VI. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the role of services in British economy? 2. What services does this sector include? 3. What does Britain’s banking system comprise? 4.What do you know about the Bank of England? 5. What kind of services do commercial banks provide? 6. What do building societies offer to their customers? 7. What can you say about international trade of Great Britain? 8. What are the main Britain’s exports?

VII. Translate into English:

1. Послуги вiдiграють важливу роль в економiцi Великобританiї i становлять бiльшу частину нацiонального доходу. 2. Цей сектор вклю­чає послуги у сферi охорони здоров’я, освiти, роздрiбної та оптової торгiвлi, туризму, фiнансiв та бiзнесу, страхування, транспорту та iн. 3. Послуги у сферi банкiвської справи, фiнансiв, страхування, бiзнесу та лiзингу становлять 14% загального обсягу виробництва. 4. Банкiвська система Великобританiї включає Банк Англiї, вiддiли зарубiжних банкiв та Спiвдружностi й житлово-будiвельнi товариства. 5. Банк Англiї дiє як урядовий банк. Вiн допомагає здiйснювати фiнансову та грошову полiтику уряду i здiйснює нагляд за дiяльнiстю банкiвської системи в цiлому. 6. Мiжнародна торгiвля вiдiграє суттєву роль в економiцi Вели­кобританiї. 7. З 1973 року Великобританія є членом Європейського Еконо­мiчного Співтовариства. 8. Великобританiя експортує автомобiлi, текстиль­нi вироби, машинне устаткування, лiтаки, електронну апаратуру та iн.

Reading drills

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

a) stress the first syllable:

industry, area, current, structure, occupy, heavy, steel, coal, part, service, health, care, concentrate, region, mineral, output, presently, bias, yield, mining, ferrous, automobile, locomotive, railway, airplane, harvester, integrate, process, light, lack, standard, innovate;

b) stress the second syllable:

considerable, deposit, industrial, towards, equipment, employ, produce, metallurgy, account, accept, however, unable, consumer, process, progressive, material, unwillingness, techniques, approach, initiative;

c) stress the third syllable:

education, metallurgical, technological.

Text C

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in British economy. It supplies nearly 2/3 of the country’s food and directly employs about 2.5 per cent of the working population. However its share¹ of the gross domestic product² is less than 3 per cent — the lowest figure among the developed countries.

Great Britain is self-sufficient³ in milk, eggs, to a very great extent⁴ in meat, potatoes and wheat. However it has to import butter, cheese, sugar, tea, fruit and some other agricultural products.

There are more than 250 thousand farms in Great Britan. Most of them are small family farms, where all the work is done by the farmer and his family. The tendency in agricultural development of the country is the disappearance⁵ of small traditional farms as they cannot compete⁶ with big industrial farms.

The types of farms are different in different regions of the country. In the East most farmers grow such crops as barley, wheat, sugar beets and potatoes. In the West climate is good for the production of farm animals. The greater part of the land here is used for dairy and beef cattle breeding, and sheep farming. There are a lot of farms where farmers grow some crops and breed some farm animals. These farms are known as mixed farms.

British agriculture is efficient for it is based on modern technology and research. The work in agricultural sector is highly mechanized. Computers and different agricultural machines are used by the farmers in Great Britain.