UNIT 4. DESCRIBING PERFORMANCE I. What words do you know that describe business trends?

Classify them using the table below:

RISE

DRAMATIC RISE

FALL

DRAMATIC FALL

FLUCTUATION

STAGNATION

II.

Read the following text and extract the words describing trends. Use them to complete the table in the previous exercise:

Joy, pain and double dips

Seldom does the United States look at Europe with economic envy. The past few weeks, however, have been one of those rare phases. Concern about Americas stumbling recovery has been rising, just as anxieties about the euro areas economy have gone down. The dollar is the weakling among rich-world currencies.

But Americans should take a little heart: it is too soon to despair about their economy. And Europeans should show a little caution: it is too soon to be sure that theirs is firmly back on its feet. Some forecasters believe that Americas disappointing GDP growth of 2.4% in the second quarter could be the start of a slide towards a second recession. One worry is jobs, or the lack of them. American business created only 71,000 in July, too few to shorten the queue of unemployed noticeably, as this is stuck at 9.5%.

Contrast Americas woe with Europes renewed hope. Figures published show that the euro areas economy grew faster than Americas in the second quarter, thanks largely to Germany. Booming sales to fast-growing emerging marketsnotably Brazil, China and Indiahave brought German industry its strongest quarter in decades. The newly affluent in those countries are rushing to buy Audis and Mercedes, as well as luxury goods from other European countries. German firms that had mothballed factories when global demand for durable goods plummeted have returned to capacity far sooner than they had dared hope. Germanys unemployment rate, 7.6%, is a bit lower than at the start of the financial crisis. Yet it is only a matter of months ago that fortunes were reversed. Then America seemed to bounce back strongly and Europe was the laggard. The dollar was soaring as investors fled from the euro areas crisis. This underlines the most crucial point for policymakers: Americas and Europes economic fortunes are as tightly bound as ever. For all the talk of competition, politicians in Brussels and Frankfurt should be praying for growth in Americajust as their peers in Washington, DC, should be pleased to hear about Chinas nouveaux riches ordering German cars and French claret. That said, both Europe and America seem to be suffering from delusions. In Europe, it is far too early to celebrate recovery on at least two counts. First, Germany apart, the euro area remains weak. Spain, whose economy is barely growing and where the jobless rate is 20%, would love to have Americas problems. Second, Germany relies on exports, not spending at home: the home market is one of the few places where sales of Mercedes cars have fallen this year. So its economic fortunes remain closely tied to the rest of the worldincluding one of its biggest markets, America. How real are the risks of a double dip in the United States? The improvement has lost momentum in part because firms fearful of weak consumer spending are cautious about investing. In addition, bank credit is scarce. All this stands in the way of a full-blooded recovery. But a slide into a second recession would require firms to cut back again on stocks, capital spending and jobs. Yet even without a double dip, America could plainly be doing better. Its firms might be more willing to spend their cash if they had a clearer sign from Mr. Obama about how he intends eventually to close their countrys fiscal deficit. In the short term, however, eyes are fixed on the Federal Reserve. So, on the current evidence dont expect Americas recovery to grind to a halt. (adapted from The Economist, 14 August 2010) III. Find word/ phrases in the text that mean: 1. driving power, strength, development; 2. an idea or belief that is not true; 3. to gradually get slower, until things stop; 4. hesitant when walking, running or making progress; 5. to remove (an object, machinery for example) from active service or use and put into protective storage; 6. not very much of something; the opposite of abundant; 7. rich enough to buy things for pleasure; 8. someone or something lacking in strength, or weak in constitution or character; 9. a person or organization that is slow to do something or slow to make progress; 10. strong feeling of sadness.

IV.

Provide the corresponding adverb for the following adjectives: ADVERB

ADJECTIVE 1. slight 2. gradual 3. progressive 4. slow 5. moderate 6. sharp 7. dramatic 8. sudden 9. rapid 10. quick 11. swift 12. abrupt 13. steady 14. constant V. 1.

A. Use an appropriate adjective or adverb to complete the descriptions of the following graphs: 2000 saw a __________ drop in production, followed by a __________ recovery in 2001.

2. The customer satisfaction rate has been rising __________ between January and May, before beginning its __________ descent to today's figure of 26%. 3.

Things were going pretty fine until 1975, when weve seen a sudden drop in exports. We managed to recover soon, however, and sales began to increase. They went up ..for twenty years. Then, we experienced a .fall, but our sales rallied. And, according to our estimates, our turnover will .go up in the future.

4. Since 2004, we have had a great success with our products, as sales have gone up ..

5. Prices were rising from January to July, then jumped ..in August, and then fell..again.

B. Use an appropriate verb or noun to complete the descriptions of the following graphs: 1. In our company, car production shows a slight .

2. Production reached ..rapidly. a .and then

3. Costs of production ..steady and then substantially.

4. Coffee sales have ..over the recent period.

VI. Rewrite the following sentences using the words given: 1. There has been a market rise in sales for FDT in recent weeks. FDT sales .. 2. They have suffered a sudden drop in market share. Their market share..... 3. DSE showed a slight fall in share price last week. DSEs share price .. 4. There will be a quick recovery in the share price. The share price will 5. A levelling off of sales for FDT is expected. FDT sales VII. Choose the correct option: 1. The Euro ..at a rate of about 1.6 Euros to the pound with only minor fluctuations. a. stabled; b. has stabilization; c. stabilized; d. stable. 2. Sales of sun cream produced by the Lobster Red Corporation by 200,000 in July 2001 compared to the same period in the previous year. a. fell; b. falled; c. a fall; d. fell down. 3. The number of people watching television rose steadily throughout the day. There was .at 7:30 p.m. when twelve million people were estimated to be watching. a. a rocket; b. rocketed; c. a peak; d. peaked. 4. After a poor summer, the usage of the sports centre.when the students returned from their summer holiday. a. rallyed; b. rally; c. rallied; d. a recovery. 5. The number of babies called David born in Manchester Hospital.by 56% after David Beckam scored the winning goal in the World Cup match against Germany. a. a rise; b. raised; c. rose; d. rise. 6. The price of gold ..since 1999. a. declining; b. has declined; c. declined; d. a decline. VIII. Fill in the gaps using the words in the box. Take into account the input information given:

both rising

drop rise

each rose

increased was

was spent was financed

returned less

Expenditure on Education in Hong Kong 1995 to 1998

Breakdown of spending Total expenditure ($ million) As % of government budget % spent on primary education secondary education tertiary education 22.2% 33.7% 35.9% . 21.5% 33.2% 36.7% . 21.6% 33.5% 35.9% . 1995-6 1996-7 1997-8 33,611 39,165 45,315 17.6% 18% 18.2%

Total public expenditure on education in Hong Kong 1. ..continuously from 1995 to 1998. In academic year 1995-1996 it 2.HK$33,611 million, 3..to $39,165 million in 1996-7 and $45,315 million in 1997-8. As a percentage of the governments budget, spending on education also increased 4.year . However, the percentage of expenditure spent on primary, secondary and tertiary education did not show the same consistent 5. .In 1995-6 expenditure on primary education was 22.2% of the education budget, 33.7% 6.on secondary, and 35.9% on tertiary. In 1996-7 an increase of 0.8% in spending on tertiary education 7.by a 8..in spending of 0.7% in primary and 0.5% in secondary schooling. In 1997-8 tertiary spending as a percent of the education budget 9..to its 1995-6 level. The percentage spent on primary education 10..to 21.6% and that on secondary to 33.5%, 11figures being 12.than 1995-6 levels. IX. Translate into English: 1. Filiala francez a nregistrat o cretere a venitului net de 98% fat de 2006, iar profitul naintea impozitrii s-a triplet. 2. Din fericire, situaia s-a redresat spre sfritul anului. 3. n 2010 s-a nregistrat o uoar cretere a vnzrilor. 4. Preurile au crescut vertiginous spre sfritul anului. 5. Preurile au nregistrat o cretere continu ntre 2000 i 2005. 6. n perioada menionat, rata omajului a rmas neschimbat. 7. n 2008 am asistat la o scdere spectaculoas a valorii aciunilor acestei companii. 8. Profiturile naintea impozitrii obinute de unele companii germane au crescut cu 15% n primul semestru al anului. 9. Numrul celor care au reuit s plece n concediu anul acesta s-a njumtit. 10. n 2010, salariile bugetarilor au fost diminuate cu 25%.