1 Курс II семестр
Варіант 1
Ex. 1 Study the vocabulary:
item – окремий предмет
buy (syn. purchase) - купувати
make choice – робити вибір
produce goods and services – виробляти товари та послуги
satisfy wants – задовольняти потреби
increase the production (ant. reduce) – збільшити виробництво
face with – стикатися з
scarcity – нестача, дефіцит
income (syn. profit)- прибуток
borrowing power – право запозичення
opportunity – сприятлива можливість
trade-offs – заміна
opportunity costs – альтернативні витрати
consumer –споживач
consumer sovereignty –суверенітет споживача
market price –ринкова економіка
seller - продавець
encourage –заохочувати
supplier –постачальник
operate –діяти, працювати
import tax –ввізний збір
drive up –витісняти
expensive –дорогий
substitute –замінник
equation –рівняння
supply –постачання
consumption –споживання
inputs –витрати
intermediate goods –проміжні товари, напівфабрикати
output –продукція (випуск товару)
Ex. 2 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary in writing. Do exercises after the text.
What is economics?
1. One of the things that people discover every day is that you can’t have everything. Although you may see twenty or thirty items that you would really like to buy, you know that you will have to limit your selection to one or two. Everyone goes through life having to make choices.
2. Every business, even sports teams, must choose from among the things they would like to have because they cannot have everything. Governments, too, cannot have everything. Every year the most important political debates concern questions about spending taxpayers’ money.
3. Neither individuals nor societies can have all the things they would like to have. There simply is not enough of everything. Economists note that there is no limit to the amount or kinds of things that people want. There is, however, a limit to the resources, things used to produce goods and services, available to satisfy those wants. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. In other words, when nation’s resources (all its workers, factories, farms, etc.) are fully employed, the only way it will be able to increase the production of one thing will be by reducing the production of something else.
4. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus every society is faced with the identical problem, the problem of scarcity.
5. Since there is not enough of everything, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize, to get the most from what they have. With this in mind, we can define economics as the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants.
6. The need to choose is imposed on us all by our income, wealth and ability to borrow. Individuals and families are limited by the size of their personal income, savings and ability to borrow. Similarly, business firms are limited by their profits, savings and borrowing power, and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
7. Income, savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government to purchase goods, products you can see or touch, and services, work performed for pay that benefits others. The problem that each must face, however, is that once the decision has been made to choose one set of alternatives, one loses the opportunity to choose the other. Economics describe these kinds of trade-offs as opportunity costs. The opportunity cost of something is its cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it.
Ex. 3 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Обмежувати вибір; робити вибір; витрати грошей платників податків; виробляти товари та послуги; задовольняти потреби; збільшити виробництво; скорочувати виробництво; людські потреби; проблема нестачі; комерційні фірми; соціальна наука; недостатні ресурси; особистий прибуток; право запозичення; здібність оподатковувати та позичати; купувати товари та послуги; набір альтернатив; альтернативні витрати; з точки зору.
Ex. 4 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. Everyone goes through life having … .
2. There is a limit to the resources, things used … , available … those … .
3. Thus every society is … the identical problem, the problem of … .
4. In the process everyone will try … , to get the most from what they have.
5. Similarly, business firms are limited by their … , savings and … , and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
6. … , savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government … , products you can see or touch, and … , work performed for pay that benefits others.
7. Economics describe these kinds of … as opportunity costs.
faced with; profits; trade-offs; services; income; borrowing power; to satisfy wants; to economize; to produce goods and services; scarcity; to make choices; to purchase goods |
Ex. 5 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. economics
2. resources
3. opportunity cost
4. services
5. goods
|
a). cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it b). products you can see or touch c). things used to produce goods and services available to satisfy wants d). the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants e). work performed for pay that benefits others
|
Ex. 6 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. Why is the need to choose imposed on everyone?
2. What is the problem of scarcity?
3. How can we define economics?
4. What is the opportunity cost of anything?
Ex. 7 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary orally. Translate paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 10 in writing. Do exercises after the text.
Consumers in a market economy
1. Consumers in both market and command economies make many of the same kinds of decisions: they buy food, clothing, housing, transportation up to the limits of their budgets, and wish they could afford to buy more. But consumers play a much more important role in the overall working of a market economy than they do in a command economy. In fact, market economies are sometimes described as systems of consumer sovereignty, because the day-to-day spending decisions by consumers determine what goods and services are produced in the economy. How does that happen?
2. Suppose a family -- Robert, Maria, and their children -- go shopping to buy food for a family dinner. They may originally be planning to buy products; but their plans will be strongly influenced by the market prices of those goods.
3. They may discover, for example, that the price of oranges has increased. There are several things that might cause those higher prices, such as freezing weather in areas where oranges are grown, which destroys a large part of the crop. The effect of the freeze is to leave the same number of consumers trying to buy a smaller number of oranges. At the old -- lower -- price, therefore, sellers would soon run out of oranges until the next harvest. Instead, by raising the price, all consumers are encouraged to cut back on the number of oranges they buy, and producers are encouraged to grow more oranges as fast as they can.
4. There is another possibility: suppliers could choose to import a larger number of oranges from other countries. International trade, when it is permitted to operate with relatively few barriers or import taxes (called tariffs), can give consumers wider choice and allow producers to offer more competitive prices for a wide range of products, from oranges to automobiles.
5. On the other hand, the orange crop might be spared freezing weather, but instead consumers decide to start buying more oranges and fewer apples. In other words, instead of the orange supply shrinking, demand increases. This, too, will drive up the price of oranges for a time, at least until growers have time to bring more oranges to market.
6. Whatever the reason for the higher price, Robert and Maria discover that the price is higher than they anticipated. They may well decide to buy fewer oranges than they had planned, or to buy apples or some other fruit instead. Because many other consumers make the same choices, oranges won't disappear from store shelves entirely. But they will be more expensive, so only the people who are willing and able to pay more for them will continue to buy them. Shortly, as more people start buying apples and other fruits as substitutes for oranges, the prices of those fruits will rise as well.
7. But the response of consumers is only one side, the demand side, of the equation that determines the price of oranges. What happens on the other side, the supply side? A price increase for oranges sends out a signal to all fruit growers -- people are paying more for fruit -- which tells the growers it will pay to use more resources to grow fruit now than they did in the past. Over time, all of different actions will increase the production of fruit and bring prices back down. But this whole process depends first and foremost on the basic decision by consumers to spend some part of their income on oranges and other fruits.
8. If consumers stop buying, or if they decide to spend less on a product -- for whatever reason -- prices will drop. If they buy more, increasing demand, the price will rise.
9. Keep in mind that this interaction of supply, demand, and price takes place at every level of the economy, not just with consumer goods sold to the public. Consumption refers to intermediate goods as well -- to the inputs that companies must purchase to provide their goods and services. The cost of these intermediate, or investment, goods will ripple throughout a market economy, changing the supply-and-demand equations at every level.
10. The other economic factor that consumers must consider carefully in making their purchases of goods and services is their own level of income. Most people earn their income from the work they perform. Some people also receive income by renting or selling land and other natural resources they own, as profit from a business or entrepreneurial venture.
11. Thus: 1) in a market economy the basic resources used to make the goods and services that satisfy consumer demands are owned by private consumers and households; and 2) the payments, or incomes, that households receive for these productive resources rise and fall -- and that fluctuation has a direct influence on the amount consumers are willing to spend for the goods and services they want and, in turn, on the output levels of the firms that sell those products.
Ex. 8 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Ринкова економіка; адміністративно-командна економіка; межі бюджетів; відігравати набагато більшу важливу роль; загальна дія (робота); рішення повсякденних витрат; залишити ту саму кількість споживачів; широкий вибір; з іншого боку; скорочення пропозиції (апельсинів); робити вибір; відповідь споживачів; посилати сигнали; використовувати більше ресурсів; збільшувати виробництво; знижувати ціни; витрачати менше на продукт; проміжні товари; економічний фактор; рівень прибутку; комерційна діяльність; задовольняти попити споживачів; прямий вплив.
Ex. 9 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. … economies are sometimes described as systems of consumer … , because the day-to-day spending decisions by … determine what goods and services are produced in the economy.
2. They may originally be planning to buy products; but their plans will be strongly … by the … of those goods.
3. … trade, when it is permitted to … with relatively few barriers or … , can give consumers wider choice and allow producers to offer more … prices for a wide … of products, from oranges to automobiles.
4. As more people start buying apples and other fruits as … for oranges, the prices of those fruits will rise as well.
5. But the response of consumers is only one side, the … side, of the … that determines the price of oranges.
6. … refers to … goods as well -- to the … that companies must purchase to … their goods and services.
7. Some people also receive income by renting or … land and other natural resources they own, as … from a business or entrepreneurial venture.
intermediate; provide; selling; international; operate; equation; inputs; influenced; consumption; import taxes; demand; substitutes; competitive; range; profit; market; consumers; sovereignty; market prices |
Ex. 10 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. demand 2. supply 3. consumer 4. tariffs 5. business |
a). the quantity of goods or services that sellers would offer for sale at all possible prices at a particular time and place b). import taxes c). entrepreneurial venture d). a person who buys goods and services for his or her personal needs e). a consumer’s ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place |
Ex. 11 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. What is the role of consumers in a market and command economies?
2. What is the demand side of the equation?
3. What is the supply side of the equation?
4. What is the role of international trade?
Ex. 12 Read and translate the text without a dictionary orally (time limit 10 min.).
List its main points in Ukrainian/Russian.
Before reading the text be sure that you know the following words and word
combinations:
branch - галузь
cast iron – чавун
oil processing – нафтопереробка
mercury – ртуть
animal husbandry – тваринництво
pipeline – нафтопровід
power transmission line – лінія електропередачі
Economy of Ukraine
Ukraine is a country that is developed in both industry and agriculture. It may be said to be an industrial-agricultural country.
Speaking about the industry of Ukraine, two branches should be mentioned as primarily in importance. The ferrous metallurgy industry, centered in the Pridniprovye Region (Kryvyi Rig, Zaporizhya, and Dnipropetrovsk), produces enough iron, cast iron and steel to satisfy the needs of the whole country, with more left over to export. The Ukrainian machine-engineering industry manufactures diesel locomotives, railway cars, automobiles, tractors, missiles, sea and river vessels, as well as equipment for metallurgy, mining, textile industries, electric motors, and industrial robots. For example, Dnipropetrovsk is also a city where missiles and spacecrafts are built. These spacecrafts are used for launching satellites, not only those of Ukraine and Russia, but of other countries, too. The country also supplies its domestic market with many household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, and TV –sets, among others.
Some other branches of industry that are well-developed in Ukraine are the cellulose paper industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, and oil processing.
Mining occupies an important place in the Economy of Ukraine. Speaking about Ukrainian mining, one thinks first of the coal mines of Donbas. But coal is probably not the most important mineral mined in the country. Iron, manganese, titanium and uranium ores, as well as salt, graphite, mercury, gypsum, and mineral paints are among the mineral deposits that Ukraine possesses in quantities large enough to fully satisfy its needs.
Ukraine has always been associated with grain production. The regions, or as they are called oblasts of Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Vinnitsa, Zaporizhya, Poltava, Kherson, and Mikolaiv are the major producers of grain. That and sugar production are the main branches of Ukrainian agriculture. Vinnitsa, Khmelnitsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Kyiv oblasts are leaders in sugar production. Ukraine produces 100 kg sugar per capita, twice exceeding its consumption. This is natural because of the characteristics of the country’s relief and climate. The territory of Ukraine is composed mostly of steppes and plains (over 95% of the land), and the country possesses 25% of all black soil in the world. These features provide a great potential for agriculture, especially grain production. Another agricultural asset is the moderately continental climate with 300-600 millimeters of precipitation a year.
In animal husbandry cattle raising and pig-breeding are prevailing. Currently poultry/rabbit-breeding as well as pond-fish culture are making progress.
The most important agricultural products exported from Ukraine are: dairy products, sugar, eggs and egg products, canned fruit and vegetables. One of the main reasons for low export to Europe is the lack of modern package.
The territory of Ukraine is permeated by rail-and motor-roads, navigable rivers, pipelines, air routes and power transmission lines, all forming a unified transport system. More than 23,000 km of railroads run through the territory of Ukraine. Some 274, 000 km of highways connect towns and villages of Ukraine. Such transcontinental oil and gas pipelines as “DRUZHBA”, “RPOGRESS” etc. are routed through its territory.
It may be said that Ukraine has everything to become one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Whether or not that happens will depend on the success of economic reform, how well a transition to a market economy is achieved, and free market mechanisms are introduced. Of great importance are foreign investments that could be a great stimulus to Ukraine’s economic development. Ukraine needs them, and foreign investors could have much greater profits if their investments were increased. One of the most favorable fields for investments at present is food processing industry supplying canned vegetables, fruit and oil to the external market.
Among the quickest –yielding investment sectors of the Ukrainian industry are natural gas production, tires, hosiery and knitwear, clothing, glass and porcelain, polymer construction materials, non-ferrous metals, ores, etc.
Ex. 13 Discussion points
1. The role of economics in people’s life.
2. Prove that consumers in a market economy play important role.
3. Prove that shifts in demand and supply affect prices.
Варіант 2
Ex. 1 Study the vocabulary:
item – окремий предмет
buy (syn. purchase) - купувати
make choice – робити вибір
produce goods and services – виробляти товари та послуги
satisfy wants – задовольняти потреби
increase the production (ant. reduce) – збільшити виробництво
face with – стикатися з
scarcity – нестача, дефіцит
income (syn. profit)- прибуток
borrowing power – право запозичення
opportunity – сприятлива можливість
trade-offs – заміна
opportunity costs – альтернативні витрати
the law of demand –закон попиту
ration scarce resources – нормувати недостатні ресурси
motivate production –мотивувати виробництво
rationing effect of prices –нормуючий ефект цін
supply - постачання
decrease –зменшувати
drive out of the market – витіснити з ринку
encourage –заохочувати
level of output –рівень виробництва
production-motivating function of prices –мотивуюча виробництво функція цін
substitute for–заміняти
diminishing marginal utility –спадна гранична корисність
consume –споживати
shape and slope –форма та нахил
curve –крива (лінія)
elasticity –еластичність, гнучкість
revenue test –тест на річний дохід
Ex. 2 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary in writing. Do exercises after the text.
What is economics?
1. One of the things that people discover every day is that you can’t have everything. Although you may see twenty or thirty items that you would really like to buy, you know that you will have to limit your selection to one or two. Everyone goes through life having to make choices.
2. Every business, even sports teams, must choose from among the things they would like to have because they cannot have everything. Governments, too, cannot have everything. Every year the most important political debates concern questions about spending taxpayers’ money.
3. Neither individuals nor societies can have all the things they would like to have. There simply is not enough of everything. Economists note that there is no limit to the amount or kinds of things that people want. There is, however, a limit to the resources, things used to produce goods and services, available to satisfy those wants. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. In other words, when nation’s resources (all its workers, factories, farms, etc.) are fully employed, the only way it will be able to increase the production of one thing will be by reducing the production of something else.
4. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus every society is faced with the identical problem, the problem of scarcity.
5. Since there is not enough of everything, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize, to get the most from what they have. With this in mind, we can define economics as the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants.
6. The need to choose is imposed on us all by our income, wealth and ability to borrow. Individuals and families are limited by the size of their personal income, savings and ability to borrow. Similarly, business firms are limited by their profits, savings and borrowing power, and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
7. Income, savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government to purchase goods, products you can see or touch, and services, work performed for pay that benefits others. The problem that each must face, however, is that once the decision has been made to choose one set of alternatives, one loses the opportunity to choose the other. Economics describe these kinds of trade-offs as opportunity costs. The opportunity cost of something is its cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it.
Ex. 3 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Обмежувати вибір; робити вибір; витрати грошей платників податків; виробляти товари та послуги; задовольняти потреби; збільшити виробництво; скорочувати виробництво; людські потреби; проблема нестачі; комерційні фірми; соціальна наука; недостатні ресурси; особистий прибуток; право запозичення; здібність оподатковувати та позичати; купувати товари та послуги; набір альтернатив; альтернативні витрати; з точки зору.
Ex. 4 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. Everyone goes through life having … .
2. There is a limit to the resources, things used … , available … those … .
3. Thus every society is … the identical problem, the problem of … .
4. In the process everyone will try … , to get the most from what they have.
5. Similarly, business firms are limited by their … , savings and … , and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
6. … , savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government … , products you can see or touch, and … , work performed for pay that benefits others.
7. Economics describe these kinds of … as opportunity costs.
faced with; profits; trade-offs; services; income; borrowing power; to satisfy wants; to economize; to produce goods and services; scarcity; to make choices; to purchase goods |
Ex. 5 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. economics
2. resources
3. opportunity cost
4. services
5. goods
|
a). cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it b). products you can see or touch c). things used to produce goods and services available to satisfy wants d). the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants e). work performed for pay that benefits others
|
Ex. 6 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. Why is the need to choose imposed on everyone?
2. What is the problem of scarcity?
3. How can we define economics?
4. What is the opportunity cost of anything?
Ex. 7 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary orally. Translate paragraphs 8, 9, 11 in writing. Do exercises after the text.
The Law of Demand. Elasticity of Demand.
1. Prices perform two important economic functions: they ration scarce resources, and they motivate production. As a general rule, the more scarce something is, the higher its price will be, and the fewer people will want to buy it. Economists describe this as the rationing effect of prices. In a market system goods and services are allocated, or distributed, based on their price.
2. Price increases and decreases also send messages to suppliers and potential suppliers of goods and services. As prices rise, the increase serves to attract additional producers. Similarly, price decreases drive producers out of the market. In this way prices encourage producers to increase or decrease their level of output. Economists refer to this as the production-motivating function of prices. But what causes prices to rise and fall in a market economy? The answer is demand!
3. Demand is a consumer’s willingness and ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place. The law of demand describes the relationship between prices and quality of goods and services that would be purchased at each price. It says that all else being equal, more items will be sold at a lower price than at a higher price.
4. Demand behaves the way it does for some of the following reasons: more people can afford to buy an item at a lower price than at a higher price.
5. Let’s see the law of demand from the point of ice-cream selling: At a lower price some people will substitute ice-cream for other items (such as candy bars or soft drinks), thereby increasing the demand. At a higher price some people will substitute other items for ice-cream.
6. How many ice-cream can a man eat? One, two, more? Some people will eat more than one if the price is low enough. Sooner or later, however, we reach the point where enjoyment decrease with every bite no matter how low is the cost. What is true of ice-cream applies to most everything. After a certain point is reached, the satisfaction from a good or service will begin to diminish. Economists describe this effect as diminishing marginal utility. “Utility” refers to the usefulness of something. Thus “diminishing marginal utility” is the economist’s way of describing the point reached when the last item consumed will be less satisfying than the one before.
7. Diminishing marginal utility helps to explain why lower prices are needed to increase the quantity demanded. Since your desire for a second ice-cream is less than it was for the first, you are not likely to buy more than one, except at a lower price. At even lower prices you might be willing to buy additional ice-creams and give them away.
8. The shape and slope of demand curves for different products are often quite different. If, for example, the price of a quart of milk were to triple, from $.80 to $2.40 a quart, people would buy less milk. Similarly, if the price of all cola drinks were to jump from $1 to $3 a quart (an identical percent increase), people would buy less cola. But even though both prices changed by the same percentage, the decrease in milk sales would probably be far less than the decrease in cola sales. This is because people can do without cola more easily than they can do without milk. The quantity of milk purchased is less sensitive to changes in price than is the quantity of cola. Economists would explain this by saying that the demand for cola is more elastic than the demand for milk. Elasticity describes how much a change in price affects the quantity demanded.
9. When the demand for an item is inelastic, a change in price will have a relatively small effect on the quantity demanded. When the demand for an item is elastic, a small change in price will have a relatively large effect on the quantity demanded.
10. Elasticity can also be measured by the “revenue test”. Total revenue is equal to the price multiplied by the number of units sold.
11. If, following a price increase, total revenue falls, the demand would be described as elastic. If total revenue were to increase following a price increase, the demand would be inelastic. Similarly, if total revenue increased following a price decrease, demand would be elastic. If the price decrease led to a decrease in total revenue, the demand for the item would be described as inelastic.
12. The demand for some goods and services will be inelastic for one or more of the following reason:
They are necessities.
It is difficult to find substitutes. Cola drinkers can switch to other soft drinks, but there are few substitutes for milk.
They are relatively inexpensive. People don’t change their buying habits when the price of something that is relatively inexpensive is increased or decreased.
It is difficult to delay a purchase. When your car is running out of gas you will buy it at the nearest gas station at any price.
Ex. 8 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Важливі економічні функції; недостатні ресурси; раціональний вплив цін; ринкова система; посилати повідомлення; приваблювати додаткових виробників; витісняти виробників з ринку; заохочувати виробників; рівень виробництва; ринкова економіка; якість товарів та послуг; досягати точки; починати зменшувати(ся); збільшувати кількість; падіння в продажу; зміна в ціні; мати відносно великий вплив; знаходити замінники; відносно недорогий; відкласти купівлю.
Ex. 9 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. … perform two important economic functions: they … scarce resources, and they … .
2. Price increases and … also send messages to … and potential suppliers of goods and services.
3. At a lower price some people will … ice-cream for other … .
4. After a certain point is reached, the satisfaction from a good or service will begin … .
5. The … of demand … for different products are often quite different
6. When the … for an item is inelastic, a … in price will have a relatively small … on the … demanded.
7. It is difficult to find … .
substitutes; shape and slope; quantity; suppliers; to diminish; demand; substitute; change; curves; effect; motivate production; items; decreases; prices; ration; |
Ex. 10 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. demand
2. the law of demand
3. diminishing marginal utility
4. elasticity
5. total revenue |
a). the point reached when the last item consumed will be less satisfying than the one before b). how much a change in price affects the quantity demanded c). a consumer’s willingness and ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place d). equal to the price multiplied by the number of units sold e). all else being equal, more items will be sold at a lower price than at a higher price |
Ex. 11 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. What roles do prices play in a market economy?
2. What is demand?
3. What is total revenue?
4. In what cases can the demand for some goods and services be inelastic?
Ex. 12 Read and translate the text without a dictionary orally (time limit 10 min.).
List its main points in Ukrainian/Russian.
Before reading the text be sure that you know the following words and word
combinations:
private enterprise – приватне підприємництво
excel – переважати
internal combustion engine – двигун внутрішнього згоряння
computer applications software – програмне забезпечення застосування комп’ютера
computer-aided design – автоматизоване проектування
computer simulation technique – метод комп’ютерного моделювання
combat aircraft – бойовий літак
Economy of Britain
Britain’s economy is based primarily on private enterprise. Private sector accounts for 79 per cent of output and 95 per cent of employment.
Manufacturing has an important role in the economy. Britain excels in high-technology industries, such as pharmaceutical, electronics, aerospace and offshore equipment, where British companies are among the world’s largest and most successful.
Britain’s industry is the third largest in Europe. Over half of its output is exported. Traditionally, Britain has been a major producer of basic industrial chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. ICI is the sixth largest chemical company in the world and world’s largest paint manufacturer.
Britain’s pharmaceutical industry is the world’s fourth biggest exporter of medicines, accounting for around 12 per cent of the world market. Glaxo Welcome became the largest pharmaceutical company in the world when Glaxo took over Welcome in 1995. British firms have discovered and developed 13 of the world’s fifty best-selling drugs.
Machine-building is an area where British firms excel, especially in construction equipment, wheeled tractors, internal combustion engines, textile machinery, medical equipment, pumps and compressors.
Britain has the fourth largest electronic industry in the world. Products include computers, communication equipment and a large variety of components. As well as an extensive range of computer hardware and associated equipment. British firms design computer applications software and are particularly strong in specialist markets such as computer-aided design (CAD), mathematical software, geographical information systems and data visualization. Major advances are being made by British firms and academic institutions in the field of “virtual reality”, a three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation technique.
Britain’s aerospace industry is the third largest in the Western world. British Aerospace (BA) produces both civil and military aircraft. The company has a 20 per cent share in the European multinational giant Airbus Industries, which manufactures a family of airbus airliners. It is also a partner in multinational projects, including the Tornado combat aircraft and the Eurofighter 2000, which made its first flight in 1994. Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s three prime manufacturers of aeroengines.
Britain has the largest energy resources of any country in the European Union and is a major producer of oil and natural gas. The main energy sources are coal, nuclear power and water power. The two largest British oil companies are British Petroleum (BP) and Shell Transport and Trading. In 1994 Britain’s oil and gas production from wells in the North Sea and on land amounted to nearly 2 per cent of GDP.
Services account for two –thirds of Britain’s GDP. The number of people employed in services rose from about 13 million in 1983 to 16.5 million in 1995. Britain is a major financial center, housing some of the world’s leading banking, insurance, and other financial services and markets. The heart of the financial industry is the collection of banks and markets in and around the City of London.
The prominent position of British commerce in world trade during the 18th and 19th centuries resulted largely from the geographical isolation of the British Isles from the wars and political troubles that afflicted the centres of trade on the European continent. The development of great trading companies, colonial expansion, and naval control of the high seas were corollary factors.
In the early 1990s Britain remained one of the world’s leading trading nations. Its major exports were road vehicles and other transportation equipment, industrial machinery, petroleum products, electrical machinery, office machines and data processing equipment. Trade with other Commonwealth members and with the sterling area (a group of countries whose currencies are tied to the British pound sterling) declined after Great Britain joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973, and trade with Western Europe has become more important.
Most domestic retail trade is conducted through independently owned shops, although the number of department, chain and cooperative stores and supermarkets is increasing. More than half of all wholesale trade is carried out in London.
Ex. 13 Discussion points
1. The role of economics in people’s life.
2. Prove that demand causes prices to rise and fall in a market economy.
3. Prove that the shape and slope of demand curves for different products are different.
Варіант 3
Ex. 1 Study the vocabulary:
item – окремий предмет
buy (syn. purchase) - купувати
make choice – робити вибір
produce goods and services – виробляти товари та послуги
satisfy wants – задовольняти потреби
increase the production (ant. reduce) – збільшити виробництво
face with – стикатися з
scarcity – нестача, дефіцит
income (syn. profit)- прибуток
borrowing power – право запозичення
opportunity – сприятлива можливість
trade-offs – заміна
opportunity costs – альтернативні витрати
the law of supply –закон постачання
market economy –ринкова економіка
encourage – заохочувати
forces of supply and demand –сили попиту та постачання
consumer - споживач
make a profit –отримувати прибуток
incentive –стимул
hinder production –перешкоджати виробництву
alter -змінювати
costs of production –витрати виробництва
shift –переміщення, переміщати
profit opportunities –можливість отримання прибутку
decline –зменшуватися, занепадати
interaction –взаємодія
equilibrium –рівновага
perfect competition –цілковита конкуренція
excess –надлишок
Ex. 2 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary in writing. Do exercises after the text.
What is economics?
1. One of the things that people discover every day is that you can’t have everything. Although you may see twenty or thirty items that you would really like to buy, you know that you will have to limit your selection to one or two. Everyone goes through life having to make choices.
2. Every business, even sports teams, must choose from among the things they would like to have because they cannot have everything. Governments, too, cannot have everything. Every year the most important political debates concern questions about spending taxpayers’ money.
3. Neither individuals nor societies can have all the things they would like to have. There simply is not enough of everything. Economists note that there is no limit to the amount or kinds of things that people want. There is, however, a limit to the resources, things used to produce goods and services, available to satisfy those wants. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. In other words, when nation’s resources (all its workers, factories, farms, etc.) are fully employed, the only way it will be able to increase the production of one thing will be by reducing the production of something else.
4. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus every society is faced with the identical problem, the problem of scarcity.
5. Since there is not enough of everything, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize, to get the most from what they have. With this in mind, we can define economics as the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants.
6. The need to choose is imposed on us all by our income, wealth and ability to borrow. Individuals and families are limited by the size of their personal income, savings and ability to borrow. Similarly, business firms are limited by their profits, savings and borrowing power, and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
7. Income, savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government to purchase goods, products you can see or touch, and services, work performed for pay that benefits others. The problem that each must face, however, is that once the decision has been made to choose one set of alternatives, one loses the opportunity to choose the other. Economics describe these kinds of trade-offs as opportunity costs. The opportunity cost of something is its cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it.
Ex. 3 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Обмежувати вибір; робити вибір; витрати грошей платників податків; виробляти товари та послуги; задовольняти потреби; збільшити виробництво; скорочувати виробництво; людські потреби; проблема нестачі; комерційні фірми; соціальна наука; недостатні ресурси; особистий прибуток; право запозичення; здібність оподатковувати та позичати; купувати товари та послуги; набір альтернатив; альтернативні витрати; з точки зору.
Ex. 4 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. Everyone goes through life having … .
2. There is a limit to the resources, things used … , available … those … .
3. Thus every society is … the identical problem, the problem of … .
4. In the process everyone will try … , to get the most from what they have.
5. Similarly, business firms are limited by their … , savings and … , and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
6. … , savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government … , products you can see or touch, and … , work performed for pay that benefits others.
7. Economics describe these kinds of … as opportunity costs.
faced with; profits; trade-offs; services; income; borrowing power; to satisfy wants; to economize; to produce goods and services; scarcity; to make choices; to purchase goods |
Ex. 5 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. economics
2. resources
3. opportunity cost
4. services
5. goods
|
a). cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it b). products you can see or touch c). things used to produce goods and services available to satisfy wants d). the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants e). work performed for pay that benefits others
|
Ex. 6 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. Why is the need to choose imposed on everyone?
2. What is the problem of scarcity?
3. How can we define economics?
4. What is the opportunity cost of anything?
Ex. 7 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary orally. Translate paragraphs 6, 10, 11 in writing. Do exercises after the text.
The Law of Supply. Changes in Supply.
1. Market economies are directed by prices. As the price of an item rises, sellers are encouraged to increase production, and consumers are discouraged from purchasing the item. When the price falls, the opposite is true. In this way prices send out “signals” to buyers and sellers, keeping the economy responsive to the forces of supply and demand.
2. Supply, which is the quantity of goods or services that sellers would offer for sale at all possible prices at a particular time and place, varies directly with price. The law of supply states that sellers will offer more of a product at a higher price and less at a lower price.
3. Why does the quantity of a product supplied change if its price rises or falls? The answer is that producers supply things to make a profit. The higher the price, the greater the incentive to produce and sell the product.
4. But supply of a product is not only influenced by price. Supply will be affected by anything that helps or hinders production or alters the costs of production.
5. The prices of goods and services are continually changing and so is the amount that is bought and sold. In winter the price of tomatoes tends to be a lot higher than in the summer and fewer tomatoes are brought in the winter. Similarly, the price of turkey tends to increase at Christmas and too does the number of turkeys bought. These changes can be explained by an increase in demand.
6. When supply changes, the entire supply curve shifts either to the right or to the left. This is simply another way of saying that sellers will be offering either more (if supply has increased) or less (if supply has decreased) of an item at every possible price. Any or all of the following changes are likely to affect the quantities supplied:
Changes in the cost of production. If it costs sellers less to produce their products, they will be able to offer more of them for sale. An increase in production costs will have the opposite effect – supply will decrease.
Other profit opportunities. Most producers can make more than one product. If the price of a product they have not been producing (but could if they choose to) increases, many will shift their output to that product.
Future expectations. If producers expect prices to increase in the future, they may increase their production now to be in position to profit later. Similarly, if prices are expected to decline in the future, producers may reduce production, and supply will fall.
7. Supply and demand schedules tell us how many items buyers would purchase and how many items sellers would offer at different prices. By themselves they do not tell us at what price goods or services would actually change hands. When the two forces are brought together, however, something quite significant takes place. The interaction of supply and demand will result in the establishment of an equilibrium or market price.
8. The market price is the one at which goods or services actually be exchanged for money. The price at which supply exactly equals demand is known as the market price, or the point of equilibrium. Market price can be represented graphically as the point of intersection of the supply and demand curves.
9. Shifts in supply or demand will affect market price. When everything else is held constant, an increase in demand will result in an increase in market price, and vice versa. Similarly, an increase in supply will result in a decrease in price, and vice versa. Changes in the costs of production can affect the supply of goods. Producers must pay the cost of production, which may change over time.
10. The market price is the only price that can exist for any length of time under perfect competitions. Perfect competition exists when the following conditions prevail:
Buyers and sellers have full knowledge of the prices quoted in the market.
There are many buyers and sellers so that no individual or group can control prices.
The products are identical with one another. Therefore, it would not make sense for buyers to pay more than the market price, nor sellers to accept less.
Buyers and sellers are free to enter or leave the market at will.
11. But why is the equilibrium price the only one that can exist for any length of time? The reason is: because of excess quantity demanded or excess quantity supplied.
12. The process of changes of demand and supply would continue until the quantity supplied exactly equaled the quantity demanded.
13. We may conclude that an excess quantity supplied will result in price decrease until a new equilibrium is reached. As long as supply and demand remain unchanged, the equilibrium or market price will remain constant.
Ex. 8 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Збільшити виробництво; посилати сигнали; чинники попиту та постачання; пропонувати для продажу; змінюватися безпосередньо з ціною; пропонувати продукту більше;отримувати прибуток; перешкоджати виробництву; ріст в попиті; можлива ціна; зміни в витратах виробництва; можливість отримання прибутку; збільшувати виробництво; зменшувати виробництво; змінювати сторони (напрямки); точка рівноваги; впливати на ринкову ціну; навпаки; потрапляти або залишати ринок за бажанням; проміжок часу.
Ex. 9 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. … are directed by prices.
2. As the price of an … rises, … are … to increase production, and … are discouraged from purchasing the item.
3. The higher the price, the greater the … to produce and … the product.
4. Supply will be affected by anything that helps or … or alters the … .
5. When supply … , the entire supply curve … either to the right or to the left.
6. If prices are expected to … in the future, producers may … , and supply will fall.
7. The equilibrium price is the only one that can exist for any length of time because of … quantity demanded or … quantity supplied.
incentive; shifts; costs of production; decline; sellers; changes; excess(2 times); reduce production; encouraged; consumers; sell; hinders production; market economies; item |
Ex. 10 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. supply
2. the law of supply
3. point of equilibrium (market price)
4. perfect competition
|
a). the price at which supply exactly equals demand b). a market situation in which there are identical products, freedom of entry, and a large number of buyers and sellers none of whom individually can affect price c). states that sellers will offer more of a product at a higher price and less at a lower price d). the quantity of goods or services that sellers would offer for sale at all possible prices at a particular time and place
|
Ex. 11 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. What is supply?
2. What affects the quantities supplied?
3. What will interaction of supply and demand result in?
4. Why is the equilibrium price the only one that can exist for any length of time?
Ex. 12 Read and translate the text without a dictionary orally (time limit 10 min.).
List its main points in Ukrainian/Russian.
Before reading the text be sure that you know the following words and word
combinations:
a bird’s eye view of – загальний огляд
steel mill – сталеливарний завод
Corn Belt – кукурудзяний пояс
livestock – поголів’я худоби
diversification – різноманітність
“gold rush” – “золота лихоманка”
headquarter – штаб-квартира
Economy of U.S.A.
The United States has the most technologically powerful, diverse, advanced, and largest economy in the world. To have a bird’s eye view of the country let us start from the Northeast, the place of the first European settlements. The skyscrapers of New York, the steel mills of Pittsburgh, the automobile plants of Detroit – these symbols of industrial American belong to this region.
Seeing this great area today, it is hard to realize that it was wilderness only three centuries ago. And even now, the visitor who expects only factories and crowded streets is surprised. In the Northeast, lie more wooded hills than factory chimneys, more farmhouses than office buildings. There are places of true wilderness, like the forests of the State of Main.
The sea means a lot here. From Long Island northward, the coast borders one of the world’s great “fish bowls”. Today, four of the eight heavily populated areas centered around the seaports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, which are also leading industrial centers.
The greatest part of America’s heavy industry depends on the resources found in the region of the Great Lakes: iron ore and coal. Steelmaking is basic in this region, but there are many other related industries – glass, nonferrous metals, chemicals, rubber and machinery. Chicago is sometimes called the Great Central Market of the nation. It is the railroad, meat packing, and grain center for the middle part of the country.
After leaving Chicago, you will cross Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. This is a vast farming region known as the Corn Belt. The land is fertile and well-watered, the climate is mildly continental. Nebraska specializes in wheat, Iowa and Illinois grow wheat and corn, and much livestock is raised here. Corn is the most important of all American crops. Extensive use of machinery allows an average farmer to cultivate 100-140 hectares without any help. Most farm families do “commercial farming”: they raise products for sale and not for their own use.
Turning south, we come to the land of old-time cotton plantations. While cotton remains the basic crop, the region has seen a significant trend toward diversification. Nowadays, southern states produce rice and fruit, tobacco and melons. The vast plains are good for raising sheep and cattle. Rich oil fields of Texas have brought new wealth to the region.
The Rocky Mountains, stretching all the way from Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, are rich in mineral deposits. The gold found in 1868 attracted thousands of people, starting the famous “gold rush”. Other valuable ores are copper, lead and silver.
The West Coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean. These lands are famous for their fertile soil, giant forests and fishing. At cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, goods from Asia and South Pacific region are unloaded, while fruit, grain, fish, timber or machines are put aboard ships going to ports all over the world.
The West Coast cities are important industrial center. Seattle houses the headquarters of the Boeing Company leading the nation in producing multi-engine jet aircraft. Silicon Valley near San Francisco, where more than 4, 000 high-tech firms are located, is the first and biggest electronic research and production area.
California is one of the highest producing farm regions in the United States. Pears, peaches, olives, oranges and grapes ripen in its sunny orchards; grain and cotton grow all year in its farms; sheep and cattle feed in its pastures.
Foreign, or international, trade enables the United States to specialize in producing those goods it is best suited to make from its available resources. The United States is the world’s leading trading nation. Non-agricultural products usually account for approximately 90% of the yearly value of exports and agricultural products for about 0%. Machinery and transportation equipment make up the leading categories of exports, amounting together to one-third of the value of all exports. Other leading exports include electrical equipment, chemicals, precision instruments, and food products.
Canada, Japan, and Mexico are the country’s most important trade partners; they provide the markets for 41% of total annual U.S. exports and are the source of 44% of the nation’s imports.
Ex. 13 Discussion points
1. The role of economics in people’s life.
2. Prove that supply varies directly with price and demand.
3. Prove that shifts in supply or demand will affect market price.
Варіант 4
Ex. 1 Study the vocabulary:
item – окремий предмет
buy (syn. purchase) - купувати
make choice – робити вибір
produce goods and services – виробляти товари та послуги
satisfy wants – задовольняти потреби
increase the production (ant. reduce) – збільшити виробництво
face with – стикатися з
scarcity – нестача, дефіцит
income (syn. profit)- прибуток
borrowing power – право запозичення
opportunity – сприятлива можливість
trade-offs – заміна
opportunity costs – альтернативні витрати
consumer –споживач
consumer sovereignty –суверенітет споживача
market price –ринкова економіка
seller - продавець
encourage –заохочувати
supplier –постачальник
operate –діяти, працювати
import tax –ввізний збір
drive up –витісняти
expensive –дорогий
substitute –замінник
equation –рівняння
supply –постачання
consumption –споживання
inputs –витрати
intermediate goods –проміжні товари, напівфабрикати
output –продукція (випуск товару)
Ex. 2 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary in writing. Do exercises after the text.
What is economics?
1. One of the things that people discover every day is that you can’t have everything. Although you may see twenty or thirty items that you would really like to buy, you know that you will have to limit your selection to one or two. Everyone goes through life having to make choices.
2. Every business, even sports teams, must choose from among the things they would like to have because they cannot have everything. Governments, too, cannot have everything. Every year the most important political debates concern questions about spending taxpayers’ money.
3. Neither individuals nor societies can have all the things they would like to have. There simply is not enough of everything. Economists note that there is no limit to the amount or kinds of things that people want. There is, however, a limit to the resources, things used to produce goods and services, available to satisfy those wants. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. In other words, when nation’s resources (all its workers, factories, farms, etc.) are fully employed, the only way it will be able to increase the production of one thing will be by reducing the production of something else.
4. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus every society is faced with the identical problem, the problem of scarcity.
5. Since there is not enough of everything, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize, to get the most from what they have. With this in mind, we can define economics as the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants.
6. The need to choose is imposed on us all by our income, wealth and ability to borrow. Individuals and families are limited by the size of their personal income, savings and ability to borrow. Similarly, business firms are limited by their profits, savings and borrowing power, and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
7. Income, savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government to purchase goods, products you can see or touch, and services, work performed for pay that benefits others. The problem that each must face, however, is that once the decision has been made to choose one set of alternatives, one loses the opportunity to choose the other. Economics describe these kinds of trade-offs as opportunity costs. The opportunity cost of something is its cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it.
Ex. 3 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Обмежувати вибір; робити вибір; витрати грошей платників податків; виробляти товари та послуги; задовольняти потреби; збільшити виробництво; скорочувати виробництво; людські потреби; проблема нестачі; комерційні фірми; соціальна наука; недостатні ресурси; особистий прибуток; право запозичення; здібність оподатковувати та позичати; купувати товари та послуги; набір альтернатив; альтернативні витрати; з точки зору.
Ex. 4 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. Everyone goes through life having … .
2. There is a limit to the resources, things used … , available … those … .
3. Thus every society is … the identical problem, the problem of … .
4. In the process everyone will try … , to get the most from what they have.
5. Similarly, business firms are limited by their … , savings and … , and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
6. … , savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government … , products you can see or touch, and … , work performed for pay that benefits others.
7. Economics describe these kinds of … as opportunity costs.
faced with; profits; trade-offs; services; income; borrowing power; to satisfy wants; to economize; to produce goods and services; scarcity; to make choices; to purchase goods |
Ex. 5 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. economics
2. resources
3. opportunity cost
4. services
5. goods
|
a). cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it b). products you can see or touch c). things used to produce goods and services available to satisfy wants d). the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants e). work performed for pay that benefits others
|
Ex. 6 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. Why is the need to choose imposed on everyone?
2. What is the problem of scarcity?
3. How can we define economics?
4. What is the opportunity cost of anything?
Ex. 7 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary orally. Translate paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 10 in writing. Do exercises after the text.
Consumers in a market economy
1. Consumers in both market and command economies make many of the same kinds of decisions: they buy food, clothing, housing, transportation up to the limits of their budgets, and wish they could afford to buy more. But consumers play a much more important role in the overall working of a market economy than they do in a command economy. In fact, market economies are sometimes described as systems of consumer sovereignty, because the day-to-day spending decisions by consumers determine what goods and services are produced in the economy. How does that happen?
2. Suppose a family -- Robert, Maria, and their children -- go shopping to buy food for a family dinner. They may originally be planning to buy products; but their plans will be strongly influenced by the market prices of those goods.
3. They may discover, for example, that the price of oranges has increased. There are several things that might cause those higher prices, such as freezing weather in areas where oranges are grown, which destroys a large part of the crop. The effect of the freeze is to leave the same number of consumers trying to buy a smaller number of oranges. At the old -- lower -- price, therefore, sellers would soon run out of oranges until the next harvest. Instead, by raising the price, all consumers are encouraged to cut back on the number of oranges they buy, and producers are encouraged to grow more oranges as fast as they can.
4. There is another possibility: suppliers could choose to import a larger number of oranges from other countries. International trade, when it is permitted to operate with relatively few barriers or import taxes (called tariffs), can give consumers wider choice and allow producers to offer more competitive prices for a wide range of products, from oranges to automobiles.
5. On the other hand, the orange crop might be spared freezing weather, but instead consumers decide to start buying more oranges and fewer apples. In other words, instead of the orange supply shrinking, demand increases. This, too, will drive up the price of oranges for a time, at least until growers have time to bring more oranges to market.
6. Whatever the reason for the higher price, Robert and Maria discover that the price is higher than they anticipated. They may well decide to buy fewer oranges than they had planned, or to buy apples or some other fruit instead. Because many other consumers make the same choices, oranges won't disappear from store shelves entirely. But they will be more expensive, so only the people who are willing and able to pay more for them will continue to buy them. Shortly, as more people start buying apples and other fruits as substitutes for oranges, the prices of those fruits will rise as well.
7. But the response of consumers is only one side, the demand side, of the equation that determines the price of oranges. What happens on the other side, the supply side? A price increase for oranges sends out a signal to all fruit growers -- people are paying more for fruit -- which tells the growers it will pay to use more resources to grow fruit now than they did in the past. Over time, all of different actions will increase the production of fruit and bring prices back down. But this whole process depends first and foremost on the basic decision by consumers to spend some part of their income on oranges and other fruits.
8. If consumers stop buying, or if they decide to spend less on a product -- for whatever reason -- prices will drop. If they buy more, increasing demand, the price will rise.
9. Keep in mind that this interaction of supply, demand, and price takes place at every level of the economy, not just with consumer goods sold to the public. Consumption refers to intermediate goods as well -- to the inputs that companies must purchase to provide their goods and services. The cost of these intermediate, or investment, goods will ripple throughout a market economy, changing the supply-and-demand equations at every level.
10. The other economic factor that consumers must consider carefully in making their purchases of goods and services is their own level of income. Most people earn their income from the work they perform. Some people also receive income by renting or selling land and other natural resources they own, as profit from a business or entrepreneurial venture.
11. Thus: 1) in a market economy the basic resources used to make the goods and services that satisfy consumer demands are owned by private consumers and households; and 2) the payments, or incomes, that households receive for these productive resources rise and fall -- and that fluctuation has a direct influence on the amount consumers are willing to spend for the goods and services they want and, in turn, on the output levels of the firms that sell those products.
Ex. 8 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Ринкова економіка; адміністративно-командна економіка; межі бюджетів; відігравати набагато більшу важливу роль; загальна дія (робота); рішення повсякденних витрат; залишити ту саму кількість споживачів; широкий вибір; з іншого боку; скорочення пропозиції (апельсинів); робити вибір; відповідь споживачів; посилати сигнали; використовувати більше ресурсів; збільшувати виробництво; знижувати ціни; витрачати менше на продукт; проміжні товари; економічний фактор; рівень прибутку; комерційна діяльність; задовольняти попити споживачів; прямий вплив.
Ex. 9 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. … economies are sometimes described as systems of consumer … , because the day-to-day spending decisions by … determine what goods and services are produced in the economy.
2. They may originally be planning to buy products; but their plans will be strongly … by the … of those goods.
3. … trade, when it is permitted to … with relatively few barriers or … , can give consumers wider choice and allow producers to offer more … prices for a wide … of products, from oranges to automobiles.
4. As more people start buying apples and other fruits as … for oranges, the prices of those fruits will rise as well.
5. But the response of consumers is only one side, the … side, of the … that determines the price of oranges.
6. … refers to … goods as well -- to the … that companies must purchase to … their goods and services.
7. Some people also receive income by renting or … land and other natural resources they own, as … from a business or entrepreneurial venture.
intermediate; provide; selling; international; operate; equation; inputs; influenced; consumption; import taxes; demand; substitutes; competitive; range; profit; market; consumers; sovereignty; market prices |
Ex. 10 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. demand 2. supply 3. consumer 4. tariffs 5. business |
a). the quantity of goods or services that sellers would offer for sale at all possible prices at a particular time and place b). import taxes c). entrepreneurial venture d). a person who buys goods and services for his or her personal needs e). a consumer’s ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place |
Ex. 11 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. What is the role of consumers in a market and command economies?
2. What is the demand side of the equation?
3. What is the supply side of the equation?
4. What is the role of international trade?
Ex. 12 Read and translate the text without a dictionary orally (time limit 10 min.).
List its main points in Ukrainian/Russian.
Before reading the text be sure that you know the following words and word
combinations:
branch - галузь
cast iron – чавун
oil processing – нафтопереробка
mercury – ртуть
animal husbandry – тваринництво
pipeline – нафтопровід
power transmission line – лінія електропередачі
Economy of Ukraine
Ukraine is a country that is developed in both industry and agriculture. It may be said to be an industrial-agricultural country.
Speaking about the industry of Ukraine, two branches should be mentioned as primarily in importance. The ferrous metallurgy industry, centered in the Pridniprovye Region (Kryvyi Rig, Zaporizhya, and Dnipropetrovsk), produces enough iron, cast iron and steel to satisfy the needs of the whole country, with more left over to export. The Ukrainian machine-engineering industry manufactures diesel locomotives, railway cars, automobiles, tractors, missiles, sea and river vessels, as well as equipment for metallurgy, mining, textile industries, electric motors, and industrial robots. For example, Dnipropetrovsk is also a city where missiles and spacecrafts are built. These spacecrafts are used for launching satellites, not only those of Ukraine and Russia, but of other countries, too. The country also supplies its domestic market with many household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, and TV –sets, among others.
Some other branches of industry that are well-developed in Ukraine are the cellulose paper industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, and oil processing.
Mining occupies an important place in the Economy of Ukraine. Speaking about Ukrainian mining, one thinks first of the coal mines of Donbas. But coal is probably not the most important mineral mined in the country. Iron, manganese, titanium and uranium ores, as well as salt, graphite, mercury, gypsum, and mineral paints are among the mineral deposits that Ukraine possesses in quantities large enough to fully satisfy its needs.
Ukraine has always been associated with grain production. The regions, or as they are called oblasts of Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Vinnitsa, Zaporizhya, Poltava, Kherson, and Mikolaiv are the major producers of grain. That and sugar production are the main branches of Ukrainian agriculture. Vinnitsa, Khmelnitsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Kyiv oblasts are leaders in sugar production. Ukraine produces 100 kg sugar per capita, twice exceeding its consumption. This is natural because of the characteristics of the country’s relief and climate. The territory of Ukraine is composed mostly of steppes and plains (over 95% of the land), and the country possesses 25% of all black soil in the world. These features provide a great potential for agriculture, especially grain production. Another agricultural asset is the moderately continental climate with 300-600 millimeters of precipitation a year.
In animal husbandry cattle raising and pig-breeding are prevailing. Currently poultry/rabbit-breeding as well as pond-fish culture are making progress.
The most important agricultural products exported from Ukraine are: dairy products, sugar, eggs and egg products, canned fruit and vegetables. One of the main reasons for low export to Europe is the lack of modern package.
The territory of Ukraine is permeated by rail-and motor-roads, navigable rivers, pipelines, air routes and power transmission lines, all forming a unified transport system. More than 23,000 km of railroads run through the territory of Ukraine. Some 274, 000 km of highways connect towns and villages of Ukraine. Such transcontinental oil and gas pipelines as “DRUZHBA”, “RPOGRESS” etc. are routed through its territory.
It may be said that Ukraine has everything to become one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Whether or not that happens will depend on the success of economic reform, how well a transition to a market economy is achieved, and free market mechanisms are introduced. Of great importance are foreign investments that could be a great stimulus to Ukraine’s economic development. Ukraine needs them, and foreign investors could have much greater profits if their investments were increased. One of the most favorable fields for investments at present is food processing industry supplying canned vegetables, fruit and oil to the external market.
Among the quickest –yielding investment sectors of the Ukrainian industry are natural gas production, tires, hosiery and knitwear, clothing, glass and porcelain, polymer construction materials, non-ferrous metals, ores, etc.
Ex. 13 Discussion points
1. The role of economics in people’s life.
2. Prove that consumers in a market economy play important role.
3. Prove that shifts in demand and supply affect prices.
Варіант 5
Ex. 1 Study the vocabulary:
item – окремий предмет
buy (syn. purchase) - купувати
make choice – робити вибір
produce goods and services – виробляти товари та послуги
satisfy wants – задовольняти потреби
increase the production (ant. reduce) – збільшити виробництво
face with – стикатися з
scarcity – нестача, дефіцит
income (syn. profit)- прибуток
borrowing power – право запозичення
opportunity – сприятлива можливість
trade-offs – заміна
opportunity costs – альтернативні витрати
the law of demand –закон попиту
ration scarce resources – нормувати недостатні ресурси
motivate production –мотивувати виробництво
rationing effect of prices –нормуючий ефект цін
supply - постачання
decrease –зменшувати
drive out of the market – витіснити з ринку
encourage –заохочувати
level of output –рівень виробництва
production-motivating function of prices –мотивуюча виробництво функція цін
substitute for–заміняти
diminishing marginal utility –спадна гранична корисність
consume –споживати
shape and slope –форма та нахил
curve –крива (лінія)
elasticity –еластичність, гнучкість
revenue test –тест на річний дохід
Ex. 2 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary in writing. Do exercises after the text.
What is economics?
1. One of the things that people discover every day is that you can’t have everything. Although you may see twenty or thirty items that you would really like to buy, you know that you will have to limit your selection to one or two. Everyone goes through life having to make choices.
2. Every business, even sports teams, must choose from among the things they would like to have because they cannot have everything. Governments, too, cannot have everything. Every year the most important political debates concern questions about spending taxpayers’ money.
3. Neither individuals nor societies can have all the things they would like to have. There simply is not enough of everything. Economists note that there is no limit to the amount or kinds of things that people want. There is, however, a limit to the resources, things used to produce goods and services, available to satisfy those wants. Once that limit is reached, nothing else can be produced. In other words, when nation’s resources (all its workers, factories, farms, etc.) are fully employed, the only way it will be able to increase the production of one thing will be by reducing the production of something else.
4. Human wants are unlimited, but the resources necessary to satisfy those wants are limited. Thus every society is faced with the identical problem, the problem of scarcity.
5. Since there is not enough of everything, everyone – individuals, business firms, and government needs to make choices from among the things they want. In the process they will try to economize, to get the most from what they have. With this in mind, we can define economics as the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants.
6. The need to choose is imposed on us all by our income, wealth and ability to borrow. Individuals and families are limited by the size of their personal income, savings and ability to borrow. Similarly, business firms are limited by their profits, savings and borrowing power, and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
7. Income, savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government to purchase goods, products you can see or touch, and services, work performed for pay that benefits others. The problem that each must face, however, is that once the decision has been made to choose one set of alternatives, one loses the opportunity to choose the other. Economics describe these kinds of trade-offs as opportunity costs. The opportunity cost of something is its cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it.
Ex. 3 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Обмежувати вибір; робити вибір; витрати грошей платників податків; виробляти товари та послуги; задовольняти потреби; збільшити виробництво; скорочувати виробництво; людські потреби; проблема нестачі; комерційні фірми; соціальна наука; недостатні ресурси; особистий прибуток; право запозичення; здібність оподатковувати та позичати; купувати товари та послуги; набір альтернатив; альтернативні витрати; з точки зору.
Ex. 4 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. Everyone goes through life having … .
2. There is a limit to the resources, things used … , available … those … .
3. Thus every society is … the identical problem, the problem of … .
4. In the process everyone will try … , to get the most from what they have.
5. Similarly, business firms are limited by their … , savings and … , and governments by their ability to tax and borrow.
6. … , savings, profits and taxes enable people, institutions and government … , products you can see or touch, and … , work performed for pay that benefits others.
7. Economics describe these kinds of … as opportunity costs.
faced with; profits; trade-offs; services; income; borrowing power; to satisfy wants; to economize; to produce goods and services; scarcity; to make choices; to purchase goods |
Ex. 5 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. economics
2. resources
3. opportunity cost
4. services
5. goods
|
a). cost measured in terms of what you have to give up to get it b). products you can see or touch c). things used to produce goods and services available to satisfy wants d). the social science that describes and analyzes how society chooses from among scarce resources to satisfy its wants e). work performed for pay that benefits others
|
Ex. 6 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. Why is the need to choose imposed on everyone?
2. What is the problem of scarcity?
3. How can we define economics?
4. What is the opportunity cost of anything?
Ex. 7 Read and translate the whole text with a dictionary orally. Translate paragraphs 8, 9, 11 in writing. Do exercises after the text.
The Law of Demand. Elasticity of Demand.
1. Prices perform two important economic functions: they ration scarce resources, and they motivate production. As a general rule, the more scarce something is, the higher its price will be, and the fewer people will want to buy it. Economists describe this as the rationing effect of prices. In a market system goods and services are allocated, or distributed, based on their price.
2. Price increases and decreases also send messages to suppliers and potential suppliers of goods and services. As prices rise, the increase serves to attract additional producers. Similarly, price decreases drive producers out of the market. In this way prices encourage producers to increase or decrease their level of output. Economists refer to this as the production-motivating function of prices. But what causes prices to rise and fall in a market economy? The answer is demand!
3. Demand is a consumer’s willingness and ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place. The law of demand describes the relationship between prices and quality of goods and services that would be purchased at each price. It says that all else being equal, more items will be sold at a lower price than at a higher price.
4. Demand behaves the way it does for some of the following reasons: more people can afford to buy an item at a lower price than at a higher price.
5. Let’s see the law of demand from the point of ice-cream selling: At a lower price some people will substitute ice-cream for other items (such as candy bars or soft drinks), thereby increasing the demand. At a higher price some people will substitute other items for ice-cream.
6. How many ice-cream can a man eat? One, two, more? Some people will eat more than one if the price is low enough. Sooner or later, however, we reach the point where enjoyment decrease with every bite no matter how low is the cost. What is true of ice-cream applies to most everything. After a certain point is reached, the satisfaction from a good or service will begin to diminish. Economists describe this effect as diminishing marginal utility. “Utility” refers to the usefulness of something. Thus “diminishing marginal utility” is the economist’s way of describing the point reached when the last item consumed will be less satisfying than the one before.
7. Diminishing marginal utility helps to explain why lower prices are needed to increase the quantity demanded. Since your desire for a second ice-cream is less than it was for the first, you are not likely to buy more than one, except at a lower price. At even lower prices you might be willing to buy additional ice-creams and give them away.
8. The shape and slope of demand curves for different products are often quite different. If, for example, the price of a quart of milk were to triple, from $.80 to $2.40 a quart, people would buy less milk. Similarly, if the price of all cola drinks were to jump from $1 to $3 a quart (an identical percent increase), people would buy less cola. But even though both prices changed by the same percentage, the decrease in milk sales would probably be far less than the decrease in cola sales. This is because people can do without cola more easily than they can do without milk. The quantity of milk purchased is less sensitive to changes in price than is the quantity of cola. Economists would explain this by saying that the demand for cola is more elastic than the demand for milk. Elasticity describes how much a change in price affects the quantity demanded.
9. When the demand for an item is inelastic, a change in price will have a relatively small effect on the quantity demanded. When the demand for an item is elastic, a small change in price will have a relatively large effect on the quantity demanded.
10. Elasticity can also be measured by the “revenue test”. Total revenue is equal to the price multiplied by the number of units sold.
11. If, following a price increase, total revenue falls, the demand would be described as elastic. If total revenue were to increase following a price increase, the demand would be inelastic. Similarly, if total revenue increased following a price decrease, demand would be elastic. If the price decrease led to a decrease in total revenue, the demand for the item would be described as inelastic.
12. The demand for some goods and services will be inelastic for one or more of the following reason:
They are necessities.
It is difficult to find substitutes. Cola drinkers can switch to other soft drinks, but there are few substitutes for milk.
They are relatively inexpensive. People don’t change their buying habits when the price of something that is relatively inexpensive is increased or decreased.
It is difficult to delay a purchase. When your car is running out of gas you will buy it at the nearest gas station at any price.
Ex. 8 Find in the text and put down English equivalents to the following word combinations:
Важливі економічні функції; недостатні ресурси; раціональний вплив цін; ринкова система; посилати повідомлення; приваблювати додаткових виробників; витісняти виробників з ринку; заохочувати виробників; рівень виробництва; ринкова економіка; якість товарів та послуг; досягати точки; починати зменшувати(ся); збільшувати кількість; падіння в продажу; зміна в ціні; мати відносно великий вплив; знаходити замінники; відносно недорогий; відкласти купівлю.
Ex. 9 Insert the suitable words and word combinations given below into the following sentences:
1. … perform two important economic functions: they … scarce resources, and they … .
2. Price increases and … also send messages to … and potential suppliers of goods and services.
3. At a lower price some people will … ice-cream for other … .
4. After a certain point is reached, the satisfaction from a good or service will begin … .
5. The … of demand … for different products are often quite different
6. When the … for an item is inelastic, a … in price will have a relatively small … on the … demanded.
7. It is difficult to find … .
substitutes; shape and slope; quantity; suppliers; to diminish; demand; substitute; change; curves; effect; motivate production; items; decreases; prices; ration; |
Ex. 10 Match the terms on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:
1. demand
2. the law of demand
3. diminishing marginal utility
4. elasticity
5. total revenue |
a). the point reached when the last item consumed will be less satisfying than the one before b). how much a change in price affects the quantity demanded c). a consumer’s willingness and ability to buy a product or service at a particular time and place d). equal to the price multiplied by the number of units sold e). all else being equal, more items will be sold at a lower price than at a higher price |
Ex. 11 Find in the text and put down the answers to the questions in Ukrainian/Russian:
1. What roles do prices play in a market economy?
2. What is demand?
3. What is total revenue?
4. In what cases can the demand for some goods and services be inelastic?
Ex. 12 Read and translate the text without a dictionary orally (time limit 10 min.).
List its main points in Ukrainian/Russian.
Before reading the text be sure that you know the following words and word
combinations:
private enterprise – приватне підприємництво
excel – переважати
internal combustion engine – двигун внутрішнього згоряння
computer applications software – програмне забезпечення застосування комп’ютера
computer-aided design – автоматизоване проектування
computer simulation technique – метод комп’ютерного моделювання
combat aircraft – бойовий літак
Economy of Britain
Britain’s economy is based primarily on private enterprise. Private sector accounts for 79 per cent of output and 95 per cent of employment.
Manufacturing has an important role in the economy. Britain excels in high-technology industries, such as pharmaceutical, electronics, aerospace and offshore equipment, where British companies are among the world’s largest and most successful.
Britain’s industry is the third largest in Europe. Over half of its output is exported. Traditionally, Britain has been a major producer of basic industrial chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. ICI is the sixth largest chemical company in the world and world’s largest paint manufacturer.
Britain’s pharmaceutical industry is the world’s fourth biggest exporter of medicines, accounting for around 12 per cent of the world market. Glaxo Welcome became the largest pharmaceutical company in the world when Glaxo took over Welcome in 1995. British firms have discovered and developed 13 of the world’s fifty best-selling drugs.
Machine-building is an area where British firms excel, especially in construction equipment, wheeled tractors, internal combustion engines, textile machinery, medical equipment, pumps and compressors.
Britain has the fourth largest electronic industry in the world. Products include computers, communication equipment and a large variety of components. As well as an extensive range of computer hardware and associated equipment. British firms design computer applications software and are particularly strong in specialist markets such as computer-aided design (CAD), mathematical software, geographical information systems and data visualization. Major advances are being made by British firms and academic institutions in the field of “virtual reality”, a three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation technique.
Britain’s aerospace industry is the third largest in the Western world. British Aerospace (BA) produces both civil and military aircraft. The company has a 20 per cent share in the European multinational giant Airbus Industries, which manufactures a family of airbus airliners. It is also a partner in multinational projects, including the Tornado combat aircraft and the Eurofighter 2000, which made its first flight in 1994. Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s three prime manufacturers of aeroengines.
Britain has the largest energy resources of any country in the European Union and is a major producer of oil and natural gas. The main energy sources are coal, nuclear power and water power. The two largest British oil companies are British Petroleum (BP) and Shell Transport and Trading. In 1994 Britain’s oil and gas production from wells in the North Sea and on land amounted to nearly 2 per cent of GDP.
Services account for two –thirds of Britain’s GDP. The number of people employed in services rose from about 13 million in 1983 to 16.5 million in 1995. Britain is a major financial center, housing some of the world’s leading banking, insurance, and other financial services and markets. The heart of the financial industry is the collection of banks and markets in and around the City of London.
The prominent position of British commerce in world trade during the 18th and 19th centuries resulted largely from the geographical isolation of the British Isles from the wars and political troubles that afflicted the centres of trade on the European continent. The development of great trading companies, colonial expansion, and naval control of the high seas were corollary factors.
In the early 1990s Britain remained one of the world’s leading trading nations. Its major exports were road vehicles and other transportation equipment, industrial machinery, petroleum products, electrical machinery, office machines and data processing equipment. Trade with other Commonwealth members and with the sterling area (a group of countries whose currencies are tied to the British pound sterling) declined after Great Britain joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973, and trade with Western Europe has become more important.
Most domestic retail trade is conducted through independently owned shops, although the number of department, chain and cooperative stores and supermarkets is increasing. More than half of all wholesale trade is carried out in London.
Ex. 13 Discussion points
1. The role of economics in people’s life.
2. Prove that demand causes prices to rise and fall in a market economy.
3. Prove that the shape and slope of demand curves for different products are different.