IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO

01. In pairs, discuss the similarities and differences between the pairs of words and phrases.

1. financial crash/ recession
A financial crash is when a financial system stops working. A recession is a period of economic decline.

2. loan/ mortgage

3. regulations / laws

4. go bankrupt/ go bust

5. borrower / lender

6. savings/ investments

Suggested Answer

2. A loan is an amount of money borrowed for any purpose. A mortgage is an amount of money borrowed specifically to buy a property.

3. Regulations are the procedures or rules set by any authority or person in charge in order for an organisation/business to function properly. Laws are instructions that are put in place by the government and apply to everyone in the country, and regulations can be part of them.

4. There is little effective difference in meaning. Go bust is more informal and used in spoken communication rather than written.

5. A lender provides a borrower with the money that they have asked for. In other words, a borrower receives a loan and a lender gives a loan.

6. Savings are money that is put into a safe place so that it cannot easily be spent, and may even make some profit in interest. Investments are money that is put into a less safe place, such as shares in a company, in the hope that it will make a profit.

02. What do you know about the global financial crash in 2008? In pairs, talk about the causes and effects.