Unit 1 economics as a science

Lead- in

Discuss the following issues in small groups and then report your findings.

1. Is economics a science? Prove it.

2. Should people of different professions know the basics of economics? What makes you think so?

3. Why have you decided to enter the Economic University and study economics on the professional level?

Key Vocabulary

Study the following list of vocabulary.

1. originate v	происходить; возникать, появляться
2. household management	ведение домашнего хозяйства
3. outline v	изложить; обрисовать, наметить в общих чертах
4. deal with smth	иметь дело с чем-л.
5. production n	производство
6. distribution n	распределение
7. consumption n	потребление
8. consume v	потреблять
9. allocate v	размещать, распределять
10. scarcity n	недостаток, нехватка, дефицит
11.scarce adj	недостаточный, дефицитный
12. goods and services	товары и услуги
13. resources n	ресурсы; средства
14. meet needs	удовлетворять потребности
15. available adj	доступный, имеющийся в наличии
16. equipment n	оборудование; оснащение
17. improve well-being	улучшать благосостояние
18. gain satisfaction	получать удовлетворение
19. consider v	рассматривать, обсуждать, обдумывать
20. aggregate outcome	совокупный результат
21. enterprise n	предприятие
22. make a decision	принимать решение
23. make a choice	сделать выбор
24. make efforts	прилагать усилия
25. machinery n	машинное оборудование

Pre-reading Activities

1. Study the different meanings of the following words.

1. economy n – экономика, народное хозяйство, экономия

2. economics n – экономика, экономическая теория, экономическая наука

3. microeconomics n – микроэкономика (анализирует взаимоотношения между отдельными хозяйственными единицами)

4. macroeconomics n – макроэкономика (анализирует экономику в целом, в том числе денежную массу, безработицу)

5. economist n – экономист

6. economic adj – экономический, относящийся к сфере экономики

7. economical adj – экономный, экономичный, бережливый

8. economize v – экономить

2. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate word from exercise 1.

1. If you can ………. your time, you will manage to do a lot of things.

2. This country is in the period of ………. and financial crisis.

3. My car is more ………. than yours and it uses less petrol.

4. ………. is my favourite subject at the University.

5. Manufacturing has always been a significant part of the British ………. .

6. My father graduated from the ………. University and he works as an ………. .

Reading

Read the text and find out what economics is.

The term «economics» originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means household management. It became a separate field of study with the publication of Adam Smith’s «The Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations» in 1776 in Scotland. Adam Smith is considered to be the founder of economics because he was the first economist to outline the activity of a free market economy.

By definition, economics is the science that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. It is the study of how human beings allocate scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. Different societies face with the problem of scarcity, that is why it is important to study the way resources are distributed to meet the needs of the greatest number of people.

But what do resources include? They include the time and talent people have available, land, buildings, equipment and knowledge. By the way, people’s knowledge helps them to combine all the available resources to create useful products and services. Economists emphasize that people use resources to improve their well-being and gain satisfaction from products and services they choose to consume.

There are two major subdivisions of economics: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics is the study of how the system affects an enterprise and it considers how individuals make decisions. Macroeconomics is the study of the entire system of economics and it considers aggregate outcomes.

In general, economics is involved in all spheres of people’s activity. It examines how we make choices among alternatives and gives us a logical way of understanding how to make the best use of natural resources, machinery and people’s work efforts.

Comprehension Check

1. Agree or disagree with these statements about the text.

1. John Maynard Keynes is considered to be the founder of economics.

2. Economics is the science that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

3. People use resources to gain profit.

4. There are four major subdivisions of economics.

5. Economics is involved almost in all spheres of people’s activity.

2. Choose the answer (A, B or C) which you think fits best according to the text.

1. According to the first paragraph, what is the origin of the term «economics»?

A. it originated from the Latin word «oikonomika» which means household management.

B. it originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means household management.

C. it originated from the Greek word «oikonomika» which means effective use of resources.

2. What do resources include?

A. the time and talent people have available; land, buildings, equipment and knowledge.

B. the time people have available; computers and knowledge.

C. the talent people have available; land, equipment and money.

3. What are the major subdivisions of economics?

A. economy and scarcity

B. resources and profit

C. microeconomics and macroeconomics

3. Complete the sentences using the information from the text.

1. Economics became a separate field of study ………

2. People’s knowledge helps them ………

3. Macroeconomics is the study ………

4. Microeconomics is the study ………

5. Economics examines how we …..