in a democratic society, some local, some national. Many of them serve a mediating role between individuals and the complex social and governmental institutions of which they are a part, filling roles not given to the government and offering individuals opportunities to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.
These groups represent the interests of their members in a variety of ways – by supporting candidates for public office, debating issues and trying to influence policy decisions. Through such groups, individuals have an avenue for meaningful participation both in government and in their own communities. The examples are many and varied: charitable organizations and churches, environmental and neighborhood groups, business associations and labor unions.
In an authoritarian society, virtually all such organizations would be controlled, licensed, watched or otherwise accountable to the government. In a democracy, the powers of the government are, by law, clearly defined and sharply limited. As a result, private organizations are free of government control; on the contrary, many of them lobby the government and seek to hold it accountable for its actions. Other groups, concerned with the arts, the practice of religious faith, scholarly research or other interests, may choose to have little or no contact with the government at all.
In this busy private realm of democratic society, citizens can explore the possibilities of freedom and the responsibilities of self-government – unpressured by the potentially heavy hand of the state.
8. Find the key words in each paragraph of the text and translate them into Russian.
9. Find the English equivalents of the following word combinations in the text and translate the sentences with them into Russian in writing.
1. права человека и норма права
2. взять ответственность за судьбу общества
3. правило большинства
4. в соответствии с
5. несмотря на их огромные различия
6. выполнять роль посредника
7. представлять интересы
8. благотворительные организации
9. наоборот
10. тяжелая рука государства
10. Give the summary of the text in Russian using the key words and word combinations from exercises VIII and IX.
11. Read the following text.
Locke and Montesquieu
1. The intellectual foundations of modern constitutional democracy were laid during the European Enlightenment, an 18th-century philosophic movement marked by its rejection of traditional social, religious and political ideas and its emphasis on rationalism. Two of its most influential thinkers were English political philosopher John Locke and French jurist and political philosopher Montesquieu.
2. In 1690 Locke published his seminal “Two Treatises of Government”. His assertion that all legitimate government rests upon "the consent of the governed" profoundly altered discussions of political theory and promoted the development of democratic institutions.
3. With his assertion of natural law, Locke rebutted the claim that government, specifically monarchy, was an aspect of a divinely ordained chain of being. Natural law is identical with the law of God, Locke argued, and guarantees to all men basic rights, including the right to life, to certain liberties, and to own property and keep the fruits of one's labor. To secure these rights, Locke argued, men in civil society enter into a contract with their government. The citizen is bound to obey the law, while the government has the right to make laws and to defend the commonwealth from foreign injury – all for the public good. Locke asserted that when any government becomes lawless and arbitrary, the citizen has the right to overthrow the regime and institute a new government.
4. Locke's theory of natural law inspired a generation of Enlightenment philosophers in Europe and the New World – from Jean Jacques Rousseau in France to David Hume in Scotland, Immanuel Kant in Germany, and Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in what became the United States. But his foremost successor was probably Montesquieu who, like Locke, believed in republican government based on the consent of the governed, but not in democracy founded on majority rule. In “The Spirit of Laws”, published in 1748, Montesquieu advocated separating and balancing powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government as a means of guaranteeing the freedom of the individual. This doctrine also helped to form the philosophical basis for the U.S. Constitution, with its division of power among the presidency, the Congress and the judiciary.
12. Combine the following sentences to make one complete statement. Make any changes you think necessary, but do not change the sense of the original. Refer to the passage when you have finished the exercise.
His foremost successor was Montesquieu. Montesquieu was like Locke. He believed in republican government. Such government was based on the consent of the governed. This could not be in democracy founded on majority rule. (paragraph 4)
13. Find sentences with: a) passive voice; b) infinitive in different functions. Analyse them and suggest different ways of their translation.
14. Translate the text in writing.
15. Before translating the text from Russian into English translate the following words.
1. globe, global, globally, globalism, globalization
2. total (n), total (v), totalitarian, totality, totally
3. practice, practical, practically, practicable, practicability
4. possible, impossible, possibility, impossibility
5. aspire, aspiration, aspiring (n), aspiring (a)
6. dedicate, dedicated, dedication, dedicatory
7. image (n), image (v), imagine, imagination, imaginative
8. public (n), public (a), publication, publicity
9. account (n), account (v), accountable, accountability
16. Match word combinations on the left with the English equivalents on the right.
1. призыв к свободе a) to cast off the government
2. свергнуть правительство b) to take root
3. необычайные политические перемены c) the hinge of history
4. в огромной мере d) history’s iron laws
5. народы всего мира e) the extraordinary political changes
6. укорениться f) peoples throughout the world
7. рычаг истории g) to pursue one’s own personal goals
8. железные законы истории h) benevolence of self-appointed leaders
9. добрая воля самозваных лидеров i) the call for freedom
10.преследовать свои частные цели j) to a remarkable degree
17. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Для того чтобы жить в свободном и демократическом обществе, Восточная Европа свергла тоталитарные правительства.
2. В США публикуются ежегодные отчеты, в которых каждая страна оценивается по мере политической свободы и гражданских прав – двум важнейшим критериям демократии.
3. Однако подъем демократической волны за последнее десятилетие ни в коем случае не гарантирует ее окончательного успеха.
4. Люди, естественно, надеются, что демократические политические системы будут созданы и сохранятся на протяжении длительного времени.
5. Чтобы демократия процветала, о ней должны заботиться граждане, участвующие в жизни своего общества.
18. Translate the text in writing.
Что такое демократия?
Мы живем в такое время, когда призыв к свободе и демократии эхом прокатывается по земному шару. Восточная Европа свергла тоталитарные правительства, державшиеся здесь на протяжении половины столетия, а республики Советского Союза борются за то, чтобы заменить царивший здесь почти 75 лет коммунистический режим новым демократическим порядком, который им еще не доводилось испытать. Но драматизм, сопровождающий необычайные политические перемены в Европе, затмевает тот факт, что перспективы демократии в огромной мере мобилизовали народы всего мира. Северная и Южная Америка практически превратились в демократическое полушарие; Африка испытывает беспрецедентную эру демократических реформ; новые, динамичные формы демократизма укореняются в Азии.
Это ставшее всемирным явление опровергает утверждения скептиков, что
современная либеральная демократия – это исключительно западный артефакт, который невозможно успешно воспроизвести в незападной культуре. В мире, где демократия осуществлена на практике в таких разных странах, как Япония, Италия и Венесуэла, институты демократии могут по праву претендовать на главенствующую роль в воплощении в жизнь универсальных стремлений человечества к свободе и самоуправлению.
Стремление к свободе может быть врожденным, но практику демократии нужно изучать. Будет ли рычаг истории и дальше открывать двери свободы и возможностей зависит от самих людей – от их преданности делу и коллективной мудрости, а не от железных законов истории и уж во всяком случае не от воображаемой доброй воли самозванных лидеров.
В противовес некоторым представлениям, здоровое демократическое общество – это не просто арена, на которой отдельные личности преследуют свои частные цели. Демократии процветают, когда о них заботятся граждане, желающие использовать свои завоеванные свободы для участия в жизни своего общества – когда они присоединяют свой голос к общественным дебатам, участвуют в выборах представителей, подотчетных в своих действиях, и признают необходимость терпимости и компромисса в общественной жизни.
19. Translate the following questions and give the answers in English.
1. В какое время мы живем?
2. Какие изменения произошли в Восточной Европе?
3. За что боролись республики Советского Союза?
4. Что затмевает драматизм, сопровождающий необычайные политические перемены в Европе?
5. Какие страны превратились в демократическое полушарие?
6. Что утверждают скептики?
7. Почему нужно изучать практику демократии?
8. Что зависит от самих людей?
9. Что такое здоровое демократическое общество?
10. Когда процветают демократии?
20. Give the summary of the text in English.
Unit 4
Perestroika
1. Before you read answer the following questions.
1. Were you born before, during, or after perestroika?
2. What do you know about this period of Soviet Russia?
3. What is your attitude to Gorbachev’s policy?
2. Read and translate the text.
Дата: 2019-04-23, просмотров: 255.