国际商务英语串讲讲义

经贸知识英语串讲讲义

第一课

1）How would you define international trade?

Answer: 第三页第一段第一句。

2）How did international trade first begin?

Answer: The distribution of natural resources is uneven. That is the reason why international trade first began.

3）What is the new incentive for trade that arose with the development of manufacturing and technology?

Answer: 第三页第二段（international specialization）。

4）Explain the theory of absolute advantage and its application in international trade.

Answer: If a country is more efficient, or spends less resources such as capital, land and labor than other countries in producing a commodity, we say this country has an absolute advantage in producing this commodity. The theory of absolute advantage implies that every country produces and exports commodities in which they have absolute advantage while importing commodities where other countries have absolute advantage. (参看第三页第四段到第四页第二段结束)

5）Who introduced the theory of comparative advantage? Which theory makes more sense, absolute advantage or comparative advantage?

Answer: The English economist David Ricardo did. The theory of comparative advantage makes more sense than that of absolute advantage.

6）Explain briefly why trade to exploit comparative advantage promotes efficiency among countries.

Answer: The theory of comparative advantage implies that every country, even when it has no absolute advantage at all, can specialize in the production and export of commodities where its absolute disadvantage is smaller or where it has comparative advantage. So long as comparative advantage exists, trade between countries is always possible, and in the process of exploiting comparative advantage, trade promotes efficiency among countries, since it can make one country better off without making another worse off.

7）Is comparative advantage something static? Is it purely decided by the endowments of nature? Give examples to show the development of comparative advantage by certain countries. Answer: 第五页第三段全部。

第二课

1）Are there other bases for trade when there are no differences among countries in production conditions? Mention some of the bases. Answer: Yes, there are. They are patterns of demand, economies of scale and innovation or style.

2）What is economy of scale? What is the relation between economy of scale and trade? Answer: Trade will be developed between countries when economy of scale is practiced, that is, when different countries can specialize in production and export of different commodities and on a larger scale. And all countries can benefit. （参看第十五页第二段）

3）What does the theory of international specialization seek to answer? Answer: 第十五页最后一段第一句。

4）Will complete specialization occur in reality? Why? Answer: Never. The reasons are the production of goods for strategic or domestic reasons by a country where it has no advantage, the transport cost that may reduce the benefit of trade, and the protectionist measures such as tariffs and quotas. （参看第十六页第二段）

5）What is tariff barriers? What is a customs area and what is a customs union? Answer: Tariff barriers are the most common form of trade restriction, and a tariff is a tax levied on a commodity when it crosses the boundary of a customs area.

A customs area usually refers to the area of a country. A customs area extending beyond national boundaries to include two or more independent nations is called a customs union. （参看第十六页第三段）

6）What is most favoured nation treatment? Is it a very special treatment? Why? Answer: 第十六页最后一段倒数第四行到第十七页第一段结束。

7）What is the most common form of non-tariff barriers? Explain it in a few words. Answer: 第十七页第二段前6行。8）What are the differences between visible trade and invisible trade? Give a few examples of invisible trade. Answer: Visible trade refers to the import and export of goods, while invisible trade refers to the exchange of services between

countries. Transportation, insurance, tourism and immigrant remittance are examples of invisible trade.

第三课

1) Why is it difficult to effect payment in a straight forward manner in international trade? Answer: Because in international trade the buyer and the seller are located in different countries and they don’t know each other very well, therefore it’s no t so easy to effect payment in a straight forward manner as in domestic trade where the buyer and the seller are geographically close to each other and understand each other well.

2) Mention some of the riskd the exporter and the importer may face in trade. Answer: 第二十九页第二、三段。

3) Explain briefly the following methods of payment: cash in advance; open account; consignment transactions. Answer: Cash in advance means the importer makes a full or partial payment by cash in advance, in this case, the importer has no guarantee that the exporter will fulfill his obligations once he has made payment by cash. Open account means that the seller ships the goods first and the buyer pays latter and by periodic payments and no documents are involved and legally the buyer can pay anytime, therefore the seller, who loses all control of the goods once they have been shipped, must know the buyer well, or must have sufficient financial strength to carry the cost of the goods until receiving payment. Consignment transaction means the exporter, when wishing to retain title or ownership to the goods, sends his goods abroad and will not get payment until the goods are sold, and the goods can be shipped back if not sold, therefore such arrangement should, with full understanding of the risks involved, be confined to a trusted agent in a stable country.（参看第三十页第三段）

4) What is a draft? Does it have another name? What are the relevant parties in relation to a draft? Answer: 第三十页末段至第三十一页第一段。

5) What is the difference between a sight draft and a usance draft and what is the difference between a clean draft and a documentary draft? Answer: 第三十一页第二段。

6) What is documents against payment? What are D/P at sight and D/P after sight? Which is more favourable for the exporter? When does the importer get the shipping documents in the case of D/P after sight? Answer: 第三十一页第三段4行到10行。

7) What is the difference between D/A and D/P after sight? Which is safer for the exporter? Answer: In the case of documents against acceptance (D/A), documents are handed over to the importer upon his acceptance of the bill of exchange drawn by the exporter. Payment will not be made until a latter date, and D/A is always after sight. D/P after sight gives the importer a certain period after presentation of the documents, but documents are not released to him until he actually pays for the merchandise. Therefore, D/P after sight is safer for the exporter.

8) Is payment by collection very common in international trade? Mention some cases when collection is used. Answer: 第三十二页第一段3行到本段末。

第四课

1）What constitutes conflicting problems for international trade in respect of payment? Why? Answer: 第四十二页第一段1行到5行。

What is the unique feature of the letter of credit? How des it offer security to the buyer and the seller? Answer: 第四十二页第一段7行到13行。

经贸知识英语模拟试题1

（考试时间150分钟）

I. Translate the following words and expressions (10%)

1) From English into Chinese

a. absolute advantage

b. partial shipment

c. contract carrier

d. Buffer Stock Financing Facility

e. bilateral negotiation

2) From Chinese into English

a. 初级产品

b. 海关发票

c. 商业全球化

d. 国际商品协定

e. 麦头

II. Match the words and expressions on the left with the explanations on the right. There are two additional choices on the right. (6%)

1) broker a. duties imposed on goods imported and exported

2) discount b. a business concern owned or controlled in whole or in part by another concern

3) revenue c. compensation for loss

4) indemnity d. the total annual income of a state

5) affiliate e. amount of money that may be taken off the full amount

6) tariff f. the agent for the stock-dealer to sell and buy the stocks

g. after presentation of draft

h. money earned on the sales of goods to other countries

III. Make brief explanations of the following terms in English (24%)

1) opening bank

2) usance credit

3) proximate cause of loss

4) documents against acceptance

5) counter trade

6) Incoterms

IV. Fill in each of the following blanks with an appropriate word from the list. (10%)

traditional, position, facilitate, framework, conducted, enforce, large, strict, service, contracting, added, discriminatory

Now the WTO is also pledged to reduce tariffs and other barriers to eliminate (1)________ treatment in international trade. But in order to further (2)________ the free development of cross-border trade, the WTO has (3)________ three new dimensions to its responsibilities. First, the WTO, unlike the GA TT, has had a legal (4)________ to function in, as it was created by an international conference with an accord legitimately ratified by all the (5)________ parties concerned. Second, since the WTO is in a (6)________ to exert powerful leverage on the trading policies of its member states, it has mightier teeth to (7)________ the rules and regulations of this governing global body. Third, in addition to the (8)________ goods trade under the GA TT, the WTO also policies the technology trade and the (9)________ trade, which account for a

(10)________ segment of business interflow of today.

V. Translate the following into Chinese (15%)

Freight forwarders act, first, as your agent in moving your product overseas. Second, they are knowledgeable about customs duties, documentation, credit transaction, and insurance in addition to their fundamental role of moving your goods from one point to another. Professional international freight forwarder and instructor do for cargo what travel agents do for passengers. There is no law says that you must use freight forwarder. Just like the airlines or advertising, you can book your own ticket or buy media space directly. Freight forwarders operate like travel agents and advertising agents who, in those

cases, receive their commissions from airlines and media. Freight forwarders receive their commissions from steamships. VI. Translate the following into English (25%)

1）绝对利益理论认为，一种商品将在其耗费资源成本低的国家进行生产。

2）即期付款交单要求进口商立即付款以取得单据。

3）所有的运输方式以及其代表性的运载工具在整个运输系统中起着重要的作用。

4）除了公司有价证券期权，金边债券、货币和指数都有相应的期权。

5）世界贸易组织的重要决策由两年举行一次的部长会议做出。

VII. Answer the following question in English (10%)

What is meant by “cyclical, seasonal and random shocks”?

参考答案1

I. 1) a. 绝对利益b. 分批装运c. 契约承运人d. 缓冲库存贷款e. 双边谈判

2) a. primary commodities b. customs invoice c. globalization of business d. international commodity agreement

e. shipping mark

II. 1) f 2) e 3) d 4) c 5) b 6) a

III. 1) The bank that issues the letter of credit is called the opening bank.

2) A usance credit is one by which payment cannot be made until a specific time after the date or after sight. The usance varies from 30, 60, 90 days to as long as 180 days.

3) When an insurance policy is made out to cover a certain risk, a claim becomes payable only if that risk occurred as the proximate cause of the loss suffered. The proximate cause is the direct cause of the loss.

4) In the case of documents against acceptance (D/A), documents are handed over to the importer upon his acceptance of the bill of exchange drawn by the exporter. Payment will not be made until a later date. D/A is always after sight.

5) Counter trade is the generic term to describe a set of cross border contracts which link a seller’s exports to imports fro m the buyer.

6) Incoterms is short for international rules for interpretation of trade terms, the purpose of it is to provide a set of international rules for the interpretation of the most commonly used trade terms in foreign trade. Thus, the uncertainties of different interpretations of such terms in different countries can be avoided or at least reduced to a considerable degree.

IV. 1) discriminatory 2) facilitate 3) added 4) framework 5) contracting 6) position 7) enforce 8) traditional 9) service 10) large

V. 运输代理，首先是作为你的代理人向海外运输货物；其次，除运输货物的基本作用外，他们还熟悉关税、单证、赊购交易和保险业务。职业的国际运输代理和运输指导像旅行社对待旅客一样处理货物。没有法律规定必须使用运输代理。就像乘飞机和做广告一样，你可以直接订票和购买广告播出时间，也可委托旅行社和广告代理商进行。运输代理就像旅行社和广告代理商一样开展工作。所不同的是，后两者从航空公司和广告公司收取佣金，而运输代理则是从运输公司收取佣金的。

VI. 1) The theory of absolute advantage holds that a commodity will be produced in the country where it costs least in terms of resources.

2) Documents against payment at sight requires immediate payment by the importer to get hold of the documents.

3) All the modes and their representative carriers play important roles in the overall transportation system.

4) In addition to company securities, options are also available on gilts, currencies and indices.

5) Important decisions of the WTO are made at its biennial ministerial meeting.

VII. It is a financial difficulty encountered by some countries in a certain unfavorable economic environment. For some products, they may face a disadvantageous selling prospect at intervals regularly, that’s cycling; some products may meet a slack season when the climate is not suitable for the consumption, that is seasonal; and there are some unexpected difficulties on the internationa l market which come suddenly, that’s the random shocks.