Passing and Coming Decades - Kenneth | Learn English at EnglishCafe

Listen to the following selection focusing on the passing and coming decades. The listening is full of collocations used with the noun 'decade' which you will find listed below. If you have any troubles understanding the listening selection, you can scroll down to read along with the text below.  

Best of luck in the coming decade!!

2000 - 2010

Many newspapers are calling this period the 'aughts'. Aught =  / also meaning of no importance  

Adjectives

past

preceding  

previous

recent

closing

2010 - 2019

Adjectives

coming

ensuing

next

following

Verbs + Decade

spend a decade doing something  

XYZ spanned a decade (to take place during the course of a decade)

enter a decade  

Decade + Verbs

Time passing:

the decade elapses

the decade goes by

the decade passes

Beginning:

the decade begins

the decade opens with  

the decade starts with

Ending:

the decade closes

the decade ends

Experiences during a decade:

the decade sees something

the decade witnesses something

Time Expression Use with Decade:

during a decade

over (the course of) a decade

throughout a decade

within a decade

Listening Selection Text

The past few weeks were spent saying goodbye to the closing decade and celebrating the dawn of the coming decade. Here in the United States, many newspapers and other media outlets complained about the previous decade's elapsing with little good to show. In other parts of the world, however, countries witnessed the close of the decade with great joy. There's little doubt that throughout the 'aughts' the world saw much turmoil in many countries. Other countries saw explosive economic growth over the past decade.  

As we enter the next decade there is much hope for better times ahead. The ensuing decade will surely see ever accelerating improvements in technology, as well as the continuing growth of the internet for the entire decade. By the year 2020, we'll look back and see plenty of good and bad just as we do now. One thing is for sure: The recent decade was full of change for everybody, and we can certainly expect even more change over the course of the next decade!