Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. bill (n.) [bil] – a list of items that need to be paid
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. bill (n.) [bil] – a list of items that need to be paid
Example: Her mother paid their electric and water
bills.
2. statistics (n.) [stuh-tis-tiks] – facts
or data represented by numbers
Example: Statistics
say that English skill is declining.
3. auditor (n.) [aw-di-ter] – a
person who inspects and checks financial records
Example: The auditor
checked the balance of income and expenses.
4. root (v.) [root] – to be
caused or to come from something
Example: Flooding is rooted in poor garbage disposal.
5. curriculum (n.) [kuh-rik-yuh-luhm] – a
list of subjects offered in a field of study
Example: The student studied the curriculums to help him decide in
choosing a course.
Article
Read the text below.
British people’s poor math skills
affect the UK’s economic performance according to National Numeracy, a
charitable organization in the UK.
The group learned that British people
have a hard time computing and understanding simple math—including math encountered
daily—such as in pay slips, household bills
and train schedules.
Statistics also show that
from 26% in 2003, only 22% of people in England have enough math skills to
get a good GSCE score.
KPMG auditors say failure to have basic numeracy (number and math
ability) has led to a yearly loss of £2.4 billion.
Aside from affecting economic
performance, having poor math skills is also linked to life problems such as
unemployment, time in prison, inability to stay in school, poverty and
long-term sickness.
Poor numeracy may have rooted from the fact that only 15% of
Britons continue to study math after the age of 16. In other developed
countries, 50 to 100% of people study math past this age.
Numeracy supporters also blame
people’s negative attitude toward math. National Numeracy chairman Chris
Humphries says easily giving up on math is a “British disease.” The group
wants to improve British people’s number skills, just like how the National
Literacy Trust group has improved people’s reading and writing skills.
Meanwhile, the Department of
Education says it wants people to study math up to age 18 to meet the UK’s
demand for professionals with high math skills. It says it is also reviewing
how schools teach math in their curriculums.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Why
do you think some people do not like math?
·
Do
you agree that one can be better in math by studying?
Discussion B
·
How
important is math?
·
Can
people live without math? Why or why not?
