The Economy of the United States of America

Vocabulary:

affiliate — принимать в члены, присоединять(ся)

aircraft — самолетостроение

altogether – всецело, в общей сложности

antitrust law – антимонопольный закон

anthracite — антрацит

bargain on a ... scale — вести переговоры на уров­не...

barley — ячмень

clay — глина

coke — кокс

combat collusion — бороться против тайного сго­вора

concern — забота

construction industry — строительная промыш­ленность

controversy — полемика, спор, ссора

copper — медь

corporate — относящийся к корпорациям (фир­мам)

crude — сырой

enforce — (принудительно) приводить в исполне­ние, осуществлять

estate — имущество, состояние

excise duty — акциз, акцизный сбор

fabric — ткань

farm holding — зд. фермерское хозяйство

feasible — возможный, годный, осуществимый

fostering of competition — создание условий, благоприятствующих конкуренции

gasoline — бензин (амер.)

household appliances – бытовые электроприборы

lamb — мясо молодого барашка

lead — свинец

levy — собирать (налоги)

livestock — домашний скот

machine tool — станок

maize — кукуруза

manpower — ручной труд

market shares — раздел рынков сбыта

marketing facilities — условия для сбыта

merger — зд. слияние фирм

mining and quarrying — разработка полезных ис­копаемых и камня

mutton — баранина

newsprint — газетная

phosphates — фосфаты

phosphoric — фосфорный

pig iron — чугун в чушках

potash — поташ, углекислый калий

purchaser — покупатель

quarrying — разработка открытых месторожде­ний, каменоломен

to be related to — зд. быть пропорциональным (чему-л.)

relative — сравнительный, относительный

with respect to — в отношении

rest heavily — зд. облагать (высокими ...)

revenue — доход

scatter — разбрасывать, рассеивать

self-sufficiency — самодостаточность

sheer — зд. один только

smelting — плавка (металла)

soybeans — соевые бобы

sorghum — сорго (хлебный злак)

sulfur — сера

sulfuric — серный

surge — резкий скачок

in terms of — зд. по (какому-то критерию)

tire — шина

treaty – договор

value added — добавленная стоимость

by virtue of — в силу, благодаря

wood pulp — пульпа, древесная масса

yield — зд. составлять

Part 1

Check-up the pronunciation of the following proper names:

• Alaska

• California

• the Gulf of Mexico

• Louisiana

• Oklahoma

• The Appalachians

• Wyoming

• Pennsylvania

• Minnesota

• Michigan

• Arizona

• Utah

• Montana

• Nevada

• Tennessee

• Missouri

The United States is among the leading industrial and agricultural nations of the Globe. It is the world's greatest economic power in terms of gross national product (GNP) and is among the greatest powers in terms of GNP per capita. The nation's wealth is partly a reflection of its rich natural resources and advanced agriculture, but the main factor, nevertheless, is its highly developed industry. International trade plays an important part in the U.S. economy, too.

The U.S. government plays only a small direct part in economic activity, being restricted to few agencies. Enterprises that are often in public hands in other countries, such as airlines and telephone systems, are run privately in the United States.

The principal effort of the government traditional­ly has been the fostering of competition through en­forcement of antitrust laws. These are designed to combat collusion among companies with respect to prices, output levels, or market shares and, where fea­sible, to prevent mergers that significantly reduce com­petition.

The major area of government regulation of eco­nomic activity is through fiscal and monetary policy. The government also influences certain sectors of the economy as a purchaser of goods, notably in the aircraft and aerospace industries. Proposals for gov­ernmental controls of prices and incomes have been a frequent source of much controversy.

Farming is a field in which the government strong­ly regulates private economic activity. It makes efforts to support farm incomes through payments to farm­ers, controls on output, price supports, and the provi­sion of storage and marketing facilities. One disad­vantage of the system is that payments are related to farm output, so that the benefit often goes to the larger commercial farms rather than to the so-called family farms that were originally the main object of governmental concern.

Nearly all of the federal government's revenues come from taxes. By far the most important source of tax revenue is the personal income tax. Excise duties yield another small percentage of total federal revenue, in­dividual states levying their own excise and sale tax­es. Federal excises rest heavily on alcohol, gasoline and tobacco. Another major source of revenue is so­cial insurance taxes and contributions.

The labour force in the United States is not highly organized. About three-fourths of those belonging to unions are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the nationwide federation of unions. Most unions in manufacturing bargain on a plant- or companywide scale. The U.S. economy benefits from rich natural re­sources. With only 5 percent of the world's output of coal, copper, and crude petroleum. The United States is the world's second largest petroleum-producing na­tion. The major producing fields are in Alaska, Cali­fornia, The Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Important reserves of natural gas are found in most of these same areas.

Coal deposits are concentrated largely in the Appa­lachians and in Wyoming. Pennsylvania produces the country's only anthracite. Iron ore is mined in Minne­sota and Michigan. Copper production is concentrated in the mountainous states of the West — in Arizona, Utah, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico. Zinc is mined in Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho, and New York. Lead mining is concentrated in Missouri. Important nonmetallic minerals are phosphates, potash, sulfur, stone, and clays.