Russian Creativity in Talking the Talk to Make the Money (by Michele A. Berdy)

One of the delights of early post-Soviet period was the magical way some people made billions overnight. They didn't seem to do anything. They didn't have any factories, or own an import-export firm, and there was no such thing as a stock market. Some­how, however, the day after the Soviet Union fell, numerous banks opened with initial capital of millions of dollars. Beats me how these banks man­aged to manufacture the money and capital they required, but I was never convinced that people heading them prosto skinuli semeynye sberezheniya (they all just chipped in their family savings). But maybe I have the wrong kind of "family".

The loveliest way of making mil­lions in those years was the investit-sionnaya piramida, a pyramid-investment scheme. In American English this is also called a Ponzi scheme, after the man who bilked his fellow compatriots out of millions in the 1920s, before laws were passed in an attempt to prevent this form of fraud. People who invested in these get-rich-quick schemes were first called vkladchiki (investors), and then very quickly obmanutye vkladchiki (cheated investors) or, perhaps more harshly, lokhi (suckers).

Of course, you can also make money by taking on extra work. Rabotat' po sovmestitelstvu means "to take on a second job", and podrabotat' also has the connotation of "to earn extra money". Voobshche ya inzhener v Nii, no ya rabotayu konsultantom po sovmestitelstvu (I have a regular job as an engineer in a research institute, but I moonlight as a consultant). Dengi nuzhny? Beri khalturu – khoroshii perevodchik vsegda mozhet podrabotat' (You need money? Moonlight! A good translator can always earn some extra money).

You can also make money the old fashioned way – by working really hard. On tak pashet! On ochen' trudolyubivy (He really puts his nose to the grind-stone. He's a very hard worker). However, Russians and Americans have different styles of working. Americans tend to plug along, doing a modicum of work every day. Their Russian colleagues, meanwhile, tend to sail along for a bit, taking things easy and letting the work pile up and then push hard to clear the desks, как Stachanovtsy – like workers in the Stakhanov movement of the 1930s, which was named after a miner in the Donetsk coalfields who achieved high rates of production. As the saying goes, rabota ne volk – v les ne ubezhit ('work isn't a wolf, and won't run off into the forest') which is to say that the work will always be there, however late you leave it. The result is that the Russians are driven mad by American zanudstvo (pedantry, tediousness) and Americans are terrified that the work won't get done.

Ex.2 Find in the text English equivalents for:

быть склонным, сбережения, соотечественник, мошенничество, подрабатывать, предотвращать, скапливаться, сводить с ума, многочисленный, принять закон, вкладчик, первоначальный капитал.

Ex.3 Explain the following expressions:

to chip in, to put one's nose to the grind-stone, modicum of work, to bilk out of, to plug along, to sail along.

Ex.4 Answer the questions:

1 The article says that some people in the early post-Soviet period could make billions overnight. How do you think they were able to do that?

2 Do you think it is difficult to start your own business in Russia? If you had a chance what sort of business would you start?

3 Why do you think some Russian people in 1990s were so trustful and naive that they invested their money in "investment pyramids"?

4 Do you agree that "Russians and Americans have different styles of working"?

Ex.5 Multiple choice.

1 ....... is a machine from which 2.......can 3.......money from their bank accounts, using their 4.......cards. They can do it at any 5.......of their bank. With the cash card, customers also receive a PIN (personal identification number). This number is kept secret even from the 6.......of the bank. When using a cash point, customers 7.......the card and key the PIN in. By following a clear set of instructions, which appear 8.......the video screen, they can withdraw cash up to a certain 9......., check the balance of their account or deposit money. When you buy  something you show your 10 ........ card to the 11....... .S/he takes the details of your card: the number, the credit limit and the 12.......date. Each month the credit card company sends the 13.......an account, which lists that month's 14.......and 15....... charges.

Ex.6 Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word.

Installments, to save money, bank, sale, cash, to pay, deposit, discount, afford, cost, debt, bill, buy, spending, bargain, exchange rate, wallet, currency, price, receipt.

Bruce walked out of the travel agency and looked at the (1).......he'd been given. It had been so easy to book the holiday in the Caribbean. He'd been attracted by the 25% (2).......offered on the (3).......in the brochure if you booked before the end of the month. He had only had to pay a (4).......of $100 to be followed by four monthly (5).......of $75, surely he could (6).......that. He realized, however, that he'd forgotten to ask about the (7) .......of living on the island or about the (8).....of the local (9) ... These were important as he'd only booked bed and breakfast and so would have to (10) ...... other meals out of his (11).......money. He took his (12).......out of his pocket and remembered that he had to go to the (13) ....... as he'd run out of (14)........Oh dear, and there inside was the electricity (15).......that he'd forgotten (16)....... He stopped and looked up. He was outside a very smart clothes shop. In the window there was a big sign with (17).......written on it and there next to it was a lovely lightweight jacket. It would be just the thing for the Caribbean, and at only $55 it was a real (18).......Even if it meant going into (19) ......., he couldn't resist such a good chance (20)........He walked into the shop. "This holiday is worth it," he said to himself.

Ex.7 Discuss with your partner in a form of dialogue.

1 "Plastic money" is the name for credit cards, like Visa or American Express. There are also cash cards (for autobanks) and cheque cards, which people have to show when they write a cheque. How can people use these cards in your country?

2 Do you think "plastic money" will ever replace cash completely?

Ex.8 Getting a bank loan.

Task for Student A:You want to borrow £25,000 to start a small business. Decide what the business is: – A hotel? – A factory? – Import/export?

Prepare to explain to the bank manager: – your business experience (I've worked as a ... I for...)

– your experience in the business you want to start; – the preparation you've already done (I've found... /asked... I started. . .)

– what the competition is; – how much capital you already have; – what exactly you want to do with the loan; – how soon you can pay it back.

Task for Student ВYou are a bank manager. Student A is going to ask you for a loan of £25,000 to start a small business. Prepare the questions you want to ask her/him about:

– business experience Where have you worked. . . ? What experience have you got... /

– what preparation has been done Have you found an office? Have you done any market research?

– the competitors; – the capital that he/she already has; – why he/she wants the loan; – the problems involved Have you thought of... ?

How soon do you want the loan repaid? Can you decide whether to give the loan at the end of the interview or do you need more time?

Ex.9 Translate:

Жизнь в долг

Если вы проедете по любой улице в обычном американском районе, где живут представители среднего класса, то увидите на каждой подъездной дорожке как минимум две машины. Вы также можете увидеть, что американцы живут в домах и таунхаусах, которые по стоимости намного превышают их доход за многие годы. При этом в любом доме наверняка есть несколько телевизоров, телефон в каждой спальне, компьютеры, видеоигры, DVD-плееры, акустические системы, все разновидности бытовой электроники и многие другие признаки материального благополучия, без которых американцы не могут обойтись. Разумеется, у всех этих потребительских товаров есть цена, и если вам трудно представить, каким образом большинство американцев могут это себе позволить, ответ таков: многие из них и не могут этого себе позволить – и покупают в кредит. Американцы очень хорошо относятся к покупкам в кредит, что означает, что американцы спокойно живут в долг. Платежи по кредитным картам составляют существенную часть ежемесячных расходов многих американцев, но разумеется, долги по кредитным картам – лишь один вид долга. Также существуют закладные, ссуды на покупку автомобиля, ссуды на обучение ... и этот список можно еще продолжать. Для некоторых долг – всего лишь ожидаемая часть жизни в этой стране, наряду со всеми стрессами и другими отрицательными моментами, которые может принести жизнь в долг.

UNIT 4

Revision