Учебно-методическое пособие по работе с темой "COUNTRY PROFILE". Дедова С.А. - 42 стр.

International organization participation: APEC, ASEAN (dialogue partner),                             IX. INTERESTING FACTS
BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
ESCAP, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC,                     1. Read the texts and do the exercises.
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (ob-
                                                                               1) What is Stan? Read the article and say what else you know about the
server), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest),
                                                                                 countries that are called Stans? What are their roles in the world arena
NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Coun-
                                                                                 currently and in the future? Discuss these issues in pairs and then com-
cil, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM,
                                                                                 pare your viewpoints.
UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET,
UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer),
                                                                               -stan suffix \stan, stän\ [Per.] 1: place, place of; 2: land. Adopted into sev-
ZC
                                                                                  eral languages fromi Parsian, the court language employed in antique
                                                                                  kingdoms of Central Asia. Thus the place or land of the Afghans is Afghani-
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
                                                                                  stan, the place of the Tajiks, Tajikistan.
                                                                                       Toothy borders carve up a region shaped by centuries of socio-
                                                                               political upheaval. Covering an area more than two-thirds larger than
                                                                               the European Union, the «Stans» weave an Asian carpet of many col-
                                                                               ors: blue of the Caspian Sea, gold of desert sands, and red of blood
                                                                               spilled in conflict. Their collective population of almost 230 million
                                                                               people exceeds Russia's by more than half. Yet prior to 1991 the map
                                                                               showed only Afghanistan and Pakistan. Then came the Soviet breakup
                                                                               and the birth of five independent nations. A decade later they're all
                                                                               struggling with drought, poverty, and internal strife. With Afghanistan
                                                                               in turmoil, the world has turned a curious eye on these enigmatic coun-
                                                                               tries. Who are the Stans?
                                                                                       They are a diverse lot, these seven Stans. Only Kazakhstan, one of
                                                                               the five Stan born ten years ago in the breakup of the Soviet Union, seems
                                                                               likely to enjoy a prosperous future, thanks to enormous oil reserves. Some-
                                                                               day Turkmenistan may also be rich – it has abundant natural gas – but for
                                                                               now it stagnates in one-man rule. Pakistan must be reckoned the most for-
                                                                               midable Stan, possessing a large army and nuclear weapons to boot. It is
                                                                               also volatile and violent. Two of the ex-Soviet slates, Tajikistan and Kyr-
                                                                               gyzstan, seem likely to become welfare nations, depending on the largesse
                                                                               of international lenders. After 23 years of conflict Afghanistan is the needi-
                                                                               est of all, a gutted shell of a state with millions of land mines embedded in
                                                                               its earth.
                                                                                       The Stans' common denominator is the harshness of their shared
                                                                               landscape, sweeps of desert and near desert riven by soaring mountain
                                                                               chains: the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, the Safed Koh. Mountains mean life.
                                                                               Snowmelt feeds the rivers that support cities and farms; in Pakistan the In-

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