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IELTS Preparation Series 1, Episode 4: Rising Dollar


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0:00

Hello. I'm Margot Politis. Welcome to Study English, IELTS preparation.

0:20

Today we're going to be making comparisons, and looking at some tricky prepositions of

0:25

time.

0:25

But first, let's listen to an academic talking about the Australian economy and the Australian

0:32

dollar. See if you can hear him use some comparative adjectives.

0:38

It couldn't have come at a worse time, in the sense that with business investment weakening,

0:43

and with the housing market, at least in activity terms, having turned, that's where the timing

0:48

is unfortunate for us.

0:49

The stronger the value of the Australian dollar and the longer it stays strong, the weaker

0:55

our economic activity will be next year.

0:57

I think growth in 2004 will be comparatively weak. My own prediction is that throughout

1:02

the year growth will be around about 2 per cent.

1:05

Being around the Reserve Bank's board table at this time I think would not be a comfortable

1:09

place to be. The bank is probably in a bigger dilemma over what to do with interest rates

1:14

with monetary policy than at any time that I can remember.

1:18

Dr Ian Harper is discussing the value of the Australian dollar, and the growth of the Australian

1:25

economy, including interest rates.

1:28

He describes all these factors by comparing information. Listen to him talk about the

1:34

value of the dollar.

1:35

The stronger the value of the Australian dollar and the longer it stays strong, the weaker

1:41

our economic activity will be next year.

1:43

The stronger the value of the dollar, and the longer it stays strong, the weaker our

1:49

economic activity.

1:52

The adjectives used in the clip are strong, weak and long.

1:57

The Australian dollar is strong. It is stronger than it used to be.

2:04

It has been strong for a long time. It is making economic activity weak.

2:10

The longer it stays strong, the weaker the economic activity.

2:16

Let's look at comparative adjectives a bit more closely.

2:22

With single syllable words, we add -er: strong stronger

2:30

long longer weak weaker

2:35

big bigger

2:39

But not all adjectives follow this simple pattern. Some are irregular.

2:44

It couldn't have come at a worse time.

2:46

It couldn't have come at a worse time.

2:50

Worse.

2:51

Worse comes from the adjective bad:

2:55

bad, worse.

2:58

Irregular adjectives are often best learnt with the superlative or 'most' form:

3:04

bad, worse, worst

3:07

and

3:08

good, better, best.

3:11

When comparing, there are 2 ways to do it.

3:15

To say 2 things are the same, we use as ______ as.

3:20

Growth is as slow as it was last year.

3:24

When saying one thing is more than the other, we use the comparative form. We usually use

3:31

the word 'than' when comparing.

3:33

Growth is slower than last year.

3:36

The superlative form, the 'most' or -est form, is used with the word 'the':

3:45

Growth is the slowest it's ever been.

3:49

Notice that we usually use 'more' and 'most' with adjectives that have more than 2 syllables.

3:56

So we have: slow, slower, slowest,

4:00

but

4:02

beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful.

4:05

OK, now we're going to look at some prepositions of time.

4:11

Listen for one in this clip.

4:13

I think growth in 2004 will be comparatively weak.

4:18

He says 'in 2004'. In is a preposition of time.

4:24

The prepositions of time are: at, on and in.

4:30

Let's look at how they're all used.

4:33

At is used for times. For example:

4:36

The lecture is at 7 o'clock.

4:41

On is used for days and dates:

4:43

The lecture is on Thursday.

4:48

The lecture is on the 27th of October.

4:51

In is for periods of time, and for months, years and seasons:

4:59

The lecture is in the morning, in June, in 2004, in winter.

5:08

So we'd say:

5:09

The lecture is at 7 o'clock, in the morning, on Thursday, on the 27th October, in 2004.

5:22

Notice that we say: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening,

5:29

but we say: at night.

5:31

Now let's test you on these prepositions

5:36

I saw her _ _ _ _ _ Tuesday, _ _ _ _ _ 3 o'clock _ _ _ _ _ the afternoon.

5:45

We've got the choice of in, at, or on.

5:51

I saw her on Tuesday, at 3 o'clock, in the afternoon.

5:58

Here's another one.

5:59

They went shopping _ _ _ _ _ night _ _ _ _ _ Friday last week. Shops are open late _

6:09

_ _ _ _ summer.

6:11

They went shopping at night, on Friday last week. Shops are open late in summer.

6:20

OK, now let's listen to the whole clip again. See if you can hear how much he thinks the

6:27

Australian economy will grow.

6:28

It couldn't have come at a worse time, in the sense that with business investment weakening,

6:35

and with the housing market, at least in activity terms, having turned, that's where the timing

6:40

is unfortunate for us.

6:41

The stronger the value of the Australian dollar and the longer it stays strong, the weaker

6:47

our economic activity will be next year.

6:49

I think growth in 2004 will be comparatively weak.

6:52

My own prediction is that throughout the year growth will be around about 2 per cent.

6:57

Being around the Reserve Bank's board table at this time I think would not be a comfortable

7:01

place to be. The bank is probably in a bigger dilemma over what to do with interest rates

7:05

with monetary policy than at any time that I can remember.

7:09

His prediction is for growth to be about 2 percent.

7:13

We write 2 percent like this: 2%

7:17

Percent comes from the Latin phrase per centum, by the hundred or in every hundred.

7:24

It's used to express proportions out of a hundred, including rates of interest.

7:29

Percent is always used with a number.

7:32

So we say: Twenty percent of students attended the lecture.

7:37

That means: 20 out of every hundred students attended.

7:41

Or: 'She got 90 percent in the test,' means she got 90 out of every hundred questions

7:48

right.

7:48

Or: Growth will be around 2 per cent.

7:54

We also have the word percentage. Percentage is a noun. It means the portion or amount

8:00

of something.

8:01

So we say:

8:04

What was the percentage of students who attended the lecture?

8:07

20 percent of students attended the lecture.

8:12

She got 90% in her test. That is a high percentage.

8:16

OK. Now let's test you using percent or percentage.

8:23

The _ _ _ _ _ of high school students that go to university is about twenty _ _ _ _ _.

8:31

The percentage of high school students that go to university is about twenty percent.

8:38

The bank has raised the interest rate by two _ _ _ _ _.

8:43

The bank has raised the interest rate by two percent.

8:48

The _ _ _ _ _ of married women in the workforce rose from 50 to 60 _ _ _ _ _.

8:56

The percentage of married women in the workforce rose from 50 to 60 percent.

9:03

If his answers are all correct, he'll get 100 _ _ _ _ _ on the test.

9:10

If his answers are all correct, he'll get 100 percent on the test.

9:16

So you should notice that the signal for using percent is that there's always a number first.

9:23

And of course, you can always use the percent sign instead of writing out the words.

9:29

And that's all we've got time for today.

9:31

I'll see you next time on Study English!

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