Ex.9. Перепишите и письменно переведите 3 и 4 абзацы текста.

MONEY

Ex.8. Прочитайте текст, устно переведите его и выполните упражнения, данные ниже.

[1] Money plays a vital role in the modern economy. It has three main functions: (1) a medium of exchange – people buy or sell goods and services in exchange for money, workers exchange labor for money as well; (2) a unit of account– money is used as a unit in which prices are quoted and accounts are kept; (3) a store of value– money can be used for storing wealth.

Almost every society now has a money economy based on coins and paper banknotes of one kind or another. However, this has not always been true.

[2] In pre-industrial societies, a system of barter was used, i.e. goods and services were exchanged directly, without using money. Mr. A, for example, exchanged his product, shoes, for a shirt made by Ms. B. Or both exchanged their products, shoes and shirts, for ten pounds of wheat grown by Mr. C. But if both Mr. A and Ms. B want wheat, but Mr. C does not want shoes or shirts, how can an exchange be made?

[3] In a 20th-century society with millions of people and hundreds of thousands of products and services, the barter system becomes impossible. To get rid of barter and to simplify exchange, money was invented.

Money appeared more than 4,000 years ago. People who wanted to trade goods and services gradually realized that exchange would be easier if there were some single commodity that everyone would accept as valuable. An incredible variety of items has served as money at various times and places, but all can be classified as either commodity money¹ or fiat money².

[4] Cattle, grain, teeth, tobacco, feather, salt, shells as well as precious metals are commodity money. Precious metals – gold and silver, to be exact – have advantages over other kinds of commodity money because:

• they have universal purchasing power – everyone agrees they are valuable;

• they can be of various sizes and weights to stand for different values;

• they are fairly durable – they won’t rust or decay and can be stored for a long time;

• they have never lost their exchange value – even after 4,000 years, gold is still acceptable in any civilized society as money;

• when they are made into coins, it is easy to carry them around in a pocket or purse.

[5] A coin is a piece of metal, usually disk-shaped, which bears numbers showing its value. Until the 18^th century, these numbers showed the exact amount of metal contained in coins. Most modern coins are based on face value – the value that the governments choose to give them. Coins have been made of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, plastic and in China even from pressed leaves. Gold proves to be the most popular. Since civilization began, gold has been regarded as a symbol of power and wealth. In many societies, gold was seen as a magic substance, which could protect people against illness or evil spirits. Humankind never seems to have enough gold and the search for it has men mad³. The need to search for gold has been compared to a disease, and is called ‘gold fever’.

[6] Certain pieces of paper, which you probably like (e.g. 100 dollar bills), are examples of fiat money. The word ‘fiat’ is a Latin verb meaning ‘let it be’. Use of fiat money is based on faith – faith in its purchasing power, in its general acceptability, and in the stability of the government, that issues it.

[7] Most governments now issue paper money in the form of notes, which are really ‘promises to pay’. Paper money is easier to handle and much more convenient in the modern world. Cheques, bankers’ cards, and credit cards are also considered as money. Nowadays, they are being used increasingly and it is possible to imagine a world where ‘money’ in the form of coins and paper currency will no longer be used.

Notes: 1) commodity money – товарные деньги

2) fiat money – бумажные деньги

3) has men mad – сводят людей с ума

Ex.10. Выберите подходящее по смыслу слово (слова) из предлагаемых в скобках вариантов. Предложения перепишите и переведите.

1) One of the three main functions of money is to serve as [a medium of payment, a medium of account, a medium of exchange, a medium of circulation, a medium of communication].

2) A coin is a piece of metal, usually disk-shaped, which bears numbers showing its [cost; price; size; value; weight; denomination].

3) Humankind never seems to have enough gold and the need to search for gold has been compared to a disease called [gold mining; gold fever; gold madness; gold rush; buck fever]

4) The word ‘fiat’ is a Latin verb that means [let us pray; let him try; let me be; let it be; let us go; let him alone].

5) In the modern world, [soft money; commodity money; hard money; paper money; black money, fiat money; counterfeit money; wild cat money] is easier to handle and much more convenient.

6) Nowadays, [credit cards; business cards; ration cards; plastic cards; cheques; postal cards; draft cards; bankers’ cards; library cards; work record cards] also considered as money are being used increasingly.

Ex.11. Задайте вопросы к подчёркнутым словам.

1) Money plays a vital role in the modern economy.

2) In pre-industrial societies, goods and services were exchanged directly, without using money.

3) Since the beginning of civilization, gold has symbolized power and wealth.

4) People invented money more than 4,000 years ago to get rid of barter and to simplify exchange.

5) Coins have been made of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, plastic and in China even from pressed leaves.

6) Until the 18^th century, numbers on the coins showed the exact amount of metal contained in them.

7) Most governments now issue paper money in the form of notes.

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