Transcript Document

November 17, 2009
Topic: “Changing lives”
Language focus: Present perfect simple: a ‘bridge’
between past & present
Duration form with ‘for’ & ‘since’
Present perfect or Past simple?
Look at the pictures and answer the questions:
These products have one thing in common.
What do you think it is?
2. When you buy products like these do you know
a) which countries they come from?
b) how much of the price goes to the growers?
Vocabulary practice 1 Read the information about the
Fairtrade Foundation. Find words and phrases which
mean:
Fairtrade
guarantees a
better deal for
Third World
producers
1. promises
Simply buying a
Fairtrade product can
help a village get
clean water or
children to go to
school. Four and a
half million farmers
and their families, in
36 countries, benefit
from Fairtrade.
In general, global
trade has made
people in the rich
developed countries
richer and people in
the poor developing
countries poorer.
2. business agreement
3. poor countries that are trying to improve their economy
4. receive an advantage
5. countries with advanced economies
Answers
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Guarantees = promises
Business agreement = deal
Poor countries that are trying to improve their
economy = developing countries or Third
World countries
Receive an advantage = benefit
Countries with advanced economies =
developed countries
Reading practice 1 Read the three texts
again and answer the following questions:
1. What does Fairtrade guarantee to the people
it helps?
2. Who does Fairtrade help?
3. Which countries has global trade helped
most?
Answers
1. A better deal
2. Millions of farmers in 36 countries
3. The rich countries
Reading practice 2 Read the information and answer the
questions.
The Fairtrade Foundation permits companies whose products
meet the international standards of Fairtrade to put the name
‘Fairtrade’ on their products. These products include coffee,
tea, cocoa, and fresh fruit. Under the Fairtrade system the
producers receive a fair price which includes extra money,
called ‘social premium’, to help them improve their living and
working conditions. Fairtrade gives them advance payments
to help with production costs and long-term contracts so they
can plan for the future.
1. When can companies use the name Fairtrade on their products?
2. What is a ‘social premium’?
Answers
1. When their products meet the international
standards set by Fairtrade.
2. It is a fair price which includes extra money
that help producers improve their living and
working conditions.
Look at the underlined word: what does it mean?
very high
very low
acceptable/appropriate
Listening practice Listen to an interview with the
Executive Director of Fairtrade in the UK. Fill in the gaps.
 Fairtrade started in ____ in the UK and in ____ in the
Netherlands
 At present it is in _____ countries, mostly in Western
Europe, but also the USA, _______, Australia, New
Zealand, and _______.
 The first country in Eastern Europe to have Fairtrade is
_________.
 Producers can use the ‘social premium’ to improve their
_________ and _________ conditions.
 In the UK sales went up by _____% in ______.
 Usually the price of a Fairtrade product is about ____ to
_____% more than the average price.
Answers
 Fairtrade started in 1992 in the UK and in 1988 in the
Netherlands
 At present it is in 17 countries, mostly in Western
Europe, but also the USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, and Japan.
 The first country in Eastern Europe to have Fairtrade is
Hungary.
 Producers can use the ‘social premium’ to improve their
living and working conditions.
 In the UK sales went up by 50% in 2001.
 Usually the price of a Fairtrade product is about 10 to
20% more than the average price.
Vocabulary practice 2 These are sentences from
the same interview. Match the underlined words in
A with their meanings in B.
1. Since 1988 Fairtrade has
expanded…
a. event that causes a lot of
damage and problems
2. This has been a disaster…
b. being very poor
3. They’ve built wells…
c. got bigger
4. People are willing to pay a bit
d. happy, ready to do smth.
more…
5. To help people escape
poverty…
e. deep holes in the ground
from which you get water
Answers:
1–c
2–a
3–e
4–d
5–b
Language focus 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fairtrade started in the Netherlands in 1988.
In recent years the price of coffee, cocoa and bananas
has fallen.
In the UK sales went up by 50% in 2001.
Since 1988 Fairtrade has expanded into many other
countries.

What tenses are the sentences above?

Which tense do we use for situations and actions that
happened:
a) at a definite time in the past?
b) in a period of time from the past to the present?
Answers


Sentences 1 & 3: Past simple
Sentences 2 & 4: Present perfect simple
a= Past simple

b= Present perfect simple

Another question for you:
Which tense do we use with expressions like:
a) in 2001, when…?
b) Since 1988, in recent years?
Answers
a) in 2001, when…? = Past simple
b) Since 1988, in recent years? = Present
perfect simple
Match sentences 1&2 with a suitable timeline.
One is not suitable.
1.
2.
1
2
3
Fairtrade started in the Netherlands in 1988.
In recent years the price of coffee, cocoa and bananas
has fallen.
1988
PAST
PAST
PAST
NOW
NOW
NOW
Answers
Sentence 1 = timeline 1
Sentence 2 = timeline 2
Why is timeline 3 not suitable?
Answer
Timeline 3 shows an event that lasted for a
certain period of time in the past but that
doesn’t affect the present.
Language practice 1 Complete these sentences
with the correct time expression, a or b:
1. I made a research trip to Africa ________
a) a year ago
b) in the last six months
2. The price of coffee has fallen _______
a) in 1992
b) every year since 1992
3. Rich countries have got richer and poor countries have
got poorer
a) in the 1990s
b) in the last decade
4. Did sales of Fairtrade products increase _______?
a) recently
b) last year
5. How many producers has Fairtrade helped _______?
a) since 1988
b) between 1988 and 2000
Answers
1. I made a research trip to Africa ________
a) a year ago
b) in the last six months
2. The price of coffee has fallen _______
a) in 1992
b) every year since 1992
3. Rich countries have got richer and poor countries have
got poorer
a) in the 1990s
b) in the last decade
4. Did sales of Fairtrade products increase _______?
a) recently
b) last year
5. How many producers has Fairtrade helped _______?
a) since 1988
b) between 1988 and 2000
Language practice 2 Complete the extracts from a
newspaper article about Fairtrade. Put the verbs in
brackets in the correct tense.
Since 1992 the price of cocoa beans _____ 1(fall) by 50%. In the same period
the price of a bar of chocolate _____ 2 (increase) by 65%, but the farmers who
grow cocoa ____ 3 (not receive) a higher price for their crop.
In the last decade the wages of workers on many banana plantations ______ 4
(decrease). In 1993 workers in Costa Rica ______ 5 (earn) $ 250 a month. In
1997 their wages _______ 6 (fall) to $ 187 and in 2001 they _______ 7 (go
down) again - to only $ 160.
In recent years global trade _______ 8 (make) it possible for the rich developed
countries to buy their coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, etc. from the country with
the cheapest price, changing from one country to another. This _______9 (be)
a disaster for whole communities in the developing world who ______ 10 (grow)
the same crop for generations.
Answers
Since 1992 the price of cocoa beans has fallen 1 by 50%. In the same
period the price of a bar of chocolate has increased 2 by 65%, but the
farmers who grow cocoa haven’t received 3 a higher price for their crop.
In the last decade the wages of workers on many banana plantations have
decreased 4. In 1993 workers in Costa Rica earned 5 $ 250 a month. In
1997 their wages fell 6 to $ 187 and in 2001 they went down 7 again - to
only $ 160.
In recent years global trade has made 8 it possible for the rich developed
countries to buy their coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, etc. from the country
with the cheapest price, changing from one country to another. This has
been 9 a disaster for whole communities in the developing world who have
grown 10 the same crop for generations.

Why did you choose the Present perfect
simple for gaps n. 1,2,3,4,8,9 and 10?
Because the Present perfect simple is used
to talk about ____________________.

Why did you choose the Past simple for
gaps n. 5,6 and 7?
Because the Past simple is used to talk
about ____________________.
Because the Present perfect simple is used to
talk about past actions/situations in a time up
to the present.
Because the Past simple is used to talk about
actions/situations that happened in the past
and are now finished.
Further reflection on topic & language:

You can find explanations and further practice on
Present perfect simple and the contrast between
Present perfect simple and Past simple on the following
websites (the first comes with a video):

http://www.nspeak.com/giorgi/efl/fad/grammar/38pa
stsimplevsperfect/simplepastvsperfect.htm
http://cla.uniss.it/inglese/Grammar/Verbi/Present/P
erfect_simple.html#uso
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/StudyZone/410/gramm
ar/ppvpast.htm
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You can find info on the Fairtrade Foundation and its
activities www.fairtrade.org.uk