Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:English of Global Economics. Учебное пособие
.pdf
30
development, but problems persist, including a shortage of skilled
labour, an inadequate infrastructure and insufficient raw materials.
More than four-fifths of Iran’s electricity is generated from
domestic fuels; hydropower provides the remainder. Foundations
for a national electrification network were laid in the 1970s, but
progress has been slow.
After the revolution in 1979, the Islamic republic nationalized all
major industries, banks and insurance companies. It committed
itself to heavy investment in both the agricultural sector and
selected industries, with the ultimate goal of economic independence,
but unstable internal conditions and the war with Iraq made
economic growth under such conditions impossible until the
mid-1990s, when reviving oil production helped to stabilize the
nation’s finances and free market initiatives sparked a rise in
domestic agricultural and industrial production. Petroleum and
petroleum products account for nearly all of Iran’s exports, and
major classes of imports include non-electrical machinery, iron
and steel, food and transport equipment.
well нефтяная скважина; refinery нефтеперерабатывающий завод;
to commit oneself связать себя обязательствами, принять на себя обя-
зательства; ultimate goal основная цель; to spark a rise оживлять, способствовать подъ¸му.
Unit One
***
Mining by mostly state-owned companies in Turkey accounts
for only a small proportion of the economy. Locally mined iron
ore, coal, lignite, bauxite and copper provide raw materials for
the country’s key manufacturing industries. Turkey is a major
producer of chromite, much of which is exported. The country’s
limited reserves of petroleum meet only a fraction of Turkey’s
needs, compelling it to use much of its foreign exchange to buy
oil imports. About half the country’s electricity is generated by
thermal power plants, with the remainder coming primarily from
hydroelectric sources.
Manufacturing employs about one-seventh of the workforce
and accounts for one-fifth of the GDP. Locally grown cotton and
low wages made textiles (including yarn, fabrics and rugs) the chief
industrial growth sector in the 1970s. The petrochemical industry
expanded rapidly in the early 1980s. Turkey has become the
INDUSTRY
Middle East’s leading steel producer, and its engineering industries
have grown rapidly. Tourism is also an important source of national
income.
lignite [!lignait] лигнит, бурый уголь; bauxite [!bɔksait] боксит; chromite
[!kroumait] хромит, хромистый железняк; yarn пряжа.
***
The growth of the industrial sector in South Korea was the
principal stimulus to economic development. In 1987 manufacturing
industries accounted for approximately 30 percent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent of the workforce.
Benefiting from strong domestic encouragement and foreign
aid, Seoul’s industrialists introduced modern technologies into
outmoded or newly built facilities at a rapid pace, increased the
production of commodities (especially those for sale in foreign
markets) and plowed the proceeds back into further industrial
expansion. As a result, industry altered the country’s landscape,
drawing millions of labourers to urban manufacturing centres.
In 1990 South Korean manufacturers planned a significant
shift toward high-technology industries, concentrating on the
production of new materials, industrial robotics, bioengineering,
microelectronics, fine chemistry and aerospace. This shift, however,
did not mean an immediate decline in heavy industries such
as automobile and ship production, which had dominated the
economy earlier.
In the 1990s South Korea was the world’s tenth largest steel
producer, accounting for 2.3 percent of world steel production,
and later on it continued to expand crude steel production.
Domestic demand for steel products increased mostly because of
the glowing needs of such steel-consuming industries as automobiles,
shipbuilding and electronics. It became the world’s sixth largest
manufacturer of consumer electronics, parts and components
including semiconductors. Manufacture of industrial electronics
also grew significantly. Although South Korean electronic goods
enjoyed substantial price competitiveness over Japanese products,
the electronics industry continued to be heavily dependent on
Japanese components, an important factor in South Korea’s
chronic trade deficit with Japan.
By the year 2000 significant shifts were occurring within the
electronics industry. South Korea had lost some of its cost
31
32
advantage to newer consumer electronics producers in South-East
Asia. At the same time, production of electronic components and
of industrial electronics, particularly computers and telecommunications
equipment, continued to expand to such an extent that overall
demand for South Korean electronics products was expected to
grow at an annual rate of 17 percent.
stimulus [!stimjuləs] стимул; to plow [plau] back реинвестировать; proceeds
[!prousi:dz] доход, поступления, выручка; crude steel термически необ
работанная сталь; cost advantage преимущество в затратах, обеспечи
ваемое низкими расходами на производство.
Ex. 9. Read the text and exchange opinions on the recent rise in oil
prices. What is the situation with oil prices now? What other
countries supply oil and why do you think they are not mentioned
in the article? Use current press material.
Not everyone is suffering from higher oil prices: the price for
crude oil has been above $40 a barrel for more than two years
and shows no sign of falling back, so the Organisation of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) will reap billions of dollars of extra
profit. Consuming countries, needless to say, are worried, even
angry. Prices have not been this high, in nominal terms, since they
spiked in 1990, at the time of the first Gulf war.
Energy ministers from the chief consuming countries are sure
to make their fears plain when they meet their OPEC counterparts
in Amsterdam next time. Anticipating trouble, the cartel’s ministers
have already signalled that they are likely to agree to increase
production quotas. Whether this will really mean more and cheaper
oil remains to be seen. Although OPEC can call forth more oil,
it is not the only inf luence on price — or, just now, the most
important.
Despite the high prices that Americans must pay (by their
standards) to fill their cars, that $50-a-barrel oil is doing much
economic harm — so far, anyway. After all, in the past couple
of years the global economy has gone from lethargy to lusty
growth. Indeed, that growth is one cause of the rise in the price
of oil.
One reason not to worry too much is that in real terms the
price is well below past peaks. In today’s money, oil prices hit
nearly $60 a barrel at the time of the first Gulf war and topped
$80 a barrel in the late 1970s. A second reason is that rich
Unit One
-
-
INDUSTRY
economies are less energy-intensive than they used to be. This is
chiefly due to a shift away from manufacturing to services, which
are less energy-intensive. In Europe and Japan, energy taxes have
also spurred efficiency. Petroleum’s share of OECD commodity
imports, in value terms, plunged from 13% in the late 1970s to
just 4% in the late 1990s.
Many developing countries are being hit hard. The International
Energy Agency says that their economies are more dependent on
imported oil and more energy-intensive than rich countries’, and
that they use energy less efficiently. On average, poor countries use
twice as much oil per unit of GDP as OECD countries do.
To-day’s oil prices are now entering “a danger zone” even for
rich countries. Analysts reckon that if prices stay at current levels
for a few more months America’s GDP growth rate will cool to 3%
or so by 2005. That is no catastrophe, but high oil prices will
nonetheless feed inf lationary expectations and will have much the
same effect on the economy as a tax increase.
The real worry is not the current price, but the thought of a
further rise. What if the price goes higher still, say to $50 or
beyond? That would be worse news, for sure. The rate of change
will probably matter: a slow climb would hurt less than a sudden
leap. A move from $20 to $40 has not choked the global economy;
another $20 rise, to $60, might.
To assess the chances of a further increase, it helps to know
what has driven the price to its current level. Typically, OPEC
bears most responsibility for oil-price increases. Equally typically,
it tries to pin the blame elsewhere. Nearly all OPEC members
(but not Saudi Arabia, by far the biggest producer) are cranking
out about as much oil as they can. And there truly is a speculative
frenzy going on. Trading of crude-oil futures on the New York
Mercantile Exchange has been near record highs recently, with
most bets placed on higher prices.
Underneath the speculation, though, lie two other factors:
demand and fear of terror. A factor that was not present in past
periods of price pressure is that demand from China has been
surging. There is a chance that this will prove temporary, especially
if Chinese officials’ efforts to cool down the economy are successful,
or if, as some think, the Chinese boom cannot be sustained.
More important that Chinese demand may have been overstated.
Though growing fast, China’s thirst for oil still pales in comparison
with America’s.
33
34
America, which consumes one-quarter of the world’s petroleum,
remains the world’s largest oil user by far. Most of that oil goes
into Americans’ cars, as petrol. Demand is strong. During the
summer driving season America’s oil infrastructure has some
severe bottlenecks. Because of a hodgepodge of environmental
regulations, the country’s petrol market is balkanised. The industry
has had to develop lots of “boutique” ([bu:!ti:k]) fuels to meet
local requirements. This makes it hard to ship fuel easily from state
to state, and contributes to local shortages. Worse, this year there
have been unusual maintenance problems at refineries.
The chief worry is that political unrest in the Middle East may
disrupt oil supplies for some time, and thereby deal a powerful
blow to the world economy. One area of concern is Iraq, where
repeated sabotage of the chief export pipeline to the north has
disrupted the country’s return to the world market. Now terrorist
attacks are also taking place in the south, the source of two-thirds
of Iraqi oil. The continuing political difficulties in Venezuela also
make traders nervous.
But the biggest fear by far is that terrorists might strike energy
targets inside Saudi Arabia. This was once unthinkable, but recent
weeks have seen precisely such attacks. Saudi Arabia matters not
only because it is the largest exporter of oil: it also happens to be
the only country with lots of idle capacity. The Saudis have used
this to export oil quickly whenever there is a sudden drop in
production. But what happens if Saudi output itself is severely
disrupted?
The oil price is therefore on a razor’s edge. There is less spare
capacity available today than at almost any time in the past
30 years, so prices could rocket if demand stays high and capacity
is lost to terrorism. At the same time, there are signs that the
run-up in petrol prices is already affecting demand (sales of oil
are down), suggesting that prices could yet even fall
4
.
Unit One
in nominal terms в номинальных цифрах; lusty growth значительный
рост; in real terms в реальном выражении, в неизменных ценах;
energy-intensive энерго¸мкий; in value terms в стоимостном выраже
нии, в стоимостных показателях; on average в среднем; inflationary
expectations инфляционные ожидания; frenzy безумие, неистовство;
the New York Mercantile Exchange Hью-Йоркская товарная биржа (энер
гоносителей); futures фьючерс, срочный контракт; bet ставка; to cool
down the economy «охладить» экономику, сдерживать экономику;
to overstate преувеличивать; hodgepodge мешанина, путаница; idle
-
-
INDUSTRY
capacity неиспользуемые мощности; refinery нефтеперерабатывающий
завод; spare capacity резервная мощность.
Ex. 10. Read the following text and explain why nuclear power looks
so “unattractive” and why its future is so uncertain.
The British government announced the second review of energy
strategy in two years, including whether to build a new set of
nuclear power plants. Many Westminster-watchers see the review
as a fig-leaf, needed only to justify a nuclear revival that has
already been decided on. The reasons for a rethink are high
energy prices, supply worries and climate change. All three are of
more concern now than they were a few years ago. Greenhouse
gas emissions are rising again. North Sea oil and gas reserves are
declining, and as Britain becomes a net energy importer, there
are fears about over-reliance on Russia and North Africa. Dearer
oil has sent utility bills spiralling upwards, while the prospect of
a cold winter pushed gas prices to record levels.
In principle, atomic energy looks like an attractive solution to
all these problems. Fuel costs have only a small effect on nuclear
electricity prices, unlike gas or coal-fired generation. Uranium
can be bought from stable countries like Canada and Australia.
And fission creates no greenhouse gases (although mining and
enriching the uranium do). The government also has a big hole in
power generation to fill caused by the closure within the next
18 years of all but one of the nuclear plants that currently supply
about a fifth of Britain’s electricity. Back in 2003, the government
said renewables such as wind or wave power were the answer.
Now it admits that they will not be enough.
Nuclear boosters claim that dear fossil fuel is here to stay, but
critics reckon gas prices will fall as new infrastructure is built.
What’s not in doubt is that emissions trading, which is now
catching on, makes carbon-free nuclear energy look much more
attractive than before.
The biggest problem with nuclear is still cost. Nuclear power
plants are long-lived and expensive. That makes their economics
extremely sensitive. Accounting assumptions about capital costs and
discount rates make a big difference, as do variations in electricity
prices. Historically, the industry has been a money-pit.
Up to now, ministers have insisted that any new plants be
paid for by the private sector. But worries about the political risks
attached to nuclear power and the fact the current carbon-trading
35
36
arrangements run only until 2008 have made investors reluctant
to get involved. Several studies have tried to guess how much new
reactors might cost, but their answers vary widely.
Not everybody thinks subsidies are bad. Those whose main aim
is to curb emissions, have floated the idea of a levy on fuel bills
to pay for new power stations. Such talk has upset some members
of parliament, about half of whom, according to a recent poll,
do not want new nuclear power plants. Despite the difficulties,
nuclear power looks as if it is on the way back
net energy importer чистый импорт¸р энергии; utility bills счета за
коммунальные услуги; to spiral [!spai
ный распад; renewables возобновляемые источники энергии; fossil fuel
ископаемое топливо; emissions trading торговля квотами на вредные
выбросы от предприятий; to catch on стать модным, понравиться;
carbon-free energy энергия, не выделяющая углекислый газ; accounting
assumptions уч¸тные оценки, расч¸ты; discount rate уч¸тная ставка (бан-
êà); money-pit бездонная денежная бочка; carbon-trading arrangements
соглашения по торговле квотами на загрязняющие атмосферу выбросы, содержащие углекислый газ; levy налог.
Ex. 11. Read the following text and speak on how the Japanese are
trying to make their old people’s lives comfortable and easy.
ərəl] повышаться; fission àòîì
5
.
Unit One
-
By 2015 one in four of all Japanese, or 30 million, will be
over 65. Already, more than 25,000 Japanese are over 100, and
that number is growing to rise fast. After all, average life expectancy,
now 82, is growing by almost 2.5 years every decade, while Japan’s
big baby-boom generation is just about to start moving into
retirement. It is all causing a good deal of hand-wringing among
policymakers contemplating a growing burden for the state and
for a shrinking workforce. But it is also causing a good deal of
hand-rubbing among businessmen, who see older Japanese as a
source of profit.
One of the biggest challenges will be providing affordable care
for more elderly, including the great majority still able to live at
home, but no longer with their children. Bringing in cheaper, foreign
nurses and carers is not an option in a political climate that is
so averse to immigration. So Japanese businesses are developing
suitably high-tech responses.
For instance, one Nagoya-based company, Synclayer, which
makes and integrates cable television and local-area networks,
has developed a means for old people still living at home to use
INDUSTRY
a device that takes basic medical measurements, such as blood
pressure and temperature, and sends them to a local health
database. The company also makes a sensor that can be placed
on (for example) the fringe door; every time the door is opened,
a message is sent over to the database, and from there health
workers or family members can be alerted if there is no fridge-going
activity.
The pioneer in bringing peace of mind to family or neighbours
is Zojirushi, Japan’s biggest maker of rice cookers and electric
kettles, which in Japan keep water hot all day for tea or miso
soup. The company has developed a wireless device which transmits
a message to the company’s server when the water-dispensing
button is pressed. Then, twice daily, the usage record is sent to
the designated mobile phone or e-mail address of family or friend.
A lot of work is being done on interactive robots that talk
to the elderly. Those on the market now are chief ly for comfort
and stimulation: they can chat about the weather, sing, and play
quiz games. An interactive doll, originally designed for boy-friendless
young girls, has become an unexpected hit with elderly single
women.
But, increasingly, the development work on robots is designed
either to assist the old with physical functions such as bathing
or lifting things, or to monitor health and well-being. Annual
demand for “service robots” (those not used for manufacturing)
could top $8.4 billion by 2015, and the elderly are likely to be
among the biggest customers.
Some products with the elderly in mind are designed for
ease-of-use. In a saturated market for mobile phones, Japan’s
second-biggest mobile company, KDDI, has had success among
older people with its Tu-ka phone, selling more than 100,000
subscriptions. Mobile handsets in Japan aimed at the young have
reached astounding levels of complexity, whereas Tu-ka phones
are marketed on the strength of their simplicity; they look and
work like traditional telephones.
So Japanese pensioners are living normal lives for longer and
have consumption patterns that are not different from those of
younger people, although they tend to spend more on services
6
and less on goods
.
37
average life expectancy средняя продолжительность жизни; to wring
one’s hands ломать руки (от отчаяния); to rub one’s hands потирать
38
руки (от удовольствия); averse нерасположенный, несклонный; sensor
датчик; fridge = refrigerator холодильник; miso soup суп мис
ционный японский суп); quiz games затейливые игры; handset микро
телефонная трубка.
Ex. 12. Drawing your information from the text speak on the
disagreements between industrial interests and environmental groups
concerning the production of hazardous chemicals.
The European Union is going to stiffen the rules on the import
and production of hazardous chemicals to minimise citizens’
exposure to them in their cars, homes, work and playgrounds.
The plan is to subject up to 30,000 substances to a procedure
known as REACH (registration, evaluation and authorisation
of chemicals). The European Commission produced a proposal
in 2003, since when industrial, consumer and environmental
groups have been lobbying hard. A consultation in 2003 led to
968 written responses, of which 587 alone came from Germany,
the home of thousands of small companies that handle complex
materials. All companies involved in mining, processing, manufacturing
or assembly inside Europe, or with the European market in mind
could be affected by REACH.
For that reason, lobbyists have included mining and processing
interests in Australia, Canada, Chile, and sub-Saharan Africa, to
name just the most vocal. American business associations have
also complained that the EU proposal cuts across broader plans
by the OECD and the World Trade Organisation. Small businesses
worldwide may be shut out of Europe by the cost of compliance,
many fear. An EU estimate of the cost to industry of abiding by
the new regulations ranges from 2.6 billion to 5.2 billion over
11 years. But the EU sees savings on the other side of the ledger.
By limiting exposure to hazardous materials, it foresees savings
in health-care costs of as much as 50 billion over the next
30 years. Even giant chemical companies agree tnat it would be
useful to know more about the chemicals people are exposed to.
Of the 30,000 substances identified by REACH, only about 10%
have been studied in any detail.
But while most people can accept the need for some legislation,
they disagree on precisely what it should say. There have been
bitter disagreements, even within the EU bureaucracy. The draft
REACH regulation, which European parliamentarians voted for,
contained more than 1,000 proposed amendments, of which fewer
than 300 survived.
ó (тради
Unit One
-
-
INDUSTRY
The result pleased neither industrialists, nor greens. Consumer
groups complained that REACH’s original concept had been
watered down — for example by waiving the registration of any
substance imported in quantities of less than one tonne a year.
Moreover, many other substances would require no more than
registration. The priority for screening potentially hazardous
substances would be set by volume rather than by other measures
of risk, which was the original plan.
The chemical industry was disappointed too, by a rule that
hazardous substances will be authorised for at most five years,
after which business must find a substitute, unless it can establish
some “socio-economic justification”.
Handlers of non-ferrous metals on the other hand were pleased
that ores and concentrates escape the new rules. So do oil-based
plastics — because they would have overwhelmed a new European
Chemicals Agency due to be set up in Helsinki to handle REACH.
Metals traders are forming consortia to standardise the treatment
of metals held in warehouses the world over for delivery against
futures contracts fearing that a two-tier market might otherwise
develop, one inside the EU and one outside. The greatest concern
is that an over-extended REACH would raise barriers around
Europe and suck raw materials and manufacturing in the direction
7
of India and China
.
39
hazardous [!hzədəs] опасный; exposure to chemicals подверженность
химическим веществам; authorisation разрешение; the OECD (the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Организация
экономического сотрудничества и развития; estimate [!estimit] пред
варительный подсч¸т, оценка; to abide by the new regulations выпол
нять новые правила; the other side of a ledger другая (левая) сторона
бухгалтерской книги (где записываются активы); to screen выбирать;
a substitute заменитель.
Ex. 13. Read the text and explain why recycling is so important, what
difficulties the industry has and why it is a risky business.
Recyclers think wistfully of 1995, when their greatest worry
was how to keep cardboard and old newspapers out of the
clutches of garbage bandits. Today, the stuff is hardly worth stealing.
Persistently low prices for recycled materials are causing the
$16 billion recycling industry no end of problems. The share price
of Waste Management, America’s largest garbage firm, fell by
over 9% after the company said that profits were f lat.
-
-
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]