Comprehension. Министерство образования республики Беларусь

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

УО «Белорусский государственный экономический университет»

С.К. Родион, А.И. Савинова

ENGLISH: FIRST INSIGHTS INTO ECONOMICS

АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК:

ИЗУЧАЕМ ОСНОВЫ ЭКОНОМИКИ

Электронное учебно-методическое издание

по дисциплине «Иностранный язык (английский)»

для студентов заочной формы обучения

Минск 2012

Рецензент: старший преподаватель кафедры теории и практики английской речи БГЭУ Левченко Л.П.

Рекомендовано кафедрой теории и практики английской речи БГЭУ.

Родион С.К., Савинова А.И.

Английский язык: Изучаем основы экономики = English: First Insights into Economics: Электронное учебно-методическое издание / С.К. Родион, А.И. Савинова. – Минск: БГЭУ, 2012. – 95 с. (4 усл. печ. л.)

Учебно-методическое пособие содержит учебный материал по развитию навыков профессионально ориентированного чтения, устной речи и письма на английском языке в рамках тематики, связанной с основными положениями экономической теории.

Предназначено для студентов экономических специальностей заочной формы обучения.

CONTENTS

Предисловие ……………………………………………………………… 4 Unit1. Economics as a Science …………………………………………… 5 Unit 2. Microeconomics and Macroeconomics …………………………… 10 Unit 3. Types of Economic Systems ……………………………………… 15 Unit 4. Scarcity and Choice ……………………………………………… 20 Unit 5. Demand and Supply ……………………………………………… 24 Unit 6. Opportunity Cost ………………………………………….............. 29 Unit 7. Money …………………………………………………………. 34 Unit 8. Markets and Prices ………………………………………………… 39 Unit 9. Factors of Production ……………………………………………… 44 Unit 10. Forms of Business ……………………………………………… 49 Unit 11. Government and Business ……………………………………… 54 Unit 12. Corporate Culture ………………………………………………… 59 Unit 13. Employment ……………………………………………………… 65 Unit 14. Globalization …………………………………………………… 71 Unit 15. The First Modern Economists …………………………………… 76 Supplementary Reading ……………………………………………............. 81

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Данное учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов экономических специальностей заочной формы обучения и может быть использовано как для работы в аудитории, так и для самостоятельной внеаудиторной работы.

Целью пособия является развитие навыков чтения и перевода текстов экономического характера, развитие и совершенствование навыков устного высказывания, умений выражать собственное мнение, а также формирование навыков реферирования на английском и русском языках.

Все 15 разделов учебного пособия имеют одинаковую структуру и включают следующие блоки: Lead-in (введение), Key Vocabulary (базовая лексика), Pre-reading Activities (предтекстовые упражнения), Reading (тексты для чтения), Comprehension Check (упражнения на понимание текста), Vocabulary Focus (лексические упражнения), Talking Points (коммуникативные упражнения), Summary Points (упражнения на реферирование).

При подборе тематики текстов и определении их объёма авторы учитывали специфику обучения студентов-заочников в вузе экономического профиля, а также актуальность активизации самостоятельной работы студентов в связи с увеличением времени, отводимого на самостоятельную работу Текстовый материал, пред- и послетекстовые упражнения направлены на развитие как навыков чтения и перевода, так и речевых навыков студентов-заочников экономических специальностей путём обучения пониманию и осмыслению прочитанного текста, активизации словарного запаса и речевых структур в процессе работы над текстом.

Задания в блоке Talking Points носят преимущественно творческий характер и направлены на совершенствование коммуникативных навыков, а также умения формулировать собственное мнение на английском языке. Особое внимание уделяется умению выражать свою точку зрения через согласие/несогласие, а также аргументированно доказывать или опровергать предложенное утверждение.

Целью заданий блока Summary Points является формирование одной из важнейших компетенций студента экономического вуза – умения выполнять реферирование текстов.

Раздел Supplementary Reading включает в себя набор текстов, дающих дополнительную информацию к текстам основных разделов, которые могут быть использованы для развития как навыков чтения, так и речевых навыков, а также могут служить материалом для обучения студентов реферированию.

Unit 1

ECONOMICS AS A SCIENCE

Lead- in

Discuss the following issues in small groups and then report your findings.

1. Is economics a science? Prove it.

2. Should people of different professions know the basics of economics? What makes you think so?

3. Why have you decided to enter the Economic University and study economics on the professional level?

Key Vocabulary

Study the following list of vocabulary.

1. originate v	происходить; возникать, появляться
2. household management	ведение домашнего хозяйства
3. outline v	изложить; обрисовать, наметить в общих чертах
4. deal with smth	иметь дело с чем-л.
5. production n	производство
6. distribution n	распределение
7. consumption n	потребление
8. consume v	потреблять
9. allocate v	размещать, распределять
10. scarcity n	недостаток, нехватка, дефицит
11.scarce adj	недостаточный, дефицитный
12. goods and services	товары и услуги
13. resources n	ресурсы; средства
14. meet needs	удовлетворять потребности
15. available adj	доступный, имеющийся в наличии
16. equipment n	оборудование; оснащение
17. improve well-being	улучшать благосостояние
18. gain satisfaction	получать удовлетворение
19. consider v	рассматривать, обсуждать, обдумывать
20. aggregate outcome	совокупный результат
21. enterprise n	предприятие
22. make a decision	принимать решение
23. make a choice	сделать выбор
24. make efforts	прилагать усилия
25. machinery n	машинное оборудование

Pre-reading Activities

1. Study the different meanings of the following words.

1. economy n – экономика, народное хозяйство, экономия

2. economics n – экономика, экономическая теория, экономическая наука

3. microeconomics n – микроэкономика (анализирует взаимоотношения между отдельными хозяйственными единицами)

4. macroeconomics n – макроэкономика (анализирует экономику в целом, в том числе денежную массу, безработицу)

5. economist n – экономист

6. economic adj – экономический, относящийся к сфере экономики

7. economical adj – экономный, экономичный, бережливый

8. economize v – экономить

2. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate word from exercise 1.

1. If you can ………. your time, you will manage to do a lot of things.

2. This country is in the period of ………. and financial crisis.

3. My car is more ………. than yours and it uses less petrol.

4. ………. is my favourite subject at the University.

5. Manufacturing has always been a significant part of the British ………..

6. My father graduated from the ………. University and he works as an ………..

Reading

Read the text and find out what economics is.

The term «economics» originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means household management. It became a separate field of study with the publication of Adam Smith’s «The Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations» in 1776 in Scotland. Adam Smith is considered to be the founder of economics because he was the first economist to outline the activity of a free market economy.

By definition, economics is the science that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. It is the study of how human beings allocate scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. Different societies face with the problem of scarcity, that is why it is important to study the way resources are distributed to meet the needs of the greatest number of people.

But what do resources include? They include the time and talent people have available, land, buildings, equipment and knowledge. By the way, people’s knowledge helps them to combine all the available resources to create useful products and services. Economists emphasize that people use resources to improve their well-being and gain satisfaction from products and services they choose to consume.

There are two major subdivisions of economics: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics is the study of how the system affects an enterprise and it considers how individuals make decisions. Macroeconomics is the study of the entire system of economics and it considers aggregate outcomes.

In general, economics is involved in all spheres of people’s activity. It examines how we make choices among alternatives and gives us a logical way of understanding how to make the best use of natural resources, machinery and people’s work efforts.

Comprehension Check

1. Agree or disagree with these statements about the text.

1. John Maynard Keynes is considered to be the founder of economics.

2. Economics is the science that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

3. People use resources to gain profit.

4. There are four major subdivisions of economics.

5. Economics is involved almost in all spheres of people’s activity.

2. Choose the answer (A, B or C) which you think fits best according to the text.

1. According to the first paragraph, what is the origin of the term «economics»?

A. it originated from the Latin word «oikonomika» which means household management.

B. it originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means household management.

C. it originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means effective use of resources.

2. What do resources include?

A. the time and talent people have available; land, buildings, equipment and knowledge.

B. the time people have available; computers and knowledge.

C. the talent people have available; land, equipment and money.

3. What are the major subdivisions of economics?

A. economy and scarcity

B. resources and profit

C. microeconomics and macroeconomics

3. Complete the sentences using the information from the text.

1. Economics became a separate field of study ………

2. People’s knowledge helps them ………

3. Macroeconomics is the study ………

4. Microeconomics is the study ………

5. Economics examines how we …..

Vocabulary Focus

Use the words from the list of Useful Vocabulary to complete the sentences.

1. The development of national ….. is based on certain laws and principles.

a. economize

b. economy

c. economics

2. The increase in the ….. of goods is always limited by the budget constraints.

a. consumption

b. efficiency

c. reliability

3. Economists ….. forces of demand and supply to determine the prices of goods and services.

a. ignore

b. consider

c. improve

4. One of the urgent tasks of the Government is to ….. people’s well-being.

a. improve

b. manage

c. analyze

5. The management of the company is expected to ….. effectively and quickly.

a. fire the staff

b. make decisions

c. improve well-being

2. Give the synonyms to the following words and word combinations. Mind the list of Useful Vocabulary.

manufacturing

using

company

to satisfy wants

to try

3. Give the English equivalents to the following expressions.

производство товаров и услуг

распределять доступные ресурсы

улучшать благосостояние

получать удовлетворение

совокупный результат

сферы деятельности

выбирать из альтернатив

сталкиваться с проблемой

размещать недостающие ресурсы

проблема нехватки, дефицита

Talking Points

1.Explain in your own words how you understand the problem of scarcity.

2.Comment on the quotation

“Economics is the study of people in the ordinary business of life” (Alfred Marshall)

Prove that the subject of economics is interesting to you. Use the following expressions in your answers.

- I really enjoy economics because ………

- I’m quite interested in economics because ………

- I would like to know more about economics because ………

- I think economics is interesting for studying because ………

Summary Points

1. Study the guidelines to summarizing.

Реферирование (англ. summary) – это сжатое изложение основной информации первоисточника на основе её смысловой переработки. Как правило, реферат состоит из трёх основных частей: введение, основная часть, заключение и соответствует следующим требованиям:

1. Реферат представляет собой краткое изложение основного содержания текста, статьи и т.д. и составляет примерно 1/3 оригинала.

2. Предпочтительно при реферировании излагать информацию своими собственными словами.

3. Вводная часть реферата включает в себя заглавие оригинала, его главную тему и идею.

2. Look through the text from Reading and define its topic and main idea, using the following phrases.

The basic topic is ……… The subject (subject matter) of the text is	Основная тема ………
The main idea is that ………	Основная идея заключается в том, что ………
The text (passage) discusses (considers, focuses on, addresses) the problem of ………	В тексте (отрывке) обсуждается (рассматривается, сосредоточивается внимание на…) проблема(е) ………
The text (passage) deals with ………	В тексте (отрывке) говорится о ………

UNIT 2

MICROECONOMICS AND MACROECONOMICS

Lead-in

1. Do you know what the difference is between macroeconomics and microeconomics?

2. Are the following statements about microeconomics or macroeconomics?

· … deals with topics of inflation and unemployment.

· … studies how people make decisions to allocate limited resources.

· In … the focus is placed on factors that affect the decisions made by firms and individuals.

·... includes a national, regional, or global economy.

Key Vocabulary

Study the following vocabulary and do the tasks that follow.

1. allocation n	распределение
2. distribute v	распределять
3. divide v	делиться, подразделять
4. behaviour n	поведение
5. affect v	влиять
6. make a profit	получать прибыль
7. study v	изучать
8. entire adj	весь, взятый в целом
9. unemployment n	безработица
10. income n	доход
11. rate of growth	темп роста
12. gross domestic product (GDP)	валовый внутренний продукт (ВВП)
13. price level	ценовой уровень
14. cause v	быть причиной, вызывать
15. trend n	направление, тенденция
16. interdependent adj	взаимозависимый

Pre-reading Activities

1. Use a dictionary and underline the odd word (лишнее слово) in each line. Explain your choice and learn the vocabulary.

a) distribution – allocation – consumption

b) examine – deal with – study

c) effect – affect – influence

d) allocate – connect – distribute

2. Complete the crossword puzzle using your active vocabulary.

E

C

O

N

O

M

I

4C

S

1. the state of not having a job

2. complete or full

3. money earned by work or investments

4. to make something happen

5. distribution

6. the amount of money expected, required, or given in payment for something

7. a general direction in which something is developing or changing

8. to inspect (someone or something) thoroughly in order to determine their nature or condition

9. to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change

Reading

Read the text and check whether you answered the Lead-in questions correctly.

Economics is the science that deals with production, allocation, and use of goods and services. It is important to study how resources can best be distributed to meet the needs of the greatest number of people. As we are more connected globally to one another, the study of economics becomes an extremely important issue.

Economics is a broad subject that can be divided into two areas: microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Microeconomics, the study of the economic behaviour of small economic groups such as firms and families, is one of the largest subfields in economics. Microeconomics deals with economic decisions made at a low, or micro, level. It is the analysis of the decisions made by individuals and groups, the factors that affect those decisions, and how those decisions affect others.

Microeconomics asks questions: “How do individuals make consumption decisions?”, “How do firms make profits and price their goods and services?”, etc.

“Macro” means “large”. Macroeconomics is the field of economics that studies the behaviour of the economy as a whole, not just specific companies, but entire industries and economies. This area of economics examines economy-wide phenomena such as changes in unemployment, national income, rate of growth, gross domestic product, inflation and price levels. Macroeconomics asks questions like: “What causes inflation?”, “What effect does the national debt have on economic growth?”, etc.

So, macroeconomics is focused on the movement and trends in the economy as a whole, while in microeconomics the focus is placed on factors that affect the decisions made by firms and individuals. These two studies of economics are different, but they are interdependent and complement each other. The factors that are studied by macro- and microeconomics often influence each other.

Comprehension

1. Match these sentence halves describing economics and its two areas.

1. Microeconomics is	a) the economic behavior of individual consumers, firms, and industries.
2. Economics is	b) one of the two main fields of the social science of economics.
3. Microeconomics is the study of	c) the influence of all economic factors on each other.
4. Macroeconomics seeks to understand	d) a social science concerned with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services.

2. Decide whether the following statements are True or False.

1. Resources should be distributed in the best way to meet the needs of people.

2. The study of macroeconomics is an extremely important issue.

3. Microeconomics is one of the largest subfields in economics.

4. Microeconomics is the analysis of the decisions made by individuals and groups.

5. Macroeconomics deals with economic decisions made at a low level.

6. The two studies of economics complement each other.

3. Answer the questions.

1. What is economics?

2. Why is it important to study economics?

3. Is microeconomics the study of the economic behaviour of small economic groups?

4. What kind of analysis is microeconomics?

5. What does macroeconomics examine?

6. What questions are asked by the two areas of economics?

7. Do factors that are studied by macro- and microeconomics influence each other? In what way?

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