Мир перевода

процентные ставки - interest rates.

Тема: Занятость (Employment)

Study Calls Unemployment in Europe 'Grim'

A new study by the International Labour Organization (ILO)11 Международная организация трудя (МОТ), a UN specialized agency - специализированная организация ООН. said that global unemployment stands at "grim" levels in Europe, but found strong evidence that employee tenure (стаж) hasn't slipped much - and is even growing in some countries.

The United Nations estimates that about 30% of the global work force, or roughly one billion people, is unemployed or underemployed. But for workers, the average years spent with the same employer (непрерывный стаж) - a key indicator of work-force stability - has basically held steady. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, Canada and France, longterm tenure rose.

Nature of Expansion

"Despite layoffs and downsizing by corporations and government, a substantial group of workers hold stable jobs," said the chief author of the report. "What seems like higher instability may actually reflect the greater number of jobs that younger workers must hold before finding a permanent one."

The question of job tenure may seem arcane but it lies at the center of the controversy over the nature of the current economic expansion. Even in the U.S., where the number of jobs is dwindling, they say this explains the widespread perception of economic insecurity

But data suggest this perception is flawed. Economists in the U.S. generally have found no significant declines in job-tenure rates. "You can't say we've gone from an economy of lifetime jobs to one with day-to-day jobs," said David Neumark, an economist at University of Michigan.

A widely cited study last year by Princeton University found that 20% of all U.S. workers between the ages of 45 and 54 say they have worked more than 20 years for the same employer. The percentage was the same in 1973.

In Europe, the picture is similar, according to the ILO study, which appears to be the first to compare job-tenure rates across countries. In Australia, based on current data, one-quarter of working men have been with the same employer for at least ten years. In Canada, the figure is 27%. In France, the figure is 38.7%. In Germany (excluding what was formerly East Germany), the figure is 40.7%, in Spain - 36%.

Gains in Real Wages

One reason for job stability in Europe could be that many large employers, under pressure from global competition, arc only now shifting production to low-wage countries and scaling back middle-management positions, steps that seem likely to result in some layoffs. But over-all, the ILO found that "tenure does seem to be at least stable, or even increasing, over time."

For those without a job, however, the European data aren't reassuring. The ILO found that nations that are members of the European Union saw unemployment rise last year to an average of 11.3%. In Eastern and Central Europe, meanwhile, unemployment rates fell slightly but remained at 11.6% or more in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia. In Russia and some other former Soviet republics, unemployment rose.

On the plus side, the ILO found solid gains in real wages last year among many countries of the former Eastern bloc, with the Czech Republic posting a rise of 7.8%; Romania, 21.8%, and Lithuania, 10%. But Bulgaria and Hungary saw real wage declines of 19% and 10%, respectively.

Figures on joblessness in most developing countries weren't up-to-date, the ILO said.

G. Zachary ("Wall Street Journal Europe ")

Комментарии employee tenure - непрерывный стаж;

layoffs and downsizing - увольнения и сокращения:

arcane = understood by only few;

dwindling = falling, diminishing;

perception = approach;

flawed = incorrect;

to scale back - to cut, reduce gradually;

posting - registering;

real wage; cp. take-home pay («чистыми»).

Тема: Банки

Banks Seek Licences in London

It was practically inevitable: the well-heeled young turks of Russia's banking world, on the quest for (in search of) the elusive prize of a prestigious British licence, are setting up shop in London.

Six of Russia's leading financial institutions now have London representative offices, which although prohibited from conducting commercial operations offer a high-profile avenue for (possibility) courting government regulators11 Control and supervision bodies (in banking, securities, insurance, etc.) - cp. supervision and potential clients.

"London is the oldest and best-known financial center in the world," said representative of Alfa-Bank, which opened premises in the City Tower in the heart of London's banking district earlier this year. "If you have Bank of England recognition, you are recognized by everyone."

The Russian banks, however, face a difficult task in winning a foreign operating licence. They have to show that they have not come to launder money, and they have to reconcile their Russian accounting practices with (зд. привести в соответствие) the Western accounting system.

"The principal concern of the Bank of England must be criminality," said a source at a U.S. bank with interests in London and Moscow, who asked not to be named. "Ownership of Russia's banks is very opaque. You cannot tell if the shareholders include mafia elements."

Alla Haines, a specialist on Russian banks with the respected IBCA rating agency, said: "There are a lot of suspicions regarding Russian banks. People don't know much about them here. The main problem is one of attitude (position)."

The Bank of England itself refuses to comment on specific problems with granting licences to Russian banks, but the requirements it spells out are strict.

The chief technical obstacle is the Risk-Asset Ratio, or RAR, of Russian banks, which measures an institution's capital base against its risk-weighted outstanding loans. A bank cannot obtain or retain a licence if this ratio falls below a certain level, set at a minimum of 8 per cent in the international Basle Accord on banking norms.

Many Russian banks currently meet the 8 per cent threshold, according to the IBCA. But the Bank of England fears sudden upsets. "The situation would need constant monitoring, since high Russian inflation tends to make a bank's lending grow faster than its retained earnings," said another IBCA specialist.

Another obstacle is the state of the bank's internal accounts. "We have only two years of Western auditing, and a minimum three years is required before the Bank of England will consider granting a licence," an Alfa-Bank official said. "The Bank of England has told us to establish a relationship with it before submitting any application."

Fear that Russian economic instability could spread to the West through licenced Russian banks is another factor. Haines said the recent interbank market crisis in Russia when liquidity dried up and loans between banks grounded to a near halt, "slowed down the licencing process."

Western bank supervision agencies will feel more comfortable about licencing once the Russian authorities have set up supervisory norms corresponding to those in the West.

The Russians seem to be sparing little expense in making their presence felt. Although use of the offices is limited to information gathering and meetings, they also have a showcase value: Alfa's City Tower premises are down the corridor from the Bank of England itself. Promstroibank is in Mayfair.

Many of banks establishing themselves in London already have set up in Germany, currently home to a dozen representative offices. But the banking authorities there, too, have made it clear that they are not yet ready to consider licence applications from the arrivals.

Комментарии representative office - представительство;

young turks - «младотурки» - радикальное движение в Турции начала XX века; пер. - молодые энергичные деятели, стремящиеся порвать с прошлым;

to set up (shop) - зд. обосновать;

courting = wooing, зд. налаживать контакты;

opaque = vague;

capital base - основной капитал;

outstanding loans - невозвращенные кредиты;

Basle Accord on banking norms - Базельское соглашение о банковских нормативах;

threshold = level criterion;

upsets = problems, snags;

internal accounts - внутренняя отчетность;

liquidity - наличность;

grounded to a near halt = practically stopped, discontinued;

showcase value - зд. prestige (cp. offer high - profile avenue);

to spare little expense = to stop at nothing.

Тема: Налоги (см. Taxation Terms Mini Chart, стр.113).

Подоходный налог становится одним из самых рентабельных

Законом о подоходном налоге предусмотрено, что граждане, занимающиеся предпринимательской либо другой деятельностью, не связанной трудовыми отношениями, подлежат обложению налогом на основании подаваемых ими в налоговые органы деклараций. Также декларацию подают те, кто имел в течение календарного года доходы от двух и более источников в размерах, превышающих суммы дохода, облагаемого по минимальной ставке налога. На сегодняшний день 60% населения имеют источники разного характера, налоговыми органами проверке подвергаются лишь 20-25%.

Увеличить поступления от подоходного налога могут последние изменения в налоговом законодательстве. Уже затронуты четыре льготы из существовавших до недавнего времени шестидесяти.

Подоходный налог с физических лиц является федеральным налогом, поступающим в местный бюджет. Он обязателен к уплате. Рентабельность налога - каждый затраченный рубль на сбор приносит 9 рублей дохода. (См. также раздел «Интервью».)

Комментарии подоходный налог - income tax;

налоговые органы - taxation agencies. Federal Tax Service in

RF; Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in US;

льготы - зд. types of tax exemptions;

физическое лицо - physical person (ant. legal entity);

рентабельность налога - зд. tax spin-off, profitability;

сбор (налогов) - tax collection.

Тема: Construction and Real Estate

Industry Emerges from Stagnation

The Russian construction market has endured its share of ups and downs. Huge profit margins at the start of the decade were swiftly followed by a dramatic11 Обратите внимание на перевод прилагательного dramatic в зависимости от контекста (см. раздел «О ложных друзьях переводчика»), а также различные значения as. slump between 1994 - 96 before a belated recovery began to take hold (effect), followed by yet another and even bigger crash in 1998.

Attractive Real Estate Market

In the early 1990s the attractions of the Russian market for foreign construction companies were obvious. The competition was relatively negligible and the rewards for entertaining the risks inherent in working in the Russian capital were huge.

"Profit margins at the start of the decade were three times what they are now," said Pietro Giello of Codest, which has been operating throughout Russia since 1984 and has been involved in some of the capital's most prestigious projects including the Ducat buildings.

"Margins were huge and it's only recently that they have come down towards a more realistic level," agreed Konstantin Gusakov of the Stolny Grad, formed originally to manage the development of flagship project, like the Penta Hotel in the mid 1980s.

Standards of construction (quality) also sometimes left a lot to be desired. "The competition was so scarce (small) that international companies were sometimes paying pre-lease (advance) payments for 4-5 years for accommodation that was not of the best quality simply because they had no other option," said Gusakov.

"Originally, you could build anything and put it on the market at that time," confirmed Calvac O'Carrol of Murray O'Laire, one of Moscow's longest serving architectural firms having first entered the market in 1991.

Domino Crisis

There was, however, soon to be a flip side to the coin of potential riches in Russia. A dramatic slump in confidence in the banking sector in 1994 and then in 1998 severely curtailed development finance as banks, previously tripping over themselves in their anxiety to explore the lucrative real estate sector, reigned in the money, causing many projects to stall (slow down).

Not surprisingly, one of the hardest hit by this was the construction industry as silence descended on construction sites throughout Moscow. The fallout was considerable. One victim that was still awaiting completion is the massive Zenith development at Yugozapadnaya, another the Meyerhold project at Novoslobodskaya. Even Smotensky Passage, which promised to be one of Moscow's most exciting developments in 1998, stood still for a number of years as finance dried up.

"A lot of banks were very badly burned during this period and payments, particularly to Russian firms, were often 6-12 months late if they arrived at all," said Gusakov.

"Other firms employed by the Moscow City Government sometimes had to settle for (agree) payment in non-monetary terms such as apartment blocks as the authorities simply didn't have the necessary funds to pay in dollars."

A lot of contractors were forced out of business and, in a market that is as interdependent as real estate, the knock-on effects threatened to be dramatic.

"Pulling out of the market did become an option for us although we had made such an investment already in Moscow that we never seriously entertained it," said O'Carrol. "We actually never stopped working during this period although it was touch and go at some points but we were sure Moscow would come right eventually," added his colleague, Pascal Mahoney.

Recent Boom

Come right, it seems to have done with a vengeance in the last 12 months. The malaise that had affected the industry since 1998 and which was exacerbated by the political uncertainties surrounding the destination of the Presidency began to lift almost as soon as Putin's victory was assured. "The change in market has been dramatic in the last six months or so," said Mahoney while Gusakov commented, "Moscow is now in the midst of a serious construction boom."

That the market has recovered is perhaps most evidenced by the renewal of foreign interest in Moscow and re-entry of banks as investors, most notably witnessed by Moscow Sberbank's USD 50m loan to Smolensky Passage.

Lesson to Be Learned

Perhaps more interesting, however, is to take a look at exactly what type of market has emerged from the peaks and troughs (ups and downs) of the last six years. One thing that most experts appear to be agreed upon is that the construction industry is now considerably more professional. Undoubtedly, this has been in part engendered by a strengthening in competition. "Probably the most notable feature of the last 12-18 months is that Russian companies have successfully learned many of the practices that gave western companies a competitive edge a few years ago. Although this edge is still in evidence at the very top end of the market, the professionalization of local companies is and will be of increasing importance over the next few years," said Giello.

Комментарии profit margins = net profits;

to slump = to fall drop;

negligible = non-existent;

flagship = prominent, major (флагман);

to entertain = to consider;

flip side = the other side;

curtail development finance = cut financing of projects;

to trip over oneself = to try very hard (go out of one's way);

to reign in = to keep to oneself (попридержать);

fall-out = consequences (cp. knock-on effects);

to dry up = to discontinue, stop;

contractors - подрядчики;

to pull out = to leave;

touch and go = very risky;

with a vengeance = triumphantly; ср. «взять реванш»;

malaise = disease;

to exacerbate = to worsen;

to engender = зд. to cause;

competitive edge = advantage over competitors.

Сити ждет инвестора

Москва разорвала контракт с канадской фирмой Reichmann Asia Co. Ltd, которая ранее обязалась построить деловой и жилищный комплекс в районе Краснопресненской набережной - московский Сити стоимостью $135 млн. «Альберт Рейхманн и возглавляемая им фирма оказались несостоятельными по отношению к выполнению взятых на себя обязательств (commitments) в российской столице», - заявил ИТАР-ТАСС первый зампремьера правительства Москвы, отметив, что, согласно контракту, в нынешнем году истек (expired) срок, до которого правительство Москвы не имело права заключать соглашение с другими компаниями на застройку в этом районе.

Под контракт канадская корпорация 20 месяцев назад получила территорию практически в центре Москвы в аренду на 49 лет. Договор предусматривал, что к концу нынешнего года здесь должно быть сооружено 30 различных зданий, в том числе два высотных корпуса, торговый центр и многое другое. Администрация Москвы выполнила свою часть контракта, вложив в освоение этого участка $40 млн. Однако он до сих пор пустует, поскольку компания г-на Рейхманна не инвестировала «ни копейки, ни доллара», сказал представитель московского правительства.

Говоря о строительстве на Краснопресненской набережной, он сообщил, что уже открылся уникальный в Москве и России двухъярусный пешеходный мост, соединяющий будущий деловой центр «Москва-Сити» и набережную Шевченко. В скором времени строители приступят к возведению делового и офисного центра в Сити - Дома России, высота которого достигнет 400 м. Это сооружение обещает стать самым высоким в Москве, так как даже высота знаменитых «сталинских» высоток не превышает 150 м.

Комментарии обязалась - undertook;

оказался несостоятельным - proved unable to (ср. несостоятельный - insolvent; bankrupt);

двухъярусный - two-tier;

«высотки» - high-rises (Stalin's sky-scrapers).

Тема: Протокол и стиль одежды (для перевода «под запись»)

The Policies of Dressing

I know you are just starting reading this, but stop! Look down. What are you wearing right now? Whether you are at home, scouring the want ads or at the office leisurely reading this issue, take a moment to look at how you are dressed and the image you are projecting. Did you sleep an extra Fifteen minutes this morning and then skimped on the dressing extras, like polishing your shoes or completely pressing your shirt?

Like it or not, the world judges you by what you wear, at least on a first impression basis. Clothes to some degree define you. "People still underestimate the value of business dress," says Laurie Sagle of the employee training company, Training Works! "As the [Russian] market continues to change, clothes become more important, giving you an edge" (advantage).

After having worked in the Russian market for over six years, she says many people don't realize the importance of business dress, especially women. "What is most appropriate (acceptable) generally tends to be pretty dull. There is a big confusion between fashion and business dress." Sagle attributes this to the changing clothing market in Russia, where fashion options (selection, choice) have multiplied in recent years. She simply asks her clients: "What do you want 10 emphasize, your body or your brain? It may be a little blunt," she says, "but people need to understand the difference in social and business dress."

Another misconception is thinking you need to spend a lot of money to improve your business image. The most important thing is simple grooming. "Make sure you are clean from your shoes to the top of your head," emphasizes Sagle.

Dress Code

What is necessary or appropriate often depends on the line of work. The more conservative business sectors, such as banking, and law require grey, navy or black suits for both women and men. But whatever the sector, there are basic rules for office dressing. Keep it professional and clean. Leave the fashion pieces for social occasions, unless you work in the fashion field.

Business dressing only begins with the first interview. Because you want to be hired for a position, you present yourself in the best possible way, from resume to interview attire. But what you wear and how you wear it, after you have landed the job, can mean promotion or even dismissal, especially in the conservative areas of employment. A colleague of mine, who worked for an extremely prestigious and fashionable magazine in New York, told me about her office's unwritten rule of dress: whatever you wear, make sure that it's black. Everyone dresses in black, from the designers to the receptionists. The company even went so faras to require black desk accessories (канцпринадлежности), meaning the office manager would throw out your red stapler if it wasn't hidden in your desk drawer. The unwritten rule also affected internal promotions. People didn't get promoted if they did not "fit in," which included dressing in what is considered a fashionable and appropriate way. Although this case may seem a little extreme, it illustrates the fact that often, how you dress for work can impact how far you go in your job.

Unproperly Dressed

Another colleague, a department supervisor at a major international computer firm in Moscow, worked with a talented computer consultant at his firm. Although the consultant was highly skilled, he lacked what is considered a proper business suit. Unfortunately, it impacted (affected) his promotion opportunities. Because he didn't quite look the part, unintentionally or not, he was not asked to join business meetings with clients. Companies can be very particular about the image they want to project, and as an employee of that company, they will be particular about the role of image you project as their representative. My colleague wanted to tell the man to invest in a decent suit for client meetings. Yet discussing such a subject can be difficult- A little self-evaluation can go a long way (help).

The rule that image consultants offer is to dress for the position you want, no matter what level you may be with a company. If you are a receptionist, but strive (want) to move into the marketing department, then look at how the marketing director presents himself or herself. If those are the shoes you want to fill, then put yourself in the position where you can be considered for the part. Although skills are extremely important, part of the battle for a promotion is presenting yourself as capable of doing the job. Dressing appropriately demonstrates that you have enough wherewithal to know how to present yourself to clients and other employees. It also creates a sense of self-confidence and pride necessary to lead a team of employees or impress outside contact. Does the marketing director ever come to work in jeans or other casual wear, or is it suit and tie every day?

Bright Is Out

I remember working in a law firm in Washington, DC, where the decor was traditional American antiques and the unwritten rule of the firm was dress well - and conservatively. Black, grey and navy Brooks Brothers[10] Brooks Brothers - expensive and prestigious men's fashion store.[10] suits abounded in a place where Hugo Boss[11] Hugo Boss - trendy German clothes manufacturer.[11] would be considered living dangerously. A secretary was hired for one attorney, and though she may have been extremely competent, she was also very festive. Every holiday, she would come to work dressed to the nines in the garb of the season - Halloween meant an orange shirt, white nylon pantyhose with orange pumpkins and some sort of spider earrings to match! I'm not sure how many holidays she made it through, but unfortunately, it wasn't many. I think it was sometime soon after the orange bat shirt that she was cleaning out her desk. Perhaps it wasn't specifically her holiday wear that lead to her dismissal, but I can't help but think that it contributed. Quirks can be tolerated, although they usually only come from superiors. I know art directors and partners in international law firms who tend to walk around the office in their sock feet (без обуви), leaving the shoes somewhere under the desk. Yet these types of people generally have proven themselves with a firm to the degree that such things become "endearing" (charming) - a part of the process in producing their quality work.

In the Western world, where fashion traditions have been built over the generations, there are stricter codes of proper business attire. In Russia, the rules are less strict. Company handbooks don't usually specify the ties that are acceptable or the appropriate length of your hair. Many businesses allow employees to wear jeans in places that would be unheard of in the States - and people seem more sympathetic to the weather. I was delighted during my first summer in Moscow to enjoy the freedom of working for an international publishing firm, without having to wear the dreaded (ненавистные) nylons with my summer suits.

Ashleigh Morris

Комментарии scouring the want ads = looking through jobs pages;

skimped on the dressing extras - зд. пренебрегли деталями;

edge = advantage;

blunt = straightforward;

social - светский; зд. вечерний, нарядный;

grooming - уход за собой;

attire = garb = clothes;

dressed to the nines - зд. разодетая в пух и прах;

pumpkins - тыквы;

quirks - выходки, причуды.

Задание

What does it mean for you to be fashionably dressed today?

Do you like today's fashions?

Do you think people should dress differently at home and in the office? What should be the difference between casual wear and business style?

Do you agree with the opinions, expressed in the article?

Did you find useful the article on protocol in Part I?

Тема: Social Life (передача юмора и иронии)

Russia's Chaos: A Hit at U .S .Cocktail Parties

Russia is once again sexy in America. Human nature being what it is, the chaos and confusion reigning over there have put Moscow back on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of magazines, and have made it a prime topic of conversation among the in-crowd at social (светские) gatherings.

This has raised my stock (зд. вес) at cocktail parties - something 1 might actually enjoy if I weren't worried sick about the crisis in Russia.

I am always introduced as "the woman from Russia," and many linguistically naive Americans have had entire conversations with me without realizing I am a fellow countryman. It apparently does not surprise them that a newly arrived Muscovite with a Scottish name speaks perfect American English with a slight Boston accent.

In any case, I am widely hailed as an unrivaled expert on Russia, and, depending on my interlocutor's degree of savvy, I am called upon to answer questions ranging from "Do they have food over there?" to "What effects will the events in Chechnya have on foreign investment?" My favorite query came from a friend who asked, "Whatever happened to that guy with the mark on his head?"

I went to a party a few days ago with a fairly sophisticated Washington crowd, leaning heavy on (в основном) government types with a sprinkling of lawyers, doctors. I was having a great time when I ran into the only Russian in the place:

His name was Kolya, and he was of a species immediately recognizable to anyone who has spent any time in Moscow. I half-expected him to sneak up to me and murmur, "Military watch? Rabbit hat? Maybe some postcards?"

The inevitable happened: He learned that I live in Moscow and speak Russian, and he became my faithful shadow for the rest of the evening. I did everything I could to shake him, not least because his date - a tough-looking woman from Pittsburgh who was immensely proud of her Russian beau - showed every indication of becoming violent.

But Kolya, with all the charm of the Russian male on the prowl, blithely ignored her and devoted himself to pestering (зд. донимать, «доставать») me. "What a woman! I love your world view. How old are you? Really, I would say you could not be over 25."

That I was, in fact, over 25 was as apparent to Kolya as it was to me. But it was pretty standard fare, and, as the evening progressed, his compliments grew more and more outrageous.

The really funny thing was the reaction of the party crowd. While I sighed and sought refuge, these normally blases Washingtonians were endlessly amused by Kolya's "natural charm." When I complained that Kolya was a boor, my fellow guests accused me of being anti-Russian. My protests that Russians were not all like this fell on deaf ears (were ignored).

I feel the same way when I see cheap matryoshkas, or "nesting dolls," as they are called here, sold in fancy New York boutiques for $200. "This is not Russia!" I wail. "Don't be fooled!"

Back at the party, while the other invitees sipped champagne punch, Kolya put away an entire bottle of vodka. They smiled. He then began smashing crystal glasses on the floor, screaming that this was "old Russian tradition."

They laughed delightedly.

Kolya finally collapsed on the floor. When my old friend Robert, who was hosting the event, tried to get him out the door, Kolya broke Robert's finger. This really gave everyone a chuckle.

I can't wait to come back to Moscow.

Jean McKenzie ("The Moscow Times")

Комментарии in-crowd = high society; cp. to be in - to be in fashion/vogue [voug];

to be out = to go out of fashion;

hailed = зд. praised;

savvy = knowledge;

sophisticated crowd - зд. изысканное общество;

sprinkling = a bit of;

species = type;

beau [b?:] фр. - ухажер;

on the prowl = in search of a woman;

fare = thing;

blase- пресыщенный, pr.[bla'zei];

boor - хам, грубиян

Задание

Share your experiences of staying in the West (US, Britain). Do you think the media gives the balanced picture of Russia? Do you think Westerners are sincerely interested in the current developments in our country?

V. Taxation Terms Mini Chart

Тема: Перевод прецизионной информации

The Lady and the Age: She Lived Longer Than Anyone in Living Memory

The world's oldest person, Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, died on August 4, 1997, at the age of 122.

Calment, who had lived in a retirement home for the past 12 years, was born on February 21, 1875 to a well-off Aries family of shop owners.

Calment's life spanned 17 French presidents, the execution of Tsar Nicholas II, the birth and death of the Soviet Union and two world wars. She was born in the year Bizet's "Carmen" was first staged and Tolstoy published 'Anna Karenina," a year before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

According to the "Guinness Book of Records," no woman reached 122 before. It says the only man to live as long was Chigechiyo Izumi of Japan, who died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

Van Gogh Still Had His Ear

At the age of 14, she met Vincent van Gogh. She recalls him as "ugly as sin ... bad tempered, a grumbler and smelling of alcohol," although at that point the artist was still "with his ear."

At 20, she saw the first film, "The Sprinkled Sprinkler"11 "Политый поливальщик", the first comedy film. by Louis Lumiere, which was shown along with the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II.

She remembers traveling to Paris when the Eiffel Tower was still under construction and was 70 when French women were first allowed to vote. But her favorite memory is her first helicopter ride, in 1939. "I thought I was a little bird in the clouds. It was a magnificent feeling."

Calment gave up smoking only five years before her death and was still riding a bicycle at 100. "All my life I've put olive oil on my skin and then just a puff of powder. I could never wear mascara, I cried too often when I laughed," she said.

The so-called "Doyenne (зд. старейшина) of Humanity," who heard best if spoken to loudly in the right ear in a thick Aries accent, was legendary for her aphorisms and jokes like this one: "I've only ever had one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."

Extraordinary Case

"She was an exceptional case," said Jean-Marc Robine, a longevity expert (gerontologist) with the National Institute of Medical Research. "By chance, she was endowed with (had) an extraordinary genetic makeup."

He said research into her ancestors determined that unusually high proportion of them lived far longer than the norm for their eras, including many in the 17th and 18th centuries who lived into their 70s. Her father died at 94 and her mother at 86.

Robine remarked on her "extraordinary resistance to sickness, stress and depression." "There's nothing exceptional about her lifestyle," he said. "She was not athletic, not a health fanatic - simply interested in everything but not really passionate about anything."

At 21, Jeanne married her cousin, Fernand Calment. The couple had an only daughter, Yvonne, born in 1898, who gave them their only grandson. After she was widowed, Calment lived alone in her apartment in central Aries until the age of 110.

Calment celebrated her birthday every year in the presence of international journalists, but last January, Calment was placed under the guardianship of a local association after being judged incapable of looking after own affairs (недееспособна) and died of "natural causes."

Aries mayor Michel Vauzelle said that the whole town was in mourning for her. "She was the living memory of our town. She gave us comfort and hope with her vitality, her sense of humour, her tenderness. In short, we hoped she could be immortal."

Tiny in physical stature, Calment was a grandmother by 1926, but soon found herself alone after her grandson was killed in a road accident in 1960 at the age of 36.

Rotten Deal

One person had no reason to celebrate her longevity. He was lawyer Andre-Francois Raffray, who bought Calment's Aries apartment under an annuity arrangement when she was 90. Raffray never took possession of her property as he had planned, dying in 1995 aged a mere 77. "In life, people sometimes make rotten deals," she said at the time.

Doctors were constantly amazed by her longevity. "At 122 Madame Calment's heart, lungs, digestion and kidneys were all doing fine," said the physician Denis Mery. "Her intellectual faculties also remained astonishing for a woman of her age," he added.

But Calment had been decreasingly active, and celebrated her 122-nd birthday very quietly on doctors' orders because of her increasing frailty.

In 1996, however, she made a funk-rap, techno and dance compact disc shortly before her 121st birthday. Entitled Maitresse du temps (Mistress of Time), the funk-rap disc featured the former piano teacher singing four tracks, including one in English.

"I sleep like a baby," she told the daily Le Figaro shortly before she passed away, adding: "One hundred and twenty-two years old. Who could ask for more?"

Комментарии annuity arrangement - право пожизненного проживания;

frailty = poor health.

Тема: Real Estate Development and Hotel Business (Revision)

Marriott Enter Moscow Market with Opening of Grand Hotel

The latest addition to Moscow's growing top class hotel sector came on line with the opening of the multi-million dollar Moscow Marriott Grand Hotel on Tverskaya ulitsa.

The five-star hotel, located on one of Moscow's most prestigious streets opened for business on 25th August and is particularly significant as Marriot's first venture into the unchartered waters of Russian market. "Marriot's international strategic growth plan is to be present in all of the major capitals of the world and being represented in Moscow is part of that plan", said June Farrell at Marriot's US headquarters.

"We only began our international growth programme in earnest in 1991 and prior to (before) that we only had 16 hotels outside the US. Today, we have an international hotel portfolio (зд. network) of 200 hotels and the timing of our entry into Russia has simply been a factor of finding the right opportunity," she said.

The nine floor hotel will offer 392 deluxe rooms including 24 suites as well as restaurants and bars, indoor swimming pool, health club and a business centre. Rooms are expected to range from as low as USD 300 per night up to USD 1,400 for the presidential suite.

The hotel should considerably enliven a Moscow hotel sector that has already undergone facelift in the last five years. As well as the expensive refurbish merits given to some of the Russian capital's older establishments such as the Metropol and the National, other new developments in recent years have included the Palace, the Tverskaya, the Sofitel and the Novotel in a sector that is becoming increasingly competitive. Additionally, it would probably not be Marriot's last venture on Russian market.

"Once having established a beachhead in the capital city of a country, we look for opportunities in other cities and business centres in the country, airport locations as well as resorts in established destinations," said Farrell.

Already, it is rumoured that Marriott, which is the franchise partner on the Moscow Marriott Grand Hotel, is involved in a hotel project in Nizhny Novgorod although Marriot representatives were not ready to confirm this.

Other firms involved in the Moscow Marriott Grand Hotel include the Interstate Hotels Corporation, which holds the management contract, and Mospromstroy, the hotel contractor.

M.O'Rourke

Комментарии unchartered waters - зд. «целина», неизвестность;

in earnest = seriously, concretely;

facelift = change;

refurbishment = overhauling (капремонт);

beachhead - плацдарм;

franchise - франчайзинг (предоставление товарного знака и «ноу-хау»).

Тема: Media and Advertising

The Price of Advertising

Advertising, which is as American as French fries, English muffins and Chinese takeout, saturates society with an incessant barrage. Most people develop mental filters to soften the sensory blitzkrieg, lest they go bonkers, and they respond to the barrage with boredom, which is a kind of criticism.

However, bored or not by advertising that assails eye, ear and even nose (some magazines contain scent strips11 Полоска бумаги, пропитанная ароматом духов, одеколона. advertising colognes), people are collaborating with the perpetrators of it (those who do it). So argues James Twitchell in an essay published in WQ, the invaluable quarterly of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Mr. Twitchell, who teaches English at the University of Florida, should not expect thanks for pointing out that people are paying for advertisements twice. They pay in the price of the product advertised, and they pay in the form of the attention they pay to the advertisements.

Advertising agencies exist to rent (зд. sell) our attention to people with goods or services to sell. Try to think when your attention is not rented. Many college sports teams have Nike's swooshes on their jerseys. Soft drink and other companies pay for "product placement" in movies. When you are put on hold (зд. ожидание, пауза) on the telephone you often are plied with commercial communications, which also appear in urinals, on grocery store shopping carts, on video screens attached to Stair Masters in gyms, in the first five minutes of rented movie videos.

Money or Attention?

Twitchell notes that public television has swarms of advertisements identified by the delicate euphemism "underwriting announcements" and museum exhibits beat the logos of sponsoring corporations. "At the Smithsonian"22 The Smithsonian Institute - Natural history museum in New York., Twitchell writes, "the Orkin Pest Control Company sponsored an exhibit on exactly what it advertises it kills: insects."

Twitchell is not scandalized by (shocked) these transactions, which is what they are. We give attention, we get things - from television programs to museum exhibits - not really "free," but cheaper that we otherwise would. "Given the choice between paying money and paying attention, we prefer to pay attention."

This is similar to other routine transactions. At McDonald's you go to the counter to order, carry your food to the table and clean up when finished, all in exchange for lower prices. You fill your own tank at the gas station for the same reason. And consuming ads is the "work" you do to lower the price of entertainment. Twitchell calls it that because it does not just entertain, it enculturates (enriches) you.

Too Much Choice?

Mass production gives us products that are barely distinguishable (Miller or Bud? Crest or Colgate?) until advertising infuses (fills) them with meaning. Grocery stores which two decades ago stocked 9,000 items now stock 30,000, Revlon makes 177 shades of lipstick, Crest comes in dozens of sizes, shapes and flavors. So billions of dollars are spent on advertising, largely to influence largely inexplicable, or at least barely rational, choices about these things. So it must be, Twitchell argues, when goods are interchangeable and in surplus (в изобилии, избытке), and consumers have enough disposable (free) time and money to consume both the ads and the products.

Twitchell has robust contempt for the intelligentsia's "downright supercilious" understanding of consumption, particularly the notion that, were it not for advertising, people would not want things. Our love of things, says Twitchell, is part of our nature; it was the cause, not the consequence, of the Industrial Revolution. Just as Orwell11 George Orwell. British author (The Animal Farm", "1984"). said there are some ideas so nutty that only an intellectual can believe them, Twitchell argues that only a professoriate, housed in institutions of higher learning far from the marketplace, can entertain the hazy idea of a bygone golden age when people had pure and only natural needs.

Want a glimpse of the future? Twitchell says you've already had one if you have seen MTV, the Home Shopping Network or "informercials." Or if you have read magazines like Sony Style or Colors from Benetton that, unlike many women's magazines which blur the line between advertising and editorial content, erase (destroy) that line.

Today's sweep of advertising is the democracy of the marketplace, what Twilchell calls "the application of capitalism to culture: dollars voting." Where will it sweep next? Perhaps advertisements in books, where they once were. Twilchell recalls that in the late 1940s, Dr. Spock22 Author of the famous child-care book (died in 1998). fought Pocket Books to have cigarette ads removed from his baby care book. Books might remain one of the last redoubts of advertisement-free America because, Twitchell says, "the prime audience for advertisers, namely the young, is functionally illiterate." That good news about books contains the bad news: books do not have a bright future.

George F. Will

Комментарии muffins - тип кекса;

takeout = take-out food;

go bankers = to go crazy (nuts);

saturates = infuses; fills with;

barrage - вал;

assails = attacks;

Nike swoosh = the company emblem («загогулина»);

Stair Master = gym equipment in the form of moving steps;

swarms = lots of (cp. sweep);

underwriting - зд. оплаченные;

robust = healthy;

downright supercilious = totally contemptuous;

to entertain = зд. to consider (an idea);

bygone = long gone;

blur -- зд. «размывают»;

prime = best (cp. prime time, «прайм тайм» ТВ).

Задание

Do you like watching TV commercials? Do you think they're useful? Which of the latest TV spots did you dislike (like) most of all? Do you prefer Russian-made commercials to Western ones? Do ads or commercials sometimes influence your choice of goods? Do you agree with the author's idea that ads are "the necessary evil"?

Тема: Язык и общество

The Curious Role of English Language

If you wish to hear English spoken properly, you should go to Denmark

In a football report on television last week there appeared an unusual figure. He was talking about his team's success earlier that day, but adopted a modest, academic air: his characterization of his club's performance was disinterested, almost scholarly. In an area of discourse which is wonderfully free of such grammatical decoration as adverbs and the imperfect tense, he seemed capable of using both appropriately.

He was, of course, not English, but the French manager of Arsenal football club, Arsene Wenger. A few days earlier, a persuasive letter had appeared in one of London broadsheets which noted that if you wish to hear English spoken properly, you should go to Denmark.

How true. Many will recall the most famous speech ever given by a Dane but few know how it came to be written. In fact Shakespeare had a "mate" in Southwark, South London, whose uncle had killed his dad and then run off with his mum. When the great man asked his young friend what he was going to do about it, the latter replied: "Dunno really. Might just grin and bear it. Might nail the bastards to the floor." And so great Danish rhetoric was fashioned from those lapidary sentences.

Then, right on cue, the National Association for the Teaching of English came out with something called The Grammar Book. It argued that children should not be taught grammatical rules but should observe the patterns of language and how they change over time.

It is funny how those whom the late philosopher Ernest Gellner called narodniks (they were 19th century Russians who believed that the illiterate peasant was always right) always mention the split infinitive. It is 70 years since Sir Ernest Gowres, a leading authority on correct English, showed that "to boldly go" could be better than "to go boldly."

There is a fundamental problem with the narodnik view: all too often one has no idea what the peasants are talking about. And the peasants, when told of their inherent rightness, are naturally discontented when they fail to land jobs as judges or merchant bankers.

Britain, although this is not widely recognized, is the last home of the narodnik. Only in the UK are people encouraged to think that in language, as in many other areas, anything they do is perfectly all right. The English often sneer at the way Americans express themselves. But listen! Listen to the clarity of the 12-second soundbite (piece of news), as a witness of a domestic fire in Newark describes how "the structure was subject to intense incendiary activity, but fire-fighters gained an entry and safely evacuated the residents." Listen to the weather forecast on a local station in Tennessee and hear the standard American accent and grammar. Not attractive, maybe, but you know what they are talking about, which is not always so in Britain.

In other countries the rules are even stricter. However, one has to face the fact that there is a strange global yearning for the English way. Children who are bilingual in English and another language will naturally talk English with each other because of the ease with which phrases can be fashioned and understood. It is the dream language of advertisers and sign-writers.

Where else but in England could one see a perfectly contented building bearing this notice: "These premises are alarmed"? Why is it that the language of obscene graffiti, not only in Birmingham, but also in Brussels or Belgrade is so often English?

Maybe the fact is that English has to be systematically corrupted to enable it to perform its curious global role.

James Morgan, BBC World Service

economics correspondent

Комментарии discourse -- зд. речь;

broadsheets = "quality" newspapers (cp. tabloids);

lapidary = brief, curt (лапидарный);

on cue = on time (кстати, вовремя);

inherent = with which they are born;

sneer at = зд. despise, mock at;

alarmed = equipped with an alarm system;

graffiti -- надписи на стенах (ср. tagging -- инициалы там же).

Задание

Найдите в тексте аллюзию (непрямую ссылку). Что имеет в виду автор? Какое произведение?

Найдите образец бюрократического разговорного стиля.

VI. Consecutive (Liaison) Interpreting

(interviews and talks)

NB! При переводе интервью, бесед и т.д. обратите внимание на быстроту реакции, особенности передачи разговорной речи и знание ситуационных клише.

Тема: Office Phraseology

Интервью с К.Черны,

генеральным директором компании «Ксерокс» по странам Центральной и Восточной Европы (ЦВЕ)

Q: Как известно, многие западные компании вкладывают немалые средства в государства ЦВЕ. Участвует ли Ксерокс в этом процессе? В какие именно страны вы сейчас инвестируете? Какие крупные проекты находятся сейчас в работе?

A: More than 12 billion of foreign investment reached the region in 1997, mostly to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Hungary, for instance, received 1,113 USD per capita. Of course, Xerox is also investing heavily. We have been trading in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for many years.

Our two-year Project Exodus programme is gradually moving financial management out of Xerox's UK headquarters. The project has already been successfully implemented in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Other countries will follow.

Q: Уверены ли вы в правильности этого курса? Какова ваша маркетинговая политика, как вы работаете с местными отделениями компании?

A: More than ever now I am convinced that this is the right course: we've extensively restructured local offices to equip them with the skills and tools to manage and control their own business. Customers and business both benefit.

We're also, of course, a partner of international companies in these markets, and a leading vendor of efficient, global document management solutions (технологии обработки документов).

Q: Сейчас много говорится об «этике бизнеса», о «новой культуре деловых отношений». Как это вписывается (to fit into) в вашу кадровую политику, как вы осуществляете подготовку персонала?

A: Our top priority in Central and Eastern Europe, as elsewhere in Xerox, is a motivated and skilled workforce. The company philosophy is to hire locally wherever possible, right up to the country general manager. We've just completed one of our quarterly three-week courses -- in Budapest -- for 15 of the latest young recruits.

Well, privatisation and the encouragement of local business initiatives. I think, they have to come mainly from political reforms. But by investing heavily in people's development and training, we are doing our bit and contributing to "new business culture," emerging in CEE nations.

Тема: Office and Business Terms

Interview with Mr Vdovin,

Commercial Director of Terra Publishers, a major Russian Priming House

Q: There are heaps of books on your office desk. Do you have to read as part of your duties or is it your hobby?

А: Конечно, далеко не все, что мы выпускаем, я читаю -- в противном случае для ознакомления с ситуацией на рынке приходилось бы «проглатывать» 2,5 книги в день. Большую часть информации мне рассказывают сами авторы, помогают коллеги.

Q: What takes up most of your time at work?

А: Основная часть моей работы -- это занятие маркетингом и связями с общественностью (PR). Самое интересное -- организация телевизионной программы «Книжная лавка», на это уходит больше всего сил и времени.