Lecture 5 商品价格
Wors Tips
Market Clearing Price 市场清算价格 straightforward adj.简单的，直白的
equilibrium n.均衡 surplus n.剩余adj.剩余的
overone’shead 理解起来很难 commodity n.商品
mob n.暴民，暴徒 scenario n.方案；情节
recap v.概括
Listen to the following recording and answer questions 1-3.
1）A.the demand and the supply curves
B.real prices of different commodities
C.the relationship between supply and demand
D.market clearing price
2）A.the point where the demand curve and the supply curve divide
B.the price that suppliers are willing or able to sell and the consumers are willing or able to pay
C.the government manipulated price
D.the price that most suppliers accept
3）A.when prices are set too high and there is extra supply of something like unemployment
B.when prices are set too low and there is a limited amount of supply
C.when the government frees the market price
D.when suppliers and consumers demand more profit from commodities
听力原文
All right，while we’re on the topic of economics，let’s talk about another term called Market Clearing Price.I know it may sound difficult，but it is actually pretty straightforward.As a matter of fact，it simply means“equilibrium”，or when a market is clear of shortage and surplus.If we were to use a market graph，the market-clearing price is found at the point where the demand curve and the supply curve meet.I am sure you feel that this is over your head，but I will try my best to simplify it.To start off with，I will talk about price.Real prices of different commodities such as gold，oil and gas depend very much on how much they are in demand and how much is available，or in supply.The relationship between supply and demand cannot be made independently by suppliers and consumers；instead a free market allows prices to move towards equilibrium，or market clearing prices.This situation sounds too perfect，doesn’t it？ Well，it is，so let’s add in some other factors to the mix.Let’s suppose that the government，or worse，an underground mob“fixes”prices by force.This would negatively affect our free market scenario and would result in supply surpluses or shortages.A surplus occurs when prices are set too high and there is extra supply of something like unemployment，which is simply an excess supply of labor.On the other hand，shortages can occur when prices are set too low and there is a limited amount of supply.Now，to recap our topic，let’s get back to the relationship between suppliers and consumers.Suppliers always want higher prices and consumers，like you and I，would like lower prices.The price that we，as consumers，are willing or able to pay for a certain amount of a commodity and the price that suppliers are wiling or able to sell that amount for is the market clearing price or equilibrium.
Questions：
1.What is the lecture mainly about？
2.What is market clearing price？
3.When does a surplus occur？
参考译文
讲到经济这个话题，我们来讨论一下另一个术语：市场清算价格。听起来好像很难，实际上是个很简单的概念。事实上它体现了“均衡”，即体现市场上什么时候没有商品匮乏和商品剩余。如果使用市场坐标的话，需求曲线和供给曲线的焦点就是市场清算价格。大家一定觉得理解起来很难，我尽量给大家说得简单一些。首先来说一下价格。黄金、石油、天然气等不同商品的实际价格很大程度上取决于需求量和供给量。供给与需求的关系离不开供应者与消费者。是自由市场使价格保持均衡，即使其趋向市场清算价格的方向。这听上去真是太完美了，难道不是吗？是这样的，因此我们来添加一些其他的因素。假设政府或者甚至是地下组织强行定了价格，这将对我们的自由市场计划方案起到负面影响。会导致供给过剩或者供给不足。价格定得太高就会引发供给过剩，即有额外供给。如失业就是劳动力供给过剩的一种现象。相反，价格定得太低，供给量有限就会产生供给不足。为了简要重述我们所讲的内容，我们再来说一下供给者与消费者的关系。供给者总是要求更高的价格，而像在座的各位以及我这样的消费者则要求更低的价格。对于一定量的商品我们作为消费者愿意支付的价格或者我们认定可以支付的价格，以及供给者愿意并且能够卖出的价格就是市场清算价格，即均衡状态。
参考答案
1.D 2.B 3.A