Public Policy

 
Федеральное государственное бюджетное  
образовательное учреждение высшего образования 
РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ НАРОДНОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА 
и ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ СЛУЖБЫ при ПРЕЗИДЕНТЕ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ 
НИЖЕГОРОДСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ – ФИЛИАЛ РАНХиГС 
RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ACADEMY  
OF NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 
NIZHNY NOVGOROD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, BRANCH OF RANEPA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PUBLIC POLICY 
учебно-методическое пособие  
по практике английского языка 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Нижний Новгород 
Nizhny Novgorod, Russia 

УДК 811.111 (775.8) 
ББК 81.432.1 
Л 22  
 
 
Рецензенты:  
Петрищева Н.С., канд. пед. наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков и 
профессионального лингвообразования Нижегородского института управления – филиала РАНХиГС; 
Жерновая О.Р., канд. филол. наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков и 
лингвокультурологии Института международных отношений и мировой истории (ИМОМИ) ННГУ им. Н.И. Лобачевского. 
 
 
Ланская Ю.С. 
Public Policy: учебно-методическое пособие по практике английского языка / Ю.С. Ланская, Ю.Г. Ремаева. – Нижний Новгород: НИУ РАНХиГС, 2021. – 182 с. 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-00036-266-2 
 
 
Учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов, обучающихся по направлению подготовки 41.03.06 «Публичная политика и социальные науки» (уровень бакалавриата) в Нижегородском институте управления – филиале РАНХиГС. 
В пособии используются аутентичные тексты экономической и политической тематики, комплекс упражнений к которым способствует усвоению и закреплению лексики, развитию различных видов чтения и понимания оригинальной литературы по специальности, а также отработке навыков 
устной речи в ситуациях профессионального общения. 
 
 
 
 
 
УДК 811.111 (775.8) 
ББК 81.432.1 
 
 
 
 
ISBN 978-5-00036-266-2 
 
 
 
 
© Ланская Ю.С., 2021 
© Ремаева Ю.Г., 2021 
© Нижегородский институт управления – филиал РАНХиГС, 2021 
Л 22 

THE ECONOMY: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW 
Part I 
The Economy 
Ex. 1 Check the meaning and pronunciation of the following words and 
complete the text below. 
shelter          resources            benefit (v)         identity         consumption         predictable         survival          commodities 
The economy is the social institution that organizes a society’s production, distribution, and (1) _______ of goods and services. As an institution, the economy operates, for better or worse, in a generally (2) _______ manner. Goods are (3) _______ 
ranging from necessities (food, clothing, (4) _______) to luxury items (cars, swimming pools, yachts). Services are activities that (5) _______ others (for example, the 
work of priests, physicians, teachers, and computer software specialists).  
We value goods and services because they ensure (6) __________ or because 
they make life easier or more interesting. Also, what people produce as workers and 
what they buy as consumers are important parts of social (7) _______ as when we 
say, “He’s a steelworker,” or “She drives a Mercedes.” How goods and services are 
distributed, too, shapes the lives of everyone by giving more (8) _______ to some 
and fewer to others. 
Ex. 2 Translate the following words from Russian into English and use 
them in sentences of your own. 
Социальный институт; товары и услуги; производство, распределение и 
потребление товаров и услуг; функционировать предсказуемым образом; начиная от …. до; предметы первой необходимости; еда, одежда, кров; предметы 
роскоши; приносить пользу; ценить; обеспечивать выживание; потребители; 
социальная идентичность; распределяться; определять жизнь каждого; ресурсы.  

Ex. 3 Fill in the charts below. 
Noun 
Verb 
 
Noun 
Adjective 
 
benefit 
 
luxury 
 
a)  
b) producer 
c) 
produce 
 
 
necessary 
economy 
a) 
b) 
a) 
b) distributor 
distribute 
 
 
 
a)  
b) consumer 
 
 
 
 
 
value 
 
 
 
identity 
 
 
 
 
a) 
b) 
survive 
 
 
 
Ex. 4 Answer the following questions. 
1. What does the economy do? 
2. How does it function? 
3. What do we understand by goods? 
4. What are the basic needs? 
5. What do luxury items include? 
6. What do we mean by services? 
7. Why do we value goods and services? 
8. We discover what we are like through what we produce and purchase, don't we?  
9. Are resources distributed equally? 
Ex. 5 Complete the sentences below. 
1. The economy is the social institution that …………………………………………. 
2. Goods are commodities that ………………………………………………………. 
3. Basic necessities include ………………………………………………………….. 
4. …………………………………………………………………… are luxury items. 
5. Services are activities that ………………………………………………………… 
6. Goods and services ensure  ……………………… and ………………………….. 
7. …………………….. and ………………..…. are important parts of social identity. 
8. ………………………..… shapes the lives of everyone by ……………….………. 

Part II 
The economies of modern high-income nations are the result of centuries of 
social change. We turn now to three technological revolutions that reorganized production and, in the process, transformed social life.  
The Agricultural Revolution 
The earliest human societies were made up of hunters and gatherers living off 
the land. In these technologically simple societies, there was no distinct economy. 
Rather, producing and consuming were part of family life. 
When people harnessed animals to plows, beginning some 5,000 years ago, a 
new agricultural economy was created that was fifty times more productive than 
hunting and gathering. The resulting surplus meant that not everyone had to produce 
food, so many took on specialized work: making tools, raising animals, or building 
dwellings. Soon towns sprang up, linked by networks of traders dealing in food, animals, and other goods. These four factors ‒ agricultural technology, job specialization, permanent settlements, and trade ‒ made the economy a distinct social institution.  
Ex. 1 a) Find out which syllable is stressed in the following words and put 
them in the correct column. Practise saying them. 
Distinct, surplus, result, gatherer, trader, permanent, income, technology, settlement, process, society, specialized. 
  ☺ 
☺   
☺        
   ☺         
distinct 
 
 
 
 
b) Look at the phonetic spelling of some of the words. Practise saying 
them. 
[prəˈdʌktɪv] 
[ˌæɡrɪˈkʌltʃərəl] 
[ˌteknəˈlɒdʒɪkli] 
[ˌspeʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃn] 

Ex. 2 Translate the following words and word combinations from English 
into Russian. 
High-income nations; technological revolutions; hunters and gatherers; to live 
off the land; technologically simple societies; distinct; to harness animals to plows; to 
take on specialized work; to spring up; (to be) linked by…; to deal in sth;  agricultural technology; job specialization. 
Ex. 3 Translate the following words and word combinations from Russian 
into English and use them in sentences of your own. 
Реорганизовать производство; изменить социальную жизнь; состоять из; 
производство и потребление; сельскохозяйственная экономика; охота и собирательство; излишек; создавать орудия труда; разводить животных; строить жилища; постоянные поселения; торговля; определенный социальный институт. 
Ex. 4 Fill in the charts below. 
Noun 
Verb 
 
Noun 
Adjective 
Adverb 
a) hunter 
b)  
 
 
production 
 
 
plow 
 
 
 
agricultural 
 
a)  
b) gathering 
 
 
technology 
 
 
 
harness 
 
 
 
 
a) trade 
b)  
 
 
 
 
 
 
specialize 
 
 
 
 
settlement 
 
 
 
 
 
Ex. 5 Answer the following questions.  
1. Who did the earliest human societies consist of? How did they live? What exactly 
did they do? 
2. When was a new agricultural economy created?  
3. What did it result in? 
4. What specialized work did many people do? 
5. How were towns linked? What did traders do? 

6. What four factors made the economy a distinct social institution? 
Ex. 6 Complete the sentences below. 
1. The earliest human societies were made up of ………………. and 
………………. who lived………………………………………………………... 
2. ………………………....... and ………….…..………..….were part of family life. 
3. When people began to ……………..…., a new agricultural economy was created.  
4. It was more …………………….…. than ……..…………………………………. 
5. The resulting surplus allowed people to take on …………………………………. 
6. Towns were linked by ………………….…. dealing in ………………….………. 
7. The four factors which made the economy a distinct social institution are 
……………………………………………………………………………………. 
Part III  
The Industrial Revolution 
Ex. 1 Read the text and match the headings to the paragraphs. 
A. Centralization of work in factories 
B. Specialization 
C. Wage labor  
D. Manufacturing and mass production 
E. New sources of energy 
By the mid-eighteenth century, a second technological revolution was under 
way, first in England and then in North America. The development of industry was 
even more powerful than the rise of agriculture in bringing change to the economy. 
Industrialization changed the economy in five fundamental ways: 
1. __________ Throughout history, “energy” had meant the muscle power of 
people or animals. But in 1765, the English inventor James Watt introduced the 
steam engine. One hundred times more powerful than animal muscles, early steam 
engines soon drove heavy machinery. 
2. __________ Steam-powered machines soon moved work from homes to factories, the centralized and impersonal workplaces that housed the machines. 
3. __________ Before the Industrial Revolution, most people grew or gathered 
raw materials such as grain, wood, or wool. In an industrial economy, the focus shifts 

so that most people work to turn raw materials into a wide range of finished products 
such as processed foods, furniture, and clothing. 
4. __________ Centuries ago, people worked at home, making products from 
start to finish. In the factory, a worker repeats a single task over and over, making only a small contribution to the finished product. 
5. __________ Instead of working for themselves, factory workers became 
wage laborers working for strangers, who often cared less for them than for the machines they operated. The Industrial Revolution gradually raised the standard of living as countless new products and services fueled an expanding marketplace. Yet the 
benefits of industrial technology were shared very unequally, especially at the beginning. Some factory owners made vast fortunes, while the majority of industrial workers lived close to poverty. Children, too, worked in factories or in coal mines for pennies a day. Women working in factories were among the lowest paid, and they endured special problems. 
Ex. 2 Check the pronunciation of the following words and practise saying 
them. 
Industry, industrial, fundamental, throughout, muscle, engine, machine, machinery, raw, focus, processed, furniture, laborer, fuel, shared, unequally, fortune, 
majority, endured. 
Ex. 3 Guess the meaning of the words in italics from the context. 
1.  to be under way (par.1) 
a) to be already happening;  
b) to be finished. 
2.  fundamental (par.1) 
a) theoretical;  
b) important. 
3.  to introduce (par.2) 
a) to make something available for use for the first time; 
b) to tell somebody what your name is. 
4.  to house (par.3) 
a) to display;  
b) to provide space for sth. 

5.  to fuel (par.6) 
a) to stimulate sth; 
b) to put petrol/gas into a vehicle. 
6.  to endure (par.6) 
a) to suffer from;  
b) to last. 
Ex. 4 Translate the following words and word combinations from English 
into Russian. 
To be under way; the rise of agriculture; in five fundamental ways; throughout 
history; muscle power; to introduce the steam engine; heavy machinery; steampowered machines; centralized and impersonal workplaces; to house machines; manufacturing and mass production; grain; a wide range of finished products; processed 
foods; to repeat a single task over and over; to operate machines; countless new 
products and services; to fuel an expanding marketplace; the benefits of industrial 
technology; to make vast fortunes; to endure special problems. 
Ex. 5 Translate the following words and word combinations from Russian 
into English and use them in sentences of your own.  
Внести изменения во ч-л; новые источники энергии; изобретатель; паровой двигатель; сырье; фокус смещается; превращать ч-л во ч-л; специализация; 
создавать продукт от начало до конца; внести вклад во ч-л;  работать на к-л; 
наемные работники; заботиться о к-л/ч-л; поднять уровень жизни; расширяющийся рынок; преимущества ч-л; распределять неравным образом; владельцы 
фабрик; нажить огромное состояние;  пребывать на грани бедности;  быть среди 
самых низкооплачиваемых. 
Ex. 6 Fill in the correct preposition. 
1. to bring change _______ sth 
2. to turn sth ______ sth 
3. _______ start _______ finish  
4. to work _______ sb/sth 
5. to care _______ sb/sth 
6. _______ the beginning 

7. to live close _______ poverty 
8. to be _______ the lowest paid 
Ex. 7 Explain the meaning of these words and word combinations. 
1. industrialization 
2. mass production 
3. raw material 
4. wage labor 
Ex. 8 Answer the following questions.  
1. What change did Britain and North America undergo in the 18th century?  
2. What new source of energy was introduced in 1765? 
3. How did the emergence of steam-powered machines affect the workplace? 
4. What do most people focus on in an industrial economy? 
5. In what way is making products in a factory different from making products at 
home? 
6. What positive change did the Industrial Revolution bring about? 
7. Who benefited the most from industrial technology? Why? 
Ex. 9 Complete the sentences below. 
1. By the mid-eighteenth century, a second technological revolution was 
……………….…., first in ………..…………. and then in …….……………….. 
2. Industrialization changed the economy in ………………………………………. 
3. In 1765, the English inventor James Watt introduced ………………….………. 
4. It was more powerful than ………………. and soon steam engines drove 
……………………………. 
5. Steam-powered machines moved work from ………………. to ……………….. 
6. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people grew or gathered ………………. 
7. After it, most people worked to turn raw materials into ……………………...…. 
8. Centuries ago, people worked at home and made products from ………………. 
9. In an industrial economy, factory workers repeated ………………. and made only a small contribution to……………………….. 
10. Instead of working for themselves, factory workers became ……………………. 
11. Factory owners often cared less for their workers than ………………….………. 
12. The Industrial Revolution raised ………………. as new products and services 
fueled ………………………. 
13. Yet the benefits of industrial technology were shared ……………………..……. 
14. Factory owners made ………………., while industrial workers lived 
…………………………...