Changes and Trends

During the team meeting, Emma said: "Profits increased significantly last quarter." What does this mean?

• Profits dropped a lot.

• Profits went up by a large amount.

• Profits stayed the same.

Answer explanation

Emma's statement that "Profits increased significantly last quarter" clearly indicates that profits went up by a large amount, making this the correct interpretation. The other options contradict this statement.

Order the sentence

• fluctuation

• a

• they

• wild

• had

In March, sales rose by 25%. We can describe this as a modest increase.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A 25% increase in sales is significant, not modest. Therefore, the statement is false.

The manager said: "Costs have stabilized this month." What does this mean?

• Costs are not changing.

• Costs are decreasing slightly.

• Costs are rising rapidly.

Answer explanation

When the manager says "Costs have stabilized this month," it indicates that costs are not changing, meaning they are remaining consistent without significant increases or decreases.

The CEO explained: "There was a ​ (a)   increase​ in customer inquiries last month, about 3%."

• modest

• wild

• considerable

Answer explanation

The term 'modest' accurately describes a 3% increase in customer inquiries, suggesting a small but noticeable rise. 'Wild' and 'considerable' imply much larger changes, which do not fit the context.

Match the following

• Flat

• Prices going up and down unpredictably

• Wild fluctuation

• A sharp drop in demand

• Considerable fall

• No change in performance

Jamie said: "In April, costs ​ (a)   slightly, going up by 2%."

• increased

• stabilized

• fell

Answer explanation

The phrase 'going up by 2%' indicates an increase in costs. Therefore, the correct choice to fill in the blank is 'increased', as it directly reflects the change described.

The manager described sales trends: "There was a ​ (a)   fall in sales last quarter, dropping by 20%."

• considerable

• minimal

• negligible

• slight

Answer explanation

The term 'considerable' accurately reflects a significant drop of 20% in sales, indicating a major impact. Other options like 'minimal' or 'slight' suggest a lesser effect, which does not align with the described trend.