PRICESIn most economic systems, the prices of the majority of goods and 1 services do not change over short periods of time. In some systems it is of course possible for an individual to bargain over prices, because they are not fixed in advance. In general terms, however, the individual cannot change the prices of the commodities he wants. When planning 5 his expenditure, he must therefore accept these fixed price. He must also pay this same fixed prices no matter how many units he buys. A consumer will go on buying bananas for as long as he continues to be satisfied. If he buys more, he shows that his satisfaction is still greater than his dislikes of losing money. With each successive purchase, how- 1( ever, his satisfaction compensates less for the loss of money. A point in time comes when the financial sacrifice is greater than the satisfaction of eating bananas. The consumer will therefore stop buying bananas at the current price. The bananas are unchanged; they are no better or worse than before. Their marginal utility to the con- 1! sumer has, however, changed. If the price had been higher, he might have bought fewer bananas; if the price had been lower, he might have bought more. It is clear from this argument that the nature of a commodity remains the same, but its utility changes. This change indicates that 2( special relationship exists between goods and services on the one hand, and a consumer and his money on the other hand. The consumer’s desire for a commodity tends to diminish as he buys more units of that commodity. Economists call this tendency the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. (Taken from A Rapid Course in English for Students 2: of Economics by Tom McArthur) A. COMPREHENSION 1. What should an individual accept when planning his expenditure? 2. Why a consumer will still go on buying things? 3. What is the meaning of the sentence “With each successive pur- 20chase, however, his satisfaction compensatesless for the loss of money” (line 10-11)? When will the consumer stop buying things? w What is the meaning of the sentence “Their marginal utility to the consumer has, however, changed (line 15-16)? What does the consumer do if the price had been higher? What is the main idea of paragraph 3? What remains the same? conn What does the change of utility indicate? 10. What is the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility? B. VOCABULARY I. Look at the terms in the left-hand column and find the meanings in the right-hand column. Write down the letter only 1.______ majority a. spending or using up 2._____ bargain b. buying 3. _____ expenditure c. reason given 4,___s successive d. not easily separable 5. ______ purchase e. be in the same place Ce argument f. greater number or part 7. _____ remain g. following one after another 8. ____ tendency h. leaning i. agreement on terms of transac- tion 2122 I. il, Fill in the blanks with noun, adjective, or verb forms. Use your dictionary if necessary. NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB ee eT compensate 2. finance 3. economic 4. argument 5. accept 6. indicate 7 ee relate oes a communicate Substitute appropriate terms for the underlined words or phrases in the sentence below. falls in advance expenditure sacrifice possible relationship remain continue move 1. Although the price has changed, the nature of a commodity will stay the same. 2. If the price comes down, the consumer will buy more.3. Changes in price indicates a special connection among goods, services, consumers and money. 4. In some economic system, bargaining over prices is feasible. 5. Fixed price should be accepted if people make a planning about their expenses. 6. People will stop buying things if the financial loss is greater than the satisfaction. 7. People will maintain to buy things if they think those things will give satisfaction. 8. Bargaining is a cause of an unfixed price beforehand. C. STRUCTURE DEGREES OF COMPARISON POSITIVE POSITIVE Using as....as Using as....as ~ To compare two things that — To compare two things are equal. that are equal.24 —_as....as is placed after the to be (am/is/are/was/were). Examples: — Tina is as tall as Ani. — This exercise is as easy as the last one. — as....as is placed after the verb. Examples: — Andi works as hard as his brother. ~ You speak as quickly as he. COMPARATIVE Using -er than (for one-syllable adjectives) or more....than (for adjectives of two syllables) To compare two things that are not equal. er than or more....than is placed after the to be (am/is/are/was/were) Examples: - He is older than I am. ~ That brown chair is more comfortable than this one. COMPARATIVE Using -er than (for one- syllable adjectives) or more....than (for adjectives of two syllables) — To compare two things that are not equal. -er than or more....than is placed after the verb. Examples: — She runs faster than you. — She speaks English more fluently than he.SUPERLATIVE Using the....-est (for one-syllable adjectives) or the most .... (for adjectives of two syllables) — To compare one thing with two or more other things. ~ the....est or the most... is placed after the to be (am/is/are/was/were). Examples: — Yesterday was the hottest day of the year. — That was the most boring film I’ve ever seen. SUPERLATIVE Using the....-est (for one-syllable adjectives) or the most .... (for adjectives of two syllables) — To compare one thing with two or more other things. — the....est or the most... is placed after the verb. Examples: — He works the hardest of all the other team members. — Tina dressed the most _beautifully of all the guests in that party. 25B. POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE bad badly worse more bad worst most 4 badly ill far far farther farther farthest farthest further further furthest furthest s00d7] s00d better better best best well well little litde less less Teast least muchimany — much/many more more most most mean ‘additional/extra’. For example: Further discussion would be pointless. *) Putting the word ‘the’ before the superlative phrase is necessary. For example: the best, the most badly *) The word ‘further’ can also be used, mainly with abstract nouns, t Examples: - His behaviour is as bad as his brother’s. — Adelaide is farther/further than Perth. — Further supplies will soon be available. - This was the furthest point they reached in their discussion. — New York has the most tall buildings of any city in the world.- She knits as good as her mother. - Alistair plays the violin better than the other violinist. - Anna eats the least of the other three girls. EXERCISE: Use the adjective or adverb in each sentence in the indicated form of comparison. You can tell Harris about it just (easily) as I can. That tall woman is (ambitious) secretary in this office. David attends class (regularly) of all the students. Your example is (good) than the one in the book. Roger is (talented) musician in that group. The letter will probably arrive (soon) than you expect. You didn’t do this part (thoroughly) as the first part. Pierre understands English (little) of all the students. eee eS Brazil exports (much) coffee of all South American countries. 10. Well, he had (little) time for this lesson than the last one. 11. Marie is certainly not (intelligent) as her sister is. 12, Mr Sanders was (tactful) than the other fellow. 13. Mr Meyer is undoubtedly (wise) of all the three officials. 14. The wind blew (hard) yesterday than it did on Monday. 15. Mr Turner works (seriously) of all the employees. 27D. SUPPLEMENT Look at this graph showing changes in Guthrie’s share price over a four-year period. (Note: Sime Darby is the name of another company which tried to take over Guthrie, but failed.) Guthrie Corporation Share Price r EEEEESS F Write five sentences describing the points and changes in the price of the share. Example: At the beginning of 1991, the share price stood at about 230 pence. 28