Describing Trends - Various Exercises

UNIT 9 – DESCRIBING TRENDS
Vocabulary
Exercise 1
Money
We can spend money and we can save it. But we can do a lot of other things with money too. Find 14
more verbs we can use with the word money in the square. You can read some from left to right,
some from top to bottom and some diagonally.
I X L E N D X X
X N X X D O W E
G I V E M W V L
X W E E O A X O
H N I R S S K S
E A R N X T X E
X O V S P E N D
B E T E F I N D
1)BET BET BET

2)FIND FOUND FOUND
3)SPEND SPENT SPENT
4)LEND LENT LENT
5)GIVE GAVE GIVEN
6)MAKE MADE MADE
7)LOSE LOST LOST
8)EARN EARNED EARNED
9)INVEST INVESTED INVESTED
10) BORROW BORROWED BORROWED
11) DONATE DONATED DONATED
12)WIN WON WON
13)WASTE WASTED WASTED
14)NEED NEEDED NEEDED
HAVE HAD HAD
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences with words from the box below.
borrowed made gave invest owed saved spent wasting
1. In 2003 the group MADE £4m from investments in overseas companies.

2. The accountants advised us to repay 15% of what we OWED to the banks.
3. The shareholders criticized the board for WASTING so much money on unnecessary trips abroad.
4. The company GAVE £5,000 to a local school to set up a computer department.
5. My stockbroker suggested I should INVEST in a South East Asia Unit Trust.
6. The government SPENT over £3.5m on a research and development project.
7. The government BORROWED £6.5 billion from the IMF for a construction project.
8. 8. We SAVED £323,500 in administrative costs by reducing the number of office staff.
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences with suitable words. The first letter of each word is provided for you.
1. COMSUMER spending increases when the public has more money.

2. He paid all his DEBTS and now has no money left.
3. The UNEMPLOYMENT figures show how many people are out of work.
4. The rate of INFLATION shows how fast prices are rising.
5. Goods which are sold abroad are classified as EXPORTS.
6. We pay the staff their WAGE on Fridays.
7. Does the price include POSTING and packing?
8. Banks charge their customers INTEREST on the money they borrow.
Exercise 4
Complete the tables with suitable words.
VERB NOUN
to rise a rise
To fall a fall
To increase an increase
to decrease A decrease
to improve An improvement
To recover a recovery
ADJECTIVE ADVERB
Slight Slightly
Sharp sharply
dramatic Dramatically
steady Steadily
Exercise 5
Sales results
Choose the correct words in italics to complete the report.
Sales began the year at 30,000 units in January and increased slight / slightly to 32,000 units in February.
There was a sharp / sharply rise to / by 38,000 in March due / led to the introduction of a new price
discounting scheme. This was followed by a slight / slightly fall in April when sales dropped to 36,000 units.
Our competitors launched a rival product in the spring and this resulted in / from a dramatic / dramatically fall
to 25,000 in May. But we ran a summer advertising campaign and sales increased steady / steadily to / by
2,000 units a month throughout June, July and August until they stood in / at 33,000 in September.
The dramatic / dramatically rise to 45,000 in October resulted in / from the launch of our new autumn range.
But then we experienced problems meeting demand and sales fell sharp / sharply in November and
remained steady / steadily at / by 39,000 in December.
Describing graphs (homework)
Exercise 1
Read the reports on the sales results of different division of Sony and match each one to
the correct graph.
1. Music group sales went up slightly in 1991, then fell slightly in 1992 and 1993. But best-
selling record releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Mariah Carey, Pearl Jam and many
other artists led to recovery in 1994.
C
2. There was a sharp increase in Audio Equipment sales in 1991 and another increase In
1992. But European market conditions were difficult in 1993 and 1994 and as a result, sales
fell.
F
3. Other sales increased steadily between 1990 and 1994 as a result of the strong
performance of semiconductors, telephones and CD-Rom drivers.
A
4. There was a dramatic rise in Pictures Group sales in 1991 and sales continued to increase
in 1992 and 1993. But the strong yen resulted in a fall in 1994. In fact, hit films such as
Sleepless in Seattle and Philadelphia resulted in a rise in sales on a local currency basis in
the US where we achieved a 19% market share.
B
5. Video Equipment sales rose up sharply in 1991 but then fell in 1992 and 1993. The decline
in the camcorder market led to a further sharp drop in 1994.
E
6. Television sales went up in 1991 and continued to rise steadily until 1994 when when they
dropped slightly. This was in spite of the fact that sales of computer displays and wide-
screen TVs were strong.
D
a b c
d e f
Exercise 2
This graph shows the market share of TV channels in Britain. Complete the sentences using words and
phrases below.
rose remainder steady by fell sharply to at

of went from recovered slightly
Television market share
60
ITV
50
40 BBC1
30
20 BBC2
10
Channel 4 Satellite
0
1980 82 84 86 88 90 92 94
1. ITV’s market share __________ FELL SHARPLY _________ between 1980 and 1998.
2. It __________ RECOVERED SLIGHTLY__________ in 1991, but fell again in 1992.
3. Between 1980 and 1994 it decreased FROM 50% TO about 37%.
4. In the same period, BBC1’s share of the market also ______WENT____ down. It fell ____BY___
around 5%.
5. BBC2’s market share _________ REMAINED STEADY ________ between 1980 and 1994. It stayed
_____AT____ about 10%.
6. Channel 4 started broadcasting in 1982. Between ’82 and ’94 its share _______ROSE___ to around
10%.
7. Satellite channels started broadcasting in 1987 and after a slow start, they achieved a market share
_____OF_____ about 8% in 1994.
Exercise 3
A Read the three articles and match each one to the correct graph.
A The Thatcher index

As politicians go, few are as unforgettable as Margaret Thatcher. Ever since she was ousted as
British Prime Minister in November 1990, her influence has lived on – often to the discomfort of her
successor, John Major.
We asked a computer to count the number of times her name was mentioned in British
newspapers between the last quarter of 1990 and the first quarter of 1993. Not surprisingly, her
score dropped sharply when she lost power, falling from 5,634 in the last quarter of 1990 to 1,955 in
the first quarter of 1991, but then it held up remarkably well at or above the 1,500 level until the
middle of 1992.
Sadly for Thatcherites , it has since dropped again and her score of 1,257 in the first tree
months of 1993 was the lowest yet.
2
B People power
People power was the slogan of the Philippine revolution in 1986, but sadly for Filipinos, the power
that boosted GPD in the late 80s seems to be fading.
However, things are not as bad as they have been in the past. In 1984 and 1985, the
Philippines experienced a major recession, with the economy shrinking at an annual rate of 8%. This
was largely due to the austerity programme forced on President Marcos by international banks.
The revolution brought about a change in the country’s fortunes and 1986 saw a growth rate
of 3% which rose steadily to 6% in 1988 and 1989. 1989 was also a good year, with a growth rate of
just under 6%, but then the second recession began. By 1991, GPD had fallen to -0,5 in the
following year.
2
C A new dawn
This time is might be different. There have been many false dawns in the past 18 months on Japan’s
stock market. But the latest rally, which has seen the Nikkei average rise by over 20% from its low
point this year of 16,550 in January, looks the most convincing so far.
This will be welcome news to investors who suffered heavy losses in 1992. At the beginning
of 1992, the Nikkei stood at 23,000 and despite four very short-lived rallies in January, February,
May and July, the index plunged to a low point of just under 14,000 at the end of August. September
saw the index rocket to over 18,000, only to slump again to 16,000 in November. From then on, the
market stabilized at around the 17,000 level and investors must be hoping that latest rise to 20,000
can be sustained.
1 2 3
C Look at these descriptions of the graphs. The first sentences contain adjectives and nouns.
Complete the second ones using verbs and adverbs.
Example:
There has been a dramatic rise in the Nikkei Index.
The Nikkei Index has risen dramatically.
1. There was a substantial fall in the Nikkei Index in 1992.

The Nikkei Index ______HAS FALLEN SUSBTANTIALLY________ in 1992.
2. There was a slight increase in the number of times Mrs Thatcher was mentioned in late 1991.
The number of times Mrs Thatcher was mentioned ____INCREASED_SLIGHTLY ______in 1991.
3. There was a steady growth in GPD in the Philippines from 1986 to 1988.
GPD in the Philippines _____GREW STEADILY________ from 1996 to 1988.
D Here are some more sentences describing the graphs. This time fill in the blanks with adjectives
and nouns.
Example
The Nikkei Index fell substantially in 1992.
There was a substantial fall in the Nikkei Index in 1992.
1. When Mrs Thatcher lost power, the number of times she was mentioned fell dramatically.
When Mrs Thatcher lost power, there was ___A___DRAMATIC FALL_____ in the number of times she
was mentioned.
2. The Philippine growth rate decreased rapidly in 1990.
There was _______A RAPID DECREASE____ in the Philippine growth rate in 1990.
3. The Nikkei Index rose sharply in September 1992.
There was __A__SHARP ROSE_______ in the Nikkei Index in September 1992.

Describing Trends - Various Exercises

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Describing Trends - Various Exercises

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Describing Trends - Various Exercises

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNIT 9 – DESCRIBING TRENDS

1)BET BET BET

Complete the sentences with words from the box below.

borrowed made gave invest owed saved spent wasting

1. In 2003 the group MADE £4m from investments in overseas companies.

1. COMSUMER spending increases when the public has more money.

Complete the tables with suitable words.

rose remainder steady by fell sharply to at

Television market share

2. It RECOVERED SLIGHTLY in 1991, but fell again in 1992.

3. Between 1980 and 1994 it decreased FROM 50% TO about 37%.

A The Thatcher index

1. There was a substantial fall in the Nikkei Index in 1992.

You might also like