WE ARE GETTING HAPPIER

People are getting happier. According to a recent report from the Western Statistics Office, 73% of people say that they are happy 'most of the time', compared with only 47% at the beginning of the century. Perhaps this is partly because the world is less crowded: the Westem population is going down by about 1.3% per year. A'nd life expectancy is increasing: in 1970, men lived for an average of 69 · years and women 75;both sexes now can expect to live for 113 years. We are getting richer, too. The

average income in 2096 was 146,000 Western Credits

-twice as much as in the year 2018.

The biochemical revolution is nearly complete: 94%

of the population is now green. (For some reason only

83% have green hair, but scientists expect to solve the last remaining problems by the year 2100.)

Not everything is getting better, though. The climate is still changing for the worse, and sea levels are continuing to rise. If average temperatures go on increasing, scientists are afraid that more of the world's capitals will go the same way as London, Paris and New York. Perhaps one day we will all have to move to the mountains.

Religious belief is becoming much less common.

In 2018, 65% of Western Federation citizens said that they believed in God; in 2096 the figure was only 24%, and only half of these went to church regularly. (Figures from the WSO Annual Report,July 2098)

 

(From The Times, 18 July 2098)

 

6 Write a similar report from The Times for

18 July 2198.

 

2 Write the contractions.

1st

2nd

3rd

4th 5th

6th 8th

is not.i t<:t......

9th

12th

20th

100th

 

was not you are

 

I have do not

 

she has does not

 

she is I would cannot I will

 

:.

3 Write the third-person singular forms. stop;:;. 9.P,... start r..b:....

see like work catch lie finish pass hurry send go

 

4 Here are pieces of some pictures. What do you think the woman is doing in each one?

 

A. S.he....i.s..IN.ink\... Q......a As.s...o{.... \ne......

 

B.······················································································

 

B

 

 

 

5 Complete the text with the words and expressions from the box.

 

6 Write a description of yourself or of somebody you like. Use some words and expressions from Exercise 5.

always beautiful blue girlfriend her is doing long fair neither nor quite Shakespeare's smile

each other laughed

nose tired

 

forget listen

person

worked

 

I'm -\:.a\\ ond -Jair· w\.tn b\ue

ejes and a smal\ nose.·

My first real......J........ was a very........4........ girl called

Penny. She was........L..... tall,........-:!:........ slim...............

fat, with a lovely figure. She had .....JL......,........?....... hair and........L..... eyes, a funny short................, and a wide

mouth with a wonderful......10........, like the sun coming out. Her voice was soft and nice to.......U...... to. She

had a great sense of humour, and we...... JJ:...... a lot. At nights she........U...... as a nurse in a mental hospital, and she was often very.....J.4....... when we saw.......t?......., but

she was ..... }.'?....... fun to be with. She was a very talented actress, and I will never.......E...... her playing Hermione in a student production of..... }....... Winter's Tale. Penny was a lovely .....)......., and I was lucky to know......).0........ I often wonder what she.......41...... now.

H 1&t o.re q,u\k bi3, but1

{hli1T'IY\ qu.\.te nice- \oc'r:::,.

1. \\ 12. da(ICand \iStet"llcj-to music..