English for Future Economists. Учебное пособие для студентов СПО, обучающихся по специальностям 38.02.01 – «Экономика и бухгалтерский учет (по отрасля

screen – there areno complicated controls and anyone can play with it. With a clever (j).............. campaign (aimed at adult gamers) in a very short time it achieves higher levels of sales than all its competitors.

2012 The Wii U is released. Its distinguishing hardware feature is the GamePad, a tablet-like controller which contains a touch screen that wirelessly streams a video output from the console. The Wii U features more-extensive online

functionality than the Wii, it also allows video chat. The Wii U is met with low adoption, attributed by Nintendo executives with lack of third-party support, poor marketing of the system. However, some critics argue that the Wii U still has advantages over PlayStation4 and Xbox One, including its lower (k).............. and notable early exclusives such as Super Mario 3D World.

2017 The Nintendo Switch is released. It is a hybrid device that can be used as a home console attached to a television, or as a tablet-like portable console. It features two detachable wireless controllers called Joy-Con, that

21

II. Find the English equivalents in the text.

III. Mark the sentences true (T) or false (F). Find the information in the text to prove your answer.

1.The company Nintendo was founded in the XIX century.

2.Nintendo and Mitsubishi Electric formed a partnership in 1965.

3.The first portable console was GameBoy.

4.Nintendo has never had any competitors.

5.In 2001 Sony released the PlayStation.

6.GameBoy Advanced was more successful than GameCube.

7.The Wii was the best-seller in 2006.

8.The Wii U was very popular and sold well.

9.The Nintendo Switch helped the company Nintendo make more money than GameCube, Wii and 3 DS.

IV. Answer the questions.

1.When and how did the history of the company Nintendo start?

2.What was their first product?

3.What happened in 1963?

4.Why did Nintendo form a partnership with Mitsubishi?

5.When did Nintendo launch the first console that you could carry in you pocket?

6.Why and when did the company’s sales suffer badly?

7.What did Nintendo concentrate on in 2004?

8.What saved the company from disaster?

9.Was Wii successful? Why?

10.How did the executives explain low adoption of Wii U?

11.Which is the most successful product of the company? Why do you think so?

22

V. Use the notes to speak about the company Nintendo.

1889 – playing cards

1963 – name Nintendo; games

1975 – a partnership → micro-processor technology

1983 – a console the NES

1989 – GameBoy

1994 – Sony → PlayStation; sales ↓

2001 – GameCube, GameBoy Advanced, handheld market 2004 – portable market – the Nintendo DS ↑↓ Sony’s PSP 2006 – the Wii, saves; “wand” → move, play, easy,

advertising campaign, adult → sales

2012 – Wii U, GamePad, wireless; low adoption

2017 – Nintendo Switch, hybrid device, wireless controllers, outsell

VI. Discussion points.

1.What do you think about computer games? Is it a good or a bad invention?

2.Why do people play computer games?

3.Why do they create computer games?

4.What can people do to save themselves from computer games addiction?

MONEY AND BANKING

Money is used for buying or selling goods, for measuring value and for storing wealth. Almost every society now has a money economy based on coins and paper notes of one kind or another. However, this has not always been true. In primitive societies, a system of barter was used. Barter was a system of direct exchange of goods. Somebody could exchange a sheep, for example, for anything in the market-place that they considered to be of equal value. Barter, however, was a very unsatisfactory system because people's precise needs seldom coincided. People needed a more practical system of exchange, and various money systems developed based on goods, which the members of a society recognized as having value. Cattle, grain, teeth, shells, feathers, skulls, salt, elephant tusks and tobacco have all been used. Precious metals gradually took over because, when made into coins, they were portable, durable, recognizable and divisible into larger and smaller units of value.

Money is sold in banks. No population centre in Europe and America, even the smallest one, is conceivable without a bank building. A small town may have several banks, and in a big city there are many of them. Like any business, a bank is after a profit, above all. In other words, a bank seeks to "buy" money cheaply (not necessarily from the Federal Reserve Bank), at an annual six-percent interest, for example, and to sell it dearly (as, say, credit

23

to a building company) at an annual interest rate of 11 percent. This is what the banks are busy doing. There are many variations within this pattern, of course.

Naturally, banks put their money where it brings them the highest profit. That is why they always keep up to date with the market situation. By shifting money of various "costs" from sphere to sphere, from one geographical region to another, the banks activity stimulates progress in industry, construction and agriculture. Besides, banks promote the growth – or cause the demise – of individual population centres or even whole regions.

Banks are interested in keeping most of their money in circulation so that it should bring them profit. They seek to reduce their lending rates in order to attract buyers. In their pursuit of high profit, the banks sometimes get involved in risky operations fraught with bankruptcy. Therefore, the Federal government takes measures to minimize the danger of banks going broke. Every bank is obliged to take out insurance against robbery or bankruptcy lest the clients should lose their money in any case.

Vocabulary notes

to measure – измерять;

value – ценность, полезность, стоимость, цена; to store – хранить;

equal – равный;

precious metal – драгоценный металл; to take over – захватить власть; annual – ежегодный;

interest – процент;

interestrate – ставка процента, ссудный процент; to keep up to – соблюдать, придерживаться;

to promote – способствовать, содействовать, стимулировать, активизировать; demise – прекращение деятельности; спад деловой активности;

to reduce – сокращать, уменьшать; lending rate – ссудный процент;

to go broke – обанкротиться, разориться; robbery – ограбление, кража.

I. Mark the sentences true (T) or false (F). Find the information in the text to prove your answer.

1.Money has only two functions: measuring value and storing wealth.

2.Modern economy is based on barter and paper notes.

3.Barter is a very inconvenient system.

24

4.Coins are more satisfactory than barter because they are portable, durable, recognizable and divisible.

5.Banks buy money cheaply and sell it dearly.

6.The information about market situation is not important for banks.

7.Banks can affect individual population centres and even whole regions.

8.The less money is in circulation, the more profit it brings to a bank.

9.When banks reduce their lending rates, they have fewer buyers.

10.Insurance against robbery or bankruptcy is one of government measures to minimize the danger of banks going broke.

d)an agreement with a company that they will pay you money if something of yours is lost or damaged;

e)coins or paper notes with their value printed on them, given and taken in buying and selling.

25

V. Find the best alternative to fill in the gap.

1.Money is used for buying or selling goods, for … value and for storing wealth.

a) activities; b) measuring; c) rate.

2.Various money systems developed based on goods, which the members of a society recognized as having … .

a) unit; b) value;

c) demise.

3.Banks put their money where it brings them the highest … .

a)profit;

b)robbery;

c)variation.

4.They seek to reduce their … rates in order to attract buyers. a) growth;

b) progress; c) lending.

5.Every bank is obliged to take out … against robbery or bankruptcy lest the clients should lose their money in any case.

a) insurance; b) exchange; c) shifting.

6.Banks are interested in keeping most of their money in … so that it should bring them profit.

a) variation; b) circulation; c) reserve.

VI. Answer the questions.

1.How is money used?

2.Is there any difference between the economies of primitive and modern societies?

3.Why is barter a very unsatisfactory system?

4.What money systems replaced barter? Why?

5.What do banks do?

6.Why do they keep up to date with the market situation?

7.How can banks stimulate progress in industry, construction and agriculture?

8.What do banks do to get more money? Is it safe?

9.Why is every bank obliged to take out insurance?

26

UNIT 5

YOUTUBE

Jawed Karim was a college student with a difference. For a start, he was not worried about the $100,000 cost of his master’s program at Stanford

University because he was already a millionaire. He first hit the Internet jackpot when eBay bought the online payment company he was working for. Then he got lucky again when Google agreed to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion.

When the deal was signed everybody was talking about two of YouTube's co-founders – Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. After all, they were the public face of YouTube. Most people didn't know that there was also a third cofounder of YouTube, Jawed Karim. In fact, he was the person who actually first proposed the idea.

Karim grew up in West Germany, but has lived in the USA since his family emigrated there when Karim started high school. His Bangladeshi father is a chemist at 3M, and his German mother is a professor at the University of Minnesota. Karim obtained his degree in computer science and engineering at the University of Illinois.

Hurley, Chen and Karim have known each other since they met as employees at PayPal, the payment service. When eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion, they all received substantial payments. Now rich, the three men often met late at night for brainstorming sessions at Max's Opera Cafe near Stanford, and discussed possible ventures. Karim said he originally pitched the concept of a video-sharing website to his friends because at the time it was difficult to download videos off the net.

The three agreed to divide up the work based on their different skills.

Hurley designed the site’s interface and logo while Chen and Karim shared responsibility for technical aspects. At a later stage, when it was necessary to take on management roles, Hurley became CEO and Chen the chief technology officer. However, Karim really wanted to return to his computer studies, so he chose not to be part of the management team. As a result he agreed to take a smaller stake than the other two founders, and not to take a salary or even a formal title because in his own words, he was "focused on school." Although, since then, he has continued in an informal advisory role, he admits it was the other two who actually turned the basic idea into reality.

Jawed Karim is not the first entrepreneur to lose his place in history. Popular wisdom, for example, says that Bill Gates started Microsoft and Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart on their own, but they too had co-founders. In any case, it is not likely that Karim has too many regrets. While his former colleagues continue to run YouTube, his dream is to teach and become a university professor. Whatever he does, money is not likely to be a problem.

27

I. Find words and phrases in the text which mean the same as the following.

a)win a lot of money;

b)had good luck;

c)agreement;

d)got his university qualification;

e)meeting to swap ideas;

f)presented an idea;

g)graphic layout;

h)stockholding;

i)large sums of money.

II. Use the words and phrases in 1 in the correct form to complete the following sentences.

1.I know people who ......... and are now very rich.

2.The company is a co-operative, so all the employees have a ......... in it.

3.In my country, it takes most people three years to .........

4.Many people in the financial world get ......... as bonuses for their work.

5.We had a ......... to find a solution to the delays in production.

6.If you ......... , it is always possible you will win the lottery.

7.Our company website has a very nice ......... which is simple for customers to use.

8.I have to .........to some important clients this afternoon, so I'm a bit nervous.

9.If you manage to negotiate a good ........., we’ll go out to celebrate this evening,

III. Write sentences which are true for you using the words and phrases in I.

28

V. Answer the questions.

1.Why isn’t Karim worried about money?

2.When did he get substantial payments?

3.Who are the co-founders of YouTube?

4.Where is Karim from? Who are his parents?

5.How did the co-founders of YouTube meet?

6.What was Karim’s new concept?

7.Why did it become so popular?

8.How did Hurley, Chen and Karim divide the work?

9.How did Karim’s studies influence his work?

10.What do Bill Gates, Sam Walton and Jawed Karim have in common?

11.What is Karim’s dream?

VI. How much of the story can you remember without looking? Use the following words summarize the story.

co-founders, employees, entrepreneur, management roles, West Germany, millionaire, smaller stake, university professor, video-sharing

BANKS

Pre-reading task

Answer the questions. Then scan the text and check your answers.

What are traditional bank services?

What types of banks do you know?

A bank [bæŋk] is a business that provides banking services for profit.

Traditional banking services include receiving deposits of money, lending money and processing transactions. Some banks (called Banks of Issue) issue banknotes as legal tender. Many banks offer ancillary financial services to make additional profit; for example: selling insurance products, investment products or stock broking.

Types of banks

Banks' activities can be characterized as retail banking, dealing directly with individuals and small businesses, and investment banking, relating to activities on the financial markets. Most banks are profit-making, private enterprises. However, some are owned by government, or are non-profit making. In some jurisdictions retail and investment activities are, or have been, separated by law. Central banks are non-commercial bodies or government agencies often charged with controlling interest rates and money supply across the whole economy. They act as Lender of last resort in event of a crisis.

29

Retail banks include commercial banks, savings banks, community banks, postal savings banks, private banks, offshore banks, ethical banks, building societies and landesbanks. The term commercial bank is used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank. Some use the term to refer to a bank or a division of a bank that mostly deals with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses. Savings banks in Europe keep their focus on retail banking: payments, savings products, credits and insurances for individuals or small and medium-sized enterprises. Apart from this retail focus, they also differ from commercial banks by their broadly decentralised distribution network, providing local and regional outreach and by their socially responsible approach to business and society.

Investment banks "underwrite" (guarantee the sale of) stock and bond issues, trade for their own accounts, make markets, and advise corporations on capital markets activities such as mergers and acquisitions.

A central bank, reserve bank or monetary authority, is an entity responsible for the monetary policy of its country or of a group of member states, such as the European Union. Its primary responsibility is to maintain the stability of the national currency and money supply, but more active duties include controlling subsidized loan interest rates, and acting as a "bailout" lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis (private banks often being integral to the national financial system).

Vocabulary notes

legal tender – законное платежное средство; ancillary – вспомогательный, добавочный; broking – маклерство, посредничество;

retail bank – банк, занимающийся обслуживанием мелкой клиентуры; profit-making – рентабельный, прибыльный;

government agency – правительственная организация (орган); interest rate – ставка процента, ссудный процент;

lender of last resort – последний кредитор в критической ситуации; savings bank – сберегательный банк;

community bank – местный банк, обслуживающий небольшой населенный пункт;

building society – жилищно-строительный кооператив; to distinguish – различать;

distribution network – (торгово-)распределительная сеть; outreach – переделы распространения; радиус действия; охват; stock – акция;

bond – облигация;

merger – поглощение, слияние, объединение;

30