KEY TO THE VIDEO EXERCISES:
1, America after the financial crisis.
1, There are a lot of abandoned areas, decaying houses especially in the newly developed areas, where noone can afford to live
- badly in the north, Detroit, less badly in California
3, She did not keep her money in the bank, she did not trust banks after the Depression.
4, They do not like banks but they have to work with them especially with the local banks.
5, Wall Street, especially the big investment banks.
6, Nothing. That is human nature. People go back to their old habits and they never learn.
7, They insituted bank regulations.
8, They will get rid of these regulations.
9, from Wall Street
- Gastro-revolution in Britain
1, people tend to eat out more, there are a lot of foreign restaurants so the cuisine is not so plain any more, eating out is not as expensive as it used to be, people are more open to new tastes as a lot of foreign dishes are available at Tesco’s
2, meat, potatoes and two vegetables
3, gravy sauce, sausages
4, something like goulash but way thicker, it is a winter type of meal
5, haggies (in the stomach of a sheep), lamb in Wales, Lanchaster hot pot
6, apple pie with custard, cake in the evening ready made
7, He raised people’s awareness and improved the standard of food especially with his crusade on school food.
8, He is not a big fan of herbs and spices, these and the smell can put him off
9, meat, sweets, Indian food
3, Consumerism in the US
1, everybody buys everything online, there is so much home delivery, and delivery vehicles everywhere
2, they are closing down, large chains have collapsed
3, things get stolen if they are left on the doorsteps
4, yes, but it depends on the social class
- this is one of the top 5 shopping days, it is a bargain hunting but the days before Christmas are more important
6, yes, but it is a generalization, a lot depends on the social class
7, there is no store closing regulation, the opening hours depend on demand, people go even at 2-3 a.m.
8, it is faster in the US, in Hungary the ads used to be poor with tiny prints but now it has become more savvy
9, still cannot but better than in 1991. Now he can get English newspapers and magazines, but if he needs ingredients for Mexican or Chinese food, he has to go to Budapest.
4, Environmental issues in Britain
1, people have become more aware: recycling at home, low energy lightbulbs, unplugging your TV at night.
2, both light and taps have sensors, strictly controlled waste management.
3, they risk even a prison sentence but they will be named and shamed.
4, they are aware but less impacted, however they are the ones who turn off the heating and rather put on a jumper.
5, If you want to drive in to London you have to pay Ł25, it was introduced to reduce the traffick.
6, public transport and the office blocks with the number of people inside. They leave a big CO2 footprint.
7, Yes, but people do not want a power plant at the bottom of their gardens, they are afraid.
8, offshore wind plants, oil rigs off the northern shores and coal mines that are mainly closed off.
9, that they will increase the electricity generation because there is a growing demand due to e cars
5, Education in the US
1, It was more like the Hungarian one, where the quantity was important. Now it is more skill based.
2, Yes but only in the tech industry. Universities turn out enough people except in technology. They import Indian IT specialists.
3, not as chaotic in the US as here. although there is a certain level of bureaucracy there it is nowhere near the Hungarian , it is practical oriented.
4, the government changes things too frequently, there is a lack of money and a lot of bureucracy, teachers are not respected.
5, the Hungarian schools are better at teaching maths and sciences.
6, not at all. His nephew manages to do this. This is a picture exaggerated by Hollywood movies.
7, Yes, there are good and bad schools. Education is not centrally organized like in Europe but by the state and the city. People often choose private schools to get away from bad kids or black kids
8, Children normally do not know what they want to do but in the US schools offer career consulting, which is normally not typical in Hungary.
9, Similarly to Hungary businesses support universities and tell them what they want. They have a contract with technical universities.
6, Ageing society in Britain
1, because people tend to live longer after retirement and the burden of this falls on the younger generation.
2, by raising tax.
3, because they have no problem borrowing money from banks, they have more disposable income.
4, 68
5, a lot would be happy but if they were forced , it would be a different issue.
6, it would be a sudden change of lifestyle for those who have worked all their lives.
7, they would lose knowledge and experience, which young people do not have.
8, because it is expensive and they would have to sell their own homes to pay for care.
9, not really. this is just a last resort. Maybe if the parents suffer from dementia, it is safer.
7, Poverty in the US
1, Sometimes it is like in Hungary. Alaska, the interior parts, south are poverty stricken.
2, lack of pay, you can find a job easily but the payment is not enough to get by.
3, businesses, the fast food industry, the Trump administration is trying to stop its increase.
4, it varies from state to sate but somewhere between 12-15 dollars/hour.
5, They want to cut back on social support, not friendly to poor people.
6, social security, unemployment insurance.
7, 15% of the population , below 15000dollar per family but it has different standards, not having television is not poverty
8, there are homeless people, it has been a hot topic since 2008, there are protests about it and for the right of homeless people, thousands of people are living in the streets in tents.
9, why do not they try to find a job. They think it is easy to find a job.
8, The labour market in Britain
1, Harder in the north, Scotland and easier in London and in the south.
2, determination, you have to know what you want, flexibility and maybe settling for a job, which may not be perfect.
3, apprenticeship
4, catering industry and IT, financial area.
5, get various grants from the government to set yourself up in business.
6, because they think that a uni degree is a guarantee of intelligence, and employees will be adaptable and flexible.
7, 4,5%, 1.6 million people.
8, they were looking for a job but were not ready to pick up a job on a strawberry farm as it was for immigrants.
9, There are almost no British staff, they are from Europe or Australia
9, The manufacturing industry in the US
1, It is disappearing or has disappeared.
2, cheap labour force countries have become the manufacturing hubs of the world and most of the things have become automated.
3, no, it is quite low.
4, it is not the high rate of unemployment , the problem is real wages going down.
5, coal industry
6, not really, certain industries are non existent, and there is no economic sense in paying more for labour costs.
7, find new industries like solar panel manufacturing.
8, wages are rising, the middle class is getting stronger.
9, look at other industries, train people, supply other industries as manufacturing is not coming back, high quality sophisticated things.
10, Cultural differences: britain and Hungary
1, they had several options but thought that Hungary would be suitable. The quality of life is better.
2, not the amount of money you own but the location, the schools for your children, the ease of contact with family.
3, not really, he had known his wife before but it was like stepping back in time, but nothing major.
4, gloomy,
5, to do their homework and realize that Hungarian people do not have such a big disposable income, they are cautious when it comes to a new product, they stick to the old product, and make sure there is not much competition already here, be aware that it is not England, expect a bias.
6, do not expect that the streets are paved in gold, be prepared to work hard, there is a lot of competition, there are a lot of candidates for a job so employers will choose the one with higher education.
7, the financial sector
8, they may be moving to Europe, relocate there to be covered by European taxation rules.
9, pragmatic. they do not worry, they will not complain, they may not like it but will accept it.