GCT综合英语4单元课文翻译.docVIP

仅做参考 好好学习，天天向上 Unit 4 International Trade Most countries realize the advantages of world trade. Countries have developed their economies, increased production of goods, and met market demands through increased world trade. The interdependence among trading nations has provided increased business opportunities. International trade develops because certain countries are able to produce some goods more efficiently than other countries. They exchange goods to satisfy their needs and wants. Efficient production may be the result of several factors. A certain climate in a particular country may allow that country to grow agricultural products in abundance. For instance, the climates in the United States and Canada are suitable for production of large amounts of wheat. Natural resources such as oil or coal are abundant in other countries. Countries with a large pool of unskilled laborers are able to produce products which are labor intensive more cheaply than countries with highly paid, skilled labor forces. Another factor is geographical location. Countries like Singapore and Panama engage in banking and trading because they are located on world trade routes. The Scottish economist, Adam Smith, theorized that free market countries produce whatever they can most efficiently grow or manufacture, or what is of the greatest advantage to them. In other words, if they can make more money growing cotton than making cloth, they grow cotton and export it. Then they import cloth from a country that makes cloth more efficiently than it grows cotton. In an uncontrolled free market trade situation, there is international specialization which results in the most efficient production of goods. Therefore, competition guarantees that countries import products which are most efficiently manufactured abroad and export products which are most efficiently produced domestically. Price is determined by the supply side of the market. Smith s theory was a theory of absolute advantage. The Englis