Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Travel in Wales
The main form of tansport in both years was the car, and distance travelled using cars went up from just over 3M in 1990 to nearly 5M in 2005. Distance travelled by train also increased signicantly, while the number of miles travelled by coach more than doubled and the distance travelled by taxi more than tripled. Bicycling and walking remained virtually unchanged and the only drop in the table, from over 400,00 to less than 300,000 miles, was in the distance travelled by local bus.
Cars remained the most popular form of transport in 2005, but travel by train, coach and taxi all increased significantly. The only fall was in the miles travelled by local bus, which was the second most popular mode of transport in 1990. Whether this decline was due to a fall in supply or demand is, of course, not clear from the table itself.
177 words
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Big Mac
This bar chart shows how long a cleaner in McDonalds has to work before he can afford to purchase a Big Mac, in eleven Asia/Pacific countries. It also shows the actual cost of a Big Mac, in US$, in those countries.
The most striking thing about this chart is that the workers in the South Asian countries of Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka have to work the longest hours in order to be able to buy a Big Mac . Workers in Pakistan have to work 14 hours, followed by India, 9, and Sri Lanka 6. The workers in the richest countries, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, as you would expect, have to work the shortest time, each less than one hour. One surprising fact is that workers in a very poor country, the Philippines, have to work just over two hours in order to buy a Big Mac. The actual cost of a Big Mac is highest in South Korea, followed by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The most obvious point to note is that workers in the poorer countries have to work longer hours than those in the richer countries in order to purchase a Big Mac.
198 words
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Top 10 date-producing countries
First, Egypt was responsible for the lion's share of production, with over a million tonnes, but Iran was a close second, with almost 0.9 million. Following them came the UAE and Saudi Arabia, rivalling each other with about 740,000 tonnes each. Pakistan and Iraq, with outputs of approximately 630,000, were not far behind. The rest of the nations, however, were far less productive. Algeria supplied the world with nearly 400,000 tonnes and Oman around quarter of a million. In contrast, the harvests in Libya and Sudan were far less plentiful, yielding under 0.2 million each.
In summary, date production was most abundant in Egypt and Iran. In contrast, the countries with the smallest output were Libya and Sudan.
148 words
Valentine's Day
These two pie charts show the types of gifts that man and women in the USA buy for each other on 14th February, Valentine’s day.
The most popular gifts bought by both men and women are cards, flowers and candy. Cards are the most popular gift for both genders. More men than women buy flowers, 16% compared to 11%, while more women, 27%, buy cards than men, 18%. Rather surprisingly, more women, around a fifth, buy candy for men than vice versa. Around 10% of both men and women purchase jewelry/jewellery. Over twice as many women than men buy perfume or cologne. Men spend more than women on both lingerie and spa/personal care, which is probably what you’d expect.
In conclusion, the types of gifts bought for each other by men and women in the USA are more or less what you’d expect. The actual percentages, however, are rather more surprising; for example, the fact that a greater percentage of women buy candy and perfume/cologne.
164 words
buy: simple present
bought: simple present passive
ways of comparing/contrasting
Sunday, April 19, 2009
World population 1750-2150.
The line graph shows population growth in richer and poorer countries between 1750 and 2150. It is based on the United Nations World Population Prospects, the 1998 Revision, and estimates by the Population Reference Bureau.
In 1750 the total world population was less than one billion and the population of less developed countries was three or four times greater than that of more developed countries. By 2000 the total figure was 6.1 billion, but only about 1 billion were in the more developed countries. The estimate is that by 2150 the total world population will be well over 10 billion but the total for the more developed countries will remain at about one billion and may even fall slightly.
It is estimated that the total world population will increase dramatically over the next 150 years but that this growth will be entirely in the less developed countries .
153 words.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Population growth in the future.
If the trend worldwide is towards a high fertility rate, 2.5 children per woman, we can expect a world population of about 10.7 billion. The current rate in India is 2.72 and this is important because the Indian population is over 1 billion. Similarly the rate in Arab countries is high, for example 2.42 here in the UAE and 2.66 in Egypt. If, however, we see medium fertility, as in the USA, 2.05, the world figure in 2050 will be around 8.9 billion. With low fertility, as in Europe (Spain 1.31, the UK 1.66) and Japan, 1.21, the figure will be about 7.3 billion.
If current rates in China, 1.79, and India, the two most populous countries, continue, we’ll probably see a figure of close to 10 billion by 2050. With a low fertility rate, the figure will be nearer 7 billion and , significantly, declining.
179 words.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Table of car specifications
Toyota Corolla $15,550 Japan 1400cc 48
Volkswagen Golf $18,250 Germany 1600cc 40
Ford Focus $15,800 USA 1400cc 50
Nissan Micra $15,500 Japan 1200cc 52