📚 AQA Year 7 Economics: Key Terms Quick-Reference Guide | AQA 七年级经济：关键词汇速记指南
Economics is all about making choices. In Year 7, you will meet a range of new words that help you explain how people, businesses and governments decide what to do with limited resources. This guide gives you clear definitions for the most important terms, plus memory tricks to help them stick. Read through the English explanation first, then check your understanding with the Chinese version. Aim to use the key terms in full sentences when you talk or write about economic ideas.
经济学是关于如何做选择的学科。在七年级，你会遇到一系列新词汇，它们帮助你解释个人、企业和政府如何在有限资源下做出决策。本指南为你提供最重要术语的清晰定义，并附带记忆技巧，帮助你把它们牢牢记住。先阅读英文解释，再用中文版检验理解。试着在谈论或书写经济观点时，用完整的句子说出这些关键词汇。
1. Scarcity | 稀缺性
Scarcity means there are not enough resources to satisfy all our wants. It is the basic economic problem every society faces. Even rich countries have to deal with scarcity because people’s desires for goods and services are unlimited, while land, labour, capital and time are limited.
稀缺性意味着没有足够的资源来满足我们所有的欲望。这是每个社会都面临的基本经济问题。即使是富裕国家也得应对稀缺性，因为人们对商品和服务的欲望是无限的，而土地、劳动力、资本和时间却是有限的。
Memory trick: Think of a slice of cake in a room full of hungry friends — it simply cannot go round far enough. Scarcity = not enough cake.
记忆技巧：想象一块蛋糕放在一屋子饥饿的朋友中间——根本不够分。稀缺性 = 蛋糕不够分。
2. Opportunity Cost | 机会成本
Opportunity cost is the next best thing you give up when you make a choice. Every time you decide to spend your time or money on one item, you are giving up the chance to have something else you also value. It is not just the price of something — it is the value of the alternative you missed.
机会成本是你做选择时放弃的次优选项。每当决定把时间或金钱花在一件事情上，你就放弃了得到其他珍视物品的机会。它不只是一件东西的价格——而是你错过的那个替代选项的价值。
Memory trick: When you choose to watch a film for two hours, the opportunity cost might be the time you could have spent playing football. Ask yourself: “What is my number two choice? That is my opportunity cost.”
记忆技巧：当你选择花两小时看电影，机会成本可能是你本可以踢球的时间。问自己：“我的第二选择是什么？那就是我的机会成本。”
3. Needs and Wants | 需要与欲望
Needs are things you must have to survive, such as water, food, shelter and basic clothing. Wants are things you would like to have to make life more enjoyable, but you can live without them — think of video games, holidays or designer trainers.
需要是你生存所必需的东西，比如水、食物、住所和基本的衣物。欲望则是你希望拥有、让生活更有趣的物品，但没有它们你也能活下去——想想电子游戏、度假或名牌运动鞋。
Memory trick: Needs keep you alive; wants just make you smile. Write your list of needs on one side of a piece of paper and your wants on the other — needs always win when money is tight.
记忆技巧：需要让你活下去；欲望只是让你笑得开心。把需要列在纸的一边，欲望列在另一边——当钱不够用时，需要总是优先。
4. Goods and Services | 商品与服务
Goods are physical items you can touch and own, like a pencil, a bicycle or a sandwich. Services are activities that someone does for you, such as a haircut, a bus ride or a doctor’s check-up. You consume the service at the moment it is provided.
商品是你可以触摸并拥有的实物，比如铅笔、自行车或三明治。服务是别人为你完成的活动，比如理发、乘坐公交车或医生检查身体。服务在提供的那一瞬间就被消费了。
Memory trick: If you can drop it on your foot, it is a good. If you cannot, it is probably a service. When you get a haircut, you cannot hold the haircut in your hand afterwards.
记忆技巧：如果能砸到你的脚，它就是商品。如果不能，那很可能就是服务。理完发后，你无法把那个发型拿在手里。
5. Factors of Production | 生产要素
These are the resources used to make goods and services. The four main factors are: land (natural resources), labour (workers and their skills), capital (machinery, tools, buildings) and enterprise (the people who bring the other three together and take risks). Everything you use in daily life comes from combining these four.
生产要素是用于生产商品和服务的资源。四个主要要素是：土地（自然资源）、劳动力（工人及其技能）、资本（机器、工具、建筑物）和企业家才能（把其他三种要素结合并承担风险的人）。你日常生活中使用的每一样东西，都是这四种要素结合的结果。
Memory trick: Use the first letters L-L-C-E and remember “Llamas Love Carrot Enterprise”. Land, Labour, Capital, Enterprise — four friends that make everything happen.
记忆技巧：用首字母 L-L-C-E，记住“可爱的骆马爱吃胡萝卜企业家”。土地、劳动力、资本、企业家才能——四个伙伴让一切生产成为可能。
6. Supply and Demand | 供给与需求
Demand is how much of a product people are willing and able to buy at different prices. Supply is how much producers are willing and able to sell. When demand is high and supply is low, prices tend to rise. When supply is high and demand is low, prices tend to fall.
需求是指在不同的价格下，人们愿意并且能够购买的商品数量。供给是指生产者愿意并且能够出售的数量。当需求高而供给少时，价格往往上涨。当供给高而需求低时，价格往往下跌。
Memory trick: Think of a new games console on launch day: demand is huge, supply is small, so prices can be very high. Imagine a see-saw with demand on one side and supply on the other — price moves to balance it.
记忆技巧：想象新款游戏机发售当天：需求巨大，供给很少，所以价格可能非常高。想象一架跷跷板，一边是需求，另一边是供给——价格移动来平衡它。
7. Market | 市场
A market is any place (physical or online) where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods, services or resources. It does not have to be a building — it can be a website, an app or a phone network. Every time you buy something, you are taking part in a market.
市场是买卖双方交换商品、服务或资源的任何地方（现实的或线上的）。它不一定是建筑物——可以是网站、应用程序或电话网络。每当你购买东西，你就在参与市场。
Memory trick: A market is like a big conversation: “I have something to sell” meets “I want to buy”. Even your school canteen is a tiny market at lunchtime.
记忆技巧：市场就像一场大对话：“我有东西要卖”遇上“我想买”。即使学校的食堂在午餐时间也是一个小市场。
8. Price | 价格
Price is the amount of money a buyer pays to obtain a good or service. It acts as a signal — a higher price tells producers to make more, while a lower price might encourage consumers to buy more. Price is usually shown in pound sterling in the UK (£).
价格是买方为获得商品或服务支付的货币数额。它起到信号作用——较高的价格告诉生产者多生产，而较低的价格可能鼓励消费者多购买。在英国，价格通常用英镑 (£) 表示。
Memory trick: Price is the “handshake” between supply and demand. When you see a price tag, think: “This number tells me how scarce this item is right now.”
记忆技巧：价格是供给与需求之间的“握手”。当你看到价格标签，心里想：“这个数字告诉我这东西现在有多稀缺。”
9. Money | 货币
Money is anything widely accepted as a means of payment for goods and services. It has four main functions: a medium of exchange (we use it to trade), a store of value (it can be saved), a unit of account (it shows the value of items) and a standard of deferred payment (it is used to borrow and lend).
货币是被广泛接受用于支付商品和服务的任何东西。它有四个主要功能：交易媒介（我们用它来交换）、价值储藏（可以储蓄）、计价单位（显示物品的价值）和延期支付标准（用于借贷）。
Memory trick: Without money, we would all be swapping chickens for shoes — that is called barter. Money makes life simpler: “I will take this crisp packet in return for my pen? No thanks — just give me 50p.”
记忆技巧：没有货币，我们都得用鸡换鞋——那叫物物交换。货币让生活更简单：“我用这包薯片换你的笔？不用了——直接给我50便士。”
10. Budget | 预算
A budget is a plan for how to spend and save money over a certain period. It lists expected income and planned expenses. Governments, businesses and individuals use budgets to make sure they do not spend more than they earn, and to set priorities.
预算是一段时间内如何支出和储蓄资金的计划。它列出预计的收入和计划的支出。政府、企业和个人使用预算来确保不超支，并确定优先事项。
Memory trick: Think of a budget as a money diary. If your pocket money is £5 a week and you want to buy a £15 game, your budget will show that you need to save for three weeks.
记忆技巧：把预算想象成一本金钱日记。如果你每周零花钱是5英镑，而你想买一款15英镑的游戏，预算会告诉你需要攒三周钱。
11. Saving | 储蓄
Saving means putting aside some of your income today so you can use it in the future. It often involves keeping money in a bank account or a safe place. Saving helps people prepare for emergencies, buy expensive items later or earn a little interest from the bank.
储蓄意味着从你今天的收入中留出一部分，供将来使用。它通常涉及把钱存入银行账户或安全的地方。储蓄帮助人们为紧急情况做准备、以后购买昂贵物品或从银行赚取一点利息。
Memory trick: “Pay yourself first.” Whenever you receive money, imagine taking a small slice of cake (say 10%) and putting it in a locked tin for later. That tin is your savings.
记忆技巧：“先给自己付钱。”每次收到钱，想象切一小块蛋糕（比如10%）放进带锁的罐子里留着以后吃。那个罐子就是你的储蓄。
12. Inflation | 通货膨胀
Inflation is a general rise in the price level of goods and services over time. It means that each pound buys fewer things than it did before. A little inflation is normal, but too much can hurt people’s purchasing power. Central banks try to keep inflation steady, often around 2% in the UK.
通货膨胀是指一段时间内商品和服务价格水平的普遍上涨。这意味着每英镑购买的东西比以前少了。适度的通货膨胀是正常的，但过高会损害人们的购买力。中央银行试图保持通货膨胀稳定，英国的目标通常在2%左右。
Memory trick: Imagine your favourite chocolate bar costs £1 this year. Next year, with 10% inflation, the same bar costs £1.10 — your money just does not stretch as far. Inflation is the invisible shrinker of your pocket money.
记忆技巧：想象你最喜欢的巧克力棒今年卖1英镑。明年，如果通货膨胀率是10%，同样的巧克力棒会卖1.10英镑——你的钱没那么耐花了。通货膨胀是让你零花钱悄悄缩水的隐形因素。
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