Comments

1. the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility — закон спадної граничної корисності

Vocabulary exercises

I. Find in the text the terms corresponding to the definitions:

1. The approach a country uses to deal with scarcity and achieve its economic goals. 2. An amount of money spent. 3. A purchaser of goods and services. 4. A current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes. 5. Value put on a commodity at the point of exchange. 6. A thing bought. 7. The additional or extra satisfaction yielded from consuming an additional unit of goods or services. 8. An expert in economics.

II. Say whether these statements are true or false and if they are

false say why:

1. In the majority of systems prices are fixed but in the minority it is possible to bargain. 2. It is generally possible for the individual to change the prices of the commodities he wants. 3. We know that a consumer’s satisfaction is greater than his financial sacrifice if he goes on buying a commodity at the current price. 4. When a consumer becomes dissatisfied at paying the current price, he pays less. 5. The financial sacrifice becomes too great when the quality of the commodity gets worse. 6. The consumer will probably buy more if the price falls. 7. If the price rises, the consumer will probably buy less. 8. If the price remains the same, the consumer will reach a point when his sacrifice is greater than satisfaction. 9. The utility of a product stays the same, but its nature changes. 10. «The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility» is the name which economists give to the tendency for a consumer’s desire to diminish as he buys more units.

III. Change the sentences according to the pattern:

Pattern: When he plans his expenditure, a consumer must accept

fixed prices.

When planning his expenditure, a consumer must accept

fixed prices.

1. When they consider problems of distribution, businessmen should investigate all the methods currently in use and decide objectively whether they can be improved. 2. When it prepares a new product, a company must spend a large amount of money. 3. When it decides production targets for a period of years, the government must establish its priorities very clearly. 4. When it tries to increase efficiency in production, the planning body should decide what factors are most important. 5. When it makes decisions over the number of employees which will be needed, the management for a factory must consider everything very carefully.

IV. Make the following sentences passive:

1. The government fixes the prices. 2. They fix the price in advance. 3. He must pay the current price. 4. The government has changed the policy. 5. The commodity satisfies the consumer. 6. They have produced additional supplies for the men. 7. Even in a capitalist economy the government plans certain things. 8. Economists have classified the various economic systems. 9. They have obtained various valuable minerals in that area. 10. The individual cannot change the prices of the commodities he wants.