In time or On time

https://www.wallstreetenglish.ru/blog/v-chem-raznitsa-mezhdu-in-time-i-on-time/

Putin and Xi meet against backdrop of growing crises for both leaders

Putin and Xi meet against backdrop of growing crises for both leaders

By Jessie Yeung, Darya Tarasova and Alex Stambaugh, CNN

Updated 11:11 AM EST, Fri December 30, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a virtual meeting Friday that their partnership was more important than ever in the face of “unprecedented pressure” from the West, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine leaves it increasingly isolated on the global stage.

While Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on and Xi grapples with an unprecedented Covid outbreak, a call between the two leaders on Friday underlined their mutual reliance amid mounting crises at home.

In opening remarks broadcast on Russian state TV, Putin said that the stabilizing force of the Russia-China relationship was becoming even more critical against the backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions.

The Russian leader described relations between the two nations as “the best in history,” saying they could “withstand all tests,” and invited Xi to visit Moscow in the spring of 2023.

“We share the same views on the causes, course and logic of the ongoing transformation of the global geopolitical landscape,” Putin said.

“In the face of unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West, we defend our principled positions and defend not only our own interests, but also all those who stand for a truly democratic system and the right of countries to freely determine their own destiny.”

Putin added that the two countries would strengthen cooperation between their armed forces, and pointed to growth in trade despite “unfavorable market conditions,” alluding to the waves of economic sanctions Russia has faced since invading Ukraine.

Xi echoed Putin’s message of unity, saying that the two countries should “strengthen strategic coordination” and “inject more stability into the world,” according to Chinese state media Xinhua.

China is “ready to work” with Russia to “stand against hegemonism and power politics” to oppose unilateralism, protectionism and “bullying,” as well as to safeguard sovereignty, security, international equity and justice, Xi said, Chinese state media reported.

Xi also said China is ready to resume normal cross-border travel with Russia and other countries “in an orderly manner,” Xinhua reported.

Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer in recent years, with Xi and Putin declaring the two countries had a “no limits” partnership weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Analysts on Friday were watching for any sign that the Chinese leader’s support for his Russian counterpart had softened.

China has repeatedly refused to condemn the aggression, instead repeatedly laying blame for the conflict on NATO and the United States – and remaining one of Russia’s key remaining supporters as outrage over the invasion builds, leaving Russia increasingly on its own.

Instead of an anticipated swift victory, Putin’s invasion has faltered with numerous setbacks on the battlefield, including a lack of basic equipment. Many Russians face economic hardship in a bitter winter.

On Thursday, Russia launched what Ukrainian officials described as one of the biggest missile barrages since the war began in February, with explosions rattling villages and cities across Ukraine, damaging civilian infrastructure and killing at least three people.

Ukrainian officials had been cautioning for days that Russia was preparing to launch an all-out assault on the power grid to close out 2022, plummeting the country into darkness as Ukrainians attempt to ring in the New Year holidays.

 

Task 1. Read the article and be ready to translate it.

Task 2. Write out the words and word combinations in bold and translate them.

Task 3. Answer the questions below:

1) Say into how many logical parts you can divide the article.

2) What is each logical part about?

3) What is the main idea or problem the author raises?

4) Pick up some key words to justify your opinion.

Task 4. Be ready to render the article.

TOPICS 2nd TERM

TOPICS (2^ND TERM, 3^RD COURSE):

1.    Famous galleries

2.    My visit to the museum

3.    The role of art in our life

4.    My favourite artist

5.    Global Warming

6.    Environmental protection

7.    My idea of happiness

8.    The book I’ve recently read

9.    Emotional Intelligence

10.  Different causes of environmental pollution

Putin deploys Russian warship with Zircon hypersonic missile, TASS says

Putin deploys Russian warship with Zircon hypersonic missile, TASS says

By Brad Lendon and Anna Chernova, CNN

Updated 5:01 AM EST, Thu January 5, 2023

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dispatched one of his country’s most modern warships armed with advanced hypersonic missiles on a long voyage through the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and into the Indian Ocean, Russian state media reported Wednesday. The frigate Admiral Gorshkov set off from an unnamed northern Russian port on Wednesday after Putin spoke with the ship’s commander and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu via video link, according to a report from the TASS news agency.

Putin boasted that the ship was carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles, long-range weapons that travel more than five times the speed of sound and are harder to detect and intercept. “It has no analogues in any country in the world,” Putin said, according to TASS. “I am sure that such powerful weapons will reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure the national interests of our country,” he added.

Russia tested the Zircon system in late 2021, firing from the Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea and hitting a naval target more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) away, according to reports at the time.

The current mission would be its first deployment in a potential combat situation. “The main efforts during the campaign will be focused on countering Russia’s threats, maintaining regional peace, and stability together with friendly countries,” Shoigu said in the TASS report.

Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine is now in its 10th month, but that conflict was not mentioned specifically in the TASS report. And whether the Zircon missile could be brought to bear in that war is uncertain. If it works as advertised by the Russians, it is a fearsome weapon.

The US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance says the Zircon is “a maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile” with a range of somewhere between 500 and 1,000 kilometers (310 to 620 miles). The alliance says its speed has been put at Mach 8, or almost 9,900 kilometers per hour (6,138 mph). Hypersonic is defined as any speed above Mach 5 (3,836 mph).

“If that information is accurate, the Zircon missile would be the fastest in the world, making it nearly impossible to defend against due to its speed alone,” the alliance says on its website. The site also points to the missile’s plasma cloud as another “valuable” feature.

“During flight, the missile is completely covered by a plasma cloud that absorbs any rays of radio frequencies and makes the missile invisible to radars. This allows the missile to remain undetected on its way to the target,” it says.

Add to that the Zircon’s ability to alter its flight path and it becomes an extremely formidable weapon. But using the Zircon missiles aboard the Admiral Gorshkov against targets in Ukraine is logistically challenging.

From a Russian perspective, the optimal firing range for the weapons would be from the Black Sea, to the south of Ukraine. But to get there, the Russian warship would have to pass through the Turkish-controlled Bosphorus Strait, and Ankara has said since the early stages of the war in Ukraine that it would not allow such access for foreign naval vessels.

While the Admiral Gorshkov could theoretically fire on Ukraine from the northern reaches of the Mediterranean, the flight path to Ukraine would go over NATO countries, something that would be seen as a major escalation of Russian aggression.

TASS said the Gorshkov is also armed with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, weapons which have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles), according to the CSIS Missile Defense Project. But those weapons, even with their longer range, would face the same problems reaching Ukraine as the Zircons.

“He can show his domestic audiences that the international reaction is not as effective as stated in the Western media and that Russia still has friends in key areas,” Schuster said. “Internationally, he is signaling that sanctions have not affected the Russian navy’s ability to operate and that it remains a global maritime power.” Putin praised his military upon the deployment, according to TASS. “This is great joint work, which ended with a good, expected result,” Putin said.

“We will continue to develop the combat potential of the Armed Forces, make advanced models of weapons and equipment that will guard Russia’s security in the coming decades. This is a promising weapon,” Putin said in the TASS report.

Task 1. Read the article and be ready to translate it.

Task 2. Write out the underlined words and translate them into Russian.

Task 3. Make up 5 questions in the written form to discuss the main facts mentioned in the article.

Task 4. Think over the topic problem the author raises in the article.

Task 5. Write the rendering of the article.

‘Goblin mode’ chosen as Oxford word of the year for 2022

‘Goblin mode’ chosen as Oxford word of the year for 2022

By Christian Edwards, CNN

Updated 10:56 AM EST, Tue December 6, 2022

(CNN) — As you read this, look around. Are you still in bed? Are there piles of clothes and takeout food boxes strewn across the floor? Do you have chip crumbs on your sheets? Have you broken your self-care routine more times than you can count? Do you not even care? If so, you might already be in “goblin mode” – chosen by the public as the 2022 Oxford word of the year.

According to Oxford University Press (OUP), publishers behind the Oxford English Dictionary, the slang term refers to a type of behavior which is “unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations” – traits that may have become familiar to many during lockdown.

Social media can portray idealized versions of self-improvement, from waking at 5 a.m. and drinking a green smoothie, to keeping a journal, exercising and planning your weekly meal prep. That era may be on the way out. In its place is goblin mode – the opposite of trying to better yourself.

The OUP word of the year – also known as the Oxford word of the year – was chosen by the public for the first time. A group of lexicographers at OUP gave people a choice of: “Goblin mode,” “metaverse,” and “#IStandWith.” “Goblin mode” triumphed, racking up 318,956 votes – 93% of the total. “Metaverse” came second and “#IStandWith” came third.

Casper Grathwohl, president of OUP’s Oxford Languages, said in a press release Monday that the “level of engagement with the campaign caught us totally by surprise.”

“Given the year we’ve just experienced, ‘Goblin mode’ resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealized, curated selves that we’re encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds,” he said.

The rise of ‘goblin mode’

The term was first used in 2009 but went viral on social media earlier this year, OUP said. It shot to prominence after a fake headline claimed that the rapper formerly known as Kanye West and Julia Fox broke up after she “went goblin mode.”

“The term then rose in popularity over the months following as Covid lockdown restrictions eased in many countries and people ventured out of their homes more regularly,” according to the OUP.

“Seemingly, it captured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to ‘normal life’, or rebelled against the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles exhibited on social media.”

The term’s popularity may also be linked to the growth of new social media sites like BeReal, where users are invited once a day at random to post a photo of whatever they’re doing. Goodbye carefully curated social media feeds. Hello goblin mode.

The release gives examples of examples of when the term has been used. Among the most vivid was quoted in The Guardian: “Goblin mode is like when you wake up at 2am and shuffle into the kitchen wearing nothing but a long t-shirt to make a weird snack, like melted cheese on saltines.”

“People are embracing their inner goblin, and voters choosing ‘goblin mode’ as the Word of the Year tells us the concept is likely here to stay,” added Grathwohl.

Fulfill the above tasks: 

1.     Read the article "‘Goblin mode’ chosen as Oxford word of the year for 2022"

2.     Write out words in bold and translate them in written form.

3.     Divide the article into logical parts and make up 2 questions to each one.

4.     Go through the link and watch the video. Be ready to discuss it with your groupmates in the classroom. 

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/05/world/oxford-word-goblin-mode-2022-intl-scli-wellness

 

 

omniscient-narrator

GO THROUGH THE LINK BELOW TO KNOW HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TYPE OF NARRATOR 

https://prowritingaid.com/omniscient-narrator

No water, power or internet – only euphoria in newly liberated Kherson

No water, power or internet – only euphoria in newly liberated Kherson

By Nic Robertson, Amy Woodyatt, Kareem Khadder, Clayton Nagel and Kosta Gak, CNN

Updated 9:25 AM EST, Sat November 12, 2022

 

Kherson, Ukraine (CNN) — For eight months, residents of the Ukrainian city of Kherson have been living under brutal Russian occupation. But on Friday, Ukrainian forces swept into the city and Russian troops retreated to the east. The residents have no water, no internet connection and little power. But as a CNN crew entered the city on Saturday, the mood was euphoric.

 

As the crew filmed live in Kherson’s central square, some in the crowd of locals sang the national anthem while others shouted “Slava Ukrayini!” – glory to Ukraine, a patriotic greeting. “We feel free, we are not slaves, we are Ukrainians,” resident Olga told CNN.

Locals have also been climbing onto the tops of the buildings, including the cinema, in the square to erect Ukrainian flags. Soldiers driving through are greeted with cheers and asked to sign autographs on flags.

Back when Russian troops rolled in at the beginning of the war, this was a city that tried to resist: people were taken away, tortured, disappeared, residents said. “We were terrified by [the] Russian army, we were terrified by soldiers that can come any moment in our house, in our home – just open the door, like they are living here, and steal, kidnap, torture,” Olga said.

But now, people flock to the central square in the newly liberated city, wrapped in Ukrainian flags, singing and chanting “Freedom for Ukraine.” “Everyone here is out celebrating in the square here. People are wearing the Ukrainian flag, they’re hugging the soldiers, they’ve come out to see what it’s like to have freedom,” Robertson said.

A Ukrainian Special Forces soldier, who gave his name only as Daniel, told CNN how his unit was the first to arrive in Kherson. “My commander put the flag on the top of the building,” he said.

“It was a real blast for us, finally. Before the 11th [of November], it was five days of hard work, real hard work. Ukrainian soldiers, as always, just confirmed again that they are stronger than the Russians.”

The CNN team appeared to be the first international journalists to reach Kherson city center since it changed hands in the past 48 hours.

On Friday, Russia announced it had withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the strategic southern region of Kherson, leaving the regional capital of the same name and surrounding areas to the Ukrainians.

The retreat represents a major blow for Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russian forces had captured since February’s invasion. Their withdrawal east across the Dnipro cedes large swathes of land that Russia has occupied since the early days of the war, and that Putin had formally declared as Russian territory just five weeks ago.

Speaking Saturday on the next steps for the Ukrainian military, CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton said: “This is going to be a major urban operation. What you are going to see is a methodical operation to clear buildings of potential booby traps and mines.

On Friday evening, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a nighttime video of celebrations in the city, where a crowd was waving flags and chanting “ZSU,” the Ukrainian acronym for the armed forces.

Earlier that day, the Ukrainian military’s southern operational command said Russian forces had been “urgently loading into boats that seem suitable for crossing and trying to escape” across the river.

It was unclear whether all Russian troops had left Kherson and the wider region. Serhiy Khlan, a member of Ukraine’s Kherson regional council, said the city was “almost under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” but cautioned that some Russian troops might have remained behind in civilian clothing.

1. Read the article "Biden again says US would defend Taiwan if China attacks"
2. Write out words in bold and translate them in written form.
3. Make up 5 questions to the article.

4. Go through the link and watch the video. Be ready to comment on it.  https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/12/europe/kherson-city-ukraine-russia-intl/index.html