The World around Us. Любинская Н.А. - 24 стр.

might enter the WTO by the end of next year – an unrealistic goal, says Al
Breach of Brunswick UBS Warburg, but also a sign that “it’s a deal ultimately
about money…and they’re edging towards an agreement.”
        Yet patience with Russia may be wearing thin. The EU summit communiqué
omitted any mention of human-rights abuses in Chechnya because, says one EU of-
ficial, Mr. Putin insisted that it mention also the supposed abuse of ethnic Russians’
civil rights in Latvia. He also hinted at a trade-off between gas prices and the Kyoto
Protocol on global warming, which Russia has not ratified. “The Russians are very
good at linking two unrelated issues in a negotiation,” notes the official.
        Mr. Putin’s insistence at the summit that there was no political motive for
Mr. Khodorkovsky’s arrest was implausible. It will not have helped other goals,
such as visa-free EU entry for Russians. Not that there is much sympathy for
Mr. Khodorkovsky, the richest of Russia’s early capitalists. But all big clubs
will now look more critically at Mr. Putin’s membership aspirations.
                                                   (The Economist. 2005. November)

A. Comprehension
I. Match the following words (1–10) with definitions (a–j)
 1. augur             a. the situation with no way out
 2. implausible       b. to worry, become unhappy or anxious about smth
 3. align             c. withdraw a law officially
 4. meddle            d. shooting, fire
 5. fret              e. unlikely to be true, not convincing
 6. rigged            f. to interfere in smth, that is not one’s concern
 7. flak              g. to place or arrange things in a straight line
 8. orthodox          h. to be a sign of smth in future, to foretell
 9. repeal            i. following the order, more traditional religion
 10. stalemate        j. artificial, not true

II. Here are the headings for the text paragraphs. They have been mixed up.
Place them in the right order. You can combine several paragraphs according to
the information they carry.
1. The attitude of elite Western clubs to Russian current policies.
2. The biggest obstacle for the accession.
3. Other weal points.
4. The president’s role in Russia’s movement towards the WTO.

B.   Language Practice
I.   Say in English how you understand the following:
a)   “an eminence” grise (French)
b)   there is the potential for Russian policy to become politicized
c)   edge towards an agreement
d)   a trade off between gas process and the Kyoto Protocol
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