Answers:

1. Your answer was: 'Total public expenditure on education

in Hong Kong (1) continuously from 1995 to
1998.' The correct answer is 'increased' or 'rose'. This
description uses the simple past tense because the data in
the graph is from the past: 1995 to 1998.

2. Your answer was: 'In academic year 1995-6 it (2)

HK$33,611 million'. The correct answer is
'was'.

3. Your answer was: '(3) to $39,165 million in

1996-7 and $45,315 million in 1997-8.' The correct answer
is 'rising'. Click here for more on '_ing' forms.

4. Your answer was: 'As a percentage of the government’s

budget, spending on education also increased (4)
year, from 17.6% to 18% and then to 18.2%.'
The correct answer is 'each'.

5. Your answer was: 'However, the percentage of

expenditure spent on primary, secondary and tertiary
education did not show the same consistent (5)
.' The correct answer is 'rise'. 'Rise' here is a
noun. The clue here is that 'consistent' is an adjective, and
adjectives are usually followed by nouns.

6. Your answer was: 'In 1995-6 expenditure on primary

education was 22.2% of the education budget, 33.7% (6)
on secondary, and 35.9% on tertiary.' The
correct answer is 'was spent'. This is a passive voice verb,
meaning 'was spent by the government'.

7. Your answer was: 'In 1996-7 an increase of 0.8% in

spending on tertiary education (7) ' The correct
answer is 'was financed'. Click here for more details on
'was financed'.

8. Your answer was: 'by a (8) in spending of

0.7% in primary and 0.5% in secondary schooling.' The
correct answer is 'drop'. 'Decrease' is also an acceptable
answer. The clue that the answer is a noun here is the word
'a', as nouns often have an article such as 'a', 'an' or 'the' in
front of them.

9. Your answer was: 'In 1997-8 tertiary spending as a

percent of the education budget (9) to its 1995-
6 level.' The correct answer is 'returned'. This is a past tense
verb. 'Returned' has the right meaning as the figures for
1995-6 and 1997-8 are the same, although the figure for
1996-7 was different.

10. Your answer was: 'The percentage spent on primary

education (10) to 21.6%, and that on
secondary to 33.5%,' The correct answer is 'rose' or
'increased'.

11. Your answer was: '(11) and that on secondary to 33.5%,

figures being...' The correct answer is 'both'.

12. Your answer was: '(12) figures being than

1995-6 levels.' The correct answer is 'less'. The clue that
this answer is a comparative adjective is that it is followed
by 'than'.