第单元市场机制

第2单元　市场机制
Unit 2 Market Mechanism

Text A

Ⅰ．课文导读

市场经济是一种经济体系，在这种体系下，产品和服务的生产及销售完全由自由市场的自由价格机制所引导，而不是像计划经济一般由国家所引导。在市场经济里并没有一个中央协调的体制来指引其运作，但是在理论上，市场将会透过产品和服务的供给和需求产生复杂的相互作用，进而达成自我组织的效果。市场经济的支持者通常主张，人们所追求的私利其实是一个社会最好的利益，即市场实际是受到亚当·斯密所谓“看不见的手”所支配。

Ⅱ．Text

We actually take for granted the smooth running of the economy．When you go to the supermarket，the items you want—bread，cereal，and bananas—are usually on the shelf．You pay your bill，pop the food in yourmouth，and have a juicy meal．What could be simpler？

If you pause for a moment and look more closely，you may begin to appreciate the complexity of the economic systeMthat provides your daily bread．The food may have passed through five or ten links before getting to you，traveling for days ormonths froMevery state and every corner of the globe as itmoved along the chain of farmers，food processors，packagers，truckers，wholesalers，and retailers^[1]．It seems almost aMiracle that food is produced in suitable amount，gets transported to the right place，and arrives in a palatable^[2]forMat the dinner table．

But the truemiracle is that this entire systeMworkswithout coercion^[3]or centralized direction by anybody．Literally millions of businesses and consumers engage in voluntary^[4]trade，and their actions and purposes are invisibly coordinated by a systeMof prices and markets．Nobody decides how many chickenswill be produced，where the trucks will drive，and when the supermarketswill open．Still，in the end，the food is in the store when you want it．

Markets perforMsiMilarmiracles around us all the time，as can easily be seen if only we observe our economy carefully．Thousands of commodities are produced by millions of people，willingly，without central direction or master plan^[5]．Indeed，with a fewimportant exceptions (like themilitary，police，and schools) most of our econoMic life proceeds without government intervention，and that's the true wonder of the social world．

A market economy is an elaboratemechanisMfor coordinating people，activities，and business through a systeMof process and markets．It is a communication device for pooling^[6]the know ledge and actions of billions of diverse individuals．without central intelligence or computation，it solves problems of production and distribution involving billions of unknown variables and relations，problems that are far beyond the reach of even today's fastest supercomputer．Nobody designed themarket，yet it functions remarkably well．In amarketeconomy，no single individual or organization is responsible for production，consumption，distribution，and pricing．

How domarkets determine the price，wages，and output？Originally，amarketwas an actual place where buyers and sellers could engage in face-to-face bargaining．Themarketplace—filled with slabs of butter，pyraMids of cheese，layers of wet fish，and heaps of vegetables—used to be a familiar sight in many villages and towns，where farmers brought their goods to sell．In the U-nited States today there are still importantmarketswheremany traders gather together to do business．For example，wheat and corn are traded at the Chicago Board of Trade，oil and platinum^[7]are traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange，and gems are traded at the Diamond District in New York City．

More generally，amarket should be thought of as amechanisMby which buyers and sellers can determine prices and exchange goods and services．There aremarkets for almost everything，froMart to pollution．A market should be centralized，as in the case of houses or labor．Or itmay exist only electronically，as in the case ofmany financial assets^[8]and services，which are traded by computer．The crucial characteristic of a market is that it brings buyers and sellers to set prices and quantities．

A market is a mechanisMby which buyers and sellers interact to deterMine the price and quantities of goods or services．

In a market system，everything has a price，which is the value of the goods in terms of money．Prices represent the terms on which people and firms voluntarily exchange different commodities．When Iagree to buy a used Ford froMa dealer for$ 4050，this agreement indicates that the Ford isworthmore than$ 4050 tome and that the price of$ 4050 isworthmore than the Ford to the dealer．The used carmarket has determined the price of a used Ford and，through voluntary trading，has allocated^[9]this goods to the person for whoMit has the highest value．

In addition，prices serve as signals to producers and consumers．If consumerswantmore of any goods，the price will rise，sending a signal to producers thatmore supply is needed．For example，every summer，as families setouton their vacations，the demand for gasoline rises，and so does the price．The higher price encourages oil companies to increase gasoline production and，at the same time，discourages travelers froMlengthening their trips．

On the other hand，if a commodity such as cars becomes overstocked，dealers and automobile companieswill lower their prices in order to reduce their inventory．At the lower price，more consumerswillwant cars，and producerswillwant to make fewer cars．As a result，a balance，or equilibrium，between buyers and sellerswill be restored．

What is true ofmarkets for consumer goods is also true ofmarkets for factors of production，such as land or labor．If computer programmers rather than textile workers are needed，job opportunitieswill bemore favorable in the computing field．The price of computer programmers (their hourly wage) will tend to rise，and thatof textileworkerswill tend to fall，as they did during 1980s．The shift in relative wages will attractworkers into the growing occupation．

The nursing crisis of the 1980s shows the labor market at work．During that decade the grow th in the health-care sector led to an enormous expansion of nursing jobs with far too few trained nurses to fill them．Hospitals offered all sorts of fringe benefits^[10]to attract nurses，including subsidized^[11]apartments，low cost of on-site child care^[12]，and signing bonuses as high as $ 10，000．One hospital even ran a lottery^[13]for nurses，with the prize being a gift certificate at a nearby department store．Butwhat really attracted people into the nursing profession was rising wages．Between 1983 and 1992，the pay for registered nurse rose almost70 percent，so they were making about as much money as the average accountant or architect．The rising pay drew so many people into nursing that by 1992 the nursing shortage had disappeared inmost parts of the country．

Prices coordinate the decisions of producers and consumers in amarket．Higher prices tend to reduce consumer purchases and encourage production．Lower prices encourage consumption and discourage production．Prices are the balance wheel of themarketmechanism．

The orderliness of the market systeMwas first recognized by AdaMSmith，whose classic work The Wealth of Nations(1776) is still read today．Smith proclaimed the principle of the “invisible hand．”This principle holds that，in selfishly pursuing only his or her personal goods，every individual is led，as if by an invisible hand，to achieve the best goods for all．SMith held that in this best of all possible worlds，government interference with market competition is almost certain to be injurious．

Smith's insight about the functioning of themarketmechanisMhas inspired modern econoMists—both the adMirers and the critics of capitalism．EconoMic theorists have proved thatunder restrictive conditions a perfectly competitive economy is efficient(remember that an economy is producing efficiently when it cannot increase the economic welfare of anyone withoutmaking someone else worse off)．

After two centuries of experience and thought，however，we recognize the scope and realistic limitations of this doctrine^[14]．We know that there are“market failures”and thatmarkets do not always lead to themost efficient outcome．One set ofmarket failures concernsmonopolies^[15]and other forms of imperfect competition．A second failure of the invisible hand comes when there are spillovers^[16]or externalities outside themarketplace—positive externalities such as scientific discoveries and negative spillovers such as pollution．A final reservation comeswhen the income distribution is politically or ethically unacceptable．When any of these elements occur，AdaMSMith's invisible-hand doctrine breaks down and governmentmay want to step in tomend the flawed invisible hand．

Ⅲ．Notes

1．Chicago Board of Trade(芝加哥商品交易)．Established in 1848，it is the world's oldest futures and options exchange．On 12 July 2007，the CBOTmerged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange(CME) to forMthe CME Group，a CME/Chicago Board of Trade Company．CBOT and three other exchanges(CME，NYMEX，and COMEX) noWoperate as designated contractmarkets(DCM) of the CME Group．

2．New York Mercantile Exchange(纽约商品交易所)．NYMEX is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange．It is located at One North End Avenue in the World Financial Center in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan，New York City．Additional offices are located in Boston，Washington，D．C．，Atlanta，San Francisco，Dubai，London，and Tokyo．

3．Diamond District(钻石区)．The Diamond District is the world's largest shopping district for all sizes and shapes of diamonds and fine jewelry at tremendous prices and value．When you shop for diamonds and fine jewelry，this is the first and only place to shop-New York's Diamond District．The Diamond District is located on West 47 the Street between Fifth and the Avenue of the Americas(Sixth Avenue) in Midtown Manhattan．

4．AdaMSMith(亚当·斯密)．AdaMSmith(1723—1790) is a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy．One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment，Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations．The latter，usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations《国富论》，is considered hismagnuMopus and the firstmodern work of economics．It is a reflection on economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and argues that free market econoMies aremore productive and beneficial to their societies．The book is a seMinalwork in classical economics．

5．The Invisible Hand(看不见的手)．In econoMics，the invisible hand，also known as invisible hand of themarket，is the terMeconoMists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace．This is ametaphor first coined by the econoMist AdaMSMith in The Theory of Moral Sentiments，and used a total of three times in his writings．For Smith，the invisible hand was created by the conjunction of the forces of self-interest，competition，and supply and demand，which he noted as being capable of allocating resources in society．This is the founding justification for the Austrian laissez-faire econoMic philosophy，but is also frequently seen in neoclassical and Keynesian economics．

6．IMperfect CoMpetition(不完全竞争)．In economic theory，imperfect competition is the competitive situation in any market where the conditions necessary for perfect competition are not satisfied．It is amarket structure that does notmeet the conditions of perfect competition．Forms of imperfect competition include:monopoly，in which there is only one seller of a good oligopoly，in which there are few sellers of a good and monopolistic competition，in which there aremany sellers producing highly differentiated goods．

Ⅳ．Useful Expressions

1．take．．．for granted:把……看作理所当然

2．engage in:从事

3．far beyond the reach of．．．:远远超出……的范围

4．consumer goods:消费商品

5．be true of．．．:适用于

6．atwork:起作用

7．worse off:更贫困;更糟糕

8．break down:失效;出问题

Ⅴ．Reading Comprehension

Questions

1．What is the nature of prices？

2．How do priceswork in amarketmechanism？

3．How does the“invisible hand”work？

4．What are the“market failures”？

5．How does the nursing crisis prove aboutmarketmechanism？

Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false．

1．Before the food arrives at the dinner table，it has passed through different links．(　)

2．The economic systeMisworking under force．　(　)

3．Prices and markets decide the businesses and the engagement of consumers．　(　)

4．There is amaster plan controlling the production of commodities．　(　)

5．Economy is an elaborate mechanisMfor coordinating people，activities，and business through a systeMof process and markets．　(　)

6．In the economic market，buyers and sellers determine prices and exchange goods and services．　(　)

7．Economy can increase the economic welfare of anyone．　(　)

8．The author used the nurse crisis to explain the importance of rising wages．　(　)

9．Prices aremore important than wages in themarketmechanism．　(　)

10．AdaMSmith's invisible-hand doctrine will break down when any of the three“market failures”occurs．　(　)

Ⅵ．Discussion

Smith held the view that‘government interference with market competition is almost certain to be injurious'．Do you agree with him？Illustrate your point．

Text B

BEC Reading Texts

PART ONE Questions 1—8

·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about freemarket froMan article．

·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E) does each statement(1—8) refer to？

·For each statement(1—8)，make one letter(A，B，C，D or E) on your Answer Sheet．

·You will need to use some of these lettersmore than once．

1. This is the contemporary use of the term“free market”by econoMists and in popular culture; the terMhas had other uses historically．

2. The theory holds that within an ideal free market，property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged solely by themutual consent of sellers and buyers．

3. By owning economic interests or offering subsidies to businesses．

4. Free markets contrast sharply with controlled markets or regulated markets，in which governmentsmore actively regulate prices and/or supplies．

5. A freemarket is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand．

6. Advocates of a free market traditionally consider the terMto imply that the means of production is under private，and not state control or co-operative ownership．

7. In a freemarket，the systeMof prices is the emergent resultof a vastnumber of voluntary transactions，rather than of political decrees．

8. A freemarket is not to be confused with a perfectmarketwhere individuals have perfect information and there is perfect competition．

A. However，the terMis also commonly used formarkets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is liMited to tax collection，and enforcement of private ownership and contracts．Freemarkets differ froMsituations encountered in controlled markets or amonopoly，which can introduce price deviationswithout any changes to supply and demand．

B. A free-market economy is one within which allmarkets are unregulated by any parties other than market participants．In its purest form，the government plays a neutral role in its administration and legislation of economic activity，neither limiting it nor actively promoting it．

C. By definition，buyers and sellers do not coerce each other，in the sense that they obtain each other's property rightswithout the use of physical force，threat of physical force，or fraud，nor are they coerced by a third party．

D. Where substantial state intervention exists，the market is amixed economy．Where the state or co-operative association of producers directly manages the economy to achieve stated goals，economic planning is said to be in effect;when economic planning entirely substitutes market activity，the economy is a Command economy．

E. The freer the market，the more truly the prices will reflect consumer habits and demands，and themore valuable the information in these prices is to all players in the economy．Through free competition between vendors for the provision of products and services，prices tend to decrease，and quality tends to increase．

PART TWO

Questions 9—14

·Read the text about the need of government intervention in themarket．

·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps．

·For each gap(9—14)，mark one letter(A-H) on your Answer Sheet．

·Do not use any lettermore than once．

Market Failure

Themarket does notwork equally well in all situations．In fact，in some circumstances，the marketmechanisMmight actually fail to produce the goods and services society desires．

(9)．．．Most people want to feel that their nation's borders are secure and that law and order will prevail in their communities．But few people can afford to buy an army ormaintain a legal system．(10)．．．，he or shemight decline to do so．After all，amilitary force and a legal systeMwould benefit everyone in the community，not just those individualswho paid for it．

Recognizing this，few peoplewould willingly pay for national security or a systeMof criminal justice．They would rather spend their income on ice creaMand DVD players，hoping someone elsewould pay for law and order．(11)．．．，nomoney would be spent on national defense or a legal system．Society would end up with neither output，even though both serviceswere widely desired．

In other situations，(12)．．．If therewere no government regulation，then anyonewho had enough money could purchase and drive a car．Little kids froMwealthy families could hit the highways，and so could adultswith a history of drunken driving．Moreover，no one would have to spend money on eMissions-control systems，lead free gasoline，ormufflers．We could drive as fast aswe wanted．

(13)．．．Others，however，would be concerned about safety and pollution．They would realize that the market's decisions about who could drive and what kinds of cars were produced might not be so perfect．(14)．．．To assure safer and cleaner driving，people might agree to let the government regulate speed，auto emissions，and even drivers．

A. Even if someone were rich enough to pay for such security

B. If everyone waited for a free ride

C. The governmentmakes no attempt to intervene．

D. Some people would welcome unregulated roadways as a new utopia

E. the use of themarketmechanisMdoes not imply a freemarket．

F. They would want the government to intervene

G. National defense is an example

H. themarketmight produce too much of a good or service

PART THREE

Questions 15—20

·Read the following article on the great depression．

·For each question(15—20) mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose．

In 1929 it looked as though the sun would never set on the American economy．For eight years in a row，the U．S．economy had been expanding rapidly．During the Roaring Twenties the typical American family drove its first car，bought its first radio，and went to themovies for the first time．with factories running at capacity，virtually anyonewho wanted to work readily found a job．

Under these circumstances everyone was optimistic．In his acceptance address of November 1928，President-elect Herbert Hoover echoed this optimisMby declaring:“We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land．．．We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished froMthis nation．”

The booming stock market seemed to confirMthis optimistic outlook．Between 1921 and 1927，the stock market's valuemore than doubled，adding billions of dollars to the wealth of A-merican households and businesses．

The party ended abruptly on October 24，1929．On what came to be known as Black Thursday，the stock market crashed．In a few hours，themarket value of U．S．corporations fell abruptly，in the most frenzied selling ever seen．The next day President Hoover tried to assure America's stockholders that the economy was“on a sound and prosperous basis．”But despite his assurances and the efforts of leading bankers to steMthe decline，the stock market continued to plummet．The following Tuesday(October 29) the pace of selling quickened．By the end of the year，over$ 40 billion of wealth had vanished in the Great Crash．Richmen became paupers overnight;ordinary families lost their savings，their homes，and even their lives．

The devastation was not confined to Wall Street．The financial flames engulfed the farms，the banks，and industry．Between 1930 and 1935，millions of ruralfamilies lost their farms．Automobile production fell froM4．5 million cars in 1929 to only 1．1 million in 1932．So many bankswere forced to close that new ly elected President Roosevelt had to declare a“bank holiday”in March 1933 to steMthe outfloWof cash to anxious depositors．

Throughout these years，the ranks of the unemployed continued to swell．In October 1929，only 3 percent of the workforce was unemployed．A year later over 9 percent of the workforce was unemployed．Still，things gotworse．By 1933 over one-fourth of the labor force was unable to find work．People slept in the streets，scavenged for food，and sold apples on Wall Street．The Great Depression seemed to last forever．In 1933 President Roosevelt lamented that one-third of the nation was ill-clothed，ill-housed，and ill-fed．Thousands of unemployed workersmarched to the Capitol to demand jobs and aid．

15. Which of the following is not the description of“Roaring Twenties”？

A. Economy had been expanding rapidly．

B. Stock markets boomed．

C. People could travel by driving their cars．

D. There were noises everywhere．

16. What is themeaning of Herbert Hoover's declaring？

A. Poverty will be banished froMU．S．

B. America at that time was nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history．

C. America has been successfulwith the help of God．

D. He showed his optimisMtowards the development of the country．

17. Which of the following is not the description of“The Great Depression”？

A. Families lost their savings．

B. Banks were forced to close．

C. The stock market crashed．

D. The industry of the country was prosperous．

18. Which of the following was not affected by the Great Depression？

A. Employment

B. Farm

C. Banks

D. Pessimism

19. Why does president Hoover assure America's stockholders that the economy was“on a sound and prosperous basis”？

A. To cheat America's stockholders．

B. To encourage America's stockholders to buy stock．

C. To tell America's stockholders the economy is really prosperous．

D. To avoid stock's plummeting．

20. Whatmight be themost appropriate title of the passage？

A. Stock Market

B. The Outcome of Roaring Twenties

C. The Great Depression in 1929

D. People's life during the Great Depression

PART FOUR

Questions 21—30

·Read the article below about the dilemma between income and leisure．

·Choose the correctword to fill each gap froMa，B，C or D．

·For each question(21—30)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet．

Income vs．Leisure

Because both leisure and income are(21)．．．，we confronta tradeoff when deciding whether to go to work．Going to work impliesmore income but less leisure．Staying home has the opposite consequences．

The(22)．．．tradeoff between labor and leisure explains the shape of individual labor-supply(23)．．．As we work more hours，our leisure time becomes scarcer—and thusmore valuable．We become increasingly(24)．．．to give up any remaining leisure time as it gets ever scarcer．People who work all week long are reluctant to go to work on Saturday．It's not that they are physically exhausted．It's just that they want some time to enjoy the(25)．．．of their labor．In other words，as the opportunity cost of job time increases，we require(26)．．．higher rates of pay．We will supply additional labor—work more hours—only if higher wage rates are offered:this is themessage conveyed by the upward-sloping labor-supply curve．

The upward slope of the labor-supply curve is(27)．．．with the changing value of income．Our(28)．．．motive for working is the income a job provides．Those first few dollars are really precious，especially if you have bills to pay and no other source of support．As you work and earn more，however，you discover that yourmost(29)．．．needs have been satisfied．You may stillwantmore things，but your consumption desires aren't so urgent．In otherwords，themarginal(30)．．．of income declines as you earn more．You may not be willing to work more hours unless offered a higher wage rate．

21. A. necessary　　　B. indispensable　　C. dispensable　　　D. valued

22. A. intractable　　B. awkward　　　　　C. inevitable　　　 D. cruel

23. A. graph　　　　　B. diagram　　　　　C. chart　　　　　　D. curves

24. A. impatient　　　B. reluctant　　　　C. repugnant　　　　D. hate

25. A. fruits　　　　 B. happy　　　　　　C. coMfort　　　　 D. gains

26. A. respectively　 B. correspondingly　C. fairly　　　　　 D. equally

27. A. stimulated　　 B. reinforced　　　 C. provoked　　　　 D. aroused

28. A. ultimate　　　 B. essential　　　　C. primary　　　　　D. potential

29. A. expected　　　 B. important　　　　C. urgent　　　　　 D. internal

30. A. utility　　　　B. effect　　　　　 C. function　　　　 D. avail

PART FIVE

Questions 31—40

·Read the article below about the side effect ofmarketmechanism．

·For each question 31—40，write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

The Side Effect of Market Mechanism

ThemarketmechanisMMight also select the wrong choice about HOW to produce．Consider themessage that unregulated markets communicate to producers．In an unregulated market，(31)．．．price would be charged for using air orwaterways，since(32)．．．is owned by any individual．Producers，(33)．．．，would regard the use of air and waterways as a“free”good．Under such circumstances itwould be a lot cheaper for a factory to dump itswaste into nearby waterways than to dispose of itmore carefully．It would also be(34)．．．for power plants to let waste gases and soot go up in smoke than to install environmental safeguards．The resulting pollutants are an externality—a cost imposed(35)．．．innocent third parties．Consumers would be worse off as the quality of the air and water deteriorated．

Profit-driven producerswould seldoMworry about externalities in a completely unregulated marketplace．(36)．．．profit-and-loss considerations the only determinant of HOW goods were produced，we Might end up destroying the environment．To prevent such a calamity，we look (37)．．．the government to regulate HOW goods are produced，thereby rectifying market failures．

Themarketmightalso(38)．．．to distribute goods and services in the best possibleway．A market systeMrewards people(39)．．．to their value in themarketplace．Sports stars，entertainers，and corporate executives end up with huge paychecks while others toil formeager wages．Big paychecks provide access to more output; people with little paychecks get much less of (40)．．．is produced．

PART SIX

Questions 41—52

·Read the text below about central planning mechanism．

·In most lines(41—52)，there is one extra word．It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text．Some lines，however，are correct．

·If a line is correct，write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet．

·If there is an extra word in the line，write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

Central Planning

41. Karl Marx saw things differently．In his view，a freewheeling marketplace would cater to the whims

42. of the rich and neglect to the needs of the poor．Workerswould be exploited by industrial barons

43. and great landowners．To“leave it off to themarket，”as Smith had proposed，would encourage

44. exploitation．In themid-nineteenth century，Karl Marx who proposed a radical alternative:

45. over-turn the power of the poor elite and create a communist state in which everyone's needs

46. would be fulfilled．Marx'swritings(Das Kapital，1867) encouraged communist revolutions and the

47. development of central planning systems．The(people's) government，not froMthe market，

48. assumed responsibility for deciding what goods were produced，at what prices they were sold，

49. and even who got them．Central planning is still not the principalmechanisMof choice in some

50. countries．In North Korea and Cuba，for an example，the central planners decide how many cars

51. to produce and how much bread．They then assign workers and other resources according to

52. those industries to implement their decisions．They also decide who will get the bread and where the cars that are produced．Individuals cannot own factors of production nor even employ other workers for wages．The WHAT，HOW，and FORWHOMoutcomes are all directed by the central government．

【注释】

[1]wholesalers and retailers:批发商和零售商

[2]palatable:好吃的

[3]coercion:强制

[4]voluntary:自发的

[5]waster plan:总体计划

[6]pool:将……集中起来

[7]platinum:铂金

[8]assets:资产

[9]allocate:分配

[10]fringe benefits:附加利益

[11]subsidize:补贴

[12]on-site child care:在工作场所儿童照管处

[13]lottery:彩票

[14]doctrine:教条;信条

[15]monopoly:垄断

[16]spillovers:伴随的发展;影响