7. Переведите текст в с английского языка на русский и ответьте на вопросы.

PRICES IN A MARKET ECONOMY

Prices perform two important economic functions: they ration scarce resources, and they motivate production.

As a general rule, the more scarce something is, the higher the price will be, and the fewer people will want to buy it. Economists describe this as the rationing affect of prices. In other words, since there is not enough of everything in a market system goods and services are allocated, on the base of their price.

Price increases and decreases also send messages to suppliers and potential suppliers of goods and services. As prices rise, the increase serves to attract additional producers. Similarly, price decreases drive producers out of the market. In this way prices encourage producers to increase or decrease their level of output. Economists refer to this as the production-motivating function of prices. Since producers are in business to earn profits, their decisions to produce specific goods and services will depend on their ability to earn a profit at a price consumers are willing to pay and quantity they will buy.

In a free market economy prices are determined by the interactions, buy and sell products that are identical to one another.

Demand is the quantity of goods or services that buyers will purchase at all possible prices. Demand varies inversely with price. That is, at a higher price fewer items would be bought than at a lower one. The degree to which the price changes affect demand will depend upon the elasticity of demand for a particular item.

Вопросы к тексту В. Переведите на русский язык и ответьте на данные вопросы?

1. How many economic functions do prices perform?

2. Does demand vary with price?

3. What influences the elasticity of demand for a particular item?

4. What happens if prices rise?

5. Higher price means more customers, does not it?

8. Составьте реферат текста c на русском языке.

HOW LARGE CORPORATIONS ARE ORGANIZED

Charter and bylaws. A corporate charter is a kind of license issued by the state in which a corporation has been created. Corporations also are required to have a set of rules by which they operate. These rules are called bylaws.

Stockholders. The stockholders are the owners of a corporation. If any member of your family owns shares of stock, that will make him or her a part-owner of the company. The number of stockholders in the publicly held corporations (those whose stock is sold to the public) can run into the hundreds of thousands. Some corporations are owned by more than a million stockholders.

With thousands of owners scattered from one end of the country to the other, large corporations need some way to operate efficiently. The election by the stockholders of a board of directors accomplishes this goal.

Board of directors. Corporate boards of directors are elected – usually annually. Decisions about funds for development, how to expand and what dividends are to be distributed to the stockholders remain with the directors.

Although ownership and management are separated in a large open corporation, stockholders can participate indirectly by exercising their right to vote.

Voting usually takes place at a corporation’s annual meeting. Stockholders unable to attend can submit a written authorization, known as a proxy, voting their shares as they instruct.