Words and word combinations you may need. contrastn — противоположность, кон -

contrast n — противоположность, кон -

траст

manage v — справляться, управлять suffer v — страдать recession n — спад (деловой активности)

Ex. 7. a) Get inlo pairs and discuss with your partners how people can earn money. b) Give examples from your family's life, the life of your friends and relatives.

Ex. 8. Sum up Text A (orally/in writing).

Situation: You arid your girlfriend are going to get married. You want a tlai, furniture and a TV. You are students and your families are not well off. Dis­cuss with your girlfriend how to solve the problems, consider the following: The flat — borrowing some money from a bank; getting a mortgage to buy aflat; renting a flat. 77? f other things — buying furniture by hire purchase.

sinners, producers, and the government. The main purpose of the econ­omy is to produce goods and services for the satisfaction of the needs of consumers.

Consumers, typically representing households, spend their income to buy consumer goods and services or to save.

How does a consumer distribute the income earned by him amongst a variety of goods and services offered in the market?

There are different factors affecting his decisions. For instance, a fall in the price of a good or service will increase his consumption of it, while a rise in its price will have the opposite effect.

Then a rise in his real income will naturally result in an increased consumption of goods and services, a fall in real income having the opposite effect¹.

The pattern of consumer expenditure is also influenced by tastes, consumer preferences and family circumstances. As incomes rise, ex­penditure on basic goods will form a smaller proportion of total spend­ing. The terms " necessities" and " luxuries" are of little use in analys­ing consumer expenditure because what are today's luxuries will probably be tomorrow's necessities.

It should be stressed here, that some customers, however, want to have high-quality products even when quality means a higher price. Some other customers prefer foreign products.

The amount spent on goods and services and changes in this vari­able have a big impact on the level of economic activity: the increase in consumer spending creates new employment opportunities and causes better living standards.

Note on the Text

¹... a fall in real income having the opposite effect. -... при этом падение реапьного дохода будет иметь обратный результат. (Самостоятельный причастный обо­рот, см. Unit 5)