3. Sharpening reading skills. Words in context Underline the meaning of the italicized word.

1. What does strike mean in "to go on strike"?

1. to hit a person or an object

2. to refuse to work until one's employer makes some improvement in working conditions, benefits, and/or salary

2. What does return mean in "a profitable return"?

1. to come back to a place

b. income from an investment

3. What does interest mean in "interest rates"?

a. something someone wants to know about

b. a fixed return on an investment

4. What does stock mean in "stocks and bonds are traded"?

1. shares of companies for sale to the public

2. merchandise sold in a store

4. Understanding idioms and expressions

Match each expression in column 1 with its definition in column 2 by writing the correct numbers on the lines.

1. change hands __ a company has been permanently closed

2. cut off __ original price of a bond when issued

3. earn a living __ where stocks and bonds are sold

4. face value __ closed, usually temporarily

5. laid off __ accept less than you wanted or expected

6. out of business __ transfer from one owner to another

7. settle for __ how much of a product is available

compared to the amount consumers want to buy

8. shut down __ terminated, sometimes temporarily,

from a job because one is not needed

9. supply and demand __ make enough money to pay one's expenses

10. Wall Street __ prevent access to something

5. Taking words apart

Underline the correct word form (noun or adjective) to complete each sentence.

1. Capitalism is the (economy / economic) system of the U.S.

2. The American (economy / economic) depends on capitalists who invest in

businesses.

3. In a (capitalism/ capitalistic) economy, businesses are privately owned.

4. People buy stocks and bonds because they hope to make a (profit / profitable).

5. Sometimes their investments are (profit / profitable), and sometimes they lose money.

6. People who make a good living are (prosperity / prosperous).

6. Practising sentence patterns

To show the existence (or nonexistence) of something, use there and the verb be. Use the singular form of be if the complementary noun is singular or uncountable. Use the plural form if the noun is plural. Look at these examples.

Singular

There has been prosperity.

There was a strike.

Plural

There have been many strikes.

There were depts.

Write there plus the correct form of be in the following sentences. Add not where necessary.

1. _________ about 3,000 companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

2. _________ 25 students in my English class last semester.

3. _________ a lot of rain so far this year.

4. _________ any snow here last summer.

Now complete your own sentences using this pattern.

1. There is __________________________________________ .

2. There have been ____________________________________ .

3. There weren`t ______________________________________ .