Text 11. American economy

THE WELFARE STATE: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The United State of America is the world's greatest economic power in terms of both Gross National Product and per capita GNP, with its exports accounting for more than 10% of all world trade.

Although the importance of industrial production is falling and that of ser­vices growing (as in most of Western Europe), the United States remains the world's greatest maker of industrial goods and around 20 million Americans are still employed in manufacturing.

The industrial heart of the nation is the Midwest around the Great Lakes, es­pecially in the region stretching from southern Michigan through Northern Ohio and into the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. Another important industrial region is the Northeast, which is the home of the major computer manufacturers. Service industries are also very important in this region and New York is the country's banking and insurance capital. The nation's fastest growing region, however, is the Southeast, where the chemical industry and high-technology industries are now catching up with the traditional textile industry as many firms exploit the warm climate and low labour costs.

47 per cent of the land area of the United States is farmland, of which 152 million hectares are harvested cropland and 560 million hectares are permanent pastureland. And yet, only 6.2 million people live on the nation's farms and today farmers make up a little more than 2 per cent of the American population.

The American farmer's success is one of the less publicized wonders of the 20th century. By the mid-1970s a single farmer could grow enough food to feed himself, forty five other Americans, and eight foreigners. Agriculture is one of the biggest and most basic productive enterprises. It feeds the nation and supplies raw materials to most industries. In a single year farmers in the United States grow crops valued at some $25 billion.

The ever intensifying production has exacted its price. In an attempt to stabi­lize farm income, the US Government has paid farmers billions of dollars in the past decade. Spokesmen for the consumers have charged farmers and the food-processing industry with sacrificing nutrition and taste in their efforts to mass-produce meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and grain products.

Much of the machinery on US farms is automated, computers determine what animals eat. Such technology costs money. In 1940 American farmers invested about $52 billion in land, livestock, buildings, and equipment. By the 1990s the amount had climbed to more than $400 billion, even though farms had dropped in number from 6 million to fewer that 3 million. Many people had to sell their small family farms because they could not find the necessary capital to run them. Nevertheless, about 95 per cent of US farms are still family owned, al­though nowadays they tend to be large and are often incorporated. Meanwhile, true corporation farms, supervised by boards of directors and professional managers, are increasing in number. The number of American farms is expected to be cut in half, to about 1.5 million, while the amount of cultivated land will remain about the same. Farm output, however, will probably double.

Some agriculturists envision a future where weather will be made to order, robots will operate the farm machinery, millions of identical cattle will be pro­duced as clones from a single superior «parent», and crops will grow lush and green under a pollution-free sky. It is a fairy tale, but the truth is that the amazing productivity of American farmers has ensured that much of the world will have enough to eat for the next 20 or 30 years.

Notes and Commentary

the Midwest, the Great Lakes, Michigan, Northern Ohio, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Northeast, the Southeast — названия регионов на территории Соединенных Штатов Америки (Средний Запад, район Великих Озер, Мичиган, Северный Огайо, Питтсбург, Пенсильвания, северо-восточный регион , юго-восточный регион)

New York — Нью Йорк, крупнейший город США

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. In what terms is the United State of America the world's greatest economic power?

2. Why is the Southeast the nation's fastest growing region?

3. What measures does the US Government take in an attempt to stabilize farm in­ come?

4. Will farm output fall if the number of American farms is cut in half?

Exercise 2. Match the English words with their Russian equivalents.

1. power (n) A. экспорт

2. Gross National Product B. поставлять

(GNP)

3. per capita C. земля, используемая для сельскохозяйствен­ных нужд

2. exports (n, pl) D. промышленный

3. trade (n) E. производство

4. industrial (a) F. дешевая рабочая сила

5. manufacture (v) G. валовой национальный продукт (ВНП)

6. manufacturing (n) H. земля под пастбище

7. manufacturer (n) I. государство, держава; власть

8. low labour costs J. прибыль, доход

11. farmland (n) K. производитель, компания-производитель; фабрикант

9. cropland (n) L. торговля

10. pastureland (n) M. на душу населения

13. productive (a) N. производить (товары в промышленном масштабе)

11. supply (v) O. потребитель

12. income (n) P. менеджер-профессионал

13. consumer (n) Q. совет директоров

14. food-processing industry R. пищевая промышленность

15. capital (n) S. чистый, незагрязненный (об окружающей среде)

16. incorporated (corporation) T. земля под зерновые культуры

farms

17. board of directors U. корпоративные, фермерские хозяйства

18. professional manager V. капитал

19. pollution-free W.производственный;продуктивный, приносящий прибыль

Exercise 3. Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

To mass-produce products; one of the less publicized wonders; to envision a future; the industrial heart of the nation; to exact production price; a single supe­rior «parent»; spokesmen for the consumers; the home of the major computer manufacturers; to run small family farms; to make up half of the population.

Exercise 4. Find the English equivalents of the following.

Простираться от Мичигана до Пенсильвании; постоянно возрастающее производство; поставлять сырье; прокормить себя; увеличить в два раза объем производства; уменьшить в количественном отношении; доход фермеров; производитель промышленных товаров.

Exercise 5. On a separate sheet of paper, translate from English into Russian Paragraph 7 of the text beginning with the words «Much of the machinery...» and ending with the words «...will probably double». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases only once.

Amazing; feed; farm income; fairy; banking; industrial; to sacrifice.

1. … and insurance capital

2. to stabilize … .

3. the … productivity of American farmers

4. … nutrition and taste

5. a … tale

6. growing … region

7. to … the nation

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct preposition.

1. to drop …number

2. … terms of something

3. to cut .. half

4. to catch up … something

5. to account … ten per cent

6. … an attempt to do something

7. to supply raw materials … most industries

8. to charge someone … something

Exercise 8. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why.

Rewrite false statements to make them true.

1. Many people in the US run their small family farms because they have the necessary capital.

2. The Midwest is the home of the major computer manufacturers.

3. Services are becoming more important than industrial production.

4. The productivity of American farmers is falling and soon the world will have nothing to eat.

5. In the Southeast, the traditional textile industry gives way to the chemical industry and high-technology industries.

Exercise 9. Look through the text again and write down ways to describe what different re­gions of the USA are famous for.

1. The Northeast

2. The Southeast

3. New York

Exercise 10. In the text, find figures characterizing different aspects of US

economy. In the space below, write down the amount, the number, the percentage and the related information.

How much?

1. A single farmer grows enough food to...

2. US exports account for...

3. At present, the number of American farms is ...

4. Farmland makes up ...

5. Thanks to the US farm­ers, the world...

Exercise 11. From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning the American farmers' success (in written form).

Exercise 12.