4. Look at the words in the box. Each of them can be stressed in two different ways. Why? What difference does it make?

Practice pronouncing the words with different stresses and then fill the gaps with one of the words in its correct form.

export	decrease	increase	record	protest
import	transport	progress	insult	produce

1. Scotland _______ a lot of its food from other countries.

2. Its _______ include oil, beef, and whisky.

3. It’s a pity, but Ukraine is not making a lot of ____ at the moment.

4. Ministers are worried. There has been an _____ in the number of unemployed.

5. But the number of crimes _____ , so that’s good news.

6. The cost of living ______ , so that’s bad news.

7. Britain ____ about 75% of its own oil.

8. There was a demonstration yesterday. People ____ about low salaries.

5. Give definitions of the key notions:

• What is export?

• What is import?

6. Answer the questions.

1. Why did people first start trading?

2. How much do we know about the early traders?

3. Why were luxuries, not necessities, the earliest goods to be traded?

4. What is the beginning of ocean travel associated with?

5. Did the British dominate the world’s trade by the 17 century?

6. Were tomatoes, potatoes, cocoa, green beans, and maize always cultivated in Europe?

7. What caused the modern pattern of world trade?

7. Think and discuss.

1. Do you agree that people’s tastes today are more homogeneous? Why? Which products are found in most parts of the world today?

2. What goods did Ukraine trade with in the past centuries?

3. What does this country import and export today?

__________________

Pre-reading task

1. Study and analyse the following model. Then look through the text and find four more sentences of the same model. Translate them.

Model:The countryis saidto increase export of goods.

Кажуть, що ця країна збільшує експорт товарів.

Text B

International Trade and National Economies

In modern world all countries participate in international trade. They trade because it’s in their interest to trade. Countries specialize in what they do most efficiently, i.e. where they can best use their resources, and buy what they don’t produce themselves. To measure the influence of international trade on national economy a notion of trade balance is used. It shows the difference between monetary value of export and import in the economy over certain period. The favorable trade balance should be positive, which means that export is bigger than import.

A positive balance is known to be a trade surplus,which means export exceeds import; a negative balance is known to be a trade deficit.

Countries differ in how much they participate in international trade. The level of a country’s openness influences international trade.

International markets for labour, capital, goods and services provide opportunities for people to work or study abroad and improve their lives. They increase competition and improve choice of goods and services. International markets reduce poverty and increase wealth, promote higher standards of living, working conditions, technology, education. International trade is considered to lower costs and retail prices which benefit consumers.

On the other side, international markets are believed to create unemployment, to lead to job losses in richer countries, to exploit workers in poorer countries, to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. International trade leads to damage to natural environment, local cultures and industries.

To support local industries countries set different barriers to free trade.The two main barriers are tariffs and subsidies. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, so that imports cannot compete so well against domestic products. Subsidies are money paid to domestic producers so that they can sell their products more cheaply than foreign competitors. There are also other barriers, like quotas, which limit the quantity of a product to be imported, as well as expensive licences and regulations, which slow down trading.

Sometimes firms dump goods in overseas markets, that is, they sell their goods at a very low price, usually for less than it costs the firm to produce the goods. The reason is increasing the market share there. The term used to describe such practices is dumping. To protect their economy from unfair competition governments introduce anti-dumping laws and taxes.

There are many international organizations which supervise international trade. They are WTO, WB (World Bank), which comprises IBRD (International Bank of Reconstruction and Development), EFTA (European Free Trade Organization), IMF, and some others. Nowadays there is a trend towards liberalizing trade and removing trade barriers. The most successful economies tend to have open markets and most of their industries have been deregulated.