英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English 6 The Price Of Copper Theft

Nationwide(1), metal theft has become a serious problem since about 2005, according to(2) a 2010 report on metal theft by the U.S. Department of Justice. That's when metal prices rose substantially(3). In 2002, for example, copper prices hit a record low(4), falling to 65 cents a pound. By 2006, it was worth $4 a pound, prompted mainly by the industrialization(5) of Asian countries. One figure(6) was available for copper losses. According to a survey, about $20 million worth of copper was stolen in(7) more than 50,000 incidents at U.S electric utilities in 2008. Another indicator comes from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which reports that claims(8) for metal theft are up significantly.
'Nationwide' is similar to 'nationally' or 'national'.
a. The program is being broadcast nationwide.
b. There will be educational improvements nationwide.
2. 'According to' is used in front of persons, organizations, or bodies of information, such as surveys or polls.
a. According to a recent survey, women prefer the color green to blue.
b. According to the boss, we can't have another raise.
c. According to the weather update, we will get snow tomorrow.
3. 'Substantially' is a difficult word to pronounce, so let's practice it in sections
Sub – stan – tially sub – stan – tially sub – stan – tially
4. 'Record low' similarly to 'record high', is used for financial decreases or losses, and also temperature changes. Occasionally, it is used for emotion.
a. Record low temperatures have been reported nationally.
b. The value of gold is at a record high.
c. He told me that his confidence is at a record low these days. ' 5. 'Industrialization' is a long word and needs to be practiced
In-dus-triali-zation In-dus-triali-zation In-dus-triali-zation
6. 'A figure' can be a shape, the shape of a person, or a number.
a. That dress suits her figure.
b. Write the correct name under each figure on the math sheet.
c. The latest figures show that the stock market has improved.
7. 'Copper was stolen in more than 50,000 incidents'. I'm going over this phrase to talk about the
use of 'in'. 'In' is referring to the incidents of theft, the occurrences 'in' which the thefts took place.
You will more usually hear the word 'from' with the verb stolen, because often we will mention the person or place 'from' which something was stolen.
a. The diamond was stolen from the museum.
b. Three cars crashed in the incident.
c. Five homes were lost in ten flooding incidents in the state.
8. 'A claim' is a noun, as opposed to the verb 'to claim', though both are obviously related. If you have suffered a loss due to fire, flooding, theft, or some kind of accident, you make or report a claim to your insurance company.
a. We will have to make a claim to the insurance company because of the fire.
b. They made claims that were false; they just wanted the insurance money.