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Problems and solutions272. a big/pressing/serious/multidimensional problem COL/SP 273. social disaster SYNsocial problem 274. a dominant issue col 275. to (seriously) underestimate sth col/wf estimate – underestimate 276. the gravity of the problem/situation col/wf grave – gravity 277. to oversimplify a problem col/wf simple – simplify – oversimplify 278. to recognize sth e.g. a problem 279. to face up to sth phr = to accept and deal with something that is difficult or unpleasant 280. a state of affairs IDIOM =a situation: The state of affairs can no longer be ignored. 281. to address a problem col =to think about a problem or a situation and decide how you are going to deal with it 282. to solve/fix/overcome a problem COL 283. a novel/simple solution col = new and original 284. a quick fix for sth infml col= a solution to a problem, esp. an easy or temporary one 285. to heal / to mend / to remedy e.g. social ills/problems/wrongs COL 286. to find the means to sth 287. to make a/no/some/much etc difference (to/in sb/sth) IDIOM 288. to embark on sth PHR 289. thoroughgoing reform COL 290. to adopt/bring about/introduce a reform | to carry out/implement/put into practice a reform COL 291. to restore confidence in sb/sth COL/PREP 292. to dispense with sth PHR= to stop using somebody/something because you no longer need them or it 293. to succeed in doing sth PREP 294. to break the cycle of smth (e.g. dependency) col =to bring a stop to a negative pattern of behavior: They could not break the cycle of harvest failure, food shortage, price increase and misery. 295. vicious circle col = a situation in which one problem causes another problem that then makes the first problem worse to break the vicious circle col 296. to extend opportunity to smb (e.g. to the least advantaged) col 297. (to have) a golden opportunity IDIOM 298. to take smth into account idiom = to consider smth when you are trying to make a decision 299. underlying causes of smth col = important in a situation but not always easily noticed or stated clearly: Unemployment may be an underlying cause of the rising crime rate. 300. to be a prime cause of sth COL Developing world 301. developed/developing country COL/TERM 302. deprived childhood/area/region | socially/economically/emotionally deprived 303. external forces beyond your control COL 304. economic/political/social forces COL 305. a low/high birth rate COL/TERM 306. densely/sparsely populated COL 307. to be seriously overpopulated 308. a drift of population from … to 309. rural/urban area COL 310. to be seriously undernourished (e.g. about children) 311. malnutrition term/wf = a poor condition of health caused by a lack of food or a lack of the right type of food: Many of the refugees are suffering from severe malnutrition. 312. life expectancy term = the number of years that a person is likely to live 313. illiteracy term/wf from (il)literate – (il)literacy = the condition of being unable to read and write 314. sexual exploitation term 315. child labour term 316. ethnic cleansing term 317. slavery term 318. to be overburdened with (foreign) debt WF/PREP 319. to repay a debt col – debt repayment TERM 320. debt servicing / debt-service payments term = paying back money owned on loans 321. day-to-day life col 322. a struggle for existence COL/PREP 323. to be in desperate need COL/PREP 324. to hit (about an earthquake/drought) COL 325. a drought-stricken area COL 326. death toll term 327. humanitarian aid term The Vatican has agreed to donate $80,000 in humanitarian/emergency aid to countries affected by the war. 328. relief supplies term =food, money, medicine, etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a war or natural disaster to provide relief col to dispatch relief workers (to the quake-stricken country) col 329. large-scale economic migration wf migrate → migrant → migration 330. economic migrant term 331. to seek political asylum TERM 332. asylum seekers TERM (someone who leaves their own country for their safety, often for political reasons or because of war, and who travels to another country hoping that the government will protect them and allow them to live there) 333. refugee camp TERM
35 Social issues English Collocations in Use Advanced 334. the fabric of smth = the basic structure of a society, an organization, etc. that enables it to function successfully: a trend which threatens the very fabric of society 335. to make a plea for smth = an urgent emotional request: The police ignored her pleas for help. to make a plea for smb to do smth The boy’s parents made an emotional plea for him to come home. Charity 336. to donate sth to sb PREP 337. to give money to sb (e.g. charity) COL 338. to collect money for sb COL 339. to raise money COL 340. to sponsor sb to do sth = to agree to give someone money for charity if they walk, run etc a particular distance 341. a collecting box COL/TERM 342. second-hand goods COL/TERM 343. to donate in kind = goods or services, not money 344. to change, alter, etc beyond/out of (all) recognition IDIOM 345. to raise awareness of sth COL 346. to set up (a charitable project) PHR/COL/WFfrom charity 347. charity event/walk/concert TERM a concert in aid of victims of the war = if an event is in aid of an organization or group, it is held to make money to help that organization or group 348. charity record/single TERMrelease of a song for a specific charitable cause 349. proceeds of/from sth PREP 350. to go to a good cause IDIOM 351. feel/be concerned about sth PREP 352. to pledge money COL 353. to quote one’s credit card number COL = to give a piece of information that is written down somewhere e.g. You can order by phoning our hotline and quoting your credit card number. 354. valuable (invaluable) volunteer term/wf from to value – valuable – invaluable 355. to work closely with sb prep/col 356. to screen/supervise sb 357. to have a proven track record col/term = all the past achievements, successes or failures of a person or an organization 358. Meals on Wheels term = a service that takes meals to old or sick people in their homes 359. a government-subsidised project col 360. to offer sb the opportunity to do smth col 361. invalid term = a person who needs other people to take care of them, because of illness that they have had for a long time 362. physically or mentally challenged col 363. hot nourishing meal col 364. the elderly wf from old – the elderly 365. (to get) out and about idiom = able to go outside again after an illness 366. (all) on your own idiom = alone; without anyone else 367. innovative scheme col/wf from to innovate – innovation – innovative 368. saving grace idiom = the one thing that saves or redeems someone or something that would otherwise be a total disaster 369. local community centre term = a place where people from the same area can meet for social events or sports or to take classes 370. warm smiles and friendly conversation speaking 371. to give sth freely col/wf = in a willing and generous way: Millions of people gave freely in response to the appeal for the victims of the earthquake. 372. to become a lifeline to sb IDIOM = One that is or is regarded as a source of salvation in a crisis Miscellaneous 373. to some extent/to a certain extent/ to an extent PREP = partly 374. on average prep 375. days/weeks/months/years etc to come IDIOM = in the future 376. ensuing days/months/years SYN: following COL/SP 377. to shrink from…to [about a proportion or percentage] PREP (antonym – to grow from… to) 378. to expand from…to PREP (= grow) 379. to account for smth phr = to be a particular amount or part of smth: One-person households now account for 28% of all households. 380. on a par with idiom = as good, bad, important, etc. as somebody/something else 381. at the expense of smb/smth idiom = with loss or damage to smb/smth: He built up the business at the expense of his health. 382. according to sth prep 383. relatively small number of sth/sb report language 384. (a fundamental) shift in sth col/prep 385. to define sth as sth PREP 386. to be commonplace / it is commonplace SPEAKING/WR
387. to bear sth out PHR= to show that sb is right or that sth is true 388. to improve racial equity COL 389. diminishing incomes COL situation 390. steadily increasing incomes COL 391. to undermine one’s optimism / confidence COL Listening 20 The latest survey of social trends makes interesting reading. The major changes relate to the family. There has been a big increase in one-person households i.e. a number of people living alone. These now account for 28% of all households. The growth of these households has been at the expense of the traditional two-parent and two-children household. The proportion containing a married couple with dependent children has now fallen to 25%. The commonest type of household now consists of a married couple with no dependent children. Lone parents with children account for 7% of all households. More women are staying single, with an increase from 18% to 26%. Throughout Europe marriage rates have fallen overall and the age at which people marry has increased. Women tend to marry at an earlier age than men and live longer than men. More and more women are tending to delay having children, at least until they are in their thirties or are deciding to remain childless. Divorce rates have also increased slightly in the last ten years. For every two marriages there is now one divorce. 8% of children now live in stepfamilies. This brief statistical statement of trends should alert us to the way in which the family is changing and developing. Alongside the nuclear family – traditionally two parents and two children – a new social pattern is developing that of the extended network of stepparents, stepchildren and other relatives. In a successful stepfamily a child can have possibly four committed adults to rely on rather than two. New relationships are forged with stepbrothers and sisters and there may well be new grandparents. In fact, the grandmother is very often the most important figure in the extended family often acting as the major carer when mothers go out to work. It seems that families are infinitely adaptable and that many different types are possible. They may change and reform but hopefully its members continue to love and support one another. Listening 21 Presenter: It's a worrying phenomenon when people talk of persistent young offenders – young people under the age of eighteen who have been involved in repeated crime. More than ninety percent of such offenders are boys – girls account for only about ten per cent of the figures. It has been estimated that approximately sixty per cent of boys from highly-disadvantaged backgrounds will eventually end up with a criminal record, usually for vandalism, theft and drug abuse. This means that some forty per cent of boys from such backgrounds do not offend. Why not? Are there any special factors that protect against crime? This has been the subject of a major research project that has been in progress for forty years. Here are some of the latest findings. The backgrounds of offenders and non-offenders reveal surprising differences, indicating that it is not social disadvantage alone that leads to crime. The overwhelming risk factors for delinquent behaviour by boys relate to their fathers' behaviour. Unsurprisingly, employment, or rather unemployment, is a key factor. A poor work record combined with alcoholism are the real crucial indicators. If the father has these two characteristics, he is likely to be an offender and so are his sons. Forty per cent of the sons of fathers who regularly commit crimes are persistent offenders themselves. What about the factors that were found among the non-offenders? Here, the factors that tended to protect against a life of crime, even in families with a high level of disadvantage, were as follows: doing well at school, having the opportunity for social activities such as joining a youth club, living in a home where the parents worked together as a couple and where there was good communication, intimacy, affection and minimal quarrelling. These three factors were associated with less offending. Predictably, the attitude of the mother was found to be of the utmost importance. Even if circumstances were bad, in the homes of non-offenders the mother was in control and able to deal with difficult situations. Some of the findings of the study were less predictable. For instance, offending became more common as families got bigger, and even in large families the first- and second-born were less likely to offend. The study also found that offenders have suffered three times as many accidents in the home in early life as non-offenders had. In homes where accidents were very frequent, this seems to be either because of negligence or lack of foresight. Firm management, and the ability to reason with children were protective factors, and mental strength was far more important than social disadvantage. But when it came to toys, there seemed to be no effect on behaviour, whether toys were present or absent. Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1150
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