1. Why do people need money?
2. What early forms of money are mentioned in the text?
3. When did coins became common throughout Europe?
4. When did paper money appear?
5. Why are credit cards convenient?
Task 4. Read, translate and retell the text.
Globalization
Globalization is a controversial issue for business and governments throughout the world. We recognize globalization mainly through its effects. It's a bit like electricity - we can not see it, but we certainly observe what it does.
Globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces. It's a movement of people, goods, capital and ideas due to increased economic integration.
Globalization is a controversial issue mainly because different groups interpret it in different ways. As far as the benefits are concerned there it's possible to name next statements:
1. An opportunity to get acquainted with cultures of different nations;
2. A variety of choice for consumers: when they can buy in their local stores and supermarkets not only home-produced goods but also foreign ones;
3. Transnational corporations create additional work places for local people;
4. Another point is risk-sharing. It's more reasonable to invest money not in one company but to create an international company with great amount of subsidiaries in various countries;
5. This cut-throat competition in the local markets between domestic and foreign producers leads to production of high-quality goods.
The disadvantages of globalization are:
1. Pollution of the environment;
2. Globalization destroys cultural identity, for example Europeans usually try to impose their customs and traditions on Asian people;
3. Multinational corporations prefer to use cheap labour-force of developing countries for instance in Asia;
4. It's difficult for domestic producers to compete with multinational corporations especially if it's an infant industry.
The last but not least is that we don't actually know to what globalization can lead, we don't realize its consequences.
Task 5. Complete the sentences using Passive.
1. I am sure I (to ask) at the lesson tomorrow.
2. He said that Anns letter (to receive) the day before.
3. The hostess said that one more guest (to expect).
4. These reports (to make) in our group last month.
5. This new dictionary (to sell) everywhere now.
Task 6. Complete the sentences using can, m , must or need.
1. Peter... return the book to the library. We all want to read it.
2. We... not carry the bookcase upstairs: it is too heavy.
3. We... not carry the bookcase upstairs ourselves: the workers will come and do it.
4.... you pronounce the word?
5.... I take your pen? Yes, please.
Task 7. Rewrite the sentences in reported speech. Change pronouns and time expressions where necessary.
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1. They said, "We have just arrived."
2. He said, "I will clean the car."
3. She said, "I don't know where my shoes are."
4. She said, "I am reading."
5. She said, "I woke up early."
4
Learn the following words and their translations.
services -
exchange
surplus ,
consumers
illegal
expand ()
prevent
law
foreign
taxes
protect
Read and translate the text in the written form.
International Trade
Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services. The products that are exchanged are things that people grow or make, like food to eat, machines to work with or clothes to wear. Services are things that people do for others, like working in bank, caring for old people or teaching pupils.
Trade happens because people need or want things that they dont have. We also trade for work that we cannot do ourselves. Trade between countries happens for the same reason. Some countries, for example, have natural resources, like coal, oil or wood which other countries might want to buy. They try to sell the goods, products or services that they have too much of to other countries. They earn money from these sales and then can buy the things that they themselves need and cannot produce on their own.
Both producers and consumers profit from international trade. If countries can produce goods more cheaply than others because they specialize on them why not let them. They make more money on one side and consumers in other countries can buy goods that are cheaper.
Even though many nations have a lot of different goods to export there are countries that depend only on one or two products to get money. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries of the Middle East depend on oil exports, because it is pretty much the only thing that they can sell. Poor countries in Africa depend largely on the export of tropical farm products to get money.
Each year goods and services worth about 11 trillion dollars are traded all over the world. The biggest exporting nations are The United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.
The difference between what a country exports and what it imports is called the balance of trade. If a country exports more than it imports we call this a trade surplus. And if a country pays more for its imports than it gets for its exports it has a trade deficit.
In some countries the government controls all trade and in others it allows companies and firms to trade freely. However, all governments control trade in some way.
Sometimes a government forbids companies to buy or sell dangerous or illegal products, or military technology. When companies expand and get bigger they often take over others and form a monopoly. Governments pass laws to prevent companies from becoming too strong and powerful and from controlling the market.
Many governments try to help their own industries by making it more difficult to import foreign products. They put import taxes on foreign goods to make products more expensive and their own products cheaper. A government may also limit the number of products that it will buy from another nation. European countries, for example, may limit the number of cars that are imported from Japan or the USA. They want their people to buy European cars. We call this strategy protectionism because governments want to protect their companies and industries.
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