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Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson4

Introduction

InthepreviousIELTSlessonwetookafirstlookatdescribingchartssomethingyoumaybeaskedtodoinPart1oftheIELTSwriting.Youlearnedwhattolookforwhenyoufirstreadachartandhowtotellthedifferencebetweendynamicandstaticcharts.Inthislessonwellbetakingacloserlookatusefullanguagefordescribingdynamiccharts.

SofarintheseIELTSlessonswehavelookedatthreekindsofcompositionyoumaybeaskedtowriteforTask2ofthetest.Theseare:

describecausesofaproblemandoffersolutions presentargumentsinfavourofandagainstanidea expressyouropiniononacontroversialissue

Inthislessonwelllookinmoredetailabouthowtoanalyseaquestionandhowtopresentyourpointofviewclearlyandeffectively.

Inthislessonyouwill

Practisereadingandgettinginformationfromdynamiccharts. Learnstructuresandexpressionsfordescribingincreaseanddecrease. Practiseusingprepositionswhendescribingnumbersanddates. LearnhowtouseamindmaptogenerateideasforTask2. Practisesupportingyouropinionswithreasonsandexamples. Learnusefulwordsandexpressionsforsupportingyouropinions. Learnhowtopicsentenceshelptoorganiseyourwriting

IELTSWRITINGTASK1:MOREABOUTCHARTS

Activity1>Understandingdynamiccharts>10minutes

a)Thechartbelowisincomplete.Inamoment,youregoingtoreadadescriptionofthechartandcompleteit.Beforeyoudothis,though,takeagoodlookatthechartandanswerthequestions.

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UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

4.2

4.4

4.6

4.8

5

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

May03

Jul03

Sep03

Nov03

Jan04

Mar04

May04

Jul04

Sep04

Nov04

Jan05

Mar05

May05

Jul05

Sep05

Nov05

Jan06

Mar06

May06

Jul06

Rate%

Source:NationalStatisticswebsite:www.statistics.gov.ukhttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nscl.asp?id=6682CrowncopyrightmaterialisreproducedwiththepermissionoftheControllerofHMSOhttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.asp

1Whatkindofchartisthis?a)Apiechartb)Alinegraphc)Aproportionalbarchart

2Whatdoesthechartshow?a)Thepercentageoftheworkforceover16whowereunemployedb)Thepercentageoftheworkforceover16whoareunemployedc)Thenumberofpeopleover16whowereunemployed

3Whataretheunitsshownintheverticalaxis(goingup)?a)hundredsb)thousandsc)percentages

4Whatperioddoesthechartcover?a)Justover3yearsb)Almost3yearsc)Justover2years

5Whatwastheunemploymentrateatthebeginningoftheperiod?a)5percentb)5.1percentc)5.2percent

b)Nowreadthedescriptionofthechartanddrawthemissingsectionofthelinegraph.

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ThelinegraphshowsfiguresforunemploymentintheUKworkforcebetweenMay2003andJuly2006.Itisclearfromthechartthattherateofunemploymentfluctuatedagreatdealduringthistime.Atthebeginningoftheperiod,unemploymentstoodat5.1percent.Afewmonthslaterthefigurehadrisenslightlyto5.2percent.UnemploymentthenremainedstableuntilSeptember2003.FromthispointontherewasasteadydownwardtrendandbyJanuary2004theratehadfallento4.9percent.ItstayedatthisleveluntilMaythesameyear,butfromMaytoJulytherewasanothersmalldropof1percent.TherewerenofurtherchangesinthelevelofunemploymentuntilMarchthefollowingyear.FromMarchtoMay2005,therewasasmallincreaseof1percent,butthisdidnotlastlongandthefigurehadfallenbackto4.8percentbyJuly.FromSeptember2005onwards,however,therewasamarkedupwardtrendintherateofunemploymentintheUK.FromSeptember2005toNovemberthesameyear,thefigureshotupfrom4.8to5.2percent.Therateremainedstableforafewmonths,butthenrosesharplyagain,andhadreachedapeakof5.7percentbyJuly2006.

c)Thehighlightedwordsinthedescriptionofthechartthatyouvejustreadareusefulphrasesfordescribingincreasesanddecreases.Readthereportagainandfindphrasesfromthetextwhichmean

wentupanddownfrequentlydidnotchange(2phrases)

wentupalittlewentupveryquickly(2phrases)arrivedatitshighestpointwentupnoticeablyoveraperiod

wentdown(2phrases)wentdowngraduallyoveraperiod

Activity2>Describingincreaseanddecrease(1)>5minutes

a)Inthelasttaskyoulearnedsomeusefulphrasesfordescribingincreasesanddecreases.Therearealsotwousefulsentencestructuresfordoingthis:

1[nounphrase]+[verb]+[adverb]

Forexample: Theunemploymentrate rose rapidlyThecostofliving fell dramatically

2[Thereis/are]+[nounphrase]

Forexample: Therewas ariseinunemploymentTherehasbeen anincreaseinthecostofliving

Finisheachsentencebelowsothatitmeansthesameastheonegiven.

1Thepriceofoilrosesharply.There

2ThereisanoticeableincreaseintemperaturefromMayonwards.Temperature

3Thenumberofpeopleattendingthetheatrehasfallendramatically.There.

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4TherehadbeenasteadyriseinDVDsalesforthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear.DVDsales

5Therehasbeenarapidgrowthintheuseofalternativeenergysources.Theuseofalternativeenergysources

6Thepopularityofselfcateringholidaysdecreasedsignificantlyduringthe1990sThere

Activity3>Describingincreaseanddecrease(2)>5minutes

Youcanalsodescribeincreasesanddecreasesbyusingfractionstoshowthesizeofthechangeoveracertainperiod.Forexample:

Thecostofrentsdoubledinlessthanayear.Birthrateshavehalvedsincetheturnofthecentury.ByJuly,thepriceofpetrolhadfallenbyathird.Thenumberofschoolleaversgoingontouniversityhasrisenbyaquartersince1980.

a)Thechartbelowcomparesmonthlysalesfortwomonthsfromafruitwholesaler.Checkthetitle,thekeyandtheaxessothatyouunderstandthechart.

Fruitsales(kilos)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

oranges apples lemons bananas plums apricots pineapples

kg

JulyNovember

b)NowwritesentencesaboutthechangesinfruitsalesfromJulytoNovember.Usethewordsfromthebox.

aquarterathirddoubledfellbyhalvedrosebytripled

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Orangesalesdoubled.(example)

Applesalesfellbyaquarter.

Lemonsales

Bananassales

Plumssales

Apricotsales

Pineapplesales

Activity4>Makingapproximations>5minutes

Thechartinthepreviousactivityhadveryconvenientnumbers.However,inreallifethingsarentquitesoeasy!ThechartintheIELTStestisnotlikelytoshowfiguresthatriseandfallbyexactfractions,suchasahalforathird.

Whatyouneedtodoismakeapproximations.Forexample,ifrealsalesfiguresfororangesrosefrom4000kilosto7850kilos,youcansaythatorangesalesalmostdoubled.

a)HerearesomeusefulwordsandphrasesformakingapproximationsMatchphraseswiththesamemeaning

1justover aaround

2approximately bnearly

3justunder cslightly morethan

b)Nowwritesentencesaboutthechartbelow,whichshowschangesinthequantitiesofimportsofcertainelectronicgoods.Again,usethewordsintheboxes.

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Importsofelectronicgoods

3

2.1

6.2

4

6.25.8

1.7

8.5

5.2

2.8

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

DVDplayers CDplayers Televisions Radios Videorecorders

millionsofunits

20002006

aquarterathirddoubledfellbyhalvedrosebytripled

justoverapproximatelyjustunderaroundnearlyslightlymorethan

1(DVDplayers)2(CDplayers)3(Televisions)4(Radios)5(Videorecorders)

Activity5>Prepositionsoftime>5minutes

InthelastIELTSlessonyoulearnedhowimportantverbtensesarewhendescribingdynamicchartsandtables.Correctuseofprepositionsisalsoimportant.Herearesomeofthemainprepositionsyouwillneedtouse:

in[month/year/morning,afternoonetc]at[9oclock,10.30ametc]from..[apointintime]..to[anotherpoint]between[apointintime]..and[anotherpoint]during[aperiodoftime]before[apointintimeoraperiodoftime]after[apointintimeoraperiodoftime]by[apointoftimearrivedat]until[apointoftimereached]since[fromapointinthepastuntilnow]

a)Gobacktothedescriptionofthechartinactivity1bandunderlineexamplesoftheprepositionsoftimelistedabove.

b)Nowcompleteeachofthesesentenceswiththecorrectpreposition.

1 Januarytherewasanoticeableriseinthenumberofpeopletakingsickleavefromwork.

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2Temperaturesusuallyreachapeak about1oclockintheafternoon.3From1997 2006therewasasteadyincreaseinsalesoforganicproduce.4 therecession,unemploymentgrewsteadily.5Televisionsaudienceviewingfiguresrisedramatically 6oclockintheevening.6 Junesalesfigureswerelow,butlatertheybegantoincreaserapidly.7Thepriceofoilhadshotupto$70perbarrel August.8FromNovember theendoftheyearenergyconsumptioncontinuedtorise.9Therehasbeenamarkeddecreaseinroadaccidents thenewlawswereintroducedin2005.

Activity6>Prepositiontodescribeincreaseanddecrease>10minutes

Youwillalsoneedtobecarefulwhenusingprepositionswithnumbers.Simplychangingtheprepositioncanchangethewholemeaningofasentence.Forexample,whatsthedifferencebetweenthesetwosentences?

1)Newspapercirculationroseby20,000newspaperspermonth.2)Newspapercirculationroseto20,000newspaperspermonth.

Sentence1describesthesizeoftheincrease.Perhapsnewspapercirculationwasalready40,000permonth,andtherehasbeena20,000permonthincrease.Thefinalfigurewillbe60,000permonth.

Sentence2showsthepointreached.Perhapsnewspapercirculationhadbeen15,000permonthanditthenrosebyanother5,000toreach20,000permonth.

Rememberalsothatnotallwordsfordescribingriseandfallwilltakeapreposition,andtheprepositionwilldependonwhetheryoureusingthewordasaverboranoun.Seethetablebelowformoredetails:

Verbsthattakeapreposition

Verbsthatdonttakeapreposition

Nounsthattakeapreposition

riseto/byincreaseto/byfallto/bydropto/byshootupto/byplungeto/bystayatremainatfluctuatebetween/around

reach ariseofanincreaseofafallofadecreaseof

Nowlookatthechartandcompletethereportbelowwithasuitableprepositionwhereneeded.

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Crudeoilprices:USdollarsperbarrel

10

20

30

40

50

60

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

IranIraqwar

InvasionofKuwait

SecondGulfcrisisIranianrevolution

Araboilembargo

Sourceforchart: OECDFactbook2006ISBN9264035613OECD2006http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6

Thechartshowsfluctuationsinthepriceofcrudeoiloverathirtyfiveyearperiod,andclearly

illustrateshowoilpricesareaffectedbyworldevents.

Ingeneraltherehasbeenanupwardtrendinthepriceofcrudeoil[1]..1970,whenitwasonly

$1.30perbarrel.Theoilembargooftheearly1970s,however,causedthepricetorisesharply

[2]..nearly$11perbarrel.Thecrisisendedsoonafterwards,butthepriceremained[3]..

around$11to$13perbarreluntil1979.TheIranianrevolutionofthatyearhadahugeimpactonoil

prices,whichshotup[4]..$17toreach[5]..about$30perbarrelinthesameyear.

ThefollowingIranIraqwarcausedafurtherincrease,andthepricereached[6]..apeak

[7]..nearly$36in1980.Fromthatpointuntil1985,thepricefellsteadily.However,from1985to

1986thepricesuddenlyplunged[8]..$13.Forthenextfewyearsthepricefluctuated[9]..

$14,butwiththeinvasionofKuwaitin1990therewasasuddenrise[10]..$5.Thepricequickly

fellagainandremainedstableformostofthe1990s.

Thingschangedonceagainattheendofthedecade,andfrom1999to2000thepriceincreased

[11]..almost$10perbarrel.Despiteaslightdropin2000,therisecontinuedandbytheendof

theperiod,thepriceofcrudeoilhadshotup[12]..apeakof$50perbarrel.

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IELTSWRITINGTASK2: USINGAMINDMAP

Activity7> Gettingstartedusingamindmap >15minutes

Gettingstartedwithyourcompositioncanbetheworstpart.Sometimesitcanbedifficulttothinkofideas,buttherearethingsyoucandotohelp.Onetechniqueistodrawamindmap.

Amindmapissimplyawayofgeneratingideasaboutatopicbylookingatitfromdifferent angles.Eachangleisaheadinginthemindmap.Youshouldkeeptheheadingsasgeneralaspossiblebecausethiswillhelpgeneratemoreideas.Forexample,youcanlookatalmostanyquestionfromoneoftheseangles:

personal,economic,political,educational,scientific,psychologicaletc.

Letslookatanexample.HeresatypicalIELTStask2writingtask:

Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthefollowingtopic.

Levelsofdepressionandantisocialbehaviourinchildrenhaveincreaseddramaticallyinmodernsocieties.Thissituationhasledmanypeopletobelievethatchildhooditselfisincrisis.Towhatextentdoyouagreeordisagreewiththisview?

Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswithexamplesandrelevantevidence.

Belowisamindmapforthequestionyouvejustread.Therearefiveverygeneralheadings,eachonerepresentingadifferentwaytolookatthequestionofchildhoodincrisis.

a)Trytothinkoftwoideasofyourowntonotedownundereachheading.

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b)Herearesomeideaswethoughtof.Nowcompletethemindmapbyputtingeachoftheseideasunderthebestheading.

ChildrenspendingmoretimealoneComputergamesoftenpromoteviolenceDangersoftheInternetDisappearanceoftraditionalhomeroutinessuchasfamilymealtimesExposuretosexandviolenceonTVatanearlyageLessclearviewsinsocietyaboutsuitablebehaviourforchildrenandadultsLessstructureddaysathomee.g.nofixedbedtimeLongworkinghoursinterferewithfamilylifeMarketingofproductsandimagecreatesconsumersfromchildrenMoreandmoretestingandexamsatschoolsMorecompetitivesocietyaddstopressuretosucceedToomuchtimetakenupbylonelyactivitiessuchascomputersandTVParentsoftenabsentordisinterestedPeerpressurefromfriendsandclassmatesPoordisciplineinschooldisruptsroutinesandpatternsPressurefromparentstosucceedandachieve

Activity8>Statingandsupportingyourpointofview(1) >5minutes

TheIELTSwritingtask2questionoftenendswiththewordsTowhatextentdoyouagreeordisagreewiththisview? Youdonthavetoagreewiththestatement,butitisimportantthatyouexpressanopinionofyourown.Whetheryoudisagreeoragree,youshouldgivegoodreasonswhy.Examinerswantyouto:

stateyouropinion clarifywhatyoumean givereasonsforyourviews giveexampleswhenappropriate emphasiseimportantpoints

a)Herearesomeusefulwordsandphrasesfordoingthesethings.Putthemunderthecorrectheadings.

Atypicalexampleis,Clearly,Forexample,Forinstance,Frommypointofview,Iamconvincedthat,Infact,Inmyopinion,Inotherwords,Indeed,Itismybeliefthat,Needlesstosay,Obviously,suchas,Thatistosaythat,Thereasonsforthisare,Thisisbecause,Thisisdueto,Thisisonaccountof,WhatImeanbythisis

Statingyouropinion

Clarifyingwhatyoumean

Givingreasonsforyourviews

Givingexamples

Emphasisingimportantpoints

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Activity9>Statingandsupportingyourpointofview(2)>5minutes

Everytimeyoustateanopinion,itsimportantthatyoufollowthisupwithyourreasonsorexamples.Belowareopinionswhichcouldbeexpressedinanswertothequestionaboutchildhood.Matchtheopinions(15) withthesupportingsentences(AE).

1 Schoolhasbecomeasourceofanxietymorethanasourceoflearning.2 Todayschildrenleadamuchmorelonelylifestylethanpreviousgenerations.3 Therehasbeenagradualbreakdownofthebondsbetweenchildrenandtheirparents.4Childrenneedthesecurityofroutine,butthisisoftenlackingintodaysfamilies.5 ThefrequencyofunsupervisedaccesstotelevisionandtheInternetisalsohavinganeffectonthepsychologicalstateofmanymodernchildren.

A Forinstance,theywouldmuchratherplaycomputergamesalonethanplayintheparkwithfriends.B Inotherwords,childrenarebeingallowedtoviewprogrammesandinternetsitesthataretotallyunsuitablefortheirage.Asaresult,theirunderstandingoftheworldisoftenmisbalancedorconfused.C Thisisduetothefactthatschoolpupilsfacemoreandmoretestsandexamseachyear.D Oneofthemanyreasonsforthisisthatparentssimplyspendlesstimewiththeirchildren.E Insomefamilies,forexample,therearenosetmealtimesandchildrenmaybenotbegoingtobedbefore11.00pm

Activity10>WritingTask(1)>10minutes

Nowitsyourturntowrite.

a)MakeaplanforyourownanswertothequestionyoureadinActivity7.Youcanusetheideasinthemindmapfromearlier,oryourownideas.Rememberthatyoudontneedtousealltheideas.

b)Writeyouranswer.Youneedtowriteatleast250words.TrytousesomeoftheexpressionsfromActivity8andremembertofollowupallyouropinionswithreasonsorexamples.

Activity11> Topicsentences>10minutes

Agoodwritermakesthingseasyforthereaderandyouneedtomakethingseasyfortheexaminer.Onewayyoucandothisistousetopicsentences.Topicsentencesintroducethethemeofaparagraph.Theyarelikesignpostsinyourcompositionandtheytellthereaderthatyouaremovingontoanewtheme.

a)Readthesampleanswerandmatchthetopicsentenceswiththecorrectparagraphs[A,B,C].

Anotherareaofconcernisthepressuretosucceed.ThereisalsowhatIwouldcallthepressuretogrowupormaturetooearly.Thefirstisthepressuretoconform.

Crisisisastrongwordtodescribeasituation.AlthoughIwouldnotgosofarastosaythatchildhoodisincrisis,Iwouldcertainlyagreethat modernchildrenareundermorepressurefrommoredirectionsthaneverbefore.Butwhatarethesepressuresandwhatproblemsdotheycause?[1.]therearethreemainareasofconcern.

[A..][2.],childrenareunderpressuretobelikeeachotherandtobeliketherolemodelsthattheyseeinthemedia.Popandrockculturehasbecomesomuchapartofchildrenslivesthatitisnowthedefiningcharacteristicofthe1018yearoldagegroup.[3.]arepurelyeconomic.Thepopmusicandfashionindustriesareworthafortune,andtheybenefitfromthemosteasilypersuaded

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consumers:children.Theresult,however,isthatchildrenasyoungastenfeellikeoutcastsamongtheirpeersunlesstheybuythelatestCDsandclothes. [4.],notbeingabletoconformwiththegroupcanleadtoconflictwithparentsandevendepression.

[B..][5.]isthatschoolchildrenarebeingtestedontheirlearningmuchmorefrequently.Furthermore,mostchildrenthesedaysareexpectedtotakeexamsforuniversityentrance. Constanttestingmakeschildrenanxiousaboutschool.Likewise,childrenwhoarenotsuitedtoacademicstudyfeelinadequatewhentheytakeexamsandthenfail.[6.],insteadofhelpingchildrensmindsgrow,theeducationsystemhasbecomethecauseofmanymentalhealthproblemsintheyoungtoday.

[C..][7.]manymodernchildrenarebeingforcedtobehavelikeadultsbeforetheyareready.[8.],manychildrennowhavetolookafterthemselvesathomebecausetheirparentsarestayingeverlongerhoursatwork.Moreworrying,though,istheeffectofunsupervisedtelevisionviewingandinternetsurfing.Childrenareexpectedtohavethejudgementtodecidewhatissuitableforthem.[9.],theydonothavesuchjudgement.Asaresult,youngchildrenareoftenexposedtomaterialthatcanfrighten,worryandconfuse.

Tosumup,although[10.]childhoodisincrisis,therehaverecentlybeenworryingchangesinthewaychildrengrowup.Ifthesetrendscontinue,theremayindeedbeacrisis.

b)NowlookbackatthemindmapforthisquestionfromActivity7.Ticktheideasthatwereusedinthefinalcomposition.

c) Nowusethewordsandexpressionsbelowtocompletethesampleanswer.

ForinstanceIbelieveInfactInotherwordsIndeeditisnotmybeliefthatNeedlesstosayThereasonsforthisThisistosaythatWhatImeanbythis

LessonReview

Inthislessonyouhave:

Practisedreadingandgettinginformationfromdynamiccharts. Learnedstructuresandexpressionsfordescribingincreaseanddecrease. Practisedusingprepositionswhendescribingnumbersanddates LearnedhowtouseamindmaptogenerateideasforTask2. Practisedsupportingyouropinionswithreasonsandexamples. Learnedusefulwordsandexpressionsforsupportingyouropinions. Learnedhowtopicsentenceshelptoorganiseyourwriting

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Lesson4>Answerkey

Activity1a)1b2aNoticethattheuseofthepasttensewere.3cthechartdoesnotshowactuallynumbers4a5b

b)Yourcompletechartshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

4.2

4.4

4.6

4.8

5

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

May03

Jul03

Sep03

Nov03

Jan04

Mar04

May04

Jul04

Sep04

Nov04

Jan05

Mar05

May05

Jul05

Sep05

Nov05

Jan06

Mar06

May06

Jul06

Rate%

c)wentupanddownalot:fluctuatedagreatdealdidnotchange(2phrases):remainedstable,stayedatthislevel

wentupalittle:therewasasmallincreasewentupveryquickly(2phrases):thefigureshotup,rosesharplyarrivedatitshighestpoint:reachedapeakwentupnoticeablyoveraperiod:therewasamarkedupwardtrend

wentdown(2phrases):hadfallento,therewasanothersmalldropwentdowngraduallyoveraperiod:therewasasteadydownwardtrend

Activity21Therewasasharpriseinthepriceofoil.2TemperatureincreasesnoticeablyfromMayonwards.3Therehasbeenadramaticfallinthenumberofpeopleattendingthetheatre.4DVDsaleshadrisensteadilyforthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear.5Theuseofalternativeenergysourceshasgrownrapidly.6Therewasasignificantdecreaseinthepopularityofselfcateringholidaysduringthe1990s.

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Activity3b)Applesalesfellbyaquarter.Lemonsalesrosebyathird.Bananasalesfellbyathird.Plumsaleshalved.Apricotsalestripled.Pineapplesalesrosebyaquarter.

Activity4a)1c2a3b

b)1ImportsofDVDplayersnearly/almost/approximatelydoubled2ImportsofCDplayersfellbyjustunder/approximately/nearlyaquarter3Thenumberoftelevisionsimportedrosebyjustover/slightlymorethanathird.4Thenumberofimportedradiosrosebyslightlymorethan/justoveraquarter.5Importsofvideorecordersapproximatelyhalved.

Activity5a)ThelinegraphshowsfiguresforunemploymentintheUKworkforcebetweenMay2003andJuly2006.Itisclearfromthechartthattherateofunemploymentfluctuatedagreatdealduringthistime.Atthebeginningoftheperiod,unemploymentstoodat5.1percent.Afewmonthslaterthefigurehadrisenslightlyto5.2percent.UnemploymentthenremainedstableuntilSeptember2003.FromthispointontherewasasteadydownwardtrendandbyJanuary2004theratehadfallento4.9percent.ItstayedatthisleveluntilMaythesameyear,butfromMaytoJulytherewasanothersmalldropof1percent.TherewerenofurtherchangesinthelevelofunemploymentuntilMarchthefollowingyear.FromMarchtoMay2005,therewasasmallincreaseof1percent,butthisdidnotlastlongandthefigurehadfallenbackto4.8percentbyJuly.FromSeptember2005onwards,however,therewasamarkedupwardtrendintherateofunemploymentintheUK.FromSeptember2005toNovemberthesameyear,thefigureshotupfrom4.8to5.2percent.Therateremainedstableforafewmonths,butthenrosesharplyagain,andhadreachedapeakof5.7percentbyJuly2006.

b)1In/During2at3to/until4During5after/from6Before/Until/In7by8until/to9since(noticetheuseofpresentperfectinthemainverb)

Activity6

1since2to3at

4by56

7of8to9around

10of11by12to

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Activity7

b)

Activity8a)StatingyouropinionInmyopinionFrommypointofview

ItismybeliefthatIamconvincedthat

ClarifyingwhatyoumeanInotherwordsThatistosaythat

WhatImeanbythisisthat

GivingreasonsforyourviewsThisisbecauseThereasonsforthisare

ThisisduetoThisisonaccountof

GivingexamplesForinstanceForexample

Atypicalexampleissuchas

EmphasisingimportantpointsClearlyObviouslyNeedlesstosay

IndeedInfact

Activity91Schoolhasbecomeasourceofanxietymorethanasourceoflearning.CThisisduetothefactthatschoolpupilsfacemoreandmoretestsandexamseachyear.

2Todayschildrenleadamuchmoresedentarylifestylethanpreviousgenerations.

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AForinstance,theywouldmuchratherplaycomputergamesthanplayinthepark.

3Therehasbeenagradualbreakdownofthebondsbetweenchildrenandtheirparents.DOneofthemanyreasonsforthisisthatparentssimplyspendlesstimewiththeirchildren.

4Childrenneedthesecurityofroutine,butthisisoftenlackingintodaysfamilies.EInsomefamilies,forexample,therearenosetmealtimesandchildrenmaybenotbegoingtobedbefore11.00pm

5ThefrequencyofunsupervisedaccesstotelevisionandtheInternetisalsohavinganeffectonthepsychologicalstateofmanymodernchildren.BInotherwords,childrenarebeingallowedtoviewprogrammesandinternetsitesthataretotallyunsuitablefortheirage.Asaresult,theirunderstandingoftheworldisoftenmisbalancedorconfused.

Activity11

a)A Thefirstisthepressuretoconform.B Anotherareaofconcernisthepressuretosucceed.CThereisalsowhatIwouldcallthepressuretogrowupormaturetooearly.

b)1Ibelieve2Inotherwords3Thereasonsforthis4Indeed5WhatImeanbythis6Infact7Thisistosaythat8Forinstance9Needlesstosay10itisnotmybeliefthat