Social Science, GLOSSARY UNIT 7

PLOT: an area of land where crops are grown.
SOIL: the substance on the surface of the Earth in which plants grow.
CROP ROTATION: the practise of growing different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE: an agricultiral system characterised by heavy investments of capital and labour.
EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE: an agricultural system that uses small inputs of labour, fertilisers and capital.
DRYLAND FARMING: farming in which fields receive only rainwater.
IRRIGATED FARMING: farming in which the water from groundwater, reservoirs or rivers is brought to fields.
POLYCULTURE: the growing of different types of crops.
MONOCULTURE: the continuous growing of one type of crop.
GREENHOUSE: a building with transparent walls and roof, usually of glass, for the cultivation and exhibition of plants under controlled conditions.
SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE: a type of agriculture in which farmers only grow enough food to feed themselves and their families.
LIVESTOCK FARMING: farming based on rearing animals to obtain products.
HOUSED LIVESTOCK: livestock fed with fodder in farm buildings.
CATTLE: bovid mammals.
FODDER: bulk feed for livestock.
REAR: to care for, breed and grow animals until maturity.
FISHING GROUNDS: areas with abundant fish stocks.
AQUACULTURE: an activity that consists of farming marine animals and plants in pools. ponds or enclosed areas of the coast.
OVERFISHING: it is a problem because of the effectiveness of today's fiching techniques and the increasing number of fishing boats.
FLEETS: a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership.

Social Science, GLOSSARY UNIT 6

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY: the different processes involved in the production and consumption of goods and services.
ECONOMIC AGENT: a person, group or institution  involved in the economy.
GOODS: tangible economic products, that are usually consumed after production.
SERVICES: economic activities that are intangible.
PRODUCTION: an activity that provides services for consumption.
DISTRIBUTION: the marketing, delivery and sale of goods and services.
MARKETING: the act of researching, promoting and advertising a product or service in order to sell it.
CONSUMPTION: the use of a product or service to satisfy needs or desires.
SUPPLY: avaliability of something for use or sale.
DEMAND: the desire to own something in the market nad the willingness to pay for it.
INFLATION: a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in the economy or a decrease in value of the purchasing power of money.
PROFIT: the monetary gain of a business after all expenses have been met.
TAX: a monetary contribution to the government required of people, groups or businesses.
RAW MATERIAL: material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out.
TELECOMMUTING: the use of home computers, telephones, etc, to enable a person to work from homw while maintaining contact with colleagues, customers, or a central office.
EMPLOYER: a person, business, firm, etc, that employs workers.
EMPLOYEE: a person who is hired to work for another or for a business, firm, etc, in return for payment.
SELF-EMPLOYED: earning one's living in one's own business or through freelance work, rather than as the employee of another.
ACTIVE POPULATION: section of people working, unemployed or looking for their first job.
DISABLED: lacking one or more physical powers, such as the ability to walk or to coordinate one's movements, as from the effects of a disease or accident, or through mental impairment.
RETIRED: having given up one's work, office, etc, esp on completion of the normal period of service.
FULL-TIME CONTRACT: contract in which employees must work during all the hours established on the agreement.
PART-TIME CONTRACT: contract in which employees must work during a fewer number of hours than the established on the agreement.

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My ideal future city

Idioms and expressions

TO ASK FOR THE MOON: it means to make demands for things or to wish something impossible to achieve or to obtain.

HOLD THE FORT: it means that you take care of a place when the person normally in charge is away.

UNDER THE TABLE: it is used to decribe secretive behaviour, often suggesting corruption or illegality.

TO HORSE AROUND: it means to behave in a silly way, making noise and causing disruption.

TO CHICKEN OUT: it means someone has failed to do something or they have not tried to do it because they were afraid.

WISE OLD OWL: a person very experienced in life.

A NIGHGT OWL: someone who stays up late into the night.

IN SAFE HANDS: you mean they are being cared for someone who is confident and skilled-

A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS: ir refers to someone who can be trusted to do a good job avoiding mistakes.

TO HOLD YOUR TONGUE: it means they want you to stop talking because the don't like what you are saying.

SOMETHING IS BLACK AND WHITE: it means you have a clear opinion about it, you can easily see what you think is right and wrong.

MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES: means you don't have to spend much money as there is a limited amount of it.

MONEY IS NO OBJECT: means that you have a lot of money to spend.

LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY: it means to allow things to happen no matter what the consequences are.

AS CHEAP AS CHIPS: it means that something is very cheap.

CHASING YOUR TAIL: it means that you are very busy doing a lot of different things but not achieving very much.

Our English friends are coming!!!

Dear family Jones,

We are very happy to receive you here in Spain. We hope you spend a good time with us. Here we can do lots of great things, but you are only going to be here for five days, so we’ll try to do the best activities for you to have a good time.

The first day we will try to go to Warner Bros in Madrid, but this activity depends on the weather, so we will plan it the day before you come.

The second day we will go to Aveiro. It’s a place in Portugal where much people go to have a bath on the beach. There you can also buy some souvenirs.

The third day will be a special day for your children because we are going to one of the most famous zoos in Spain, Cabárceno. It is located in the northern part of Spain, near Santander.

The fourth day we will visit Barcelona, where we can see the famous cathedral “La Sagrada Familia” and “Parque Güell”.

During your last day we will go to the biggest football stadium in Europe, Nou Camp, and “El Palau Sant Jordi”. After that we will go to Prat Airport to fly back to Liverpool.

See you next week,

Javier Vicente and Carlos Muñoz.

Social Science, GLOSSARY UNIT 5

CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY: a system of government in which the king is the head of the state but the parliament chooses the government. The government manages the politics of the state.
CROWN: the part of a constitutional monarchy represented by the king.
ARBITRATOR: a person chosen to decide a dispute or settle differences. In a constitutional monarchy, the king is the arbitrator between governmental institutions.
DECENTRALISED GOVERNMENT: a system of government in which decision-making is devolved to a local level and is therefore closer to the citizens.
MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE: document that the Cortes Generales passes to force the president to resign.
MINISTERS: government officials that, together with the president, make up the Spanish cabinet
MUNICIPALITY: the most basic administrative body in the Spanish territory.
TOWN COUNCIL: the organisation that governs each municipality in Spain.
MAYOR: person who is in charge of the town council of a municipality.
COUNCILORS: government officials that, together with the mayor, make up the town council.
PROVINCE: an administrative body made up of several municipalities in the Spanish territory.
SELF-GOVERNMENT: a system of government in which a community or region has authority to govern itself without the intervention of any other authority.
STATUTE OF AUTONOMY: a law describing the institutions, laws and responsibilities for each of the autonomous communities in the Spanish territory.
SUBSIDIARITY: the principle of devolving decisions to the lowest practical level so that services are closer to the citizens.
AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY: one of 17 regions that form part of the Spanish territory with its own devolved government.
EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY: the power of the autonomous communities to pass laws related to town planning, housing, monuments, health care and education.
SHARE AUTHORITY: power of developing the laws passed by the Parliament and adapting them to the different autonomous communities' features.
POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY: a society in which the economy is has undergone a shift from production of goods to the provision of services.
WELL-BEING: the level of satisfaction of a population as measured by education levels, healthcare, life expectancy and consumption.
LIFE EXPECTANCY: the number of years a person or population is expected to live.
ILLITERACY: inability to read or write.
EXTENDED FAMILY: family made up of grandparents, parents and children.
NUCLEAR FAMILY: family made up of parents and children.
SINGLE PARENT FAMILY: family made up of a father or a mother and children.
SAME-SEX MARRIGE: family in which both parents are a same-sex couple.