📚 Summer Prep and Bridging Course for Year 7 Cambridge Economics | 剑桥7年级经济：暑期预习与衔接课程
Welcome to the wonderful world of Economics! This summer bridging course is designed to give you a gentle and engaging introduction to the key ideas you will meet in Year 7. Whether you have never thought about money, resources or choices in this way before, this article will take you step by step through the foundations. By the end, you will feel confident and excited to start your Economics journey.
欢迎来到精彩的经济学世界！这个暑期衔接课程旨在温和而有趣地介绍你在七年级将会接触到的核心概念。无论你以前是否这样思考过金钱、资源或选择，本文都将带你一步步了解基础知识。读完它，你将充满信心并对即将开始的经济学之旅感到兴奋。
1. What is Economics? | 什么是经济学？
Economics is the study of how people make choices when there is not enough of something to satisfy everyone's wants. It looks at how individuals, businesses and governments decide what to produce, how to produce it and for whom.
经济学研究的是在资源不足以满足所有人欲望时人们如何做出选择。它考察个人、企业和政府如何决定生产什么、如何生产以及为谁生产。
At its heart, economics helps answer three big questions every society faces: What goods and services should we produce? How should we produce them? And who gets to consume them?
说到底，经济学帮助回答每个社会都会面临的三个大问题：我们应该生产哪些商品和服务？我们应该如何生产它们？谁可以消费它们？
For a Year 7 student, thinking like an economist means asking 'Why do things cost what they do?' and 'What trade‑offs are involved in my daily decisions?' It is about seeing the world in terms of scarcity and choice.
对于七年级学生来说，像经济学家一样思考意味着问“为什么东西会值这个价钱？”以及“我日常的决策中涉及哪些权衡？”这其实就是从稀缺性和选择的角度看世界。
2. Scarcity and Choice | 稀缺性与选择
Scarcity is the basic economic problem. It means that there are only limited resources available to meet unlimited human wants. Because we cannot have everything, we must choose which wants to satisfy and which to leave unsatisfied.
稀缺性是基本的经济问题。它意味着有限的资源无法满足人类无限的欲望。因为我们不能拥有一切，就必须选择满足哪些欲望、放弃哪些欲望。
Think about your own pocket money. You might want a new video game, a football and a day out with friends all at the same time. Scarcity of money forces you to rank these wants and pick the one you value the most right now.
想一想你的零花钱。你可能同时想要一款新电子游戏、一个足球以及和朋友出去玩一天。钱的稀缺性迫使你将这些欲望排序，并选择出你当下最看重的那一个。
Scarcity is not about being poor; even the richest country faces scarcity because time, natural resources and workers are finite. Understanding this helps us see why every decision has a cost.
稀缺性与贫穷无关；即使是最富裕的国家也面临稀缺，因为时间、自然资源和劳动力是有限的。理解这一点有助于我们明白为什么每一个决策都有代价。
3. Opportunity Cost | 机会成本
Opportunity cost is the next best alternative you give up when you make a choice. It is not all the other alternatives, just the one you value most after your chosen option.
机会成本是你做出选择时所放弃的次优替代品。它不是所有其他选项，而只是你第二看重的那一个。
For example, imagine you have one hour of free time. You could use it to read a book or to play football with friends. If you choose to read, the opportunity cost is the enjoyment and exercise you would have gained from playing football.
举个例子，假设你有一个小时的空闲时间。你可以用它来读书，也可以和朋友们踢足球。如果你选择阅读，那么机会成本就是你踢足球所能获得的乐趣和锻炼。
Economists use the idea of opportunity cost to highlight that every 'yes' to one thing is a 'no' to something else. When governments spend more on hospitals, the opportunity cost might be fewer new schools.
经济学家用机会成本的概念来强调：对一件事说“是”，就是对另一件事说“不”。当政府在医院上投入更多时，机会成本可能就是新建学校的减少。
4. Needs and Wants | 需要与想要
A need is something essential for survival, such as food, clean water, shelter and clothing. A want is something you would like to have but can live without, like a smartphone, a holiday or a designer bag.
需要是生存所必需的东西，比如食物、清洁的水、住所和衣物。想要是你希望拥有但离开也能活的东西，比如智能手机、假期或名牌包。
Distinguishing needs from wants helps individuals and countries allocate resources wisely. In an emergency, people first cover their needs; luxuries come later.
区分需要和想要有助于个人和国家明智地分配资源。紧急情况下，人们首先满足需要；奢侈品则是以后的事。
In economics, needs are often treated as more urgent, but what is considered a need can change over time. In many places today, internet access feels like a need because it is linked to education and work.
在经济学中，需要通常被看作更紧迫，但什么是需要会随时间而变化。在今天的许多地方，互联网接入就给人一种需要的感觉，因为它与教育和就业紧密相连。
5. Goods and Services | 商品与服务
Goods are physical items that you can touch and own, like a bicycle, a loaf of bread or a pencil. Services are activities that someone does for you, such as a haircut, a bus ride or a teacher's lesson.
商品是你可以触摸和拥有的实物，比如自行车、一条面包或一支铅笔。服务是某人为你进行的活动，比如理发、乘坐公交或老师的授课。
Both goods and services satisfy wants and needs, and they are produced using scarce resources. A country's economy is often measured by the total value of goods and services it produces in a year.
商品和服务都能满足欲望和需要，而且它们都是使用稀缺资源生产出来的。一个国家的经济通常用它一年内生产的商品和服务的总价值来衡量。
Some products combine a good and a service; for instance, buying a smartphone (a good) also gives you access to after‑sales support (a service). Thinking in these categories helps economists analyse markets.
有些产品结合了商品和服务；例如，购买智能手机（商品）还让你获得售后支持（服务）。用这些类别思考能帮助经济学家分析市场。
6. Factors of Production | 生产要素
The resources used to produce goods and services are called factors of production. There are four main groups: land, labour, capital and enterprise.
用于生产商品和服务的资源被称为生产要素。主要有四类：土地、劳动力、资本和企业家才能。
Land includes all natural resources such as water, minerals, forests and farmland.
土地包括所有自然资源，如水、矿产、森林和农田。
Labour is the human effort, both physical and mental, used in production.
劳动力是生产中投入的人类努力，包括体力和脑力劳动。
Capital means human‑made tools, machinery and buildings that help produce other goods, not money itself.
资本是指人造的工具、机器和建筑，它们帮助生产其他商品，并非指货币本身。
Enterprise is the skill of bringing the other three factors together, taking risks and innovating.
企业家才能是将其他三种要素组合起来、承担风险和进行创新的能力。
Every good you use, from a simple eraser to a high‑tech tablet, required a combination of these four factors. Understanding them reveals why some things are expensive and how production can be improved.
你使用的每件物品，从一块简单的橡皮到高科技平板电脑，都需要这四种要素的组合。理解它们能揭示为什么有些东西昂贵，以及如何才能改善生产。
7. Introduction to Markets | 市场入门
A market is any place or situation where buyers and sellers exchange goods, services or resources. It does not need to be a physical space; online shops and apps are also markets.
市场是买方和卖方交换商品、服务或资源的任何场所或情景。它不需要是一个实体空间；网店和应用程序也是市场。
In a market, buyers signal what they are willing to pay, and sellers signal what they are ready to accept. When many buyers and sellers interact, a market price is established.
在市场中，买方表明他们愿意支付什么价格，卖方表明他们能够接受什么价格。当众多买方和卖方互动时，市场价格就确立了。
Markets can be local, like a school tuck shop, or global, like the market for oil. They help allocate scarce resources by matching what people want with what producers can supply.
市场可以是本地的，比如学校小卖部，也可以是全球的，比如石油市场。通过匹配人们的需求和生产者的供应能力，市场帮助配置稀缺资源。
8. Demand and Supply Basics | 需求与供给基础
Demand is the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at different prices. Usually, as the price falls, demand rises – this is called the law of demand.
需求是消费者在不同价格下愿意且能够购买的商品或服务数量。通常，价格下降时需求会上升——这被称为需求定律。
Supply is the quantity that producers are willing and able to offer for sale. According to the law of supply, a higher price tends to encourage producers to supply more.
供给是生产者愿意且能够出售的数量。根据供给定律，较高的价格往往会鼓励生产者提供更多。
Imagine a school cake sale. If slices cost only 20p, many students will want to buy them (high demand), but the baking team may bring only a few cakes. If slices cost £1, fewer students demand them, but more bakers will want to supply cakes. The price balances the two sides.
想象一次学校蛋糕义卖。如果一片只要20便士，许多学生都会想买（需求高），但烘焙小组可能只带来少量蛋糕。如果一片卖1英镑，需求的学生会变少，但更多的烘焙师愿意提供蛋糕。价格平衡了供需双方。
Where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied, we have market equilibrium. That is the price you often see in shops.
当需求量等于供给量时，我们就达到了市场均衡。你在商店里看到的通常就是这个价格。
9. Money and Exchange | 货币与交换
Before money, people used barter – swapping one good directly for another. Barter is inefficient because you must find someone who has what you want and wants what you have. Money solves this problem.
在货币出现之前，人们使用物物交换——直接用一种商品交换另一种。物物交换效率低下，因为你必须找到一个刚好拥有你所需并且需要你所有之物的人。货币解决了这个问题。
Money performs three key functions: it is a medium of exchange, a unit of account and a store of value. As a medium of exchange, it is widely accepted as payment. As a unit of account, it lets us compare the value of different items easily. As a store of value, it allows us to save and use purchasing power later.
货币履行三个关键职能：交易媒介、计价单位和价值储藏。作为交易媒介，它被广泛接受为支付手段。作为计价单位，它让我们能轻松比较不同物品的价值。作为价值储藏，它使我们能够储蓄并在未来使用购买力。
Today, money takes many forms – coins, notes and digital balances. Understanding money helps explain how modern economies keep track of value and enable trade across vast distances.
如今，货币有多种形式——硬币、纸币和数字余额。理解货币有助于解释现代经济如何记录价值并促成远距离贸易。
10. Economic Decision Making | 经济决策
Every day we make economic decisions by weighing benefits and costs. A rational decision maker chooses the option where the extra benefit is greater than the extra cost.
我们每天都在权衡收益和成本，做出经济决策。理性的决策者会选择额外收益大于额外成本的选项。
Governments also make economic decisions, such as how much tax to collect and where to spend the money. These decisions involve opportunity costs and affect the whole society.
政府也会做出经济决策，比如征收多少税以及把钱花在哪里。这些决策涉及机会成本，影响整个社会。
Businesses decide what to produce based on expected profit, which is the difference between total revenue and total cost. Profit signals where resources should be used most efficiently.
企业根据预期利润决定生产什么，利润是总收入和总成本的差额。利润信号表明了资源应该被最高效地用在何处。
Learning to think about decisions in this structured way is one of the most powerful skills economics gives you. It applies far beyond money – to how you use your time, energy and attention.
学会以这种有条理的方式思考决策，是经济学赋予你的最强大的技能之一。它不仅适用于金钱，也适用于你如何使用时间、精力和注意力。
11. Preparing for Year 7 Economics | 为七年级经济学做准备
As you prepare to start Year 7, the best thing you can do is to develop a curious mindset. Start noticing prices in shops, asking why some brands charge more, and thinking about the choices your family makes when shopping.
在你准备开始七年级时，最好的做法是培养好奇心。开始留意商店里的价格，问问为什么有些品牌收费更高，想想你的家人在购物时所做的选择。
Keep a simple 'economics diary' over the summer: record one observation each day, such as a price change, a new product or a trade‑off you faced. This will turn everyday life into your own economics laboratory.
这个暑假，你可以写一本简单的“经济学日记”：每天记录一个观察，比如价格变动、新产品或你面对的权衡。这会把日常生活变成你自己的经济学实验室。
Review the key terms introduced here – scarcity, opportunity cost, factors of production, demand and supply. You do not need to memorise them, but becoming familiar with the language will give you a head start.
复习这里介绍的关键术语——稀缺性、机会成本、生产要素、需求与供给。你不需要死记硬背，但熟悉这些语言会让你领先一步。
Ask questions. Why does a bottle of water cost more at a cinema than at a supermarket? Why do some countries use different currencies? These are the kinds of questions economists love, and your Year 7 teacher will be thrilled to explore them with you.
多提问题。为什么电影院一瓶水比超市贵？为什么有些国家使用不同的货币？这些都是经济学家喜欢的问题，你的七年级老师会很高兴与你一同探索。
12. Summer Learning Tips | 暑期学习建议
Read stories or watch short videos about young entrepreneurs and inventors. Notice how they identified a want, gathered resources and took risks – all key economic ideas in action.
阅读关于年轻创业者和发明家的故事，或观看相关短视频。留意他们是怎样识别需求、聚集资源并承担风险的——这些都是在实践中的关键经济理念。
Play board games that involve trading, such as Monopoly or Settlers of Catan. These games simulate resource management, negotiation and opportunity cost in a fun way.
玩一些涉及交易的桌游，比如《大富翁》或《卡坦岛》。这些游戏以有趣的方式模拟了资源管理、谈判和机会成本。
Talk to your family about budgeting. Help plan a small outing by researching costs and making choices. This hands‑on experience is one of the best ways to internalise economic reasoning.
与家人聊聊预算。通过研究花费和做出选择，帮忙策划一次小型外出。这种动手实践是内化经济推理的最佳途径之一。
Stay relaxed and curious. Economics is not about being right all the time; it is about learning to think clearly about trade‑offs. Enjoy the process, and you will arrive in Year 7 ready to contribute and thrive.
保持放松和好奇。经济学不是要求你永远正确；而是学会清晰地思考权衡。享受这个过程，你就会以准备充分、乐于贡献的状态进入七年级。
Published by TutorHao | Economics Revision Series | aleveler.com
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