Note on the Text

¹ How did your economy fare last year? - Как обстояли дела в вашей экономике в прошлом году?

Words and word combinations you may need

Unit 2

Unit3

Ex. 33. Say/Write how you assess the economic situation in our country.

Role-play

Imagine that your foreign friend is writing a course paper on Russian economy and he asks you to give him a short description of its structure, major branches etc. Answer his questions and add information you believe important (our dependence on oil, gas etc.).

harvest v - собирать (урожай) record crop - рекордный урожай due Io prep — благодаря resull (in) v - привести к affect у — оказывать воздействие reform n — реформа pay (back) v — окупаться real sector - реальный сектор, про­мышленность guarantee « — гарантия

law and order — закон и порядок

pass v — принимать (законопроект)

to this effect — в этих целях

suffice it to mention ... - достаточно упомянуть...

tax system — налоговая система

simplify v — упрощать

demand и — спрос

consumer goods - потребительские 'Го-вар ы

L. Business and Government

Text A. Supply and Demand

Grammar Presentation: Инфинитив (The Infinitive)

Text B. The Role of Government in the Economy

Grammar Presentation; Страдательный залог с временами группы Perfect и Continuous (The Passive Voice with Perfect and Continuous Tenses)

Text C. Interview with a Member of British Parliament

Grammar Presentation: Сложное дополнение (The Complex Object)

Grammar Revision: Времена (Tenses)

Social English: Booking Airline Tickets • At a Railway Station • Checking in

at a Hotel Rolf-play: Discussing Lifestyle and Living Standards

II. The Budget. Taxes

Text A. The Budget Text B. Taxes

Rote-play. Budget Spending on Education

I.

Business and Government

Text A Supply and Demand

The backbone of any economy are producers. They are represent­ed by enterprises or firms. The aim of producers is to supply goods and services, seek profits, and compete successfully with one another. To create the goods and services they sell, producers transform inputs into outputs. Three factors of production are needed to make goods and services. They are labour, capital, and natural resources.

90

Unit3

1. Business and Government

91

extra adj — дополнительный be willing — готовый, стремящийся (сделана! чпю-л.)

Every economy faces the problem of what, how and for whom to produce. In market economies the problem is solved by the market thanks to the law of supply and demand. The law states that the imbal­ances in the market between the quantity of'the goods that buyers want to purchase and the quantity that producers want to sell tend to be cor­rected by changes in prices.

Other things being equal¹, people lend to increase their purchases of a good or service when its price goes down, and to cut back on pur­chases when prices go up.

Producers tend to respond to a rise in price by increasing their out­put. Together, changes in supply and demand act to correct temporary shortages or surpluses. When there is a shortage, producers see a chance to increase the supply and to make an extra profit.

Whenever people who are willing to sell a commodity contact people willing to buy it, a market for that commodity is created. In a perfect mar­ket, buyers and sellers are numerous and competition is completely free.

In some markets there may only be one seller or a very limited num­ber of sellers to offer goods and services. Such a situation is called a "monopoly".