Задача 11. Oil and the Economy

Задача 11. Oil and the Economy

Some of the largest economic fluctuations in the U.S. economy have originated in the oil fields of the Middle East. Crude oil is a key input into the production of many goods and services, and much of the world's oil comes from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle Eastern countries. When some event (usually political in origin) reduces the supply of crude oil flowing from this region, the price of oil rises around the world. U.S. Firms that produce gasoline, tires, and many other products experience rising costs.

 

The first episode of this sort occurred in the mid-1970s. The countries with large oil reserves got together as members of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries. OPEC was a cartel —a group of sellers that attempts to prevent competition and reduce production in order to raise prices. And, indeed, oil prices rose substantially. From 1973 to 1975, oil approximately doubled in price. Oil importing countries around the world experienced simultaneous inflation and recession. In the United States, the inflation rate exceeded 10 percent for the first time in decades. Unemployment rose from 4.9 percent in 1973 to 8.5 percent in 1975.

 

Almost the same thing happened again a few years later. In the late 1970s, the

OPEC countries again restricted the supply of oil in order to raise the price. From 1978 to 1981, the price of oil more than doubled. Once again, the result was stagflation. Inflation, which had subsided somewhat after the first OPEC event, again rose above 10 percent per year. Unemployment rose from about 6 percent in 1978 and 1979 to about 10 percent a few years later.

 

The world market for oil can also be a source of favorable shifts in aggregate supply. In 1986 the disagreement took place among members of OPEC. Member countries refused to restrict oil production. In the world market for crude oil, prices fell by about half. This fall in oil prices reduced costs to U.S. firms. As a result, the U.S. economy experienced the opposite of stagflation: output grew rapidly, unemployment fell, and the inflation rate reached its lowest level in many years.

 

Вопрос 11.1. Определите, является ли утверждение:

The USA economy depends on oil prices.

A. Истинным

b. Ложным

c. В тексте нет информации

Вопрос 11.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

When the supply of crude oil decreases, oil prices decline.

A. Ложным

b. Истинным

c. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 11.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

The oil prices have significant impact on the work of the stock exchange.

A. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

Вопрос 11.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Oil exporting countries joined together to keep oil prices high.

a. 3

b. 1

c. 4

D. 2

 

Вопрос 11.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Disputes among OPEC countries causes decline of oil prices.

a. 2

b. 1

C. 4

d. 3

Вопрос 11.6. Ответьте на вопрос

What can oil price rise bring about?

A. Oil importing countries face unemployment and inflation.

b. Output of oil importing countries grows.

c. Strategic industries of oil importing countries are subsidized.

d. Oil production in oil exporting countries is restricted.

 

Вопрос 11.7. Определите основную идею текста.

A. Oil prices influence the economy of oil-importing countries.

b. When the economy is shrinking, oil price double.

c. Only several countries in the world determine oil price policy.

d. The USA is the greatest economy of the world.

B. Ложным

c. Истинным

Вопрос 12.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Generation Y usually doesn’t differ an online world from a real one.

a. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

C. Истинным

Вопрос 12.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Generation Y prefers surfing the net rather than doing home tasks.

 

a. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

 

Вопрос 12.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4,5) соответствует следующая идея:

Doing two or more things at the same time.

 

a. 2

b. 1

c. 4

D. 3

e. 5

 

Вопрос 12.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4,5) соответствует следующая идея:

 

The way big companies try to reach Generation Y

 

a. 2

b. 1

c. 4

d. 3

E. 5

 

Вопрос 12.6. Ответьте на вопрос

What are the names given to the generation born between 1978 and 2000?

a. the “baby boomers”, Generation Y, MySpace

b. Yuppie, MySpace, Arctic Monkeys

c. YPulse, Yuppie, Generation Y.

C. Истинным

Вопрос 13.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Employers try to hire cheap labor locally.

 

a. В тексте нет информации

B. Ложным

c. Истинным

Вопрос 13.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Manufacturers say they have retooled the way they make products, calling for higher-skilled employees.

 

A. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

 

Вопрос 13.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Graduates have unsatisfactory skills and training.

a. 2

b. 1

c. 4

D. 3

 

Вопрос 13.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4,5) соответствует следующая идея:

 

Most of baby boomers will retire by 2016.

a. 2

b. 1

C. 4

d. 3

 

 

Вопрос 13.6. Ответьте на вопрос

Why do some of the manufacturers complain that they cannot find workers for empty positions (vacancies)?

B. Ложным

c. Истинным

Вопрос 14.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

It is very important for good leaders to get a balance between freedom and structure.

 

a. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

C. Истинным

Вопрос 14.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Informal communication between the company employees helps them to work as a part of the team.

A. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

 

Вопрос 14.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Good leaders are the source of inspiration for their employees.

A. 2

b. 1

c. 4

d. 3

 

Вопрос 14.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

 

One of the most important quality of a good leader is the ability to transfer power to the staff.

 

a. 2

b. 1

C. 4

d. 3

 

 

Вопрос 14.6. Ответьте на вопрос

What is the essence of delegating?

a. to be confident in one’s own decisions

b. to show respect to employees

c. to motivate workforce

B. Ложным

c. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 15.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

The value of sterling against the American dollar is the same at any time the transaction takes place in London, Germany, Tokyo or San Francisco.

a. Ложным

B. Истинным

c. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 15.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Natural disasters affect the market more significantly than any other factors.

A. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

 

Вопрос 15.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

International market is seen as an interaction of many dealers.

a. 3

b. 1

c. 4

D. 2

 

Вопрос 15.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

The impact of exchange rate control on the member countries of the International Monetary Fund.

a. 2

b. 1

C. 4

d. 3

 

Вопрос 15.6. Ответьте на вопрос

Where could the speculation against the dollar in favour of other currencies lead to?

a. The brokers’ yield will grow.

Задача 16. Bulling

Has anyone ever criticized you all the time, ignored you or made you feel small in front of other people? Then you have experienced bulling. We often think that bulling only happens in school, but it is very common in the workplace as well. In fact studies show that about one in five people have been bullied at work. Bullies are often managers but they can be co-workers. They make their victims look incompetent, feel a failure and lose all belief in themselves.

 

Bulling consists of threatening or offensive behaviour, constant criticism, unrealistic or changing goals and not being included in work and social events. It is a form of psychological and emotional violence which affects people’s health and career prospects and can cause depression.

 

Bulling reduces companies’ profits. There are huge losses each year due to absenteeism and resignations, all the result of bulling. Eighty-two percent of people who are bullied leave their workplace. Companies need to make sure they have policies to fight bulling.

 

Firstly, you need to get support from a colleague or a trade union. Secondly, keep a written record of what is happening to you. Then you need to confront the person and say you don’t like the way you are being treated. This is best done with someone else present or in writing. Nowadays bullying is recognized as a problem, and there are many organizations that can help. So if you are bullied, just remember you are not alone.

 

 

Вопрос 16.1. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Bulling is not a serious issue and company employees can easily cope with it.

d. Истинным

E. Ложным

f. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 16.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Bulling can seriously affect companies’ performance.

a. Ложным

B. Истинным

c. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 16.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

Lots of companies offer psychological advice to help their employees to resist bullying.

D. В тексте нет информации

e. Ложным

f. Истинным

 

Вопрос 16.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Three steps to cope with bullying in the workplace

e. 3

f. 1

G. 4

h. 2

 

Вопрос 16.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

The essence of bullying.

A. 2

b. 1

c. 4

d. 3

 

Вопрос 16.6. Ответьте на вопрос

What is bullying?

a. it is when an employee is ignored in social situation

b. it is when an employee is unfairly criticized

c. it is when an employee feel incompetent

d. it is when an employee is offended, criticized and excluded from social events.

 

Вопрос 16.7. Определите основную идею текста.

a. Bullying has a serious effect on businesses

b. Bullying affects people’s health and career prospects

Задача 11. Oil and the Economy

Some of the largest economic fluctuations in the U.S. economy have originated in the oil fields of the Middle East. Crude oil is a key input into the production of many goods and services, and much of the world's oil comes from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle Eastern countries. When some event (usually political in origin) reduces the supply of crude oil flowing from this region, the price of oil rises around the world. U.S. Firms that produce gasoline, tires, and many other products experience rising costs.

 

The first episode of this sort occurred in the mid-1970s. The countries with large oil reserves got together as members of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries. OPEC was a cartel —a group of sellers that attempts to prevent competition and reduce production in order to raise prices. And, indeed, oil prices rose substantially. From 1973 to 1975, oil approximately doubled in price. Oil importing countries around the world experienced simultaneous inflation and recession. In the United States, the inflation rate exceeded 10 percent for the first time in decades. Unemployment rose from 4.9 percent in 1973 to 8.5 percent in 1975.

 

Almost the same thing happened again a few years later. In the late 1970s, the

OPEC countries again restricted the supply of oil in order to raise the price. From 1978 to 1981, the price of oil more than doubled. Once again, the result was stagflation. Inflation, which had subsided somewhat after the first OPEC event, again rose above 10 percent per year. Unemployment rose from about 6 percent in 1978 and 1979 to about 10 percent a few years later.

 

The world market for oil can also be a source of favorable shifts in aggregate supply. In 1986 the disagreement took place among members of OPEC. Member countries refused to restrict oil production. In the world market for crude oil, prices fell by about half. This fall in oil prices reduced costs to U.S. firms. As a result, the U.S. economy experienced the opposite of stagflation: output grew rapidly, unemployment fell, and the inflation rate reached its lowest level in many years.

 

Вопрос 11.1. Определите, является ли утверждение:

The USA economy depends on oil prices.

A. Истинным

b. Ложным

c. В тексте нет информации

Вопрос 11.2. Определите, является ли утверждение:

When the supply of crude oil decreases, oil prices decline.

A. Ложным

b. Истинным

c. В тексте нет информации

 

Вопрос 11.3. Определите, является ли утверждение:

The oil prices have significant impact on the work of the stock exchange.

A. В тексте нет информации

b. Ложным

c. Истинным

Вопрос 11.4. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Oil exporting countries joined together to keep oil prices high.

a. 3

b. 1

c. 4

D. 2

 

Вопрос 11.5. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1,2,3,4) соответствует следующая идея:

Disputes among OPEC countries causes decline of oil prices.

a. 2

b. 1

C. 4

d. 3

Вопрос 11.6. Ответьте на вопрос

What can oil price rise bring about?