Vocabulary

laissez-faire policy политика невмешательства

take-away вычитать, отнимать

encourage поддерживать

inevitably неизбежно

brewer пивовар

to have repercussion on иметь влияние на . . .

watchful осторожный

waryподозрительный

Ex. 1. Read the text. Find ten words that you don’t know, check them in the dictionary

and give their translation.

To what extent should a government interfere in the economic system? There are two extremes in the spectrum. On the one hand a government can intervene minimally, allowing the forces of demand and supply and the price mechanism to determine what goods and services are to be produced. This is called a laissez-faire (or leave it alone) policy. The argument runs that people will vote with their money for the sorts of things they want. If they want to read a particular newspaper, they will buy it, and the newspaper will stay in business. If they do not like the newspaper, they will not buy it, and the newspaper will go out of business. The same applies to television sets and motor cars, holidays in Spain and Chinese take-aways.

At the other end of the spectrum is the centrally planned economy in which the government makes all the major decisions such as what is going to be produced, who is going to produce it, where it is going to be produced, and who is going to benefit from it when it is produced.

Most governments operate somewhere between these two extremes. In capitalist countries governments allow the business world get on with the jobs which satisfy the needs of the people. If they make profits, we will tax these profits and use the proceeds to support the Welfare State (which offers free education, subsidized health care and pensions) and defend ourselves against external aggression. There is, however, general agreement that some economic activities should be controlled by the state, which explains our nationalized industries.

In Britain governments concentrates their interest on controlling inflation, minimizing unemployment and encouraging economic growth. It is often the case that a policy which would be good for us in the short run would be against our interests in the long run. The point might be made in connection with a government's policy towards energy. In the short run we might benefit from a rapid disposal of our North Sea oil and gas supplies, but what happens when these supplies run out? Should the government intervene in these circumstances, or allow the multinational oil companies to make the crucial decisions?

Another problem facing a government in modern Britain is dealing with regional development. Inevitably, at the present time, as Britain draws closer to Europe economically, the south east of the country is prospering while the north goes into relative decline. Should the government let this happen or should it try to reverse the flow of people and jobs to the north. It is not an easy decision for a government to make because it seems wrong to let parts of the country decline while others prosper.

Whatever decisions are made by a government they are bound to affect the business community. If taxes are increased on beer, the brewers' profits will go down and jobs will be lost. If interest rates are lowered, businesses will borrow more from the banks, jobs will be created, but prices might rise and that means inflation. Whatever action a government takes it will have repercussions on the business community, which is why the captains of industry are so watchful and wary of their political masters.

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Ex. 2. Translate the passage in italics.

WORD STUDY

Ex. 3. Generate other forms from these words.

Verbs	Nouns	Adjectives
	government
to produce
	argue
		readable
to apply
	decision
		satisfactory
to profit
	activity
		defendable
to prosper
	decliner

Ex. 4. Match the words with their definitions.

_____ recession	a. something produced by effort
_____ needs	b. an article of commerce
_____ goods	c. success or wealth
_____ inflation	d. an economy in which business activities and the allocation of resources are determined by government
_____ prosperity	e. a period of increased business activity
_____ product	f. goods and services essential for living
_____ consumer	g. a business unit, a company, a firm
_____command economy	h. a progressive increase in the general level of money
_____ profit	i. the executive policy-making body of a political unit, community
_____ enterprise	j. a person who purchases goods and services for his own needs
_____ commodity	k. items of value that can be seen and touched
_____ government	l. the income held to be motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy

Ex. 5. Replace the words in italics by synonyms from the text.

1. To what extent should a government intervene in the economic system? ________________

2. The same refers to television sets and motor cars. __________________

3. . . .who is going to profit from it when it is produced __________________

4. In capitalist economies governments allow the business . . . _______________________

5. It often happens that a policy which would be good for us. . . _________________________

6. . . .but what happens when these supplies are over? ________________________

7. Whatever decisions are made by a government they are tied to affect. . . ________________

8. Whatever action a government takes it will influence the business community. ____________

Ex. 6. Find in the text English equivalents to the following phrases.

поощрять экономический рост __________________________________________________

свести до минимума уровень безработицы ________________________________________

запасы газа и нефти ____________________________________________________________

извлекать пользу из чего-либо ___________________________________________________

стоять перед проблемой ________________________________________________________

иметь дело с чем-либо __________________________________________________________

деловые круги _________________________________________________________________

процентная ставка _____________________________________________________________

предпринимать какие-либо действия ______________________________________________

промышленный магнат _________________________________________________________

Ex. 7. Read the following passage carefully. Then give a title to each paragraph.

The world faces an energy crisis in the not-too-distant future. For the time being there are plentiful supplies of oil, but this situation will not last. Oil supplies are finite, and what happens when the world's reserves are exhausted? In Britain we are comparatively fortunate. We have North Sea oil and gas, and they will give us self-sufficiency for another couple of decades. We also have substantial reserves of coal. According to some estimates our coal reserves could last for another sixty years. That should give us a breathing-space at least until alternative forms of energy are developed. There is a world wide search for new sources of energy.

The government of Saudi Arabia has been making encouraging progress in the development of solar energy. Plants they have built in the desert are turning the rays of the sun into a permanent sources of energy. The experiments have been so successful that when they eventually run out of oil, they will be switching to an even more durable form of energy.

Not only the government of Saudi Arabia has been working hard to develop solar energy. They have also been working hard to convert the desert to rich agricultural land. Impossible? By no means! Beneath the Arabian Desert lies an enormous water basin. The problem is to bring up those water supplies from the bowels (недра) of the earth. How to do it? They sink wells deep into the earth, seeking water this time instead of oil. As the water is drawn from the earth it is sprayed over the crops of wheat and vegetables and of course they flourish in such an environment. Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect all governments to play such a positive role in the development of their economy and the long term wellbeing of their people, but they do set the standards by which other governments can be judged.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________

УСРС “THE UNITED KINGDOM ECONOMY”

Ex. 1. Read the text. Find ten words that you don’t know, check them in the dictionary

and give their translation.

The United Kingdom is an industrial and commercial nation. The country is one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world. In terms of gross national product (GNP) it ranks fifth in the world, with Italy, after the United States, Japan, Germany and France. Most of the gross national product comes from manufacturing, mining and construction.

In industrial production the heavy industry occupies the leading place. Britain ranks as important steel producer. It exports nearly half of its finished steel. Britain also produces heavy machinery for industry, farming and mining. The country is one of the world’s largest producers of tractors. British aerospace industry is one of the largest in Western Europe. Britain is the fourth largest exporters of pharmaceuticals.

The industrial revolution began in Britain’s textile industry. Today Britain remains an important producer of cotton and woolen textiles. Britain has one of Europe’s largest clothing industries. British clothing has long been famous for its quality. Besides the above industries, food, drink, bricks, furniture, leather goods, glassware and paper are developed in Great Britain.

Service industries Finance, insurance and real property is the most important service industry in Britain. Britain is one of the wealthiest places in the world. Most of the country’s financial companies operate in London. Major financial institutions in London include The Bank of England, the United Kingdom’s national bank, the London Stock Exchange and Lloyd’s insurance society.

Wholesale and retail trade is the third most important service industry in Britain. London has thousands of small shops and attracts more that 15 million tourists each year. Tourism is another of Britain’s important service industries.

Natural resources. The United Kingdom is a major world producer of petroleum, coal and natural gas. These three fuels accounts for about 85 percent of the value of total mineral production in the country. Petroleum is Britain’s most valuable mineral. Today Britain’s oil wells provide nearly all the petroleum that the country uses and also supply petroleum for export.

Agriculture, one of Britain’s most important industries, supplies nearly two-thirds of the country’s food. Eighty percent of the land area is used for agriculture. The United Kingdom has about 240,000 farms. Many British farmers practice mixed farming – that is, they raise a variety of crops and animals. Britain’s most important crops are barley, potatoes, sugar beets and wheat.

Sheep are Britain’s chief livestock. Farmers in almost every part of the country raise sheep for meat and wool. British farmers also raise beef cattle, dairy cattle and hogs.

Trade. The United Kingdom ranks as a leading trading nation.. Britain exports aerospace equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and scientific and medical equipment. It imports clothing, foods (especially fish, fruit, vegetables, meat, coffee and tea), machinery, metals, motor vehicles, petroleum products and textiles.

Most of the United Kingdom’s trade is with other developed countries. France, Germany and the United States are Britain’s main customers and supplies. Other trade partners include Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Switzerland. Britain has a large merchant fleet. The ships in the fleet carry British-made goods to ports throughout the world and bring back needed imports.

The economic system. As in all European countries, the economic system in Britain is a mixture of private and public enterprise. From 1945 until 1980 the general trend was for the state to have more and more control over the country’s economy. Various industries became nationalized (in other words owned by the government), especially those concerned with production and distribution of energy. Transport system, communication services, education, health care were also nationalized. Between 1980 and 1994 a large number of companies were privatized (or “denationalized”). That is, the government sold them off. But the government still controls the production of coal, steel and ships it also runs railways and most civil aviation.

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Ex. 2. Match the words with their dictionary definitions.

____ capitalism a) the act of buying and selling goods and services either on the

domestic or on the international markets.

____ retail b) an economy in which some industries are privately owned and

others are publicly owned or nationalized.

____ trade c) an economic system based on the private ownership of the

means of production, distribution and exchange.

____ wholesale d) a country, firm or person that sells and sends goods to another

country.

____ exporter e) a person or business enterprise that generates goods or services

for sale.

____ producer f) the sale of goods individually or in small quantities to

customers.

____ mixed economy g) the sale of goods in large quantities, especially to retailers.

Ex. 3. Give the English equivalents for the following words and phrases.

промышленная революция ____________________________________________________

валовой национальный продукт ________________________________________________

финансовые учреждения ______________________________________________________

недвижимость_______________________________________________________________

мировой производитель _______________________________________________________

фондовая биржа ______________________________________________________________

смешанное сельское хозяйство __________________________________________________

торговый партнер _____________________________________________________________

торговый флот _____________________________________________________________

розничная торговля _________________________________________________________

Ex. 4. Group the following words into seven synonymous group.

domestic	important	naval	cheap
commercial	foreign	significant	leading
low-priced	mercantile	main	marine
national	overseas	chief	international

Ex. 5. Croup the words that follow into six antonymous groups.

cheap	full-time	low	personal
expensive	high	national	public
foreign	invisible	part-time	visible

Ex.6. Match the beginnings of the sentences to their ends using the information from the

text.

1. The industrial revolution began	a. manufacturing, mining and construction.
2. Finance, insurance and real property	b. is the third most important service industry in Britain
3. Most of the gross national product comes from	c. a mixture of private and public enterprise.
4. British aerospace industry is	d. in Britain’s textile industry.
5. The economic system in Britain is	e. the production of coal, steel and ships it also runs railways and most civil aviation.
6. The government still controls	f. practice mixed farming
7. Many British farmers	g. is the most important service industry in Britain.
8. Wholesale and retail trade	h. one of the largest in Western Europe.

Ex. 7. Multiple choice. Choose the correct answer.

1. The United Kingdom is

1. an industrial nation

2. a commercial nation

3. a developed nation

4. all of the above

2. The most important service industry in Britain is

1. finance, insurance and real property

2. community, social and personal service industries

3. wholesale and retail trade

4. none of the above

3. Major financial institutions in London include

1. the Bank of England

2. the United Kingdom’s national bank

3. the London Stock Exchange

4. all of the above

4. The industrial Revolution began in Britain’s

1. textile industry

2. coal industry

3. food industry

4. steel industry

5. Britain’s chief livestock are

1. beef cattle

2. chickens

3. sheep

4. hogs

6. The United Kingdom is a major world producer of

1. petroleum

2. coal

3. natural gas

4. all of the above

7. Most of the United Kingdom’s trade is with

1. Canada, Ireland and Japan

2. b) France Germany and the United States

3. c) Norway and Saudi Arabia

5. Sweden and Switzerland

8. The economic system of Great Britain is of

1. command type

2. traditional type

3. free-market type

4. mixed type

GRAMMAR REVIEW

Ex. 8. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense and voice form.

1. In the past clothes _________________(to make) by individuals, now clothes ____________(to make) both by individuals and at big factories.

2. __________prices for fuel ______________(to grow) last year?

3. All data ______________________(to consider) before a decision _____________(to make).

4. Climate ____________________(to become) warmer in recent decades and conditions for agriculture and industry ____________________(to change).

5. Energy scarcity __________________(to limit) further development of many industries now.

6. In the 1970s prices for oil ________________________(to grow) very fast.

7. Better equipment __________________________(to require) in order to increase efficiency.

8. Prices for all goods ________________________(to rise) twice in the USA since the 1950s.

9. When the factory ____________________(to produce) more goods, it _________________(to require) more resources.

10. After prices _______________(to rise), the demand for these goods _____________(to fall).

Text for written translation

Text 1 PRIVATISATION

Britain’s energy and transport industries were originally run by companies in the private sector. But in the late 1930s and 1940s these essential services were 195privatized195under huge state-owned corporations. In later years, the state took over other companies that were in economic difficulties in order to protect jobs: some car manufacturers (including Rolls-Royce) and shipbuilders became state-owned in this way.

From 1979 it was Conservative government policy to return 196privatized196n industries to the private sector. There was considerable political debate about this policy. The Labour Party, which had been responsible for privatizing many industries in the 1940s, felt they should be kept in state ownership. The Conservatives argued that he state ownership had brought no real benefits. They therefore196privatized whole industries, such as gas and telecommunications. They also encouraged local authorities, hospitals and schools to use private firms from outside for services such as cleaning and rubbish collection.

Text 2 SHARE OWNERSHIP

The sale of state-owned industries meant that share ownership increased. State corporations were turned into companies whose shares could be bought and sold on the stock market. For example British Telecom and British Gas shares were sold to the general public with huge advertising campaigns. On the other hand the National Freight Corporation was initially bought from the state by its own employees to preserve their jobs: shares were not available to the general public until five years later.

In 1979 less than a third of shares in the London stock market were owned by private individuals. The rest were owned by large financial institutions such as insurance companies, and the proportion of individuals owning shares had fallen far behind the rate in other western industrial countries.

Privatization altered the picture dramatically. However, it is impossible to say whether share ownership has made individuals generally richer as that depends on the state of the stock market at any given time.

Text 3 THE CITY OF LONDON

London has been an important centre for finance for many years. The financial district, known simply as “the City”, occupies one square mile of central London. It is the site of the original walled city, and still has its own Lord Mayor and local government. Until very recently it was the home of the “City gent” with black bowler hat and tightly rolled umbrella; the bowler is rarely seen today. I contrast to the entertainment district in the West End of London, the city is almost deserted at night. Although hundreds of thousands of people work in its offices by day, only about eight thousand actually live within the square mile.

Although the City is central to international finance, to many observers it seems increasingly independent of the British domestic economy. When London was an imperial capital , the City was its financial heart, but in the age of telecommunications, the City could be situated anywhere.

Text 4 THE STOCK OF EXCHANGE

London has had a Stock Exchange for dealing in stocks and shares for over 200 years. Since 1973 it has been the single International Stock Exchange for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In March 1986 membership of the London Stock Exchange was opened to overseas companies, and commissions became negotiable. In October 1986 it became possible for stockholders to deal in shares through telephones and computers instead of face-to-face on the floor of the Exchange. These dramatic changes in City practices became known as “Big Bang”: they linked London much more closely with the other major international financial centres in Tokyo and New York.

A number of international exchanges are also based in the City. These provide an international market where materials and services can be bought and sold. For example, the London Metal Exchange deals in industrial metals and the Baltic Exchange arranges the sale of half of the world’s ships and most of the world’s sea cargo.

УСРС “RECRUITMENT”

Ex. 1. So you chose a job ad, sent your resume to the company and they invited you to the interview. Are you nervous? Now try to imagine that you are a director of a company. What kind of a person would you employ? Tick the most essential features and give your reasons. Add your own variants.

• positive minded

• hard working

• with a good sense of humor

• intelligent

• sociable

• competitive

• self-motivated

• dedicated

• talkative

• experienced

• active

• determined to succeed

♦ enthusiastic

• brave .

You know that there are special newspapers dealing with recruitment. These are some job ads from such a newspaper. Look them through and choose an advertisement which attracts your attention at once.

1.

DX Communications in Scotland is a leading telecommunications company trading throughout the UK with subsidiaries in Ireland and Holland. Specialising in the sale of mobile phones and related telecommunications equipment, we are currently listed as one of the three fastest growing private companies in the UK. In line with this rapid growth, we are now looking to recruit the following key people.