Vocabulary List

Comprehension

• Read Text A and give answers to the questions.

1. How has the population of Great Britain changed in recent years?

2. How did the 70s-80s compare with the 50s in terms of birth rale?

3. How did the decline in birth rate in the 70s affect the labour market of (he 90s?

4. How has the nature of work changed over the recent decades?

5. How has the pattern of consumption changed?

6. Why do women marry later or live alone these days?

7. What is the reason for a high divorce rate in the UK?

8. Are men ready to share with women top positions in business and public administration?

• Read Text A again and do the lask given below, ftsfc. Write out from the text all figures and numbers.

The "baby boom" of the 1950s and a very high birth rate of the 1960s aggravated the unemployment of the early 1980s, since there were 30 per cent more young people leaving school than, say, a decade be­fore. The 1970s-80s saw a sharp decline in the number of small chil­dren, that is why in the 1990s there were tew school-leavers to till the jobs left by retired people. The situation had an important implication. It caused a fuller employment of women and later retirement for the elderly people who wished to continue working. Now the level of un­employment is lower than in any major European Union country.

It should be stressed here that the British population is already one of the oldest in Europe, and it is slowly ageing.

Over the recent decades the nature of work has changed too. The number of people working in factories has declined dramatically. Now it's less than one-fifth of the population. Britain is no longer the "work­shop" of the world. It has become instead a nation of a service industry. Three-quarters work in the service sector.

These changes have been accompanied by changes in the pattern of consumption and work. People tend to work shorter hours.

Shorter working hours have had a big impact on an enormous rise in the holiday industry. Then there has been a big increase in the purchase of consumer durables — televisions, microwaves, washing machines.

Social and economic developments in the second half of the 20^th century have resulted in dramatic changes in the British household struc­ture felt nowadays.

Family planning and later marriages have led to a decline in family size.

With new social attitudes and behaviour changes there is a tenden­cy not to marry. The number of people living alone has risen signifi­cantly. Many women live alone preferring independence, which they fear they will lose by marriage.

The divorce rate in the UK is the highest in the European Union, the main reason for the climbing divorce rate being the wish of women to pursue a career. One inevitable consequence of the situation has been the rise of single-parent families.

Women now make up about 45 percent of the workforce.

The important disadvantage is that men continue to control the positions of power and wealth and are slow to share these with women.

profile n — 7d картина, состояние stable adj— стабильный assumption n - предположение

plenty n - обилие

demographic situation — демографиче­ская ситуация in principle - в принципе unevenly adj - неравномерно distribute г — распределять across prep - сквозь drift v — id. двигаться population density — плотность населе­ния

in terms of - с точки jpemm composition n — состав, структура substantially adv — существенно "baby boom" — бум рождаемости birth rate — темпы рождаемости aggravate v - ухудшать(ся) decline n — снижение, падение implication n - смысл, значение European Union — Европейский Союз nature of work - характер работы

decline v — снижат]>ся, сокращаться

workshop n - мастерская, tiex

dramatically adv — резко, сильно

accompany v - сопровождать

pattern of consumption — структура по­требления

consumer durables - потребительские товары длительного пользования

microwave n — микроволновая печь

result in v — приводить к

family planning - планирование семьи

fear v — бояться

divorce rate — уровень разводов

climbing adj - поднимающийся, воз­растающий

wish « - желание

inevitable consequence - неизбежное следствие

single-parent family — семья с одним родителем

make up v - составлять

disadvantage n — недостаток

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Unit 7

I. The Social Profile and State Structure

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• Then read the Grammar Presentation of "How to Read Figures and Numbers" («Как читать цифры и числа») and make sure that you read them correctly.