Lesson 9. International Relations.

Warm-up

1. I am opposed to war, unless in self-defense.” This was the most liked comment on Douyin—the Chinese counterpart to TikTok—in reaction to a speech delivered by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jan. 9. In his address, Wang previewed China’s top diplomatic goals for 2024 and emphasized “the unwavering (непоколебимый) resolve of all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens to achieve reunification with Taiwan,” a statement made just days prior to the island’s general elections. The broader reaction to Wang’s remarks likely wasn’t what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had hoped for: Tens of thousands of Chinese social media users responded, many of them with grievances (обида, претензия) , sarcasm, and defiance, widely questioning the costs of a potential war.
2. The 2024 elections triggered a flood of complaints: “Sort out our own economy, what a mess,” a Shanghai resident said angrily. “Look at our stock market,” an apparently frustrated investor from Hunan grieved. “It’d be better to keep the status quo and leave Taiwanese alone.” The gloomy economy has made some commenters question the underlying justification for war: “With low-income people making less than 1,000 yuan [about $140] a month, and the national insurance tax going up, huge medical bills, and unaffordable apartments, why do you want forceful unification? I don’t get it.” “It is the economy that really matters,” another person from Tianjin pointed out. Taiwan “ is being independent or has nothing to do with ordinary people.
3. Right before then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, official and semiofficial rhetoric in China was so belligerent that it led many Chinese to believe that the day of unification had finally arrived and that the military would shoot down her plane and launch its attack on Taiwan imminently (в тот же момент). This was the peak of forceful unification hysteria, but it only left its crusaders disappointed. In the end, there was not only no shootdown of Pelosi’s plane, but there also weren’t even military exercises conducted before she left Taiwan. Many Chinese, especially forceful unification advocates,felt betrayed and disillusioned by their government’s failure to follow through on its belligerent rhetoric, and the aftereffects of this letdown are still being felt today.
4. China’s shifting public sentiment is bound to have repercussions for cross-strait (пролив) relations, butit would probably be a bridge too far to infer that the Chinese public will fiercely oppose a war in the Taiwan Strait. Ultimately,the nationalist base remains. At present,the euphoria about forceful unificationis quieting down, mainly because the party’s over-the-top propaganda failed to meet the expectations of its most ardent (ярый) supporters. But if aggressive rhetoric were followed by military action in the future, war fever could easily be fanned again. Despite the prevalence of extreme nationalism, Chinese public opinion is more divided on Taiwan than it seems, and these divisions are only likely to increase. What concern most ordinary Chinese are decent jobs, good income, accumulating savings for retirement, and getting affordable access to health care and housing.

Lexis. Noun Suffixes

verb + Ʌ = noun

1. -er/or ( the do-er suffix)
   dance — dancer (танцевать — танцор)
   work — worker
   collect — collector (коллекционировать — коллекционер)
   invent — inventor
2. -tion (the suffix of process)
   collect — collection
   invent — invention
3. -ing (gerund)
   suffer — suffering (страдать — страдание)
   warn — warning
   mean — meaning

adj + Ʌ = noun

1. -ness (the suffix of quality or state)
   ill — illness
   kind — kindness
2. -ance/ -ence (the suffix of state) (соответствующие прилагательные имеют суффиксы: -ant/ -ent)
   important — importance
   different — difference

Training exercises

1. Guess the suffix and form the nouns:

1. weak —
2. polite —
3. fresh —
4. ugly —
5. cold —
6. dark —
7. careful —

2. Guess the person:

Example: Someone who bakes bread is a baker.

1. Someone who interviews people is a….
2. Someone who plays football is a…
3. Someone who eats well is a…
4. Someone who sleeps well is a…
5. Someone who rules the country is a…
6. Someone who explores new lands is a…
7. Someone who makes or repairs shoes is a…
8. Someone who always causes trouble is a…
9. Someone who makes films is a…
10. Someone who has traveled to another place for a holiday is a…

3. Look at the adjectives below and form nouns. Guess the translation:

1. important — importance
2. different —
3. indifferent —
4. independent —
5. dependent —
6. patient —
7. persistent —
8. insistent —
9. indulgent —

-er

football – footballer

law – lawyer

- or

sculpture – sculptor

-ist

art - artist

reception– receptionist

-ian

music- musician

beauty – beautician

politics – politician

-ee (somebody who obeys)

employ - employee

train - trainee

Blitz !

Choose er/or/ist suffix to form a new noun

act, employ, football, dance, direct, operate, journal, piano, sing, murder, psychology, art, govern, sail, economy, translate, manage, drive, bank, garden, strange, conduct

-man/-woman /-ess ( gender suffixes)

policeman/policewoman (police officer)

businessman/businesswoman (business person)

craftsman — ремесленник

waiter / waitress

actor / actress

steward / stewardess

Make up feminitive nouns and translate them:

donor, auctioneer, newsreader, sportscast, cat, mentor, lion, duke

Verb + Noun

-age

means "result of an action"

wreck - wreckage

pass - passage

-ment

means "action or state", sometimes is replaced by the suffix -tion/-ion

develop - development

measure - measurement

move - movement

1. advertise -
2. announce -
3. calculate -
4. celebrate -
5. collect -
6. disappoint -
7. embarrass -
8. entertain -
9. invent -
10. pollute -

-ity (Adjective + Noun)

means "quality, state, degree"

stupid - stupidity

curious - curiosity

real - reality

mobile - mobility

diable - diasibility

affordable - affordability

Noun + Noun

-hood

suggests a family role or family-related periods of life

child - childhood

mother - motherhood

brother - brotherhood

-ship

means "a particular job or position; ability or skill; all people in a particular group"

friend - friendship

partner - partnership

-dom

means "state", from Old English dom "statute, judgment"

king - kingdom

bore - boredom

duke - dukedom

Christ -

Duke -

Earl -

Fief -

Martyr -

Chief -

Thral -

Wise -

Fan -

Poli Sci

In the upcoming series of classes we shall discuss various theories of Inernational Relations:)

For this time the topic of the discussion is Approaches & System Theory

Reading & Discussing

When did Freemasonry start?

The origins of Freemasonry are obscure, and the subject is rife with myth and speculation. One of the more fanciful claims is that the Freemasons are descended from the builders of Solomon's Temple (also known as the First Temple) in Jerusalem, . Others have argued that the Freemasons began as an offshoot of the Knights Templars, a Catholic military order dating to medieval times. And the famous American revolutionary Thomas Paine attempted to trace the origins of the order to the ancient Egyptians and Celtic Druids.

Nowadays there exists a theory that freemasonry has its origins in the stonemason guilds of medieval Europe. These guilds, especially active during the 14th century, were responsible for constructing some of the finest architecture in Europe, such as the ornate Gothic cathedrals of Notre Dame in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London.

Like many artisan craft guilds of that time, its members jealously guarded their secrets and were selective about who they chose as apprentices. Initiation for new members required a long period of training, during which they learned the craft and were often taught advanced mathematics and architecture. Their skills were in such high demand that experienced Freemasons were frequently sought out by monarchs or high-ranking church officials.

The guilds provided members not only with wage protection and quality control over the work performed but also important social connections. Members gathered in lodges, which served as the headquarters and focal points where the Masons socialized, partook in meals and gathered to discuss the events and issues of the day.

What was next?

However, with the rise of capitalism and the market economy during the 16th and 17th centuries, the old guild system broke down. But the Masonic lodges survived. In order to bolster membership and raise funds, the stonemason guilds began to recruit non-masons. At first, the new recruits were often relatives of existing members, but they increasingly included wealthy individuals and men of high social status.

Many of these new members were "learned gentlemen" who were interested in the philosophical and intellectual trends that were transforming the European intellectual landscape at the time. The men were equally interested in questions of morality — especially how to build moral character.

The symbols of Freemasonry

The world of Freemasonry is composed of esoteric signs and symbols that are baffling to most non-Masons. Perhaps the most common are the compass and square, which are the universally recognizable symbols of the organization. They typically emblazon the lintels above lodge entrances and can be found on the aprons worn by Masons during rituals.

Homework

Task 1. Let`s start with noun adjectives first. (If necessary, use the hints given at the bottom of the page).

Task 2. Now let`s refresh adjectival suffixes. Complete sentences 13-27 (ex.1) and 11-20 (ex.2)

Task 3. Investigate the text carefully (pp. 50-58 up to Features of The State System) , and write out:

• 18 -ance/-ence nouns OR -ant/-ent adjectives
• 18 -ity nouns
• 6 -ment nouns
• 3 -age nouns
• 2 -ness nouns

• 1 -hood nouns

Having found all the words, form their cognates (words with the same root). E.g.:

-ity --> disability --> disable

Try to think of as many jobs as you only can. Make some job-riddles (6-8): try to describe a job without mentioning its name.