学术英语 社科

1. 学术英语 社科 Academic English for Social Sciences

2. 2 Economist Just as you cannot become a mathematician, psychologist, or lawyer overnight, learning to think like an economist will take time. However, what is the economist’s way of thinking? What does it mean to think like an economist? By learning this unit, you will find the answers.

3. Unit 2Economics Unit Contents • Lead-in • Text A • Text B • Text C • Listening • Speaking • Writing

4. Unit 2Economics • Lead-in • Who studies economics?

5. Unit 2Economics Lead-in Just as you cannot become a mathematician overnight, study economics and learn to think like an economist will take time. However who studies economics? Task 1 Listen to a talk “Who studies economics?” and complete the sentences.

6. Unit 2Economics Lead-in abstract 1 Economics can seem __________ at first, but the field is fundamentally very _________. practical 2 Mick Jagger once studied at_____________________________. the London School of Economics 3 When asked in 2005 why The Rolling Stones were going on tour again, Mick Jagger replied,“________________________.” Supply and demand

7. Unit 2Economics Lead-in Task 2 Listen to the talk again and complete the following table. Former President of the United States Journalist Chief Executive Officer,Microsoft Singer for the Rolling Stones

8. Unit 2Economics • Text A • Critical reading and thinking • Difficult sentences • English language for • academic purpose • Specialized vocabulary • Collocations • Formal and informal English • Signpost language

9. Unit 2Economics Text A Critical reading and thinking of Text A Text Analysis Thesis: Economics is a science. The economist works as a scientist.

10. Unit 2Economics Text A Critical reading and thinking of Text A 1Science and scientists have its own language, e.g. math, psychology, law. Economics and economists are the same, e.g. supply, demand, elasticity, consumer surplus. 2 Science and scientists use scientific method, e.g. observation, devise theories, collect data, analyze, test, shown with the example of Isaac Newton. Economics and economists are the same; they use observation and theory, e.g. a theory of inflation.

11. Unit 2Economics Text A Critical reading and thinking of Text A Natural sciences or Social sciences? Economics is a socialscience.

12. Unit 2Economics Text A Difficult sentences • “The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.” (Para. 4) → “Science is all just about improving everyday thinking.”

13. Unit 2Economics Text A Difficult sentences • Yet, despite this lack of realism – indeed, because of this lack of realism – studying these models is useful for learning how the human body works. (Para. 13) → Yet, although the models are not exactly the same as real bodies – actually just because they are not that realistic – they are useful to help people learn how the human body works.

14. Unit 2Economics Text A Difficult sentences • These models are stylized, and they omit many details. (Para. 13) → These models are artificial rather than realistic, and they don’t take many details into consideration.

15. Unit 2Economics Text A Difficult sentences • Yet, despite this lack of realism – indeed, because of this lack of realism – studying these models is useful for learning how the human body works. (Para. 13) → Yet, although the models are not exactly the same as real bodies – actually just because they are not that realistic – they are useful to help people learn how the human body works.

16. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Specialized vocabulary （需求等的）弹性 • elasticity ___________ • comparative advantage ___________ • consumer surplus _______________ • deadweight loss _______________ • high inflation _______________ • quantity of money _______________ • long-run effects of the policy _______________ 比较优势 消费过剩 净损失 高通胀 货币量 长期政策效应

17. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Specialized vocabulary economic policymaker • 经济政策制定者 ___________________ • 货币流通量 ____________________________ • 供需 ____________________ • 货币政策 _______________ amountof currency in circulation supply and demand monetary policy

18. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Collocations • address the subject • devise / verify / refute theories • collect / analyze / generate data • the interplay between observation and theory • doubt the validity of the theory • face an obstacle • make do with • find a substitute for • simplify the complex world / reality • in circulation • omit details

19. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Signpost language cause and effect: • clue words to indicate cause and effect: • because therefore • the reason consequently • lead to, result from as a result • is due to as a consequence

20. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Signpost language • Signpost language to introduce the topic: • The main issues addressed in this paper are … • This study critically examines … • The objective of this paper is to ... • The purpose of this investigation is to ... • The aim of this paper is to ... • This paper reports on the results obtained …

21. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Signpost language • Signpost language to introduce the topic: • This study was designed to ... • This paper argues that ... • The rest of this paper is organized in the following • way ... • This paper is structured as follows ... • The remainder of this paper is divided into five • sections ... • This paper begins by … It will then go on to … Finally, …

22. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Formal and informal English Change the following sentences into a more formal style of writing. 1Whenever I'd visited there before, I'd ended up feeling that it would be futile if I tried to do anything more. → Every previous visit had left me with a sense of the futility of further action on my part.

23. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Formal and informal English Change the following sentences into a more formal style of writing. 2The cities in Switzerland had once been peaceful, but they changed when people became violent. → Violence changed the face of once peaceful Swiss cities.

24. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Formal and informal English Change the following sentences into a more formal style of writing. 3Because the technology has improved it’s less risky than it used to be when you install them at the same time, and it doesn't cost so much either. → Improvements in technology have reduced the risks and high costs associated with simultaneous installation.

25. Unit 2Economics Text A English language for academic purpose Formal and informal English Change the following sentences into a more formal style of writing. 4The people in the colony rejoiced when it was promised that things would change in this way. → Opinion in the colony greeted the promised change with enthusiasm.

26. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Critical reading and thinking The tree diagram below shows how the author illustrates his points. Fill in the blanks according to the text.. Thinking like an economist The economist works as a(n) _________ scientist Building simplified _________ to examine various economic issues. Using scientific methods, such as: models make observations, Using different _____________ to answer different questions. assumptions devise theories, collect data, and analyze them.

27. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Critical reading and thinking Answer the following questions. 1 What kind of rhetoric device does the author use in the first two paragraphs? Analogy. 2 What is the topic sentence of Paragraph 3? Economists try to address their subject with a scientist’s objectivity. 3 Why does the author quote Albert Einstein? To support his idea about the essence of science. 4 Why is Newton’s theory still taught in undergraduate physics courses around the world? Because Newton’s theory is so successful at explaining observation.

28. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Critical reading and thinking Answer the following questions. 5 What kind of obstacles do economists face when they use theory and observation like other scientists? It is often difficult and impossible to conduct experiments. 6 How do economists find a substitute for laboratory experiments? They pay close attention to the natural experiments offered by history. 7 For what reason do economists make assumptions? Because assumptions can simplify the complex world and make it easier to understand. 8 What do economic models consist of? They consist of diagrams and equations. 9 What do all models in physics, biology, and economics share in common? They simplify reality to improve our understanding of it.

29. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up 2 Task 1 Specialized vocabulary Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the terms in the box. comparative advantage consumer surplus deadweight loss high inflation monetary policy supply and demand deadweight loss 1 Taxes have _______________ because they cause buyers to consume less and sellers to produce less. supply and demand 2 The tools ___________________ of allow you to analyze many of the most important events and policies that shape the economy. Consumer surplus 3 ____________________ is a good measure of economic well-being if policymakers want to respect the preferences of buyers.

30. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up 2 Task 1 Specialized vocabulary Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the terms in the box. comparative advantage consumer surplus deadweight loss high inflation monetary policy supply and demand 4 In the 1970s, when the world experienced a relatively _____________, opinion polls often placed inflation as the most important issue facing the nation. high inflation 5 It is the role of a central bank — an institution designed to oversee the banking system, to carry out _________________, and regulate the quantity of money in the economy. monetary policy

31. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up 2 Task 1 Specialized vocabulary Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the terms in the box. comparative advantage consumer surplus deadweight loss high inflation monetary policy supply and demand 6 Trade can benefit everyone in society because it allows people to specialize in activities in which they have a _____________________. comparative advantage

32. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up Task 1 Signpost language Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the words and expressions in the above box. There may be more than one correct answer. resulted from 1 Karlin’s novels ____________ his experience in the Vietnam War. resulted in 2 Months of secret talks with the rebels finally __________ the release of the hostages. 3 Animals have died _________________ of coming into contact with this chemical. as a consequence The reason 4 _____________ we didn’t consider her for the job was that she didn’t have enough experience.

33. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up Task 1 Signpost language Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the words and expressions in the above box. There may be more than one correct answer. 5 Most computer users have never received any formal keyboard training. ______________ their keyboard skills are inefficient. Consequently Therefore 6 Jewish weddings are both religious and civil. __________ two official applications for marriage are necessary. 7 ___________ of last week’s blackouts was a large power plant suddenly going offline in Northern California. The cause 8 Between 1990 and 1992, there were more than 1,000 mergers in that industry — all of which ________ job losses. led to

34. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up Task 3 Formal English Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the ones that are more daily-life. 1 At first, this new language may seem needlessly arcane. Key: secret 2 Economists try to address their subject with a scientist’s objectivity. Key: study 3 They approach the study of the economy in much the same way as a physicist approaches the study of matter and a biologist approaches the study of life. Key: deal with 4 They devise theories, collect data, and then analyze these data in an attempt to verify or refute their theories. Key: invent

35. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up Task 3 Formal English Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the ones that are more daily-life. 5 To beginners, it can seem odd to claim that economics is a science. Key: strange 6 Most people are not accustomed to looking at society through the eyes of a scientist. Key: used 7 This observation motivated Newton to develop a theory of gravity that applies not only to an apple falling to the earth but to any two objects in the universe. Key: drove

36. Unit 2Economics Text A Suggested answers Language building-up Task 3 Formal English Replace the underlined words in the following sentences with the ones that are more daily-life. 8 By contrast, economists studying inflation are not allowed to manipulate a nation’s monetary policy simply to generate useful data. control Key: 9 For consumers of oil and oil products, such an event depresses living standards. Key: reduces 10 And this opportunity persists long after the wartime increase in oil prices is over. Key: continues to exist

37. Unit 2Economics • Text B • Lead in • Key terms • Critical reading • Difficult sentences • English language for • academic purpose

38. Unit 2Economics Text B Lead-in Reading critically: questions for discussion Discuss the following questions: Life is regarded as a game. Do you agree? Why or why not?

39. Unit 2Economics Text B Key terms • Game theory : the modeling of economic decisions by games whose outcome depends on the decisions taken by two or more agents, each having to make decisions without information on what choices the others are making.

40. Unit 2Economics Text B Key terms • Competitive strategies (竞争策略): unbeatable strategies used in the context of the fact that everyone else is also looking for them. E.g. cooperation, or everybody playing the same way; behave differently from one another

41. Unit 2Economics Text B Key terms • Evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) (进化稳定策略): a strategy which, if adopted by a population of players, cannot be invaded by any alternative strategy that is initially rare. An ESS is an equilibrium refinement of the Nash equilibrium.

42. Unit 2Economics Text B Key terms • Rational human choice: • people will adjust their behavior in order to maximize their gains. • Nash equilibrium: 纳什均衡 • a solution concept of a game involving two or more players, in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, also no player has anything to gain by changing only his own strategy unilaterally.

43. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Comparison between the two schools of researchers

44. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Dr Kurzban & Dr. Houser’s study They call the economists’ assumption into question. Their new assumption: it may be fruitful to work with the idea that human behavior, can sometimes be governed by evolutionarily stable strategies.

45. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Making an experiment: • Public-goods game 公共物品博弈 • a standard of experimental economics; in the basic game • subjects secretly choose how many of their private • tokens to put into the public pot. Each subject keeps the • tokens they do not contribute plus an even split of the • tokens in the pot. • Methods (see page 35, Para 4): four players; interacted via a computer; virtual tokens redeemable for money

46. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Making an experiment: • Game rules (see page 35, Para 4): A player could keep some or all of the tokens and any not kept were put into a pool, to be shared among group members. The game continued for a random number of turns. • At the end of the game (see page 35, Para 4): The value of the pool was doubled and was divided into four equal parts and given to the player, along with the value of any tokens they had held on to.

47. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Making an experiment: • Three approaches a player can take (see page 35, Para 5): • Cooperate with his opponents to maximize group benefits • Free-ride (i.e., try to sucker cooperators) • Reciprocate (i.e., cooperate with those who show signs of being cooperative, but not with free-riders)

48. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Making an experiment: • Results: (see page 35, Para 7): • Of 84 participants, 81 fell into one of the three categories. • Researchers ask these 81 participants to play games again to test whether they change strategy. And they did not. 3. People’s behaviors are clear-cut, strategies stay stable with the same average payoffs.

49. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Making an experiment: • Conclusions (see page 35, Para 8): • It suggests that people’s approaches to cooperate with their fellows are indeed evolutionarily stable. • Human behavior can sometimes be governed by evolutionarily stable strategies

50. Unit 2Economics Text B Critical reading and thinking Task 1 Work in pairs and discuss the following questions. 1 “Many people, it is said, regard life as a game.” Do you agree? Why or why not? 2 What are the differences between behaviorists and economists in terms of game theory? Use examples to illustrate them. 3 What are the findings of Dr. Kurzban and Dr. Houser’s study? How did they illustrate their point?