Ex. 23. Read the text. Choose the best sentence or part of the sentence A-G to fill each of the gaps 1-7. Do not use any letter more than once

A. Exchange rates for various currencies are determined by numerous factors and, they change every day.

B. a logical complement to the single market and contributes to making it more efficient

C. people use their checking account balances, either writing checks or spending these deposits with debit cards or automatic payments.

D. The first sterling notes were issued by the Bank soon after its foundation in 1694.

E. They can be used in almost any coin-operated machine: clothes washers and dryers, pay phones, and vending machines dispensing food, drinks, stamps, tickets, newspapers, etc.

F. The size and strength of the euro area also better protect it from external economic shocks, such as unexpected oil price rises or turbulence in the currency markets.

G. In Mexico, particularly, on the territory of major tourist zones, it is accepted as if it were a second legal currency.

Ex.24. Read the text again. Decide whether these statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.

1. The United States, Canada and Australia have the single currency, which is the dollar.

2. There are other countries where the US dollar is used as their official currency and legal tender. This process is known as official dollarisation.

3. The motto “In God We Trust” is inscribed on the Australian, Canadian and US dollars.

4. Traveller's cheques are particularly good as money for those who are travelling.

5. The pound sterling is the second-most -traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the US dollar.

6. The euro is not the currency for all EU Member States.

7. The design of euro banknotes helps people who are visually impaired.

8. A member of the European Union, the United Kingdom has adopted the euro as its currency.

9. The introduction of the euro in 1999 was a major step in the European integration.

10. The euro today has become the first most important international currency.

Ex. 25. Answer the following questions. Refer to the text if needed.

1. Why does a single currency make economic and political sense?

2. What does the euro as a common currency give to the European Union?

3. Have all the European Union’s member states adopted the euro?

4. When were euro banknotes and coins introduced?

5. Where do people normally buy or sell foreign currency if they need it?

Ex. 26. Say what you know about the monetary system in GB and the USA.

Now check your answers to the questions given before Text B.

TEXT C: A BARTER WAY OF DOING BUSINESS

Before reading

Can you anticipate what arguments the author will use in favour of a barter way of doing business nowadays?

Reading

The article you are going to read is written by Charlotte Baxter, a subeditor of The Guardian. The author brings up for discussion a project of a barter way of doing business.

(1) Exchanging goods and services without cash is becoming a way of life in parts of Greece. But does it work on a smaller scale?

Ex. 23. Read the text. Choose the best sentence or part of the sentence A-G to fill each of the gaps 1-7. Do not use any letter more than once - student2.ru

Here are some baby clothes ... can you fix my washing machine?

(2) Bartering is back. Well, of course the direct exchange of goods and services championed by Aristotle never went away, but in these straitened times, old practices are being reinvigorated using modern tools.

(3) As the main form of exchange, it's a bit of a palaver. Imagine going to the market looking for a sack of grain, you have to exchange your two chickens for a small pig, swap that for a nice shrubbery and take it to a local grain farmer who just happens to be doing up his garden. Currency was always going to look more appealing.

(4) But barter still has its place alongside the mainstream, particularly in the midst of an economic crisis. A shortage of cash or an unstable currency can drive alternative local economies – barter schemes are becoming a way of life in parts of Greece and time banks, in which people exchange units of their own time instead of money, have exploded in popularity with the unemployed in parts of Spain.

(5)According to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), governments such as China, France and Ireland are considering launching state-sponsored barter schemes. Bartercard, a bartering organisation for small and medium enterprises, has more than 35,000 members and many companies have exchange mechanisms in place. The IRTA says that 30% of business worldwide is done on a barter basis – Mercedes Benz bartered buses for bananas in a deal worth $65m, and Pepsico had a long-running Russian deal in which it swapped cola for Stolichnaya vodka.

(6) But does it work on a smaller scale? Say, I need to find someone to fix my washing machine. LETs schemes, which focus on the exchange of labour, always seemed like a useful sideline to the formal monetary system – but after 30 years of service they are in decline. There's a limit to what a city-dweller working in the "knowledge economy" (in which you use your head, not your hands) can offer their local plumber, and these community schemes work on the basis of credits that people often find difficult to use. As a subeditor, I could proof-read your novel, perhaps, or check the punctuation on your advertising hoarding. It's not in quite the same league as an electrician's ability to prevent your untimely death by toaster.

(7)And what about using all those baby clothes in the loft? Several websites facilitate exchanges - Craigslist, U-Exchange and Gumtree have thriving barter markets. One new site, One Fair Market, focuses solely on direct trade. Swap oranges for shoes, it suggests, perhaps rather optimistically. The site is still in its infancy, but it's a good example of the way the internet is offering international reach to local exchanges, reinvigorating the concept in the process.

(8) Most modern barter systems involve some form of currency, or credit, substituted for money, avoiding the main problem with direct exchange – finding someone with grain who wants chickens. But what U-Exchange calls "reciprocal barter" (direct exchange), can offer better value for local schemes as you are directly swapping goods of far higher worth to each individual – once the goods are pooled, their value declines relatively. Kyle Macdonald famously turned a paperclip into a house by trading up, but as one barter fanatic points out, trading up in pure monetary terms isn't really the point – it's to acquire something that has more value to you personally than whatever you're selling.

(9) This means, advocates suggest, that you always do better than if you'd just sold it for cash. And then there's the personal touch, the idea that you're cutting out big business to exchange directly with your fellow man in an ancient ritual that helps you feel closer to your community.

(10)Some might advocate getting rid of money altogether but I think the cash genie might prove a little too vast – I'll settle for offering all my old baby gear to someone … Any new parent plumbers out there?

Guardian.co.uk, 4 January 2013

After reading

Task 1. Discuss what Charlotte Baxter meant saying that “bartering is back again.”(para. 1)

Task 2. The author of the article considers that “a shortage of cash or an unstable currency can drive alternative local economies – barter schemes are becoming a way of life.” (para.4) Do you share her viewpoint? If not, why?

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