MONDAY
TEST WEEK 5
01 THEORY
Leading Economic Blocs
02 ANALYTICS
Less Globalization, More Multilateralism
FRIDAY
03 CURRENT AFFAIRS
- | PANEL DISCUSSION — KEY IDEAS
- | SPEAKER PERSPECTIVES — THE CONTRAST
- | DISCUSSION — QUESTIONS
- | LANGUAGE BANK — 10 ITEMS
- | ANALYTICAL TAKEAWAY — COMPARISON → EVALUATION
04 THE WORLD THIS WEEK
ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY OF THE EVENT
Your task: comment analytically on a current socio-political event. Move beyond retelling: explain what happened, why it matters, and what is likely to follow.
THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
EVENT → CONTEXT / CAUSE → SIGNIFICANCE → IMPLICATION → EVIDENCE / WHY
KEY TERMS
| compete | the economic scenario in which enterprises put effort to be leaders in their industry and increase their market share |
| preferential treatment | any concession or privilege granted to the party |
| acquire | come into possession or ownership; obtain |
| counterbalance | have an equal but opposite effect on something in a positive way |
| emerge | become known or apparent |
| employment | a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services |
| reduction | the act of making something smaller in size, amount, number |
| purchasing power | the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with a unit of currency |
| availability | easily obtainable and ready for use |
| market expansion | a growth strategy which involves offering your existing product/service to a new market |
FOCUS WORDS
| deter | удерживать, останавливать |
| apparently | по-видимому, очевидно, вероятно |
| unprecedented | беспрецедентный |
| incentive | стимул, побуждение |
| implication | смысл, значение, подтекст |
| expose | подвергать, показывать |
| embrace | включать, заключать в себе, охватывать |
| resilience | стойкость, жизнеспособность |
| robust | крепкий, сильный, устойчивый |
| shift | менять, изменять, перемещать |
PREPOSITIONS
a reduction in
central to
implication for
reaction to
expose to
shelter from
at any rate
revert to
exemplify by
response to
at a pace
critical for
credited with
accuse of
at the level
GRAMMAR PATTERNS
The country is central to the manufacture of a wide range of common consumer products, including mobile phones, computers, and household goods.
Countries attempting to stockpile supplies of vital goods would also run into cost constraints.
Building a new multilateralism won’t be easy; it may even appear impossible.
Fortunately, China seems to have brought the coronavirus under control, and economic activity in the country is returning to normal, so the disruption has been limited.
Such a disruption could come in the form of another public-health crisis or a natural disaster.
Climate concerns and carbon border taxes could compound the problem, by spurring cycles of retaliation and intensifying strain on international trade.
It may not be too difficult for very large economies to cover the costs of diversifying their production.
With many companies and industries dependent on faraway suppliers – and lacking any alternatives – no part of such value chains can function unless all parts do.
One of the most powerful drivers of support for deglobalization is the vulnerability of production models that rely on long and complex global supply chains, which have sacrificed robustness and resilience at the altar of short-term efficiency and cost reduction.
Moreover, by entrenching a volatile long-term rivalry, it would pose a grave threat to peace.
Likewise, reducing trade and foreign investment in the name of national security may actually increase political tensions and, by spurring a cycle of reprisals, place economies on a downward spiral.
Similarly, protocols and financing for rapid vaccine development and production capacity should be agreed (and continually updated).
MONDAY
TEST: WEEK 7
TEST
1. THEORY
2. ANALYTICS
Less Globalization, More Multilateralism
WEDNESDAY
3. CURRENT ISSUES
- Summarise the video, speaker’s viewponits on the topic of the discussion
- Comment on the ideas expressed in the Round table
4. MODERN SOCIETY
4. THE WORLD THIS WEEK
- Analyze the events, be ready to comment on them
- Choose one piece of news and make an analytical commentary on it
VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR
KEY TERMS
| economic bloc | a set of countries which engage in international trade together, and are usually related through a free trade agreement or other association |
| gross domestic product (GDP) | the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period |
| market access | the ability of a company or country to sell goods and services across borders |
| customs procedures | the set of managements and operations that are carried out related to a specific customs destination |
| standards harmonization | technical specifications meeting the essential requirements of the EU directives |
| social welfare policies | aims to protect citizens who may be considered poor, unemployed, unhealthy, or marginalized from their community |
| common currency | money system for more than one country |
| representative body | a body or persons (an association, trade union, works council) chosen to make decisions or craft the policy on behalf of a larger group |
| admission | the process or fact of entering or being allowed to enter an organization |
| per capita income | a measure of the amount of money earned per person in a nation or geographic region |
FOCUS WORDS
| mitigate | смягчать, уменьшать |
| enhance | повышать, усиливать, увеличивать |
| inherent | присущий, неотъемлемый, свойственный, врожденный |
| restrict | ограничивать, держать в определённых пределах; сводить к |
| scrutiny | изучение, исследование, внимательный осмотр |
| diversify | разнообразить, варьировать |
| emergence | появление, возникновение |
| undermine | подрывать, разрушать |
| erode | разрушать, разъедать, размывать |
| boost | форсировать, повышать, стимулировать, ускорять |
PREPOSITIONS
- to some extent
- depend on
- support for
- rely on
- with regard to
- access to
- incentive for
- emphasis on
- increase in
- strain on
GRAMMAR PATTERNS
The House vote came more than a year after the three countries’ leaders signed the USMCA in Buenos Aires in November 2018 – a longer wait than many had anticipated, but shorter than others had expected after the Republicans lost their House majority in last year’s midterm elections.
Officials and analysts in the three countries had been hopeful that Congress would approve the agreement.
But if the pact is intended to boost Mexico’s economic growth and welfare, and bolster the rule of law, it will not achieve these goals any time soon.
The political issue was obvious: if Pelosi supported the USMCA (thereby showing that the Democrats could “do the people’s business”), she would give Trump a win at the same time that the House was impeaching him.
But if she opposed the pact on the grounds that it failed to meet the demands of US labor organizations, she would expose the Democrats to Trump’s charge that they are interested only in overturning the result of the 2016 election.
But if the pact is intended to boost Mexico’s economic growth and welfare, and bolster the rule of law, it will not achieve these goals any time soon.
Many congressional Democrats demanded that the agreement be revised to allow US officials to conduct unannounced in situ inspections of plants and companies in Mexico.
The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement may well succeed in marginally improving America’s position regarding jobs, investment, labor, the environment, and dispute settlement.