Task VI. Match the verbs on the left with a suitable object on the right to make correct word-combinations. Say in what connection these collocations are mentioned in the text.
| 1. to be eroded by | a. serious economic problems |
| 2. to face | b. additional shipping access |
| 3. to stabilize | c. a limited role |
| 4. to emphasize | d. a wide variety of businesses |
| 5. to play | e. the creation of the EU |
| 6. to provide | f. the importance of education and training |
| 7. to stress | g. more authority |
| 8. to include | h. financial markets |
| 9. to pass and sign | i. private ownership |
| 10. to delegate | j. a bill |
Task VII. Check your understanding of the gist by saying whether these statements as True or False. Provide additional information or facts:
1. The US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008 to help to solve some short-term economic problems.
2. The US economy is mainly based on a free enterprise system.
3. The American free enterprise system emphasizes government control.
4. The United States has a pure market economy, and the Government plays an important role in the national economy.
5. Thefactors of production are controlled by individuals in the United States.
6. The United States is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil in addition to a moderate climate.
7. The traditional managerial structure in America is based on a down-top chain of command.
8. Germany is an important growth market for US agricultural commodities.
9. There are different energy products among leading US categories of production.
10. The private non-good producing industries include establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber.
Task VIII. Finish up the suggested statements using the information from the text above:
1. The US dominance has been eroded by … and …
2. … pushed the United States into a recession.
3. The interaction between competing … and … ultimately determines the price of goods and services.
4. The factors of production, which in the United States are controlled by individuals, fall into four major categories: …
5. Extensive waterways …
6. The traditional managerial structure in America is based on … It means that …
7. The US main industries are …
8. The US by far remains the world’s leading manufacturer by …
9. Service sector includes a wide variety of businesses: …
10. The leading US exports include …
Task IX. Re-read the text, paying more attention to the detail so as to answer the questions that follow:
1. What are the current problems the United States faces nowadays?
2. What measures have been taken to help the economy to recover?
3. What system is the US economy based on?
4. Why is the nation’s economy called a ‘consumer economy’ sometimes?
5. What is the role of the Government in the US economy? Does it provide any services and goods?
6. Is the country rich in mineral resources?
7. What is the level of unemployment in the USA?
8. What are the key sectors of American economy?
9. What are the American major crops and products?
10. What is the role of the US in global biofuels production?
Task X. Identify the key sentences in each paragraph. By doing this you’ll sum up the facts about:
1. the place of the USA among the world’s most competitive economies;
2. the real state of the US economy nowadays and measures that are taken to help to stabilize financial markets, create jobs and help the economy to recover;
3. the way the American economy is better described;
4. the way the economy works and the role and functions of the Government;
5. four major factors of production in the USA;
6. the US leading agricultural products;
7. the reasons why theUSA is the leading manufacturer in the world and what its main industries are;
8. the largest sector in the American economy;
9. the reasons why the country is one of the most significant nations in the world when it comes to international trade;
10. the US main imports, exports and major trading partners.
Task XI. Check how well you know the economy of the United States of America by choosing the correct variant from the alternatives below:
1. The … Government is responsible for national defence, backs research that often leads to the development of new products, conducts space exploration, and runs numerous programs designed to help workers develop workplace skills and find jobs.
a. Federal b. State c. city d. local
2. The Federal Government pursues the policy of laissez faire, a system of government that upholds the autonomous character of the economic order, believing that the Government should … the direction of economic affairs.
a. control and intervene in c. not intervene in
b. follow d. intervene as little as possible in
3. The US economy is based on a free … .
a. entrepreneurial system c. enterprise system
b. decision-making system d. private system
4. What are the ‘pillars’ of the US economic system?
a. stable prices and economic growth
b. private property, the price system and competition
c. full employment and free enterprise
d. environmental protection and providing public goods and services
5. The front (obverse) of the one dollar bill pictures …, the first President of the United States of America.
a. George Washington c. Ronald Reagan
b. Abraham Lincoln d. Theodore Roosevelt
6. The dollar used gold standard and/or silver standard from 1785 until 1975, when it became … .
a. a national currency c. a fiat currency
b. a physical currency d. a stable currency
7. … measures the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the US economy in one year.
a. Value Added Tax c. Consumer Price Index
b. Gross Domestic Product d. Interest Rate
8. A relatively independent central bank, known as …, was formed in 1913 to provide a stable currency and monetary policy.
a. the Federal Reserve c. the New York Stock Exchange
b. The Chicago Board of Trade d. the Federal Bank
9. … is the first permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange.
a. Downing Street b. Wall Street c. Main Street d. Times Square
10. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford promoted … .
a. the patent for the telephone c. nuclear weapons
b. the phonograph d. the assembly line
11. By 2009, the Ford Motor Company had become the second largest automaker in Europe (only behind …), with large markets in the United Kingdom and Germany and sales that exceeded those in the United States.
a. General Motors b. Toyota c. Volkswagen d. Chrysler
12. … is a US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9.9 billion worldwide as of 2007.
a. Oriflame Cosmetics S.A. c. Avon Products Inc.
b. The L’Oreal Group d. Max Factor & Company
13. The … company, which distributes its soft drinks around the world, began in Atlanta in 1886, when a pharmacist John Pemberton invented a new drink.
a. McDonald’s b. Coca-Cola c. Levi Strauss d. Pepsi
14. Although US workers have long had the right to organize, only … of them werelabour union members in 2006.
a. 50 % b. 32 % c. 5 % d. 12 %
15. The groups of workers getting the highest average wages, more than $80.000 a year, have jobs in … .
a. agriculture c. management and law
b. food preparation and service d. construction
16. As a proportion of GDP, public health care spending in the United States is … in most other large Western countries.
a. the same as b. smaller than c. not so large as d. larger than
17. Americans are convinced that … promotes economic growth, social stability, and democracy in individual countries and that it advances world prosperity, the rule of law, and peace in international relations.
a. trade
b. free market system
c. implementation of new technologies
d. spirit of enterprise
18. The United States supported trade … and was instrumental in the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), an international code of tariff and trade rules.
a. tightening b. limitation c. liberalization d. cancellation
19. … is an international organization (founded in 1945) whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieving world peace.
a. The United Nations c. The World Health Organization
b. The League of Nations d. The Group of 7
20. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trilateral trade bloc in North America created by the governments of the United States, … .
a. Canada and Brazil c. France and the UK
b. Brazil and Mexico d. Canada and Mexico
21. The United States is the … largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer.
a. second b. first c. third d. fourth
22. American agriculture increasingly has become … , a term created to reflect the big, corporate nature of many farm enterprises in the modern US economy.
a. an ‘agribusiness’ c. the ‘Garden of America’
b. a ‘family farm’ d. an ‘agrimarket’
23. This region is known as the nation’s ‘breadbasket’ because of its abundant production of oats, wheat, and corn.
a. the West c. the Midwest
b. the Middle Atlantic d. the East
24. … is the nation’s most populous state, and is famous for its movie and high-technology industries.
a. California b. Florida c. Hawaii d. Michigan
25. To meet its needs, the USA must import … .
a. coal and copper c. chemicals
b. gold and silver d. iron ore and petroleum
26. What are the country’s major export partners?
a. Canada and Mexico c. the EU countries
b. China and Russia d. BRIC countries
27. … was the name that US President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to a complex package of economic programs he initiated with the goal of giving relief to the unemployed, reform of business and financial practices, and promoting recovery of the economy during The Great Depression.
a. The Great Deal b. The New Deal c. NAFTA d. Laissez Faire
28. In February 2009, President Barack Obama signed his hard-fought economic … plan, which includes a combination of measures designed to maximize its political support, including tax cuts, additional spending on infrastructure and aid to the US states, which are having their own budget difficulties.
a. recovery b. crisis c. stimulus d. investment
29. Economic … is a historical process, the result of human innovation and technological progress. It refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders.
a. ‘globalization’ c. recession
b. ‘Americanization’ d. expansion
30. An economists’ proverb says that when the United States sneezes, the rest of the world … .
a. catches a cold c. stays in bed
b. sneezes too d. gives a sigh of relief
Task XII. Translate the following sentences into English using the vocabulary of the text:
1. Экономический кризис в США, так называемая «Великая депрессия», характеризовался резким спадом производства, ростом безработицы и инфляции.
2. Федеральная резервная система США контролирует объем денежной массы в стране и оказывает колоссальное влияние на финансовые рынки.
3. Ведущее место в сельском хозяйстве США занимает разведение крупного рогатого скота и домашней птицы, производство яиц и молочных продуктов, выращивание зерновых, сои, овощей и фруктов.
4. В США, помимо железа, добывают свинец, медь, уран, алюминий, цинк, вольфрам, золото и серебро, а из неметаллического сырья – серу, калий, известняк, песок, гравий и др.
5. США потребляют 25% всей мировой энергии, значительно больше, чем любая другая страна мира.
6. Сфера услуг– крупнейший сектор экономики США, который включает множество различных отраслей и профессий.
7. Добывающие отрасли хозяйства играют жизненно важную роль в обеспечении экономического роста.
8. Американскую экономику следует отнести к экономической системе смешанного типа, в которой государство играет важную роль наряду с частным предпринимательством.
9. США – крупнейший мировой покупатель (13% мирового импорта) и продавец (18% мирового импорта).
10. США, Канада и Мексика в 1994 г. заключили Североамериканское соглашение о свободе торговли, облегчившее взаимообмен товарами, услугами и капиталом между тремя странами.
C. Follow-up Activities