Chapter Four

Decimals, Fractions and Percentages

A decimal is a fraction that is written in the form of a dot followed by one or more numbers which represent tenths, hundredths, and so on, for example,0.5,0.32,0.726. Decimals are read in different ways, for instance,0.4 is read“naught/zero point four”or“point four”;0.06 is read“naught/zero point o six”or“point o six”;5.09 is read“five point naught/zero nine”or“five point o nine”;12.34 is read“twelve point three four”.

A. Listen to the following decimals carefully and write down the numbers you've heard. Each number will be read twice.

B. Listen carefully to the following sentences. Underline the correct decimal number of each sentence.

1. The price of the hat is（16.09,16.9）dollars.

2. The Dow Johns Index increased（335.28,335.38）points, and closed at 24,706.35 points yesterday.

3. A man needs（2.5,2.15）liters of water to stay alive every day.

4. The building is（135.6,125.6）meters tall.

5. The weight of the fish is（15.23,50.13）kilograms.

6. Kelly is（0.14,0.04）meters higher than Cathy.

7. My house has an area of（136.27,136.07）square meters.

8. The oil price increased 12% and reached（70.68,70.48）dollars per barrel.

9. One U.S. dollar is equal to（51.8,51.08）pesos.

10. The temperature is（31.4,21.2）degrees centigrade.

C. Listen to the decimal numbers and use the dot to show the correct number you've heard among the several digits.

Fraction means one or more equal parts of something, for example three out of four quarters, written as 3/4. Fractions are also read differently. Usually, the numerator is read in cardinal number and the denominator is read in ordinal number. Moreover, if the numerator is more than one, the denominator should be read in plural form. Look at the following examples：

1/2 one（a）half

1/3 one（a）third

1/4 one（a）fourth（quarter）

2/3 two thirds/ two out of three

3/4 three fourths（quarters）/three out of four

5/8 five eighths/ five out of eight

36/397 thirty six over three hundred and ninety seven

D. Listen to the following sentences carefully and write down the fractions you've heard.

1. It is absurd that only_______ of human's brain is used.

2. It was reported that China's GNP was_______of America's.

3. Jerry's weight is_______of his mother's.

4. _______of the products will be exported.

5. _______of the students in the class can swim.

6. The number of the girls counts for_______of all the kids in the kindergarten.

7. _______of the human body consists of water.

8. More than_______of congress members are democrats.

9. About_______of the patients in the hospital are suffering from flu.

10. More than_______of the earth is covered by sea water.

Percentage is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign“%”, or the abbreviation“pct.”. It is read with the number and the word“percent”, for example,36% is read“thirty－six percent”,123.6% is read“one hundred twenty three point six percent”.

E. Listen to the following statistics and write down the percentages.

1. According to the scientific research，the IQ of people who often use their cell phones is________lower than others.

2. About________ of the students in the class have read more than 6 classics each se-mester.

3. Shanghai Composite Index increased________ yesterday.

4. ________ of her monthly salary has been spent on cosmetics.

5. The enrollment rate for children of school age in this poor rural area is only________ .

6. ________ of people in this community do exercises for more than 3 hours per week.

7. Oil price has increased________ by the first half of this year due to the sales promo-tion of automobiles.

8. People's net income has increased________ because of the new tax policy enacted by the government.

9. Only________ of the graduates from colleges can get a salary of more than 5，000 yuan each month.

10. About________ of American people don't want to get involved into any war.

F. Listen carefully and fill in the following chart on the result of the survey.

Exercises

1. Listen to the following financial news reports and fill in the blanks with the numbers you've heard.

1）The U.S. tech giant Apple saw its stock price plunge more than________ in early trading on Thursday after the company issued lower guidance for fiscal 2019 first quarter. Apple shares traded as low as________ dollars apiece, or nearly________lower on Thursday， registering a 52－week low. The company's stock price hit 52－week high three months ago at________dollars apiece.

2）Global economic growth is projected to slow to________in 2019, the World Bank said on Tuesday. The newly－released Global Economic Prospects report expects emerging market and developing economies to grow at________ in 2019，________points lower than previously projected in June. Growth in advanced economies is estimated to slow to in 2019 from________________in 2018, as major central banks continue to withdraw monetary policy accommodation, according to the report. The report estimates that China's economic growth will slow to________ in 2019 from________ in 2018 as domestic and external rebalancing continue.

3）According to a recent survey, over________ of people in China think digital payments will replace cash transactions in the future. The survey by the China Payment and Clearing Association found that nearly________ of people used QR code payment apps in 2018. The survey also found that when it comes to paying for public transport，________of people will scan a QR code to pay for their ride, while________ use a NFC payment system and use an IC card. The survey found that more than________________of people are afraid that their personal information might leak，________worry they'll accidentally scan a fraudulent QR code, and________ think payment codes can be unreliable.

2. Listen to the report on the components of per－capita disposable income of Chinese residents in 2017 and fill in the blanks of the pie chart with the numbers you've heard.