在上一讲中我们谈的话题是：globalisation－经济的全球化。
    澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学的市场学系主任菲茨罗伊教授介绍说，通讯和交通运输费用的降低是促进经济全球化进程的两个因素。
    接下来菲茨罗伊教授介绍说，生产规模的扩大和顾客品味趋于一致也是推动经济全球化的原因。他在谈话中使用了这样一些词汇：
    1 economies of scale 规模经济2 homogeneity 同种，同一3 cater¹ to the need of 迎合……的需要4 barrier 障碍5 gatt 关税及贸易总协定 general agreement on tariffs² and trade 的缩写6 world trade organisation³ 世界贸易组织，简称wto 7 trade liberalisation 贸易自由化
    现在我们听一遍菲茨罗伊教授的这段谈话：
    it is true in lots of industries, large plants can make goods much cheaper than small plants. and in some industries we can see a movement towards increasing economies of scale. in other words, the minimum size of plant or the most economic size of plant is getting larger and larger.
    another necessary condition for globalisation is the increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes. there are an increasing number of consumers in brazil; who have almost precisely⁴ the same set of needs and requirements as consumers in germany. so consequently it becomes easier for a producer to try to cater to the needs of both markets, because the market differences have now really diminished to a point where they virtually don't exist.
    another explanation for globalisation is the behaviour of governments. historically, there have been barriers to trade that have been put up by governments. particularly since the second world war, inter-government bodies such as the gatt and the world trade organisation have really encouraged governments to liberalise trade, which means to remove political barriers, so that trade liberalisation has been again an important necessary condition for globalisation.
    接下来我们分段听一遍菲茨罗伊教授的谈话和中文翻译：（英文略）
    的确在很多行业中，大工厂能够以比小工厂低得多的成本生产产品。在有些行业中我们可以看到“规 模 经 济”不断增加的趋势。换句话说，就是工厂的最小规模或者说工厂的最经济的规模变得越来越大。
    全球化的另一必要条件是顾客的品味日益趋于一致。在巴西有越来多的顾客，他们的需要和要求与德国顾客的几乎完全一样。这种趋势使生产者能更容易地迎合两个市场的需要，因为市场的差别现在实际上已缩小到几乎不存在的程度。
    促进全球化的另一原因是政府的行为。历史上各国政府曾设置贸易障碍。但是从二次大战以来，各种政府间的组织如关税及贸易总协定和世界贸易组织实际上一直鼓励各国政府允许贸易自由化，也就是消除政治障碍。因此贸易自由化也是经济全球化的一个必要的条件。

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