Prepositions

Chapter II Vocabulary and Practice

Describing Graphs: Vocabulary

Verbs	Nouns
UP movement
§ go up § shoot up § soar -to increase to a high level in a very short time § jump § increase § rise § grow § rocket § improve § climb § escalate § double to-to increase by two times over a period	§ an increase - a higher movement § a rise § a growth § an improvement § an upturn § a surge § an upsurge § an upward trend
DOWN movement
§ go/come down, § fall § drop § slump § plunge -to fall a long way in a short time § plummet- to fall a long way in a short time § slide § decrease § slip § shrink	§ a fall § a decrease § a decline § a drop § a downturn § a downturn trend
NO CHANGE
§ remain stable/ constant § level off- to stay the same over a time, especially after a period of increase § stay at the same level § plateau -to stay at the same level over a period of time, especially after increasing significantly § stand at § stagnate § stabilize § hold steady	§ plateau - the state of staying at the same level over a period of time, especially after a period of increase § stagnation § stabilization
CHANGE
§ fluctuate	§ volatility § fluctuation-a repeated up and down movement over a period of time
AT THE TOP
§ reach a peak- achieve the highest position § peak § top out	§
AT THE BOTTOM
§ reach a low point § bottom out - to remain at the lowest level for a period of time
RECOVER
§ pick up § bounce back § rally	§ Recovery -an improvement, the state of getting better

DEGREES OF CHANGE

Adjectives: dramatic considerable sharp significant substantial moderate slight steep marked

Adverbs: dramatically considerably sharply significantly substantially moderately slightly steeply

SPEED OF CHANGE (over time)

§ abrupt § sudden § rapid § quick § steady § gradual § slow

PREPOSITIONS

• a rise from $10 to $12
• to increase by 50%
• to fall by 30%
• an increase of 7.5 per cent over last year
• at х

PRACTICE

Task 1. Place the words in the right column, then add a few more words of your own

be constant increase drop decrease

plateau recovery fall go down

growth improvement level off plunge

reduction rise shoot up soar

stability stagnation stand at stay at

Verbs
Verbs
Verbs
Verbs
Verbs
Verbs
Nouns
Nouns
Nouns
Nouns
Nouns

Task 2. Adjectives can be used to describe the degree of change. Do you know the corresponding adverbs?

A dramatic fall	to fall …………………
An abrupt rise	to rise ………………..
A sudden decline	to decline ………………
A moderate grow	to grow ………………
A slight increase	to increase ……………..
A rapid drop	to drop …………………
A gradual decline	to decline ……………
A steady recover	to recover ……………
Erratic sales	to sell …………………..
A constant levelling off	to level off ………………

Task 3. Complete the second sentence so that it has the similar meaning to the first sentence.

1. In the late afternoon, numbers fall rapidly, reaching a low of approximately 100.
There is a ____________________ in the late afternoon, reaching a low of approximately 100.

2. At 8 in the morning, passenger numbers peak at about 400.
There is a ______________________ at about 400 at 8 in the morning.

3. In the next two hours, figures fall sharply to under 200.
There is a _______________________ in the next two hours. (4- 7 words in answer)

4. Numbers rise slightly in the afternoon.
There is a ________________________ in the afternoon

5. Numbers increase in the next two hours, peaking at around 400.
There is ____________________ in the next two hours, peaking at around 400.

6. Between 6 and 10 pm, figures fluctuate greatly.
There is a ____________________________ in the figures between 6 and 10 pm.

7. From 6 to 8 in the evening, numbers drop dramatically.
There is ______________________ in numbers from 6 to 8 in the evening. (2 -3 words)

8. The number of passengers decreases significantly from 6 to 8 pm.
There is __________________________ the number of passengers from 6 to 8 pm. (3 - 4 words)

9. Finally, numbers rise and fall marginally in the last couple of hours.
There is a ______________________ in the last couple of hours.

10. The number of commuters increases and decreases slightly in the final two hours.
There is ________________________ the number of commuters in the final two hours. (5-6 words)

Task 4. Choose the correct answer, considering the graph presented:

1. The graph _____________________ between the end of 2004 and the middle of 2009.

§ displays the data of sterling

§ shows how the value of sterling changed

§ gives information about sterling

1. Overall, we can see that the value of sterling __________ against the Hong Kong dollar.

§ rose

§ risen

§ fall

§ fell

1. The value of sterling increased _______________ during the first three quarters of 2007.

§ dramatically

§ steadily

§ peak

§ sharply

1. Between June and December 2008, sterling ________ ________ against the Hong Kong dollar.

§ rose steadily

§ fell steadily

§ rose sharply

§ fell sharply

1. During the first quarter of 2007, the value of sterling _________ ________

§ rose sharply

§ remained steady

§ reached a peak

§ fell slightly

1. The value of sterling reached a peak in __________

§ early 2009

§ Jan 2006

§ the middle of 2007

§ the middle of 2008

1. The value of sterling fell from over _______ Hong Kong dollars to under _________ Hong Kong dollars in the second half of 2008.

§ sixteen, fifteen

§ fifteen, eleven

§ fifteen, twelve

1. The value of sterling rose by around __________ dollars during 2006.

§ one

§ one and a half

§ two

1. The value of sterling fell ___ around four dollars in the second half of 2008.

§ to

§ on

§ by

§ for

1. The value of sterling ______ ______ in the second quarter of 2009.

§ increased gradually

§ increased sharply

§ peaked

§ remained steady

§

Task 5. Describe the graphs below. Complete the sentences using appropriate verbs in the correct form from the following list:

peak	plummet	increase/rise/go up
level off	fluctuate	decrease/drop/fall/go down

1. Sales _________ to 30% last month.	2. Sales_________ at 60 million and then _________ in July.
3. Profit ________ at 40% last year.	4. Sales of the new product unfortunately _________ in May.
5. Things looked bad at the beginning of the year, but in March sales began to _______________	6. In the last six months, sales __________

Task 6. Match sentences 1-12 below with the drawings A-K. You can use some of the drawings more than once.

. 1. The market is showing some signs of growth. _____

2. The market is extremely volatile. _____

3. The pound slipped back against the dollar. _____

4. The Swiss franc is staging a recovery. _____

5. The yen lost ground slightly. _____

6. There's been a dramatic downturn in the market. _____

7. There's been an upsurge of interest in gold. _____

8. The share price bottomed out at 11 cents. _____

9. Gold peaked at €300 an ounce. _____

10. Profits will level off at around €10,000. _____

11. Sales hit an all-time low. _____

12. There hasn't been much movement in the price of tin _____

Task 7. Fill in the correct word in the description of the graph:

a low point	declined	doubled	drop
from	increased slightly	recovered	remained
rising sharply	sudden	to	were

In January, gold sales _____________ about 200 million dirhams per month. In February they _____________ to Dhs 220 million, _____________ to a peak of 350 million dirhams in March. Over the next four months, sales _____________ steadily, reaching _____________ of 120 million dirhams in July. In August, there was a _____________ increase. Sales almost _____________, rising _____________ Dhs 120 million in July to Dhs 210 million in August. This was followed by a ____________in September to Dhs 120 million. From September to October, sales _____________ from Dhs 120 million to Dhs 180 million. In October and November, sales _____________steady, and there was a small increase in December _____________ 190 million dirhams.

Task 8. Write sentences using the transitive and intransitive verbs

*Transitive verbs require at least a direct object to complete their meaning (e.g.We raised necessary finance the business), while intransitive verbs do not require any objects (e.g.The price has risen).

increase	decrease	maintain	increase	decrease	stay at
raise	drop	keep	rise	drop	reach a peak
step up	cut		grow	decline	remain stable
expand	go down		expand	fall
improve			improve

1.__________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________

4.__________________________________________________________________

5.__________________________________________________________________

6.__________________________________________________________________

7.__________________________________________________________________

8.__________________________________________________________________

9.__________________________________________________________________

10._________________________________________________________________

Task 9. Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. Market share increased _________3%, up to 8%.

a. to

b. at

c. by

d. of

2. A strong pound meant a fall ____________ exports in 1998.

a. by

b. to

c. in

d. at

3. Sales levelled off _________ £5m in 2003.

a. in

b. of

c. to

d. at

4. Sales peaked ______ £22m in 2006.

a. at

b. to

c. in

d. on

5. Costs rose by £3.3m.This was a rise ________ 10%.

a. to

b. of

c. at

d. in

6. Last year there was a drop in sales _________ 9%.

a. of

b. for

c. in

d. on

7. European sales went _______ £4.2m to £3.0m.

a. at

b. to

c. from

d. in

8. Office software sales fell by 10% __________2007.

a. in

b. at

c. to

d. on

Task 10. Fill the gaps in the description of the graph:

a peak of fluctuated leveled off rising

rose by sharp increase was

In 1980, the price of New Zealand's wool _________ $1.98 per kilo. It then ______ 20 cents in 1981 before falling back to $1.37 in 1986. There was a __________ over the next two years, with the price of wool reaching __________ $5.13 in 1988. From 1989 to 1993 the price ___________ between a high of $3.20 and a low of $2.75, before ___________ to $4.60 in 1995. After falling again to $3.60 in 1998, the price ___________ at $3.55 in 2000.

Task 11. Select the correct answers below

1.Sales peaked _________ 2,000,000 in 2010.

a. at

a. on

b. to

2. Profits rose _________ a low of 4.5 million to a high of 8 million.

a. to

b. from

c. by

3. Sales fluctuated ___________ 5 million and 6 million.

a. between

b. from

c. to

4. Profits fell ________ 10%, from 2000 to 1800.

a. by

b. to

c. from

5. The number of students fell _______ a low of 1800 in 2003.

a. from

b. by

c. to

6. Cases of AIDS shot _____ from 2400 in 1996 to 4000 in 2003.

a. down

b. by

c. up

7. The number of cars sold remained unchanged in 1999, _____ three million.

a. at

b. with

c. to

8. Students do between three _________ four hours homework a night.

b. from

c. to

d. and

9.The number of accidents _______ 1999 was slightly higher than in 2000.

a. by

c. for

e. in

10. The figure rose steadily _________ the four years between 1997 and 2001.

a. during

b. at

c. by

Task 12. Match the Paragraphs to the Pictures

Read paragraphs 1-5 below, which describe changes in company figures over six months from January to June. A quarter means three months.

Match them to the pictures A-D.

1. UK SALES: When demand decreased at the start of the year, UK sales fell sharply. They remained steady until April, then rose again dramatically in the second quarter when the market improved.

2. OUTPUT: The decrease in overseas sales caused a dramatic drop in output at the Birmingham plant in the first quarter. There was a steady increase in the second when domestic sales improved.

3. STOCK LEVELS: There was a steady decrease in stock levels at the Glasgow plant in the first quarter due to the introduction of a new inventory control system. The slight increase in the second quarter was due to the rise in output.

4. PROFITS: The profits of the plastics division have fallen steadily over the last five months due to the fall in demand and increases in production costs. The slight rise in profits last month was due to the recent price increases.

1. PROFIT MARGIN: A sudden jump in the production costs of our ACME washing machine caused a drop in the profit margin in the first quarter. The margin remained the same in the second, due to a sharp fall in the costs of components.

GRAPHS AND CHARTS