УЧЕБНО-ИНФОРМАЦИОННОЕ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ ДИСЦИПЛИНЫ

ЗАДАНИЯ

для самостоятельной внеаудиторной работы

по курсу «Иностранный (английский) язык»

для студентов 1-го курса экономических специальностей

факультета заочного обучения

Oсенний семестр 2012-2013 уч. года

Темы. Учебные тексты. Образцы тестовых заданий

(для автоматизированного контроля и оценки степени сформированности лексико-грамматических навыков чтения текстов экономической тематики)

Тема 1: «Введение в экономическую теорию»

I. Чтение

· Изучающее чтение

Текст 1.1. «Economy, Economic Systems, and Economics»

(1) Introduction.Human existence can hardly be imagined without consumption. People have to consume things (goods and services) in order to satisfy their wants and needs. But most of the thingsthat people wish to have in order tomeet their needs and wants are seldom found in Nature in a “ready-made” form. More often than not, people have to produce them using available resources.

(2) Economy versus economics. A bad thing about this is that the resources used in the production of goods and services are scarce or limited/finite, while people’s wants are, on the contrary, unlimited/infinite. As a result, the number of goods which can be produced at a given time from available resources is limited too. It is for this reason that a system of distribution based on certain principles must exist in a community to efficiently allocate the available resources and commodities among those who want to have them. Consequently, a system of managing the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services under scarcity is normally called an economy or economic system, while the social science involved in studying such systems is called economic theory or economics for short.

(3) Economy types. Any economic system refers to the organizational arrangements and processes through which a society makes its production-, distribution-, and consumption decisions as to what to produce, how to produce it, and who gets what is produced. Different economic systems answer these basic economicquestions differently.

Depending on whether individual economic agents or government make decisions on the matters of production, distribution, and consumption, market-type and command-type economies may be distinguished. However, in the modern world neither of the two economy types mentioned above exists in its pure form. All that exists in reality is the mixed-type economy, since economic decisions in a modern society are actually made by both individual economic agents and government.

(4) To sum up. Thus, an economy is the human activity that consists in producing, distributing, exchanging and consuming goods and services, realized inside an economic system and studied by economics. Any economic system is a way of answering the three basic economic questions: what to produce, how to produce, and for whomto produce. These questions result from the scarcity of available resources and people’s unlimited wants. The two opposing economic systems that answer these questions differently are the market economy and the command economy. However, all real-world economic systems are nowadays of mixed type.

Задания к тексту 1.1:

Прочтите текст 1.1, стараясь понять как можно полнее его содержание с помощью англо-русского словаря и любого справочника по грамматике английского языка. Все незнакомые слова и выражения выпишите и запомните их контекстуальные значения.

Форма итогового контроля степени усвоения лексико-грамматического материала текста – компьютерный лексико-грамматический тест (здесь и далее на зачетном занятии в сессионный период).

· Образцы тестовых заданий к текстам для изучающего чтения (на лексико-грамматическом материале текста 1.1):

· Ознакомительное чтение

Текст 1.2. «What Exactly is Economics?»

.

(1) The English word “economics” comes from the Greek words “oikos” (house), and “nemos” (norms), which roughly means “household management”.

(2)There’s no one universally accepted answer to the question “What is economics?” There are many definitions, past and present, which have been appliedto the term economics.

Still, broadly speaking, economics is a social science, a “school of thought” or “theory”, and its area of study is human activity involved in meeting people’s needs and wants. Economics tells us how people and economies normally behave, and why they behave like that/the way they do, and predicts what will result if certain economic factors are disturbed or changed.

(3) Two of the earliest definitions of economics were offered by Adam Smith (1723-1790), who is generally regarded/known as the father of economics. These definitions are based on the notion of wealth, and are as follows: “the science of wealth” and “the science relating to the laws of production, distribution and exchange (of wealth)”. Some academic dictionaries still define economics as “a social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services and their management” or as “the science of how people produce goods and services, how they distribute them among themselves, and how they use them”, while modern academic definitions of economics involve mostly the notions of scarcity and choice.

(4) Though the exact wording differs from author to author, the standard definition of economics in terms of scarcity and choice is something like this: “Economics is a social science which examines how people choose to use limited or scarce resources in an effort/in order to satisfy their unlimited wants.” This scarcity(-based) definition of economics means that people’s resources are scarce, and whenever an individual, a business, or a nation faces a competing alternative, a choice must be made. From this point of view,economics is essentially the study of choice and decision-making in a world with scarce or limited resources.

(5) Any modern economy can be represented as a two-level arrangement. The lower level of an economy is known as a microeconomy, which is the subject matter of microeconomics or microeconomic theory. The upper level is called a macroeconomy, which is the subject matter of macroeconomics or macroeconomic theory. Two of the intermediate, and relatively new, fields of economic study are meso- and megaeconomics. Since modern economic analysis focuses on decision-making, it is often applied to most different fields of human activity.

Задания к тексту 1.2:

Прочтите текст 1.2, стараясь понять его основное содержание. Составьте развернутый план текста. При необходимости, ключевые для понимания общего содержания текста и составления плана текста незнакомые слова и выражения выпишите и запомните их значения.

Форма контроля степени усвоения лексико-грамматического материала, необходимого для понимания основного содержания текста – компьютерный тест.

· Образец тестового задания к тексту 1.2:

§ Поисково-просмотровое чтение

Текст 1.3 «Economics: Areas of Study»

(1) Traditionally, economics is broadly divided into two main branches: microeconomics which is the study of the behaviour of an economy at the level of individual economic entities (individuals, households, and businesses/firms), and macroeconomics – the study of the behaviour of the economy taken as a whole/as an aggregate. As to Finance, which has traditionally been considered a part of economics, it has today effectively established itself as a separate, though closely related to economics, discipline.

(2)Some economists also argue that two other branches of economics should be distinguished, namely mesoeconomics, which is the study of markets and other similar intermediary institutional arrangements within a nation, and megaeconomics, which is the study of economy at the international level. As national economies get more and more connected globally to one another, their study at the international level becomes an extremely important one.

(3) The main areas of study into which economics is typically divided can be further sub-divided into numerous sub-disciplines that do not always fit neatly into the micro-macro-meso-mega categorization. These sub-disciplines, in alphabetical order, are: agricultural economics, business economics, ecological economics, environmental economics, evolutionary economics, international economics, labour economics, managerial economics, resource economics, socioeconomics, transport economics, urban economics, economic geography, economic history, industrial organization,just to name a few.

(4) Other subdivisions of economic study are also possible, as a result of the fact that in recent years the subject matter that economists have studied for centuries has expanded, making its boundaries less defined. Since modern economic analysis focuses on decision-making, it can be applied, with varying degrees of success, to any field where people are faced with alternatives – education, marriage, health, etc.Some economists extend economical analysis to all personal decisions regarding not only questions like “How many eggs should I buy?”, but also “How many hours should I spend with my children?”, and “How long should I spend brushing my teeth?”

Задания к тексту 1.3:

Прочтите текст 1.3 и укажите, на какие из следующих вопросов можно найти ответ в данном тексте:

1.На какие основные области исследования традиционно подразделяется экономика как наука?

2. Что такое финансы?

3. Какие новые области исследования выделяются в экономике в последнее время?

4. Какие области исследования, помимо основных, выделяются в экономике как науке в настоящее время?

5.Что такое экономический анализ?

6.К каким сферам человеческой деятельности применим экономический анализ?

7.Сколько времени следует уделять воспитанию детей в семье с экономической точки зрения?

Форма итогового контроля степени сформированности навыков поисково-просмотрового чтения – компьютерный тест.

· Образцы тестовых заданий к текстам для поисково-просмотрового чтения:

II. Говорение и письмо

Задание: Составьте письменно на английском языке рассказ о себе (12-15 предложений) в опоре на прилагаемые ниже вопросы.

III. Фонетика

Задание: Подготовьте фонетически правильное чтение вслух отрывка текста 1.1 или 1.2 (8-10 строк) на выбор.

Форма итогового контроля –чтение вслух выбранного отрывка текста.

Тема 2: «Рынок»

I. Чтение

· Изучающее чтение

Текст 2.1. «The Market»

“The market is a place set apart where men may deceive each other.” – Diogenes Laertius

(1)Definition: what exactly is the market? There is no universally accepted definition of the term market in economics.The term originally referred to a special place (typically, the main square of the largest village in the vicinity) where products were bought and sold once a week.

Nowadays, a market does not have to be a physical place like a shop. It can be defined as any arena in which buyers and sellers make transactions. Markets may be general or specialized, large or small, local or global.

(2)Market participants: buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. Any market consists of two main groups of people: all those who have commodities for sale, and all those who are interested in buying those commodities, – that is sellers and buyers. Besides, most markets comprise groups of people who act as intermediaries between the first seller of a commodity and the final buyer.

(3)Other market arrangements.Markets also include the arrangements by which buyers and sellers communicate their intentions, such as business letters, phone calls, radio-, television-, newspaper-, and Internet ads. These market mechanisms provide information about the quantity, quality, and price of products offered for sale.

(4)Market items: goods, services, and resources. Markets are primarily used to exchange goods, services, and resources. Goods are physical, tangible items or products that are used to satisfy wants and needs. Services are intangible activities that provide direct satisfaction of wants and needs without the production of tangible products or goods. Resources (labour, capital, and land) are inputs that are used in the production of goods and services.

Speaking in broad terms, any item or service of value can be referred to as a good.

(5) Market exchanges. Markets work by placing many interested sellers in one place, thus making them easier to find for prospective buyers, and strike a deal/make an exchange.

Most market exchanges in modern economies involve a commodity on one side and a monetary payment on the other. In essence, a buyer gives up money and receives a good, while a seller gives up a good and receives money.

Buyers and sellers negotiate with each other trying to get the best deal for them. Sellers sell only if the market price is greater than or equal to the price they require to give up a good or resource that they own. Buyers purchase products and resources only if the market price is less than or equal to the price they are willing and able to pay.

(6)What is money? Money is an extremely difficult concept to define with precision. Most simply put, it is anything “what you buy things with”. It is a medium of exchange, in terms of which the value of all goods and services is expressed.Most market exchanges involve money because goods and services can be traded more easily with money than without it.

(7) Barter exchanges: no money is needed.While most markets involve the exchange of money for a commodity, sometimes one commodity can be traded for another, doing what is commonly termed barter.

Barteris the exchange of goods and services performed directly, without using money. It requires a double coincidence of wants:Amust have what B wants, andBmust have what A wants.

(8)Market price. The amount of money for which a/one unit of goods or services is exchanged is called price. In other words, price is the money value of a good or service. Prices are providers of information. They reflect how much people value goods and what sacrifices society has to make to provide the goods.

The amount of money that a willing buyer will pay a willing seller for a given good or service is normally referred to as a market price or market-determined price. Market price is established at the point of exchange through the interaction of buyers and sellers.

(9) Free market. A free market is a market where price is determined by trade rather than by government. Because no national economy in existence fully manifests the ideal of a completely free market, the concept is considered to be a fantasy.

(10)Market, non-market, and mixed economies.An economic system in which goods and services are exchanged by market functions is called a market economy (also termed capitalism). An alternative economic system in which non-market forces (often government regulations) determine prices is called a planned economy or command economy (also termed socialism). An economic system in which an attempt is made to combine socialist ideals with the market economy is known as a mixed economy or market socialism.

Задание к тексту 2.1: Прочтите текст 2.1, стараясь понять как можно полнее его содержание с помощью англо-русского словаря и любого справочника по грамматике английского языка. Все незнакомые слова и выражения выпишите и запомните их контекстуальные значения.

Прочтите текст 2.2, стараясь понять его основное содержание. Составьте развернутый план текста. При необходимости, ключевые для понимания общего содержания текста и составления плана текста незнакомые слова и выражения выпишите и запомните их значения.

Форма контроля степени усвоения лексико-грамматического материала, необходимого для понимания основного содержания текста – компьютерный тест. Образец тестового задания к текстам для ознакомительного чтения см. на примере текста 1.2 выше.

· Поисково-просмотровое чтение

Текст 2.3. «What does the term competition mean in economics?»

Задание к тексту 3.3: Прочтите следующие определения в Интернете для слова competition и укажите номер тех из них, которые относятся к рыночной конкуренции:

A business relation in which two parties compete to gain customers;

(2) An occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants

(3) The act of competing as for profit or a prize; wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

(4) The act of striving against another force for the purpose of achieving dominance or attaining a reward or goal, or out of a biological imperative such as survival. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition

(5) Similar businesses providing products or services to your potential customers.
www.onlinewbc.gov/docs/starting/glossary.html

(6) The struggle between trees to obtain sunlight, nutrients, water, and growing space. www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/extension/GLOSS.HTM

(7) The result of a common demand by two or more organisms or types of organisms for limited resources.
www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/science/glossary.shtml

(8) A relationship between two organisms where both demand the same resources, such as food, water, living space, or light.
www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/glossary.htm

(9) Rivalry among individuals in order to acquire more of something that is scarce.
www.mcwdn.org/ECONOMICS/EcoGlossary.html

(10) The interactions between two or more sellers or buyers in a single market, each attempting to get or pay the most favorable price.
www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/c.html

(11) The struggle between plants or animals for limited/the same resources necessary for survival (food, water, shelter, space) in a given area.
https://www.uwsp.edu/natres/nres743/Glossary.htm

(12) A conflict relationship that peacefully attempts to attain controlling power over opportunities which are also desired by others.
www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/outline/outline_basic_concept.html

(13) Where two businesses offer similar products or services, they are in competition with each other. www.z2z.com/site01/itglos01.html

(14 ) The act of trying to win or gain something from another or others. www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/glossary.html

(15) A situation where individuals and firms are forced into a contest for the command of scarce resources because of scarcity.
www.econ100.com/eu5e/open/glossary.html

.

Примечание: См также образцы тестовых заданий к тексту 1.3 выше.

I. Говорение и письмо

Задание: Составьте письменно рассказ на английском языке о фирме или организации, в которой вы работаете (в которой вы хотели бы работать), ваших сослуживцах и выполняемой вами работе (12-15 предложений).

III. Фонетика

Задание: Подготовьте фонетически правильное чтение вслух отрывка текста 2.1 или 2.2 (8-10 строк) на выбор.

УЧЕБНО-ИНФОРМАЦИОННОЕ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ ДИСЦИПЛИНЫ

1. Практическая грамматика английского языка/Справочник по грамматике английского языка. (Любое издание)

2. Жданова И.Ф., Вартумян Э.Л. Англо-русский экономический словарь. М., 2000.

3. Англо-русский словарь, см. Жданов А.А., Климович И.Е., Омельянюк А.М. English for Specific Purposes. Basic Economic Concepts. Сборник текстов на английском языке для обучения чтению специальной литературы студентов экономических специальностей неязыковых вузов” – Брест, 2010. с.120-142.

4. Жданов А.А., Климович И.Е., Иванова Н.Е., Кравцова Л.И., Сидорчук И.С.«Лексико-грамматические трудности понимания и перевода на русский язык англоязычной экономической литературы» Учебно-методическая разработка. Часть I – Брест, 2009.