Advanced

Science, space and technology

The way things are going

Lead-in

1 Look at the graph your teacher shows you and discuss the questions with a partner.
1 What does the graph show?
2 What is your opinion of this data? Are you shocked/intrigued/something else? Explain why.
3 What might be the reasons for the trends shown in the time period? How do you think the trend might
continue to today?
2 Work in pairs. Decide how likely you think the following explanations are for the data in the graph.
1 There’s a relationship between crime and poverty. The chart reveals that Europe is faring relatively
worse economically than the US.
2 Many US States retain the death penalty. The graph indicates that capital punishment really is a
deterrent.
3 There is a well-known correlation between high levels of drug abuse and the overall crime rate. It’s
significant that much of the US has far stricter drug laws than Europe.

Input

1 1 You are going to listen to two people discussing the graph. Are these sentences true (T) or
false (F)?
1 There does not seem to be a connection between economic cycles in the USA and overall crime
rates.
2 The death penalty is rarely applied in the USA.
3 Arming the police is an effective deterrent to crime in the USA.
4 A policy of zero-tolerance towards minor offences has an influence on the over-all crime rate in the
USA.
5 The use of CCTV cameras in Europe has no impact on the crime rate.
6 Reporting rates have increased in Europe which may give the impression that crime itself has shot
up.
2 1 Listen again and tick the expression, a or b, that the speakers use. (Note that both are valid
expressions.)
1 a You have to wonder what’s going on 6 a That was when New York City
b I wonder what’s going on b It was back then that New York City
2 a reached a peak in 1980, then plummeted 7 a if you turn your back on minor offences
sharply b if you turn a blind eye to minor offences
b reached a peak in 1980, then dropped 8 a Perhaps it’s not just keeping the windows
sharply intact
3 a after that it stabilises and just slumps b Perhaps it’s keeping the windows intact
b after that it tails off and just slumps 9 a One other thing I think is really significant
4 a the death penalty is a red herring b The significance of this, I think, is that
b the death penalty is rarely used 10 a any growing tendency towards law-
5 a what strikes me as most interesting is breaking
b the most interesting aspect is b any developing tendency towards law-
breaking

© British Council ARC_C1_03_A020CGL_HO_v1.0

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 Advanced
Science, space and technology
The way things are going

Language focus

1 In pairs, explain the meaning of the following verbs.

to shoot up  to plateau  to rocket  to slump  
to creep up   to tail off   to plummet   to stabilise
2 The sentences are about differences and changes. Which of these words could replace the
underlined words?
easily  huge  considerably  significant  dramatic  significantly  
massive  enormous  far and away  far  marginally
1 There was a vast downturn in reported crime rates between 1990 and 2010.
2 The USA has by far the largest prison population.
3 A comparison between the US and Canadian crime rate shows that the US has much higher rates
of violent crime, but slightly lower rates of property crime.

3 Complete the sentences with these expressions. Use each expression once.
indicate about  the significance of  reveal much about  is apparent  
doesn’t necessarily mean   means that   as the chart shows
1 One thing that from this chart is that crime rates in the US are in long-term
decline.
2 In fact, , the trend is unmistakeable.
3 I’m actually not really sure what the rise in European crime rates is.
4 What does the chart the differences in the US and Europe?
5 It doesn’t why crime rates have fallen or risen in either continent.
6 I suppose the falling US crime rate that US policing is more effective than
the European version.
7 That we really need more information before we can draw hard and fast
conclusions from the data.
4 What expressions can you use to talk about something you’re not sure of? In pairs, add your
ideas to those below.
I am/was under the impression that …   To the best of my knowledge …  
I take/took it that …   It looks like/as if …

5 What expressions do we use to talk about related things? In pairs, add your ideas to those
below:
be linked to/with   have/be something to do with   go hand-in-hand with

© British Council ARC_C1_03_A020CGL_HO_v1.0

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 Advanced
Science, space and technology
The way things are going

Task

1 Look at the graph your teacher shows you. Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
1 What does the graph show?
2 What is your initial reaction to it?
3 What questions would you like to ask about it?
2 The graph comes from a study by economists Stevenson and Wolfers entitled ‘The Paradox of
Declining Female Happiness.’ Read the synopsis below.
Although originally based on US data, all comparable studies from industrialised countries reflect the
same trends. Women report being less happy today than they were 35 years ago, especially relative
to the corresponding happiness rates for men. This is true of working women and stay-at-home
mums, married women and those that are single, the highly educated and the less educated. It is
worse for older women: those aged 18–29 don’t seem to be doing too badly. Women with kids have
fared worse than women without kids. The only notable exception to the pattern is black women,
who are happier today than they were three decades ago.
Do you have any theories? Discuss with a partner.
3 Now look at the suggestions below and tell your partner what you think of them.
1 Women’s lives have become more like men’s over the last 35 years. Men have historically been
less happy than women. So it might not be surprising if the things in the workplace that always
made men unhappy are bedevilling women as well.
2 There was enormous social pressure on women in the old days to pretend they were happy
even if they weren’t. Now society allows women to express their feelings openly when they are
dissatisfied.
3 Female happiness was artificially inflated in the 1970s because it was a very hopeful period for
women’s rights. Change has happened a lot more slowly than was anticipated, so relative to these
great expectations things have been a bit of a disappointment.
4 Self-reported happiness measures are so hopelessly garbled by other factors that they are
completely meaningless. Who knows if women are less happy than men now or then?
4 Work in pairs and look at the graphs your teacher will show you. Plan how to describe and
interpret your chart, A or B.
5 Work with a different partner and take it in turns to describe your graph to them and suggest
reasons for the trends. Ask your partner follow-up questions and give your opinion on what they
have told you.

Review

© British Council ARC_C1_03_A020CGL_HO_v1.0

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