- •Contents
- •Introduction
- •Names
- •Family relationships
- •Marital status
- •Location
- •Build
- •From the neck up
- •From shoulder to fingertips
- •From the bottom down
- •Inside and outside the torso
- •The senses
- •Character and personality
- •Attitudes and beliefs
- •Moods
- •Expressing oneself
- •Reacting to events
- •Sounds people make
- •Actions and activities
- •The universe
- •Physical geography
- •The plant world
- •The animal world
- •Food and drink
- •Buildings and rooms
- •Furniture and household
- •Vehicles
- •Clothes
- •Size, quantity, dimensions and measurements
- •Shapes
- •Substances, materials and textures
- •Colours
- •The condition things are in
- •What things do
- •Noises things make
- •Births, marriages and deaths
- •Work
- •Health and illness
- •Sport and games
- •Entertainment
- •Games and hobbies
- •Music and the Arts
- •Cooking, eating and drinking
- •Travelling
- •Business, industry and agriculture
- •Law and order, crime and punishment
- •Quality
- •Time
- •Rise and fall
- •Probability, necessity and free will
- •Cause and effect
- •Index
Rise and fall
Reading
Notice all the nouns here describing change in quantity and quality. When you have read the text, try to make similar comments about education in your country using the verbs given on the next page. Some ofthese verbs will be happy to operate intransitively; some will prefer a passive construction.
Twenty Years ofBritish Education
Wehaveseen:
a dramatic increase in the number ofcomprehensive schools
asteadydecreaseinthenumberofprivately-ownedsecondaryschools a constant rise in the number ofuniversity students
a sharp fall in the number offoreign students at universities a general improvement in teaching standards
a deterioration in pupil-teacher relationships thegrowth ofpupil-power
a decline in discipline
thestrengtheningofparent-teacherorganisations the weakening ofteachers' authority
a tightening up on hygiene and safety regulations a relaxation in terms ofpupils' and teachers' dress
the raising ofminimum standards and qualifications for prospective careers the lowering ofthe school starting age
the build-up oftechnical and scientific departments
the running-down ofhistory and geography departments the expansion ofsociology faculties
the contraction ofmodern language facilities
the extension of day-release schemes from factories and offices the shrinking ofClassics departments
a widening ofthe gap between FurtherEducation and HigherEducation a narrowing ofthe gap between polytechnic colleges and universities
theintroductionofSixthForm Colleges
the phasing out ofthe eleven-plus examination
the establishment of post-school opportunities schemes areductionin the number ofpost-schooljobs
the enlargement ofphysical education equipment and facilities cuts in amenities like free milk and school dinners
marked progress in the development ofspecialised skills a drop in ability level relating to traditional skills
the openingofmanynewnurseryschools theclosureofnumerousprimaryandpreparatoryschools
abroadeningofpupils'politicalawareness a lessening of interest in the arts
anupwardtrendinterms ofphysics, chemistry,biologyandengineering adownwardtrendintermsofreligiousinstructionandliterature and countless changes - for the better and for the worse - in terms of
examinations, mathematics subjects - arithmetic, algebra, geometry etc. - degree courses, remedial studies for slow learners, streaming, corporal punishment, correspondence courses, adult education.
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Rise and fall
Verbs
increase |
decrease |
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rise fall |
improve |
drop |
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deteriorate grow |
relax |
raise |
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expand |
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contract |
decline |
strengthen |
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weaken |
tighten up |
lower |
build up run down |
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extend |
widen |
narrow introduce |
establish |
close |
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open |
phase out |
reduce |
enlarge |
cut shrink |
progress |
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broaden |
lessen |
change |
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Practice
Discuss or write the answers to these questions.
1 What do you feel were / have been the good and bad aspects ofyour own education?
2What changes have you seen / did you see while at school yourself?
3What significant changes have there been over the past twenty years in these areas
awork and jobs?
blove and marriage?
сtransport and communications?
dentertainment?
e crime?
Write an elderly person's letter to a newspaper regretting the drop in moral standards he or she has witnessed in his or her lifetime.
Add here any other similar words that you may meet.
200
Normality and
regularity
Game
Answer this questionnaire to see how young (or old) at heart you are. And note the expressions it contains relating to frequency / infrequency, normality / abnormality.
Cover the column on the right. Choose one answer to each question.
Areyou middle-aged? |
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1 |
How often do you worry about money? |
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a daily, hourly or constantly |
3 |
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b from time to time, once in a while |
2 |
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с seldom or never |
1 |
2 Doyoutendto |
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a write short notes to friends? |
2 |
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b write exceptionally long letters? |
1 |
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с forget to write? |
3 |
3 How frequently do you find yourself saying: 'They don't write |
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songs like they used to'? |
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a every now and then |
2 |
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b regularly |
3 |
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с never |
1 |
4 |
Are you inclined to think that teenagers having green, orange |
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or purple hair is |
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a perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary? |
1 |
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b inexplicable, beyond belief, really weird? |
3 |
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с slightly odd, a bit peculiar, rather strange? |
2 |
5How often does it cross your mind that thirteenand fourteen-year-olds should have the right to vote?
a occasionally, but generally not for long |
2 |
b hardly ever |
3 |
с repeatedly, and usually for long periods |
1 |
6 Are you apt to give dinner parties? |
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a once in a blue moon |
1 |
b on special occasions |
2 |
с as a regular habit, normally on Fridays |
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and Saturdays |
3 |
7 How regularly do you watch the mid-evening News on TV? |
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a without fail |
3 |
b more often than not |
2 |
с rarely |
1 |
8 How common is it for you to ask your partner if she/he can see |
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any 'new' grey hairs on your head? |
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a unheard of |
1 |
b not that common |
2 |
с a daily event that's taken for granted |
3 |
Now count up the numbers (on the right) that you scored. What's your total? Read the next page to see what your score tells you.
201
Normality and regularity
Ifyou scored: |
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10 or under: |
You have no worries; you're young, still a baby. |
11 to 16: |
You're pretty reasonable about the whole thing but you show |
17 to 22: |
occasional slight signs of ageing before your time. |
An average score, but you really ought to stop worrying. Enjoy |
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yourself while you can. |
23 or over: |
You're showing the standard symptoms of middle-age; whether |
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you're four, fourteen or twenty-four, you certainly think like a |
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forty-year old. Oh dear! |
Practice
Note down or tell a partner about ways in which you consider yourself to be:
aaverage and normal.
bunusual and rather eccentric.
Discuss with a partner or in writing whether it is boring to be normal.
Find out from your partners whether you are significantly different concerning the frequency with which you do each of the following.
1 visit your dentist
2see your parents
3get very depressed
4go to the bank
5feel ashamed of yourself
6cry
Write a questionnaire similar to the one in this unit to focus on one of the following topics.
1 whether the reader loves their partner or not
2whether the reader will be rich one day
3whether the reader is a good person to have as a friend or not
Add here any other words about the normal or the abnormal that you may meet.
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