World and Press November 1 2022
November 1 2022 • No 21 • 74th Year of Publication • Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien € 3,00 [d] Sprachtraining • Landeskunde • Vokabelhilfen • Übungsmaterial IN FOCUS B2–C2 • Opinion: New Zealand isn’t other people’s elsewhere Page 2 USA • Girls: A summer camp that teaches girls to use a drill • Hydropower: A power plant vs a fish’s spawning site Pages 4/5 BRITAIN • Access to nature: Trespassers demand right to roam large estate • Young people: ‘Generation Sensible’ may miss out on life experiences Pages 7/13 OTHER TOPICS • South Africa: Tribes cash in on craze for rooibos tea • Canada: Indigenous communities get prime land, and power • Inflation: Britain’s labor shortage is helping drive its inflation problem Pages 8/9/11 für nur € 5,95 Jetzt im Einzelverkauf Zusatzmaterial zu dieser Ausgabe. Im Abo PREMIUM sehr viel günstiger! www.sprachzeitungen.de €3,50 [a] CHF5,40 [ch] | Photo: New York Times Famous for happiness, and limits on tourism, the kingdom of Bhutan will require a 0 tax on international visitors when it reopens this fall. Read more on pag e 3 0 – 1 TO STEP IN; s.w.u. to intervene einschreiten — to deem erachten — unwise unklug — to be on a slide abrutschen — rimmed gerandet — nickel and brass Nickel-Messing — embossed “Im"bÅst‘ geprägt — to have boasting rights damit angeben können 2 – 3 parity Parität — to sound the close das Ende bedeuten — metronomic (fig) mechanisch und gleichmäßig — footfalls Schritte — funeral bier “bI´‘ Totenbahre — to be paramount an erster Stelle stehen — demise “dI"maIz‘ Niedergang — to be indicative of s.th. “In"dIk´tIv‘ Anzeichen für etw. Brexit is Boris Johnson’s achievement. While its defenders say Brexit’s full benefits haven’t yet arrived, skeptics say its harm is only starting to be felt. Read more on pag e 6 In an echo of history, the British pound has lost its dominance POUND STERLING The Bank of England had to step in after markets deemed a new government economic plan unwise, but the pound has been on a longer slide. By Patricia Cohen 1 BRITAIN’S pound coin – rimmed in nickel and brass with an embossed image of Queen Elizabeth II at the center – could always be counted on to be significantly more valuable than the dollar. Such boasting rights effectively came to an end this week when the value of the pound sank to its lowest recorded level: £1 = .03 after falling more than 20% this year. 2 The nearly one-to-one parity between the currencies sounded the close of a chapter in Britain’s history nearly as much as the metronomic footfalls of the procession that carried the queen’s funeral bier up the pavement to Windsor Castle. “The queen’s death for many people brought to an end a long era of which the soft power in the United Kingdom” was paramount, said Ian Goldin, professor of globalization and development at the University of Oxford. “The pound’s demise to its lowest level is sort of indicative of this broader decline in multiple dimensions.” 3 The immediate cause of the pound’s alarming fall Monday was the announcement of a spending and tax plan by Britain’s new conservative government, which promised steep tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthiest individuals along with expensive measures to help blunt the painful rise in energy prices on consumers and businesses. 4 The sense of crisis ramped up Wednesday when the Bank of England intervened, in a rare move, and warned of “material risk to U.K. financial stability” from the government’s plan. The central bank said it would start buying British government bonds “on whatever scale is necessary” to stem a sell-off in U.K. debt. The Bank of England’s emergency action seemed at odds with its efforts that began months ago to try to slow the nearly 10% annual sein — spending Ausgaben — steep erheblich — measure “"meZ´‘ Maßnahme — to blunt abschwächen 4 to ramp up s. steigern — material erheblich — government bonds Staatsanleihen — to stem eindämmen — sell-off Ausverkauf — debt “det‘ Schuldtitel — at odds im Widerspruch — essentials “I"senS´lz‘ wichtige Güter des täglichen Bedarfs 5 – 6 to swoon (fig) schwächeln — unmistakable “ÆønmI"steIk´b´l‘ unmissverständlich — to amount to s.th. etw. gleichkommen — no-confidence vote | Photo: Picture Alliance | Photo: Suzie Howell/The New York Times inflation rate, which has lifted the price of essentials like petrol and food to painful levels. 5 The swooning pound this week has carried an unmistakable political message, amounting to a no-confidence vote by the world’s financial community in the economic strategy proposed by Prime Minister Liz Truss and her chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng. 6 To Goldin, the pound’s journey indicates a decline in economic and political influence that accelerated when Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. In many respects, Britain already has the worst performing economy, aside from Russia, of the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “It’s just a question of time before it falls out of the top 10 economies in the world,” Goldin said. Britain ranks sixth, having been surpassed by India. 7 Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell University, said this latest plunge had delivered a bracing blow to Britain’s standing. A series of “self-inflicted wounds,” including Brexit and the government’s latest spending plan, have accelerated the pound’s slide and further endangered London’s status as a global financial center. Continued on page 12 Misstrauensvotum — chancellor of the Exchequer “"tSA…ns´l´; eks"tSek´‘ brit. Finanzminister(in) — to accelerate “´k"sel´reIt‘ s. beschleunigen — to have the worst performing economy das Land mit der schlechtesten Wirtschaftsleistung sein — economy Volkswirtschaft — to surpass “s´"pA…s‘ übertreffen 7 – 8 plunge “pløndZ‘ Absturz — to deliver a blow e-n Schlag versetzen — bracing h.: heftig — selfinflicted wounds “Æ-In"flIktId‘ selbst zugefügte Wunden — to endanger gefährden —
