Academic English for Tertiary Studies: EAP 5

Reading: The other economy

From: Haarman, L, Leech, P & Murray J 1988, Reading skills for the social sciences, Oxford
University Press, Oxford.

Pre-reading vocabulary

The words in the chart all first appear in the text in the paragraph indicated.
Decide their class and write in the first column. Write the appropriate
definition or explanation from the power point slide in the second column. An
example has been given.

Word Word Definition/explanation

class

1. income (par.1, line 4) noun money received regularly (usually

payment for work)

2. DIY (1,7)

3. misleading (1,10)

4. relying on (2, 5)

5. offset (3,4)

6. scope (3,5)

7. households (3, 5)

8. earnings (3,6)

9. concealed (4,2)

10. self-employed (6,3)

11.PAYE (6,5)

12. VAT (7,6)

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13. gains (8,7)

14. customers (8,10)

15. undercut (8,11)

16. owner occupiers (10, 8)

17. well off (10,9)

18. afford (11,4)

19. councils (13,2)

20. tenants (13,3)

Reference

Underline the words listed below in the text and write the word, phrase or
concept referred to in the space provided.

1. which (par. 4, line 4)

2. it (5,9)

3. this (8,9)

4. either (8,7)

5. they (8,10)

6. none (9,3)

7. these services (10,8)

8. it (13,9)

9. them (13, 10)

The identification of what is referred to can sometimes be problematic and

may involve a detailed reading and synthesis of the surrounding text.

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To what exactly do the two phrases below refer?

10. the same (2,2)

11. this uneven distribution

(8,1)

Checking understanding

Answer the following questions.

1. If figures are cited in a text, it is important to note exactly what these

figures refer to. For example, 1-3% (par.5) refers to the usual estimated
proportion of GDP represented by the black economy. Note exactly what
the following percentages represent:

a. 3-5%: ___________________________________________________

b. 10-20%: _________________________________________________

c. less than 1%: _____________________________________________

2. In the following circumstances, is it the buyer or the seller who benefits

from the black economy?

a. high competition between black economy traders: ________________

b. high competition between black and formal economy traders: __________

c. the building and decorating trade: ________________________________

d. a small amount of black economy trading: _________________________

3. Indicate which of the following categories, according to the report, benefit

from DIY and the wider shadow economy.

a. poorer households YES / NO

b. the well off YES / NO

c. council tenants YES / NO

d. private tenants YES / NO

e. owner occupiers YES / NO

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4. The article provides answers to a series of questions posed in the

introduction to the discussion. Give a brief answer to each of them.

a. Is it possible that by relying on statistics of the formal economy alone, we

may be misled about the extent of poverty in the UK? (par.2)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

b. Does the shadow economy reinforce or offset the inequalities which are
observed in the formal economy? (par. 3)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

c. What scope does the shadow economy provide for households to

compensate for a temporary decline in earnings and employment
opportunities in the formal economy? (par. 3)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Punctuation: the dash [-]

The common punctuation mark, the dash [-] is used frequently in the text.
The dash has three different functions:

- to signal that an example or examples are being given

- to signal contrasting information

- to signal further information about the subject under the discussion

Complete the chart by indicating (example, contrast or further information).

Note that insofar as examples may be considered further information, on
some occasions the functions might be ambiguous. An example has been
given.

Words/phrases in text function

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1. – moonlighting, DIY, voluntary work and so forth... (par.1) example

2. – people doing odd jobs for cash payment, a business

failing to declare part of his turnover, and so forth - (par. 4)

3. – housework, DIY, voluntary work (par. 4)

4. - especially in the role that the tax system can play in

encouraging alternatives of formal economy goods and
services. (par. 4)

5. – most notably the national accounts- ( par. 5)

6. – they have generally been between 1 and 3 per cent of

GDP. (par.9)

7. – perhaps in total some 3 to 5 per cent of GDP. (par. 5)

8. - but survey evidence suggests that incomes earned in

second jobs may well be less than 1% of incomes earned
in main jobs. (par. 6)

9. - building, decorating, cab driving, for example. (par. 7)

10. - especially of VAT- (par. 7)

11. - or may be split between them. (par. 8)

12. – in building and decorating in particular (par. 10)

13. - whilst owner occupiers not only reap the capital gains
on their property, but can keep them tax free too. (par. 13)

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