NUMBERS

   A  Notice how the following numbers are said in English.

   28%   twenty- eight per cent

   10.3       ten point three

   4/9     four ninths

   10 m × 12 m   ten metres by twelve metres

   1 ⅔   one and two thirds

   ⅞      seven eights or seven over eight

   1,623,457   one million, six hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and fifty-seven

   6×7= 42   six times seven is forty two, six times seven equals forty two

   e=mc^2      e equals mc squared

   

   B How numerate are you? Try this numbers quiz.

   1. Name the first four odd numbers.

   2. Name the first four even numbers.

   3. Name the first four prime numbers.

   4. Give an example of a fraction.

   

   C Write the following in words.

   1. 2% of the British population owned 90% of the country´s wealth in 1992.

   2. 62.3% adults have false teeth.

   3. ⅔ × 7 = 4.66

   4. 2,694,425 people live here.

   

   D  Read the following records aloud.

   1. Oxygen accounts for 46.6% of the earth´s crust.

   2. The top coffee-drinking country in the world is Finland where 1,892 cups per annum are
   consumed per head of the population.

   3. The commonest item of lost property on London transport is the umbrella. 23,250 umbrellas
   were handed in to London transport lost property offices in 1987.

   4. The smallest country in the world is the Vatican City with an area of 0.4 sq km.

   

   ABBREVIATIONS

   A Some abbreviations are read as individual letters:

   WHO  World Helath Organisation

   BBC   British Broadcasting Corporation

   UN  United Nations

   PM  Prime Minister

   MP  Member of Parliament

   

   B  Some abbreviations are read as words, we call them acronyms.

   NATO  North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

   OPEC  Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

   AIDS  Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

   

   C  Abbreviations are used in the organisation of language. How do we read the following ones?

   etc.

   i.e.

   PTO

   

   NB

   RSVP

   e.g.

   

   D  You might see the following abbreviations on a letter/ message/ envelope. What do they
   stand for?

   c/o

   enc.

   asap

   PS

   

   (Adapted from McCarthy M., O´Dell, F. English Vocabulary in Use, Upper-intermediate and
   Advanced. Cambridge University Press, 1994.)