Text b Tabular and graphical data (Reading for vocabulary building)

When information is arranged in the form of a list of numbers, a simple picture or a drawing showing a set of measurements we call it tabulated or graphical data. Different kinds of this data are TABLES, CHARTS, GRAPHS and DIAGRAMS. They are used usually with the intention of making it easy to understand. In many cases some of these words (charts, graphs, diagrams) are used interchangeably, but they have differences in shades of meaning.

A learner of English must be skilled in interpreting tables and graphics, i.e. in visual interpretation, as well as in presenting the data in the form of tables, diagrams, etc. One should remember that graphics are primarily concerned with an explanation and description of the object or social and economic trend more than with a representation. They explain something rather than stand for something.

Presenting or interpreting tabulated and graphical data in English requires the correct use of specific phrases, terms, grammar patterns, functional word partnerships (combinations of words). Interpreting charts, graphs and diagrams, presenting them to vividly explain something, summarizing information from them is extremely essential and vital for successful language learning. Visual interpretation is a useful device for developing communication skills. The graph language (diagram/chart language) imparts a feeling of preciseness and exactness to one’s written and spoken English.

NOTES

table	– a list of numbers, facts or information arranged in rows across and down the page
diagram	– a drawing or plan that shows where something is, what it looks like, or how it works
chart graph	– information that is clearly arranged in the form of a simple picture, set of figures or a piece of paper with this information on it (таблица, диаграмма, схема, план, график) – a drawing or picture that uses lines or curves to show how two or more sets of measurements are related to each other; in other words, a graph shows the relationship between numbers and measurements that change (график, диаграмма, кривая; bar graph – гистограмма)

T here are different types of diagrams:

e.g. Sales reached a peak in August, then fell sharply ( Sales peaked in August, then fell sharply ).

e.g. Sales this month have reached a new peak.

e.g. Inflation rates have reached a plateau after a period of dramatic rise.

e.g. The graph showed peaks and troughs (low points) of activity.

e.g. Inflation has begun to level off.

PHRASE FILE:

– the diagram/the chart shows/indicates/describes/illustrates…

– to draw/construct/plot a graph

– to see smth. from the graph/diagram

– as it is shown in this diagram/this graph…

– to diagram = to show/to represent smth. in a diagram

– a clear/complete/schematic//simple diagram

– to enter the results on the chart/in the diagram

– chart showing last year’s sales…

– to produce a diagram/chart indicating the level of sales

e.g. There was a diagram on the screen.

e.g. The diagram below illustrates this point.

e.g. Mr. Johnson spent four hours measuring and diagramming every

room in the 80-year-old house.

e.g. In the diagram we illustrate the change in sales volume for the last

ten years.

e.g. You will see from the diagram that there are 26 members of the

Executive Committee.

Грамматический обзор 1

Прошедшее продолженное время (Past Progressive Tense) образуется по формуле:

subject + was/were + Ving

Это время глагола употребляется для обозначения:

1. действия, которое совершалось в определенный момент в прошлом:

He was reading a book at this time yesterday.

Вчера в это время он читал книгу.

2) действия, которое имело место во время другого действия:

When he came home, his sister was watching television.

Когда он пришел домой, его сестра смотрела телевизор.

The Present Perfect Progressive образуется по формуле:

subject + has/have + been + Ving

Это время употребляется для обозначения:

1) действия, которое продолжалось до момента речи:

I have been trying to phone him all morning. His telephone must be out of order.

Я пытался все утро дозвониться до него. Должно быть, у него не работает телефон. (= Больше нет смысла звонить.)

2) действия, которое началось в прошлом и продолжается в момент речи:

I have been trying to phone him all morning. I'll have another try in 20 minutes.

Я пытаюсь все утро дозвониться до него. Через 20 минут попытаюсь еще.

Глагольные времена Present Perfect Progressive и Present Perfect часто взаимозаменяемы:

John has been living in the same house for twenty years. =

John has lived in the same house for twenty years. (He still lives there).

Exercise 12. Below is a table of all active progressive tenses and two passive progressive tenses. Fill in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (active) and 2, 3 (passive) with the correct form of “write” choosing one of the pronouns from brackets. Try to make up 1 and 5 (active), and 3 (passive) by analogy. Remember: the basic patterns are

“be + V_ing” (active) and “be + being + V₃” (passive).

Tense	(I/ he/ she/ we/ they	write the text
1 Future Progressive	1
2 Present Progressive (active/ passive)	2 He is writing	2 The text is being written
2 Past Progressive (active/ passive)	3	3
4 Present Perfect Progressive	4
5 Past Perfect Progressive	5

Exercise 13. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb in brackets.

1. I ____ (do) this boring job now because I didn’t go to university.

2. ____ it (rain) or not?

3. John ____ (drive) on Main Street, when his car ____ (break down).

4. She must know English well. She ____ (listen) to the BBC’s “English by Radio” programmes for three years.

5. ____ you (leave) at seven o’clock? - No, I ____ (leave) at 5.

6. What ___ you (do) on Sunday evening? - I ____ (go) to the theatre with

my boy-friend.

7. When Mary ____ (come) home, her husband ____ (cook) dinner.

8. Meet me at the station at three o’clock. I ____ (look out) for you.

9. The student ____ (read), while the teacher ____ (explain) the new

grammar rule.

10. When the teacher ____ (enter) the room yesterday, the students ____(talk).

11. ____ he (study) in London for two years? It’s rather strange. His English

is rather poor, and he can’t make himself understood.

12. George ____ (go) to the store at ten o’clock this morning that is why he did not answer your telephone call.

13. Where have you been? I ____ (wait) for you for two hours!

14. The applicants ____ (interview) by the manager now. He won’t be

available until four o’clock.

Exercise 14. Complete the sentences to describe the information in the graph. Use the correct tense form of the verb in brackets.

Exercise 15. Complete the sentences to describe the information in the graph. Use the correct tense form of the verb in brackets.

Exercise 16. Complete the sentences to describe the information in the graph. Use the correct tense form of the verb in brackets.

Exercise 17. Work in pairs. Make up sentences based on the information in the graphs above using phrases from A and B.

A	B
We can see from the graph that… The graph shows… There has been a … The graph provides information on…/about… Profits of ICB International were… As the graph demonstrates, industrial output… As compared to 1985, production of wool…	a steady fall in…..since…. profits increased greatly between… a marked/substantial drop in… on the rise/on the increase between… the decline in production of wool decreased/dropped by one third increased threefold between…