Britons have always emigrated, but the reasons have changed. Some early émigrés had little choice about the matter, from those who fled persecution in England to make a new life in America in the 17th century, to the convicts who were forcibly transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the same time, tens of thousands of others left Britain more voluntarily to find new fortunes and careers in the countries of the Empire, such as India and Africa.
Emigration peaked in 1966-67, when 468,000 people left the UK. That included those who had been attracted to a new life in Australia, in the decades after the Second World War, by the offer of cheap passages and the promise of jobs.
More than a third of those who are currently living abroad said they chose to go for professional and educational opportunities. A fifth had moved for family and personal reasons, one in four had gone for a better lifestyle and climate, while 11 per cent said they wanted to “have an adventure”.
According to the report most people live abroad for the positive attributes of their destination rather than negative opinions of life in the UK. It showed, too, that when house prices increase, so does emigration, while a stronger pound is also associated with high rates of movement abroad.
Some of them come back. More than half of highly skilled emigrants who returned to the UK in 2005 did so for professional reasons or because of visa requirements or their children’s education. However, there are signs that the rising cost of living in European countries such as Spain may be driving people back to Britain, particularly elderly people who run out of provision of care homes and help as found in the UK. Alongside them are the people who want to come back but cannot afford because of the high cost of living in Britain.
I. READING COMPREHENSION.
Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. NO marks are given for only true or false.
1. British people emigrate mainly because they want to buy a second home abroad.
2. An average of 200,000 Britons a year will move abroad over the next five years.
3. Those who have emigrated to Australia have always done so for the same reasons.
4. The higher the house prices, the more people emigrate.
II. CHOOSE TWO OUT OF THE THREE QUESTIONS:
A. EXPRESSING THE MAIN IDEAS.
Answer the following questions according to the information given in the text. Where possible, use your own words.
1. For what different reasons did Britons emigrate between the 17th and the 19th century?
2. Why do some British emigrants return to Britain?
B. LEXICON
Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.
- 1. for example, like: such as (paragraph 2)
- 2. now, in the present period of time: currently (paragraph 4)
- 3. conditions, behaviour and habits of a particular person or group of people: lifestyle (paragraph 3)
- 4. increasing: rising (paragraph 5)
C. PHONETICS
1. Write two words from the text that include the same vowel sound as "overseas" /I:/.
2. Is the “ed” pronounced /id/, /t/ or /d/ in “attracted”?
3. Write a word from the text that includes the same consonant sound as “emigration" /∫/.
III. USE OF ENGLISH
Rewrite the following sentences starting with the words given.
1. People think that Mary is honest.
2. I’m sorry I spent so much money.
- I regret spending so much money.
3. It is darker today than it was yesterday.
- Yesterday it was lighter than today.
4. It’s two years since I last saw Dave.
- I haven’t seen Dave for 2 years.
5. The government has a good reputation. It has not solved the problem yet.
6. Make a question for the underlined word: My friend drank three beers last night.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario