Britain's Economy in Brief

Britain's economy is based primarily on private enterprise. Private sector accounts for 79 per cent of output and 95 per cent of employment.

Manufacturing has an important role in the economy. Britain excels in high-technology industries, such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, aerospace and offshore equipment, where British companies are among the world's largest and most successful.

Britain's chemical industry is the third largest in Europe. Over half of its output is exported. Traditionally, Britain has been a major producer of basic industrial chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. ICI is the sixth largest chemical company in the world and the world's largest paint manufacturer.

Britain's pharmaceutical industry is the world's fourth biggest exporter of medicines, accounting for around 12 per cent of the world market. Glaxo Wellcome became the largest pharmaceutical company in the world when Glaxo took over Wellcome in 1995. British firms have discovered and developed 13 of the world's fifty best-selling drugs.

Machine-building is an area where British firms excel, especially in construction equipment, wheeled tractors, internal combustion engines, textile machinery, medical equipment, pumps and compressors.

Britain has the fourth largest electronic industry in the world. Products include computers, communication equipment and a large variety of components. As well as an extensive range of computer hardware and associated equipment, British firms design computer applications software and are particularly strong in specialist markets such as computer-aided design (CAD), mathematical software, geographical information systems and data visualisation. Major advances are being made by British firms and academic institutions in the field of " virtual reality", a three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation technique.

Britain's aerospace industry is the third largest in the Western world. British Aerospace (BA) produces both civil and military aircraft. The company has a 20 per cent share in the European multinational giant Airbus Industries, which manufactures a family of airbus airliners. It is also a partner in multinational projects, including the Tornado combat aircraft and the Eurofighter 2000, which made its first flight in 1994. Rolls-Royce is one of the world's three prime manufacturers of aeroengines.

Britain has the largest energy resources of any country in the European Union and is a major producer of oil and natural gas. The main energy sources are coal, nuclear power and water power. The two largest British oil companies are British Petroleum (BP) and Shell Transport and Trading. In 1994 Britain's oil and gas production from wells in the North Sea and on land amounted to nearly 2 per cent of GDP.

Services account for two-thirds of Britain's GDP. The number of people employed in services rose from about 13 million in 1983 to 16.5 million in 1995. Britain is a major financial centre, housing some of the world's leading banking, insurance, and other financial services and markets. The heart of the financial industry is the collection of banks and markets in and around the City of London.

Ответьте на вопросы.

1.What manufacturing industries are characterstic of Britain's economy today?

2. What do British chemical companies produce?

3. What is Glaxo-Wellcome?

4. What industry does the manufacturing of tractors and pumps belong to?

5. In what area of computer technology do British firms excel?

6. How does British aerospace industry rank?

7. What is Eurofighter 2000? Is it manufactured by a British company?

8. What does Rolls-Royce produce?

9. What energy resources does Great Britain possess?

10. What brings more money to the nation's wealth: manufacturing or services?

11. In what kinds of services does Britain excel?

Закончите предложения.

1. The private sector accounts for___ ___ per cent of Britain's economic output.

2. Services___for two-thirds of the country's GDP.

3. Britain's ___industry accounts for around 12 per cent of the world market.

4. Britain's chemical industry is the___largest in Europe.

5. Its pharmaceutical sector is the___biggest exporter of medicines.

6. Britain has the___largest electronic industry in the world

7. Its aerospace industry is the third largest in the___.

8. Britain has the largest energy resources in the____ ____.

Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на степени сравнения прилагательных и наречий.

1. England has the highest population density of the four lands composing the UK.

2. In recent years trade has come to represent a larger portion of the economy.

3. In some manufacturing industries British companies are among the world's largest and most successful.

4. Britain is the world's fifth largest trading nation.

5. Services play a much more important role in Britain's economy nowadays.

6. The City of London houses the world's biggest financial markets.

Переведите различные временные формы.

1. The company produces... — The computer hardware is produced...

2. The country exported... — Raw materials were exported...

3. They will construct... — The new hotel will be constructed...

4. The firm has manufactured... — The equipment has been manufactured...

5. Our engineers are designing... — These systems are being designed...

Поставьте глагол в нужную форму.

1. Service industries (play) a dominant role in Britain's economy.

2. Britain's economy (base) mainly on private enterprise.

3. All kinds of equipment and heavy machinery (produce) by machine-building plants.

4. Britain's chemical enterprises (produce) organic and inorganic chemicals, plastics and fertilizers.

5. At the present time, high-technology industries (grow) rapidly.

6. Thirteen of the world's fifty best-selling medicines (develop) in Great Britain.

7. Rich coal and iron deposits (influence) the growth of Britain's economy in the 19^th century.

8. In the early 1990s the British Government (privatize) such major businesses as British Telecom, British Gas, the non-nuclear electricity companies, etc.

9. In 1994, over 1.5 million cars (manufacture) in Great Britain, though most of the automobile plants (belong) to foreign investors.

10. British agriculture (know) for its efficiency and productivity.

11. Agriculture-related exports (include) specialised products such as fresh salmon, Scotch whisky, jams and conserves, tea, beef and lamb.

Прочтите начало текста и объясните, каким образом географическое положение, наличие природных ресурсов, климат и т.д. повлияли на экономическое развитие Британии. Используя Text 1, скажите, какие перемены произошли в стране с 1990-х годов.

Britain became the world's first industrialised country in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. Wealth was based on the manufacture of iron and steel, heavy machinery and textiles, coal mining, shipbuilding and trade. The economic and industrial pattern has changed considerably in the last few years....

Text 2