English Reader. Мишустина В.Д. - 9 стр.

more money per capita than the Brazilians? Are the French better off if they have
more telephones per household than the Japanese? Are the Italians better off because
they save more money than the Canadians?
      There are many different ways to determine wealth. Economists define wealth as
what a person owns, such as stocks and real estate, but many people look first to their
level of income to see if they are well off. Comparing salaries in different countries,
however, is like comparing apples and oranges, because the salaries in each country
are paid in different currencies. We need to somehow translate what each person
earns into a common unit of measure.
      One way of translating salaries is to first compare the value of the currencies of
the countries in question. This is usually done by using exchange rates that tell us the
value of one currency calculated in terms of another.
      Exchange rates, determined by the foreign exchange markets around the world,
reflect the markets' view of each country's economic and political situation. By using
exchange rates, a salary in yen in Tokyo can be converted into U.S. dollars to make it
comparable to a salary in Los Angeles. Or it can be converted into French francs to
make it comparable to a salary in Paris.
      Because the cost of living varies widely from one country to another, however,
it is difficult to translate salaries by simply using currency exchange rates. If an
apartment costs three times as much in Tokyo as in Los Angeles or Paris, a higher
salary in Japan does not necessarily mean a Japanese worker is better off than an
American or French worker.
      It is sometimes more valuable to look at what salaries will actually buy in each
country. A salary's "purchasing power" tells us how many goods and services it can
actually buy. Comparing the cost of a group of goods and services from country to
country, therefore, gives us a more reliable exchange rate, called purchasing power
parity (PPP). The PPP exchange rate is calculated by looking at the cost of groceries
and other items such as vacation trips, automobiles, insurance, and rent in different
countries.
      By choosing this basket of goods and services and calculating their cost in
different countries around the world, we can compare the purchasing power or "real"
value of salaries from country to country. Although one country may be richer in
terms of the amount of money each citizen owns or earns, what counts in the long run
is what each person can do with this wealth.

     2.1.5 Переведите текст на русский язык, используя словарь.

     2.1.6 Скажите, соответствуют ли тексту следующие утверждения:

    It's difficult to rely on anyone statistics while determining a nation's wealth.
    Economists define wealth as what a person owns.
    Salaries in different countries are paid in the same currencies.
    Exchange rates tell us the value of one currency calculated in terms of another.
    Exchange rates reflect the foreign exchange market's view of each country's
economic and political situation.
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