COMMENTARY

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.

abbreviation

line

meaning

abbreviation

line

meaning

           
           
           
           
           

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 ?

  • First, ...

 

  • Second, ...

 

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.

 

 

 

ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATION

SECTOR

MEANING AND/OR TRANSLATION

$

(finance)

dollar

&Co (US)

(economy)

and company

£

(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

MBA

(diploma)

Master of Business Administration

MITI

(politics)

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment

MP (in the UK)

(politics)

member of Parliament (député)

MP (in the USA)

(politics)

military police

mph

(technology)

mile(s) per hour

NATO

(politics)

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (OTAN)

No. (as in No 1)

 

number one

NYSE

(economy)

New York Stock Exchange (bourse)

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
WRITE IN FULL AND READ THE FOLLOWING FIGURES AND DATES

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