Материал: Сборник текстов для чтения и заданий по английскому языку для студентов колледжа ИЭП ННГУ по направлению обучения 38.02.01 Экономика и бухгалтерский учет Практикум
SECTION II
VOCABULARY FOCUS
Task 1. Pay attention to the definition of the words and word-combinations and give their Russian equivalents:
monetary – concerning money
monetary base – money owned or controlled by the Central Bank
money market – system for arranging short-term loans from financial institutions. dividend – part of the profit of a company paid to its shareholders
Task 2. Translate these word-combinations:
printed money |
standard money |
minted money |
financial system |
invested money |
monetary system |
issued money |
barter economy |
deposited money |
private business |
accepted money |
stable economy |
Task 3. Complete these sentences:
1.A piece of paper used as money is a ...
2.A piece of metal (usually flat and round) used as money is a ...
3.Money left with an institution (a bank) is known as a ...
4.Changing something into a different form is called ...
5.Ready money is called ...
6.We call “take-home pay” the money which …
READING AND DISCUSSION
TEXT B. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MONETARY SYSTEM
At its most basic level, money is what we give up in exchange for things of value. In the United States, people give up dollars; in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Estonia people give up euros; in Denmark and Sweden – crones, in Russia – roubles. Thus we regard printed and minted dollars, euros, roubles and crones as money. But the whole concept of money covers more than simply printed currencies. It really revolves around the basic principle of exchange.
Centuries ago, the development of a system of money allowed society to progress from simple person-to-person trade to widespread commerce. In the first primitive human societies, the only form of trade was barter, or trading things for other things. If a
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farmer with extra grain wanted a pottery bowl, he had to arrange a trade with the potter
— his grain for the potter’s bowl. Of course this system had its limitations. It only worked if the potter wanted the farmer’s grain and the farmer needed a bowl. To make things more convenient, people devised a system of accepting common items as tokens of value. With the acceptance of these tokens as a unit of exchange throughout society, people progressed from a barter system to monetary system.
In primitive cultures, a number of different things have been used as money, including shells, gold, cattle, and tobacco. In ancient Abyssinia, slabs of rock salt ten inches long by two inches thick were the coins of the realm — but hardly convenient as pocket change. All these items, or tokens, had one thing in common: they were all accepted as a medium of exchange for goods or services. We can thus expand our definition of money to include anything generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a measure of value. Anything that performs these three functions is money.
Task 1. Answer these questions on the text:
1.What are the most popular currencies in the world?
2.What was the first form of trade in primitive human societies?
3.What is barter?
4.How did the monetary system develop?
5.What form of trade came to replace barter?
6.What things were used as tokens of value in primitive cultures?
7.What is the definition of money?
Task 2. Correct the following statements:
1.Dollar is the national currency of Portugal.
2.People progressed from a monetary system to a barter system.
3.Barter system is equivalent to monetary system.
4.In modern societies gold is accepted as a medium of exchange for goods and
services.
5.In primitive cultures money was a medium of exchange for goods and services.
Task 3. Say whether the following statements are true or false. Comment on the true statements and correct the false ones.
1.Money was invented to make international contacts possible.
2.Barter is often used in developed countries.
3.Credit money is widely used between different countries.
4.A dollar bill is used as a medium of exchange in all countries of the world.
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Task 4. Answer these questions on the topic “Money”:
1.What is money in notes and coins called?
2.What is money borrowed from a bank called?
3.What is money earned for manual work called?
4.What is money paid for a proffessional work called?
5.What is money paid by the government to a retired person called?
6.What is money needed to start a company called?
7.What is money given to developing countries by richer ones called?
8.What is a loan?
9.Who is a creditor?
10.What is a dividend?
11.What kinds of compensations do people usually get for work?
12.When is a bonus received by employees?
13.What is a net salary and a gross salary?
14.What is the difference between a salary and wages?
15.When did the first money appear?
16.What was the first money made of?
17.Why were metal coins replaced by paper money?
18.What can people do with money?
19.What can money do with people?
20.What is the definition of money?
21.What are the types of money?
22.What money do we call cash?
23.What is commodity money?
24.What is credit money?
25.What are the most popular currencies in the world?
26.What currency is called “hard currency”?
27.What does the purchasing power of money depend on?
28.How did the monetary system develop?
29.What is barter?
30.Why was barter not convenient for trade?
31.What are the three functions of money?
32.What items were used as a medium of exchange in primitive cultures?
33.What is the importance of money for economy?
34.What is your attitude to money?
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FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL…
MONEY HAS NO SMELL – ДЕНЬГИ НЕ ПАХНУТ
The proverb money has no smell is ascribed to Vespasian, an emperor of Rome. Suetonius, a Roman historian, writes that the words were used by Vespasian on the following occasion. When the emperor's son Titus reproached his father for having introduced a tax on public lavatories, Vespasian told him to smell the money he was holding in his palm, and to see if the smell was foul. Titus answered it was not, and Vespasian remarked that the money was of the urine for it had been just paid as the tax on the lavatories.
Pronunciation and stress:
Vespasian [ves'peIʒjǝn], emperor ['emprǝ], Suetonius [swI:'tǝunjǝs], Titus ['taItǝs], reproach [rI'prǝuʧ], urine ['juǝrIn], foul ['faul], lavatory ['lævǝtrI].
The following sentences make up a story.Translate them into English and retell the story.
1.Выражение деньги не пахнут приписывается римскому императору Веспасиану.
2.Как пишет Светоний, слова эти были сказаны Веспасианом по следующему поводу.
3.Сын Веспасиана Тит упрекнул отца в том, что тот ввел налог на общественные туалеты.
4.В ответ Веспасиан поднес к его носу деньги и спросил, пахнут ли они.
5.Услышав отрицательный ответ, Веспасиан сказал сыну, что эти деньги только что поступили в казну именно как налог на туалеты.
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THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL – КОРЕНЬ ЗЛА
The root of all evil is that which causes misfortune, sorrow and distress; the source of various vices. It is derived from the Bible. The biblical legend says that the root of all evil is the love of money and drunkenness.
He would not have thought it enough to say that money is the root of all evil; he thought the desire for money, the appetite for money, was the mainspring of human action.
(W. S. Maugham. Ten novels and their authors)
Pronunciation and stress:
Bible [baIbl], biblical ['bIblIkǝl], evil [I: vl], legend ['ledʒǝnd], vice [vaIs], misfortune [m Is'fƆ:t∫ǝn], source [sƆ:s], desire [dI 'zaIǝ], drunkenness ['drΛŋkǝnnIs], appetite ['æpI ֽ◌taIt].
Translate into English:
Библейское выражение ''корень зла'' употребляется для обозначения первоисточника всего дурного и порочного. В Евангелии [the Gospel] говорится, что корень всякого зла – это страсть к деньгам и пьянство.
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