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9.внутренняя (реальная) стоимость

10.законное платежное средство

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TES T 6

(Banking, Central Banking, Loans in the UK)

I. Match the terms with their definitions:

II.Put the words in the correct order:

1.The, of, on, to, and, a, its, nature bank, setting, largely, which, according, function, time, vary, central, depends.

2.Loans, as, and, are, irregularly, such, balloon, bullet, repaid.

3.Rate, as, loan, interest, the, is, the, the, in, market, determined, price, equilibrium.

4.“Legal tender”, coins, of,the, in, and, status, notes, have, circulation.

5. M ethods, central, banking, objectives, and, widely, commercial, differing, involve, and, functions.

III. Fill in the gaps with the words or word combinations in italics:

Transactions, customer, certified, loan, cheque, cash, cheque, currency, balloon

1.The most common means of payment, particularly for significant sums of money, is the … since it is both safer and more convenient than using … .

2.Central banking is an activity separate from ordinary … banking, because a cen-

tral bank usually has few … with private customers, dealing primarily with commercial bank and with the national government.

3.If a … wishes to make payments of large amounts of money by … and is not known to the creditor, then he may obtain a “… cheque” from the bank.

4.The hard and the soft … is given by one country to another on condition that the borrower repays it in the lender’s … or the borrower’s currency.

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5. The … loan is a loan where the repayments are unevenly distributed throughout the life of the loan.

IV. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones:

1.Paper money consists of notes issued by commercial banks.

2.Coins and bills of every denomination are called legal tender.

3.Central bank is a bank officially appointed by law to work closely with the gov-

ernment.

4.Commercial banking system is profit motivated.

5.Functions of commercial banks are unlimited.

6.Certified cheques are always guaranteed by a bank.

7.Bills of exchange are now used mainly in foreign trade.

8.The interest rate can’t be determined as the equilibrium price in the loan market.

V.Translate the following terms into English:

1.законное платежное средство

2.дорожный чек

3.коммерческий банк

4.выплатить по чеку

5.финансовый агент правительства

6.выпускать банкноты

7.льготный заем

8.заемщик

9.закладная на имущество

10.ссудный процент

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TES T 7

(Market Research, Marketing, Consumer Choice)

I. Match the terms with their definitions:

ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

II.Put the words in the correct order:

1.Prefers, since, the, more, consumer, to, indifference, less, must, downwards, curves, slope.

2.Sale, in, every, a, random, respondent, an, potential, has, of, chance, chosen, equal, being.

3.Reflect, curves, the, indifference, of, principle, a, marginal, diminishing, of, subs-

titution, rate.

4. Can, information, business, which, collect, is, from, sources, available, the, outside, business.

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5.Are, goods, if, the, quantity, normal, will, demanded, increase.

6.M ay, data, collected, primary, be, observation, survey, through, experiment , and.

III. Fill in the gaps with the words or word combinations in italics:

Substitute, accounts, tastes of preferences, equilibrium, budget constraint, primary data, observation, marketing, force, market research

1.The way in which the consumer ranks the alternatives available is called the consumer’s … .

2.The consumer’s … shows how the upper limit on consumption may be allocated among consumption patterns or goods at given prices.

3.M arketing is a … within the organization that encourages socially and ethically responsible behaviour in the market place.

4.There is little universal agreement onthe best or right definition of … .

5.Finding out about what consumers want and need, and what makes them buy, is called … .

6.…will give information about the value of sales and costs of production.

7.…are collected through direct investigation.

8.In a two-good world, a good whose quantity purchased moves t ogether with the

changes in the price of the other good is called … .

9.M aximizing consumer utility generates an … where the budget constraint and the highest possible indifference curve are tangential.

10.…can’t tell the supermarket anything about why shoppers are behaving in this or that way.

IV. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones:

1.When the product is launched, a carefully researched product stands less chance of failing.

2.Surveys cannot be useful for market research purposes if the questions asked are appropriate.

3.Research involving asking questions of people or organizations is called a questionnaire.

4.Product oriented business develops products which have been researched and designed to meet the needs of consumers.

5.In equilibrium the marginal rate of substitution between goods is equal to their

ratio of prices.

6. The cross elasticity of demand measures the proportional change in the quantity demanded of one good to a proportional price of another.

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7.The foundation of exchange is creating or adding value for the buyer.

8.To launch a new product is never very costly.

V.Translate the following terms into English:

1.предельная полезность

2.функции маркетинга

3.проводить опрос

4.бороться за покупателей

5.вопросник

6.конкурентные предложения

7.почтовый опрос

8.делать выбор

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Part III. Resource Tests

ALTERN ATIVE MARKET S TRUCTURES

I. Read the text. Some parts of the text have been taken out. These e x- tracts are listed below. Complete each gap with the appropriate extract. One se n- tence does not belong in any of the gaps.

a)The collective conduct of all the firms in the industry will affect the whole industry’s performance.

b)Some industries tend more to the competitive extreme, and thus their performance corresponds to some extend to perfect comp etition.

c)The price they face is that determined by the interaction of demand and supply in the whole market.

d)The market structure under which a firm operates will determine its beha-

viour.

e) Each firm is so small relative to the whole industry that it has no power to influence price.

It is traditional to divide industries into categories according to the degree of competition that exists between the firms within the industry. There are four such categories.

At one extreme is perfect competition, where there are very many firms competing. ___ (1) It is a price taker. At the other extreme is monopoly, where there is just one firm in the industry, and hence no competition from within the industry. In the middle comes monopolistic competition, where there are quite a lot of firms competing and where there is freedom for new firms to enter the industry, and oligopoly, where there are only a few firms and where entry for new firms is restricted.

___ (2) Firms under perfect competition will behave quite differently from firms that are monopolists, which will behave differently again from firms under oligopoly and monopolistic competition.

This behaviour (or “conduct”) will in turn affect the firm’s performance: its prices, profits, efficiency, etc. In many cases it will also affect other firms’ performance: their prices,profits, efficiency, etc. ___ (3)

Economists thus see a causal chain running from market structure to the performance of that industry.

Structure  Conduct  Performance

First, we shall look at the two extreme market structures: perfect competition and monopoly. Then we shall turn to look at the two intermediate cases of monop o- listic competition and oligopoly.

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These two intermediate cases are sometimes referred to collectively as i m- perfect competition. The vast majority of firms in the real world operate under imperfect competition. It is still worth studying the two extreme cases, however, because they provide the framework within which to understand the real world.

___ (4) Other industries tend more to the other extreme: for example, when there is one dominant firm and a few much smaller firms. In such cases, their performance corresponds more to monopoly.

II.For each question 1-4, mark one for the answer you choose.

1.Perfect competition is a market structure

A.where each firm produces a differentiated product.

B.where there is freedom of entry to the industry.

C.in which there are a few firms.

2. M onopoly is a market structure

A.where a unique product is produced.

B.where the firm is a price taker.

C.where there are no restrictions to the entry of new firms.

3. M onopolistic competition is a market structure

A.where there are a few firms.

B.where each firm produces a homogeneous product.

C.where each firm has some control over its price.

4. Oligopoly is a market structure

A.where there are a lot of firms.

B.where there are no barriers to the entry of new firms.

C.where firms produce either an undifferentiated product or a differentiated one.

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FREE-MARKET MED ICIN E IN RUS S IA

Is the Patient Recovering?

I. Read the text. Some parts of the text have been taken out. These extracts are listed below. Complete each gap with the appropriate extract. One se n- tence does not belong in any of the gaps.

a)No longer will the state guarantee employment and a moderate standard of living for all.

b)M any commentators began to wonder whether the economy could escape the slide into “hyperinflation” when money would become virtually worthless.

c)With the virtual abandonment of price controls, prices soared and by the

end of 1992 inflation had reached a massive 1354 per cent.

d)Consumer choice decreased, too.

e)Such an impressive reduction in inflation was due largely to government successfully capping its spending.

1. Reforming the old Soviet Union was never going to be easy. To replace central planning with free-markets and enterprise would involve a radical transformation of economic life. But following the rise to power of Boris Yeltsin in Russia in 1991, this is just what was attempted. The following policies were adopted in early 1992:

–Price controls on 90 per cent of items were abolished. But with shortages of most goods, it was hardly surprising that prices rose dramatically.

–Business was given easier access to foreign exchange, and foreign comp a- nies were encouraged to invest in Russia.

–The largest privatisation programme in the world was launched. In many of the new private companies, workers were to become the principal

shareholders.

These reforms represented a massive shock to the old system. ___ (1) These huge price increases led to falling demand, but the disruption to the economy also led to falling supply. In 1992 output fell by nearly 20 per cent and the purchasing power of wages fell by 40 per cent.

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2.The government’s budget deficit (the excess of government spending over government tax receipts) rose from 1.5 per cent of national income in the first quarter of 1992 to 15 per cent by the final quarter. Perhaps most significantly, the money supply rose nearly 600 per cent between January and October. ___ (2)

3.Critics argued that the costs of reform were intolerably high. The Russian economy, inherently weak and resistant to change, was unprepared for the radical nature of the policy and as such the reform programme could not be sustained. They highlighted the following weaknesses inherited from the old system:

–M any Russian companies are virtual monopoly producers. If they run into trouble, as many have done, this leads to huge shortages throughout the

economy.

–Industry, being used to taking orders from above, has been slow to adapt to economic change and the rigours of the marketplace. M uch of it is highly inefficient and wasteful, making a poor use of very scarce resources. Est i- mates suggest that in 1992 Russia used 15 times as much steel and 6 times

as much energy as the USA per unit of national output.

–With the freeing of prices, many firms in a monopoly position simply raised prices and reduced output. That way they could increase profits but with less effort.

Supporters of reform recognised these weaknesses, but maintained that they only strengthened the arguments for changing the old system. In addition, they argued that the reform package of 1991/2 did not go far enough. Price controls on certain goods remained. Price markups in state shops were limited to 25 per cent, oil prices were controlled and imports were subject to a 20 per cent tariff (customs duty).

4.Some supporters of reform argued that an economic slump was the medicine required to drive the old sickness out of the system. It would force inefficient producers out of the market, and the competition for survival would lead to greater productivity and ultimately to long-term prosperity.

5.Four years on, it appeared that the supporters of reform may have been right in their judgements. The Russian economy seemed to have turned the corner.

By mid-1996, annual inflation had fallen to 80 per cent. ___ (3) The government’s budget deficit was now well within the limits agreed with the International M onetary Fund. The rouble, after a disastrous collapse in 1994, seemed to have stabilised on the foreign exchange market. Output, however, was still falling. In 1995 output fell by 4 per cent. Nevertheless forecasters were predicting growth of upwards of 4 per cent for 1997 onwards.

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