PARAGRAPH 1

A People generally spend equal amounts of time on work and leisure.

B People have to make compromises.

C People work m order to have leisure tune. PARAGRAPH 2

A There are only a limited number of hours available for working.

B Everyone works about 16 hours.

C People can only work up to 24 hours a day. PARAGRAPH 3

A You have to work more hours to make more money.

B Earning a good wage allows you to spend less

time working.

C Some people get paid in their leisure time. PARAGRAPH 4

A If you work more, you earn more

В If your wage is bad you will want to work more.

C If your wage is good, you will want to

work more.

PARAGRAPH 5

A Sometimes it's hard to attract workers.

В Sometimes workers don't want more money.

C Elastic labour markets are more common than inelastic labour markets.

Factors of production

One morning you wake up with a great idea. You've thought of a product that no one else has, and you're certain there's demand for it. But how will you turn your idea into reality? First of all you'll need raw materials to manufacture from - probably oil and metal, but also paper for packaging. You can't produce it by yourself, so you'll need people to help you make it, package it and market it. Finally, your staff will need a factory and machines to produce with. In short, you need the factors of production: land, labour and capital.

The factors of production are the starting point for all economies. No economy can exist without them. The most basic of the factors is land. When economists talk about land, however, they don't just mean space to build on or fields to grow crops. Land means everything that nature provides and we can use for production. The land factor includes raw materials like coal, metals, oil and timber. It also includes things like water, fish and salt. So, although it seems illogical, land also means the sea!

The second factor is labour. Raw materials will just stay in the ground unless people dig them out and do something with them. Similarly, factory machines will sit doing nothing without people to operate them. Labour can mean the physical effort such as lifting, digging and building. This is called manual work. Labour also includes mental work like thinking, writing, communicating and designing. Industries that need many workers working long hours are called labour intensive industries. However, the quality of labour is as important as the quantity. An educated, skilled and fit workforce is more productive than an uneducated, unskilled and unhealthy one. This characteristic of the labour factor is called human capital. Some countries have large labour forces, but are poor in human capital because the economy lacks education and health care.

The third factor is capital. Capital includes buildings such as factories for production and warehouses for storage. It also includes the tools and equipment that workers use in the manufacturing process. In heavy industries such as shipbuilding or steel making, capital usually involves big machinery and mechanical equipment. In high-tech industries, on the other hand, capital generally means computers and complex laboratory apparatus. These days, industry tends to be more capital intensive than labour intensive.

When companies make investments, they buy new capital. There are two types of investment that companies need to make. The first is to buy new equipment so that they can expand their production. This is called net investment. Net investment is essential for economic growth. However, equipment gets old and needs repairing or replacing. The money spent on this kind of maintenance is called replacement investment.

Land, labour and capital are the three factors of production identified by Adam Smith and the classical economists. However, more recent economists have identified one more factor: entrepreneurship. This means people like you, with great business ideas that set the economy in motion.

Переведите на английский язык:

1.    Для производства товаров необходимы факторы производства, которыми являются земля, труд и капитал.

2.    Земля как фактор производства включает в себя всё, что даёт природа и может быть использовано для производства.

3.    Образованная, квалифицированная и здоровая рабочая сила имеет большую производительность, поэтому важную роль в экономике играют образование и здравоохранение.

4.    Капитал — это заводы, склады, оборудование, инструменты, компьютеры, т. е. всё, что используется в производственном процессе.

5.    В настоящее время промышленность становится более капиталоёмкой и менее трудоёмкой.

6.    Разделение труда и специализация делают процесс производства более эффективным и продуктивным.

7.    Рабочие выполняют операции автоматически, не задумываясь, что повышает производительность труда и улучшает качество их работы.

Factors of production

1. Choose the correct word.

1. All machines need maintenance / replacement so that they keep working well.

2. Scientists' laboratories are usually full of packaging / apparatus for experiments.

3. When a machine gets very old you need to buy a maintenance / replacement.

4. It's illogical / mental to take an umbrella out on a sunny day.

5. Plastic and cardboard are used a lot for the packaging / apparatus around products.

6. Some people enjoy doing illogical / mental activities like crosswords and board games.

7. Wood that hasn't been made into anything yet is called timber / crops.

8. A storage / warehouse is a large building for storing things.

9. The things that farmers grow in their fields are called timber / crops.

10. An industry that needs many workers is known as a factor / labour intensive industry.

11. If you don't need furniture or equipment for some time, you can put it into storage / warehouse.

12. The price of a product is a factor / labour which influences our decision to buy it.