7 Fill in the gaps with the following words

measured economies growth inputs output prosperity explained competitiveness

The importance of high productivity

High productivity is the key to fast economic __1__. Productivity can be __2__ in various ways, but the two most common measures are:

1) labour productivity or __3__ per worker or man hour;

2) total factor productivity or output in relation to all factor __4__ (total factor productivity is the residual growth in output not __5__ by labour, capital and other factor inputs).

Closing the productivity gap helps to deliver greater economic __6__ and rising living standards. In today's global economy, high productivity is import­ant in determining international __7__.

The figure below shows output per worker in four major __8__. It is clear that the USA leads in terms of labour productivity. The USA is often said to have the most 'flexible' labour force and that this is a significant cause of its higher productivity.

VOCABULARY

Key economic terms

Acronyms and abbreviations

Confusing words

1 accept/except

Do you _______ credit cards? / The government has few options _______ to keep interest rates high.

2 all together/ altogether

That'll be £52.50 _______, please. / It is wonderful to be ________ to celebrate your birthday.

3 appraise/apprise

The President has been ________ of the situation. / He coolly ________ the situation, deciding which person would be most likely to succeed.

4 assure/ensure/insure

Many companies won't ________ new or young drivers. / The airline is taking steps to ________ safety on its aircraft. / The unions _________ the new owners of the workers' loyalty to the company.

5 biannual (semiannual) /biennial/

happening twice a year / happening once every two years

LISTENING

Task 1. You will hear the recording of the economic text A lot of debt is not always bad. Listen to the speaker and put the sentences and phrases in order they appear in the text.

Federal budget deficit remains experts worried.	_________
The Eastern economies show interest towards American debts.	_________
The relationship between a public debt and the size of an economy.	_________
The US deficit in comparison with other nations' debts.	_________
The amount of foreign direct investment exceeds the size of the American debt.	_________
The USA debt and its place in the range of the other countries' debts.	_________
America's economic risks connected with the change of international strategies.	_________
Future expenditures will grow rapidly as a result of the government policies.	_________

Task 2. You will hear the recording of the economic text Competition in the US Insurance Industry. As you listen find English equivalents of the following Russian phrases.

справедливый рынок	__________________________________________________________
правоохранительные органы	__________________________________________________________
гражданское дело	__________________________________________________________
обман клиентов	__________________________________________________________
компенсировать убытки	__________________________________________________________
заявки	__________________________________________________________
создать видимость	__________________________________________________________
уголовные преступления	__________________________________________________________
немедленное приостановление	__________________________________________________________
обвинения в правонарушениях	__________________________________________________________
крупные выплаты	__________________________________________________________

Task 3.

A Listen to Rachel Babington, Head of PR at Disney Channel UK, talking about leaders and managers. Complete the notes at the top of the next column, using up to three words in each gap.

BYou will hear Rachel Babington talking about empowerment. Listen and complete the notes on what she says, using up to three words for each space.

WRITING

Task 1. Here are thirty verbs/verb phrases which are used to express changes. Which words could be used to describe the change or movement in each graph? Write the phrases in the column below the appropriate graph.

be stable deepen diminish dwindle fall improve maintain same level remain constant rocket slump

descend escalate double grow increase recover retain position shrink soar decline

decrease deteriorate drop expand hold firm jump reduce rise slow down suffer

A		B		C
____________	____________	____________	____________	____________	____________
____________	____________	____________	____________	____________	____________
____________	____________	____________	____________	____________	(5)
____________	____________	____________	____________
____________	____________	____________	____________
____________	(11)	____________	____________
		____________	____________ (14)

Task 2/A. Choose the graph (A-E) which best fits each sentence. You can use each graph more than once.

A

B

C

D

E

1 'Oil prices skyrocketed last week as fears over supplies grew.'

2 'The dollar-euro exchange rate remains steady at about 0.98.'

3 'Telecom shares plummeted on warnings of bad sales figures.'

4 'The FTSE 100 fell yesterday but bottomed out at 7,900.'

5 'Advent! Corporation shares advanced to $2.80.'

6 'Sales at Super Mart have stagnated over the past year.'

7 'Micro Sun shares soared yesterday on news of a possible bid.'

8 'The Hang Seng dived yesterday and closed at a five-year low.'