NGOẠI NGỮ 24H WWW.NGOAINGU24H.VN UNIT 7: ECONOMIC REFORMS A Reading VOCABULARY • renovation (n): đổi • dominate (v): chi phối, thống trị • stagnant (adj): trì trệ • inflation (n): lạm phát • dissolve (v): giải tán, giải thể • substantial (adj): thực tế, quan trọng • government subsidies: bao cấp phủ • government commitment: cam kết phủ Read the passage and the tasks that follow One of the most important measures to be taken to promote the development of a country is to constantly carry out economic reforms Being aware of this, in December 1986, at its Sixth National Congress, the Vietnamese Communist Party initiated an overall economic reform, commonly known as “Doi Moi” (Renovation) The aim of Doi Moi was to restructure the economy of Vietnam and to raise the living standards of the people Before Doi Moi our country experienced a lot of difficulties: the economy was underdeveloped and was dominated by traditional agriculture; the country was poor, the people led a poor life, production was stagnant; there was a shortage of schools and hospitals, and inflation could be seen in every sector of the economy To solve these problems, our Government introduced a number of renovation measures: they eliminated government subsidies; they shifted economic priority from heavy industry to three major economic programmes, namely, production of food, production of consumer goods and production of exports; they reduced state intervention in business; they opened trade relations with all countries in the world and encouraged foreign and domestic private investment The subsequent National Congresses of the Vietnamese Communist Party held in 1991, 1996, and 2001 continued to reaffirm its commitment to Doi Moi, and called for more administrative and economic reforms Under the Party’s guidelines, the Government adopted the Land Law in 1993 and the Enterprises Law in 2000 These have laid legal grounds for dissolving inefficient co-operatives, expanding more opportunities for farmers, and encouraging both domestic and foreign private investment Since Doi Moi, our country has undergone substantial changes: productivity and agricultural exports have constantly increased, the farmers have enjoyed land use rights and have had greater choice on how to use their agricultural land, the workers have worked harder as their time is their money, and the children, particularly those from ethnic minorities have had more opportunities to enjoy education and training We believe that with the strong commitment of our Party and Government to Doi Moi, we will gain greater achievements and build a better life for our people Task Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F) Economic reform is the most important measure to be taken to promote the development of a country Đăng ký học: 0962 60 8801 – 04 6260 3948 Địa chỉ: Số 18 Trần Đại Nghĩa – Q Hai Bà Trưng – Hà nội NGOẠI NGỮ 24H WWW.NGOAINGU24H.VN Doi Moi was initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 1986 Before Doi Moi, inflation was present in all branches of the national economy To make Doi Moi to be successful, the Government shifted only economic priority from heavy industry to three major economic programmes The Land Law and the Enterprises Law have encouraged both domestic and foreign private investment Task Answer the following questions When and by whom was Doi Moi officially initiated? What was the aim of Doi Moi? Name the renovation measures the Government introduced to implement Doi Moi How has Vietnam changed since Doi Moi? What we believe? B Listening VOCABULARY • inhabitant (n): dân cư • discourage (v): can ngăn >< encourage • be in ruins (v) = be destroyed: phá hủy • run short of (v): hết • take measures to sth: áp dụng biện pháp làm Task Listen to the passage about the inhabitants of Tango Island and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F) Tango Island is in the South Atlantic They found a drug The drug made it difficult for the people to think in a reasonable way The whole population stopped working because of the drug The Prime Minister warned the people many times on the radio about the drug The islanders took the Prime Minister’s advice The Government introduced laws to make the drug illegal The Law couldn’t have any effect The Government exported the drug to another country Task Listen again and answer the questions What did the people of Tango discover? What did they with the plant? What negative effects did the drug bring about? How many measures did the Government take and what were they? What did the Government of Tango decide to eventually? Tape script The inhabitants of Tango, a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, discovered a plant which contained a powerful drug They grew the plant all over the island and they took the drug every day This made it more difficult for them to think rationally - it stopped them worrying about the future and enabled them to relax and enjoy themselves And because of the drug, the whole population of the island stopped working and spent all their time singing and looking at the sea Unfortunately this had very bad effects on the country’s economy The workers and farmers became lazy, the children did not want to go to school and the whole population began to run short of food This, however, did not discourage people from taking the drug The Prime Minister made speeches on the TV warning them about the drug, but nobody took any notice, and before long the economy of the country was in ruins Đăng ký học: 0962 60 8801 – 04 6260 3948 Địa chỉ: Số 18 Trần Đại Nghĩa – Q Hai Bà Trưng – Hà nội NGOẠI NGỮ 24H WWW.NGOAINGU24H.VN This forced the Government to take measures They introduced a law to make the drug illegal But that only made the situation worse The law couldn’t prevent the people from taking the drug On the contrary, the fact that the drug was illegal encouraged people to take it more They put the drugtakers into prison But this did not have any effect, there were not enough prisons for them Eventually, the Government found a solution: they exported the drug to other countries This saved the islanders from having to work more than one day a week, and allowed them to spend the rest of their time sitting in the sun without any care in the world C Speaking The country of Fantasia started its overall reforms in the early 1970s The reform has brought about positive effects in many sectors of the economy, particularly in education, health care and agriculture Suggest what the Government and the people of Fantasia have done to improve their economy in these sectors Use the cues below: Education: ● curriculum and textbooks ● more equipment and facilities ● more schools ● teachers’ salaries ● teaching and learning methods ● more scholarships for poor or disadvantaged students Health care: ● more hospitals ● doctors’ and nurses’ salaries ● more highly qualified doctors ● sensitivity of doctors and nurses ● more medical equipment and to their professional facilities responsibilities ● health insurance Agriculture: ● appropriate policies to ● more dykes and dams, encourage farmers to work irrigation and drainage systems more efficiently ● new and advanced farming ● more advanced farming techniques facilities and equipment ● fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides D Writing The table below presents the achievements the Government and the people of Tango have gained in some branches of the economy after two decades of their economic reform Read the information in the table and the tasks that follow Đăng ký học: 0962 60 8801 – 04 6260 3948 Địa chỉ: Số 18 Trần Đại Nghĩa – Q Hai Bà Trưng – Hà nội NGOẠI NGỮ 24H WWW.NGOAINGU24H.VN Before 1980 1980 1990 2000 Agriculture - 0.5% 3.5% 4.5% 5.4% Fishery - 0.4% 3.2% 4.0% 5.0% Forestry - 0.2% 2.7% 3.5% 4.5% Industry - 0.6% 2.3% 3.4% 4.5% Construction - 0.3% 4.5% 5.3% 6.4% Export 0% 3.0% 4.1% 5.3% Answer the following questions What was the economic situation in Tango before 1980? What can you say about the economic situation in Tango from 1980 to 2000? What you think the Government and the people of Tango have done to achieve these results? Sample The Government and the people of Tango started their overall economic reform in the mid 1970s Before that time, the economy of the country was in ruins such as: Agriculture: -0.5%, Fishery: -0.4%, Forestry: -0.2%, Industry: -0.6%, Construction: -0.3% Especially people can not see any activities of export in the country As a result, the economy was under-developed, the country was poor, the people led a poor life, and production was stagnant To solve the problems, the economic reform was applied in some sectors of the economy In agriculture, they introduced new and advanced farming techniques, facilities and equipment as well as new seeds, fertilizers and pesticides In fishery, they improved the new advanced methods of fishing and aquaculture At the same time, they promoted the export of seafood In forestry, the government encouraged people to plant more forests and woods and conserve them as well In industry, they shifted economic priority from heavy industry to economy of production and processing And to speed this up and promote the export potentials, they opened trade relations with many other countries From the information from the table, we can say that since the economic reform, Tango country has undergone substantial changes, all branches of economy increased steadily: Export: 5.3%, rose 2.3% against 1980; Industry: 4.5%, rose 2.2% against 1980; Construction: 6.4%, rose 1.9% against 1980 As can be seen in the table, construction developed best, before 1980, it was only -0,3%, but in 2000, it increased to 6,4% In short, thanks to the economic reform, the Government and people of Tango will gain greater achievements and developed miraculously from a poor country to a developing country or a very rich country Đăng ký học: 0962 60 8801 – 04 6260 3948 Địa chỉ: Số 18 Trần Đại Nghĩa – Q Hai Bà Trưng – Hà nội