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Слова для понимания текста
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coincidence — совпадение
gospel — проповедь
genesis — возникновение
solely — только, исключительно
guess — догадка, предположение
rival — конкурирующий
opulence — изобилие, богатство
bedrock — основной принцип
Today, most people have a hard time understanding what
economists are talking about, but everyone knows what an
economist is — a specialist in a recognized branch of academic
knowledge. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the term
was nothing like as specific. In England it was applied to anyone
who a^prcteched problems by putting0every argument and doctrine
on wMtever subject tojhe test of facts.
It was nor coincidence that England gave birth to the first
industrial revolution and what has since-become known as the
classical school of economics at the same time. The three most
important gospels of this school are Adam Smith's Wealth of
Nations (published in 1776), David Ricardo's Principles of Political
Economy and Taxation (1817), and James Mill's Political Economy
(1821),.
Of these books, the most important is that by Adam Smith. It is the first great classic of economic theory and one of the first known
attempts, to describe economic life as at whole.
The^rgenesis of The Wealth of Nations exactly mirrors the industrial revolution. Adam Smith was born in 1723, and was a
254 Unit 10
student at Glasgow University ia Scotland from 1737 to 1740. Between 1764 and 1766 Smith 'toured Europe. While in France Smith met Voltaire and was greatly influenced by a group of philosophers. On his return from France, Adam Smith sat down to write his great book.
The first key question the book Addresses is what is, wealth? Real wealth mVasured' by the availabiliti consumable goods, and the labour, which produces them. Дп inciease in wealth» equals an increase in goods., and plenty means heap goods. Anything that restricts the availability of goods iteoucei a nation's wealth. National wealth can only increase as trade dees between and within^ nations. For trade to grow you need a market and how the market works is the cdre of Smith's book.
What.makes markers c such important creators of wealth is that
they enccmrage the 'drvision'of labour and specialisation.
• ? An effective market reconomy andn the civjsed society that it
supports — depends on^a ^erwdrk^o^cb-oper^pn tiiat is neither
""planned ^^.directe^by^a political power. The operation of market
force^lilce^trje dlytsjon of labour, brings great Benefits to society
and 'raises lhet sianaa'rd^.pf living, but this benefit ^cannpt be
planned. Buyers and lifersЪ,a market are motivatedjilmost solely
| f inten'ded 'it' If the seller is the sole producer of a popular product, . J^P/t.o 7 r ^jJ-Zc* ^ЭТ-оы lic^ push its price up as high as the market will bear. But, a his |
| he wnl push yits price up Д8 high as Ле market will bea^. But:,a high price ^wm^attract^Hv^ prb^uper^'dnce^tfieir goods are available in the market, the price will naturally fall. Thus the market is a self-regulating mechanism ^uiqecl not by a government, but by what Smith called "the invisible hand". One of the bedrocks of ^Smith's philosophy is that no government or group of men is'Wile enqugh tp do a better job at managing trade than a market which reflects the guesses and knowledge of millions. Sn^i^i,didn't believe that governments would ever allow trade!p^ercpmpietely free and he wrote that the interests of national idefence are always "more important than 7Tf-> in "ГгТ ^ - 9 Q f Qfn «7,F,. * opulence. Under the^ final heading Smith was thinking, of infrastructure projects like rpadj,bndges; canals and^ajrbours which are expensive and often unprofitable to build but lead to an increase in trade and hence of national wealth. Smith's achievement was Immense: the science Smith discovered was called the modern economy. |
by sel.f-interest, but serve "uje public interest without Having
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30. Дополните вопросы и попросите вашего сокурсника ответить на них.
1. What ___ you_____ about Adam Smith and David
Ricardo? (say, know)
2. When___ Adam Smith___? (be born)
3. What university__ Adam Smith____ to? (go)
4. What ___ Adam Smith____ between 1764 and 1766? (do)
5. Who(m) ____ Adam Smith______ while in France? (meet)
6. Who____ he___ by? (influence)
7. What ___ he___ down to write on his return from
France? (sit)
8. What full title___ Adam Smith_____ to his book? (give)
9. When___ it_____? (publish)
10. What ___ the key question of this book? (be)
Расскажите о жизни и деятельности Адама Смита.
В
32. Прочитайте текст В про себя и скажите по-русски, чем вызвана
необходимость реструктуризации в угледобывающей промышленности США.
Слова для понимания текста:
Capital-intensive — капиталоемкий
To respond — отвечать, реагировать
Uncertainty — ненадежность, неуверенность
Externalities — внешние эффекты
Costs — расходы, издержки
Competency — правомочность
utilities — pi предприятия общественного
Пользования
drive — зд. тенденция
Law — закон
Loan — заем
To hamper — препятствовать, мешать
To encourage — поощрять
To assure — гарантировать
ТЕКСТ В US Coal Industry Today
.New competition ftpm international Purees and more strict enviriinrr\fentarre!giimtil)hsJare the reasons the coal industry is a major restructuring. This competition means that cost increases
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cannot7 Ъе* passed through automatically. Jt means pressure on utilities to reduce power costs. It njeans umo^Se^^ompanies^ust become more capital-intensiye to reduce' latxmrcosts" that aVe out of control. It means pushing1 cost reductions through the entire supply chain: from power generation, to coal transportation, to coal production. This pressure of competition started in the early 1980s a^nd has affected all aspects of the supply chain.
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It'snouftf be noted that there are four fundamental reasons for the restructuring and consolidation of the coal industry. The first is theneed t^'reauc^.coets^ £pinbmmg companies can creaip greater, efficiency by «moving ^ificjaj J>arries and eliminating* duplication". The market-plac^ iielnancfs lower1 costs. Technological aSfvakcres enable the industry to achieve lower costs.
The second reaspn for restmctyjri.ng^is the^n^ed for higher capitalization fo respond to changing consump'tion patterns, -r,i( .,,,,
The ^ird. reaspn for restructuring the coal industry is the uncertainty" surrounding the^coal and electricity generating industries. The^ep uncertainties encompass global climate change and externalities. But they also include expectations' on electricity demand'grbwiifi and natural gas price trends.
The fourth reason is the recognition that industries must focus on their core competencies torremain c6nip^e'tillve. ' ^^ r kp^ Soothe request for lower costs, ^changed co'n'sumptio^/pafterns', uncertainty in future 'reg^ilatldri and the return to core competencies are the^riying factors Чняшм! the ^gomg iriSustry restructuruig. The driveУюг efficiency is of utmost importance.
The US coal industry is no longer an 'island'. It clihip'etes with coal internationally and competes with other fuels, such as natural gas.
The drive to improve ^fficiency within the coal and electricity-
generating industries has been slowed by government actions,and
organizations that have other perspectives. For example, inefficient
unproductive mines remain' in the coal industry if the owners of
these mines reicogiiize that „they cannot 6survive in a competitive
environment. They, try to ipde behind government protection, such
as subsidized Ip^cpst (loans/ >,, j - k; ^ • Л •,.,
<t! °Union lead^s inast ian work rales, established in a previous era, that now hamper' productivity 4»provements.
Thus, inefficient producers, labour leaders and government regulators have become the fficfton' that can stop forward progress until natural competitive forces overcome, the friction andjemstate progress.
Unit 10 257
| i concen]| of US..energy policy isnQ longer tp :, s'tafele' Supply o'f'ejftergy but raftieV to iciiieVe |
, The principal assure a low-cost^
the objective of limiting greenhouse gas~ emissfo'ns rtgarless of
cost. SO2 emissions will come4Sown' ovbrtlme as older plants are
repowered.
The nation's current national energy policy discourages the use of coal for electricity generation Vftffle encouraging the use of other
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energy sources, such as natural gas. - '
33. а) Выпишите из текста специальные экономические термины и дайте
их русские соответствия.
б) Составьте десять общих и специальных вопросов но тексту, задайте нж
другим студентам и оцените правильность ответов.
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