Vocabulary focus

Ex.1. Find the English equivalents in the text.

Співпадання потреб, товарні гроші, представницькі гроші, кредитні гроші, нерозмінні паперові гроші, банкноти і монети, золотий стандарт, у якості посередника, виконувати функції засіб обміну, міра вартості, засіб накопичення (засіб збереження вартості), рахункова одиниця, еталон вимірювання, ліквідний засіб, законний платіжний засіб, єдина валюта, переказ (грошей), банківський рахунок, гарний приклад, наріжний камінь.

Ex.2. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following words and phrases.

The concept of money, the origins of money, the emergence of money, the most essential attribute, general characteristics, solve the basic problems, a range of goods, coincidence of wants, precious metals, perishable goods, any commodity or token, a monetary unit, the value of currency, a fixed amount of, difficult to counterfeit, evolve (into), in payment for, for this purpose, the gold standard, electronic payments.

Ex. 3. Give three forms of the following verbs. Find the sentences with these verbs in the text.

Become, begin, buy, find, get, give, grow, keep, let, make, overcome, pay, sell, speak, spend, take, tell, understand, withstand.

Ex. 4. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

1	barter	a	a medium of exchange in which money is a commodity generally accepted because it has value as a good and as money
2	money	b	anything generally accepted as payment for goods and services as well as for settlement of debts
3	currency	c	a direct exchange of one commodity for another, without the use of money
4	commodity money	d	money issued by the government but not backed by any commodity and is absolutely irredeemable
5	representative money	e	an economic process in which prices increase so that the purchasing power of money falls
6	fiat money	f	paper money issued by a government or a bank and backed by their promises to redeem it for a given weight of precious metal, specifically gold or silver
7	inflation	g	money that is used in a particular country

Ex. 5. Find in the text the words which go in pair with: currency, barter, exchange, money, function, value, duplication. You can add other word collocations. Give examples either from the text or of your own.

Model: currency → national/international, local/foreign, weak/stable/hard currency, the single European currency

e.g. A stable currency means that your savings do not diminish in value. You can always convert euro into your local currency.

Ex.6. Choose the appropriate word or phrase from the list below to complete the sentences.

Attribute, an indirect exchange, medium of exchange, barter, credit money, durable, fiat money, high inflation, solve, over time, through space

1. Without the use of money, trade would be reduced to ______________ .

2. Money is the mechanism that enables parties to make ___________________ of goods and services.

3. It was money that _________________ the basic problems created by barter.

4. Any commodity used as a _______________________ is commodity money.

5. _________________ serves as legal tender by government decree.

6. Examples of _________________ include bank deposits and credit card loans.

7. As a medium of exchange, money transmits value _________________ , and it transmits value _________________ as a store of value.

8. The most essential _________ of money is its recognisability and acceptability.

9. Money must be portable, __________, divisible and stable.

10. In the time of ______________ money may not be a good store of value.

Ex.7. Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition or adverb.

1. In order to get an answer ____ these questions, let us turn ____ the origins of money and examine its principal functions.

2. Money came into being ____ barter.

3. The oldest recorded use of money dates ____ ____ ancient Mesopotamia about 4,500 years ago.

4. ____ , money took the form of commodity money.

5. Representative money refers ____ currency issued by governments or banks and backed by their promises to redeem it ____ a given weight of gold or silver.

6. The value of fiat currency is based ____ trust that people will accept it ____ payment ____ goods and services and that its value will remain ____ stable.

7. Whatever the type of money, it should be judged ____ how well it performs its major functions.

8. In addition ____ these three functions of money, economists often point ____ the fourth criterion – to serve ____ a means of liquidity.

9. Money has a big advantage ____ other assets.

10. Debit cards used for purchases and transaction records could greatly reduce the need ____ cash, but paper currency still has the advantage ____ privacy.

11. The percentage of electronic payments is growing ____ these days.

12. We must admit that despite predictions of a “cashless society” relying ____ electronic payments, the demand ____ currency continues to grow.

Ex.8. Look through the text again and replace the words/phrases in italics with similar ones.

1. First of all, money is the result of a long evolutionary process.

2. Apart from these three functions of money, economists often point out one more criterion - a means of liquidity.

3. In effect, money is what money does.

4. Actually, any commodity used as a medium of exchange is commodity money.

5. All things considered, it must be said that money can be any commodity or token used by society as a medium of exchange, a measure of value and a store of value.

6. And lastly, money units must be difficult to duplicate.

7. However, it is not only the physical durability of money that matters. Its social and institutional durability is also very important.

8. There are some general characteristics that are extremely important and necessary for whatever acts as money in a modern society.

9. An excellent example of fiat money is euro.

10. The percentage of money moved electronically is growing surprisingly these days.

Ex.9. Choose and combine two parts logically to make complete sentences.

1. An economy that lacks a medium of exchange uses …	a) commodity money. b) barter. c) flexible exchange rates.
2. In a monetary economy, …. 3. In a barter economy, …	a) a person having something to trade must find somebody who wants it and has something to offer in exchange. b) the owner of a commodity may sell it for money and buy anything he wants for this money.
4. To be a good medium of exchange, money must be … 5. To be a good store of value, money must be … 6. To be a good measure of value or a unit of account, money needs to be …	a) durable so it can be kept for future use and have a stable value so people do not lose its purchasing power if they use the money at a later time. b) portable, divisible, easily measured and willingly accepted by people. c) useful for quoting prices.
7. Bank deposits and credit card loans are examples of … 8. Currency backed by a government or bank’s promise to redeem it for a given weight of gold or silver refers to 9. The type of money that is found today in most countries (the euro, American dollar, British pound, etc.) is	a) representative money. b) fiat money. c) credit money.

Ex.10. Translate into English.

1. До появи грошей був бартер, тобто, прямий безгрошовий обмін товарами.

2. Гроші - це будь-який товар або знак, що використовується суспільством як засіб обміну, міра вартості і засіб накопичення.

3. Щоб бути хорошим засобом обміну, гроші повинні бути легко впізнаваними, загальноприйнятими і зручними в користуванні, тобто бути подільними і легко переноситися з одного місця до іншого.

4. Як міра вартості, гроші служать в якості еталону для виміру вартості товарів і послуг.

5. Гроші виступають як засіб заощадження для використання в майбутньому, або як засіб накопичення багатства.

6. Щоб бути хорошим засобом накопичення, гроші повинні бути тривалого користування і мати більш-менш стабільну вартість.

7. У часи високої інфляції і політичної нестабільності гроші навряд чи можуть бути гарним засобом накопичення.

8. Гроші мають велику перевагу над іншими формами капіталу.

9. Це найбільш ліквідний капітал, оскільки вони повсюдно впізнавані і приймаються як єдина валюта.

10. Їх можна використовувати в будь-який момент для купівлі товарів і послуг, у той час як, для того щоб обміняти золото або діаманти на готівку, потрібен час і якісь зусилля.