M5 training: English language, globalisation, global trade, sharing economy

Select the reasons why studying English is important.

Match the British English and the American English words that have the same meaning.

1. Biscuit ________
2. Tap ________
3. Lift ________
4. Underground ________
5. Connecting flight ________
6. Jug ________

Decide whether the following sentences are true or false.

A: Globalisation started to become particularly important during the last century.

B: The process of globalisation started off at the beginning of the 17th century.

C: The recent liberalisation of trade has played an important role in the acceleration of globalisation.

D: Globalisation is shaping modern society.

E: Globalisation has been favoured by the increase in international travel.

F: Globalisation has been driven by technological development.

Globalisation is affecting our lives at many different levels. First of all, the opportunity to access information from all over the world allows us to meet different ________ while staying at home. The movement of people makes it necessary to find a common ________ to communicate: English is today the international language of business, diplomacy and science.
Also economy and ________ have become global. Thanks to the internet, we are able to purchase goods form any country in the world. Moreover, emerging ________ are becoming more and more important on the world scene.
Last, the global society we live in affects our ________. On the one hand,we know that viruses can spread around the world very easily, as we have experienced with Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, shared ________ research was the key to stop the pandemic itself.

Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

A: The terms World Wide Web and Internet refer to the same thing.

B: The person who invented the Internet is of British origin.

C: The advent of the Internet has changed our lives at many levels.

D: The English language has invented completely new words to describe the features of the  Internet.

E: In texting, a lot of abbreviations are used.

F: ICT stands for Information and Control Technology.

G: From information to entertainment, from communication to shopping, from healthcare to public administrations, the Internet allows us to experience new ways of using services.

H: The rise of streaming media services has globally reduced TV watching.

1. The most important organizations that are in charge of regulating international trade are the IMF, the ________ and the WTO.
2. The IMF ________ was founded in ________.
3. Criticism against these institutions has been carried out, since they are said to further empower already economically ________ countries while neglecting developing countries.
4. The World Bank is organized as a ________.
5. The World Bank aims at ________ loans to developing countries.
6. The IMF is composed by 190 ________ countries.
7. The aim of IMF is to keep the world ________ stable.
8. The WTO checks that international trade is done in ________ with international rules.

Tech and ________ industry have made huge profits during the last few years. In particular, Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary for people to make use of the services of such companies.

Big Tech companies are ________ companies that operate in the technology business. These companies are constantly ________ their market share at the expenses of smaller businesses. Their services, such as online ________, became necessary during the lockdown and are still ________ today. Although the most important tech companies are ________ in the USA, some fearsome competitors have emerged in the Asian countries.

The pharmaceutical industry is called Big Pharma, and it is among the most ________ industries in the world. It produces both medicines and medical ________ and is particularly wealthy in the US.

Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

A: Experts believe that sharing is one of the reasons why humankind has had success in the evolution process.

B: The sharing economy was widespread before the internet was invented.

C: People started to share cars after the end of WWII.

D: During the 1980s, people used to share their cars with relatives, friends and acquaintances.

E: Sharing can be very expensive for local communities.

F: The sharing economy helps the growth of traditional economy.

The Pros of Globalization

A number of positive aspects of globalization include:

- Building up the economic and social structures of struggling countries and economies through free ________.
- Creation of world power and less and less compartmentalized power sectors.
- Learning about and sharing of new and interesting cultures with one ________.
- The opportunity and desire for prosperous nations to help countries struggling with serious issues like unemployment, disease, and ________ disasters.

The Cons of Globalization

Though it comes ________ perks, there are a number of cons to globalization that analysts and critics have noted for years. They include:

- The oppression of weaker and poorer economies by those that are more robust; "the rich get ________, the poor get poorer".
- The danger of job loss, with certain industries and sectors sending jobs to countries where workers are willing to do the same amount of ________ or more for smaller wages.
- Multinational corporations often get away with poor, unsafe, unethical, or exploitative working ________ due to variations in laws and regulations from one country to another.
- Multinational corporations can exploit tax haven nations, sending large portions of revenue offshore to avoid taxation.

Globalization is a complicated and ever-changing process that has ________ good and bad aspects. Globalization, with the door to many countries open to one another, will continue. The primary goal, then, is to ensure ________ countries and independent financial actors work in harmony with one another for the betterment of everyone.

_{https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/economics/globalization/}

Select the correct statements.