COMMENTARY
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1. Introduce the document (type of document, title, date, origin, number of parts ... )
2. Is this document British or American? Find 12 clues to support your point of view. 3. Find 10 abbreviations and write their meanings.
4. Find at least 10 words connected with medicine. 5. Find 3 economic/financial words. 6. Find 4 words connected with education. 7. Find 4 words connected with mathematics. 8. Find 8 words connected with life style or behavior. 9. What is life expectancy ?
10. What is a life-expectancy quiz ?
11. What is the difference between old and new actuarial tables ?
12. On what two items do the experts who make the quizzes disagree ? Why ?
13. What are the six fields/groups of factors which influence longevity ?
14. Is age (i.e. being old) a detrimental factor for longevity? Why ?
15. Last but not least, how long will YOU live ? Justify your answer.
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ABBREVIATIONS |
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ABBREVIATION |
SECTOR |
MEANING AND/OR TRANSLATION |
|
$ |
(finance) |
dollar |
|
&Co (US) |
(economy) |
and company |
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£ |
(finance) |
pound |
|
3D |
(technology) |
three dimension(s) |
|
A level |
(education) |
Advanced level (British exam) |
|
A$ |
(finance) |
Australian dollar |
|
AIDS |
(medicine) |
acquired immunity deficiency syndrome |
|
b |
(mathematics) |
billion |
|
BBC |
(communications) |
British Broadcasting Corporation |
|
CAD, CAM, |
(technology) |
computer assisted design, manufacturing ... |
|
CEO (US) |
(business) |
Chief Executive Officer (PDG) |
|
CFC's |
(technology) |
chlorofluorocarbons |
|
COB (UK) |
(business) |
Chairman of the Board (PDG) |
|
cu m |
(measure) |
cubic meter |
|
CV |
(business) |
curriculum vitae |
|
DC(in Washington, DC) |
(administration) |
District of Columbia |
|
DP department |
(business) |
data processing (informatique) |
|
Dr. (as in Dr Matthews) |
(society) |
doctor |
|
EEC |
(politics) |
European Economic Community |
|
EU |
(politics) |
European Union |
|
FDA |
(US politics) |
Food and Drug Administration (US Dept) |
|
GATT |
(politics) |
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
|
HK$ |
(finance) |
Hong Kong dollar |
|
IBM |
(business) |
International Business Machines |
|
ID (as in an ID photo) |
(technology) |
identity |
|
IDD (phone call) |
(communications) |
international direct dialling (automatique) |
|
IOU |
(business) |
I owe you (reconnaissance de dette) |
|
IRS (US) |
(administration) |
Internal Revenue Service (le fisc) |
|
Jr (as in Paul Staines Jr) |
(society) |
Junior (fils) |
|
£ |
(money) |
pound sterling |
|
lbs |
(unit of weight) |
pound (about 0.450 kilograms) |
|
LCD |
(technology) |
liquid crystal display |
|
LDC's |
(economy) |
less developed countries |
|
Ltd (GB) |
(economy) |
SA (société anonyme) |
|
m (meaning 1) |
(measure) |
mile(s) |
|
m (meaning 2) |
(measure) |
meter(s) |
|
m (meaning 3) |
(unit) |
million |
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MBA |
(diploma) |
Master of Business Administration |
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MITI |
(politics) |
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment |
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MP (in the UK) |
(politics) |
member of Parliament (député) |
|
MP (in the USA) |
(politics) |
military police |
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mph |
(technology) |
mile(s) per hour |
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NATO |
(politics) |
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (OTAN) |
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No. (as in No 1) |
number one |
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NYSE |
(economy) |
New York Stock Exchange (bourse) |
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O level | (education) | Ordinary level (British exam) | |
OA | (technology) | office automation (bureautique) | |
OK | All Correct | ||
OPEC | (politics) | Org° of Petroleum Exporting Countries | |
OTC (pharmaceuticals) | (medicine) | over the counter (sans ordonnance) |
oz. also : fl.oz. |
(unit of measure) |
ounce (about 40 grams), fluid ounce (for liquids) |
PAYE (UK) |
(economy) |
Paye as you earn (prélev. impôt source) |
PAYG (US) |
(economy) |
Paye as you get (prélev. impôt source) |
PLC |
(business) |
private limited company (SARL) |
PR |
(management) |
Public Relations |
R&D department |
(business) |
research and development |
RAF |
(history) |
Royal Air Force |
CD-ROM |
(technology) |
compact disk - read-only memory |
S$ |
(finance) |
Singapore dollar |
Sr (John Petersen Sr) |
(society) |
Senior (père) |
SW1 (as in London SW1) |
(geography) |
south west one (N, E, S, W) |
TV |
(technology) |
television |
UK |
(politics) |
United Kingdom |
US |
(politics) |
United States |
VAT |
(economy) |
value added tax |
VCR |
(technology) |
video cassette recorder (magnétoscope) |
WWF |
(environment) |
World Wildlife Fund |
FIGURES
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WRITE
IN FULL AND READ THE FOLLOWING FIGURES AND DATES
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in the 60's 1995 2001 1901 1999 in the 1990's 9,476,938 people |
a 35% rate 2.7 0.5 0.99% £50m $1,000 40% alc. by vol. |
TEL : 310 05 77 FAX : 123 01 11 on monday, Jan 21 $8.6 billion 8.3 fl. oz. on Dec 31 1,350 mph p. 172 |