Decimal Fractions (Decimals)

0.2 naught [no:t] (zero) point two

. 5 point five

21. 7 twenty-one point seven

Remember: Full stops (AmE – periods) are used as a decimal point.

NOTE:

In saying number “zero” [¢zierou] is generally used for “0” in science

(e.g. It was 10 degrees below zero last night; absolute zero; subzero

temperatures etc.).

In ordinary speech, a British speaker usually uses “nought” (especially before and sometimes after a decimal point, as in 0.07 = nought point nought seven or “oh” [ou] (especially after a decimal point, as in 2.04 = two point oh [ou] four. “0” is always pronounced [ou] in telephone numbers, as in 23-04-07. The word “nil” for “0” is used especially in sports results:

e.g. Our team won by five goals to nil.

(American speaker can use “ zero” for “0” in each of these cases).

5. Percentages (%) are always stated in figures. When a percentage appears in written communication, the word “percent” (or per cent) is spelt out (spelled out – AmE). The symbol % may be used in tables, charts, graphs or in scientific writing.

e.g. This restaurant has a 10 per cent service charge.

e.g. Within the European Community, Ireland stands out for the youth of its population, with 37 % under 20 years of age, whereas only 21.8 % of the population of Germany is in this same age group. Ireland also has the lowest percentage (15.1 %) of those over 60, while the United Kingdom has the highest with 20.7 %.

Sums of Money

Notice the following points:

£54,765.45 $67.05 48p 90c

The pound (£), dollar ($) or euro (Є) signs go before the numbers.

A decimal point (full stop) separates pounds from pence and dollars from cents. There are two ways of writing pence and cents: 48p (£.48), 90c ($.90).

Note: £3m = three million pounds

$6.2m = six point two million dollars

= six million, two hundred thousand dollars

The final number or amount of money (things, people, etc.) is TOTAL (used as N or V): e.g. That’s $8 and $4.50, so the total is $12.50.

e.g. The company had taken out loans totalling £50 million.

e.g. The total for your books comes to $24.90.

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with the mathematical symbols for the following words:

subtract/ take away/ minus ____, add/ plus ____, square root ____, square root of thirty six ____, multiply ____, cube root of twenty-seven ____, four squared ____, zero ____, nought ____, percent ____, a one to six ratio ____, equals/ is equal to ____, approximately equals ____, six to the power three/ six to the third power ____.

Exercise 4. How do you say these figures:

27.65 £16.89 0.018 250,347 $2,587.60 $1,535,640 ³/₅ ¹/₁₈

How do you say:

23 - 16 = 7 11 ´ 3 = 33 36 = 6 18 ¸ 3 = 6 ³ 216 = 6

217 + 56 = 273

12¹/₂ 24²/₃ 18¹/₄ ⁴/₅ 64³/₄ ¹/₅

Exercise 5. Which thirteen words for “money” can you use in place of the underlined words? Choose from the list below.

1. The British teachers in China were paid in local type of money.

2. We don’t accept cheques – we only take money in notes and coins.

3. The Chancellor will present his expenditure and income plan for

health care to the Parliament tomorrow.

4. We got the necessary money for this particular purpose.

5. The yen is the type of money used in Japan.

6. We made a contribution to the famine relief stock of money.

7. How much is the money needed to start the company?

8. The company is starting a pension stock of money.

9. The EC agriculture depends for its survival on the governments’

financial help which makes prices of agricultural products lower

without making a loss.

10. We had a £10,000 borrowed money from the bank to buy new

equipment.

11. The country has got enough money to pay other countries for

its imports.

12. The money that could be used in the course of business activity

amounted to $100,000.

13. The company was started with a risky money of £20,000.

14. I have bought many shares of a successful firm that offers investors

a large amount of money produced as a profit.

15. The industrial nations give help in the form of money to the develo-

ping countries.

Exercise 6. Translate into Russian in writing the following sentences containing the word “number” used as a noun (N) and verb (V)

1. The average number in class is 25.

2. The lift will only hold 6 people in number.

3. The company began making losses and the Board of Directors decided to keep the numbers down.

4. All seats in the cinema are numbered.

5. The teacher numbered the examination cards from 1 to 15.

6. A number of well-qualified people have recently left the company.

7. The population of the town numbered about 15,000.

8. I am glad to number her with my friends / as a friend.

Exercise 7. “Estimating” words and the word denoting “one or two equal parts”

Sometimes you don’t need to be very exact. Then use the “estimating” words (an appropriate expression of “approximation”): about = roughly = approximately = round (about) = around.

e.g. I live about 30 kilometers away from Kemerovo.

e.g. There were roughly 200 people present at the meeting.

e.g. The whole project will probably cost around $5 million.

When referring to one or two equal parts into which an amount or group can be divided you use the word “ half ”.

e.g. We live half a mile down the road.

e.g. Half of them were unemployed.

e.g. They sold all the tickets in the first half hour.

e.g. Prices rose by over 15 % during the second half of 2003.

e.g. He cut the apple in half.

e.g. The risk of developing lung cancer was reduced by half because

many people gave up smoking.

Exercise 8. Complete the gaps in the following passage with a fraction and an appropriate expression of approximation. Use each expression of aproximation once, while fractions can be used more than once.

1) Our consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter rose by 1 roughly one fifth (19 %) toreach $15,220,000 while net income for the same period increased by ²_________(24 %).

2) In terms of annual performance, even though we again managed to improve our revenue by ³ ______________(10 %), we were unable to maintain last year’s in profitability. This was principally due to a substantial rise in the cost of commodities, which in some cases increased by ⁴_________________________ (34 %). If these prices had not changed, we would have been able to increase profit for the year by ⁵________________________(11 %).

3) Our stockholders will continue to receive dividends. However, the final payment for the year will be ⁶_________________(48 %) what we were able to pay last year.

4) As usual, the domestic market provided our major source of income during the year, accounting for ⁷_________________________(77 %) of total sales, with export markets representing ⁸_____________________(23 %).

5) We have extended our efforts to promote our products and to introduce new products into the range. Our advertising budget grew by ⁹________________________(21 %) and ¹⁰___________________________(49 %) of this increase went towards improving brand awareness and conducting product trials.