News roundup from ‘The Economist’
1 Which words used mean ‘on sale‘ of newspapers or magazines?
2 What are the four topics first mentioned for coverage on this podcast?
3 What word is used to describe the fact that the dollar is ‘falling rapidly‘?
4 What phrase means that the value of the dollar is the lowest it has been for 20 months?
5 What does the editorial think is the only surprise?
6 What phrase is used to mean that an appeal is founded on a myth?
7 What is the myth that has been believed?
8 What, apart from America’s GDP (= gross domestic product), has also been faster than Europe’s, so has led to the false impression outlined in Q7?
9 Where is productivity growth slowing down now?
10 Where is productivity growth accelerating?
11 What three elements have driven the growth of America’s economy, and cannot be sustained?
12 What is the chief advantage of the problem of ‘Europe’s ‘inflexible’ labour and product markets’?
13 What phrase used means ‘to herald disaster‘?
14 Is it a serious problem for the world economy that the dollar’s value is falling?
15 What is essential in order for the world economy to benefit from a falling dollar?
16 Why would a sharp plunge (= sudden drop) be ‘bad news’?
to pay a painful price – to be costly (and not only in a monetary sense)
to fare terribly – to perform very badly
17 Muslims are described as being ‘disproportionately likely’ to be suffering from four different social evils. Can you name three of them?
18 How many Moslems are calculated as failing to benefit (‘missing out on‘) from India’s country’s improving economy?
(‘self-inflicted‘ means people bring their problems on themselves)
19 Where do India’s muslims live?
20 Where do they tend not to live?
21 In which parts of India are there far more Muslims?
22 What 3 factors are cited as significant of these parts of the country?
23 What phrase is used to mean ‘about 20% of muslims live in rural Uttar Pradesh‘?
24 What does the reporter suggest is connected to muslims’ general problems?
25 What was the result for many Afghan farmers of the Taliban’s ban on growing poppies in 2000-2001?
26 What is the word used of prices to mean they ‘increased very considerably‘?
27 What percentage of the world’s opium is supplied now by Afghanistan?
28 How does the flow of Aid and also opium production affect the economy?
29 What 2 words describe the non-opium economy?
30 What would be the consequence for the Afghan economy of eradicating opium?
(The economy is ‘badly hooked on heroin’ – to be badly hooked on a drug = to be seriously addicted to a drug. The phrase always indicates sth pejorative.)