I. Language Practice. 1. Practise the fluent reading and correct intonation:

1. Practise the fluent reading and correct intonation:

ö Hello, John! ø Hello! `Howö are you? Thank ø you, I’m all ö right; ö Thank ø you, very ö well; ö Thank you, `not so ö well. `How are you ö doing? `How is ö business? `Not ö bad. `How’s ö life? öFine, `thanks. `How do you ø do? `Good ö morning! öMorning!`Good afterönoon! Good ö evening! ö Evening! Glad to ö meet you! `Haven’t `seen you for ö ages! It’s `good to `see you aögain! How `nice to see you aögain!

2. Listen to the speaker; read and memorize the following words and phrases:

1. to be concerned with - заниматься изучением чего-то

2. exchange - обмен

3. consumption - потребление

4. goods and services - товары и услуги

5. business enterprises - деловое предприятие

6. objective - цель

7. psychology [sai`k]lc®i] - психология

8. sociology - [ /sousi`]lc®i] - социология

9. behavior - [ bi`heivjc] - поведение

10. microeconomics - [/maikroui:kc`n]miks] - микроэкономика

11. interplay - взаимодействие

12. supply and demand - спрос и предложение

13. a competitive market - рынок конкурирующих продавцов

14. wage rates - ставки заработной платы

15. profit margins - коэффициенты прибыльности

16. rental changes - изменения арендной платы

17. consumer - потребитель

18. income - доход

19. entrepreneur - фр. [antrcprc`nc:(r)] - предприниматель

20. to deal with - заниматься чем-либо

21. employment - занятость

22. to increase - увеличивать

23. interest - процент

24. John Maynard Keynes - Джон Мейнард Кейнс

Text. Economics

Economics, social science concerned with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services. Economists focus on the way in which individuals, groups, business enterprises, and governments seek to achieve efficiently any economic objective they select. Other fields of study also contribute to this knowledge: Psychology and ethics try to explain how objectives are formed; history records changes in human objectives; sociology interprets human behavior in social contexts.

Standard economics can be divided into two major fields. The first, price theory or microeconomics, explains how the interplay of supply and demand in competitive markets creates a multitude of individual prices, wage rates, profit margins, and rental changes. Microeconomics assumes that people behave rationally. Consumers try to spend their income in ways that give them as much pleasure as possible. As economists say, they maximize utility. For their part, entrepreneurs seek as much profit as they can extract from their operations.

The second field, macroeconomics, deals with modern explanations of national income and employment. Macroeconomics dates from the book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1935), by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. His explanation of prosperity and depression centers on the total or aggregate demand for goods and services by consumers, business investors, and governments. Because, according to Keynes, inadequate aggregate demand increases unemployment, the indicated cure is either more investment by businesses or more spending and consequently larger budget deficits by government.

II. Exercises on the Text:

3. Give Russian equivalents to:

social science; distribution of goods and services; to try to explain; sociology interprets human behavior; to create a multitude of individual prices; to spend their income; as much pleasure as possible; they maximize utility; for their part; to deal with modern explanation; prosperity and depression; demand for goods and services; business investors; according to Keynes; larger budget deficits.

4. Answer the following questions:

1. What is economics?

2. On what problems do economists focus their attention?

3. What do psychology and ethics try to explain?

4. What does sociology interpret in social contexts?

5. Into what fields can be standard economics divided?

6. What does microeconomics explain?

7. How do consumers try to spend their income?

8. Do they maximize utility?

9. What questions does the second field study?

10. Who is the author of the book «The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money»?

11. How does he explain prosperity and depression?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29