Economics - The Invisible Hand

 Economics - The Invisible Hand

Here is a short Economics listening exercise I did my students a while back. Read through the list of words and guess where they go in the text first, then listen to the video and see if you were correct! If there are any words you don't know then look them up in www.reverso.net - this is a pretty good online dictionary and translation site.

Extra: Spot the phrasal verb that always comes up in a TOEFL exam!

Here is a link to the video clip:  The Invisible Hand

Use the words below to complete the text of the video clip.

economist	hands-off	stall	tricky	leave	free- marketeers	freely
positive	central	reach	traders	lower	enough	meantime
case	figure	compete	spoilt	charges	visible	equilibrium

An economy is a ______________________ thing to control and governments are always 

_______________________ out how to do it. Back in 1776, ____________________ 

Adam  Smith shocked everyone by saying that what governments should actually do is just 

leave everyone alone to buy and sell _________________ among themselves. He 

suggested that if they just _______________________  self-interested 

______________________ to ______________ with one another, markets are guided to 

_____________________ outcomes as if by an Invisible Hand. If someone 

_____________________ less than you, customers will buy from them instead so you'll 

have to ____________________ the price or offer something better. Whenever 

_____________________people demand something, they'll be supplied by the market like 

_____________________ children only in this _________________ everyone's happy. 

Later ____________________ like Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek argued that this 

"________________" approach actually works better than any _______________________

 plan. But the problem is, economies can take a long time to ____________________ their 

_____________________________ and may even ______________ along the way and in 

the ______________________ people can get a little frustrated which is why governments 

usually end up taking things into their own more __________________ hands instead.

Answers below - scroll down!












 Keep scrolling!











 Answers

An economy is a tricky thing to control and governments are always trying to figure out how to do it. Back in 1776, economist, Adam Smith shocked everyone by saying that what governments should actually do is leave just everyone alone to buy and sell freely among themselves. He suggested that if they just leave self-interested traders to compete with one another, markets are guided to positive outcomes as if by an Invisible Hand. If someone charges less than you, customers will buy from them instead so you'll have to lower the price or offer something better. Whenever enough people demand something, they'll be supplied by the market like spoilt children only in this case, everyone's happy. Later free-marketeers like Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek argued that this « hands-off » approach actually works better than any central plan. But the problem is, economies can take a long time to reach their equilibrium, and may even stall along the way and in the meantime, people can get a little frustrated which is why governments usually end up taking things into their own more visible hands instead.

And the phrasal verb?

to figure out - it's often in TOEFL conversations so a good one to learn! 

I appreciate feedback so let me know what else you want to see re TOEFL stuff!

Thanks and bye for now!

 

Simple Essay Structure and You Tube videos

If you are doing TOEFL IBT then you know you have speaking and writing sections to do along with all the listening and reading sections. Did you know that great speeches, pieces of writing and You Tube "talky" videos all have something in common - structure! There's other stuff too like vocabulary and interesting sentence construction but the main thing I am going to focus on here is the common structure you can use for the speaking and writing sections.

You may have seen this simple essay structure in the past but if you haven't, I will explain it for you. It is what I use to help my students with their writing.

Source: www.onlineteaching.humanities.curtin.edu.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Having decided on the main theme of your work (the thesis),the introduction is where you state what you are going to talk about. It is an inverted triangle because you should go from a general opening that may include a bit of history and background, to the actual point you are going to argue. 

Middle Paragraphs

Each paragraph represents one argument to back up the point you are making. It should begin with a topic sentence, should develop that topic and at the end, should restate strongly the topic of the paragraph and link to the next paragraph.

Conclusion

The triangle is the opposite of the introduction triangle because the opening of this paragraph is a restatement  of the thesis, followed by a summary of the arguments used, and speculation on whether different approaches to the question may be taken in the future due to future developments, for example.


If you follow this simple structure for your TOEFL writing and speaking exercises, it should help you to be more organised and to focus on the question you have been asked to answer. Of course, using this structure for other work such as speeches and You Tube videos is another possibility.


And to see great speech/essay structure in action, watch this TED Talk (or read the transcript)!

A historic moment in the Arab world

I hope this helps!

Yellowstone Wolves and Trophic Cascades

Yellowstone Wolves and Trophic Cascades

 

Source:Wikipedia History of Wolves in Yellowstone

I came across this video through Facebook and thought it was so good for a TOEFL subject and so fascinating too, that I decided to make a little listening exercise out of it.

This time, I will give you multiple choice questions which makes it closer to the TOEFL exam, in particular, the PBT.

As in the TOEFL exam, look at the questions as you listen - ignore the visuals until after you have done the questions, then watch again and enjoy the images! It is such a lovely, feel-good video!

Click on the link to the video here:

Yellowstone wolves 

Here are the questions:

1. What is this talk mainly about?

A The damage to Yellowstone caused by wolves
B The changes attributed to wolves to the ecosystem and physical geography of Yellowstone
C The animals that live in Yellowstone
D The habitats of all the different species in Yellowstone

2. A trophic cascade is

A a high waterfall
B the flow of rivers through a valley
C an ecological process starting at the top of the food chain and going to the bottom
D an ecological process to describe the change to the plains

3.  The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone in 1995 caused

A the deer population to increase in number
B the decline in the number of beavers
C the vegetation to grow back and the number of different species to increase
D more soil erosion

4. The rivers have become less ________ and the banks more __________

A polluted:unstable
B straight:rocky
C deep:steep
D meandering:stable

How did you do? Scroll down for the answers.....

1 B, 2 C, 3 C, 4 D

 

Magnetism: Motors and Generators

Anyone who knew me at school may remember that I didn't really like Physics but studied it and passed final exams in it and there I stopped, thinking I had left it behind forever! Then TOEFL came along and those dreaded science reading and listening questions!

So, after trying a few practice questions for the AP Physics exam which I found online and realising I had not forgotton everything, I decided to post this pretty easy listening! If I can do it, so can you!

The video is introduced by a guy then changes to an American woman:

  


1 What are two of the most important applications of the relationship between electricity and magnetism?


2 What sort of energy does the electric generator convert into electrical energy?

3 Name the five parts of the motor described.

4 How does the commutator move?


5 What happens when current is passed through the circuit?


6 The electrical motor converts electrical c....................... into mechanical f.................

7 What two things were changed to convert the electrical motor into an electrical generator?

8 Did you notice these two idioms: "Like two sides of a coin" and "on the other hand"? Can you explain them?


This is easy to listen to but you do have to concentrate to understand the technical details which is so typical of TOEFL listening exercises.

Scroll down for answers below:

What are two of the most important applications of the relationship between electricity and magnetism?

The electric motor and the electric generator.

What sort of energy does the electric generator convert into electrical energy?

Mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy using electro-magnetic induction. 

Name the five parts of the motor described.

Battery, commutator, brushes, copper wire loop, permanent magnet

How does the commutator move?

It rotates freely rubbing against the brushes.

What happens when current is passed through the circuit?

It creates a magnetic field around the wire which interacts with the field of the permanent magnet to create a rotation of the loop.

The electrical motor converts electrical current into mechanical force.

What two things were changed to convert the electrical motor into an electrical generator?

A windmill rotor was attached to the copper wire loop and a bulb replaced the battery.

Did you notice these two idioms: "Like two sides of a coin" and "on the other hand"?

Can you explain them?

"Like two sides of the same coin" means two different ideas that are closely related. For example, reward and punishment are two different ways of controlling people.

"On the other hand" is used to introduce an alternative explanation of something that has just been explained.

Medieval and Byzantine Answers

Answers time!!

Here are the answers to the Medieval and Byzantine Art clip.

1 The first Empire that is described is the Roman Empire.

2 Who was the ruler who had to decide the "thorny question" of succession? It was Theodosius.

3 Who did he give it to and in which year? He split the Empire in two and gave one part to his son, Honorius and the other part to his other son, Arcadia, in 395 AD.

4 What did each part become known as and what languages did they speak? The west became known as the Western Roman Empire and they spoke Latin. The East became known as the Byzantine Empire and they spoke Greek.

5 Which groups of people invaded the Western Empire and how many years did the Empire survive after Theodosius's death? The Huns, Franks, Goths and Vandals invaded. The Empire only survived 81 years after Theodosius's death.

6 How long did the Byzantine Empire last? It lasted another 1000 years

7 What unified the empires?The Roman Catholic Church was the unifying force.

8 Based on a strict interpretation of the 10 commandments, what did Leo III decree in 730 AD?  He initiated a movement of iconoclasm which forbade the making and worshipping of graven images.

9 What was Pope Gregory II's reaction to this? He wrote a letter excommunicating the iconoclasts because he regarded iconoclasm as heresy.

10 As a result of having more creative freedom, what did Western artists produce and how was it different from the Byzantine artists who were allowed to produce art eventually? They produced art with religious themes and in wanting to create visionary experiences, their work developed more dimension and realism in the portrayal of people and the natural world. This was different from Byzantine art, which started again after the end of iconoclasm, because the Byzantine artists had strict rules and could only copy approved images from the past.

I don't know about you, but I certainly learnt something there!

Medieval and Byzantine Art

Joachim's sacrifice

Hi all

I love art - doing it and looking at it - so having experienced a Renaissance Festival, watched TV programmes on Medieval English Embroidery and Luxury in the Medieval times, and made Medieval Oatcakes, I thought it was high time that I did a listening exercise on Medieval Art!

I found this fantastic presentation about Medieval and Byzantine art. I found it very entertaining and informative and hope you do too.

Here is the link Medieval and Byzantine Art  and the questions are below:

1 The first Empire that is described is the ............................ Empire.

2 Who was the ruler who had to decide the "thorny question"* of succession?

3 Who did he give it to and in which year?

4 What did each part become known as and what languages did they speak?

5 Which groups of people invaded the Western Empire and how many years did the Empire survive after Theodosius's death?

6 How long did the Byzantine Empire last?

7 What unified the empires?

8 Based on a strict interpretation of the 10 commandments, what did Leo III decree in 730 AD?

9 What was Pope Gregory II's reaction to this?

10 As a result of having more creative freedom, what did Western artists produce and how was it different from the Byzantine artists who were allowed to produce art eventually?

Some of the vocabulary used in this recording is explained below:

*a thorny question - a question that is painfully controversial

To come down to - to result in

to break up - this is a multi-word verb with several meanings but here it means to destroy.

"Caught in the act" - found doing something which is not allowed


a scoundrel - a person who is disreputable, a rogue, a villain


Check your understanding (http://www.thefreedictionary.com):

Vandalism comes from the Vandals who invaded Western Europe. Nowadays, it refers to wilful or malicious destruction of public or private property.

Iconoclasm is the practice of destroying images, particularly of a religious nature.

Iconoclast is a person who destroys sacred images or seeks to overthrow popular beliefs, traditions or institutions.

That's all for today but drop by for the answers 

Baird's tapir answers - at last!

Aaagh! I am so late with the answers to the last quiz!

My excuses....the crazy end of semester report and exam marking took over and then suddenly it was the summer.....!

Here are the long-awaited answers to the Baird's Tapir:

1 How long has the tapir been around (on the Earth)?

35,000,000 years

2 For which country is it the official national animal and where is this country?

Belize. It is between Mexico and Guatamala.

3 What is its other name in the country above and what other animals is it actually related to?

Mountain Cow. It is actually related to the horse and rhinoceros.

4 How many toes does it have? How many on each foot?

 14 in total - 4 on each front foot and 3 on each rear foot.

5 How is its nose described and what is it perfect for?

Its nose is rubbery and flexible. It is perfect for eating leaves and aquatic vegetation.

6 What is the maximum it can weigh?

700 pounds (lbs)

7 What is happening to the population of tapirs and why?

Their numbers are dwindling and they are now endangered because their habitats are disappearing.

8 Why is it called Baird's Tapir? 

 It was discovered by a naturalist called Baird in 1843.

Normal service has been resumed! More new posts will be coming along regularly from now on.