Today’s picture: Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand

Today's word

The ‘incidence’ of a problem is its rate – in other words, how often it happens. It’s especially used to talk about crime, disease and other problems.

There’s a higher incidence of crime during the school holidays.

For more practice, see Unit 2 of: www.academicenglishgenerator.com

Test

The country successfully reduced the incidence of malaria through a well-designed public health campaign.

The police have reported a worrying increase in the incidence of theft from cars.

Since the university offered all students special classes in how to use and refer to sources, the incidence of plagiarism has been sharply reduced.

We need to increase our incidence of sales in order to reach our targets by the end of the current financial year.

Practice Questions:

Has the incidence of crime in your area been increasing or falling?

What differences are there in the incidence of disease among different communities in this country?

Kiwi Quiz Question

Angry truck drivers decided to block the streets of central Auckland to protest at:

The ban on trucks using some lanes on the Harbour Bridge
The increase in road-user charges
Lack of security in car parks
Sharp increases in petrol prices

Today's article:

Doubts over date for Brit Invasion (from BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7483566.stm

Vocabulary for the article:

Tide / current / unfold / correspond to / manoeuvre

Questions for the article:

What is the main reason Dr Olson thinks the date of the Roman Invasion of Britain in the history books is wrong?

Why did he decide to do research into this question in August 2007?

What equipment was used in the first experiment?

Why does his new hypothesis fit the evidence better than previous suggestions?

Today’s musical intro: from the USA
“Who loves you?” by the Teddy Wilson Orchestra featuring Billie Holliday. From the CD ‘The Quintessential Billie Holliday”. Columbia Records: 1988