Study the following information.Abbreviations are mostly made from the first letters of some words. It is usually the case with international organizations. Some initial-letter abbreviations are pronounced letter by letter (the BBC), others are pronounced like words (UNESCO). Abbreviations are quite common in newspaper articles and different kinds of correspondence. The names of organizations mentioned in newspapers are first reported in full and later are given in abbreviation. See, for example, the article ‘Playing by Dutch Rules’ given in this Unit in which the US Drug Enforcement Administration is also referred to as the DEA. Abbreviations sometimes coincide, but their meaning is easily derived from the context. For example, FBI can stand for ‘Federal Bureau of Investigation’ or ‘Federation of British Industries’. To find out the meaning of abbreviations see a good dictionary. However, the most common abbreviations should be memorized:
NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome WHO – World Health Organization UN – United Nations UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization PM – Prime Minister MP – Member of Parliament If the plural from of an abbreviation is given, the ending is placed at the end of the abbreviation. (E.g. POWs – prisoners of war)
The following abbreviations are common in correspondence.
c/o – care of (E.g. to T. White, c/o P. Smith. The letter goes to P. Smith’s address and later is forwarded to T. White). Enc. – enclosed a/c – account No – number PIN – personal identification number Ext – extension Asap – as soon as possible Ref. – reference Etc. – and so on (Latin: et cetera) i.e. – that is (Latin: id est) NB – please note (Latin: nota bene) PTO – please turn over RSVP – please reply (French: repondez s’il vous plait) (NB. It is very impolite not to reply if you get a letter with ‘RSVP’). 33. Write the following note in full words.
To Jack Brown c/o Mr J. Clarence. Dear Jack, I’ve got to inform you that the MD ordered us to be particularly careful about recording the a/c Nos and PINs of all our clients. (See the enc. Memo). As we can guess you are snowed under with work, and next week I’m coming over to help. It would be very nice if you could meet me at the station (arr. 3.40pm, Wed.20th). Love Jane PS. If you need to ring me, mind that my phone number has changed. It’s now 1230598 ext.875. RSVP. 34. Read the following excepts from ‘The Guardian’ and say what the marked abbreviations stand for. 1. Normally American soldier is trained to clear rat holes, or underground facilities, by dropping hand grenades or shooting off rounds from an assault rifle into the hole. “We were about to clear that UGF in a military sort of way when we realized there was a man down there,” said Col. Hickey. 2. More than 12 doctors were referred to the General Medical Committee in the aftermath of the report into organ retention at the hospital. The report had calculated that thousands of organs had been stockpiled by hospitals, including Alder Hay. This is the only case that has led to a full hearing before the GMC. 3. Homebuyers appear to have shrugged off the recent interest rate rise, according to a report today. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the number of house sales has hit its highest level since February and prices have maintained their “firm” pace of increase. In its report covering the three months to November 30, the RICS said … 4. The city fraud squad is boosting by a third the number of police who will work on complex cases with the Serious Fraud Office. The police force will start recruiting 26 more officers next week, and will work more closely with the SFO on serious fraud cases … 5. The Commission for Integrated Transport, which was set up by the deputy prime-minister, John Prescott, was told yesterday that its future role would be limited to providing blue-sky advice. David Beg, CfIT’s chairman, has been …
Grammar Revision Grammar Training Supply the correct form of the verbs given in brackets. A.
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