The business cycle
Read p. 114-5 and answer the questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
What fluctuates during a business cycle?
What tends to rise during an upturn?
What happens during a downturn?
What causes of business cycles are mentioned in
the text? (2)
What do people do when economic times are good?
When does an upturn end?
What do people tend to do then?
What is investment linked to?
When do people invest?
How does a downturn end?
Define...
An upturn
2. A boom
3. A recession
4. a depression or slump.
5. a peak.
6. a trough.
What is ...
1. a negative growth?
1.
Theories for the business cycle
A) INTERNAL OR _________ THEORIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
These theories hold that business cycles are caused
by...
A downturn begins when....
People spend, and borrow money when…
People tend to spend less when…
When interest rates rise...
Companies only invest while ...
B) EXTERNAL OR _________ THEORIES
1.
2.
3.
These theories hold that business cycles are caused
by...
Schumpeter believes that…
Creative destruction means that...
MK, p. 116, Vocab. 2/2: synonyms
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Boost
Depression
Expand
Output
Decrease
Excess
Expenditure
Recovery
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Stimulate
Slump
Grow
Production
Reduce
Surplus
Spending
Upturn
MK, p. 116, Vocab. 2/3: opposites
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Boom
Demand
Exogenous
Contract
Peak
Save
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Depression
Supply
Endogenous
Expand
Trough
Spend
Describing graphs
Diagram, line chart, flow chart, pie chart, bar
chart
Name the following shapes:
1.
1.
Vertical axis (pl. axes)
2.
2.
Horizontal axis
3.
______________
3.
Solid line
4.
-----------------------…………..............
4.
Broken line
Dotted line
5.
5.
Writing tips for describing graphs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Look at the graph and decide what is the topic
and the time frame of the graph.
What do the labels and the numbers represent?
(a percentage? A price?)
Describe the overall situation, find the most
important trends.
Do not describe every detail.
Try not to repeat the same language and
sentence structures.
Stick to the facts, do not give opinions.
Conclude by summarising what we learn from
the chart.
Write an intro to this graph:
1. topic, 2. time frame, 3. overall situation
Language: Verbs
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Decide if the following verbs are transative
(followed by an object) or intransative (no
object necessary).
Put the following objects after the verb if you
think it is necessary: prices, sales, spending,
taxes.
The verbs:
Rise, boost, plunge, fall, decline, grow, spur,
plummet, slash, jump, slump, rally, soar,
raise, bring down
INTRANSITIVE
VERBS (no object)
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RISE
GROW
JUMP
RALLY
SOAR
FALL
DECLINE
PLUMMET
SLUMP
PLUNGE
TRANSITIVE
VERBS + a direct object
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TO RAISE PRICES
TO BOOST SALES
TO SPUR SPENDING
INCREASE
DECREASE
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TO SLASH TAXES
TO BRING DOWN PRICES
Rise, fall, raise, arise
5.
Give the past forms of these verbs and of the verb
feel.
Which verb means to happen, to occur or to come
into existence?
A cash-flow crisis has _________.
Last year we ____ $2 m in capital.
Retail prices ______ by 7% last year.
The Prime Minister ______ sure that
unemployment will decline in the next two years.
The Fed will probably ____ interest rates by 0.5%.
6.
The problem ____ from the lack of quality control.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Rise, fall, raise, arise
5.
Give the past forms of these verbs and of the verb
feel.
Which verb means to happen, to occur or to come
into existence?
A cash-flow crisis has arisen.
Last year we raised $2 m in capital.
Retail prices rose / fell by 7% last year.
The Prime Minister felt sure that unemployment
will decline in the next two years.
The Fed will probably raise interest rates by 0.5%.
6.
The problem arose from the lack of quality control.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Nouns can also be used to describe trends.
What is the noun version of the verb?
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Verbs
To increase
To decrease
To decline
To fall
To rise
To drop
To surge
To plunge
To slump
To improve
To jump
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Nouns
An increase
A decrease
A decline
A fall
A rise
A drop
A surge, an upsurge
A plunge
A slump
An improvement
A jump
Adjectives and adverbs help in describing
the speed or the degree of change
AD+VERBS
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DEGREE OF CHANGE
The oil prices rose
sharply.
SPEED OF CHANGE
In November the oil
prices started falling
abruptly.
A D J E C T I V ES+NOUNS
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DEGREE OF CHANGE
There was a sharp
increase in the price of
gold.
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SPEED OF CHANGE
The stock markets saw
an abrupt decrease in
the ratings.
Adjectives

Degree or speed? Make two groups.
Gradual, dramatic, abrupt, considerable,
quick, significant, sharp, rapid, substantial,
sudden, steady, slow, moderate, slight
Adjectives
Degree
Speed
dramatic
considerable
significant
sharp
substantial
moderate
slight
abrupt
sudden
rapid
quick
steady
slow
gradual
Make adverbs from adjectives
Adjectives
Adverbs
significant
sharp
substantial
moderate
gradual
dramatic
considerable
steady
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significantly
sharply
substantially
moderately
gradually
dramatically
considerably
steadily
ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB?
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There was a CONSIDERABLY / CONSIDERABLE
fall.
It fell SLIGHT / SLIGHTLY.
There was a SLIGHT / SLIGHTLY upturn.
The government decreased taxes MODERATE/
MODERATELY.
They reported a DRAMATICALLY / DRAMATIC
downturn.
Fill in the prepositions
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to rise _____ $60956
_____ $120956
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an increase ___
$60000
the price rose __
$60000
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to fall _____ £22004
_____ £11002
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to fall ____ 50%
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to increase __ 77%
to decrease __ 43%
sales stood __ $1m
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an increase ___ 77%
a decline ___ 43%
Prices peaked __ $78
___ 2011.
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FILL IN THE PREPOSITIONS
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to rise from $60956 to
$120956
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an increase of
$60000
the price rose by
$60000
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to fall from £22004 to
£11002
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to fall by 50%
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to increase by 77%
to decrease by 43%
sales stood at $1m
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an increase of 77%
a decline of 43%
Prices peaked at $78
in 2011.
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PREPOSITIONS: explain the difference
Draw a chart to represent both.
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Sales grew by $5 m.
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Sales grew from
10m to 15 m.
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Sales grew to $5 m.
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Sales are now at 5
m.
Prepositions
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N + of + #(change)
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V + by + #(change)
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Sales grew by 78%
V + to + #(destination)
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A growth of 78%
Sales grew to $15m
Current position on a graph/standing: at
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Sales are currently standing at 15m.
Sales peaked at 25m.
Sales bottomed out at 4m.
HW: Describe this graph in writing