December 1998

18 December 1998

Minister

Khodirev

Dear Minister,

I am writing today to invite you to our 9^th International Conference on Competition, which will be held on 10 and 11 May 1999 at the Hotel Inter­continental Berlin.

The subject of the 9^th International Conference on Competition is:

I would be very pleased to welcome you to Berlin as a participant at our 9^th International Conference on Competition. A simultaneous translation service will be available in German, English and French.

Yours sincerely,

Wolf

President.

аспирантура (канд. экз.)

Экзаменационный билет (на 2 листах) по дисциплине

английский язык

(специальность: онтология и теория познания)

Task I. Translate from English into Russian in writing using a dictionary. Your time is 45 minutes

What counts as a social fact is very much determined by the moral spectacles through which we view the world. Weber is sca­thingly dismissive of those theorists who urge us to evacuate our minds of all presuppositions in order that we might perceive social reality in all its purity. This was a doctrine that even Durkheim, of all people, occasionally espoused. In his own treatise on method, Durkheim says that when investigating social life "All preconceptions must be eradi­cated. [This is] ... the basis of all scientific method." His repeated emphasis on the need to treat social facts as 'things' also implies a sturdy, no-nonsense approach to the problem.

For Weber, on the other hand, since the eradication of all pre­conceptions was not humanly possible, the social construction of facts was extremely problematic. Because social facts only existed by virtue of the concepts employed to define and organise them, we could in effect bring new facts into being and dispose of others simply by altering our conceptual frame of reference. Entities like social classes, for example, could be abolished at a single conceptual stroke. Now you see them, now you don't.

Weber's insistence that all theoretical constructs are shot through with biases of one kind or another is not easy to reconcile with the explanatory claims he makes on behalf of ideal-types.

The overwhelming problems of today are forcing the disciplines to seek advice from one another.

Not only does the blending of various disciplines result in enhanced research, but modern materials systems themselves often are created from the integration of two or more materials. These systems do result in new materials having properties not previously available.

It is the lack of materials that are adequate to meet the needs imposed on them that many of the holding problems in our technological development stem from.

Task II. Translate the letter from English into Russian without a dictionary. Your time is 5-7 minutes

February 25, 2000

Mr. Alexander

President

MICEX

Moscow RUSSIA

Dear Mr. Zakharov:

Please find enclosed the draft Joint Statement on Technical Assistance which I received yesterday from the U.S. Trading Commission.

We understand that your office will undertake to forward this document to Chairman Parmenkov.

If the Russian Party finds the proposal acceptable, we should notify Ms. Corcoran of that fact.

We look forward to your future communications on this matter. Best regards.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Burt

аспирантура (канд. экз.)

Экзаменационный билет (на 2 листах) по дисциплине

английский язык

(специальность: социология управления)

Task I. Translate from English into Russian in writing using a dictionary. Your time is 45 minutes

It is often pointed out that the social sciences are "inexact" sciences, as compared with the "exact" physical sciences. It is al­so sometimes indicated that management is perhaps the most inexact of the social sciences. It is true that the social sciences, and management in particular, deal with complex phenomena about which too little is known. It is true, likewise, that the structure and behavior of the atom are far less complex than the structure and be­havior of groups of people, including both those inside and those outside an enterprise.

But we should not forget that even in the most exact of the exact sciences - physiсs - there are areas where scientific knowledge does not exist now and must be developed through speculation and hypothesis. As much as is known of bridge mechanics, bridges still fail as a result of such things as vibrations set up from wind currents. And as we move from the longer-known areas of physics into the biological sciences, we mind that areas of exactness tend to diminish.

Since virtually all areas of knowledge have tremendous expanses of the unknown, people working in the social sciences should not be defeatist. A scientific approach to management cannot wait until an exact science of management is developed. Had the physical and biological sciences thus waited, we might be living in caves.

Progress and Problems.

Great progress has been made in industry, science and medi­cine. Widespread mechanization, the introduction of com­pletely automated lines and computerized management are advancing in every sphere of our economy. New remote areas in the North, beyond the Polar Circle, in the Far East and Siberia are being opened up and developed. To tap their huge natural resources, pipelines and electric power stations, new railroads and highways are being built. The vast territory beyond the Urals produces most of the oil, gas, coal and minerals extracted in Russia. From the deposits in Western Siberia, oil and gas are piped to the European part of the country and, even farther, to countries of Eastern and Western Europe.

Task II. Translate the letter from English into Russian without a dictionary. Your time is 5-7 minutes

Dear Mr. Minister:

It was a pleasure to meet you during our recent visit to Moscow. I was encouraged with the discussion and look forward to moving ahead to assist small- and medium-sized businesses in Russia.

Mr. Paul Tumminia, Ex-Im Bank Director-Russia and NIS, will be in contact with you as to our future plans on this matter.

Please do let us know if you are planning to be in the U.S.
Sincerely,

phone (202) 565-3500 fax (202) 565-3513