QUESTIONS

1. Is Belarus reach in natural resources?

2. The country is a world leader in the production of peat, isn’t it?

3. Is Belarus a highly developed industrial country?

4. What are the main industries of the country?

5. What does Belarus manufacture?

6. What is the share of agriculture in Belarus’ economic output?

7. What factors make farming difficult in the country?

8. What are the most important livestock raised in the country?

9. What kind of farms are there in Belarus?

10. Why were service industries underdeveloped in Belarus?

11. Is private economic activity flourishing in the Republic?

12. What are the main trade partners of Belarus?

13. What are the nation’s major exports?

14. What does Belarus import?

15. What should an open market-type economic system ensure?

16. What are the main levers of state regulation?

17. What is a long-term development goal for Belarus?

18. What does Belarus government control?

DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING POINTS IN YOUR GROUP

1. The Belarussian people have not exhausted their spiritual, moral and intellectual potential. They demonstrate their best qualities: wisdom, spiritual soundness, hard will and reason..

2. Belarus is now performing three most difficult transitions: from dictatorship to democracy, from a planned economy to a socially oriented economy, from a satellite state to a sovereign state.

3. Reforming industrial enterprises and their re-orientation to increasing production efficiency and production competitiveness is one of the main tasks of today.

4. We cannot do today without new foreign technologies and direct investments, the solution of our problems may take many years.

GRAMMAR FOCUS

Ex. 11. Translate into Russian. (The Participle II)

1. Put simply, a business process is the set of activities performed to serve a customer.

2. The information obtained is very valuable.

3. The house restored by the Johnsons is quite unusual.

4. Taxes placed on goods and services are known as indirect taxes as opposed to direct taxes

which are placed on income and wealth.

5. The quantity of labour derived from a given stock of population depends upon several factors.

Ex. 12. Complete the following sentences with one of the prepositions.

of in to from

1. A factory plans to sell 10,000 units ______ its product ______ the coming year.

2. It can be seen _______ Table 14-2 that 20 per cent _______ sales, for example, is equivalent

______ 25 per cent of cost.

3. Most _____ the industrialized and less developed countries have experienced rapid rises ____

prices ______ their economies.

4. _____ real life, perfect knowledge about the prices _______ goods and resources is by no

means a free good.