Several English words are often formed from the same root. Make new words from the root words below to complete the sentences.
produce
Henry Ford began the mass production of the automobile.
Looking out of the window is not a very productive way to spend your time.
Since the new equipment was installed, productivity has risen by 26% complete.
compete | |
1. | We work on very small profit margins so our prices are very __________ . |
2. | Our recent technological breakthrough has given us a leap over our _________ . |
3. | The fall in sales revenues resulted from increased __________ from the Far East. |
economy | |
4. | Leading __________ are predicting that inflation will rise to over 2% by the end of the year. |
5. | Did you study __________ when you were at University? |
6. | The New Honda does nearly fifty miles to the gallon. It’s a very __________ car to run. advertise |
7. | There’s an __________ in the paper. It’s for your job. |
8. | We can’t print this article. Our __________ won’t like it. |
9. | Which __________ agency do you work for? |
direct | |
10. | He resigned because he was unhappy about the __________ the company was going in. |
11. | I’d like you to meet Mrs Gardener – she’s the new Sales __________ . |
12. | I don’t know the telephone number. You’ll have to look it up in the __________ . |
10. a) From the sentences given below form interrogative sentences;
b) put general question to each sentence;
c) put special questions to the underlined words.
1. | There are many different ways to determine wealth. |
2. | The study of the world economy is essentially a macroeconomic survey. |
3. | Monitory policy is managed by each country’s central bank. |
4. | The basic idea of international trade is simple. |
5. | In the interlinked global economy, consumers are given opportunity to buy the best products at the best prices. |
6. | Trade deficits and surpluses are balanced by payments that make up the difference. |
11. a) Read and translate the following text. While reading, write out the numbers you’ll come across.
The Great British Bath
British people spend a year of their lives in the bath according to a survey by Graham, a leading bathroom supplier. More than half read in the bath, a third drink coffee, almost a third sing, a quarter consume alcohol, around a seventh make phone calls and nearly a sixth use the time to clip their tone nails.
The Graham Bath Report published today indicates that three out of five people prefer baths to showers and that having a bath is an important form of relaxation for many people. 53% of the 2,500 people surveyed like to listen to music in the bath and over two thirds say they dream. Some tackle crosswords, and some practice yoga or meditation. One person in five says they watch television from their bath, four percent claim to have sexual intercourse and a few go to sleep.
On the more practical side, just under two thirds of the people wash their hair, a tenth use the bath to wash their dogs and others share their baths with pet rabbits and cats (particularly Persians). But for others, the bath is a place of recreation. 4% play with their children’s toys.
b) Complete the following table of statistics. Fill in the missing percentage using figures from the box.
68% 62% 60% 52% 30% 25% 20% 14% 10% |
What the nation does at bath time:
Read | _____ | |
Drink coffee | 31% | |
Sing | _____ | |
Drink alcohol | _____ | |
Talk on the phone | _____ | |
Clip their toe-nails | 16% | |
Prefer baths to showers | _____ | |
Listen to music | 53% | |
Dream | _____ | |
Watch TV | _____ | |
Have sex | 4% | |
Wash hair | _____ | |
Wash the dog | _____ | |
Play with children’s toys | 4% |
c) Re-phrase these statistics using fractions in your answer.
Example: | 31% drink coffee in the bath. Just under a third drink coffee in the bath. |
1. | 25% drink alcohol. _____________________________________________________________ |
2. | 53% listen to music. _____________________________________________________________ |
3. | 20% watch TV. _____________________________________________________________ |
4. | 60% prefer baths to showers. _____________________________________________________________ |
5. | 10% wash the dog. _____________________________________________________________ |
6. | 62% wash their hair. _____________________________________________________________ |
7. | 30% sing. _____________________________________________________________ |
Numbers
Cardinal numbers
These numbers are often confused. Notice that if we pronounce them singly, the stress changes.
16, 60 | sixteen, sixty |
17, 70 | seventeen, seventy |
In British English we say and before the tens in large numbers. This is left out in US English.
four hundred (and) sixty-five | |
seven hundred (and) one |
A comma is often written to separate the thousands in numbers over 999.
3,986 | three thousand nine hundred and eighty-six |
We sometimes say a instead of one in large numbers.
1,000,000 | a million |
British and US English differ in the pronunciation of these very large numbers.
1,000,000,000 | a thousand million (British English) a billion (US English) |
1,000,000,000,000 | a billion (British English) a trillion (US English) |
However, many British companies are now adopting the US usage, so if in doubt, check.
Some British newspapers have started to adopt the European term milliard to refer to a thousand million, but many British people are still unfamiliar with the term.
Long numbers
In long numbers such as phone, fax, bank account, or credit card numbers, we pronounce the figures individually.
seven two oh, eight double four |
We generally group the numbers in threes, rather than in twos as is common in Europe.
seven two oh / eight double four |
Money
Although the money signs are written in front of the numbers, we generally say them after the numbers.
FF56 | fifty-six French francs |
$4m | four million dollars |
¥92bn | ninety-two billion yen |
Do not make this common mistake:
Ninety-two billions of yen
We pronounce years in two halves.
nineteen ninety-six |
But we pronounce the year two thousand whole.
two thousand and one |
Dates
In British English the and of are spoken but not written.
25th April 1954
The twenty-fifth of April, nineteen fifty-four or April the twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty-four
In US English the date is generally written with the month first and the date second. The and of are not usually used in the spoken form.
May 16 1996
May sixteenth, nineteen ninety-six
This can lead to misunderstandings when dates are given in figures only.
10.12.1995
The tenth of December nineteen-ninety-five (British English)
October twelfth, nineteen ninety-five (US English)
Times
A simple way to tell the time is to say the numbers.
7.30 3.45 1.20 | seven thirty three forty-five one twenty |
Alternatively, you can say:
Half past seven, a quarter to four, twenty past one
In US English, you can choose between two different prepositions.
Half past / after seven, quarter to / of four, twenty past / after one
We do not usually use the twenty-four hour clock unless we are talking about plane or train timetables.
14.00 | The meeting is at two o’clock The train leaves at fourteen hundred hours |
Fractions
½ ¾ 12/3 | a half three-quarters one and two-thirds |
Decimal fractions
In British and US English, a point is used when writing decimals, not a comma as is common in Europe.
6.9 | six point nine |
0 is pronounced ‘oh’ after the point and ‘nought’ before the point in British English and ‘zero’ or ‘oh’ in US English.
8.07 | eight point oh seven (British English) eight point zero seven (US English) |
0.6 | nought point six (British English) point six (US English) |
The numbers after the point are pronounced individually.
24.35 | twenty-four point three five |
Measurements
62 km | sixty-two kilometers |
14 ½ cm | fourteen and a half centimeters |
6m x 9m | six meters by nine meters |
Temperatures were traditionally measured in the Fahrenheit scale. Although the Celsius or centigrade scale is now officially in use, the Fahrenheit scale is still used informally for non-scientific purposes in Great Britain and the United States.
92°F | ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit |
– 4°C | minus four degrees Celsius / centigrade |
Sums
15 + 6 = 21 | fifteen plus / and six equals twenty one |
32 – 24 | thirty two minus / take away / less / subtract twenty four |
6 × 8 | six multiplied by eight / times eight |
28 ÷ 7 | twenty-eight divided by seven |
52 | five squared |
√9 | the square root of nine |
Sports results
‘Zero’ in US English is usually pronounced oh or nought in British English. But in sports results, it can also be pronounced nil or love.
Football:
Real Madrid three; Ajax Amsterdam nil.
Tennis:
And it’s Becker to serve with the score at fifteen love.