USE OF ENGLISH. EXAM PRACTICE.

WHAT IS A BOOM?

Read about the word ‘boom’ and complete the gaps with ONE word. Which preposition do we use after the nouns ‘boom’, ‘increase’, ‘rise’?

A boom is a sudden big noise like the sound of thunder or a bomb exploding, but more frequently, we use the word boom to mean a sudden big increase or growth. So when the economy grows a lot, you have an economic boom and a business or industry can experience a boom sales. We might also then say there’s a boom in people starting their own business.

Notice we usually use boom to talk about things we see as positive. So we say a country is enjoying a boom tourism, but we don’t usually say there’s been a boom in accidents or a cancer boom! Normally, we’d say there’s been a sharp rise accidents or deaths (from cancer) have shot up. What other things do you think can have a boom?

Well, you can have a baby boom (=a sudden increase the birth rate), and a construction boom – which could also be a building boom or a housing boom.

There might be a consumer boom (when people spend more), a boom investment and a boom in business.

A business or industry might experience a prolonged boom – in other words, it grows a lot quite suddenly and then continues to grow. So, for example, China has seen a prolonged boom since the early 90s. The opposite of a prolonged boom might be a

Finally, notice that boom can be used as a verb as well as a noun, so for example, My next door neighbours had a party last night and when I got home, music was booming out of their flat. While most countries in Europe were recession in 2018, apparently Vietnam was booming along with the Philippines and lots of other countries in south-east Asia.

When we talk about booms, we might also talk about what led to the boom (how it started), what happens during the boom as it gathers pace and perhaps even how the boom ends, because unfortunately, we often talk about boom and bust – a big increase that’s followed by a terrible crash! If you take a housing boom, why might it start? what happens? how might it end? Apparently, cycling in the UK is booming – why might that be and what’s happening?

Housing booms can happen several different reasons. instance, in Saudi Arabia there has been a massive increase the population – a baby boom that has seen the population quadruple. There is, therefore, huge demand, but a shortage housing. So now tower blocks are springing up everywhere to meet the demand. The government has also provided incentives for property developers because there is no land tax and no capital gains tax (that’s right – the companies pay NO tax!!), so all the profits go to the developers. No wonder there’s a building boom.

The housing boom in Spain and Ireland was triggered because banks relaxed their rules about lending, so more people could raise money to speculate. As the boom gathered pace, this increased speculation led to the supply outstripping demand (there were more homes than buyers). When this happened, prices started to fall, a recession began, the housing bubble burst and the market collapsed.

As for cycling in Britain, it has increased for a number of reasons. Firstly, the government is trying to discourage car use, so it has run campaigns to encourage cycling. Then maybe because of the recession, people want to save money anyway, so cycling is a cheaper option a car or public transport. People are maybe more aware the need to keep fit too. Finally, in recent years, British cyclists have been very successful at the Olympics and in the Tour de France. These people have maybe inspired interest the sport. (adapted from LexicalLab)

Cover the text. What do you remember? Check yourself.

Say five different kinds of boom that can happen.

Say two verbs that can go with a boom.

How can you express the idea of a ‘boom’ for negative things like accidents or deaths from cancer?

Say two different things that can be booming.

Say five things that might cause a housing boom.

And three reasons that might cause a boom in cycling.

Is there a boom in anything in Poland now?

Glossary:

to spring up = to start to exist suddenly

to shoot up = (informal) to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly

to (provide) incentive = something, especially money, that encourages a person or organization to do something