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学术英语学术英语 社科社科Academic English for Social Sciences Text A Key terms Critical reading and thinking Difficult sentences English language for academic purpose Specialized vocabulary Collocations Formal and informal English Signpost languageUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesText AKey termsl rational people: 理性人理性人 Those people who systematically and purposefully do the best they can to achieve their objectives, given the available opportunities.Unit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl marginal change: 边际变化边际变化 small incremental adjustments to a plan of actionl marginal benefit: 边际效益边际效益 the additional benefit from an increase in an activityText AKey termsUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl marginal cost: 边际成本边际成本 the additional cost from an increase in an activityl marginal decision-making: 边际决策边际决策 the additional cost from an increase in an activityl incentive: 激励激励 something that induces a person to actHow People Make DecisionsEconomists explanation about decision making: There are rules behind peoples decision-making behaviors.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl Rational people think at the margin.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesExample 1: standby ticketsWhat a rational airline can do?Situation: Flying a 200-seat plane across the U.S. costs the airline $100,000.Cost of each seat: $500 (Thats to say, never sell a ticket for less than $500.)Suppose: A plane is about to take off with 10 empty seats. A standby passenger will pay $300 for a seat.Question: should the airline sell the ticket?Answer: Yes.Reason: If the plane has empty seat, the cost of adding one more passenger is tiny. Here the marginal cost is merely the cost of something to eat, like peanuts, coco, etc.Conclusion: As long as the standby passenger pays more than the marginal cost, selling the ticket is profitable.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesExample 2: water vs. diamondWhy is water so cheap, while diamonds are so expensive?waterdiamondNecessary for survivalThe marginal benefit of an extra cup is small because water is plentiful.Unnecessary for survivalThe marginal benefit of an extra diamond is large because diamonds are rare.Unit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesText ACritical reading and thinkingText ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesConclusion: Rational people think at the margin. (They make decisions by comparing costs and benefits.) Are you a rational person?Example 1: the price of an appleHow people respond to incentives?When the price rises: It provides an incentive for buyers to consume less; It provides an incentive for sellers to produce more.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl Rational people respond to incentives. Example 2: a tax on gasoline How people respond to incentives? Encourage people to drive small, more fuel-efficient cars; carpool take public transportation; live closer to where they work; drive hybrid cars; drive electric cars.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities Example 3: a seat belt law American laws require seat belts as standard equipment on new cars.How a seat belt law alters a drivers cost-benefit calculation (Peltzmans analysis):Seat belts reduce the likelihood of injury or death make accidents less costly drive faster and less carefully a large number of accidentsText ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesResult: These laws produce both fewer deaths per accident and more accidents. Conclusion 1: The net result is little change in the number of driver deaths and an increase in the number of pedestrian deaths.Conclusion 2: When analyzing any policy, consider both the direct effects and less obvious indirect effects.If the policy changes incentives, it will cause people to alter their behavior.Text ACritical reading and thinkingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities Rational people know that when they make a decision, it is often not a yes-or-no choice, but requires deliberate consideration of the pros and cons. Text ADifficult sentencesUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl Rational people know that decisions in life are rarely black and white but usually involve shades of gray. (Para. 2) The most important theory in economic study concerns itself with incentives. Other theories are not as important. “The rest is commentary” is a phrase used in American English to mean “the rest is trivial or less important”. Text ADifficult sentencesUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl “People respond to incentives. The rest is commentary.” (Para. 6) At first, this discussion of incentives and seat belts might seem like random talk not supported by evidence. Text ADifficult sentencesUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl At first, this discussion of incentives and seat belts might seem like idle speculation. (Para. 12)Specialized vocabularyl rational peoplel marginal decision-makingl marginal changel marginal benefitl marginal costl net resultText AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesCollocationsText AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl achieve the high level of satisfactionl maximize profitsl achieve objectivesl be black and whitel roll roundl blow offl fly standbyl puzzling economic phenomenal take an actionl allocate scarce resourcesl end up with l unintended consequencesl idle speculationFormal and informal Englishl See Page 9, and do Task 3.Text AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesSignpost languagel Show connections between sentences and paragraphs. See Page 9, and do Task 2 Text AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesSignpost languageText AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activitiesl Signal important parts of academic writing, such as structure, writers position, arguments, conclusionReporting someones view: Some people/researcher(s) maintain(s) / argue(s) / assert(s) / claim(s) / point(s) outSignpost languageDisagreeing with someones view: I disagree with that The view is open to doubt / not necessarily true / highly debatable One of the main argument against is thatText AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesSignpost languagePointing out a gap in research: However little information These studies have emphasized, as opposed to Although considerable research has focused on, less attention has been given toText AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesSignpost languageAgreeing with someones view: I agree with when he writes that X is certainly correct in saying that Another point in favour of is A further argument supporting isNB: In the following units of study, more examples will be given. Text AEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesTask 1 The tree diagram below illustrates the main points of the text. Fill in the blanks according to the text.Text ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesDecision-making behaviors in economic activitiesThinking at the margincomparing marginal _ and marginal _ Responding to _Example 1standby tickets Critical reading and thinkingExample 2_ vs. _Example 1the price of an appleExample 2a tax on _Example 3_costbenefitswaterdiamondsincentivesgasolineseat belts lawTask 2 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).Text ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesCritical reading and thinkingF_ 1 When rational people make decisions in life, they are very certain of the choice._ 2 At the time of examination, students have to decide how to use all their time studying._ 3 Marginal changes are small gradual changes of the present plan of action._ 4 The example of the standby fly is told to show how cost can be ignored._ 5 Diamonds are more expensive than water because people are more attracted to them.FFFTTask 2 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).Text ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesCritical reading and thinkingT_ 6 The quotation of one economist “People respond to incentives. The rest is commentary.” is given to show the importance of incentives._ 7 The example of the apple shows how food prices vary according to market needs._ 8 The gasoline tax has an effect on peoples choice of cars._ 9 When the seat belt is made compulsory, people drive more carefully._ 10 Policymakers need to take into consideration the less obvious indirect effects of a policy.FFFTTask 1 Specialized vocabularyText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Match the words in Column A with those in Column B and then translate the phrases you have got into Chinese.Column A Column B1 marginala resource2 scarceb result3 maximizec change4 netd satisfaction5 level ofe people6 rationalf profitTask 1 Specialized vocabularyText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Match the words in Column A with those in Column B and then translate the phrases you have got into Chinese.1 _2 _3 _4 _5 _6 _marginal change边际变化边际变化scarce resources稀缺资源稀缺资源maximize profits最大化利润最大化利润net result净结果净结果level of satisfaction满意度满意度rational people理性人理性人Task 1 Specialized vocabularyText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up2 Translate the following sentences into English, using some of the phrases above.1 我们明年的目标是获得利润最大化。我们明年的目标是获得利润最大化。 _2 时间是一种稀缺资源,因此如果工人失业,他们的时间就浪时间是一种稀缺资源,因此如果工人失业,他们的时间就浪 费了。费了。 _ _We aim to maximize profits over the next year.Time is a scarce resource, so if workers are unemployed their time is wasted.Task 1 Specialized vocabularyText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up2 Translate the following sentences into English, using some of the phrases above.3 理性人有非理性的想法吗?理性人有非理性的想法吗? _4 满意度调查结果表明游客对某些服务不满意。满意度调查结果表明游客对某些服务不满意。 _ _Do rational people have irrational thoughts?Research into satisfaction level has found that tourists are not satisfied with some of the services.Task 2 Signpost languageText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Match the signpost language from Text A with the purpose each of them serves. Signpost languagePurposes 1 as we will seea explanation2 at the same timeb time sequence3 by contrastc giving examples4 for exampled comparison and contrast5 in other wordse coherence6 in this case1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4 _ 5 _ 6 _ebdcaeTask 2 Signpost languageText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up2 Complete the following sentences using the signpost language listed above.1 He is not well-known for his respect for factual accuracy, _, he was lying.2 Offices can easily become more environmentally-friendly by, _, using recycled paper.3 We dont like the situation. But _, we have to deal with this problem.in other wordsfor exampleat the same timeTask 2 Signpost languageText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up2 Complete the following sentences using the signpost language listed above.4 Their economy has expanded enormously, while ours, _, has declined.5 _, in this chapter there is no general formula for the solution to this question.6 The whole team dont want to lose him. _, he needs to realize that company regulations must be obeyed.by contrastAs we will seeIn this caseTask 3 Formal EnglishText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the more formal ones from Text A.1 As you study economics, you will come across firms that decide how many workers to hire and how much of their product to manufacture and sell to maximize profits. Key: _2 The reason is that a persons willingness to pay for any good is based on the marginal benefit that an extra unit of the good would produce. Key: _encounteryieldTask 3 Formal EnglishText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the more formal ones from Text A.3 An incentive is something that persuades a person to act, such as the prospect of a punishment or a reward. Key: _4 Many policies change the costs or benefits that people face and, therefore, change their behavior. Key: _5 For example, consider public policy about auto safety. Key: _inducesalterregardingTask 3 Formal EnglishText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up1 Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the more formal ones from Text A.6 The decline in safe driving has a clear, bad impact on pedestrians. Key: _7 At first, this discussion of incentives and seat belts might seem like an idle guess. Key: _8 When a person wears a seat belt, the likelihood of surviving an auto accident rises. Key: _adversespeculationprobabilityTask 3 Formal EnglishText ASuggested answersUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesLanguage building-up2 Complete the sentences with some of the answers you have got in the above exercise.1 Stress can have a(n) _ effect on peoples health.2 This doesnt _ the fact that what you did was wrong.3 He warned us that we might _ a lot of opposition at the very beginning.4 Some believe that surgery could _ a heart attack.5 He has very little to say _ the new EU regulations.6 Knowing about the past doesnt necessarily _ solutions to current problems.adversealterencounterinduceregardingyield Text B Critical reading Difficult sentences English language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesNew Airport Landing Fees Delayedl See Page 14, and do Task 1 and Task 2 Text BCritical readingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities A new federal policy: allowing airports to charge higher landing fees during peak periods Reason for formulating this policy: encourage airlines to arrange flights more evenly throughout the day, thus reducing flight delaysText BCritical readingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesCostsBenefitsAirportsAirlinesText BCritical readingUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesYour reflections on this policy:It will work: It wont work:l , which last month called the proposal “congestion pricing disguised as an airport fee”. (Para. 13)Text BDifficult sentencesUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities , which claimed that the proposal was actually charging fee for congestion rather than for the airport. l “Because the central policy issue at stake here influencing airline market decisions through airport pricing is inherently complex and historically has been controversial, we believe that it merits additional time to fully develop comments reflecting the views of industry stakeholders,” (Para. 14) Text BDifficult sentencesUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities “The central policy issue which is how to influence airline market decisions through airport pricing has always been complex and controversial. Hence it is necessary to allow more time for the parties involved in the industry to phrase their opinions that most clearly express their views.”Collocations l reduce / address congestionl charge higher landing feesl peak periodsl reduce delaysl take effectl implement measuresText BEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic ActivitiesCollocations l traffic volumel on-time arrival ratel be supportive ofl accommodate requestsl clear up ambiguityl go into effectText BEnglish language for academic purposeUnit 1 Decision-Making Behaviors in Economic Activities
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