VOA标准英语2010年-Report Says Russia Losing Edge in Scie

A recent report by Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Britain's Reuters news agency, indicates Russia is losing influence in science and science-based industries. Russia is also suffering a brain drain that is exacerbating¹ the problem.

The report says Russian science has suffered from drastic budget cuts since the collapse² of the Soviet³ Union in 1991.

Funding for Russia's best research institutes amounts to no more than five percent of comparable institutions in the United States, according to a source cited by Thomson Reuters.

 

In December, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev criticized Rosneft, the state run company that owns the world's largest oil and gas reserves, for spending only 15 one-thousandths of a percent of its revenues on research and development. "There is a need to change the ideology⁴ and psychology⁵ of doing business in modern conditions," he said. "One should work on this and stop sleeping."

Russia has also suffered a serious brain drain since 1991, the report says. An estimated 80,000 scientists have left the country in search of better pay, funding and facilities. 

Economist⁶ Mikhail Delyagin, director of Moscow's Problems of Globalization Institute, says bad working conditions, bureaucracy, and a lack of modernization⁷ are other factors driving away talent.

"Scientists in their institutes feel like serfs who work for completely ignorant people who do not know what they are talking about," Delyagin said. "In terms of their development, they have remained in the 20th and even the 19th century."

The average age for a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to the report, is over 50 (years old).

Sixty is the average in defense⁸ industries, says military analyst⁹ Pavel Felgenhauer.  "Young people (leaving the country) have emphasized salaries to support their families, because in many cases the military industrial complex has little money," he stated.

Universities that fail to transfer knowledge to the next generation are another problem Felgenhauer says. He blames corrupt¹⁰ professors who he claims are accepting bribes¹¹ in exchange for good grades.

President Medvedev says Russia should attract foreign experts to revive science in the country.  Mikhail Delyagin says such experts could threaten powerful Russian oil interests. "Why do we need bio-tech experts?  Why do we need energy efficiency experts? Introducing them means hitting the energy monopolist over the head.  Energy efficiency means fewer energy profits," Delyagin said.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the imprisoned¹² Kremlin critic and former head of the Yukos Oil Company, in a recent op-ed column, said Russia's demand for skills in fundamental and applied¹³ sciences is declining in light of the appetite for raw materials and corruption¹⁴.

 

1 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

12 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。