Читать «Английский разговорный язык. Практическое пособие по развитию устной речи» онлайн - страница 10
Виктор Александрович Миловидов
Communism and Economics
During the days of communism in the Soviet Union, an inspector was encharged with visiting local chicken farmers and inquiring about the amount of feed they were giving their chickens. Central planning was still in effect and each farmer was allocated 15 Roubles to spend on chicken feed.
One farmer very honestly answered that he spent five of the allocated 15 Roubles on chicken feed. The inspector took this to mean that the farmer stole the other ten and sent the farmer to prison.
Having heard of this, the next farmer down the road insisted that he spent all 15 Roubles on food for the chickens. The inspector saw this as a case of deficit spending and the second farmer too was imprisoned.
The third farmer heard of both episodes and was more prepared for the inspector\'s arrival.
«How many of the 15 Roubles do you actually spend on chicken feed,» asked the inspector.
Like a true capitalist, the farmer threw his hands in the air and answered, «Hey! I give 15 Roubles to the chickens. They can eat whatever they want!»Buy Machine for a Socialist Factory
An American manufacturer is showing his machine factory to a potential customer from The Soviet Union. At noon, when the lunch whistle blows, two thousand men and women immediately stop work and leave the building.
«Your workers, they\'re escaping!» cries the visitor. «You\'ve got to stop them.»
«Don\'t worry, they\'ll be back,» says the American. And indeed, at exactly one o\'clock the whistle blows again, and all the workers return from their break.
When the tour is over, the manufacturer turns to his guest and says, «Well, now, which of these machines would you like to order?»
«Forget the machines,» says the visitor. «How much do you want for that whistle?»
Слова и выражения:
allocate – распределять, размещать
blow – дуть, гудеть, свистеть
encharge – давать задание
escape – спасаться, убегать
potential – потенциальный
whatever – что бы ни, какие бы ни
whistle – свисток, гудок
amount of feed – количество корма
be in effect – быть в действии
machine factory – машиностроительный завод
lunch whistle – гудок на обеденный перерыв
Answer the questions:
1. What was the inspector encharged with?
2. What type of an economic system was still in effect in Russia in the days of the inspector\'s visit to the farm?
3. How did the first farmer spend 15 roubles given to him?
4. Why was the second farmer imprisoned?
5. What would you do if you were a chicken given 15 roubles to?
6. What factory was the American manufacturer showing to a potential customer from the Soviet Union?
7. How many people worked at this factory?
8. Why did the Soviet customer think that the workers were escaping?
9. Why did the workers come back?
10. Why did the customer want to buy the whistle, and not the machines?Fascism
The word «fascism» comes from the Latin fasces, and means a bundle of rods with an axe in it. In economics, fascism is viewed upon as a third way between free trade capitalism and communism. Private property and the profit motive are quite welcome within fascist economy if they do not conflict with the interests of the state.
