Not drinking? You must be odd, then

NEARLY half of Scottish teetotallers feel marginalised because of their abstinence, a new study has shown. Research carried out for the Scottish Executive shows that 42 per cent of non-drinkers are made to feel that their alcohol-free lifestyles are “odd”. The findings underline the extent to which most people believe that alcohol is an essential part of the Scots culture, which has been the cause of much anguished comment recently. More than six in ten of the 1,600 people interviewed for the study admitted that drinking was a “major part” of the Scottish way of life. Half of all men in Scotland and a quarter of women see alcohol as a “social lubricant” and believe that it is easier to enjoy a night out when alcohol is on offer. Asked how they would be viewed by their friends if they became teetotallers, a third of drinkers said “ odd”. Concerns about the grip that alcohol abuse has on Scotland were underlined yesterday, when two leading alcohol abuse experts called for a moratorium on new off-licences. They said that a dramatic growth in the number of off-licences has fuelled dangerous binge-drinking among young people. “We know there is increased heavy use of alcohol among teenage children as young as 13 and binge-drinking by 15-year-olds,” Mr Wood said. “If we only concentrate on opening hours for pubs we are missing the point. Because off-sales are scattered all over the place they are very difficult to supervise and there is no doubt from our surveys that these are where young people are getting alcohol.”

British anger over new US rules on foreign investment

FEARS are mounting that strict new laws designed to safeguard American security could jeopardise billions of dollars of British business in the United States and put jobs in both countries at risk.

Senator Richard Shelby, Republican chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, has proposed legislation that seeks to strengthen rules governing foreign investments in the US. Senator Shelby’s proposals would expand the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to give it powers to investigate any deal or major investment by a foreign company or government in the United States that it sees fit.

At the moment, the committee can ask for a 30-day review of any deal to determine if further review is needed. Under the new rules, the committee could ask for a further 45-day review if the transaction involved a foreign government, “critical infrastructure” or the preliminary 30-day review produced information indicating “the possibility of an impairment to national security”, according to a summary of the reforms. The definition of “critical infrastructure” is so broad that it could include almost any company in any sector.

The proposed legislation has sparked anger among business leaders in Britain, which is the largest foreign investor in the US. Sir Digby Jones, Director-General of the CBI, said: “America is acting again in ignorance of the detailed and deep trading and investment relationship that Britain has with the States.”

UNIT 12

Снежный ком

1. The major factors are: the deterioration of health and an unprecedented rise in the mortality of the population, in particular for people of working age, a sharp drop in the number of births, the continuation of a downward trend in life expectancy, particularly among men, a rise in general and age-related morbidity due to an increase in forced migration, aging and an absolute reduction in the numbers of the population.

2. The demographic crisis has been caused by a number of factors, including a global long-term trend towards a decline in the birth rate, and a trend specific to Russia of a rise in mortality and a reduction in life expectancy.

3. From 1993-96 a natural decline in the population was observed in 69 regions of the country, though ten years ago such phenomena were observed only in three regions of Russia.

4. Reproduction of the population in Russia is at such a low level that it does not even result in that simple reproduction of the population needed for numerical replacement of the generation of parents by their children.

5. As for mortality factors, Russia's experience confirms the conclusion as to a general shift in the ranking of mortality causes from infectious diseases towards non-infectious chronic and acquired diseases, primarily cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors.

6. In recent years as the result of a strong new upward trend, mortality from accidents, poisoning and trauma among the population of working age, in particular men, for the first time has exceeded mortality from cancer and is one of the negative factors of the demographic situation in Russia.

Текст 16 (отрывок)

Вопрос о национальном опыте в области народонаселения (ООН, 1998)     Госпожа Председатель, Вопросы народонаселения занимают одно из высших мест на шкале приоритетов Правительства Российской Федерации, по­скольку в последние годы демографическая ситуация в нашей стране может быть охарактеризована как кризисная. Ее основны­ми чертами являются: ухудшение здоровья и беспрецедентный рост смертности населения, особенно для трудоспособного воз­раста, стремительное снижение числа рождений, сохранение тенденции к уменьшению ожидаемой продолжительности жиз­ни, особенно у мужчин, высокая младенческая смертность, рост общей и повозрастной заболеваемости на фоне увеличения мас­штабов вынужденной миграции, старения и абсолютного сокра­щения численности населения.   Демографический кризис порожден рядом факторов, к кото­рым наряду с общемировыми долговременными тенденциями снижения рождаемости можно отнести и специфические для России тенденции роста смертности и сокращения продолжи­тельности жизни. Непосредственное влияние на процессы разви­тия народонаселения оказывает социально-экономическая ситуа­ция в стране. На сегодняшний день Россия переступила черту, за которой начинается депопуляция населения. Естественная убыль как главный показатель демографического неблагополучия сложи­лась в целом по стране с конца 1990 года. В 1993—96 гг. естест­венная убыль населения была зафиксирована в 69 регионах страны, а десять лет тому назад подобные явления отмечались лишь в трех регионах России.   Воспроизводство населения России находится на столь низ­ком уровне, что не обеспечивает даже простого воспроизводства населения, необходимого для численного замещения поколения родителей их детьми. Об этом свидетельствует нетто-коэффици­ент воспроизводства населения. Если в 1989 г. он равнялся 0,953, то в 1996 г, - 0,603.Что касается причин смертности, то опыт России подтвержда­ет вывод об общем сдвиге соотношения причин смерти от инфек­ционных заболеваний в сторону неинфекционных хронических и приобретенных болезней, среди которых преобладают сердечно­сосудистые заболевания и злокачественные новообразования.   Наибольшее число людей в России умирает от болезней системы кровообращения. Именно изменения смертности от сердечно-со­судистых заболеваний оказывают решающее влияние на общую смертность. В последние годы в результате нового сильного роста смертность от несчастных случаев, отравлений и травм среди на­селения трудоспособного возраста, прежде всего мужчин, впер­вые превысила смертность от рака и является одной из негатив­ных черт современной демографической ситуации в России.

National Experience with Population Issues (UN, 1998) (Читается с американским акцептом) Madam Chairwoman, Population issues are one of the most important priorities of the government of the Russian Federation, since in recent years the demographic situation in our country has been in a state of crisis. The major factors are: the deterioration of health and an unprecedented rise in the mortality of the population, in particular for people of working age, a sharp drop in the number of births, the continuation of a downward trend in life expectancy, particularly among men, a rise in general and age-related morbidity due to an increase in forced migration, aging and an absolute reduction in the numbers of the population.   The demographic crisis has been caused by a number of factors, including a global long-term trend towards a decline in the birth rate, and a trend specific to Russia of a rise in mortality and a reduction in life expectancy. The socio-economic situation in the country is having a direct impact on the processes of population development. Russia has already reached the point of depopulation. A natural decline as the major indicator of demographic problems was noted for the country as a whole, starting at the end of 1990. From 1993-96 a natural decline in the population was observed in 69 regions of the country, though ten years ago such phenomena were observed only in three regions of Russia.   Reproduction of the population in Russia is at such a low level that it does not even result in that simple reproduction of the population needed for numerical replacement of the generation of parents by their children. This is borne out by the net coefficient of reproduction of the population required for numerical replacement of the parents' generation by their children. While in 1989 it was at 0.593, in 1996 the figure was 0.603. As for mortality factors, Russia's experience confirms the conclusion as to a general shift in the ranking of mortality causes from infectious diseases towards non-infectious chronic and acquired diseases, primarily cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors.   The greatest number of people in Russia are dying from circulatory illnesses. And it is precisely the changes in mortality from cardiovascular diseases which are impacting decisively on general mortality. In recent years as the result of a strong new upward trend, mortality from accidents, poisoning and trauma among the population of working age, in particular men, for the first time has exceeded mortality from cancer and is one of the negative factors of the demographic situation in Russia.

LISTENING

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14