A: Language

"Women are included in the senior management of nearly 90 percent of Russian companies..."

Nearly means 'almost'

or 'not quite'. Today's article told us that "women were included in the senior management of 89 percent of Russian companies." The article also reports this as 'nearly 90 percent' (almost 90 percent).

'Nearly' and 'almost' are often used in report writing with numbers. Here are some examples.

Read them and see if you understand their meanings.

(Japan's figure - 29%) In Japan the figure was almost 30%.
(38% of senior managers - women) In her company almost 40% of senior managers are women.
(8% of senior managers) Nearly 10% of the senior managers in our company earn more than $200,000 a year.

'Nearly' and 'almost' are also used in this way in everyday speaking and writing (e.g. with telling the time, amounts of money, age etc).

Here are some examples used in speaking:

(The time on her watch says 4.50 pm.) She says, "Hurry up! It's nearly 5 o'clock! We'll be late for the meeting."

(She is on vacation for 2 weeks and 5 days.) She says, "I'll be on vacation for nearly 3 weeks."

(He is 58 years old.) He says, "I'm almost 60. I'll be retiring from the company next year."

(I have $4,850.) I say, "I've got almost $5, 000 to spend on furniture."

'Nearly' and 'almost' are both adverbs.

Another adverb that is often used with numbers is 'exactly'. Look at the examples below.

They pay me exactly
$40,000 a year. (Not $39,000 or $41,000, but $40,000.)

There are 20 people in the room. I have exactly 20 glasses of wine.
(I don't have 19 glasses of wine. I have 20 glasses.)

Put the words in brackets below in the right order to make sentences using nearly, almost and exactly.

1. (worked for /She / years / company / the / for nearly 50) Then she retired.

2. (earn almost / I / a year / $200,000) I'm rich!

3. (exactly one / I / was sick / week / for) But my boss says I was sick for 9 days!

4. (Nearly / survey / were polled / 7,000 businesses / in the) Their answers were very interesting.

5. (was almost / 9 pm / It / when the / finished / meeting) We were all very tired.

6. (I paid / for / this computer / exactly $3,000) The salesman tried to make me pay $3,100 but I refused.

B: Extended Reading

The last part of the article is difficult. You may like to try and read it using your dictionary. Then answer the question.

Grant Thornton said studying the results needed some care due to cultural differences. "Women's rights issues, religious constraints and, crucially in the modern world, economic ones, such as childcare costs, are all key factors which can help determine the levels of representation by women in senior management," it said. Glossary: determine - control, decide Article © 2004 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 2004 www.english-to-go.com

1. What things may help decide what level of manager a woman may reach?

C: Discussion

Answer these questions in pairs.

1. Think about your own country. Are there many women who are senior managers in your country?


2. The last part of the article mentions that things like the cost of childcare stops women from being senior managers. What things do you think make it difficult for women to become senior managers?

3. What things can be done to help women become senior managers?

D: Opposites Game

Work in pairs. Your teacher will give you some words. Each word has an opposite. As quickly as you can, match all the words with their opposite meanings:

For example,
happy - sad
senior - junior

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TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY

Please Note: This lesson has a graph interpretation and language activities for your students to do online.

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Vocabulary - Notes

Part Two: A boss is a person who controls any workplace and tells the people what they have to do.

A: Vocabulary - Answers

Part One

company - a group of people who work together to make or sell things

manager - a person who controls a business, hotel or bank

survey - asking questions about what people think or do and then recording the results

Part Two

Companies- firms, businesses

Managers - bosses

Surveys- polls

B: Brainstorming - Notes

There are no right or wrong answers for this activity. You could ask students to compare their answers for 2. as a class by:

a. writing their group's answers on large sheets of paper which are then stuck to the wall for everyone to look at.

b. asking a representative from each group to write the answers on the board.

Students can then make comparisons.

C: What Do You Think? - Notes

Do not tell the students the answers for questions 1. and 2. (according to the survey in today's article.) Students will find out the answers to these in the reading activities. Students may like to talk about why they have chosen certain countries as having the highest or lowest number of managers. Be alert for any racist or sexist comments that may offend other members of the class.

Reading Activities

A: Understanding The Main Idea - Answers

1. Russia, 2. nearly 90%.

B: Ordering Information - Answers

1a. Russia, b. 85, c. 75, d. the United States, e. Japan, f. 27.

2. Russia, b. the Netherlands and Pakistan.

C: Complete the Sentences - Answers

1. 42%, 2. 8%.

D: Complete The Table - Answers

Survey was done by: Grant Thornton

Kind of firm that did the survey: business advisory

Number of businesses surveyed: 6,900

Size of businesses surveyed: medium

Number of countries and territories: 26

When the survey was done: September and October 2003

Regions included in the survey: the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific

E: Thinking Carefully - Answers

1a. less than 90%, b. nearly.

2. however, even, only

Post-Reading Activities

A: Language - Notes

The main purpose of this activity is for students to be able to recognize these adverbs and understand their meanings in reading and speaking.

A: Language - Answers

1. She worked for the company for nearly 50 years. Then she retired.

2. I earn almost $200,000 a year. I'm rich!

3. I was sick for exactly one week. But my boss says I was sick for 9 days!

4. Nearly 7,000 businesses were polled in the survey. Their answers were very interesting.

5. It was almost 9 pm when the meeting finished. We were all very tired.

6. I paid exactly $3,000 for this computer. The salesman tried to make me pay $3,100 but I refused.

B: Extended Reading - Answers

1. women's rights issues, religious constraints, economic factors e.g. childcare costs.

D: Opposites Game - Notes

Make a copy of a set of words for each pair. Cut up each word so that students can sort the words individually. You may like to copy them onto colored card (each pair getting a different color) so it is easier to sort the words into sets. When you give a signal, students sort the words so that each word is facing its opposite.


The game can stop when they have completed all their sorting, or you can give a signal, and students stop whether they have finished or not.

You can 'mark' their work by asking each pair to give an answer and asking each pair in turn. Students can keep score themselves (getting a point for each pair of opposites they match correctly). You could finish by asking them to write sentences with the words from the game. The game itself can be played once or twice during the lesson (you could begin with it and then end with it if you wish). Students can work with the same partner each time or with a new partner.

This game is more difficult than it looks as students may incorrectly choose words that are opposite in meaning but have the wrong form: e.g. incorrectly matching the superlative adjective 'highest' with the noun / adjective ' bottom'. All of the words are adjectives.

With some words the antonym (opposite in meaning) is completely different while in others the opposite is formed by adding a prefix like dis- or un-. In the case of 'careless' the opposite is formed by adding a suffix '-less': careful / careless.

Extra activities - ask students to categorize the words (much as they did in Pre-Reading Activity A Part One and try and find adjectives that are similar in some way. For example, there could be adjectives that describe character, and those that describe position (top, highest).

- look at how the antonyms of adjectives are formed by adding prefixes. Students can make a list of the prefixes that are used for this and a list of adjectives they want to learn.

D: Opposites Game - Words To Be Cut Up And Given To Students

senior	junior	male	female	single
married	common	uncommon	top	bottom
highest	lowest	major	minor	little
big	cheap	expensive	hot	cold
strange	normal	easy	difficult	open
shut	wettest	driest	small-sized	large-sized
clean	dirty	careful	careless	foolish
wise	confident	shy	lazy	hardworking
honest	dishonest	correct	incorrect	happy
sad	extraordinary	ordinary	organized	disorganized

D: Opposites Game -
Answers

senior - junior male - female single - married common - uncommon top - bottom highest - lowest major - minor little - big

cheap - expensive hot - cold strange - normal easy - difficult open - shut wettest - driest small-sized - large-sized clean - dirty careful - careless

foolish - wise confident - shy lazy - hardworking honest - dishonest correct - incorrect happy - sad extraordinary - ordinary organized - disorganized

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