V. Страноведческое чтение. «Сельское хозяйство Америки»

Прочтите текст D и опишите три проблемы, с которыми сталкивается сельское хозяйство страны.

Text d. Agriculture in America

American agriculture is a highly productive sector of the U.S. economy facing tough challenges. Farming nowadays has become an extremely efficient, highly mechanized industry requiring huge investments. In the past thirty years, agricultural land has been concentrated into fewer and fewer hands as large-scale specialized farms replace small family farms.

The high efficiency and productivity of American agriculture has its negative side. Farming has become too productive to be profitable to many American farmers. Low crop prices, which have resulted from overproduction, often do not bring farmers enough income to live on. Another difficulty the American farmer faces is the decline of agricultural exports. Farmers depend heavily on exports; one third of the crop land in the United States is planted in crops destined for export. But the market for these export crops is shrinking as the markets of the European community expand.

Increased mechanization of American farming is threatening the existence of the small farmer. Farmers have had to increase their debts to afford expensive farm equipment, and high interest rates make it difficult for many farmers to keep up payments on loans and mortgages. Small farmers are unable to compete with large agribusiness firms that usually have the capital needed to sustain themselves through periods marked by low crop prices and high interest rates. With as many as 200 farmers having to declare bankruptcy every day, many farmers insist on emergency aid from the government. A variety of governmental and private programs, including crop insurance, loan guarantees, and price supports, have been set up to assist farmers. The problems of the American farm economy are not unique. Farmers in the European Economic Community are facing many of the same problems.

VI. Страноведческое чтение. «Кто занимается бизнесом в Америке»

Прочтите текст E и передайте краткое содержание на английском или русском языке согласно плану:

1) корпорации/corporations

2) предприниматели/entrepreneurs

3) поколение «юппи»/yuppies

Text e. People who run business in America

The trend in modem agriculture towards large-scale enterprise conforms to the overall pattern in American business. Giant corporations dominate. Small corporations are being consumed by larger ones and large corporations become even larger through mergers.

Large corporations were once run by individuals with high public profiles. Henry Ford of the automobile industry and Andrew Carnegie of the steel industry are well-known magnates of the early part of this century. Modern corporations, on the other hand, are often run by nearly anonymous career executives who rarely own more than a fraction of one percent of the corporation's stock.

While giant corporations determine much of the nation's economic behavior, entrepreneurs also have a significant impact on the American economy. In 1984, 700,000 small businesses were started in the United States. Since the 1970s such businesses started by entrepreneurs have provided more new employment than larger corporations.

The high-tech era has produced a new generation of entrepreneurs. One example from the 1970s is that of two young men who worked together to design a new and "better computer. They gathered money needed to pay for large-scale production, and in 1977 Apple Computer Corporation was started. By the end of 1984, that company, started by two business-minded entrepreneurs, was one of the largest computer makers in the United States.

This success story is similar to others in American history. The Coca-Cola company began when an American pharmacist mixed together the first Coca-Cola drink and began selling it in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1890s. The famous Heinz food company, which specializes in mustard, pickles, and ketchup, began when a teenager started to sell various food items on the street. While most people who start businesses do not become millionaires, Americans do believe in the potential for individual success that exists within their free enterprise system.

Americans are known for being highly success-oriented and dedicated to hard work. Today's baby boom generation has acquired a reputation for its relentless drive for material success. The term "yuppie," meaning young upwardly-mobile professional, has been coined to describe those people between the ages of 25 and 45 who, according to the stereotype, devote themselves to careers and status.