1010G【fish】COMMENTS

azure9UID: 2789030

COMMENTS

========================================

作业安排：

1.每天我会在这个贴上跟新两篇文章，同时把文章的word文档发到群共享里。大家选一篇做，两篇都做也可以。

2.不要求组员每天都做，但至少每周做4篇。只能多不能少。连续两周学习少于4篇的同学将不能留在小组里

3.鼓励组员推荐自己看到的好文章给大家。推荐文章提前跟我说，把文章用word发给我。我统一发到贴里和群里。希望大家踊跃推荐！

4.文章学习主要是好词好句，一些短语的用法等等。还有文章结构，逻辑思路也是学习的重点。

大家加油！

参考贴：https://bbs.gter.net/thread-1042733-1-2.html

azure9UID: 2789030

COMMENT[范例]（大家也可以今天就用这篇开始学习）

A debate on burqas

Liberté v fraternité
France contemplates banning burqas
May 11th 2010 | PARIS | From The Economist online
HOW likely are French parliamentarians to approve the proposed “burqa ban”? Deputies get their first chance to debate the idea in parliament on Tuesday May 11th. As a first step, the National Assembly will examine a resolution, which carries symbolic value, but not legal force. Yet it will be a good test of the political mood. It is likely to be approved with thunderous cross-party support.

French backing for a burqa ban across the political spectrum is sometimes hard to understand. In many multicultural quarters of Europe, the idea is linked to the extreme or nationalist right. In Britain, for instance, the only party proposing a total burqa ban during the recent general-election campaign was the United Kingdom Independence Party, which also wants to pull the country out of the European Union. The far-right British National Party also called for a burqa ban in schools. One Labour minister replied that it was “not British” to tell people what to wear in the street. In a speech in Cairo last year, President Barack Obama argued that Western countries should not be “dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear”.

In France, however, the proposal draws backing from the mainstream left and right. President Nicolas Sarkozy, from the political right, said last year that the burqa, as the French call it (in reality, they mean the niqab, or all-over face-covering veil), was “not welcome” on French soil. Jean-François Copé, the leader of the ruling UMP party in parliament, has been the most active in pushing for a total ban (The Economistinterviewed Mr Copé last week). Yet the idea is also backed by politicians of all stripes, including the Communist head of a parliamentary inquiry into a ban, and various leading Socialists.

One reason for this is France’s tradition of laïcité, a strict form of secularism, enshrined by law since 1905, and which keeps religion out of public institutions. At the time, the anti-clericalism behind the movement was largely inspired by the political left, and this legacy informs much left-wing thinking on secular matters today. When the French right proposed a ban on the headscarf (and other “conspicuous” religious symbols) in state schools in 2004, for example, the left voted massively in favour. The Socialist Party is expected to vote in favour of this week’s parliamentary resolution.

Unlike the headscarf ban, however, the upcoming law against the wearing of the burqa is not couched in terms of secularism. When a ban was first mooted, it was assumed that the legal basis for it would be French laïcité. Politicians soon realised, though, that to use this argument would be to accept that the burqa is a religious prescription of Islam. Most Muslim opinion-makers in France, including the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), an official body, and female Muslim ministers, such as Fadela Amara, reject this. The CFCM has clearly stated its “opposition to the practice on national territory”, although it also argues that a ban would stigmatise Islam.

Instead, the French are considering two grounds for outlawing the burqa, each of which—unlike laïcité—could potentially be applied in other countries. One is security, and the need to be identifiable at all times. The other is “dignity” and “equality between men and women”. Although very few women in France cover their faces—no more than 2,000, according to official estimates—it is a new trend. Politicians and researchers say that the wearing of the headscarf by French Muslims, many of whom are of North African origin where there is no tradition of covering the face, is a sign of manipulation by hardline Islamic radicals keen to test the French state. The French are unapologetic about wanting to reassert “the values of the republic” by going ahead with a ban.

How it would be applied in practice remains unclear. As it is, the Conseil d’Etat, the highest administrative court, has expressed worries about the legal grounds for a ban. If passed, Mr Copé says that it will apply not only to French Muslims, but to visitors from the Middle East too. Would such women be fined while doing their shopping on the Champs-Elysées? How can the government be sure that a woman is wearing the burqa under orders from her menfolk? Would it not lead to their further isolation, as they felt unable to venture out of the home? If that were indeed the upshot, it would be paradoxical for a law designed in part to ensure equality for women.

azure9UID: 2789030

COMMENT[范例] 学习
A debate on burqas
Liberté v fraternité
France contemplates banning burqas
May 11th 2010 | PARIS | From The Economist online

(burqas: is women clothing covering the whole body, including the whole face. The eyes are covered with a 'net curtain' allowing the woman to see while other people can not see the eyes. It is used by some Moslem women and was compulsory under Taliban rule in Afghanistan)

HOW likely are French parliamentarians(义法学者) to approve the proposed “burqa ban”? Deputies get their first chance to debate the idea in parliament on Tuesday May 11th. As a first step, the National Assembly will examine a resolution, which carries symbolic value, but not legal force. Yet it will be a good test of the political mood. It is likely to be approved with thunderous cross-party support.

French backing for a burqa ban across the political spectrum is sometimes hard to understand. In many multicultural quarters of Europe, the idea is linked to the extreme or nationalist right. In Britain, for instance, the only party proposing a total burqa ban during the recent general-election campaign was the United Kingdom Independence Party, which also wants to pull the country out of the European Union. The far-right British National Party also called for a burqa ban in schools. One Labour minister replied that it was “not British” to tell people what to wear in the street. In a speech in Cairo last year, President Barack Obama argued that Western countries should not be “dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear”.

spectrum: 1. An ordered array of the components of an emission or wave.
               2. Broad range of related values or qualities or ideas or activities.

In France, however, the proposal draws backing from the mainstream left and right.（没有看懂，求解） President Nicolas Sarkozy, from the political right, said last year that the burqa, as the French call it (in reality, they mean the niqab, or all-over face-covering veil), was “not welcome” on French soil. Jean-François Copé, the leader of the ruling UMP party in parliament, has been the most active in pushing for a total ban (The Economistinterviewed Mr Copé last week). Yet the idea is also backed by politicians of all stripes, including the Communist head of a parliamentary inquiry into a ban, and various leading Socialists.

back: be behind; approve of

One reason for this is France’s tradition of laïcité, a strict form of secularism[现世主义，世俗主义（认为社会结构和教育等应排除宗教的影响）], enshrined by law since 1905, and which keeps religion out of public institutions. At the time, the anti-clericalism behind the movement was largely inspired by the political left, and this legacy informs much left-wing thinking on secular matters today. When the French right proposed a ban on the headscarf (and other “conspicuous” religious symbols) in state schools in 2004, for example, the left voted massively in favour. The Socialist Party is expected to vote in favour of this week’s parliamentary resolution.

enshrined: to make a law right
conspicuous: easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention.

Unlike the headscarf ban, however, the upcoming law against the wearing of the burqa is not couched in terms of secularism. When a ban was first mooted, it was assumed that the legal basis for it would be French laïcité. Politicians soon realised, though, that to use this argument would be to accept that the burqa is a religious prescription of Islam. Most Muslim opinion-makers in France, including the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), an official body, and female Muslim ministers, such as Fadela Amara, reject this. The CFCM has clearly stated its “opposition to the practice on national territory”, although it also argues that a ban would stigmatise Islam.

(这段推理很好：先是有：assumed that the legal basis would be laïcité导出accept that the burqa is a religious prescription of Islam. 于是就有：Most Muslim opinion-makers in France reject this.)

Instead, the French are considering two grounds for outlawing the burqa, each of which—unlike laïcité—could potentially be applied in other countries. One is security, and the need to be identifiable at all times. The other is “dignity” and “equality between men and women”. Although very few women in France cover their faces—no more than 2,000, according to official estimates—it is a new trend. Politicians and researchers say that the wearing of the headscarf by French Muslims, many of whom are of North African origin where there is no tradition of covering the face, is a sign of manipulation by hardline Islamic radicals keen to test the French state.(没看懂，求解答) The French are unapologetic about wanting to reassert “the values of the republic” by going ahead with a ban.

outlaw: to make sth no longer legal
radical: [adj]: in favour of thorough and complete political or social change.
           [n]: a person with radical opinions.

How it would be applied in practice remains unclear. As it is, the Conseil d’Etat, the highest administrative court, has expressed worries about the legal grounds for a ban. If passed, Mr Copé says that it will apply not only to French Muslims, but to visitors from the Middle East too. Would such women be fined while doing their shopping on the Champs-Elysées? How can the government be sure that a woman is wearing the burqa under orders from her menfolk? Would it not lead to their further isolation, as they felt unable to venture out of the home? If that were indeed the upshot, it would be paradoxical for a law designed in part to ensure equality for women.

paradoxical:矛盾的， 似是而非的。

talentliuyangUID: 2752741

很好，我昨天也注意到这个文章了，呵呵，而且该事件本身可能能用到一些政治类题目中

the proposal draws backing from the mainstream left and right.（没有看懂，求解

这句话我理解是“该提案受到了法国各界主流政党的支持”，请大侠拍砖

is a sign of manipulation by hardline Islamic radicals keen to test the French state.(没看懂，求解答)

我的理解是，“很多法国穆斯林原本是北非原住民，他们并没有佩戴面纱的传统，他们实际上已经被强硬的伊斯兰激进分子控制了，以此来试探法国是否会采取相对峙的禁止措施”

谦行天下UID: 2797557

看来不能闭门造车，应该多上论坛学习交流。。。

azure9UID: 2789030

啊，对！
draw back: to take or obtain sith from a particular source
                  to draw support/comfort/strength from...
这个以后也很好用！
3Q~~~

azure9UID: 2789030

5# 谦行天下
欢迎你来我们组学习交流~

annie-dollUID: 2706282

顶~~~
顺便推荐今天看到的一篇文，来自reason。开头结尾很typical的美式间接幽默。
尤其最后一句，短小精湛。强大的人总是能用最简单的词汇说出最不简单的内涵。
Meeting Stupidity with Stupidity
For every action, there is an equal and opposite overreaction
Steve Chapman | May 10, 2010

Isaac Newton formulated three laws of motion, No. 3 being: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If he were still around, he'd propose a fourth: For every action, there is an unequal and opposite overreaction.

Lately, Americans seem to be taking advice from Oscar Wilde, who said, "Moderation is a fatal thing." Stupidity can be met and defeated with sensible, proportionate measures. Or it can be met with even greater stupidity. Guess which is the preferred option these days.
Last week, a 17-year-old knucklehead exposed his idiocy to the world by venturing onto the field at a Philadelphia Phillies game and running around waving a towel. When a pursuing policeman got weary of the chase, he pulled out his Taser and shot the kid.

For that, the officer won praise from players, sportscasters, and city police commissioner Charles Ramsey, who said the cop "acted appropriately. I support him 100 percent." The cop was in line with department policy, Ramsey said, because "he was attempting to make an arrest and the male was attempting to flee."

Really? Hitting a delinquent with a potentially fatal 50,000-volt burst of electricity even though he poses no physical danger to anyone and has zero chance of escaping? Maybe the commissioner should read the directions from the Taser manufacturer, which say the devices are meant to "incapacitate dangerous, combative or high-risk subjects."

The Police Executive Research Forum says they "should be used only on people 1) actively resisting or exhibiting active aggression or 2) at risk of harming themselves or others." A federal appeals court ruled that cops may not use Tasers unless "the suspect poses an immediate threat to the officer or a member of the public."

Sure, shooting the kid with a Taser taught him a lesson and will undoubtedly deter others from following his example. But if that were the only consideration, riddling him with live ammo would have been even more effective. The rational response would have been to let him cavort until he ran out of gas, then take him away, leaving punishment to the courts.
That is not to say the courts are always rational. The other day, a 19-year-old woman showed up in a Lake County, Ill., courtroom gallery sporting a T-shirt that only a person of incompetent judgment would wear outside the house. "I have the (female sexual organ), so I make the rules," it announced.

That claim might be true if she were the only woman in possession of one. True or not, it was the wrong message to present to Judge Helen Rozenberg, who immediately held her in contempt and sentenced her to 48 hours in jail.

The judge could have ordered the offending party to leave. She could have insisted that she cover up. She could have delivered a stern lecture.
But the only remedy the magistrate could devise was to lock her up like a criminal. In Rozenberg's case, "judicial temperament" is a contradiction in terms.

Critics of the new Arizona immigration law likewise have decided to fight fire with napalm. Rather than merely object that the statute is shortsighted, counterproductive, and vulnerable to abuse, they decided to pretend it's the greatest atrocity of the 21st century.
"When I heard about it, it reminded me of Nazi Germany," insisted Hispanic Federation President Lillian Rodriguez Lopez. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony said Arizona was "reverting to German Nazi" methods. A New Jersey cartoonist drew Hitler with a mustache in the shape of Arizona.

The only value of statements like those is to reveal how little the speaker knows about life under the Fuehrer. Where are the concentration camps? Where is the mass slaughter? Who is the all-powerful dictator?

Arizona may have become an uncomfortable place for Latinos, legal or illegal, but it bears about as much resemblance to Nazi Germany as it does to Antarctica. If a law like this were the worst thing Hitler had ever done, nobody would remember him today.
In moments when we are presented with a sore provocation, the temptation is to respond with unrestrained fury. But wanton indulgence of anger usually ends up compounding foolishness with lunacy.

You can fight fire with fire. As a rule, though, it's better to use water

july07UID: 2756237

A debate on burqas

Liberté v fraternité
France contemplates banning burqas
May 11th 2010 | PARIS | From The Economist online
HOW likely are French parliamentarians to approve the proposed “burqa ban”? Deputies get their    first chance to debate the idea in parliament on Tuesday May 11th. As a first step, the National Assembly will examine a resolution, which carries symbolic value, but not legal force. Yet it will be a good test of the political mood.it is likely to be approved with thunderous cross-party support.
burqa ban 布卡禁令parliamentarian n. 国会议员,议事法规专家 deputy.n.[某些国家]议员 deputies n.人大代表parliament n. 国会 议会
French backing for a burqa ban across the political spectrum is sometimes hard to understand. In many multicultural quarters of Europe, the idea is linked to the extreme or nationalist right. In Britain, for instance, the only party proposing a total burqa ban during the recent general-election campaign was the United Kingdom Independence Party, which also wants to pull the country out of the European Union. The far-right British National Party also called for呼吁 要求 a burqa ban in schools. One Labour minister replied that it was “not British” to tell people what to wear in the street. In a speech in Cairo开罗 埃及首都 last year, President Barack Obama argued that Western countries should not be “dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear”.
•        Dictate v.指示 指定 命令 规定 要求
In France, however, the proposal draws backing from the mainstream left and right. President Nicolas Sarkozy萨科奇, from the political right, said last year that the burqa, as the French call it (in reality事实上 实际上, they mean the niqab, or all-over face-covering veil), was “not welcome” on French soil. Jean-François Copé, the leader of the ruling UMP party in parliament, has been the most active in pushing for a total ban (The Economistinterviewed Mr Copé last week). Yet the idea is also backed被支持 by politicians of all stripes臂章, =all different types 各种各样including the Communist head of a parliamentary inquiry into a ban, and various leading1.重要的 主要的2最重要 最成功的 Socialists.
One reason for this is France’s tradition of laïcité, a strict form of secularism .1现世主义，宗教与教育分离论, enshrined放置或保存某物于…by law since 1905, and which keeps religion out of public institutions. At the time, the anti-clericalism反对-教权主义 任圣职者不正常的政治势力 behind the movement was largely inspired by the political left, and this legacy informs much left-wing thinking on secular matters today. When the French right proposed a ban on the headscarf 女人的头巾(and other “conspicuous” religious symbols) in state schools公立学校 in 2004, for example, the left voted massively in favour. In favour of 赞成The Socialist Party is expected to vote in favour of this week’s parliamentary resolution.

Unlike the headscarf ban, however, the upcoming law against the wearing of the burqa is not couched in terms of secularism. When a ban was first mooted，未决议的有争议的 it was assumed that the legal basis for it would be French la&iuml没懂….;cité. Politicians soon realised,意识到 了解 though, that to use this argument would be to accept that the burqa is a religious prescription of Islam.prescription n 药 治疗方法 Most Muslim opinion-makers舆论制造者 in France, including the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), an official body, and female Muslim ministers, such as Fadela Amara, reject this. The CFCM has clearly stated its “opposition to the practice on national territory”, although it also argues that a ban would stigmatise侮辱 Islam.

Instead, the French are considering two grounds理由 for outlawing 取缔 宣布…不合法the burqa, each of which—unlike laïcité—could potentially 有可能地be applied in other countries. One is security, and the need to be identifiable at all times. The other is “dignity” and “equality between men and women”. Although very few women in France cover their faces—no more than 2,000, according to official estimates—it is a new trend. Politicians and researchers say that the wearing of the headscarf by French Muslims, many of whom are of North African origin where there is no tradition of covering the face, is a sign of manipulation by hardline强硬路线 Islamic radicals keen to test the French state. The French are unapologetic about wanting to reassert “the values of the republic” by going ahead with a ban.

How it would be applied in practice 在实践中 remains unclear. As it is, the Conseil d’Etat, the highest administrative court, has expressed worries about the legal grounds for a ban. If passed, Mr Copé says that it will apply not only to French Muslims, but to visitors from the Middle East too. Would such women be fined while doing their shopping on the Champs-Elysées? How can the government be sure that a woman is wearing the burqa under orders定单 订购 from her menfolk? Would it not lead to their further isolation, as they felt unable to venture out of the home? If that were indeed the upshot结果, it would be paradoxical for a law designed in part to ensure equality for women.

azure9UID: 2789030

【COMMENTS】1-1
Estonia and the euro
Long euros
Estonia gets a step closer to adopting the single currency
May 12th 2010 | From The Economist online

SURPRISES are Estonia’s stock in trade. Its return to the world map in 1991 after a 51-year absence startled outsiders. So did what came next: a fast-growing economy, based on flat taxes, free trade and a currency board. It confounded pessimists’ expectations by joining the European Union (in 2004) and NATO (in 2004). Now the country of 1.4m people is set to pull off another coup, gaining green lights from the European Commission and the European Central Bank for its bid to adopt the euro on January 1st 2011.

Many thought that highly unlikely. Only two years ago a property bubble collapsed, rocking
the banking system and sending GDP plunging by 14.1% in 2009 (see story). Doom-mongers said devaluation was inevitable. But they were wrong. Flexible wages and prices have helped the economy stabilise: unit labour costs fell by 7.5% in the final quarter of 2009. Exports were up by a sixth in the first quarter of 2010 and the central bank forecasts growth this year of 1%. Estonia easily meets the euro zone’s rules on public finances. Its gross debt in 2009 was only 7.2% of GDP, and the government deficit is 1.7%. The only real concern is whether inflation will stay low: in the past 12 months the average was negative, at -0.7% comfortably below the 1% target. But the ECB report called for “continued vigilance” on that.

The real problem for Estonia is political, not economic. Some euro zone members (France is often mentioned) think that allowing an obscure and volatile ex-communist economy to join a currency union that has too many dodgy members already should not be a priority. If Estonia is really so solid, why not wait a year to be sure?

Yet that would send a perverse message. Estonia is one of two countries in the whole EU that actually meets the common currency’s rules (Sweden being the other). All the rest (even those that use the euro) have gaily breached the deficit and debt limits. The grit shown by Estonian politicians and the public in shrinking spending, raising taxes, and cutting wages has left outsiders awestruck (see leader). Punishing Estonia which obeyed the rules, while bailing out Greece which has breached them flagrantly, would do little for the euro’s credibility with governments and investors alike.

Estonia has two more hurdles to jump before it can humiliate the scoffers. An EU committee meets at the end of May, followed by a finance ministers’ summit in early June. Few think that France and other doubters will actually block its euro bid: a combination of persuasion and horse-trading will probably bring agreement. Then the decision will be irrevocable. That will give heart to Latvia and Lithuania too, who hope to join the euro later in the decade. Like Estonia, their currencies are pegged to the euro, so they have all the pain of a rigid monetary regime, but miss out on the lower borrowing costs and higher investment that the euro zone brings.

The longer-term question is what Estonia focusses on next. On May 10th it passed another benchmark, joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based rich-country thinktank—the first country from the former Soviet Union to do so. The hunt is on for a new national project. Estonia’s presidency of the EU in 2018 will coincide with the country’s 100th birthday. Finding something to surprise outsiders then is a pleasant challenge for the future.

azure9UID: 2789030

【COMMENT】1-2
Executive education and the over-55s
Never too old to learn
Older executives are shunning corporate training. This is a problem both for them and the firms they work for
May 12th 2010 | From The Economist online

“LIFELONG learning” is a phrase beloved by business schools. But not, it seems, by their clients. According to a recent survey by Mannaz, a management-development firm, the number of professionals taking part in formal corporate training drops rapidly after the age of 55. Are these wise, old heads being overlooked?

It is tempting to conclude that older executives are falling victim to age discrimination, as firms focus resources on younger talent. But according to Jorgen Thorsell, Mannaz’s vice-president, this is not the case. Reticence, he says, comes not from the organisations but from the employees themselves.

Mr Thorsell believes that conventional training simply no longer serves their needs. Formal programmes are often seen as a repetition of lessons already learned and become increasingly irrelevant in the light of experience and expertise. The resulting “training fatigue” is resistant to most incentives.

This doesn’t mean that more seasoned executives have completely abandoned the idea of personal and career development, however. Instead Mr Thorsell says that this group prefers a do-it-yourself approach, conducting their own research and swapping war stories with their peers rather than take a place at business school.

Manager, teach thyself
This autodidactic approach carries two potential dangers. The first is that a wealth of knowledge and experience is lost from the classroom, which reduces the value of the training for everyone else. But non-participation may also be the beginning of a process of detachment from the organisation, its aims and aspirations, which in time will damage both parties. Furthermore, Stephen Burnett, associate dean of executive education at the Kellogg School of Management close to Chicago, says that as executives start to stretch their careers into their seventies, education makes even more sense for this group.

One solution is to throw money at the problem. When senior managers are offered the chance to mix with their peers at a top business school, rather than a bog-standard institution, they seem to be quickly won over. IMD in Switzerland, for example, maintains that it does not see any drop in the number of older managers on its programmes, and goes on to say that it has actually witnessed organisations investing heavily in them throughout the downturn.

Few organisations could afford to put all of their veteran managers through the sort of prestigious programmes that IMD offers. But firms do need to engage those managers below the C-suite—what one management consultant describes as the “magnificent middle”—because these are the front-liners who make things happen within any business and who carry around in their heads the secrets of how the organisation works.

One way in which this can be done is to make training less about abstract theory and more about the actual workplace. This means steering clear of the case studies that business schools are so fond of and instead relating new ideas directly to what is happening on a day-to-day basis within the organisation. To accomplish this, training should be delivered in short, sharp bursts so that executives can take a lesson, put it into practice, assess its effectiveness and then return to shape it further in light of this “trial by fire”.

Henry Mintzberg from McGill University in Canada, a high-profile champion of the middle manager, takes this approach one step further. He believes the best way to win over this group is to get them to train themselves. His “Coaching Ourselves” organisation brings experienced executives together for 90 minutes at a time. Managers are supplied with learning guides but not teachers. The emphasis is also unashamedly Luddite. Laptops, BlackBerrys and the like are discouraged in favour of old-fashioned pen and paper. “They discuss and reflect on how the topic impacts on them,” says Mr Minztberg. “[The managers] learn from each other and, most crucially, develop actions for their workplaces.”

Whatever approach an organisation takes to embrace its veterans, an ageing population means that it must do something, or else face the much more serious problem of how to replace them and their valuable knowledge in the near future. Unfortunately teaching an old dog the value of lifelong learning is notoriously tricky.

azure9UID: 2789030

【COMMENTS】1-1 學習
Estonia and the euro
Long euros
Estonia gets a step closer to adopting the single currency
May 12th 2010 | From The Economist online

SURPRISES are Estonia’s stock in trade.（第一句就没有看明白,这是什么用法，求解） Its return to the world map in 1991 after a 51-year absence startled outsiders. So did what came next: a fast-growing economy, based on flat taxes, free trade and a currency board. It confounded pessimists’ expectations by joining the European Union (in 2004) and NATO (in 2004). Now the country of 1.4m people is set to pull off another coup, gaining green lights from the European Commission and the European Central Bank for its bid to adopt the euro on January 1st 2011.

startled:Excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
pull off: to succeed in doing sth difficult

Many thought that highly unlikely. Only two years ago a property bubble collapsed, rocking the banking system and sending GDP plunging by 14.1% in 2009 (see story). Doom-mongers said devaluation(贬值） was inevitable. But they were wrong. Flexible wages and prices have helped the economy stabilise: unit labour costs fell by 7.5% in the final quarter of 2009. Exports were up by a sixth in the first quarter of 2010 and the central bank forecasts growth this year of 1%. Estonia easily meets the euro zone’s rules on public finances. Its gross debt in 2009 was only 7.2% of GDP, and the government deficit(赤字) is 1.7%. The only real concern is whether inflation(通货膨胀) will stay low: in the past 12 months the average was negative, at -0.7% comfortably below the 1% target. But the ECB report called for “continued vigilance” on that.

inevitable: incapable of being avoided or prevented;invariably occurring or appearing
vigilance: The process of paying close and continuous attention

The real problem for Estonia is political, not economic. Some euro zone members (France is often mentioned) think that allowing an obscure and volatile ex-communist economy to join a currency union that has too many dodgy members already should not be a priority. If Estonia is really so solid, why not wait a year to be sure?

obscure: not famous or acclaimed; not drawing attention; remote and separate physically or socially
volatile:
solid:

Yet that would send a perverse message. Estonia is one of two countries in the whole EU that actually meets the common currency’s rules (Sweden being the other). All the rest (even those that use the euro) have gaily breached the deficit and debt limits(感觉有点小讽刺的意思）. The grit shown by Estonian politicians and the public in shrinking spending, raising taxes, and cutting wages has left outsiders awestruck (see leader). Punishing Estonia which obeyed the rules, while bailing out Greece which has breached them flagrantly, would do little for the euro’s credibility with governments and investors alike.

perverse: marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict; resistant to guidance or discipline; marked by immorality;
              deviating from what is considered right or proper or good;
gaily: in a gay manner
breach: a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
awestruck: having or showing a feeling of mixed reverence and respect and wonder and dread(呃...好糾結...）
bail out: to rescue sb from a difficult situation
flagrantly:in a flagrant manner (flagrant: conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible)

Estonia has two more hurdles to jump before it can humiliate the scoffers. An EU committee meets at the end of May, followed by a finance ministers’ summit in early June. Few think that France and other doubters will actually block its euro bid: a combination of persuasion and horse-trading（这是什么东西？） will probably bring agreement. Then the decision will be irrevocable. That will give heart to Latvia and Lithuania too, who hope to join the euro later in the decade. Like Estonia, their currencies are pegged to the euro, so they have all the pain of a rigid monetary regime, but miss out on the lower borrowing costs and higher investment that the euro zone brings.

irrevocable: impossible to retract or revoke
miss out on: to fail to benefit from sth useful or enjoyable by not taking part in it

The longer-term question is what Estonia focusses on next. On May 10th it passed another benchmark, joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based rich-country thinktank—the first country from the former Soviet Union to do so. The hunt is on for a new national project. Estonia’s presidency of the EU in 2018 will coincide with the country’s 100th birthday. Finding something to surprise outsiders then is a pleasant challenge for the future.

benchmark: a standard by which something can be measured or judged
coincide with: (of  two or more events) to take place at then same time.
                    (of ideas, opinions) to be the same or very similar
                    (of objects or places) to meet; to share the same space places

azure9UID: 2789030

Executive education and the over-55s
Never too old to learn
Older executives are shunning corporate training. This is a problem both for them and the firms they work for
May 12th 2010 | From The Economist online

“LIFELONG learning” is a phrase beloved by business schools. But not, it seems, by their clients. According to a recent survey by Mannaz, a management-development firm, the number of professionals taking part in formal corporate training drops rapidly after the age of 55. Are these wise, old heads being overlooked?

It is tempting to conclude that older executives are falling victim to age discrimination, as firms focus resources on younger talent. But according to Jorgen Thorsell, Mannaz’s vice-president, this is not the case. Reticence, he says, comes not from the organisations but from the employees themselves.

reticence: the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary

Mr Thorsell believes that conventional training simply no longer serves their needs. Formal programmes are often seen as a repetition of lessons already learned and become increasingly irrelevant in the light of experience and expertise. The resulting “training fatigue” is resistant to most incentives.

conventional: rigidly formal or bound by convention
fatigue: temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work

This doesn’t mean that more seasoned executives have completely abandoned the idea of personal and career development, however. Instead Mr Thorsell says that this group prefers a do-it-yourself approach, conducting their own research and swapping war stories with their peers(這比喻很有趣） rather than take a place at business school.

seasoned: rendered competent through trial and experience


Manager, teach thyself
This autodidactic(自學者) approach carries two potential dangers. The first is that a wealth of knowledge and experience is lost from the classroom, which reduces the value of the training for everyone else. But non-participation may also be the beginning of a process of detachment from the organisation, its aims and aspirations, which in time will damage both parties. Furthermore, Stephen Burnett, associate dean(这是一个职位吗？) of executive education at the Kellogg School of Management close to Chicago, says that as executives start to stretch their careers into their seventies, education makes even more sense for this group.

detachment:avoiding emotional involvement
                  the act of releasing from an attachment or connection
                  the state of being insulated
                  coming apart
aspiration: a will to succeed
                a cherished desire

One solution is to throw money at the problem. When senior managers are offered the chance to mix with their peers at a top business school, rather than a bog-standard institution, they seem to be quickly won over(这里具体是什么意思？没有查到，求解）. IMD in Switzerland, for example, maintains that it does not see any drop in the number of older managers on its programmes, and goes on to say that it has actually witnessed organisations investing heavily in them throughout the downturn.（求理解）

Few organisations could afford to put all of their veteran managers through the sort of prestigious programmes that IMD offers. But firms do need to engage those managers below the C-suite(这是什么，有谁知道？)—what one management consultant describes as the “magnificent middle”—because these are the front-liners who make things happen within any business and who carry around(这个又没有查到，求解）in their heads the secrets of how the organisation works.

veteran: rendered competent through trial and experience
prestigious: having an illustrious reputation
                  exerting influence by reason of high status or prestige

One way in which this can be done is to make training less about abstract theory and more about the actual workplace. This means steering clear of the case studies that business schools are so fond of and instead relating new ideas directly to what is happening on a day-to-day basis within the organisation. To accomplish this, training should be delivered in short, sharp bursts so that executives can take a lesson, put it into practice, assess its effectiveness and then return to shape it further in light of this “trial by fire”.这一整段都写的很好啊，条理很清楚。

steer: to take control of a situation and influence the way in which it develops

Henry Mintzberg from McGill University in Canada, a high-profile champion of the middle manager, takes this approach one step further. He believes the best way to win over this group is to get them to train themselves. His “Coaching Ourselves” organisation brings experienced executives together for 90 minutes at a time. Managers are supplied with learning guides but not teachers. The emphasis is also unashamedly Luddite. Laptops, BlackBerrys and the like are discouraged in favour of old-fashioned pen and paper. “They discuss and reflect on how the topic impacts on them,” says Mr Minztberg. “[The managers] learn from each other and, most crucially, develop actions for their workplaces.”

crucially: to a crucial degree ( crucial: of extreme importance; having the power or quality od deciding)

Whatever approach an organisation takes to embrace its veterans, an ageing population means that it must do something, or else face the much more serious problem of how to replace them and their valuable knowledge in the near future. Unfortunately teaching an old dog the value of lifelong learning is notoriously tricky.

annie-dollUID: 2706282

Estonia and the euro
Long eurosEstonia gets a step closer to adopting the single currencyMay 12th 2010 | From The Economist online
SURPRISES are Estonia’s stock in trade. Its return to the world map in 1991 after a 51-year absence startled outsiders. So did what came next: a fast-growing economy, based on flat taxes, free trade and a currency board. It confounded pessimists’ expectations by joining the European Union (in 2004) and NATO (in 2004). Now the country of 1.4m people is set to pull off another coup, gaining green lights from the European Commission and the European Central Bank for its bid to adopt the euro on January 1st 2011.
Confound one’s expectations 证明预期是错误的。Confound 是混淆，使糊涂之意，也有证明…是错的。
Gain green lights from 获得某人的许可。很形象的说法。
Pull off 胜利完成
You pulled off a good bargain there.这一下你做了一笔赚钱生意。
I'm sure you will pull off the competition.我肯定你会赢得这场比赛的胜利。


Many thought that highly unlikely. （短小精悍的句子学着，作文里用）Only two years ago a property bubble collapsed, rocking the banking system and sending GDP plunging by 14.1% in 2009 (see story). Doom-mongers said devaluation was inevitable. But they were wrong. Flexible wages and prices have helped the economy stabilise: unit labour costs fell by 7.5% in the final quarter of 2009. Exports were up by a sixth in the first quarter of 2010 and the central bank forecasts growth this year of 1%. Estonia easily meets the euro zone’s rules on public finances. Its gross debt in 2009 was only 7.2% of GDP, and the government deficit is 1.7%. The only real concern is whether inflation will stay low: in the past 12 months the average was negative, at -0.7% comfortably below the 1% target. But the ECB report called for “continued vigilance” on that.

The real problem for Estonia is political, not economic. Some euro zone members (France is often mentioned) think that allowing an obscure and volatile ex-communist economy to join a currency union that has too many dodgy members already should not be a priority. If Estonia is really so solid, why not wait a year to be sure?

Yet that would send a perverse message. Estonia is one of two countries in the whole EU that actually meets the common currency’s rules (Sweden being the other). All the rest (even those that use the euro) have gaily breached the deficit and debt limits. The grit（勇气，毅力） shown by Estonian politicians and the public in shrinking spending, raising taxes, and cutting wages has left outsiders awestruck (see leader). Punishing Estonia which obeyed the rules, while bailing out Greece which has breached them flagrantly（明目张胆的）, would do little for the euro’s credibility with governments and investors alike.
Awestruck 令人生畏的，很好的词。Awe n.& v.

Estonia has two more hurdles to jump before it can humiliate the scoffers. An EU committee meets at the end of May, followed by a finance ministers’ summit in early June. Few think that France and other doubters will actually block its euro bid: a combination of persuasion and horse-trading will probably bring agreement. Then the decision will be irrevocable. That will give heart to Latvia and Lithuania too, who hope to join the euro later in the decade. Like Estonia, their currencies are pegged to（与…挂钩） the euro, so they have all the pain of a rigid monetary regime, but miss out on the lower borrowing costs and higher investment that the euro zone brings.
Have more hurdles to jump 跨栏。比喻阻碍hindrance
Horse-trading 精明的讨价还价，不可望文生义。

The longer-term question is what Estonia focuses on next. On May 10th it passed another benchmark, joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based rich-country thinktank—the first country from the former Soviet Union to do so. The hunt is on for a new national project. （短小精悍）Estonia’s presidency of the EU in 2018 will coincide with the country’s 100th birthday. Finding something to surprise outsiders then is a pleasant challenge for the future.
Pass benchmark 通过基准，标准

annie-dollUID: 2706282

12# azure9

第一句就等于 Estonia's stock in trade has surprised all.

horse-trading 是指精明的讨价还价