Часть III

1. Тексты для устного перевода

Проанализируйте тексты, определите задачу автора (информация, обзор, критическое выступление и т.д.). Сделайте устный перевод, а затем дайте краткую аннотацию текста.

1. Hong Kong Won't Dollarize As Way to End Speculation

Hong Kong – National pride appears to be preventing authorities here from using what may be their most potent weapon against speculators attacking the Hong Kong dollar.

That weapon is the threat to replace Hong Kong's currency with the US dollar, thereby removing any target for speculators to aim at. Already, Argentina has raised the possibility of dropping its own currency in favor of the dollar. The suggestion, put forward recently be Argentine President, came in the wake of rising concerns that Brazil's decision to abandon support of the real would lead to other currency collapses in Latin America.

In theory, Hong Kong – which has a US dollar-linked currency system almost identical to Argentina's – could make the same switch. And some currency watchers believe no move would be more effective at ending the speculative pressure against the Hong Kong dollar than taking steps to “dollarize” the economy.

Yet Hong Kong's government has instead declared publicly that it doesn't believe dollarization is a viable option. The reason, some analysts say, is chiefly political: Hong Kong is Chinese territory, and China wouldn't want to relinquish sovereignty over any aspect of Hong Kong's governance, including its currency.

Yeung Wai Hong, publisher of Hong Kong's most widely read weekly magazine, calls it “nationalistic pride.” A frequent commentator on monetary issues, Mr. Yeung says dollarization would be “a perfect solution” to Hong Kong's recurring run-ins with speculators.

“From a tactical point of view, dollarization makes sense,” adds Dong Tao, senior economist at Credit Suisse First Boston (Hong Kong) Ltd., who has prepared a detailed report on the issue.

Not that Hong Kong hasn't looked at the issue. In April last year a government report examined the possibility of Hong Kong dollarizing, but concluded that it would be “draconian” and “may contravene” the Basic Law, the Hong Kong mini-constitution that governs its relationship with Beijing. The Basic Law says that “the Hong Kong dollar, as the legal tender (in Hong Kong), shall continue to circulate.” The report also highlighted that “huge legal problems” could arise as some contracts signed in Hong Kong would automatically become invalid. Mr. Tao and other analysts say that and other technical problems could be circumvented by a gradual phasing out of the Hong Kong dollar, giving time for laws and contracts to be rewritten.

A government spokeswoman on financial issues states: “We have examined the issue (of dollarization) and we find that it is not to be pursued in Hong Kong.”

2. The Olympic Sham

Is it cynical of me to ask if anyone was surprised at the scandal regarding the state of Utah bribing Olympic officials in order to win the venue of the 2002 Winter Games?

The Olympic Games have become a sham. They are not only professional now but also no longer independent of politics or chicanery or graft. Television income has ruled almost every aspect of the event, both Winter and Summer games.

“I do not believe in professional Olympics,” Lord Killanin pronounced when he took over in 1972. Yet under his aegis a set of new rules were passed for all athletes, allowing them money for food and lodging, for transport and all sorts of equipment and clothing, for physical therapy and coaches and insurance, and even pocket money. No limit is placed anymore on the length of time that any of that money may be spent in training. The attempt to mix amateurism and economics, which are surely incompatible, has now turned the Games from a noble experiment in global unity to a battle-ground of crass nationalism and shameless graft.

The eligibility code of the Olympic Games Charter, which was created by the Congress of Paris in 1894, expressly stated: “A competitor must not have received any financial rewards or material benefits in connection with his or her sports participation.” It went on to declare that “competitors who have been registered as professional athletes or professional coaches in any sport; signed a contract as a professional athlete; carried advertisement material on their person or clothing” may not participate in the Olympics.

None of that applies anymore. The Dream Team, a group of the greatest basketball players in the world, the cream of the National Basketball Association, each giant player a multimillionaire, was drafted to play in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games in order that the US, drubbing such weighty teams as Albania and Peru, could win the gold medal.

Tennis players, skiers, track-and-field runners? They are all professionals. Paid professionals. Paid and smug professionals. Just like the officials of the IOC International Sports Federation. Everyone has been greased.

But it doesn't matter anymore. The ceremony of innocence is drowned. The spirit is gone, as well.

“Swifter, higher, stronger,” long the noble and altruistic slogan of the Olympic Games, should be changed to “Richer, fatter, happier.” The pursuit of excellence? Not anymore.