III Year Lettorato Inglese -- Peterson-More 2017-2018

Pudney, pg. 107 (lines 1-17):

For months there has been talk of / OR: people/politicians have been speaking about/talking about/discussing worldwide unemployment but little or nothing is being done/has been done to overcome the crisis/ address the problem/issue. On 3^rd July/ July 3 there was a meeting of/between French, German, Italian and many other foreign delegates/representatives, and they reached/came to an agreement. Each representative pledged/agreed to approach/lobby his or her respective government and insist that the many/various measures be taken without further delay [in order] to prevent unemployment from rising above/higher than 8%/ going over/above 8%.

When the manager/director/leader head of a company/business/firm/corporation in economic/financial difficulty read the final/closing/concluding report of the meeting/conference in the newspaper, he/she said:

“I don’t think anything will change. For months many companies/firms in poor/depressed areas have had to/have been forced to fire/sack/lay off / OR: have been firing/sacking/laying off workers/employees/staff and haven’t been able to offer new jobs. There has been an overall drop in the standard of living for at least 5 million people. [And] Yet,/ However, those responsible [still] keep [on] passing the buck/ OR: nobody wants to /is willing to take responsibility (for doing something about it).”