Changes in British living standards # Table Academic Task 1
Academic Task 1:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table below shows the consumer durables (television, computer, etc.) owned in Britain from 1972 to 1998.
Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.
You should write at least 150 words.
| Consumer durables | 1972 | 1975 | 1981 | 1985 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1996 | 1998 |
| Percentage of households with: | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
| Color TV | 93 | 96 | 74 | 86 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 98 |
| Home computer | .. | .. | .. | 13 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 34 |
| Washing Machine | 66 | 71 | 78 | 81 | 87 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 92 |
| Telephone | 42 | 54 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 90 | 93 | 94 | 96 |
| Central Heating | 37 | 43 | 59 | 69 | 82 | 83 | 86 | 88 | 90 |
| Car or van | 52 | 56 | 69 | 62 | 67 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 72 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, UK
ANSWER:
The table provides information about how the number of British households with a range of consumer durables and household amenities has changed over a 26-year period between 1972 and 1998.
In 1972, the vast majority of households (93%) had a color television. In the next three years, figures touched the mark of 96%, but dropped to their lowest of about three quarters (74%) in the early 1980s. The percentage has steadily risen since then and almost all households (98%) had this mode of entertainment in 1998.
Looking at other products, it is clearly evident that there was a gradual rise in the ownership of all of them. The greatest increase was observed for central heating as the number of houses equipped with this facility rose from 37% in 1972 to 90% in 1998. Next came telephone ownership, rising from under a half (42%) of households in 1972 to 96% in 1998. The percentage of households with a washing machine went up by 26% over the same period and of those with a car or van rose by 20%. In 1985, the introduction year of home computers, just over one in eight British households (13%) owned a home computer. Interestingly, by the end of the period, numbers had climbed to 34%.
Overall, the percentage of British houses endowed with long-lasting goods and facilities increased throughout the given period.
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