Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

ANSWERS TO 
PRACTICE SECTIONS
SENTENCES pp. 137–138
a) Women, on average, earn 30% less than men. As government
legislation under the Equal Pay Act has obviously not had the desired
effect, it is a change in fundamental attitudes that is required.
Government may have to use compulsion to equalise pay between the
sexes, as economic disadvantage does not help the cause of women’s
rights, which are supposed to be at the heart of government policy.
b) The majority of filmmakers are hoping to make the ultimate
blockbuster. This means that most films have a sameness about them,
because they are full of special effects, very loud soundtracks and
juvenile content. As a large potential audience exists for more
intelligent cinema, film-makers should not underestimate the taste of
their audiences, who will, at some point, tire of no-brainer movies.
PUNCTUATION pp. 140–141
1. Television chefs have achieved a level of fame that is quite
staggering. After all, they are only cooks and yet they are treated as
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major celebrities. What does this tell us about our present-day
culture? Certainly, we pay too much attention to food and drink. We
forget that half the world is starving while we indulge ourselves. All
these food programmes on television only make matters worse.
Celebrity chefs have a lot to answer for.
2. Reality programmes on television scrape the barrel as far as
entertainment is concerned. The Big Brother programmes, whether
they are those series involving so-called celebrities or ordinary
members of the public, are particularly crass and encourage viewers to
be voyeurs. Watching other people live their lives is not a healthy
pastime for anyone. We are being turned into a nation of couch
potatoes who are more concerned about other people’s lives than our
own. Some people are desperate to be famous, which is why they are
willing to do almost anything in front of the cameras. The television
authorities, however, should not be encouraging that pathetic tendency.