11 International Trade

Resources

ENGLISH SKILLS TUTORIALS LANGUAGE SUPPORT FOR MODULE B

https://issuu.com/adrian.ciupe.elt

LEARNERS DICTIONARIES GENERAL ENGLISH

Oxford: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Longman: http://www.ldoceonline.com/
Macmillan: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
Cambridge: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Collins/Cobuild: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-cobuild-learners
Merriam-Websters (focus on American English): http://www.learnersdictionary.com/

SPECIALISED DICTIONARIES BUSINESS ENGLISH

Business Dictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/
Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/dictionary/
Cambridge: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY LESSONS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/

READING AND LISTENING PRACTICE

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/

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A Speaking & Writing
Below you may find a set of questions which you can prepare prior to class
meetings, at your leisure. When answering any of these questions, be ready to
support your opinion with examples of your own.
This module is required for the SPEAKING and WRITING tasks!

1. In your own words, define `international trade` and relate the term to a countrys economic
performance.
2. Mention and explain some of Romanias strengths and weaknesses regarding its international trade.
3. In your own words, define `visible exports` and `invisible exports`. Which of them is currently an
economic advantage for Romania and why?
4. In your own opinion, what should be considered legal and / or illegal with regard to a countrys
commercial transactions?
5. Explain some of the possible economic repercussions of a trade deficit for a countrys economic well-
being.
6. Speak about Romanias strengths regarding its current exports.
7. Is exportation of goods / services necessarily better than importation of these regarding any given
country? Explain.
8. Considering sectors like the industry, agriculture and services, which of them would favour Romania
and which not? Explain.
9. Mention and explain possible problems associated with importing / exporting the following products:
tobacco, beef, meat in general, vegetables, software.
10. If you were to start your own business, in which economic sector do you think you would be most /
least successful as an exporter? Explain.
11. Exporting encourages production and importing encourages consumption. How far would you agree
and why? What are the resulting advantages / disadvantages for a country?
12. Imagine a country that cannot export or import goods or services. How could it cope economically
under these circumstances?
13. Economic embargos are usually enforced for political reasons. Think of a recent embargo of this kind
and discuss its causes and results.
14. Imagine you had the power to prohibit certain imports to Romania. What would they be and why?
15. Imagine you had the power to prohibit certain exports from Romania. What would they be and why?
16. Discuss Romanias situation regarding its international trade with neighbouring countries in Eastern
Europe.
17. Discuss Romanias situation regarding its international trade with countries in Western Europe.
18. Discuss Romanias situation regarding its international trade with countries on other continents than
Europe.
19. Nowadays, high-profile economic players like the US, China, South Korea and Japan seem to have
monopolised international trade. Do you agree / disagree? Explain.
20. How do you see the competition in international trade between the EU and the US or certain
developed Asian countries?
21. The involvement of politics in international trade leads to economic failure. How far would you agree
and why?
22. Less than a century ago, Romania used to be considered `Europes granary` (= Romania was the main
exporter of cereals to other European countries). What has led, over the decades, to Romanias
downfall from this point of view? Do you think Romania will ever regain that status? Explain.

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B Reading & Language
The following (guided) practice tests simulate the question formats in your final
test and may be used in the construction of the final test versions. Further
explanations will be available in class. The tests not covered in class are part
of your self-study use the learners dictionaries suggested (see page 1).
This module is required for the FINAL TEST!

DIRECTIONS FOR ALL PRACTICE TESTS

If you see ONLY a blank space, on your ANSWER SHEET you must write EITHER a preposition / an
adverbial particle, OR one of the words given at the beginning of each set of
questions, in its correct form (some words DO NOT have to be changed). If you see a blank space
followed by four options, on your ANSWER SHEET you must write the one correct option. If you see
a blank space followed by a WORD IN CAPITAL LETTERS, you must use that word to form a word
that fits the blank, by adding prefixes and / or suffixes; on your ANSWER SHEET, write the word you
have formed.

Making use of the RESOURCES listed on the cover page of this unit can greatly
assist you in solving these exercises correctly.

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PRACTICE TEST 01
deficit, denounce, grow, own, settle

A 01 ____ SLOW in Romania's economy has led to a sharp decline 02 ____ imports of luxury cars
from Japan.
A third of this country's exports go to American- 03 ____ firms abroad.

An agreement was reached on 04 ____ LATERAL free trade between the two countries.

Some crops 05 ____ commercially are subsidised by the government.

Some of the restrictions 06 ____ imports have been done away 07 ____.

Such problems can cause a trade 08 ____ BALANCE.

The country has trade 09 ____ of 110 billion.

There has been a row between London and Madrid 10 ____ a trade deal with France.

These trade policies have been 11 ____ by some EU governments.

They finally struck a free trade 12 ____ AGREE.

This is a bill that will 13 ____ TIGHT trading rules.

We are a leading 14 ____ EXPOSE of free trade.

We need a more viable mechanism for 15 ____ disputes between trading partners.

FOLLOW-UP
1. What prepositions can you use with verbs and nouns describing economic trends? Give some examples
of correct usage.
2. In what cases is a preposition used at the end of a statement or a question? See question 7 for
reference.
3. Whats the opposite of the verbal adjective balanced?

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PRACTICE TEST 02
certify, cry, decline, flood, lose, manufacture

All beef exports must be 01 ____ safe and disease-free by a specially designated body.

Cheap imported goods are 02 ____ the markets in developing countries.

Foreign trade accounted 03 ____ a very small proportion of the countrys national income back in the
late 1980s.
France has 04 ____ foul over the decision to increase export 05 ____ SUBSIDISE.

Romania is trying to 06 ____ STRONG its trade connections with the US.

The countrys 07 ____ ACCESS to the World Trade Organization was a sign of economic stability.

The countrys share of world trade had steadily 08 ____ over the last decade.

The meat was 09 ____ REPORT exported from France in 10 ____ DEFY of the ban.

The 11 ____ REASONABLE high exchange rate 12 ____ them many of the export markets in
Asia.
There is an agreement 13 ____ the limitation of food exports to conflict regions.

We are a leading exporter of 14 ____ goods.

We must produce more food to reduce our 15 ____ RELY on imports.

FOLLOW-UP
1. How would you translate into Romanian the word body, as used in question 1?
2. Explain the idiom in question 4.
3. Whats the meaning of the derivative you need for question 9?

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PRACTICE TEST 03
bulk, cause, do, forge, forge

As expected, e-commerce is a whole new way of 01 ____ business nowadays.

Competition 02 ____ cheap imports is making life tough for manufacturers in poorer countries.

Costs can usually be 03 ____ LOW through 04 ____ buying.

During the 1990s, Romania 05 ____ trade links with the rest of Europe.

Export orders have continued to fall 06 ____ STEEP.

Exports are 07 ____ booming / boosting / beaming / binding and forecasters are fairly
optimistic.
Exports to Saudi Arabia have risen 08 ____ no less than 150% in the last decade or so.

For several years, the building trade was in heavy 09 ____ RECEDE things are looking better now.

Most farmers complained of 10 ____ FAIR competition 11 ____ cheap imported food.

The current interest rates are 12 ____ damage 13 ____ the export trade in several countries in
Eastern Europe.
The latest figures show that export sales continue to 14 ____ ahead.

There are strict controls 15 ____ the import of meat.

FOLLOW-UP
1. In what situations is business countable or uncountable?
2. Whats the grammatical difference between the verbs boom and boost?
3. Can you give a synonym for import (noun), as used in question 15?

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PRACTICE TEST 04
ban, boost, mainstay, pursue, turn

All member states agreed to 01 ____ a common trade policy across the EU.

Global trade 02 ____ manufactured goods has increased 03 ____ DRAMA over the last few years.

Indisputably, companies like this keep the wheels of commerce 04 ____.

It is perfectly legal to import tobacco products 05 ____ EU law.

No government should 06 ____ or otherwise prevent the 07 ____ SELL of legally imported goods.

Oil exports are the 08 ____ of the economy in many Asian countries.

Our external trade increased 09 ____ CONSIDER , reflecting a 10 ____ in food exports.

Our views are far apart 11 ____ the issue of free trade.

Regarding the exploitation of natural resources, forestry should be 12 ____ COMMERCE viable.

She decided to venture 13 ____ an export business.

There are new controls 14 ____ the importing of 15 ____ live / lively / living / livelihood
animals from those areas.

FOLLOW-UP
1. How would you explain the idiom used in question 4?
2. What is a business venture? Do you see any connection with the verb venture in question 13?

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PRACTICE TEST 05
-

Commercially 01 ____ SENSE information must be treated accordingly.

High-level officials called for the 02 ____ MOVE of barriers in the way of free trade.

Reducing most applicable tariffs is the key 03 ____ developing a 04 ____ SUBSTANCE trade flow
for our country.
The aim of this agreement is to break 05 ____ barriers 06 ____ free trade.

The ban 07 ____ all beef exports remains 08 ____ force.

The 09 ____ RESTRICT practices existing in their home market have given some industries a(n) 10

____ FAIR advantage in international trade.

There is an ongoing campaign against the 11 ____ EXPORT of live animals.

They have 12 ____ rose / risen / raised / arisen the stakes in a bitter fight 13 ____ imports.

Yesterday, 14 ____ REPRESENT voted 218 15 ____ 29 to continue the trade embargo against
the country.

FOLLOW-UP
1. Whats the difference between sensible and sensitive?
2. Whats the difference between consistent and substantial?
3. If a law is in force, it means it has been ____ (verb derived from force).

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PRACTICE TEST 06
bar, extend, figure, powerhouse, release

A(n) 01 ____ GROW of / in trade was announced yesterday.

Different trade issues 02 ____ prominently at the talks.

Our decision was made 03 ____ a purely commercial basis.

T he beef trade faces a long haul back to 04 ____ PROFIT after the mad cow disease scare.

The committee suggested a 1.5% tax 05 ____ food imports.

The countrys economy is heavily 06 ____ DEPEND on timber exports.

The latest trade figures are 07 ____ proof / testimony / proving / testimonial to the failure
of these policies.
The latest trade figures were 08 ____ today.

The markets in Eastern Europe abound 09 ____ imported goods.

The WTO has set a date 10 ____ which members should comply 11 ____ its fair trade rules.

There is a rule that 12 ____ the export of live animals.

This new measure will help 13 ____ boom / bust / boost / beam international trade.

We all know that the Internet has truly become a commercial 14 ____.

We should 15 ____ trade privileges to our poorer neighbours.

FOLLOW-UP
1. How would you explain the verb needed for question 2, in this context?
2. Give more collocations with the verb you need for question 15.

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PRACTICE TEST 07
good, surge, talk

That trade 01 ____ AGREE was effectively 02 ____ NULL once the company was taken over.

The PM leaves 03 ____ a trade mission to South Africa tomorrow morning.

The question 04 ____ us is whether we should keep the trade embargo in force or not.

The 05 ____ REMOVE of trade restrictions will certainly give the economy quite a 06 ____ boost

/ bust / boom / bound.

The sale of 07 ____ is just one form of commercial transaction.

The statistics 08 ____ Romanian trade provide some basis 09 ____ optimism.

The terrible story 10 ____ (= revealing previously unknown facts) the fur trade was widely publicised.

The trade group will hold its annual 11 ____ ASSEMBLE in Cape Town.

The trade 12 ____ will resume in a week.

The two companies will continue to trade 13 ____ their original names.

The value of imports 14 ____ last month, recording an all-time high.

The value of Romania's 15 ____ VISION exports to EU countries has almost doubled over the last
decade.

FOLLOW-UP
1. Whats the meaning of the expression null and void? In what contexts would you use it?
2. Can goods (= products) be used in the singular? Can good be a noun?
3. Whats the meaning of the verb resume (see question 12)? What noun can be derived from it?

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PRACTICE TEST 08
brisk, halt, prominent, stem, talk

Further trade sanctions have been imposed 01 ____ effect 02 ____ 4 April.

Her family was 03 ____ in the Italian wine trade.

The Government imposed a 04 ____ plateau / ceiling / roof / top on agricultural imports from
Spain.
There has been a rapid increase 05 ____ food exports to Asia.

These premises are 06 ____ SUIT for commercial use.

They aim at bringing the region rapidly into a free trade zone, en route to 07 ____ LATERAL free
trade (= between many countries).
They are going to retaliate by 08 ____ Columbian imports.

They had been doing a 09 ____ trade (= doing lots of business) in hamburgers by that time.

They have imposed new restrictions 10 ____ trade with companies overseas.

They responded 11 ____ kind, 12 ____ THREAT to ban imports from Syria.

This rule was used to 13 ____ the tide of imported videos.

We are hoping that the trade 14 ____ might evolve 15 ____ a political dialogue this time.

FOLLOW-UP
1. How do you say / write dates in British and American English?
2. How would you translate into Romanian the word you need to choose for question 4?
3. How would you translate into Romanian the expression in question 11?
4. Whats the difference between dialogue and dialog? Can you give more examples to illustrate this
kind of spelling difference?

Adrian.Ciupe.ELT
PRACTICE TEST 09
balance, mark, produce, roar

Of course we want to get a bigger 01 ____ cake / pie / slice / plate of the tourist trade!

Peasants usually travel 02 ____ town to trade the 03 ____ from their farms.

Strong exports of services, tourism included, helped the overall 04 ____ of trade in Greece.

There has been a 05 ____ increase 06 ____ trade between Romania and China.

There is no cast-iron guarantee that the trade 07 ____ 08 ____ DANGER animals will stop soon.

They are desperately trying to stave 09 ____ a trade war with the countries mentioned.

They did a 10 ____ trade 11 ____ hotdogs last month.

We must reduce the country's 12 ____ DEPEND on imports.

Weve 13 ____ minced / sliced / cut / sharpened a deal with France 14 ____ wine imports.

While 15 ____ DIFFERENT over certain duties remain, international trade continues to grow.

FOLLOW-UP
1. What adjective corresponds to the noun tourist?
2. How would you explain the idiom in question 10?
3. Whats the meaning, in this context, of the word you have derived for question 15?

Adrian.Ciupe.ELT
PRACTICE TEST 10
agree, compel, develop, finish, restrict, wholesale

A few massive bilateral trade agreements are being 01 ____ hit / struck / stricken / busted
as we speak!
Another special 02 ____ MINISTRY regional free trade meeting was 03 ____ for November 2016.

No other trade is subject 04 ____ such stringent rules than tobacco exports and imports.

Some 05 ____ arguments for fair trade have been 06 ____ arisen / risen / raised / aroused

by several 07 ____ INFLUENCE tycoons.

The PM called 08 ____ fair trade terms to allow 09 ____ countries to sell their food products to more

10 ____ INDUSTRY nations.

We are happy to see that the new global trade agreement is falling 11 ____ place.

We should 12 ____ our foreign trade so that we exported more 13 ____ goods than we imported.

14 ____ and retail trade accounts 15 ____ over one quarter of the jobs in the metropolitan area.

FOLLOW-UP
1. What is the meaning of the idiom as we speak (see question 1)?
2. What is a tycoon?
3. What is PM here? How about MP (in politics)?
4. Explain the idiom in question 11.

Adrian.Ciupe.ELT
C Listening & Language
The task sheets and directions will be available in class only. After doing the
listening exercises, you will receive web links to the recordings and the audio
scripts. The audio scripts may be used in the construction of the final test
versions, based on the question formats practised in module B.
This module is required for the FINAL TEST!

DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR SELF-STUDY

Read each audio script and listen at the same time. Repeat the procedure a few times and pay attention
to pronunciation and spelling. To clarify vocabulary problems, make sure that you use the learners
dictionaries suggested on page 1 of this unit. When working with the audio scripts, focus on the following:

1. collocations;
2. fixed expressions containing dependent prepositions;
3. phrasal verbs;
4. idioms;
5. derivatives (word building).

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D Further Reading
Below you may find web links to a few articles that give you more information
about the topic of this course unit. These articles have been carefully selected
so as to be both informative and helpful towards your language development.
This module is for your information ONLY!

DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR SELF-STUDY

Read each article once for more information on the topic of this unit. In order to improve your reading
and language skills (grammar and vocabulary), read each article again and pay attention to the problems
mentioned below (1-5). In doing so, make sure that you use the learners dictionaries suggested on page 1
of this unit. Focus on the following:

1. collocations;
2. fixed expressions containing dependent prepositions;
3. phrasal verbs;
4. idioms;
5. derivatives (word building).

LINKS
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/112503.asp
http://www.brownconsultancy.com/ds-theory-international-trade.aspx
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/trade.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/international/globalisation/international_trade/index_en.htm
http://www.internationaltrade.co.uk/

DISCLAIMER
The author of this course unit is not responsible for the persistence / accuracy of the URLs provided here
and does not guarantee that the content on these websites will remain accurate / appropriate.

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