DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Lead-in
Anyone who dreams o f a diplomatic career should be aware of the fact that before one is allowed to work in the Foreign Service one should pass an Entrance
1. All of the following are necessary attributes of a nation state except:
a. occupying a definite territory
b. having an organized government
c. using predominantly a single language
d. possessing internal and external sovereignty
2. All of the following circumstances have contributed to the current emphasis on protecting the environment toxic wastes except:
a. safe places to store toxic wastes have become scarce
b. research has increased knowledge of the toxicity of many widely used chemicals
c. the amount of wastes of all kinds has grown
d. deregulation has made it easier for the public to purchase
and use toxic substances
3. Which of the following statements is true about executive
privilege?
a. It protects members of the executive branch from prosecution for any acts committed in the course of performing their jobs.
b. It allows the President to withhold certain information from Congress and the courts.
c. It is the concept that underlies the President’s use of a pocket
veto during a session of Congress.
d. It protects the member of the Cabinet when the President
faces impeachment proceedings.
4. A distinguishing feature of the parliamentary form of government is that:
a. Parliament is the sole repository of legitimacy and may not delegate governmental authority to regional or local units.
b. No final action may be taken on a bill until all members of parliament have had an opportunity to speak either for or against it.
c. Members of the government are not allowed to take part in the parliamentary debates that involve appropriations.
d. Parliament has the power to require the PM to resign or call for an election.
5.Can you define or explain the terms that were used in the test? If in doubt consult an English-English dictionary to help you.
SOVEREIGNTY, DEREGULATION, EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE, POCKET VETO, IMPEACHMENT, TO DELEGATE AUTHORITY, BILL, APPROPRIATIONS, GOOD WORKS, SALVATION, MEDIATION, LIAISON
A FOREIGN SERVICE CAREER
Now read a newspaper article from the Daily Telegraph to see what some other people think about testing the knowledge of future diplomats.
FUTURE BERLIN ENVOYS FACE
“QUIZ SHOW” HURDLE
German graduates competing to enter the country’s poorly paid but respected diplomatic service are having to answer general knowledge questions as difficult as those faced by contenders in the television quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
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The prize falls somewhat short of the television bounty: the starting salary for a young diplomat is about &2,000 a month and even senior ambassadors are unlikely to earn more than &80,000 a year.
The questions are aimed at weeding out what Germans call Fachidioten — narrow specialists with little worldly understanding — ensuring that Berlin’s envoys do not make the kind of gaffes committed by George W. Bush, who failed to name the leaders of India and Pakistan.
The quiz was leaked yesterday and the tabloid press was flabbergasted by what it saw as an immensely highbrow challenge for a less than desirable career. The potential diplomats have to know the three functions of money, when women gained the right to vote and whether Charles Dickens is regarded as a Realist or
Naturalist writer.
There are fears in the Foreign Ministry that the quality of the new intake into the diplomatic service may suffer from the competition of new economy companies who promise quick career advancement and big salaries.
Around 1,000 Germans apply each year to sit the Foreign Ministry exams; only 40 are accepted for the two-year training course. They are expected to have graduated with honours and to show a well above-average grasp of political, economic and legal concepts. Fluent English and French are compulsory.
The Foreign Service is going through an upheaval. Money has to be saved and ambassadors are being urged to take lessons in television presentation to equip them for their new role as relaxed public relations spokesmen for Germany. Younger diplomats are being promised faster promotion providing they know
their quiz show stuff on film directors and authors.
Notes:
1) a highbrow challenge — is something new, exciting and
difficult which one has an opportunity of doing which re
quires great effort and determination because it deals with
serious subjects in an intellectual way;
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2) to graduate with honours — to graduate with a type of uni
versity degree, which is of a higher standard than an ordi
nary degree.
Questions for discussion:
1. What is your opinion about the kind of questions included in
the test for young German diplomats? How do they compare
with the questions you have answered earlier?
2. How does the Foreign Ministry o f Germany justify the ex
tremely challenging entrance exams for young diplomats? Is
the challenge well-founded? Why? / Why not?
3. What do you think the author implies in the last sentence of
the article?
6.Match the following words with their definitions.
| 1. contender for | a) smth that one says or does that is considered socially incorrect |
| 2. bounty | b) extremely surprised |
| 3. to weed out | c) let the public know a piece of information that is secret that is secret |
| 4. gaffe | d) someone who competes with other people to win smth |
| 5. to leak smth | e) the number of people accepted into an organization |
| 6. flabbergasted at | f) money given as a gift or a reward |
| 7. intake to | g) a big change which causes a lot of trouble and confusion |
| 8. upheaval | h) get rid of things useless or unwanted in a group |
7.If your matching was correct you should be able to put the words above or their derivatives in the sentences that will make sense.
1. We will have to reduce this year’s____________ of trainees.
2. It was a terrible____________when Daddy died.
3. They made the custom popular by offering____________
money for the scalps of their enemies.
4. There is no justification for the arm y’s huge emergencyof soldiers.
5. Everyone w as____________at the deceit.
6. At the time great____________were taking place in the USA.
7. Who can object to the plan with this take-over alone provid
ing a ____________of more than $30m?
8. They have brought social____________and violent conflicts
into the country.
9. I was absolutely____________when she told me the price.
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10. I had no idea of th e ____________I was committing.
11. He made sure the story w as____________in the media.
12. He is a leading____________to succeed the PM.
13. Natural selection had____________out the weakest
14. Who are the main _ _________for the title?
15. The Ministry denied the possibility of a secimly
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