The World around Us. Любинская Н.А. - 21 стр.

such as sanitary standards (notoriously prone to abuse by officials); the customs
system (famously corrupt); and so on. That mirrors the reform process in Russia
itself, where legislation has whizzed through parliament, but where anything in-
volving real changes in the way bureaucrats work has been slow or even negli-
gible.
        The other big looming snag is likely to be protection of intellectual prop-
erty. After much huffing and puffing, the United States managed to get Ukraine,
another WTO applicant, to close some of its most prominent factories producing
pirated compact disks. The plants promptly moved to Russia, where the illegal
copying industry has close links to the defence ministry. Counterfeiting of con-
sumer goods remains a big headache, too. Dealing with the rich and powerful
criminal gangs that run these businesses will be a formidable job, and also dan-
gerous. So far, there is little sign that the Russian state is up to it.
        Even if a deal is struck on these and other issues some time next year, and
Russia formally joins the World Trade Organisation in 2004, the real battles will
only just be starting. Whatever promises are given during the negotiations about
enforcement, the proof of Russia’s shift to a true market economy one based on
rules, will be how far they are observed once the deal is done.
                                                         (The Economist. 2002. June)

A. Comprehension
I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j)
1.  boost                 a.    showing excessive confidence and pride
2.  endorsement           b.    move through the air very fast and with a
                                whistling sound
3.  welter                c.    support, an approval of smth or smbd
4.  arbitrary             d.    an increase in smth, especially economics
5.  rod                   e.    using power without restriction and without
                                considering others
6.  overweening           f.    stick for hitting people
7.  notoriously           g.    subject to accidents, diseases
8.  prone to              h.    having bad fame
9.  whiz                  i.    an uncontrollable mixture of people
10. enforcement           j.    Making people obey laws by force

II.   Answer the following questions
1.    What period of time does the author refer to?
2.    Was Russia a real market economy 4 years ago?
3.    What changes have taken place during these years?
4.    What was Russia ruled by in 2002 according to the author?
5.    What were the main problems blocking Russia’s accession to WTO?



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