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The Great British exodus...

The Great British exodus

4th June 2008

Category: Lifestyle / Travel / Emigration

Level: Intermediate / Upper intermediate

This lesson is the copyright of www.newsflashenglish.com

The Great British exodus...

Almost two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile.

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government."

Over the years, people's attitudes to emigration have changed. Relatives of families in the UK who went to Australia or Canada during the 60's referred to their emigration like a mini bereavement. Today though many in the UK openly discuss their family and friends living abroad. That's globalisation for you. Brits live all over the world, communicating via e-mail, keeping in touch with everyone back home. If you think about it, history is actually repeating itself. For 150 years, the British Empire needed emigrants from every social class to serve the Empire. Today British expat's live worldwide: From Dubai to Sydney. From L.A. to Sao Paulo. Those expat's who do return home for a visit have many anecdotes to tell their old friends before these raconteurs return to their far off places in time for happy hour at a local bar.

START

1. EMIGRATION: What is emigration? Can you give some examples? What do you know about Britons emigrating? Where do they go? Go round the room swapping stories. Change partners often.

2.DICTATION: The teacher will read some of the article slowly and clearly. Students will write down what they hear. The teacher will repeat the passage slowly again. Self correct your work from page 2 - filling in spaces and correcting mistakes. Be honest with yourself on the number of errors. Advise the teacher of your total number of errors. Less than 5 is very good. 10 are acceptable. Any more is room for improvement! More than 20 - we need to do some work!

3. READING: Get students to read the passage aloud. Swap readers every paragraph.

4. VOCABULARY: Students look through the article. Underline/highlight any vocabulary you do not know. Look in dictionaries. Discuss and help each other out. The teacher will go through & explain any words or phrases you do not understand.

5. KEY DEBATE: Debate with your partner the following...
1) Why are so many Britons emigrating?
2) Is it the prospect of a better life elsewhere, or are British citizens repelled by life in their native land?
3) Has globalisation made it easier to settle abroad?
(See page 7 for some responses by bloggers to these questions)

6. EXPAT TYPES: If you had the opportunity to escape Britain / your country - which of the following might you choose to be? Compare and discuss with your partner.

1 Sensation seeker 6 Retiree, on a budget
2 International job seeker 7 Double summer seeker
3 Lifestyle migrant 8 Criminal & fugitive
4 Angry Briton 9 A mixture of the above
5 Tax exile 10 Your category
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

7. QUALITY OF LIFE: What do you consider to be quality of life? Then consider the following negative points that may apply in the country you live in or used to live in? Discuss with your partner.

1 Over regulation 5 Nanny state
2 Near police state 6 Over taxation
3 Rampant crime 7 Uncontrolled immigration
4 Disastrous economy heavily in debt 8 Curtailed freedom of speech
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

8. SOME COUNTRIES BRITS EMIGRATE TO: Look at the countries listed below that many Brits emigrate to. Which of these countries appeal to you? Why? Discuss with your partner. Give 3 reasons why you would want to live there. Which country wouldn't you want to live in? Why?

1 Australia 12 China
2 South Korea 13 Slovakia
3 New Zealand 14 Canada
4 Argentina 15 South Africa
5 America 16 France
6 Spain 17 Germany
7 Saudi Arabia 18 Malaysia
8 Thailand 19 Cyprus
9 Luxembourg 20 Holland
10 Portugal 21 U.A.E.
11 Dubai 22 Brazil

The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

9. PROS & CONS OF LIVING ABROAD: Think of 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of living abroad. Discuss them with your partner.

Advantages Disadvantages
1 1
2 2
3 3
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

10. ARTICLE QUIZ: With your partner or in small groups: (1 point for each correct answer. Lose ½ point if you look at the article for help!)

Student A
1) How many people from the UK emigrated in 2006?
2) What happened between 1911-1914?
3) Which government is in power in the UK?
4) How many foreigners arrived in 2006?
5) Who is the Shadow Home Secretary?
6) What percentage of the UK population now lives abroad?
7) What happens every 3 minutes?
8) What is there much more of these days?
Student B
1) What is a relatively new phenomenon?
2) When did the other significant spike in emigration take place?
3) How many foreigners arrived in the last decade?
4) Where did the Brits go in the late 50's and early 60's
5) What was emigration liked to in the 60's?
6) What is repeating itself?
7) Name the Empire.
8) Name the cities mentioned in the article.

11. CROSSWORD GAME - STUDENT A: Compile some clues below of the words in the crossword for your partner (student B) to work out. Student B crossword is on page 14.

1M 4I N U T 5E S
M X
M 2C R I M 6E
I L X
G E O
R D
A U
T S
I S
3W O R K F O R C E
N

Across Down
1________________________________________ 4________________________________________
2________________________________________ 5________________________________________
3________________________________________ 6________________________________________

12. THE BRITISH EMPIRE: Think of 10 countries that used to be part of The British Empire. (You may need to use the internet to help you) Write them below. Compare and discuss with your partner. Draw a map of the world (on the board) to show where The British Empire once was. Create a short British Empire story about your friends and relatives living in your listed countries. Tell your partner. Be creative! Use the stiff upper lip! The posh accent etc...

1 6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

13. BRITISH EMPIRE QUICK DEBATE: Students A think The British Empire was good. Explain why. Students B doesn't. Explain why.

14. UN-SCRAMBLE: Put the following into the right order:

Easy
1) emigration is period of the it greatest
2) Britons are living currently 5.5m abroad there
3) more than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006
4) an more of is internationalised there workforce
5) this abroad lot of a people retiring is

Harder
6) 1 the 10 of population UK in abroad live
7) UK 1 person is leaving the 3 every minutes
8) lives to left Britons thousands start new of
9) two to abroad work a people year for or go
10) UK left million almost British citizens have the two

(Answers are on the end - sentences adapted from article)

15. EMMIGRATION: Prepare to give the class a one-minute discussion on why you would emigrate?

16. SENTENCE STARTERS: Finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.

  1. The Great British exodus __________________________________________

  2. Expat's ________________________________________________________

  3. Living abroad ___________________________________________________

  4. Foreigners _____________________________________________________

  5. 1 in 10 ________________________________________________________

SPEAKING - in pairs or small groups

DEBATE 1: INTERNET BLOGGER 1: Debate the following left by an internet blogger who has departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?

  1. High taxes
  2. Ageism
  3. Stifling archaic workplace
  4. Councils
  5. Extortionate stealth taxes
  6. Socialism
  7. The English are no longer a happy people
  8. BRITAIN has lost the entrepreneurial spirit that once made it GREAT!
  9. Rapidly increasingly cost of living
  1. Control of country handed over to the EU
  2. Regulations
  3. Out of control crime
  4. Debt
  5. Congestion
  6. White flight
  7. Chavs
  8. All of the mentioned items

DEBATE 2: INTERNET BLOGGER 2: Debate the following left by another internet blogger who has also departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?

  1. Poor education
  2. Dominance of political correctness
  3. Unchecked immigration
  4. Political corruption
  5. The politicisation of police forces and the weakness of the courts
  1. Administration incompetence in all spheres/levels of government and private sector
  2. Spiralling council taxes
  3. Erosion of British society
  4. Poor weather
  5. Uninspiring leadership
  6. Dreadful crime situation

DEBATE 3: INTERNET BLOGGER 3: Debate the following left by yet another internet blogger who has also departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?

  1. Political madness gone wrong
  2. Health & Safety applied by the book taught by idiots who have neither H&S experience nor commonsense
  3. Crucifying taxes on motorists
  4. Souring energy prices and obscene profits by the supply countries
  5. Hugh Council tax bills with best, poor, and worst, non existing services
  6. Refuse collections and segregation of waste, bin lid fitting laws, green taxes that do nothing to improve environmental issues
  7. Obscene bonuses paid to company executives
  8. The lack of appropriate sentences for criminals
  9. The rising American influence in the litigation culture
  10. The political mess and the politicians "perks gravy train"
  11. The rising use of expressions - of troops forming an "Honour Guard" where in England it is "Guard of Honour"
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: After reading the article guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): If false, why?

a.

Two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade

T / F

b.

More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006

T / F

c.

1.59m foreign nationals resident in Britain also left in this time

T / F

d.

500,000 foreign nationals arrived in the UK in 2006

T / F

e.

1 in 10 of the UK now lives abroad in exile

T / F

f.

The departure is parallel to 1941 in the countries history

T / F

g.

The Prime Minister of England is blamed for the departures

T / F

h.

Expat's enjoy Happy Hour while living abroad

T / F


2. SYNONYM MATCH:
Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.

Revealed

Expatriation

b.

Left

Term

c.

Commonplace

Image

d.

Reflection

Investigator

e.

Exile

Shown

f.

Resident

Overseas

g.

Period

Departed

h.

Phenomenon

Citizen

i.

Abroad

Experience

j.

Researcher

Normal


3. PHRASE MATCH:
Match the following phrases from the article:

a.

Almost two million British citizens

country under a Labour government

b.

This is the greatest exodus from the

leaving the UK every three minutes

c.

More than 200,000 Britons

1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain

d.

The total no of people who left the UK

emigrated in 2006

e.

These figures mean 1 person is

is people retiring abroad

f.

This seems

country in almost a century

g.

The last comparable exodus came between

5.5m Britons living abroad

h.

A lot of this

was 1.97m

i.

It is a reflection of the state of the

have left the UK...

j.

It's estimated that there are currently over

a ridiculously high figure

GAP FILL: READING

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

 

The Great British exodus...
Almost two million British ________ have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons _________ in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m _______ nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put _______ these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living ______. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live ________ in _____.

foreign

bluntly

exile

abroad

overseas

emigrated

citizens

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable ______ came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant _____ in __________ came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior _________ researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new __________ and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." __________ who come to Britain, gain ___________ and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a __________ of the state of the country under a labour government."

phenomenon

spike

reflection

migration

citizenship

immigrants

emigration

exodus

GAP FILL: LISTENING:

Listen and fill in the spaces.

The Great British exodus...
Almost two million British citizens _____________________ the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people ___________________ 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! ____________________, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m _____________________. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population ____________________ exile.

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between _____________, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left __________________ in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "________________ people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised _________________ workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for ____________________." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is ___________________ state of the country under a labour government."

LANGUAGE:

CORRECT WORD:
Choose the correct words from a-d below and write them in the article.

Almost two (1)__ British (2)__ have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! (3)__ the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This (4)__ a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile.

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new (5)__ in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people (6)__ abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only (7)__ because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants (8)__ come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason (9)__ so many people are being (10)__ out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the (11)__ of the country under a (12)__ government."

1. (a) thousand (b) million (c) billion (d) trillion
2. (a) subjects (b) people (c) citizens (d) expat's
3. (a) over (b) sideways (c) under (d) across
4. (a) seam (b) seems (c) seem (d) seams
5. (a) living (b) life (c) lived (d) lives
6. (a) retired (b) retire (c) retiring (d) retires
7. (a) possible (b) happening (c) possibly (d) impossible
8. (a) whom (b) why (c) whose (d) who
9. (a) who (b) when (c) why (d) where
10. (a) driving (b) driven (c) drives (d) drive
11. (a) date (b) bate (c) mate (d) state
12. (a) Green (b) Lib-Dem (c) biggest (d) huge

GRAMMAR 1: MIDWAY

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The Great British exodus...
Almost two million British citizens have left the UK (1)__ the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus (2)__ the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. (3)__ 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, (4)__ 4 million foreigners have arrived including more (5)__ 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that (6)__ are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. (7)__ seems a ridiculously high figure. (8)__, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile.


another

almost

this

nevertheless

from

than

there

over

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The (1)__ significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, (2)__ thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, (3)__ is a relatively new phenomenon and is (4)__ possible (5)__ we are all better off. There is (6)__ much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and (7)__ leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so (8)__ people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government."

many

when

other

because

only

also

then

which

GRAMMAR 2: EASY

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The Great British exodus...
Almost two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost (1)__ century - according (2)__ Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident (3)__ Britain left (4)__ country during the same period. (5)__ bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. (6)__ estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - (7)__ the UK population (8)__ live overseas in exile.


of

to

now

a

the

put

it's

in

The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "(1)__ is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot (2)__ this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon (3)__ is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of (4)__ internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work (5)__ a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add (6)__ the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason (7)__ so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under (8)__ labour government."

of

for

it

and

an

to

why

HOMEWORK

1. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: Write an article on "Why are so many Britons emigrating?" (You may need to use the internet for this!)
(Minimum 200 words)

2. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: Write an article on "Has globalisation made it easier to settle abroad?" (You may need to use the internet for this!)
(Minimum 200 words)

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

10. CROSSWORD GAME - STUDENT B: Compile some clues below of the words in the crossword for your partner (student A) to work out. Student A crossword is on page 14.

5U
N 6C
1I 4M M I G R A N T S
I T N
G E 2A B R O A D
R D D
A K A
T I
I N
O G
N D
3O V E R S E A S
M

Across Down
1________________________________________ 4________________________________________
2________________________________________ 5________________________________________
3________________________________________ 6________________________________________

SPELLING TEST

The teacher will ask the class individually to spell the following words that are in the article:

1 citizens

11 bereavement

2 ridiculously

12 anecdotes

3 significant

13 raconteurs

4 emigrants

14 worldwide

5 reflection

15 attitudes

6 relatively

16 communicating

7 phenomenon

17 opposition

8 emigration

18 internationalised

9 practically

19 commonplace

10 departure

20 nevertheless

 

ANSWERS: 1

UN-SCRAMBLED: (adapted from article)

Easy
1) It is the greatest period of emigration
2) There are currently 5.5m Britons living abroad
3) More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006
4) There is more of an internationalised workforce
5) A lot of this is people retiring abroad
Harder
1) 1 in 10 of the UK population live abroad
2) 1 person is leaving the UK every 3 minutes
3) Thousands of Britons left to start new lives
4) People go abroad to work for a year or two
5) Almost two million British citizens have left the UK

ANSWERS: 2


2. SYNONYM MATCH:

a.

Revealed

Shown

b.

Left

Departed

c.

Commonplace

Normal

d.

Reflection

Image

e.

Exile

Expatriation

f.

Resident

Citizen

g.

Period

Term

h.

Phenomenon

Experience

i.

Abroad

Overseas

j.

Researcher

Investigator


3. PHRASE MATCH:

a.

Almost two million British citizens

have left the UK...

b.

This is the greatest exodus from the

country in almost a century

c.

More than 200,000 Britons

emigrated in 2006

d.

The total no of people who left the UK

was 1.97m

e.

These figures mean 1 person is

leaving the UK every three minutes

f.

This seems

a ridiculously high figure

g.

The last comparable exodus came between

1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain

h.

A lot of this

is people retiring abroad

i.

It is a reflection of the state of the

country under a Labour government

j.

It's estimated that there are currently over

5.5m Britons living abroad

GAP FILL: The Great British exodus... Almost two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile. The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - b 2 - c 3 - a 4 - b 5 - d 6 - c 7 - a 8 - d 9 - c 10 - b 11 - d 12 - c