Talk about one of the following topics.
• describe and recommend a film you have seen recently
• advise a colleague on ways of getting fit
• talk about what you wish you had known when you were young
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READING
Student accommodation crisis
In the heart of London’s trendy, up-and-coming east end, not far from Brick Lane, which is famous for its Indian restaurants, stands the tallest, largest student accommodation block ever built. Thirty-three storeys high, it provides shared apartments for over a thousand students, and, among other luxuries, offers broadband in every room, chill-out rooms with comfy sofas and huge flat-screen TVs, a gym and a spa! It’s a far cry from the filthy bed-sits in run-down areas that students are supposed to live in – in the public imagination, at least. Indeed, what more could today’s modern student want from a flat?
There is a drawback, though, and one that illustrates the growing problem that most students in the UK now face. If a student and two of his or her mates wanted to rent a flat in the block, it would set back each of them over £14,000 a year. That’s almost €20,000! It may be an extreme example, but it just goes to show how pricey it is these days for students to pay for somewhere to live, especially in the capital, where house prices have rocketed in recent years.
An organisation that keeps a check on the cost of living for students has noted that rental costs have risen by 25% since 2004, and that, even during the recession, the cost of rentals continued to keep climbing. It seems that students, some of the least well-off members of society, are paying much more than they should for what ought to be a basic need. Many British students choose to study at a university far from home, or at least far enough away that they need to find accommodation well away from mum’s cooking, and this adds to the problem. The number of young people seeking accommodation is enormous, and the number of flats very limited. The costs are particularly high in a student’s second year at university. Most colleges have enough student accommodation of their own to house first-year students in halls of residences, but they expect almost all their students to move out for their second year, leaving them in the cut-throat world of the private rental sector.
Based on an analysis of rental properties in cities across the country, experts argue that second-year students are paying close to £65 a week just to live, a cost which is incredibly difficult to maintain without a job, benefits or generous parents. Effectively, it reduces students from poorer families to poverty, and discourages many from going to university altogether. Even students from average backgrounds are increasingly being forced to face up to huge debts after they finish university. There is an accommodation crisis for students in the UK which is making it harder and harder to pursue a university education.
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Read the text and decide if each statement is true (T), false (F) or not given (NG).
1 The 33-storey student accommodation block houses restaurants as well as a gym and a spa. T / F / NG
2 The writer says that most ordinary people expect students to be living in poor quality housing. T / F / NG
3 The new block near Brick Lane is the most expensive student accommodation in the UK. T / F / NG
4 It is likely to cost students more to rent somewhere to live in London than in any other British city. T / F / NG
5 Although rental costs fell for everybody, including students, during the recent recession, they have now started to climb rapidly again. T / F / NG
6 In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of British students who choose to leave their parents’ home in order to attend university. T / F / NG
7 It is likely that students will pay more for accommodation in their second year at university than they will in their first year. T / F / NG
8 A majority of British students tend to live in university-owned accommodation throughout their stay at university. T / F / NG
9 It is possible that some students are not applying to go to university because of the high accommodation costs. T / F / NG
10 The poorer a student’s background, the higher the amount they will have to pay back after their studies are over. T / F / NG
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WRITING
Write one of the following.
1 a formal letter to your bank manager asking to borrow money for a project
2 a description of how your home town has changed in the last ten years
3 a for and against essay on this question: What are the pros and cons of studying arts rather than sciences at university?
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