Is about. Read the article and see if your ideas were correct.

As Rice Prepares to Move Up, Diplomacy May Be on Rise, Too

By TODD S. PURDUM

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 - Her confirmation as the 66th secretary of state is a foregone conclusion, and the White House plans to swear her in on Inauguration Day. But starting Tuesday morning, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will begin what could stretch to two full days of questioning Condoleezza Rice about almost every aspect of her past performance and future plans.

No question looms larger than just what kind of secretary of state Ms. Rice will be. She declined to be interviewed for this article, but her associates and even some of her rivals say she shows every sign of setting a course aimed at putting diplomacy at the top of the Bush administration's foreign policy agenda after a period dominated by military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ms. Rice's goals vary from restoring America's reputation in the capitals of Europe through a vigorous campaign of public diplomacy to actively promoting free institutions throughout the Middle East and renewing involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and include a heightened focus on free trade and economic issues, associates say.

In campaign speeches for President Bush last fall, Ms. Rice likened the current world climate, including the daunting insurgency in Iraq, to the period of skirmishing that followed World War II, when the United States took the lead in establishing international institutions and the policy of containing the Soviet Union that rebuilt Europe and Asia and won the cold war.

"Europe and Asia are safer as a result," Ms. Rice said in October in Cleveland. "And so it shall be in the Middle East."

To put it mildly, that is an ambitious goal. Whether Ms. Rice can begin to achieve it may depend on how well she adapts to a markedly new role, and surmounts problems that have dogged her as national security adviser for the past four years.

Her critics have faulted her handling of terrorist warnings before Sept. 11 and her management of fractious internal disputes and flawed intelligence reports in advance of the war with Iraq and the military occupation that followed. They have also faulted her response to the threat of nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea and her overall role in a foreign policy that has strained the United States' relations with longtime allies and perhaps spawned new enemies around the world.

Her success or failure may also depend on how she fares with two strong-willed and more seasoned players, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, both of whom view foreign affairs as a major part of their own portfolios and with whom Ms. Rice has not always seen eye to eye. Her champions say that Ms. Rice is well aware of how her job will change, and that she is prepared for the switch.

"Her role will be different institutionally, as well as practically," said the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr. No longer will she be expected to summarize the views of others, but to state her own, saying, as Mr. Card explained it: "This is what I think. This is what the State Department strongly recommends."

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell seldom hesitated to tell the president that while Mr. Rumsfeld or Mr. Cheney might have a certain view, he had another. Will Ms. Rice be equally vocal? "Yes," Mr. Card said with a hearty laugh, "because she knows that Don and Dick will say the same thing." And, Mr. Card noted with another laugh, "She'll have great empathy for Steve Hadley," her deputy and designated successor as national security adviser. "I'm not sure she'll have sympathy."

(Source: New York Times, 2005)

Ex.3. Read the article and answer the following questions:

1. What stress is Rice going to put on in her activity?

2. Why is it important for the US to shift from force to diplomacy in its forign policy?

3. What part is assigned to the US in the post-World War period?

4. What is she faulted of?

5. What does Rice's success or failure depend on?

6. How is her current role different from the previous position's function?

7. What is Mr. Card's opinion on the ability of Rice to articulate herself distinctly and strongly?

Ex. 4. Read the article and explain the following phrases:

Her confirmation as the 66th secretary of state is a foregone conclusion; putting diplomacy at the top of the Bush administration's foreign policy agenda; when the United States took the lead in establishing international institutions; more seasoned players, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; with whom Ms. Rice has not always seen eye to eye; Will Ms. Rice be equally vocal?

Ex. 5. Find words in the article which correspond to the following defintions:

1. very active, determined or full of energy (para 3)

2. to make sb feel nervous and less confident about doing sth (para 4)

3. to take part in a short fight or argument (para 4)

4. to cause sb problem for a long time (para 6)

5. cause sth to develop or be pooduced (para 7)

6. to be un/successful in a particular situation (para 8)

7. the ability to understand another person's feelings, experience (para 10)

Ex. 6. Match the nouns and verbs as they are used in the article.

1. restore a problem

2. set b lead

3. strain c reputation

4. surmount d relation

5. take e course

Ex. 7. Replace the words in italics with a verb from A and a particle from B in the correct way:

A aimed aware depend fault prepare vary	B at for from on of (*2)

a The government is trying to reduce unemployment by 50%.

b Everybody should know about the risks involved.

c You can rely on her to deal with the situation.

d Her colleagues could criticize her dedication to the job.

e The whole class is working hard to make itself ready for the exam.

f The menu changes according to the season.

Ex. 8. Render the newspaper article.

Ex. 9. Read the text below, use the following words to complete it.

Counterparts, criticism, financial, laundering, prohibit, protests, sanctions, sponsor