Ex.1. LIVING COSTS:Discuss the living costs in Moscow.
Ex.2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
moving / world capitals / human resources / Moscow / bad news / rent / data / currency / exchange rates / US dollar / expatriates / fast food / hyperinflation
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
Ex.3. COST OF LIVING:In pairs / groups, talk about the cost of these things in your town:
rent
transportation
food
English lessons
telephone bills
entry to museums
clothes
water
Ex.4. CITY LIFE:In pairs / groups, give a score for the items below - what is most important to you about city life? 10 = a must; 1 = no need for it/them
a. _____ safety
b. _____ good public transportation
c. _____ affordable accommodation
d. _____ parks and trees
e. _____ no car zones
f. _____ good refuse collection
g. _____ near an airport
h. _____ sports facilities
Ex.5. I’M AN EXPAT:Your partner will choose a new city for you to live in
(from another part of the world). Walk around the class and talk to the other “expats” about your cities.
Ex.6. MOSCOW:Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Moscow. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
Ex.7. QUICK DEBATE:Students A think living in expensive cities is better than
living in the boring, cheap countryside. Students B think the opposite. Change
partners often. Share your findings.
Ex.8. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these
sentences are true (T) or false (F):
a.
Moscow is the world’s costliest city for human resource companies.
T / F
b.
Students might not be able to afford to study and live in London.
T / F
c.
An international price comparison was made between 143 cities.
T / F
d.
Expatriates need to write assignments before living overseas.
T / F
e.
Changes in exchange rates made cities more expensive to live in.
T / F
f.
The dollar has become weaker and the euro stronger recently.
T / F
g.
Asuncion was the cheapest city for the fifth consecutive year.
T / F
h.
The world’s most expensive fast food is in Copenhagen.
T / F
Ex.9. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
a.
moving
reasonably priced
b.
ranks
keep an eye on
c.
invaluable
considerable
d.
expatriate
precious
e.
monitor
changes
f.
significant
relocating
g.
primarily
running
h.
fluctuations
emigrant
i.
in a row
is placed
j.
affordable
for the most part
Ex.10. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
a.
A new report compiled
off lands
b.
London a close
assignments
c.
This data is invaluable
due to its rates of hyperinflation
d.
open offices in far-
fluctuations
e.
send employees on expatriate
for companies
f.
currency movements have changed
in a row
g.
exchange rate
by the human resources consultancy
h.
down a
the rankings of different cities
i.
for the fifth year
second
j.
Harare dropped off the list this year
place from last year
Ex.11. GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.
Moscow is the world’s costliest city
Thinking of moving to another world ________? A new report compiled by the human resources ________ Mercer suggests you need to think carefully about how ________ it is in other parts of the world. Surprisingly, Mercer ranks Moscow as the world's costliest city, with London a close ________. This is bad news
for students wanting to study in the Russian and English capitals. Mercer gathers information on 143 cities around the globe. Its annual survey measures and ________ the costs of more than
200 items, including rent, transportation, food, clothes, household goods and entertainment. This data is ________ for companies wishing to open offices in far-off ________. A Mercer spokeswoman said: "As companies continue to send employees on expatriate assignments, they must ________ monitor changes in the cost of living."
second closely consultancy invaluable capital compares costly lands
A ________ theme of the latest survey is how currency movements have changed the ________ of different cities.
Mercer stated: "There have been some significant changes in the rankings since last year….These are ________ due to exchange rate ________ - in particular the weakening of the U.S. dollar and the strengthening of the euro." Last year, London was ranked fifth, but due to a weak dollar, it has risen three places. Seoul was the third-placed city, followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong, both down a place from last year. Asuncion was the cheapest city for ________ for the fifth year in a row. The world’s most expensive apartments are in Tokyo and the most ________ are in Johannesburg. The ________ fast food is in Copenhagen. Zimbabwe’s Harare ________ off the list this year due to its rates of hyperinflation.
fluctuations dearest rankings affordable dropped major expats primarily
