English for Economics_Unit 1_What does economics study?

English for Economics

Unit 1_What does economics study?

by Hoai Nguyen

Objectives of the lesson:

After this lesson, you should be able to:

​1. Learn and use some vocabulary related to economics

​2. Use skimming and scanning to answer reading comprehension questions.

​3. Understand listening tasks related to life before the Industrial Revolution.

​Vocabulary

​

​READING PASSAGE: WHAT DOES ECONOMICS STUDY?

​In the next section, please choose the correct heading for the corresponding paragraphs.

Multiple Choice

What do you think of when you hear the word economics? Money, certainly, and perhaps more complicated things like business, inflation and unemployment. The science of economics is all about the decisions that government and business managers take. In fact, economics studies the way people deal with a fact of life resources are limited, but our demand for them certainly is not.

• How economist work

• Making deals every day

• Various ideas about economics

• two areas of economics

• Two types of economist

Multiple Choice

Resources may be material things such as food, housing and heating. There are some resources, though, that we can not touch. Time, space and convenience, for example, are also resources. Think of a day, for example. There are only 24 hours in one, and we have to choose the best way to spend them. Our everyday lives are full of decisions like these. Every decision we make is a trade-off. If you spend more time working, you make more money. However, you will have less time to relax, Economists study the trade-offs people make. They study the reasons for their decisions. They look at the effects those decisions have on our lives and our society.

• How economist work

• Making deals every day

• Various ideas about economics

• two areas of economics

• Two types of economist

Multiple Choice

What are microeconomics and macroeconomics?

Economists talk about microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics deals with people, like you and me, and private businesses. It looks at the economic decisions people make every day. It examines how families manage their household budgets. Microeconomics also deals with companies - small or large - and how they run their business. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, looks at the economy of a country - and of the whole world. Any economist will tell you, though, that microeconomics and macroeconomics are closely related. All of our daily microeconomic decisions have an effect on the wider world around us.

• How economist work

• Making deals every day

• Various ideas about economics

• two areas of economics

• Two types of economist

Multiple Choice

Another way to look at the science of economics is to ask, 'what's it good for?' Economists don't all agree on the answer to this question. Some practise positive economics. They study economic data and try to explain the behaviour of the economy. They also try to guess economic changes before they happen. Others practise normative economics. They suggest how to improve the economy. Positive economists say, 'this is how it is'. Normative economists say, 'we should .. .. '.

• How economist work

• Making deals every day

• Various ideas about economics

• two areas of economics

• Two types of economist

Multiple Choice

So what do economists do? Mainly, they do three things: collect data, create economic models and formulate theories. Data collection can include facts and figures about almost anything, from birth rates to coffee production. Economic models show relationships between these different data. For example, the relationship between the money people earn and unemployment. From this information, economists try to make theories which explain why the economy works the way it does.

• How economist work

• Making deals every day

• Various ideas about economics

• two areas of economics

• Two types of economist

​READING 2

​Vocabulary

Multiple Choice

1. The .................... began in the late 18th century when machines started to replace human workers.

• abundance

• consumer

• precious metals

• Industrialization

• population

Multiple Choice

2. Sand and limestone are the .................... needed to make glass.

• abundance

• firm

• precious metals

• raw materials

• population

Multiple Choice

3. The .................... to make cars involves many people and machines.

• abundance

• satisfaction

• precious metals

• production process

• population

Multiple Choice

4. The extra money a company makes is called ....................

• abundance

• satisfaction

• precious metals

• concept

• profit

Multiple Choice

5. People want ....................from the products they buy.

• satisfaction

• scarcity

• precious metals

• concept

• firm

Multiple Choice

6. .................... is when there is very little of something.

• consumer

• scarcity

• precious metals

• concept

• firm

Multiple Choice

7. ....................is when there is lots of something.

• consumer

• production process

• precious metals

• concept

• abundance

Multiple Choice

8. Gold and silver are examples of ....................

• consumer

• production process

• precious metals

• concept

• concept

Multiple Choice

9. Another word for idea is ....................

• consumer

• production process

• precious metals

• firm

• concept

Multiple Choice

10. A business or company is sometimes called ....................

• consumer

• production process

• precious metals

• firm

• concept

Multiple Choice

12. When we buy things or use services we are a ....................

• consumer

• production process

• precious metals

• scarcity

• concept

The end

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