Exercise 6. Translate the sentences from Russian into English, using the words from the vocabulary

1. Число квалифицированных рабочих, занятых на заводе, увеличилось в несколько раз.

2. Рост минимального уровня заработной платы способствовал росту покупательской способности населения.

3. В своем докладе министр сделал упор на то, что профессиональное образование нуждается в реформировании.

4. Несколько известных предпринимателей нашего города инвестировали средства в проект строительства нового медицинского центра.

5. Этот регион славится на всю страну плодородными фермерскими угодьями.

6. Генеральный директор фирмы сделал все возможное, чтобы бизнес процветал.

7. Предприятие гарантирует высокое качество своих товаров.

8. Отдел доставки занимается распределением товар по торговым точкам города.

9. Решение нанять новых рабочих основывается на нехватке сотрудников в ряде важнейших структур производства.

10. Сегодня большая часть работающего населения вовлечена в производство услуг.

4 A MIXED ECONOMY: THE U.S. SYSTEM

The American Economy is a dynamic, free-market system. The United States is generally described as a mixed economy. The great majority of productive resources are privately owned and the federal government does play an important part in the marketplace.

An economy based on free enterprise is generally characterized by private ownership and initiative, with a relative absence of government involvement. However, government intervention has been found necessary from time to time to ensure that economic opportunities are fair and accessible to the people, to prevent flagrant abuses, to dampen inflation and to stimulate growth. Ever since colonial times, the government has been involved, to some extent, in economic decision-making. The federal government, for example, has made huge investments in infrastructure – from canals and post roads, to interstate highways and orbiting Earth satellites. The government has provided social welfare programs that the private sector was unable or unwilling to provide, it has supported and promoted the development of agriculture. The economic system of the United States is principally one of private ownership. This system, often referred to as a "free enterprise system," can be contrasted with a socialist eco­nomic system, which depends heavily on government plan­ning and public ownership of the means of production.

Yet government has to some extent always been involved in regulating and guiding the U.S. economy. At the same time, U.S. citizens have always had the freedom to choose for whom they will work, and what they will buy. Most importantly, Americans vote for officials who set economic policy.

In the U.S. economic system, consumers, producers and the government make decisions on a daily basis, mainly through the price system. The dynamic interaction of these three groups makes the economy function. The market's primary force, however, is the interaction of producers and consumers; this has led analysts to dub the U.S. economic system a "market economy."

As a rule, consumers look for the best values for what they spend, while producers seek the best price and profit for what they have to sell. Government, at the federal, state and local levels, seeks to promote the public safety, assure reasonable competition, and provide a range of services believed to be better performed by public rather than private enter­prise. Some of these public services include the administra­tion of justice, education (although there are many private schools and training centers), the postal (but not the tele­phone) service, the road system, social statistical reporting and, of course, national defense.

In this system, when economic forces are unfettered, supply and demand establish the prices of goods and services. Entrepreneurs are free to develop their businesses. In theory, unless they can provide goods or services of a quality and price to compete with others, they are driven from the market, so only the most efficient and those who best serve the public remain in business. In practice, government regu­lations can interfere with pure competition in order to pro­mote other national policy objectives such as price and income stability, regional development or environmental preservation. Similarly, businesses can interfere with pure competition, through price fixing or other monopolistic prac­tices, in order to maximize profits.

In the United States, most people are simultaneously consumers and producers; they are also voters who help influence the decisions of government. The mixture among consumers, producers and members of government changes constantly, resulting in a dynamic rather than a static econo­my. In recent years consumers have made their concerns known, and government has responded by creating agencies to protect consumer interests and promote general public welfare.

The U.S. economy has changed in other ways as well. The population and the labor force have moved dramatically from farms to cities, from fields to factories and, above all, to service industries. In today's economy, the providers of per­sonal and public services far outnumber producers of agricul­tural and manufactured goods. Statistics also reveal a rather startling shift away from self-employment to working for others.

Generally there are three kinds of businesses: single-owner operated businesses, partnerships and corporations. The first two are important, but it is the latter structure that best permits the amassing of large sums of money by combin­ing the investments of many people who, as stockholders, can buy or sell their shares of the business at any time on the open market. Corporations make large-scale enterprise possible.

VOCABULARY

1. free-market system – рыночная система

2. majority – большинство

3. productive resources – средства производства

4. to be privately owned - находиться в частной собственности

5. free enterprise – свободное предпринимательство

6. private ownership on smth – частная собственность на что-либо

7. to ensure – обеспечивать, гарантировать

8. to prevent flagrant abuses – предотвращать вопиющие нарушения

9. to dampen inflation – снижать инфляцию

10. to involve in – вовлекать во что-либо

11. social welfare program – программа социального обеспечения

12. to support and promote the development of agriculture – поддерживать и поощрять развитие с/х

13. to set economic policy – устанавливать экономическую политику

14. interaction (of smth) – взаимодействие

15. profit – прибыль

16. to assure reasonable competition – обеспечивать разумную конкуренцию

17. a range of services – спектр услуг

18. to include – включать в себя

19. to compete with smth (smb) – конкурировать с чем-либо, кем-либо

20. to be driven from the market – быть вытесненным с рынка

21. objectives – цели и задачи

22. price and income stability – стабильность цен и доходов

23. environmental preservation – сохранение, охрана окружающей среды

24. to outnumber – превышать

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. The table shows how words are formed around the verb produce. List all the words you can make from the table and use them in suitable blanks in the sentences.

	e	r
produc	t	iv(e)	ity
		ion

NOTE the difference in pronunciation between produce and product.

1. The company _______ a new commodity every day.

2. The company’s newest _______ is a special blue soap powder.

3. The _______ of soap powders met last year to discuss prices.

4. That factory is not as _______ now as it was five years ago.

5. The _______ of that factory has gone down over the last five years.

6. The manager of the factory has decided that they must increase their _______ of packets of soap powder.

Exercise 2. Make these words negative by adding the prefix in - and altering it to suit the consonant which follows. Make up five sentences of your own with the following adjectives in their negative forms.

EXAMPLE legalÞ in + legalÞillegal

probableÞ in + probableÞimprobable

regularÞ in + regularÞirregular

practical	possible	responsible
mobile	proper	rational
legible	logical	personal
relevant

Exercise 3. Each of the adjectives listed below is derived from a noun.

EXAMPLE noun ‘object’ ð adjective ‘objective’

Find the nouns from which these adjectives are derived, and then use them in the appropriate blanks in the sentences.

subjective	scientific	capitalistic
industrial	monopolistic	productive
successful	geographical	prestigious
natural

1. Economics is a _______.

2. Most new businesses need _______ in order to obtain accommodation, machinery and materials.

3. Coal-mining is a major _______.

4. The government has a _______ of the sale of sugar, because no one else is permitted to sell it.

5. The new _______ is a special kind of soap powder.

6. The factory has been a great _______ and its productivity is among the highest in the area.

7. National airlines usually have considerable _______ and people are often proud to be associated with them.

8. The _______ of the area suggests that building a new airport would be a difficult undertaking.

9. The _______ of the commodity makes it difficult to prevent the formation of monopolies.

10.The _______ of the discussion was the number of new employees to be engaged during the next year.

Exercise 4. Supply either the or a(n) in the blanks in these sentences.

EXAMPLE There is _______ demand for steel. ______demand for steel is increasing. ðThere is a demand for steel. The demand for steel is increasing.

1. There is ______ shortage of bananas. _______ shortage of bananas will continue for some weeks.

2. There has been _______ change of government. _______ change in government will probably mean a change of policy. _______change of policy may lead to _______short period of instability. _______short period of instability could create _______ feeling of insecurity.

3. The speaker suggested _______special commission to study economic conditions. He said that _______ special commission should examine all aspects of national economic life. _______ commission should investigate _______ demand of _______ workers and ________conditions under which they work. It should also hear _______views of _______ employers. Such _______ commission would render _______ very valuable service to _______ nation.

Exercise 5. Insert a suitable preposition in each of the blanks in these sentences.

1. He is interested _______ economics.

2. He is not concerned _______ non-essential commodities.

3. The demand _______ bananas will probably increase.

4. The supply _______ cigarettes does not usually fluctuate.

5. The consumer’s need _______ such commodities is well-known.

6. There was a change _______the quantity of material supplied.

7. He paid quite a lot of money _______ that car.

8. He paid the money _______ that man.

9. The American economic system is based _______ capitalistic principles.

10.Most citizens conform _______ the law of the country in which they live.

11.Non-essential commodities like chocolates cannot be compared _______ basic necessities like shelter.