📚 Year 7 OCR Economics: Vocabulary Terms Quick Memorisation Guide | 七年级OCR经济：词汇术语速记指南
Mastering key economic vocabulary is the first step towards understanding how the world works. This guide provides easy-to-remember explanations and memory tricks for Year 7 OCR Economics students to quickly learn essential terms, from scarcity and choice to demand, supply and opportunity cost.
掌握关键的经济学词汇是理解世界如何运转的第一步。本指南为七年级OCR经济学的学生提供易于记忆的解释和记忆技巧，帮助你快速掌握从稀缺性、选择到需求、供给与机会成本等基本术语。
1. The Core Economic Problem | 经济学的核心问题
Economics is the social science that studies how people use scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. It centres on the idea that resources are limited, so choices must be made.
经济学是研究人们如何用稀缺资源满足无限欲望的社会科学，其核心思想是资源有限，因此必须做出选择。
Scarcity means there are not enough resources to produce everything people want. Because of scarcity, individuals, firms and governments cannot have all the goods and services they desire. This forces them to make choices.
稀缺性意味着没有足够的资源来生产人们想要的一切。由于稀缺性，个人、企业和政府无法拥有他们想要的所有商品和服务，这迫使他们做出选择。
Choice is the decision we make about which wants to satisfy with the limited resources available. Every choice involves a trade-off. From these trade-offs, we get the three fundamental economic questions: What to produce? How to produce? For whom to produce?
选择指的是在资源有限的情况下，我们决定满足哪些欲望。每一个选择都伴随着权衡。从这些权衡中，我们得到了三个基本经济问题：生产什么？如何生产？为谁生产？
Put the three ideas into one chain and the logic is easy to recall:
把这三个概念串成一条链条，逻辑就很容易回忆：
Limited resources + Unlimited wants → Scarcity → Choice → Trade-off
Memory aid: think of a family deciding a Sunday meal. What dish to cook, how to cook it, and who gets the biggest portion. One meal, three questions, many trade-offs.
记忆辅助：想象一个家庭决定周日的饭菜——做什么菜，怎么做，以及谁分到最大份。一顿饭，三个问题，无数权衡。
- Microeconomics studies small units such as households and firms. | 微观经济学研究家庭、企业等小单位。
- Macroeconomics studies the whole economy, such as growth and inflation. | 宏观经济学研究整体经济，如增长与通胀。
- Model is a simplified version of reality used to explain economic behaviour. | 模型是用于解释经济行为的简化现实版本。
2. Needs and Wants | 需要与欲望
Needs are goods or services that are essential for survival, such as clean water, nutritious food, shelter and basic clothing. Without them, life cannot be sustained.
需要是生存所必需的商品或服务，如清洁的水、营养食物、住所和基本衣物。没有它们，生命无法维持。
Wants are things people would like to have but are not necessary for survival, such as a games console, designer trainers or a holiday abroad. Wants are unlimited and change over time.
欲望是人们想要但并非生存必需的东西，如游戏机、名牌运动鞋或海外度假。欲望是无限的，并且随着时间变化。
Economists use this distinction to understand spending patterns. When income falls, people still buy needs but tend to cut back on wants first. When income rises, wants expand faster than needs.
经济学家用这一区分来理解消费模式。当收入下降时，人们仍会购买需要，但会首先削减欲望。当收入上升时，欲望的扩张比需要更快。
| Feature | Needs 需要 | Wants 欲望 |
| Essential for survival? | Yes 是 | No 否 |
| Limited or unlimited? | Limited 有限 | Unlimited 无限 |
| Examples | Water, food, shelter 水、食物、住所 | Console, holidays 游戏机、度假 |
Memory aid: Needs = Necessary. The two words even start with the same letter. Everything else is a want.
记忆辅助：Needs（需要）= Necessary（必需），两个词的字母开头相同。其余的都是欲望。
3. Goods, Services and Factors of Production | 商品、服务与生产要素
Goods are physical, tangible items that can be seen and touched, such as bread, phones and shoes. Services are intangible activities provided for others, such as a haircut, a train journey or teaching.
商品是可以看见和触摸的实物，如面包、手机和鞋子。服务是为他人提供的无形活动，如理发、乘火车或教学。
Free goods are available in unlimited amounts at no cost, such as air or sunlight. Economic goods are scarce and therefore have a price, because producing them uses up limited resources.
自由品是数量无限且无需付费的物品，如空气或阳光。经济物品是稀缺的，因此有价格，因为生产它们消耗了有限资源。
The resources used to make goods and services are called the factors of production, and each one earns a reward:
用来生产商品和服务的资源称为生产要素，每一种要素都获得相应报酬：
- Land - natural resources, reward: rent. | 土地——自然资源，报酬为地租。
- Labour - human effort, reward: wages. | 劳动——人的体力与智力投入，报酬为工资。
- Capital - man-made goods used to produce other goods, reward: interest. | 资本——用于生产其他商品的人造品，报酬为利息。
- Enterprise - the risk-taking and organising done by an entrepreneur, reward: profit. | 企业家才能——企业家承担风险与组织生产，报酬为利润。
Memory aid: the four letters L-L-C-E sound like "Let's Learn Commerce and Economics", and the rewards spell out R-W-I-P - Rent, Wages, Interest, Profit.
记忆辅助：四个首字母 L-L-C-E 可连读为 "Let's Learn Commerce and Economics"；报酬首字母 R-W-I-P 对应地租、工资、利息、利润。
4. Opportunity Cost | 机会成本
Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that is given up when a choice is made. It is not always money - it can be time, space or enjoyment.
机会成本是做出选择时所放弃的次优方案的价值。它不一定是金钱，也可能是时间、空间或乐趣。
If a student spends two hours revising Economics instead of playing football, the opportunity cost is the football match, not the price of the textbook. If a government builds a hospital on a plot of land, the opportunity cost is whatever else that land and money could have produced, such as a school.
如果一名学生花两小时复习经济学而不是踢足球，机会成本就是那场足球赛，而不是课本的价格。如果政府在一块土地上建医院，机会成本就是这块土地与这笔钱本可生产的其他东西，例如一所学校。
Opportunity cost = value of the next best alternative forgone
Every point on a production possibility curve (PPC) shows a combination of two goods that can be produced with all resources fully used. Moving along the curve means trading one good for another, so the slope of the curve is the opportunity cost.
生产可能性曲线（PPC）上的每一点表示在资源充分利用时可生产的两种商品的组合。沿着曲线移动意味着以一种商品换取另一种商品，因此曲线的斜率就是机会成本。
- Point inside the curve: resources are unemployed or used inefficiently. | 曲线以内的点：资源失业或使用低效。
- Point on the curve: productive efficiency is achieved. | 曲线上的点：实现了生产效率。
- Point outside the curve: currently unattainable. | 曲线以外的点：当前无法实现。
Memory aid: opportunity cost is "the road not taken" - the second-best thing you gave up, never the money you already spent.
记忆辅助：机会成本就是"未走的那条路"——你放弃的次优选择，而不是已经花掉的钱。
5. Producers, Consumers and Markets | 生产者、消费者与市场
A producer is a person or firm that makes or supplies goods and services. A consumer is a person who buys and uses them. Most people play both roles every day.
生产者是制造或提供商品与服务的个人或企业。消费者是购买并使用它们的人。大多数人在一天中同时扮演两种角色。
A market is any place or system where buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods, services or information. A market does not need to be a physical building - online shops and auction apps are markets too.
市场是买者与卖者聚集在一起交换商品、服务或信息的任何场所或体系。市场不必是实体建筑——网店和拍卖应用也是市场。
- Local market: a village shop or weekend farmers' market. | 地方市场：乡村小店或周末农夫市集。
- National market: firms selling across one country. | 全国市场：在一个国家范围内销售的企业。
- Global market: buying and selling between countries. | 全球市场：国家之间的买卖。
Exchange means trading one thing for another. Before money existed, people used barter, swapping goods directly, which required a "double coincidence of wants" - both sides had to want exactly what the other offered.
交换指以一种东西换取另一种。在货币出现之前，人们使用以物易物，直接交换商品，这需要"需求的双重巧合"——双方必须恰好都想要对方提供的东西。
Memory aid: a market is simply a "meeting point" - buyers on one side, sellers on the other, and a price in the middle.
记忆辅助：市场就是一个"交汇点"——一边是买方，一边是卖方，中间是价格。
6. Demand and Supply | 需求与供给
Demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to buy at each price. Willing rules out wishful thinking; able means they actually have the money.
需求是消费者在每个价格水平上愿意并且能够购买的数量。愿意排除了空想；能够意味着他们确实有支付能力。
The law of demand states that, other things equal, when price rises, quantity demanded falls; when price falls, quantity demanded rises. The income effect and substitution effect explain why.
需求定律指出，在其他条件不变时，价格上升，需求量下降；价格下降，需求量上升。收入效应与替代效应解释了原因。
Supply is the quantity that producers are willing and able to sell at each price. The law of supply says that a higher price encourages firms to supply more, because profit per unit is greater.
供给是生产者在每个价格水平上愿意并且能够出售的数量。供给定律指出，更高的价格会鼓励企业供给更多，因为单位利润更高。
| Term | Meaning | 中文 |
| Movement along the curve | Caused only by a change in price | 沿曲线移动：仅由价格变化引起 |
| Shift of the curve | Caused by income, tastes, costs, technology, taxes | 曲线移动：由收入、偏好、成本、技术、税收等引起 |
Memory aid: price moves you along, anything else shifts the line. A change in price never shifts a demand or supply curve by itself.
记忆辅助：价格让你沿曲线移动，其他因素才让曲线平移。价格变化本身永远不会使需求或供给曲线移动。
7. Price and the Price Mechanism | 价格与价格机制
Price is the amount of money paid for one unit of a good or service. It carries information, creates incentives and decides who gets what.
价格是为一单位商品或服务支付的货币金额。它传递信息、产生激励，并决定谁能得到什么。
Equilibrium price is the price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. There is no tendency for the price to change at this point.
均衡价格是需求量等于供给量时的价格。在这一点上，价格没有变动的趋势。
- Shortage: quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied, so price tends to rise. | 短缺：需求量大于供给量，价格趋于上升。
- Surplus: quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded, so price tends to fall. | 过剩：供给量大于需求量，价格趋于下降。
- Rationing: price decides who can afford the good. | 配给功能：价格决定谁买得起。
- Signalling: price tells producers and consumers where to go. | 信号功能：价格告诉生产者与消费者资源配置的方向。
- Incentive: a higher price encourages more supply. | 激励功能：更高价格鼓励更多供给。
Quantity demanded = Quantity supplied → Equilibrium
Memory aid: the three functions spell R-S-I - Rationing, Signalling, Incentive. Think "Really Strong Incentive".
记忆辅助：三大功能的首字母是 R-S-I——配给、信号、激励，可以记成 "Really Strong Incentive"。
8. Specialisation and Division of Labour | 专业化与劳动分工
Specialisation means concentrating on producing a narrow range of goods or services, or one task, so that a person, firm or country becomes more efficient.
专业化指专注于生产范围很窄的商品或服务，或专注于某项任务，从而让个人、企业或国家变得更有效率。
The division of labour is the splitting of production into separate tasks, with each worker repeating one task. Adam Smith famously described a pin factory where splitting the job into many steps raised output enormously.
劳动分工是把生产拆分成不同工序，每位工人重复完成一项任务。亚当·斯密曾描述过一家别针工厂：把工作拆成许多步骤后，产量大幅提高。
- Advantages: higher productivity, lower average costs, faster learning, more output per hour. | 优点：提高生产率、降低平均成本、学习更快、每小时产量更高。
- Disadvantages: boredom, low motivation, risk of strikes, weakness if one link in the chain fails. | 缺点：枯燥、积极性低、罢工风险、链条某一环出问题就整体受损。
Productivity is output per worker per hour. It is different from production, which is just total output. Productivity rises when the same worker produces more in the same time.
生产率是每位工人每小时的产出，它与生产量不同，后者只是总产出。当同一名工人在同样时间内生产更多时，生产率就上升了。
Productivity = Output ÷ Number of workers (or hours worked)
Memory aid: specialisation means becoming special at one thing; it is the opposite of "doing everything badly".
记忆辅助：专业化（specialisation）就是在一件事上变得特别（special）擅长，它的反面是"什么都做但都做不好"。
9. Money, Exchange and Trade | 货币、交换与贸易
Money is anything generally accepted as a means of payment. Its main functions are a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and a standard of deferred payment.
货币是被普遍接受作为支付手段的东西。它的主要职能是交换媒介、计价单位、价值储藏和延期支付标准。
- Medium of exchange: it avoids barter. | 交换媒介：避免以物易物的麻烦。
- Unit of account: prices are quoted in one common unit. | 计价单位：价格用同一单位标示。
- Store of value: money can be saved for later. | 价值储藏：货币可以储蓄留待日后使用。
- Standard of deferred payment: debts can be settled later. | 延期支付标准：债务可以在未来清偿。
Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services. Countries trade because they can obtain goods they cannot produce, produce others more cheaply, and enjoy a wider choice for consumers.
贸易是商品与服务的买卖。各国进行贸易是因为可以获得自己无法生产的商品、以更低成本生产其他商品，并让消费者享受更多选择。
Exports are goods and services sold abroad; imports are bought from abroad. A tariff is a tax on imports, and a quota is a physical limit on how much can be imported.
出口是卖往国外的商品与服务；进口是从国外买入的。关税（tariff）是对进口征收的税，配额（quota）是对进口数量设定的上限。
Memory aid: money does four jobs - Means, Unit, Store, Standard - or "MUSS", easy to remember because money makes trade flow smoothly.
记忆辅助：货币有四项职能——交换媒介、计价单位、价值储藏、延期支付标准，可记为 "MUSS"，因为货币让贸易顺畅流动。
10. Government and the Economy | 政府与经济
The government influences economic activity by collecting taxes, spending public money, setting rules and providing goods that markets may not supply.
政府通过征税、公共支出、制定规则以及提供市场可能不会供给的商品来影响经济活动。
Taxation is money collected from individuals and firms to fund public services. Direct taxes are paid on income, such as income tax. Indirect taxes are paid on spending, such as VAT.
税收是从个人和企业收取用于资助公共服务的资金。直接税针对收入征收，如所得税；间接税针对支出征收，如增值税。
Public goods, such as street lighting and national defence, are non-rival and non-excludable, so private firms rarely supply them and the government steps in.
公共物品如路灯和国防，具有非竞争性和非排他性，因此私人企业很少提供，政府便介入供给。
- Non-rival: one person's use does not reduce another's. | 非竞争性：一个人使用不会减少他人的使用。
- Non-excludable: it is impossible to stop non-payers from benefiting. | 非排他性：无法阻止未付费者受益。
- Regulation: rules that keep markets fair and safe. | 监管：维持市场公平与安全的规则。
- Subsidy: a payment to producers to lower price or raise output. | 补贴：支付给生产者以降低价格或提高产量。
Memory aid: government does T-S-R-P - Tax, Spend, Regulate, Provide. If a question asks about government, one of these four is usually the answer.
记忆辅助：政府做四件事——征税、支出、监管、供给（T-S-R-P）。遇到关于政府的题目，答案通常就在这四项之中。
11. Big-Picture Words: Growth, Inflation and Unemployment | 宏观关键词：增长、通胀与失业
Economic growth is an increase in the total output of an economy over time, usually measured by real GDP. A rising GDP normally means more jobs, higher incomes and better living standards.
经济增长是一个经济体总产出随时间的增加，通常用实际GDP衡量。GDP上升通常意味着更多就业、更高收入和更好生活水平。
Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, which reduces the purchasing power of money. In the UK it is measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
通货膨胀是总体价格水平的持续上涨，会降低货币的购买力。在英国用消费者价格指数（CPI）衡量。
Unemployment occurs when people who are willing and able to work cannot find a job. Employment is the opposite: having paid work.
失业是指愿意并且能够工作的人找不到工作。就业则相反，指拥有有薪工作。
Real GDP = Nominal GDP − Inflation (approximation) | Real interest rate ≈ Nominal rate − Inflation
Watch the word real. Real values are adjusted for inflation; nominal values are not. A pay rise of 3% with inflation at 4% means real pay has fallen by about 1%.
注意 real（实际）这个词。实际值已按通胀调整，名义值没有。若工资涨3%而通胀为4%，则实际工资下降了约1%。
- Standard of living: the level of goods and services people can enjoy. | 生活水平：人们可享受的商品与服务水平。
- GDP per capita: total output divided by population. | 人均GDP：总产出除以人口。
- Recession: two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP. | 衰退：实际GDP连续两个季度下降。
12. Exam Vocabulary, Memory Techniques and Revision Checklist | 考试词汇、记忆技巧与复习清单
OCR Economics questions expect precise definitions, a clear explanation and a relevant example. Command words tell you what to do, so learning them is as important as learning the terms themselves.
OCR经济学的题目要求准确的定义、清晰的解释和相关的例子。指令词告诉你该做什么，因此学会它们和记住术语本身一样重要。
| Command word | What to do | 中文 |
| Define | Give a precise meaning in one sentence | 给出准确的一句话定义 |
| Explain | Give a reason and link cause to effect | style="border:1px solid #ccc;padding:
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