Английский разговорный язык. Практическое пособие по развитию устной речи. В. А. Миловидов

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      Exercise 2

      Answer the questions:

      1. What assumption is capitalism based on?

      2. What is the state's role under capitalism?

      3. What decisions are people free to make within the capitalist system?

      4. What is «pure» competition?

      5. What are companies' aims under real competition?

      6. What do competing companies undertake to attract customers?

      7. What benefits of capitalism are based on such things as rivalry and product differentiation?

      8. What is the main feature of modern capitalism?

      9. Who do giant corporations attract funds from?

      10. What role does a government play in national economies under capitalism?

      How to Make Money under Capitalism

      1

      A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.

      The old guy fingered his very expensive wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel.

      "I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.

      «The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37.»

      «And that's how you built an empire?» the boy asked.

      «Heavens, no!» the man replied. «Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars.»

      2

      «My boy decided to go into business on a shoestring,» said George. «He's tripled his investments, but he's still not satisfied, can you believe it?»

      «Why not?» asked his friend.

      «He can't think of anything to do with three shoestrings.»

      3

      A businessman was leaving his office building and saw a little boy sitting on the curb with a dog. The boy yelled at the businessman, «Hey, how would you like to buy a dog?»

      The man was intrigued by this sales approach and asked the boy, «How much do you want for your dog?»

      The boy told him, «Fifty thousand dollars.»

      «Fifty thousand dollars!» the man repeated in astonishment. «What special tricks does this dog do that he can earn enough money to be worth fifty thousand dollars?» the man asked the boy.

      The boy replied, «Mister, this dog never made a nickel in his life. Matter of fact, count what he eats I guess you could say you lose money on him every year.»

      The businessman felt this was a good time to explain economics to the young man and expounded on how an item had to produce more income than it consumed to equal a purchase price. And he ended saying that the boy might get five dollars from someone who just wanted a companion. Feeling he had imparted a very valuable lesson to the young man, the businessman went on his way.

      A few weeks later, the businessman came out of his office building and the small boy was again sitting on the curb minus the dog. The man said to him, «I see you took my advise and sold the dog for five dollars.»

      The boy said, «No, I got fifty thousand dollars for him.»

      The businessman was completely flabbergasted. «How did you ever get fifty thousand dollars for that dog?» he asked.

      «It was easy,» said the boy. «I traded him for two twenty five thousand dollar cats.»