Your shirt was
made1 in Mexico and your shoes2 in China. Your CD player comes from Japan.
You can travel to Moscow and eat a Big Mac there and you can watch3 an American
film in Rome. Today goods4 are made and sold all over the world5, thanks to6 globalization.
Globalization lets
countries move closer to each other7. People, companies8 and
organizations in different countries can live and work together. We can exchange9 goods , money and ideas faster and cheaper than ever before10.
Modern communication and technology, like11
the Internet, cell phones12 or
satellite TV help us in our daily
lives13.
Globalization is growing
quickly14. A German company can produce cars in Argentina and then sell them in the United
States. A businessman15
in Great Britain can buy a part of a company in Indonesia on one day and sell
parts of another business16 in
China the next, thanks to globalization. Fast food companies open shops around
the world almost17 every day.
However18 , there is a growing debate over globalization. Governments are in favour of19 globalization because the economy can
grow. Other people are not so sure
that there are only advantages20.
Here are some arguments from both sides21:
Advantages
·
Globalization lets countries do what they can do best. If, for example,
you buy cheap steel22 from another country you don’t have to make your own23 steel. You can focus on24 computers or other things.
·
Globalization gives you a larger market. You can sell more goods and make more money. You
can create more jobs25.
·
Consumers also profit from26
globalization. Products become27
cheaper and you can get28
new goods more
quickly.
Disadvantages29
·
Globalization causes unemployment30 in
industrialized countries because firms move
their factories to
places where they can get cheaper workers.
·
Globalization may lead to31
more environmental problems32.
A company may want to build factories in
other countries because environmental
laws are not as strict as33
they are at home. Poor countries in the Third World may have to cut down34 more trees
so that35 they can
sell wood36 to
richer countries.
·
Globalization can lead to
financial problems . In the 1970s and 80s countries like Mexico, Thailand,
Indonesia or Brazil got a lot of
money37 from investors who
hoped38 they could
build new businesses there.
These new companies often39
didn’t work, so they had to close
down and investors pulled out40 their
money.
·
Some of the poorest countries in the world41, especially in
Africa, may get even poorer42.
Their population is not as educated as
in developed countries43 and they don’t have the new technology that we do.
·
Human, animal and plant diseases44 can spread45 more
quickly through46
globalization.
Vocabulary
1.
was made = foi feito
2.
shoes = sapatos
3.
watch = assistir
4. goods = bens, mercadorias
5.
sold all over the
world = por todo o mundo
6.
thanks to = graças a
7. lets
countries move closer to each other = permite os países aproximarem-se uns dos
outros
8. companies = empresas
9. Exchange = permutar,
trocar
10. faster
and cheaper than ever before = mais rápido e mais barato do que nunca antes
11. like = como
12. cell
phones = telefones celulares
13. daily lives = vidas diárias
14. growing quickly = crescendo rapidamente
15. businessman = executivo
16. business = negócios, empresas
17. almost = quase
18. However = contudo
19.
in favour
of = a favor de (Inglês americano = in favor of)
20.
are not so sure that there are only advantages = não tem certeza de que há apenas vantagens
21. from
both sides = de ambos os lados
22. steel =
aço
23. own = próprio
24. focus on = focar em, concentrar em
25. Jobs
= empregos
26. profit from = lucrar com
27. become = tornam-se
28. get = obter
29. Disadvantages = desvantagem
30. Unemployment
= desemprego
31. may lead to = pode conduzir a
32. environmental problems = problemas
ambientais
33. as strict as = tão rígidas quanto
34. cut down = cortar, derrubar
35. so that = para que
36. wood = Madeira
37. got a lot of money =
receberam muito dinheiro
38. hoped = tinham esperança
39. often = frequentemente
40. pulled
out = retiraram
42. may
get even poorer = podem ficar ainda mais pobres
43. developed
countries = países desenvolvidos
44. diseases
= doenças
45. spread
= espalharem-se
46. through = através