新时代核心英语教程综合英语4教师用书U8.pdfVIP

Unit 8 Economics Is All Around Us I. Unit Overview Text A introduces the substance of economics with vivid examples. Economics, on its bases, is a study of men in reactions to material reward in the ordinary business of life. It concerns itself chiefly with the spiritual, emotional, and mental state of humans, the outward manifestations of which appear as incentives to action with the sum of money. It thus should be noted that the measurement is carried out not on those affections in mind but their effect. At the end of the text, the author generally lists some principles and procedures of economists conducting their researches. Text B introduces two well-known models to examine various economic issues. The first model is the circular-flow diagram, which presents a visual flow of how the economy is organized and how participants in the economy interact with one another. The model simplifies economy with only two types of participants, firms and households, who interact in the markets for goods and services and markets for the factors of production. The second model is called the production possibilities frontier. It shows the trade-off that all corners of society face in front of limited resources. Once reaching the efficient points on the frontier, the only way of producing more of one good is to produce less of the other. The text assumes only two goods—cars and computers produced in an economy, to illustrate the model. Knowledge is important as we are often told since primary school. However, the knowledge of economics, despite its significance and ubiquitous presence, draws relatively little attention in our ordinary life. The two texts with their own efforts explain a world with economics. They tell us that economy is by no means a purely material shell. It is closel