CANKAYA UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE COURSES
-ENGLISH UNITSOME ECONOMIC LAWS
FOR ENG 205 COURSE
UNIT 3 - WEEK 3
Some Economic Laws
 Economy consists of the economic system of a
country or other areas; the labor, capital and land
resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services of that area.
Some Economic Laws
Discussion
1- How can laws organise
economic activities?
2-How can laws affect
wages?
What are your personal needs?
• A car?
• A house?
• A bottle of whisky?
• Money?
Qs: What is this special characteristic of satisfying a
want?
-UTILITY
Utility is not the same as
usefulness ...
 Economists describe utility as “the relationship
between a consumer and a commodity”.
Vocabulary
• expenditure: (n)the action of spending or using time,
money, energy etc.
Synonyms: expense, cost
 The government's annual expenditure on arms has been
reduced.
• purchase: (v) to buy something
Antonym: sell
 Tickets must be purchased two weeks in advance.
 She purchased her first house with all the money she has saved.
Vocabulary
 substitute: (n)a person or thing that you use instead of the one
that you usually have, because the usual one is not available
Synonyms: replacement, representative
Thomas was substituted for Williams in the second half of the
meeting.
 priority: (n) the thing that you think is most important and that
needs attention before anything else
Synonym: preference
The children are our first priority.
 After several burglaries in the area, security is now a high
priority (=very important and needing attention soon).
Vocabulary
 satisfy: (v) if you satisfy someone's needs, demands etc,
you provide what they need or want
 Antoynm: disappoint, upset
The program is designed to satisfy the needs of adult learners.
 remain: (v) to continue to be in the same state or condition
 Antonyms: depart, go, leave, move
 Synonym: stay, wait
 Please remain seated until all the lights are on
Vocabulary
 quantity: (n) an amount of something that can be counted or
measured
 Synonyms: quota, size, sum, total
 Huge quantities of oil were spilling into the sea
• commodity: (n)a product that is bought and sold
 Synonyms: goods, products
 Commodity prices fell sharply
Vocabulary
• convenience: (n) the quality of being suitable or useful for a
particular purpose, especially by making something easier or
saving you time.
Synonyms:benefit, comfort
 Ready meals sell well because of their convenience.
• essential:(adj.) extremely important and necessary
Synonyms: vital, crucial, main, fundamental
 Water is essential for/to living things.
 It is essential (that) our prices remain competitive.
Comprehension Questions p.12
 What determines utility?
A: Our sense of priorities and quantitiy available to the
consumer determine utility. It varies among different
people and nations.
 What is the relation between demand and prices?
A: If the price of sth rises, we will buy less (e.g.
cigarettes, food, etc.)
Comprehension Questions p.12
 Explain the law of diminishing marginal utility?
A: The consumer’s desire for a commodity tends to diminish
as he buys more units of that commodity.
 What are some essential and non-essential commodities?
A: Food and shelter are essential commodities whereas
holidays and trips to the theatre and non-essential ones.
 In which cases can demand be inelastic?
A: For non-essentials, demand is elastic.
TRUE-FALSE
 Utility is different from uselfulness in the study of
economics.
TRUE
 Utility does not change from nations to nations. FALSE
 As the stock increases, the utility of a commodity
decreases.
TRUE
 Utility is related also to the laws of supply and
demand.
TRUE
 Supply is said to be inelastic.
FALSE
REFERENCE
 they in line 20 refers to
 they in line 25 refers to
 its in line 26 refers to
 it in line 33 refers to
 this in line 42 refers to
 them in line 51 refers to
cigarettes
prices
commodity’s
Supply of a
commodity
Particular
commodity
Very high prices
for the essentials
of life
VOCABULARY ITEMS p.12
1- supplied
2- consumer
3- demand
4- essential
5- purchase
6- diminishing
7- commodities
8- convenient
9- remains
10- expenditure
Pre-Listening Vocabulary p.13
 interfere: (v.) to involve yourself in a situation when your
involvement is not wanted or is not helpful
 Synonym: intervene
 Interfering in other people's relationships is always a mistake.
• laissez-faire: (n.phr.): the principle that the government should
allow the economy or private businesses to develop without
any state control or influence
 Synonym: nonintervention
 The problems began long before he became headteacher, but
they worsened with his laissez-faire approach/attitude.
Pre-Listening Vocabulary p.13
 monopoly(n.):if a company or government has a monopoly of
a business or political activity, it has complete control of it so
that other organizations cannot compete with it
 For years Bell Telephone had a monopoly on telephone services in the US.
 The government is determined to protect its tobacco monopoly.
• welfare(n.):health and happiness
Synonym: well-being
 Our only concern is the children's welfare.
 We are very concerned about the welfare of U.S. citizens abroad.
Pre-Listening Vocabulary p.13
 free enterprise(n.phr.):the principle and practice of allowing
private business to operate without much government control
• property(n.): a building, a piece of land, or things that
someone owns
Synonyms: assets, belongings
The hotel is not responsible for any loss or damage to guests'
personal property.