The United Nations Organization

For some of its critics the UNO is a ___________ monolith _________ in the affairs of independent nations while for others it’s an inefficient bureaucracy that doesn’t do enough. What is it really and what does it want to become?

The German philosopher Emmanuel Kant __________ at the end of the 18^th century formulated the concept of a League of Nations ___________ together to ensure peace but it took the horrors of the First World War to force nations to try to put the idea into practice.

___________ by the American President B. Wilson victorious __________ powers established a League of Nations in 1919. It became the forerunner of the UN. But despite a few minor successes the League remained weak, in part because the USA refused to join.

In the 1930s Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and Japan left the organization. The League failed to prevent the Second World War. It had _________ superfluous.

Just weeks after the end of the war in Europe delegations from 50 nations attended the convention in San Francisco and signed the UN Charter. In 1946 the General Assembly and the Security Council began their work.

Fifty years ago the UNO moved into its present headquarters in New York. Since then UN agencies such as the World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund have _________ on quietly doing their excellent work. But in fulfilling its primary task – maintenance of international peace, the basic structure of the UN has often _____ _____ for, each of the five permanent members of the Security Council can veto any resolution.

As early as 1950 the Council split on whether to intervene in the Korean conflict. The UN was __________ in the East-West conflict and often _______ by it. Washington, Moscow and Beijing (China) blocked resolutions wherever they saw their national interests ____________. But there have also _________ successes. UN troops have _____________ in 49 crises.

15. Read the headline of the article taken from the Vogue magazine. What do you think the article is about?

Read the article and answer the questions below it.

letter from the editor

WEIGHING IN

April is the month in which we annu­ally celebrate how fashion can be worn and loved by women with beautiful and diverse bodies. This year, the issue is of particular importance and timeliness because there has been so much attention in political circles and the popular press given to the size of models on the spring runways. In "Walking a Thin Line," Re­becca Johnson gives a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at the issue of body image in the fashion industry from the point of view of models and their agents, designers, and the health profes­sionals who treat young women afflicted with eating disorders.

That fashion alone should be blamed for this health issue surprises me—many other fields such as movies, ballet, and rock music could equally be said to promote a thin ideal. The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently issued a series of guidelines aimed at minimizing professional factors that could contribute to the development of eating disorders in models (minimum age requirements, a limit on working hours, a ban on alcohol and tobacco at runway shows) and alerting designers and agents to "red flags" that could indicate unhealthy behavior. A committee of health professionals has been established to which young women who are suspected of suffering from anorexia or bulimia will be referred and, we hope, successfully treated.

I applaud these initiatives because they seek to promote awareness and responsibility in the fashion industry and to help the young women in distress. We know that eating disorders are complex psychological and physiological condi­tions: The slimmest girl on a runway may have a naturally high metabolism and healthy eating habits, while a slightly heavier young woman who has a higher body mass index might be in the throes of a terrible disease.

At a pre-Fashion Week symposium to explain these guide­lines, Natalia Vodianova spoke about her experiences of gaining and losing weight as a model, and the consequences she encountered; her boldness and hon­esty were exemplary in a business that doesn't always disclose its secrets. (Paulina Porizkova, in Eve MacSweeney's "Long Tall Stories," also provides real insight into the lives of top models two decades ago, when the standards and conditions were somewhat different.)

I find less to applaud in the political maneuverings around this issue in Lon­don, Milan, and even Albany, New York. It is not appropriate to seek political gain or claim some sort of moral superiority off the backs of young women who are trying to earn a living, often for their families. Their weight or BMI is not the issue; their health is. And this is what the CFDA is seeking to put right.

Of course, the main safeguard against developing an abnormal relationship to food is to have a healthy self-image. Scar­lett Johansson, our cover girl, is an exam­ple of a woman who is completely at ease with her small and curvy physique. As we learn from Alessandra Stanley's profile of the young star ("Scarlett Letters"), Johansson exudes an intoxicating confi­dence that one normally associates with a much older person. In fact, each of the women profiled in this issue, whether she is five feet nine and size 16 or five feet and size 0, views her body as a gift and an ally in her pursuit of a wonderfully healthy and chic life. Fashion is a source of pleasure for them, and dressing for their shape a chal­lenge they happily take on.

The other defense against body dysmorphism is to encourage in young women a love of sport—through fash­ion, which this season borrows liberally from athletic gear and looks terrific, as is proved in Steven Meisel and Tonne Goodman's "Be a Sport," on women sized 2 and 12; and through beautiful young role models such as world tennis number one Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova is stunning at six feet two and size 6, and is usually quite comfortable standing head and shoul­ders above most of her contemporaries. That said, at a recent party held in her honor by Teen Vogue, nearly every guest who was introduced to her felt the need to say, "Oh, you're so tall." At a certain point in the evening, I saw her sitting on a banquette chatting with Vera Wang, trying not to stand out. Even a champion can be floored by inconsiderate remarks about her body. It reminded me of how sensitive and accepting we must be to every size of woman.

QUESTIONS:

§ Why has the issue of the size of models been raised?

§ What factors could contribute to the development of eating disorders in models?

§ What measures can be taken to minimize the risk of eating disorders?

§ Why was Maria Sharapova trying not to stand out?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16