India «Americans seem to be in a perpetual hurry. Just watch the way they walk down the street. They never allow themselves the leisure to enjoy life; there are too many things to do».
Kenya «Americans appear to us rather distant. They are not really as close to other people-even fellow Americans — as Amer icans overseas tend to portray. It's almost as if an American says, "I won't let you get too close to me". It's like building a wall».
Turkey «Once we were out in a rural area in the middle of no where and saw an American come to a stop sign. Though he could see in both directions for miles and no traffic was coming, he still stopped!»
Colombia «The tendency in the United States to think that life is only work hits you in the face. Work seems to be the one type of motivation».
Indonesia «In the United States everything has to be talked about and analyzed. Even the littlest thing has to be "Why, Why, Why?" I get a headache from such persistent questions».
Ethiopia «The American is very explicit; he wants a "yes" or "no". If someone tries to speak figuratively, the American is con- fused».
Iran «The first time ^ my [American] professor told me, "I don't know the answer, I will have to look it up", I was shocked. I asked myself, "Why is he teaching me?" In my country a professor would give the wrong answer rather than admit ignorance».
To the extent that we can begin to see ourselves clearly through the eyes of foreigners, we can begin to modify our behavior, em phasizing our most appropriate and effective characteristics and minimizing those least helpful. To the extent that we are cultural ly self-aware, we can begin to predict the effect our behavior will have on others.
UNIT 7
I. Preliminary Questions for discussion
Have уоu ever crossed the Russian border? How long did it take уоu to cross it?
Is it necessary to search every car, bus or ship on the border cross ing? If yes, give the reasons.
According to your own experience say some words about the quality of work of customs officials.
Do you think Customs Service in Russia needs developing?
II. List of key terms and word combinations
To suffer — страдать.
Border crossing — пересечение границы.
Customs official — таможенный чиновник.
To crack down — бороться, принимать жесткие меры.
To reveal — открывать, обнаруживать, разоблачать.
To replace — заменять, замещать.
To halve — уменьшать наполовину, сокращать наполовину.
Customs duties — таможенные пошлины.
To launch а campaign — организовывать кампанию.
Goods — товары.
To suspend — временно отстранять, исключать.
Deputy — заместитель.
Tough line — жесткая, последовательная линия.
To adopt — принимать.
To startle — сильно удивить, поразить.
Shipment — груз, партия товара; поставка, отгрузка, отправка.
To label — относить к какой-то категории, приклеивать, навешивать ярлык.
Stringent inspection — строгая проверка.
Fraud — обман, мошенничество, подделка.
Nightmare — кошмар.
Checkpoint — таможенный пункт.
Queue — очередь.
To complain — жаловаться.
To damage — повреждать, разрушать.
To squeeze — просачиваться, протискиваться.
Significant — значительный, важный.
To incense — разгневать, привести в ярость.
To outrage — возмущать, приводить в гнев, ярость.
Freight company — транспортная компания, компания по грузоперевозкам.
Vehicle — транспортное средство, автомобиль.
Duty — налог, пошлина; долг; служебные обязанности, дежур ство.
To stick — застрять.
To overload — перегружать.
Parking lot — место стоянки автотранспорта.
Average — средний.
To pull up — останавливаться.
Habit — обычай, традиция, привычка, заведенный порядок.
To blame — винить.
Staff — персонал, штат.
Toll — дань, плата, потери.
Sloth — лень, нерасторопность.
Capacity — мощность, пропускная способность.
Cargo — груз.
Lane — проход, трасса для движения транспортных средств.
To handle — справляться; обращаться; контролировать.
Sorely — чрезвычайно, очень, болезненно.
Bottle neck — пробка, узкое место.
To dock — причаливать, входить в док.
Terminal — конечная станция, терминал.
Recurring — периодический, частый, повторный.
To hamper — мешать, затруднять.
To show up — показать, обнаружить, разоблачать.
III. Read and translate the text
January 11,2002
Russian Customs, Old and New
Where does а washing machine become pasta? The answer is — or at least was — on Russia's borders.
by Vladimir Kovalev, а correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times.
ST. PETERBURG, Russia — Ports and border crossings throughout northwestern Russia have been jammed with trucks and ships after federal customs officials decided to crack down on the transformation of products on Russia's borders with Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Prior to the end of the year, flowers were be coming grass, chicken legs were turning into full-grown turkeys, and — in an audacious leap of imagination — washing machines were morphing into pasta. Now, at least in one part of Russia, that may be changing.
At the start of 2001, tax duties were simplified and the previous seven tax bands replaced with four. That may have made life sim pler, but the differences in tariffs-the bands are 5, 10, 15, and 20 percent — and the categorization of products continued to encour age widespread and large-scale falsification of documents. One com pany, a customs spokesman revealed, even tried to pass off 17,000 tons of coffee as toilet paper in an effort to halve customs duties.
Customs officials in Moscow decided enough was enough and launched an anti-fraud campaign before the winter set in, though only in the northwest. «Due to the large number of violations discovered during the inspection, a decision was made on 24 October to search all transport trucks carrying goods from what were identified as risk groups», said Yevgeny Vensko, a spokesman for customs authorities in the northwest.
At the same time, the authorities suspended the head of the Baltic customs section at St. Petersburg's sea port, Alexander Puchk- ov, and dispatched inspectors to replace head of the North-West Customs Office, and his deputy. Both had resigned, reportedly for health reasons. Some Russian political analysts have interpreted the tougher line adopted in the northwest as a part of a plan by Presi dent Vladimir Putin to appoint his people to key state positions. Whatever the politics, the economic results have been startling since customs officers began carrying out item-by-item checks on ship ments of coffee, household appliances, furniture, tires and some oth er products. According to federal authorities, 30 percent of goods were falsely labelled. Prior to the crackdown, Mikhail Vanin, head of the Federal Customs Committee, was asked how much money was being lost.
«I hate to think about it. I will name exact figures only to' the president», was the reply quoted by the news agency Interfax. The authorities now believe that the 13 land and sea entrance points where the checks are being implemented — several in St. Peters burg port, and the rest across the regions of St. Petersburg, Kalin ingrad, Murmansk, and Karelia — were losing up to $ 200 million annually because of false customs declarations.
«Since the more stringent inspections started, customs duties collections have increased significantly», said Irina Skibinskaya, a spokeswoman for the Federal Customs Committee. «I can't give you any numbers yet, but it's clear now that collections will be much higher than North-West Customs initially planned». Another source indicated that, when the campaign was launched, the Federal Customs Com mittee had ordered the customs authorities in the northwest to col lect an additional 1 billion roubles (about $ 33,6 million) in 2001. According to the International Association of Cargo Importers (IACI), duties collected at Russia's checkpoints account for rough ly 30 percent of the entire national budget.
IV. Comprehension questions
How were tax duties simplified at the start of 2001?
What did customs officials decide to launch?
Who resigned for health reasons?
How much money was being lost annually because of false cus toms declarations?
What percentage of the entire national product do duties col lected at Russia's checkpoints account for?
V. Match the words with their Russian equivalents
1. налоговые категории, группы
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а) exact figures
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2. осуществлять,
обеспечивать выполнение
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b) tax bands
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3. бытовая техника
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с) customs authorities
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4. применение суровых мер
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d) household appliances
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5. сбор таможенных пошлин
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е) implement
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6. таможенные власти, таможенное управление
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f) item-by-item check
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7. трансформироваться, превращаться
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g) crackdown
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8. поштучная проверка
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h) customs duty collection
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9. точные цифры
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i) morph
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10. широкомасштабный
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j) large-scale
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VI. Fill in the gaps with the English equivalents of the words in brackets
The economic results have been startling since customs officers began (выполнять поштучную проверку) о shipments of cof fee, household appliances and other goods.
Since the more stringent inspections started, (сборы пошлин) have increased significantly.
When (кампания была организована) the Federal Customs Com mittee ordered to collect an additional 1 billion roubles in 2001.
They decided (проверять) аИ transport trucks carrying goods from what were identified as risk groups.
The categorization of products continued (поощрять широко распространенную и широкомасштабную фальсификацию документов).
VII. Translate into English:
Правительство решило организовать кампанию против мошен ничества до начала зимы.
Таможенное управление освободило от должности главу Бал тийского отделения таможни морского порта.
Из-за большого числа нарушений закона было принято ре шение проверять все грузовики.
Ясно, что налоговые сборы будут выше, чем первоначально планировалось.
На границе образовались пробки после того, как были приня ты жесткие меры по борьбе с фальсификацией товаров на рос сийских границах.
VIII. Additional Reading Task. Read the texts below. Translate the expressions and words in bold type. Render the articles
А truck driver s nightmare
While there mау be smiles and bonuses in the customs office, truck drivers and importers are suffering. «This is just а night mare», said Valter Velsman, head of the St. Petersburg-based IACI. «They search 50 percent of аИ trucks coming to the border, which means they have to bе fully unloaded and then reloaded».
At two checkpoints, the results have been huge queues, some times stretching 15 kilometres, on the Finnish side of the border. This is making life difficult for villagers close to the border. Lidia Benetska, who lives near the crossing point in Valimaa, complains that her car was damaged as she tried to squeeze past the long line of trucks. More significant1y, the perfume boutique where she works is losing money.
Tourists are also incensed. «Thе other day I met some tourists from Germany who had just аrrivеd from Russia. They were tired and outraged, saying that they don't ever want to go back to Rus sia after spending six hours waiting to bе checked оп the Russian side», said Nadezhda Helge, who owns the perfume shop.
The biggest losers, of course, are the freight companies. Vels- man said that losses per vehicle hаvе been about $ 200 per day, while the total cost to the transport industry has been about $ 500,000 since the new regulation was introduced.
Some days in November, according to Lasse Koskela, duty chief of the Valimaa checkpoint, there were up to 400 trucks standing in а line, waiting to bе allowed to enter Russia.
«That's nоt big surprise for me. I've seen how they work», was the reaction of Sergei Ivanov, а truck driver stuck in an overload ed parking lot оп the Finnish side of the border, near Valimaa. He said he had moved at an average speed of five kilometres а day over the past two days. «Yоu pull up to the checkpoint, and there's no body there. One has just left, another is having tea and а third is off just walking around somewhere», Ivanov said.
Workload, rather than working habits, is blamed Ьу customs spokesman Vensko. «We hаvе only 75 percent of the staff we need», hе said, and in the winter months sickness is also taking а toll.
Whether the reason is sloth or understaffing or both, Velsman of the IACI believes the authorities are not using the full capa-city of the checkpoints. «The best cargo checkpoint in Europe is locat ed in Torfyanovka», he said, «but instead of having all eight lanes open, only one, two or sometimes three work. They can inspect 1,300 trucks а day, but handle only 250». That capacity is sorely needed. According to other figures from the IACI, 250,000 trucks crossed the border at Torfyanovka in 2000, and that figure had been due to rise by 20 percent before tile new inspections, suggesting that the flow of trucks over the border has dropped by more than two-thirds.
Не appears to be right, at least in some places. In recent weeks, some bottlenecks have eased а little as more lanes were opened. In late December, officials claimed that waiting times were down from 72 hours to 24 hours at Valimaa and to 48 hours at another cross ing point, in Brusnichnoye. «The number of trucks passing through customs has increased from 500 to 900 а day», said Vensko.
Even worse in Petersburg
In contrast, however, the situation in the St. Petersburg sea port has worsened. Ships wishing to dock were being turned back in December, with the port almost out of storage space, according to PKT, one of the largest container cargo operators in northwest ern Russia. Passing through customs was taking 12 days, rather than the usual five, the company reported.
«The capacity of the storage lot is 8,500 containers, and, we have 9,715 standing here at the moment. So instead of two levels there are three in some places, which makes it more difficult to process the cargo and slows done all the work», said Alexander Svetlichny, director of the port's container terminal. Eighty percent of con tainers with goods on the watch list are now subjected to item-by- item searches, up from 55 percent before 24 October.
But Tatyana Ogorodnikova, the manager of a local cargo com pany, Baltic Transportation Systems, said the situation looks typ ical to her. «These are recurring problems for the port. There were always delays at the port linked to processing automobiles, cargo, and so on», she said.
Svetlichny fears the checks could hamper the port's develop ment. Speaking just before the year's end, he said 80 percent more cargo — or 340,00020 — foot equivalent units (FEUs) — had passed through the port than in 2000, while storage capacity had increased by 25 percent. The port has ambitious plans to raise the volume of cargo to 1,6 million TEU s by 2010. «Many foreign com panies have asked us ... to handle more cargo, but we've been putting them off because we have no space. This new [customs] policy won't help», Svetlichny said.
Others prefer to look backwards for hope. «Everything is going to be fine as soon as inspectors from Moscow leave the checkpoints», claims a member of the International Association of Cargo Importers. «Customs will work the same way it did before [they] showed up».
IX. Using prepositions — Revision
for in for off at out on down on
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