2. Составьте словарь к тексту.

3. Прочитайте текст снова и письменно ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is the central economic problem of a society?

2. What is the market?

3. How are decisions made in a command economy?

4. In what way does a free market economy differ from a command economy?

5. Which type do most economies in the West belong to?

ВАРИАНТ 5

1. Прочитайте и письменно переведите на русский язык текст:

THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

1. The economy comprises millions of people and thousands of firms as well as the government and local authorities, all taking decisions about prices and wages, what to buy, sell, produce, export, import and many other matters. All these organizations and the decisions they take play a prominent part in shaping the business environment in which firms exist and operate.

2. The economy is complicated and difficult to control and predict, but it is certainly important to all businesses. You should be aware that there are times when businesses and individuals have plenty of funds to spend and there are times when they have to cut back on their spending. This can have enormous implications for business as a whole.

3. When the economy is enjoying a boom, firms experience high sales and general prosperity. At such times, unemployment is low and many firms will be investing funds to enable them to produce more. They do this because consumers have plenty of money to spend and firms expect high sales. It naturally follows that the state of the economy is a major factor in the success of firms.

4. However, during periods when people have less to spend many firms face hard times as their sales fall. Thus, the economic environment alters as the economy moves into a recession. At that time, total spending declines as income falls and unemployment rises. Consumers will purchase cheaper items and cut expenditure on luxury items such as televisions and cars.

5. Changes in the state of the economy affect all types of business. In the recession of the early 1990s the high street banks suffered badly. Profits declined and, in some cases, losses were incurred. This was because fewer people borrowed money from banks, thus denying them the opportunity to earn interest on loans, and a rising proportion of those who did borrow defaulted on repayment. These so-called "bad debts" cut profit margins substantially. Various forecasters reckoned that the National Westminster Bank's losses in the case of Robert Maxwell's collapsing business empire amounted to over £100 million.

2. Составьте словарь к тексту.

3. Прочитайте текст снова и письменно ответьте на вопросы:

1. What does the economy comprise?

2. What is a boom in the economy? What characterizes the state of the economy at that time?

3. What happens when the economy moves into a recession?

4. What are ‘bad debts’?

5. What happened to some banks in the early 1990s and why?

Тексты по направлению

221700.62 "Стандартизация и метрология"

ВАРИАНТ 1

1. Прочитайте и письменно переведите на русский язык текст:

UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

1. Real science has various recognized steps. It always begins with observation followed by classification and measurement. Classification has become the first step towards understanding of a new phenomenon. Phenomena known and unknown have to be put in some order before anything can be done with them. One further step in the process of putting them in order is measurement, which links science with mathematics on the one hand and with commercial and mechanical practice on the other.

2. Much of physics deals with measurements of physical quantities such as length, time, velocity, area, volume, mass, density, temperature and energy. Many of these quantities are interrelated. For example, velocity is length divided by time. Density is mass divided by volume. Volume is a length times a second length, times a third length. Most of the physical quantities are related to length, time and mass.

3. Practically there are three main systems of measurement in use today: the British system of units, the metric system of units and the (International) System of Units (SI). With a few exceptions nearly all the nations of the world use the metric system. The value of the MKS (metre-kilogram-second) system is that its various units possess simple and logical relationships among themselves, while the British system (the f. p. s. – foot-pound-second) is a very complicated one. For example, in the British system 1 mile is equal to 1,760 yards; 1 yard is equal to 3 feet, and 1 foot is equal to 12 inches. In the English system converting one unit into another is a hard job, while in the MKS system conversions of one unit to another can be carried out by shifts of a decimal point (comma in Russian writing). The SI Units is an internationally agreed system of units derived from the MKS system. The seven basic units in it are: the metre (m), kilogram (kg), second (s), ampere (a). Kelvin (K), mole (mol), and candle (cd).