International Students NZ

Today’s picture: Latin American dance champions, performing in Devonport, NZ last Saturday

Part 1: Today's word

A criterion is a standard which is used for assessing something. So, for example, customer service is an important criterion for the retail sector. Criterion is a Greek word and it has an irregular plural, criteria. Because there are normally several criteria which are used when assessing something, the word is usually found in the plural. For instance, safety, fuel-economy, comfort and performance are important criteria when choosing a car.

Click here for interactive exercises on academic vocabulary and writing.

Part 2: Test

Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out?

The interviewers seemed to like me but unfortunately I didn’t pass the company criteria.

What criteria are we going to use for our selection procedure?

All applications which meet the criteria listed above will be considered by the selection panel.

The route of the new road was decided by carefully applying three basic criteria to the four proposals: operational effectiveness, environmental impact and cost-effectiveness.

Part 3: Practice Questions:

What criteria did you apply when choosing your course?

What criteria are used by your lecturers in assessing your assignments?

Part 4: The Idiomatic Five

on the spur of the moment
spontaneous
I wasn’t really intending to buy anything at the auction, but I started bidding on the spur of the moment and came away with an oil painting.

back to square one
start again from zero
Well, the company have rejected our original plans for the advertising campaign, so now it’s back to square one.

know where you stand
not be under any illusion
The old teachers were pretty strict, but at least you knew where you stood with them. These new ones leave you confused.

state-of-the-art
up-to-date / cutting-edge
She installed a state-of-the-art sound system with all the latest features. It must have cost thousands.

(not by any/ by no) stretch of the imagination
not at all
This can’t be called a double room by any stretch of the imagination. There’s only room for a single bed !

Part 5: Kiwi Quiz Question

How many visitors arrived in New Zealand during the last 12 months

just over half a million
one and a half million
nearly two and a half million
over four million

Statistics NZ

Part 6: Today's online listening:

This is a short programme on micro-finance, questioning to what extent it really helps the poor

Vocabulary for the article:

counter-intuitive
a panacea

Questions for the article:

Mohamed Younus interview

1) Who are the typical clients who borrow from Grameen Bank? 97% women

women
investors
farmers

2) What evidence does Mohammed Younus use to show that microfinance works?

poverty-reduction
business sustainability
falling interest rates

Report from Zambia

3) Why are the interest rates so high in Zambia?

costs of infrastructure
high exchange rates
hyper-inflation

4) Which of these may lead to lower interest rates in Zambia?

reduction in the number of borrowers
introduction of a credit rating system
government intervention in the sector

Critical research into microfinance

5) What ‘counter-intuitive’ finding came out of the research in the Phillipines?

the number of businesses owned by borrowers reduced
the loans mainly went to overseas borrowers
loans were used to invest in infrastructure

6) What factor seemed to determine the outcome of lending?

gender
ethnicity
age

7) Which form of micro-finance does Dean Karlan recommend?

micro-credit
micro-savings
micro-investment

8) What does Dean Karlan think is the main criterion by which micro-finance should be judged?

sustainability
cost
impact

Today’s news story: from New Zealand
rock-jumping to catch Northland waves

Today’s Video suggestion: from the UK
money’s too tight to mention by Simply Red
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