Текст 2 Belarusian economy
Belarus has a relatively well-developed industrial base. The country also has a broad agricultural base and a high education level.
Peat, the country's most valuable mineral resource, is used for fuel and fertilizer and in the chemical industry. Belarus also has deposits of clay, sand, chalk, dolomite, phosphorite, and rock and potassium salt.
Although not rich in minerals, Belarus has been found to have small deposits of iron ore, nonferrous metal ores, dolomite, potash (for fertilizer production), rock salt, phosphorites, refractory clay, sand for glass production, and various building materials. Belarus also has deposits of industrial diamonds, titanium, copper ore, lead, mercury, bauxite, nickel, vanadium, and amber.
Forests cover about a third of the land, and lumbering is an important occupation. Potatoes, flax, sugarbeets, rye, oats, and wheat are the chief agricultural products. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised. Belarus has only small reserves of petroleum and natural gas and imports most of its oil and gas from Russia.
The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earth movers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods. The chief trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany.
Belarus specializes mainly in machine building and instrument building (especially tractors, large trucks, machine tools, and automation equipment), in computers and electronics industry and in agricultural production.
Notes to the text
1. amber – янтарь
2. earth mover – экскаватор
Текст 3 Markets
A market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy. It is an arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things. Markets vary in size, range, geographic scale, location, types and variety of human communities, as well as the types of goods and services traded. Some examples include local farmers’ markets held in town squares or parking lots, shopping centers and shopping malls, international currency and commodity markets, legally created markets, and illegal markets such as the market for illicit drugs.
Types of markets
Although many markets exist in the traditional sense – such as a marketplace – there are various other types of markets and various organizational structures to assist their functions.
Financial markets facilitate the exchange of liquid assets. Most investors prefer investing in two markets, the stock markets and the bond markets.
Currency markets are used to trade one currency for another, and are often used for speculation on currency exchange rates.
The money market is the name for the global market for lending and borrowing.
A market can be organized as an auction, as a private electronic market, as a commodity wholesale market, as a shopping center, as a complex institution such as a stock market, and as an informal discussion between two individuals.
Most markets are regulated by state laws and regulations. While barter markets exist, most markets use currency or some other form of money.
Market economy or free market economy functions primarily depending upon the forces of the market, namely demand and supply. The institution of the market allocates and distributes commodities based on the principle of price determined by the interaction of the forces of the market.
Notes to the text
1.commodity market – товарный рынок
2. liquid assets – ликвидные активы, средства
3. stock markets – фондовая биржа
4. bond markets – рынок облигаций
5. currency markets – валютный рынок
6. exchange rate – обменный курс
7. wholesale market – оптовый рынок
8. demand – спрос
9. supply – предложение