Lies, damn lies?

Statistics (be) 1 ___ a branch of economics, but it is often said that there (be) 2 ___ lies, damn lies and statistics. Recent statistics of British life (show) 3 ___ that the family (be) 4 ___ happier than it used to be. The youth of today (be) 5 ___ likely to live longer than the previous generation. People (own) 6 ___ more things than they used to, but more police (be) 7 ___ employed to fight crime. Mathematics (be) 8 ___ a subject which is studied more by boys than by girls, as (be) 9 ___ physics. The earnings of working women (be) 10 ___ getting higher all the time and many women earn more than their husbands. Good manners (be) 11 ___ declining. The public (spend) 12 ___ more on clothes, and clothes (be) 13 ___ becoming more and more expensive. Glasses (be) 14 ___ worn be more people, but only a minority (favour) 15 ___ contact lenses. Statistics (make) 16 ___ us want to grind our teeth and can probably tell us if we have any teeth left to grind!

Exercise 59. Read the paragraph and correct the mistakes where necessary in the underlined words.

The government (1) have agreed to review the research budget after it was revealed that only about 15 per cent (2) are spent in industry. The majority of the money (3) go to fund research in universities.

Measles (4) are killing a rising number of children in the Nagola region. Neither aid organisations nor the government (5) seem able to stem the spread of the disease, although they claim that everything possible (6) are being done.

The police (7) has said that none of the gold taken in last month's robbery from Heathrow Airport (8) has yet been recovered. A spokesperson admitted: 'Whoever committed the crime (9) have probably left the country by now.'

Maureen's politics (10) has become more right-wing as she has got older. What surprises me (11) are her liberal view on immigration when a number of her other opinions (12) are very extreme.

Exercise 60. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb.

1. My understanding of the differences between chemistry and biochemistry ___ fairly basic. (to be) 2. 'Whites' ___ the name for the white clothes that people usually wear when they play cricket. (to be) 3. The university ___ an international reputation. (to have) 4. His detailed instructions on how to find the house ___ very helpful. (to be) 5. The press ___ each given individual security passes to allow them into the meeting. (to be) 6. The manufacture of motorcycle parts for the local factory ___ almost completely disappeared from the area. (to have) 7. Great Expectations ___ my favourite Charles Dickens novel. (to be) 8. The French team ___ five players who were born in North Africa. (to include) 9. What made me write a letter of complaint to the council ___ the constant noise from the nearby factory. (to be) 10. The club ___ spent millions of dollars on the new stadium. (to have)

Exercise 61. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence printed before it.

Example: The drama school is always looking out for new talent

The drama school is always on the lookout for new talent

1. I heard some fascinating news on the radio this morning.

I heard a fascinating __________________.

2 The police used handcuffs to restrain the aggressive young man.

Handcuffs __________________.

3. A few roads in the Brighton area have been affected by the recent floods

A small number __________________.

4 OK. I'll call the bank tomorrow and check our balance

OK. I'll give __________________.

5. The medical profession considers that children eat too many sweet and fatty things today

The medical profession considers that children should __________________.

6. It didn't take us ten minutes to get here from the station.

It took us __________________.

7. A lot of people have taken up our new offer, which has delighted us.

We have been delighted by the __________________.

8. We've got quite a lot of unwanted furniture since we moved to the smaller house.

We've got several __________________.

9. The management expects all staff to attend the meeting tomorrow afternoon.

All staff __________________.

10. They should now address the questions of VAT and fuel tax.

What __________________.

11. A lot of the older men sit in cafes and play dominoes.

Dominoes __________________.

12. We launched the new women's magazine in April and it was a great success.

The __________________.

13. In a democracy the government is elected by the people.

In a democracy the people __________________.

14. The teachers were boosted by the fact that the parents agreed to help fund the new playground.

The teachers were boosted by the parents __________________.

Exercise 62. Choose the correct answers in the parentheses.

1. There (isn't / aren't) any letters in the mail for you today. 2. There (isn't / aren't) any mail for you today. 3. There (is / are) a lot of problems in the world. 4. There (is / are) an insect in this room. Where is the insecticide? 5. There (is / are) over 600,000 kinds of insects in the world. 6. How many kinds of birds (is / are) there in the world? 7. There (is / are) much milk in the jar in the fridge. 8. There (is / are) a green pen and two yellow notebooks on Tim's desk. 9. There (is / are) blue pens and a yellow notebook on Sue's desk. 10. There (is / are) some pens and notebooks on Jack's desk. 11. Some of the furniture in my house (needs / need) painting. 12. Some of my books (was / were) stolen. 13. Physics (is / are) the most difficult course for me. 14. The police always (comes / come) late in Turkish films. 15. Two thousand miles (is / are) too much to go by train. 16. Chinese (is / are) one of the most difficult languages to learn. 17. Everybody (like / likes) chocolate. 18. Every child (needs / need) love and affection. 19. A million dollars (is / are) enough for him. 20. Most of the students (lives / live) in the dormitories. 21. The blind always (needs / need) help. 22. Most of the food in the fridge (is / are) delicious. 23. Some of that information (is / are) wrong. 24. Each of the students (is / are) ready for the examination. 25. The youth of today (don't / doesn't) know manners. 26. Half of my money (was / were) stolen. 27. One of the languages I want to learn (is / are) German. 28. The people in my country (is / are) friendly. 29. Everyone (has / have) their own ideas. 30. A couple of people (is / are) demonstrating in front of the parliament. 31. Mary and Tim were on time for the meeting, but the rest of us (was / were) late. 32. (Is / Are) bacon and eggs what you want to eat? 33. If everybody (want / wants) to come to the convention, they have to register first. 34. Not only her family but also her relatives (was / were) at the conference to listen to her. 35. What (is / are) the percentage of nitrogen in the air? 36. 50 percent of oxygen in the air (is / are) wasted in the process. 37. 50 percent of students (is / are) likely to fail. 38. There (seem / seems) to be a few minor points of disagreement yet to be settled. 39. Not only Mark but also Kate (attend / attends) classes regularly. 40. Not only Mark but also his sisters (study / studies) regularly.

Exercise 63. Correct the mistakes (where they are).

1. AIDS kills million of people around the world every year. 2. The rest of the staff are coming later. 3. Why have you bought two dozens of handkerchives? 4. Millions of people were in the streets to protest against the government's decision. 5. The good news are that September will be sunny. 6. The building of the King's palace cost many millions dollars. 7. Some Asian countries export thousands of tons of rice to other countries. 8. During the war a submarine launched two tornadoes that destroyed enemy boats. 9. She had her hairs cut for her birthday. 10. In the past our parents used to walk thousands of kilometres from one country to another. 11. More than one person are unhappy with this. 12. The sound of horses' hooves rattled the glass. 13. Economics are very difficult to understand. 14. In order to prove Smith is guilty, we must find some evidences.