Some people anticipate that private home prices will fluctuate dramatically for some time next year. Some analysts forecast property prices to go up slightly in the next quarter but fall quite significantly next year. However, I expect Hong Kong home prices to pick up progressively this year and reach a peak in the coming two years due to the huge demand for housing. According to the government statistics released in January, property prices have risen relentlessly for four years and are still rising, though at a slower pace now. Property prices rose by only 4.28% last year, which was in stark contrast to the marked increase of 18.92% in the year before last. Categorise the expressions for describing trends and changes. Think of more examples for each category. Upward Downward Trend Steady Others rise jump grow go up increase double treble skyrocket reach a peak recover improve soar Nouns: rise growth fall dip drop decline decrease go down plunge plummet Nouns: fall dip drop decline decrease plunge Verbs: level off remain the same stablise Nouns: a levelling off Verbs: fluctuate Nouns: fluctuation Describing the speed/extent of change e.g. Adverbs describing the speed of change: relentlessly, sharply, quickly, rapidly, steeply, dramatically, considerably, significantly, noticeably, substantially, steadily, gradually, moderately, slightly, slowly e.g. Adjectives: slight, sudden, rapid, dramatic, steep, sharp, great, gradual, slow, steady, marked, insignificant, noticeable Task 2 Exploring the Issues of Country Park Conservation and Residential Development You will read a fact sheet and letters to the editor to identify arguments for and against utilising country park areas in residential development, and present your own views on the issue. Part A: Getting ready for a mini-debate Learning objectives: To enable students to identify the audience of a text, and understand the stylistic variations between text types follow and evaluate the development of a point of view or argument in reading texts
develop convincing and coherent arguments present counter-arguments and prepare rebuttals To alleviate the housing problems in Hong Kong, it is proposed that part of Hong Kong’s country parks be released to develop housing. In pairs, discuss your views on this proposal. Give reasons to support your stance. The following are the excerpts of two Study the excerpts and complete the table of comparison. The country parks and special areas, which cover 44,300 hectares, comprise scenic hills, woodlands, reservoirs and coastline in all parts of Hong Kong. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) manages the parks and is responsible for tree planting, plantation enhancement, conservation education, fire prevention and fighting, development control and provision of recreational and educational facilities. Over 11 million visitors were recorded in 2013 and most visitors engaged in hiking, leisure walking, fitness exercise, barbecuing, family picnics and camping. It is simply ridiculous to pull down village houses, to which we indigenous male villagers are entitled, in order to ‘increase land supply’ and ‘ease the thorny issue of over-crowdedness’! How can people innocently assume that many of our villagers have become urban dwellers who are not attached to our ancestral culture and heritage? This is definitely not true. Alternatively, slicing a small portion of country parks to speed up urban development would probably cause minute impact on the environment and literally no dispute over land ownership. The country parks belong to all of us! Sai Kung Writer The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department A person who is against pulling down village houses for residential development Possible source of text a report/fact sheet on the country parks in Hong Kong a letter to the editor/a post on an online Target the general public/country park users newspaper readers/Internet users
audience Purpose to provide factual information on the country the size of the country who manages the country parks number of visitors common activities in the country to express strong views against pulling down village houses for residential development/persuading the readers to support his/her views Writing style * argumentative/descriptive/informative/ narrative Reason(s) for your answer: - containing lots of e.g. 44,300 hectares, instead of words that present personal views or give subjective description *argumentative/descriptive/informative/ narrative Reason(s) for your answer: using adjectives and adverbs that convey the writer’s attitude, e.g. ridiculous, innocently using intensifiers for emphatic purposes, e.g. definitely, literally using rhetorical questions to deny a point, e.g. How can people innocently assume that…? *Underline the correct answer. Read Texts 6 and 7. Write three arguments FOR or AGAINST utilising country park areas in residential development in Hong Kong with reasons/supporting details. Then share your arguments with your peers.