Test Yourself

1.Найдите в тексте следующие слова:

Покупатель, производители, изменение рыночных цен, мебель, товары для дома, принцип эластичности, личная шкала предпочтений, товары первой необходимости, страхование, походы в театр, пища и кров.

2. Опираясь на текст, найдите русский эквивалент для следующих глаголов:

to mean, to fall, to choose, to decide, to reduce, to operate, to remain, to adjust, to suit, to lead.

3. Найдите в тексте эквиваленты для следующих словосочетаний:

побуждать производителей выпускать товар, удовлетворять рыночным условиям, делать доступным для потребителя, действовать в области спроса и предложения, сделать свой выбор, обеспечить комфорт и удобства, платить очень высокую цену, потратить весь доход, сократить производство.

4. Укажите правильные и неправильные утверждения, используя True/ False:

1. In any economic situation, a consumer will decide to buy a commodity only in terms of its particular utility to him.

2. A rise in prices tend to increase the supply of a commodity, while the fall in prices tend to reduce it.

3. The principle of elasticity operates in the area of demand.

4. People tend to spend their money according to their personal scale of preferences.

5. People will usually pay for food and housing even if this means spending all their income.

6. In cases like food and shelter, demand is elastic and responsive to changes in price.

5. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is ‘utility’?

2. How does utility vary?

3. What is the individual generally unable to change?

4. What happens with each successive purchase?

5. At what point will the consumer stop buying the commodity at the current price?

6. What is the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility?

7. When do economists talk about a Law of Supply?

8. When do economists talk about a Law of Demand?

9. When do we say that supply is elastic?

10. How do people exercise the choice to spend their money?

2. Из правой колонки выберите слово , сходное по значению со словом из левой колонки:

increase substitute quantity indicate relationship tendency decrease encourage marginal suit

replace adapt borderline stimulate inclination reduce connection show amount raise

7. Перефразируйте предложения, используя словосочетания из текста:

1. In most economic systems the prices of the majority of goods and services do not change over certain periods of time.

2. If a consumer buys more and more, he shows that his satisfaction is still greater than his dislike of losing money.

3. A point in time comes when the consumer stops buying cigarettes though they are unchanged.

4. If the price were higher, the consumer might bought fewer commodities.

Text 10. MONEY AND BANKING (I)

All values in the economic system are measured in terms of money. Our goods and services are sold for money, and that money is in turn exchanged for other goods and services. Coins are adequate for small transactions, while paper notes are used for general business. There is additionally a wider sense of the word 'money', covering anything which is used as a means of exchange, whatever form it may take. Originally, a valuable metal (gold, silver or copper) served as a constant store of value, and even today the American dollar is technically backed by the store of gold which the US government maintains. Because gold has been universally regarded as a very valuable metal, national currencies were for many years judged in terms of the so-called 'gold standard'. Nowadays however national currencies are considered to be as strong as the national economies which support them.

Valuable metal has generally been replaced by paper notes. These notes are issued by governments and authorized banks, and are known as 'legal tender'. Other arrangements such as cheques and money orders are not legal tender. They perform the function of substitute money and are known as 'instruments of credit'. Credit is offered only when creditors believe that they have a good chance of obtaining legal tender when they present such instruments at a bank or other authorized institution. If a man's assets are known to be considerable, then his credit will be good. If his assets are in doubt, then it may be difficult for him to obtain large sums of credit or even to pay for goods with a cheque.

The value of money is basically its value as a medium of exchange, or, as economists put it, its 'purchasing power'. This purchasing power is dependent on supply and demand. The demand for money is reckonable as the quantity needed to effect business transactions. An increase in business requires an increase in the amount of money coming into general circulation. But the demand for money is related not only to the quantity of business but also to the rapidity with which the business is done. The supply of money, on the other hand, is the actual amount in notes and coins available for business purposes. If too much money is available, its value decreases, and it does not buy as much as it did, say, five years earlier. This condition is known as 'inflation'.

Test Yourself

1. Найдите в тексте следующие слова:

Ценности, товары и услуги, небольшая сделка, ценный метал, национальная валюта, золотой запас, инструменты кредита, активы, «золотой стандарт», покупательская способность, инфляция, законное платежное средство.

2. Опираясь на текст, найдите русский эквивалент для следующих глаголов:

to measure, to exchange for, to cover, to serve, to maintain, to regard, to judge, to consider, to support, to replace, to issue, to obtain.

3. Найдите в тексте следующие словосочетания:

продавать за деньги, использовать как средство обмена, выполнять функцию денежного заместителя, получить большую сумму кредита, как говорят экономисты, оплатить товар чеком, влиять на деловые сделки, скорость с которой совершаются сделки.