📚 Year 7 WJEC Economics: Summer Prep & Bridging Course | Year 7 WJEC 经济：暑期预习与衔接课程
Welcome to your Year 7 WJEC Economics summer bridging programme. This resource is designed to give you a confident head start before you step into the classroom. Economics is a fascinating subject that explains how the world works – from why your favourite snack costs a certain amount, to how governments decide on spending. Over the summer you will explore the key ideas that form the backbone of the WJEC Economics course, building a solid foundation in a way that is engaging and very accessible. By the end of this bridging material you will be familiar with core concepts such as scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, supply and demand, and you will have practised thinking like a real economist.
欢迎参加 Year 7 WJEC 经济暑期衔接课程。这份资料旨在让你在正式踏入课堂之前，就能充满信心地抢先起步。经济学是一门迷人的学科，它解释世界是如何运转的——从你最喜欢的零食为什么卖这个价钱，到政府如何决定支出。暑假期间，你将探索构成 WJEC 经济课程支柱的关键概念，以引人入胜且非常易懂的方式打下扎实的基础。完成这份衔接内容后，你将会熟悉稀缺性、选择、机会成本、供给与需求等核心概念，并且已经练习过如何像真正的经济学家一样思考。
1. What Is Economics? | 什么是经济学？
Economics is the study of how people, businesses and governments make choices when they are faced with limited resources. It asks questions like: How do we decide what to produce? Who gets to consume goods and services? And how can we make the best use of our money, time and natural resources? Economists try to understand human behaviour and design systems that help societies thrive. At its heart, economics is about decision-making in a world of not having enough to satisfy everyone’s desires.
经济学研究的是个人、企业和政府在面临有限资源时如何做出选择。它提出的问题如：我们如何决定生产什么？谁能够消费商品和服务？我们怎样才能最合理地利用金钱、时间和自然资源？经济学家试图理解人类行为，并设计出有助于社会繁荣的体系。经济学的核心，就是在一个无法满足所有人欲望的世界里进行决策。
2. Scarcity: The Basic Economic Problem | 稀缺性：基本经济问题
Scarcity is the condition that exists because human wants are unlimited but the resources available to satisfy those wants are finite. This tension is known as the basic economic problem. Even very wealthy individuals and countries experience scarcity because time is limited, and our desires can always expand. Scarcity forces all of us to make choices. Without scarcity there would be no need for economics at all – everything would be freely available, like a magical world with no price tags.
稀缺性之所以存在，是因为人类的欲望是无限的，而用来满足这些欲望的资源却是有限的。这种矛盾被称为基本经济问题。即便是非常富有的个人和国家也会经历稀缺，因为时间是有限的，而我们的愿望总是可以不断扩张。稀缺性迫使所有人做出选择。如果没有稀缺性，就根本不需要经济学——一切都将免费可得，就像一个没有价格标签的魔法世界。
3. Needs and Wants | 需要与欲望
In economics we separate the things we must have to survive – needs – from those that make life more enjoyable but are not essential – wants. Needs include food, clean water, shelter, clothing and basic healthcare. Wants stretch far beyond: designer clothes, the latest smartphone, streaming subscriptions, holidays abroad. Understanding this distinction helps us see why scarcity bites even in wealthy societies. Even when all needs are met, people still want more.
在经济学中，我们把生存必不可少的东西（需要）与那些让生活更舒适但并非必需的东西（欲望）区分开来。需要包括食物、洁净的水、住所、衣物和基本医疗。欲望则远远超出这些：名牌服装、最新款智能手机、流媒体订阅、海外度假。理解这一区别有助于我们看清，为什么即使在富裕社会里稀缺也依然存在。即便所有需要都已满足，人们仍然想要更多。
4. Making Choices: Opportunity Cost | 做出选择：机会成本
Every choice involves giving something up. The opportunity cost of a decision is the value of the next best alternative that you did not choose. For example, if you have one hour free and decide to play a video game instead of reading a book, the opportunity cost is the enjoyment and knowledge you would have gained from reading. Money choices carry opportunity cost too: buying a cinema ticket means you cannot spend that same money on a pizza. Thinking about opportunity cost makes us more careful decision-makers.
每一个选择都意味着放弃某样东西。某项决策的机会成本，就是你所没有选择的那个次优选项的价值。例如，如果你有一小时的空闲时间，决定打电子游戏而不是看书，那么机会成本就是你从阅读中本可以获得的乐趣与知识。金钱方面的选择也有机会成本：买一张电影票就意味着你不能用同一笔钱去买披萨。考虑机会成本会让我们成为更谨慎的决策者。
5. Introduction to Economic Resources | 经济资源简介
Economists group the resources used to make goods and services into four categories, known as the factors of production. Land refers to all natural resources, like water, forests, minerals and farmland. Labour is the human effort, both physical and mental, that goes into production. Capital means man-made tools and machinery, such as computers, factories and vehicles. Enterprise is the ability to bring the other three factors together and take risks to start a business. These four factors are the building blocks of any economy.
经济学家将用于生产商品和服务的资源分为四大类，称为生产要素。土地指所有自然资源，如水、森林、矿产和农田。劳动是投入生产的人力付出，包括体力和脑力。资本指人造的工具和机器，如电脑、厂房和车辆。企业则是指将其他三种要素组织起来并承担风险去创业的能力。这四大要素是所有经济体系的基石。
6. Supply and Demand Basics | 供给与需求基础
Supply and demand are the two forces that determine prices in a market. Demand refers to how much of a product consumers are willing and able to buy at different prices. Generally, when the price falls, people demand more – this is the law of demand. Supply refers to how much producers are willing and able to offer for sale. Usually, a higher price encourages producers to supply more – the law of supply. The price where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied is called the equilibrium price, and it is where markets naturally settle.
供给和需求是决定市场上价格的两股力量。需求是指消费者在不同价格下愿意并且有能力购买的产品数量。通常，当价格下降时，人们会需求更多——这就是需求定律。供给是指生产者在不同价格下愿意并且有能力提供的销售量。通常，较高的价格会鼓励生产者供应更多——这就是供给定律。需求量与供给量相等时的价格称为均衡价格，市场会自然地趋向这一点。
7. Types of Goods and Services | 商品和服务的种类
Goods are physical items that we can touch, such as books, apples, shoes and bicycles. Services are non-physical activities that someone does for you, like a haircut, a bus journey or a maths tutor. Goods can be durable, lasting many years, or non-durable, used up quickly. Some goods are free, provided by nature without charge, but most economic goods are scarce and carry a price. Understanding the variety of goods and services shows us how many ways producers add value to our daily lives.
商品是我们能够触摸到的有形物品，如书籍、苹果、鞋子和自行车。服务是他人为你执行的非实物活动，比如理发、乘坐公交车或数学辅导。商品可以是耐用品，能用很多年；也可以是非耐用品，很快就被消耗掉。有些商品是免费品，由大自然无偿提供；但大多数经济品是稀缺的，并且有价格。了解商品和服务的多样性，能让我们看到生产者是如何以多种方式为我们的日常生活增添价值的。
8. Money and Its Functions | 货币及其功能
Money is anything that is widely accepted as payment for goods and services. Before money, people relied on barter, which was incredibly inefficient because you had to find someone who wanted exactly what you offered. Money solves this problem by serving three main functions. First, it is a medium of exchange, making trade easy. Second, it is a unit of account, allowing us to measure and compare value. Third, it is a store of value, so we can save our wealth for the future.
货币是指任何被广泛接受用来支付商品和服务的东西。在有货币之前，人们依赖物物交换，这种方式效率极低，因为你必须找到一个恰好需要你提供的东西的人。货币通过履行三大职能解决了这一问题。第一，它是交换媒介，使交易变得容易。第二，它是记账单位，让我们能够衡量和比较价值。第三，它是价值储藏手段，因此我们可以把财富存起来留待将来使用。
9. Budgeting and Personal Finance | 预算与个人理财
A budget is a plan for how to spend and save your money. Learning to budget is one of the most practical skills you can develop through economics. To build a simple budget you list your income, such as pocket money or a part-time job, and then subtract your planned spending on wants and needs. A balanced budget means income equals spending; a surplus lets you save; a deficit means you are spending more than you have. Budgeting teaches you to prioritise and plan ahead – a habit that helps throughout life.
预算是一份关于如何支出和储蓄金钱的计划。学会做预算是你能通过经济学掌握的最实用的技能之一。要建立一个简单的预算，你需要列出你的收入，比如零用钱或兼职工作的所得，然后减去你在需要和欲望上的计划支出。平衡预算意味着收入等于支出；盈余可以让你存钱；赤字则意味着你的支出超过了收入。做预算教会你分清轻重缓急和提前规划——这个习惯会终生受益。
10. Introduction to Economic Systems | 经济体系简介
Every society must answer three big economic questions: What should be produced? How should it be produced? And for whom? Different economic systems answer these questions in different ways. In a market economy, such as the United Kingdom, private individuals and businesses own resources and make decisions guided by prices and profits. In a command economy, the government makes most decisions. Most real-world economies are mixed, blending free markets with some government intervention to fix problems like inequality or pollution.
每个社会都必须回答三大经济问题：应该生产什么？应该如何生产？以及为谁生产？不同的经济体系以不同的方式回答这些问题。在市场经济中，例如英国，私人个体和企业拥有资源，并根据价格和利润引导做出决策。在计划经济中，政府做出大部分决策。现实世界中的大多数经济体都是混合经济，将自由市场与政府的一些干预相结合，以解决不平等或污染等问题。
11. Why Study Economics? | 为什么要学习经济学？
Economics gives you a toolkit for understanding current affairs, from inflation and unemployment to international trade. It sharpens your critical thinking because you learn to evaluate costs and benefits and to spot the unintended consequences of decisions. Employers value economic reasoning highly, so studying economics opens doors to careers in finance, law, journalism, government and business. But perhaps the best reason is that economics helps you become an informed citizen who can engage in important conversations about the future of our world.
经济学为你提供了理解时事的工具箱，从通货膨胀、失业到国际贸易。它能锻炼你的批判性思维，因为你学会评估成本与收益，并发现决策可能带来的意外后果。雇主非常看重经济推理能力，因此学习经济学能为你在金融、法律、新闻、政府和商业等领域打开职业生涯的大门。但也许最好的理由是，经济学能帮助你成为一个有见识的公民，能够参与有关世界未来的重要对话。
12. Summer Activities to Prepare | 暑期准备活动
You can begin thinking like an economist right now with simple activities. Keep a ‘scarcity diary’ for a week and note every time you had to make a choice due to a limited resource, such as time or money – record what you chose and its opportunity cost. Follow at least one economic news story aimed at young people, perhaps about the price of a popular toy rising before the holidays, or why a company is hiring more workers. Finally, chat with your family about one financial decision they have made, and ask them to explain the trade-off involved. These small habits will sharpen your curiosity and give you real examples to bring into your new economics classroom.
你可以从现在开始，通过一些简单活动像经济学家一样思考。坚持写一周的“稀缺日记”，记录下每一次你因为资源有限（比如时间或金钱）而不得不做出选择的情形——写下你的选择和它的机会成本。追踪至少一则面向青少年的经济新闻，比如某款流行玩具在节日前价格上涨，或某家公司为什么正在招聘更多员工。最后，和家人聊一聊他们做过的一个财务决策，请他们解释其中的权衡取舍。这些小小的习惯会激发你的好奇心，并为你提供真实的例子，可以带入你新的经济学课堂。
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