Skills training activity

Reading section
Preparation task

Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).

Vocabulary Definitions
1. ……
A to eradicate

2. ……
B to sustain

3. ……
G a civilian
4. ……
E life expectancy
5. ……
C contraception
6. ……
B to fuel

7. ……
H to be down to

8. ……
F optimism
a. to support
b. to make something increase or become stronger
c. methods of preventing pregnancy

d. to make something disappear forever

e. how long a person is expected to live
f. positive thinking
g. someone who is not a soldier

h. to be the result of
Reading text: The state of the world
If your view of the world comes from watching the news and reading newspapers, you
could be forgiven for lying awake at night worrying about the future. Apparently, rising
violence and population rates mean humans are both killing each other in ever larger
numbers and being born at rates the world’s resources can’t sustain. To make matters
worse, all the wealth is concentrated on a handful of people in the world’s richest
countries. People in lowincome countries live in poverty while the West gets richer.
Depressing, isn’t it? But do the statistics support our negative world view or is the
world actually improving?
Let’s take global population first. It’s around 7 billion now, in line with figures predicted
by the UN in 1958. By the year 2100, the same experts predict it will be around 11
billion. But did you know that 11 billion is probably as high as that number will get? The
rate of increase will slow down in the second half of this century thanks to falling birth
rates today. Falling birth rates? Yes, that’s right.
In the last two centuries, improvements in technology and health meant fewer children
died young, fuelling rapid population growth. These large families produced even
more children who survived into adulthood and had their own children. But with the
wider availability of contraception in the 1960s, the global average number of babies
per woman has declined from six babies per woman to as low as two.
The biggest factor in child mortality is poverty. And while it’s still true that only 20 per
cent of the world takes about 74 per cent of the world’s income, 60 per cent of the
world now falls Into a middle-income group, with 11.6 per cent – the smallest amount
of people in history – Still living in conditions of extreme poverty. If the majority of the
world’s people have money, International aid could realistically achieve the UM target
of eradicating poverty by 2030. As poverty goes down, life expectancy goes up, birth
rates go down because parents can expect Their existing children to survive, and the
global population stabilises.
As for news stories that make us think the world is na increasingly violent place, there
is cause for some optimism too. Between the end of World War II and 1990, there were
30 wars that Killed more than 100,000 people. Today there are still civil wars, but
countries are mostly coexisting more peacefully than in the past. However, terrorism
has shot up in the last few years And, since World War II, wars have killed many more
civilians than soldiers. Even for civilians, Though, the statistics are not all bad. Although
deaths are nine times more likely to be a result Of violent crime than political conflict,
the global murder rate fell slightly, from 8 per 100,000 People in 2000 to about 5.3 in
2015. Of course, none of this means the world is perfect, and whether you personally
are affected By war and poverty is often down to the lottery of where you’re born.
Also, we still face huge problems of our own making, particularly environmental ones
like global warming, and wealth And natural resources need to be distributed more
fairly. But not all the news is bad news, Whatever the TV and newspapers might say.

Tasks

Task 1

Match the numbers with the facts they represent.

60% 11.6% 20%

11 billion 5.3 74%

11bilhões
1. ……………………………… the expected peak global population

74%
2. ……………………………… the size of the richest group of people

20%
3. ……………………………… the amount of the richest group’s income

60%
4. ……………………………… the amount of people who are neither rich nor poor

11,6%
5. ……………………………… the amount of people with the least money

5,3
6. ……………………………… the number of murders per 100,000 people in 2015

Task 2
Circle the best answer.

1. What does the word ‘apparently’ in the first paragraph tell us about the rise in
violence we
see in the news?
a. The rise is obviously true.

b. The rise seems to be true but evidence might show it isn’t.

c. The rise seems false but evidence might show it’s true.
2. Which statement about population levels is correct?
a. About two hundred years ago, the child mortality rate dropped significantly.
b. The rate is growing steadily now.

c. The rate will start to drop in the year 2100.

3. Which factor does NOT cause the birth rate to fall?
a. Improvements in healthcare
b. The availability of contraception
c. Poverty

4. One of the UN’s targets for 2030 is to …

a. end poverty.
b. increase life expectancy.
c. make population levels stable.

5. People are more likely to be killed …

a. by soldiers.
b. by politicians.
c. by criminals.
6. There is reason to be optimistic because …

a. you might win the lottery.

b. there are some positives despite what the newspapers report.
c. we’re making progress with environmental problems.
Discussion

How optimistic are you about the world?

Not much, but I believe things can improve

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Listening Section

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
Vocabulary Definition
C flawed
1. ……
E
2. …… a narrator
B
3. …… troubled
A to immerse yourself in
4. ……
G
5. …… to mistreat
D an instinct
6. ……
 H wrongdoing
7. ……
F
8. …… the lowdown
a. to completely surround yourself with
b. showing distress or anxiety
c. having a fundamental weakness or imperfection

d. something you naturally feel or want to do

e. the person telling a story
f. the most important information about something
g. to treat badly
h. bad or illegal behaviour

Tasks
Task 1
Write the phrases in the correct group.
About an adolescent child Was challenging for the

podcast presenter to finish Features a normal family

Partly told from a child’s
perspective Includes murder in the story Involves three generations of
one family

Her Mother’s Daughter. We Need to Talk About Kevin

Task 2

Circle the best answer.

1. The presenter and Helen differ on …

a. How they see the characters in the book.

b. What they think about the quality of the writing.

c. How much they enjoyed reading the book.

2. Helen enjoyed Her Mother’s Daughter because …

a. It’s totally different from the books she writes herself.

b. It’s totally different from her own life.

c. It has a happy ending.

3. What is Her Mother’s Daughter about?

a. The problems a mother has with her husband and children.

b. The way a mother’s childhood affects her when she has children herself.

c. A child who does something shocking that her parents can’t understand.

4. Why are sad books about families popular, according to Anna?

a. They make us feel as if our own families are better than the ones in
books.
 b. All families have similar problems, they’re just less dramatic.

c. People have small families nowadays so they like reading about other
families.

5. What aspect of We Need to Talk About Kevin will people be able to relate to?

a. What it’s like to bring up teenagers

b. How we feel when people we know are killed

c. How it feels to be a victim

6. What do the two books have in common?

a. They’re both about happy homes.

b. They’re both about how parents affect their children.

c. They’re both about how parents worry about their children.

Discussion
Do you like to read ‘dark’ books?
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No
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Writing section

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).

Vocabulary Definition

1. …… a drawback

2. …… to outweigh

3. …… viable

4. …… to outline

5. …… to offset

6. …… accessibility

7. …… a readership

8. …… na overwhelming majority

a. To explain the main points

b. Capable of working successfully

c. The group of people who read a book, magazine or newspaper

 d. A disadvantage

e. A very large proportion

f. To be more important than

g. To balance the effect of something

h. The fact of being obtained or understood easily

Reading text: A proposal for a digital version of the university Newspaper

Introduction
This proposal intends to outline how a digital version of the university newspaper, The
Scallion, could function and aims to show that na online paper is viable for the future
of the Newspaper. It draws on the views of 3,000 students surveyed in May.
background the Scallion is printed weekly and distributed free in faculty buildings, with
a readership of
Approximately 10,000 students. It is written and produced entirely by students. The
survey Shows that the newspaper is highly valued by university students and staff for
entertainment, Cultural enrichment and work experience. Current problems the cost of
printing newspapers is significant. Furthermore, some students do not have easy
access to the paper, since the only way to obtain a copy is to physically go to university.
An additional environmental issue is that a large number of copies end up as litter on
campus.

Proposed solution

It is proposed that the newspaper could shift to na online format. Na overwhelming

majority

(95 per cent) of survey respondents were ‘keen’ or ‘very keen’ on this.

The key benefits would be:

• Lower costs. Electronic publication is much cheaper than printing, and the website

Would require minimal maintenance. Although there are considerable initial costs of

Developing a website, these would be offset over time.

• Improved accessibility. Students unable to collect a copy and those with visual

Impairments would be able to read the paper online.

• Eco-friendliness. A website would reduce paper usage and produce no litter.

• Digital media experience. For student journalists, gaining experience in running a

Web-based news site would be invaluable for any job which involves digital

Communication.

Drawbacks

One issue is information management. The site would have to comply with data
protection and

Privacy laws. Advice should be sought from the IT department.

Another drawback may be personal preference. Twenty-five per cent of survey

respondents
Liked having a physical paper to flick through in a café. However, as this is a minority
view, I

Would suggest that the benefits of the online paper outweigh the inconvenience on
this issue.

Conclusion

The results of the consultation suggest that moving the paper online is the best option
given

That it would reduce costs, be more environmentally-friendly and reach a larger

audience. A

Change to a digital format is therefore recommended to maintain the benefits of the

Newspaper while addressing its current difficulties.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Tips

1. Start by reading the question carefully. Brainstorm all your thoughts about the
proposal first. Then choose your best ideas and plan your paragraphs.
2. Use subheadings to make the structure clear. Start by stating the aim of the
proposal (Introduction) and giving information about the context (Background).
3. Next, move on to the Current problems and your Proposed solution. You can
also mention The Drawbacks and how to address them before you finish
(Conclusion).

4. Y It is Proposed that or should use na impersonal, formal tone for your

proposal. Passive verb forms (e.g.… , Advice should be sought …) are a useful
way to avoid I think or You should.
 5. The final section should include na overall recommendation based on your
previous points.
Task 1
Are the sentences true or false?
Answer:

1. You should say what the aim of the proposal is in the introduction.
True.X False
2. Subheadings should make it easy for the reader to follow the proposal.
True. X False
3. It is better not to mention the drawbacks of your proposed solution.

True. False X
4. A proposal should be written in a persuasive and personal style.
True. False X
5. The passive is a useful structure for writing a proposal.

True. X False
6. Your proposal should make clear what you are recommending and why.
True. X False
Task 2

Match the functions (a–f) with the phrases (1–6).

Phrases Functions

C
1. …… It is proposed that …

B This proposal intends to outline …

2. ……

E
3. …… One issue is …

4. F…… A change to a digital format is Therefore recommended …

 B
5. …… It draws on the views of 3,000 Students surveyed in May.

D
6. …… The key benefits would be …

a. Stating the aim of the report

b. Saying what information the report is based on

c. Proposing a solution

d. Justifying a solution

e. Recognising the disadvantages

f. Concluding

Task 3

Complete the sentences with words and phrases from the box.
proposed issue aim significant
overwhelming draws valued outline
Aim Outlne
1. The ……………………………… of this proposal is to ……………………………… the current
challenges facing
the university sports centre and suggest ways to address these issues.
Draws
2. The report ……………………………… on the views of 1,000 sports club members surveyed
in
January.
Valued
3. The service offered by the sports club is highly ……………………………… by all members,
and it was
Overwhelming
rated as either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ by an ……………………………… majority of those
interviewed.
 4. However, urgent building work is needed to repair the roof. This carries a
Significant
………………………………
cost.
Issue
5. Another ……………………………… is that the centre is likely to be closed for four to six
months,

meaning loss of subscription fees and no sports facilities for students.

Proposed
6. It is ……………………………… that alternative sports facilities are secured before the
building work
begins.
Do na opinion essay about the following theme

Do you prefer to read a newspaper online or on paper?

online because in addition to not harming the
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environment with so much paper, it is an easy and
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quick way to get the news
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