UNIT 7: CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

TASK 1: Below you will find an extract from a presentation comparing stock market
performance in European countries. Complete it using the following words:
PART 1

around; at; downs; so; upward; of;

First, let's have a look at this graph, which shows

LONDON
us the ups and (1). in the 'footsie' over the
last three months. As you can see, the overall
trend is (2)with the index finishing up
(3) (4).3,200 in mid-May. This
trend, however, can't hide the fact that there was
a fall (5)..some eighty points or (6)..
between the middle of February and the
beginning of March. We'll be looking at the
reasons for this unexpected dip in a moment.

PART 2

of; over; to; at; about; from

In Paris it's been the same story, with the CAC falling (1) just (2).1850 in mid-February
(3) (4).1720 three weeks later. Again, though, overall performance has been good, the
CAC putting on roughly 120 points over the three-month period, peaking (5)just short
(6)
.2020, give or take a point.

PART 3

down; of; by; downward; between; over;

As you can see, the picture in Milan is rather MILAN

different.
The early trend was decidedly (1) In
fact, the MIBTel had already fallen (2).. in
excess
(3) ..1400 points by mid-March.
It then fluctuated (4).
9700 and 9300
for the best part of a month, before partially
recovering to end up well (5).a hundred
points (6).. on the figure for mid-February.

2. DESCRIBING AND ANALYSING TABLES AND CHARTS

TASK 1: Look at the four tables below. These show demographic trends in four
different countries between 1996 and 2000. The numbers on the left and right of each
table show the number of people in millions. Using the information in these tables,
match sentences 1-13 on the next page with the appropriate country. Use the words and
expressions in bold to help you.

Number of people
under 18 years of age

Number of people
over 65 years of age

Number of deaths

Number of
married people

Number of
single people

1. In which two countries was there a considerable discrepancy between married and single people
between 1996 and 1998?
2. In which country was there a constant and considerable discrepancy between married and single
people over the five-year period?
3. In which country was there a sudden and noticeable difference between those under 18 and those
over 65 in 1998?
4. In which country did the number of under-18s rise dramatically between 1996 and 2000?
5. In which country did the number of under-18s increase slightly between 1996 and 2000?
6. In which country did the number of over-65s go up sharply between 1996 and 1998?
7. In which country did the number of married people decline over the five-year period?
8. In which country did the number of deaths decrease significantly between 1996 and 1999?
9. In which country was there a slight decline in the number of married people between 1998 and
1999?
10. In which country was there a sharp drop in the number of under-18s between 1997 and 1998?
11. In which country was there a slight reduction in the number of deaths over the five-year period?
12. In which country was there a significant increase in the number of deaths between 1998 and
2000?
13. In which country did the number of deaths remain constant over the five-year period?
TASK 2: Now look at the table below, which shows the changes in economic activity in a town
over a period of five years. The figures on the left and right show the number of people involved
in these activities, in thousands. Write your own sentences to describe the situation in the town
regarding the number of:
1. People employed in industry between 1996 and 2000,
2. People employed in retail between 1996 and 2000.
3. People employed in public services between 1999 and 2000.
4. People employed in tourism between 1996 and 2000.
5. Unemployed between 1998 and 2000.
6. People employed in industry compared with those in tourism in 1996.
7. People employed in industry between 1998 and 1999.

CHARTS ANALYSED
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
Expenditure by local authorities in Someland

Model answer
The charts show how much local authorities spent on a range of services in Someland in three
separate years: 1980, 1990 and 2000.
In all three years, the greatest expenditure was on education. But while K-12 education saw a
fall from 25% in 1980 to only 18% of spending in 2000, higher education remained the largest
proportion, reaching 45% of total spending in 1990 and ending at 40% in 2000.
Expenditure on health and human resources had increased to 20% by 1990 before decreasing
to only 10% by the end of the period. In contrast, the share of transportation saw an opposite
trend. This cost decreased to only 6% of total expenditure in 1990 but rose dramatically in
2000 when it represented 22% of the total budget. Similarly, the cost of environmental
services saw a rising trend, growing from only 4% to 9% by 2000.

Overall, higher education constituted the largest cost to local authorities, and while spending
increased for transportation and environmental services, there were corresponding drops in
expenditure on health and human resources and K-12 education.

Cinema viewing figures for films by country, in millions

Action

Romance

Comedy

Horror

Totals

7.5

6.5

2.5

24.5

Ireland

7.6

3.8

5.5

6.4

23.3

New Zealand

7.2

4.5

3.9

4.7

20.3

Japan

7.1

4.5

2.2

17.8

Total

29.9

20.3

19.9

15.8

India

Tip
The word respectively is useful for placing data in the order that you write about it.
Romance and Comedy are the next popular genres, with the total number of 20.3 million
viewers and 19.9 million viewers respectively.
Model answer
The table compares four countries in terms of the number of people who watch four different
genres of film at the cinema: Action, Romance, Comedy and Horror.
The table indicates that more Indian people watch films at the cinema than the other three
nationalities. In all four countries, Action is the most popular genre of film. The total number
of viewers for action films is nearly 30 million and in each country about 7-8 million people
watch them.

Not many people like watching horror films at the cinema compared to the other genres of
film. In India and Japan only 2-2.5 million people watch horror films but they are more
popular in New Zealand and Ireland. On the other hand, romance films are very popular in
India with 7.5 million viewers but it is not as popular in the other countries. New Zealand and
Japan come next with 4.5 million viewers each.