Step by Step 3000 第1册 Unit8:Trends in Economics(2)

 　　Part 2. Nobel Prize winner for economics.

　　Keywords. Nobel Prize for Economics,large forces, unemployment, inflation, national savings¹, change policy.

　　Vocabulary. the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, macroeconomics, credit, stagflation.

　　A. Listen to a passage about Edmund Phelps, a Nobel Prize winner for economics.

　　Complete his major viewpoints below with the information you hear.

　　Edmund Phelps has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize for economics.

　　Mr Phelps is a professor of economics at Columbia University in New York City.

　　The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Mr Phelps for his work in macroeconomics.

　　That is the study of large forces that affect economies at the national or international level.

　　Mr Phelps correctly identified the relationship between unemployment and inflation.

　　Since 1930's, policy makers² in many nations dealt with unemployment in the same way.

　　They would let inflation increase to create jobs.

　　For example, they would make credit easier to get, as a result, people would buy more goods.

　　Businesses would hire workers to meet growing demand, forcing prices up.

　　For many years, policy makers accepted that reducing unemployment required higher inflation.

　　Mr Phelps found that inflation did temporarily increase employment.

　　But he discovered that over the long turn, inflation hurt job creation.

　　His ideas were proved by economic conditions in America in the 1970's.

　　That period was known for stagflation, having high unemployment and high inflation at the same time.

　　Edmund Phelps also found that if employers expect low inflation in the future, they are more likely to hire workers.

　　Today, economic policy experts believe the best way to create jobs is to fight inflation.

　　Mr Phelps also studied national savings over long periods of time.

　　Common sense suggests that a very high savings rate is best.

　　But Mr Phelps showed that national savings rates can be too high.

　　He argued that saving too much limited demand in the present, which could slow growth.

　　The best savings rate is not so high that it limits demand in the present, and it's not so low that it limits growth and investment in the future.

　　Still he argued that governments should take action to raise national savings.

　　Edmund Phelps did much of his research in macroeconomics during the late 1960's and early 1970's.

　　His work continues to influence economists³.

　　And it has helped change policy at central banks which now consider fighting inflation a main goal.

　　B. Listen to the passage again, this time focus on the wrong ideas and theories common people and even policy makers held before.

　　Supply the missing information.

1 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》