Ольга Кравцова - Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1

European power was about two things: money and geography. Europe depended on imports from Asia, particularly India. Pepper, for example, was not simply a cooking spice but also a meat preservative; its importation was a critical part of the European economy. Asia was filled with luxury goods that Europe needed, and would pay for, and historically Asian imports would come overland along the famous Silk Road and other routes until reaching the Mediterranean. The rise of Turkey closed these routes and increased the cost of imports.

Unit III. EU at the Crossroads

European traders were desperate to find a way around the Turks. Spaniards and Portuguese — the Iberians — chose the nonmilitary alternative: they sought another route to India. The Iberians knew of only one route to India that avoided Turkey, down the length of the African coast and up into the Indian Ocean. They theorized about another route, assuming that the world was round, a route that would take them to India by going west.

This was a unique moment. At other points in history Atlantic Europe would have only fallen even deeper into backwardness and poverty. But the economic pain was real and the Turks were very dangerous, so there was pressure to do something. It was also a crucial psychological moment. The Spaniards, having just expelled the Muslims from Spain, were at the height of their barbaric arrogance. Finally, the means for carrying out such exploration was at hand as well. Technology existed that, if properly used, might provide a solution to the Turkey problem.

The Iberians had a ship, the caravel, that could handle deep-sea voyages. They had an array of navigational devices, from the compass to the astrolabe. Finally they had guns, particularly cannons. All of these might have been borrowed from other cultures, but the Iberians integrated them into an effective economic and military system. They could now sail to distant places. When they arrived they were able to fight — and win. People who heard a cannon fire and saw a building explode tended to be more flexible in negotiations. When the Iberians reached their destinations, they could kick in the door and take over. Over the next several centuries, European ships, guns, and money dominated the world and created the first global system, the European Age.

Here is the irony: Europe dominated the world, but it failed to dominate itself. For five hundred years Europe tore itself apart in civil wars, and as a result there was never a European empire — there was instead a British empire, a Spanish empire, a French empire, a Portuguese empire, and so on. The European nations exhausted themselves in endless wars with each other while they invaded, subjugated, and eventually ruled much of the world.

There were many reasons for the inability of the Europeans to unite, but in the end it came down to a simple feature of geography: the English Channel. First the Spanish, then the French, and finally the Germans managed to dominate the European

Unit III. EU at the Crossroads

Paraphrase the parts/sentences you intend to include in your summary. Pay attention to the underlined words. Where several words (a phrase or separate words) in a sentence are underlined try to compress the sentence by using fewer words.

Write a summary of the text using your outline. First answer the question: 'Should the order in which the ideas are presented be preserved?'

Read your summary and answer the questions:

1. Have you accurately represented the author's ideas and key points (the author's emphasis)?

2. Have you given the author's name and the details of the publication 61 61 Identify the title of the piece you are summarizing, the date of publication, the genre or type of piece (journal article, essay, economic report, etc.) in the introduction?

3. Have you mentioned the author periodically?

4. Have you written it in your OWN words? If you quoted the author, use the quotation marks.

5. Have you included any minor details or your own ideas?

6. Is it the right length?

Read your partner's summary and check it against the questions above.

Listening for new information and taking notes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLTQi7vVsI(

Watch the video “The Fallacy Project: Examples of fallacies from advertising, politics, and popular culture". Identify the fallacies you did not come across in Units 1 and 2.

Unit III. EU at the Crossroads

Unit III. EU at the Crossroads

1. We are taking children from their mothers too soon, which leads to increased crime rates. I went to the Department of Education and got a list of kindergartens and I went to the safety department and got the crime report. In general the towns with a kindergarten have 400 percent more crime than other towns in the same county. In every county the town and cities with kindergartens had more crime (New Hampshire Representative Bob Kingsbury).

2. On Monday an environmental group illegally blocked loggers and workers at the nuclear plant in Minnesota. Clearly, environmentalists are radicals who take the law into their own hands.

3. Al Gore should stop speaking on global warming. Every time he does the weather changes for the worse and the temperature falls by several degrees.

4. “It (Obama's) was the most anti-small business administration I've seen probably since Carter. Who would have guessed we'd look back at the Carter 62 62 Carter's administration (1977-1981) is remembered for many failings (inflation, energy crisis, war in Afghanistan, and hostages in Iran) years as the good old days?” said Romney (Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential elections)

5. One doesn't have to be an expert in economics to see that the country is heading for a new housing bubble. A good friend of mine, who is a real estate agent, says house prices are picking up.

6. Senator Clark: “Why are you not willing to support the antiabortion amendment? Don't you have any feelings at all for the unborn children whose lives are being indiscriminately blotted out?” Senator Rich: “I just don't understand why you people who get so worked up about lives being blotted out by abortion don't have the same feelings about the thousands of lives

that are blotted out every year by the indiscriminate use of handguns. Is not the issue of the sanctity of human life involved in both issues? Why have you not supported us in our efforts at gun-control legislation?”

7. Tensions within the EU like tension in a structure will inevitably lead to its destruction from within.

8. The USA should stop getting involved militarily in other countries. Once the government sends in a few troops, it will then send in thousands to die.

9. Richard Nixon was a family man, an experienced politician, and a world-known leader. He deserves a national monument.

10. William Bonnet, the leader of the antirap campaign claims that “nothing less is at stake than civilization” if rappers are not rendered silent. What makes Bennett qualified to lead a moralistic crusade on behalf of America's minority youth? The very person who urged that “illegitimate” babies be taken from their mothers and put in orphanages!

Unit III. EU at the Crossroads

Many of us feel we are living through a period of profound crisis. But perhaps democracy is more secure than at any time since the 1970s.