Geum.ru

Учебно-методический комплекс по дисциплине «английский язык» Для студентов заочной формы обучения специальностей

Вид материалаУчебно-методический комплекс

Содержание


Тексты для специальности “Юриспруденция” Вариант 1
Подобный материал:
1   ...   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   ...   24

Вариант 3


GOLD

Gold prices hit a 20-year low on September 23, 1999. at $255 an ounce. Within days, gold prices gathered momentum and peaked at $340. What caused this dramatic change? The rise in price and improvement in sentiment were triggered by a joint statement on official gold holdings by the European Central Bank (ECB) and 14 central banks on September, 24, 1999. According to this statement, gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves, and the central banks have undertaken to restrict their annual sales to 400 tons under a harmonized five – year program.

This declaration of intent should continue to have a positive effect on gold prices because central banks are by far the largest holders of gold. About 30,000 tons of gold are stored in central bank vaults, the equivalent of almost 13 years’ output. The potential sale of a large part of the banks’ holdings was a serious impediment to any advance in gold prices.

From 1934 to 1971 the United States maintained a policy of buying and selling gold at a fixed price of $35 per ounce. This standard prevailed until the Nixon administration suspended the dollar’s convertibility into gold in 1971. since then, the value of gold has been determined by market forces.

In the 1970s the price of gold zoomed upward and peaked in 1980 at $612 an ounce before slipping to $308 in 1984. In 1990 its price was $383 and it finished the decade at less than $300. the causes of this anemic performance were low inflation, gold’s declining role as a monetary standard, and central bank sales. These factors have all combined to keep a lid on gold prices.

Although estimates can be made of changes in supply, predicting demand is much more difficult. In 1998 more than 80% of the gold produced was used for decorative purposes, 7% for industrial use, and 12% for private investment holdings. Gold has traditionally been a barometer for confidence in political and currency stability. When inflation heats up, demand for gold increases. Purchases of gold also surge when political events take a serious turn, although this response has been muted in recent years. Finally, high interest rates on money market instruments and securities make them more attractive as investments than gold because its ownership yields no interest, all of these factors make forecasting gold prices very difficult.

How to purchase gold. If an investor wants to buy gold to ensure against economic instability or to diversify holdings, there are six major avenues that can be pursued: mutual funds, gold stocks, coins, bullion, futures contracts and options.

Many gold stocks are available on the exchanges as well as over the counter. Because of the uncertainty about gold’s future price, one should invest in only the more efficient producers. There also are mutual funds that invest in the stocks of gold – mining companies.

Gold coins are issued by several governments, which guarantee their gold content. These coins come in various weights and sizes some have a pure gold content while others consist of gold mixed with copper. Gold coins are sold at prices that reflect their gold value plus a premium of from 5% to 8%. The most prominent gold coins are the American Gold Eagle, South African Krugerrand, Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian 100 Corona and the Gold Mexican 50 Peso.

Gold bullion comes in many sizes, ranging from a tiny wafer to 400 – ounce bars. Most investors do not actually take physical possession of the bullion. Instead, they purchase a certificate of ownership that indicates the gold is on deposit in a bank. Certificates can be purchased from certain banks, large brokerage houses and recognized dealers.

Gold futures contracts are speculations that provide tremendous leverage. Typically, the cash requirements are 4% to 10% per contract. If the price falls, the investor is susceptible to a margin call for more cash or collateral. This strategy should be used only by experienced traders familiar with the risk involved.

Gold options do not face the possibility of margin calls. Maximum risk is defined by the premium paid for the option. Like futures, the leverage is high and the profit potential large. However, as with futures, most speculators in options lose money.

^

Тексты для специальности “Юриспруденция”

Вариант 1


DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRISON SYSTEM

Jails were widely used in the 12th century England as places for the confinement of accused people until their cases could be tried by the king’s court. In 1166 Henry II commanded that every county should establish an institution for this purpose. Imprisonment gradually came to be accepted not only as a device for holding people awaiting trial but also as a means of punishing convicted criminals. During the 16th century a number of houses of correction were established in England and on the continent for the reform of minor offenders. In this institutions there was little segregation by the age, sex or other conditions. The main emphasis was on strict discipline and hard labor. In England an act of 1711 fixed the maximum term of confinement at three years. Among the best known of the houses of correction, the immediate forerunners of the prison, were London’s Bridewell and the Ghent House of Correction, which were established in 1553 and 1775 respectively. Similar institutions were constructed in the American Colonies soon after their settlement.

Although reformation of offenders was intended in the houses of correction, the unsanitary conditions and lack of provisions for the welfare of the inmates soon produced widespread agitation for further changes in methods of handling criminals.

Solitary confinement of criminals became an ideal among the rationalist reformers of the 18th century, who believed that solitude would help the offender to become penitent and that penitence would result in reformation. Facilities conducive to such treatment, however, were slow to appear.

In the nascent United States fines and imprisonment became the major forms of punishment for nearly all offences, felonies as well as misdemeanors. Around 1794, Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia was converted to become the first state penitentiary; prisoners were segregated by sex and the severity of their offences, and hard labor was stressed as a reformative measure.

Solitary confinement received far greater emphasis when Eastern State Penitentiary was opened on Cherry Hill in Philadelphia in 1829. each prisoner of this institution remained in his cell of its adjoining yard, working alone at trades such as weaving, carpentry, shoemaking, and saw no one except the officers of the institution and an occasional visitor from outside. This method of prison management, known as the “separate system”, became a model for penal institutions constructed in several other states and in various parts of the world. Through much of the 19th century the separate system remained the dominant philosophy of prison management in much of Europe.

Meanwhile, strenuous opposition to the prolonged isolation of prisoners developed very early, especially in the United States. Even before Eastern State Penitentiary was placed in operation, its critics had been successful in formulating a competing philosophy of prison management, known as the “silent system”. The main distinguishing feature of the silent system was that prisoners were allowed to work together in the daytime. Silence was strictly enforced at all times, however, and at night the prisoners were confined in individual cells. Vigorous competition between supporters of the silent system and of the separate system prevailed till about 1850, but by that time the silent system had been victorious in most US states. During this period new developments in Europe and elsewhere were beginning to produce fundamental revisions in both US systems.