Exercise 106

Give the following answers

1. The unemployment rate in your country.

2. Your country’s current inflation rate.

3. The number of people working in your company.

4. The number of students in your group.

5. The average temperature in July.

6. The population of your town/city.

7. The cost of a kilo of meat.

8. The average rent of a small flat in your country per month.

9. The population of your country.

10. The telephone number of Fire Brigade in your country.

Exercise 107

Read the articles and translate.

Job losses

LTC Industries, the Belgian food processing group announced plans to reduce its workforce. The company currently employs 1,200 people, 800 at its Antwerp production center and the rest at its Bruges headquarters. It is thought that LTC plans to cut about 20% of the total workforce. The biggest cuts will be in production which employs 600 workers.

Tourism up 5%

The Spanish Ministry of Tourism has reported that almost 30,000,000 foreign tourists visited the country in the first 6 months of this year. This is an increase of about 5% over the figure for the same period last year. Earnings from tourism were estimated at over $8bn, a rise of 25% over last year’s figures. July was the busiest month with a total of 9,000,000 visitors.

BETTER NEWS

The stock market closed slightly higher last night after a busy day of trading. More than 2,000,000 shares were traded in the course of the day, the highest figure for three months. Most of the interest was in the banking sector where 250,000m shares changed hands. Shares in First National Bank last night stood at $4.80, an increase of a third since the beginning of the year.

PRICES SLASHED

Computex, the leading manufacturer of personal computers, has announced plans to cut the prices of many of its products. Prices of its leading ManTex PC range will fall by around a fifth, the ManTex 400 PC now costing ₤1,000. The company’s printer range is unaffected by the decision.

Exercise 108

Are these sentences true or false?

1. One third of LTC’s staff work at the company’s headquarters.

2. More than 300 workers will lose their jobs.

3. About half the workforce is employed in production.

4. Last year 25 million tourists visited Spain.

5. Income from tourism rose by $2bn.

6. More than a third of tourists came in July.

7. One eighth of shares traded yesterday were in banking.

8. Shares in First National Bank were worth $4.20 at the beginning of the year.

9. Many CompuTex printers will fall by 25%.

Exercise 109

Write these figures in full.

1) 3,456 2) 23.64% 3) 2½ 4) 1¾ 5) 27m²

6) 3ft x 5ft

Presentation: Предлоги места

Above - над, сверху

Under - под

Between - между

Opposite - напротив

Behind - за, сзади

In - в

On - на

Near/next to - рядом

In the middle - в середине

In the corner - в углу

In front of - перед

To the left/right - налево/направо

Grammar notes

Сказуемое, выраженное оборотом there is/there are, имеет значение “имеется, находится, существует” и употребляется для выражения наличия или существования в определенном месте или отрезке времени какого-нибудь лица или предмета.

Оборот стоит в начале предложения; за ним стоит подлежащее, за которым следует обстоятельство места или времени. Соответствующие русские предложения начинаются с обстоятельства места или времени.

There is an answering machine in that office.

В этом офисе есть /имеется/ автоответчик.