46451

Test 5

Units 13-15

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1 Reading (8 x 2 = 16 marks)

Answcr 1-8 by choosing a, b, or c. Tick (/) the correct answer.

1    The writer says that...

a chain Ietters are not legał.__

b you should do what the letter tells you to do._

C you can make money by sending chain Ietters.

2    Chain Ietters ...

a are a ncw craze.____

b can cause you to die._

C frighten you into sending them. _

3    Pyramid schcmes ...

a depend on pcople wishłng to be rich.__

b work in a completcly different way to chain Ietters.___

c are not against the law._

4    Which statement best describes the pyramid ⁰ scheme?

a Most people eventually receive something.___

b Only some people make any money.__

c Ifs easy to get people to Join.__:

5    The article implies that when we order an object by mail order ...

a it’s often too large. ____

b it doesn’t do the job. ____

C it breaks easily. _

6    Some mail order schemes ...

a are not dearly legał and ethlcal._

b are obviously dishonest or. illegal.__

c make us curious._

7    Which statement best describes the current situatkm?

a Nothing has bcen donc to protect consumers.

b People always come up with ncw schemes.__

c There is absolutely nothing that can be done to get your money back._

8    Consumers replied to the advertisement because they...

a wanted a ncw pair of scissors._

b thought they wouldn’t have to pay thdr bills.____

c thought it would help them to reduce their bills.

1 Periodically, there łs a craze for chain Ietters which. even though they are against the law, continue to tum up. A tradrtional Chain letter will probably pressure you into getting involved by telling you that unless you send the letter on to ten frlends, something awful will happen to you, like having an accldent, losing your job, or even your life! Your ten friends will then send the letter to ten friends each, and so on, forming a potentially huge pyramid.

pyramid scheme is a system of making money. Like chain Ietters, they exploit the pyramid prindple (hence the name) and they are illegal. However, in these schemes It is the desire to make money that pressures people into getting involved. In a typical pyramid scheme, you would send, say, €100 to the person who persuaded you to join the scheme. You would then have to find ten morę people to join who would each give you €100 and reeruit a further ten people each. This would mean that you would make €900. Sounds easy, but in practice it is very hard, often impossible, to talk others into joining the scheme, and it is veiy llkefy that not only will you not make any money, but you will lose money too.

3These two examples show that curiosity and greed can get the better of most of us. Mail order also provides man/ełous opportunrties for crafty operators. You see an advertisement in the paper with a lovely photograph of an appliance which achieves household miracles. When you finally get rt. it's completely the wrong size and useless. Quite how illegal or unethical all this is, is open to question. Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) often applies and so you may have no right to compensation. Of course, most mail order schemes are as reputable as over-the-counter sales. Even though consumer protection has improved, for every scam which is stopped, someone cunning comes up with another one. A few years ago there was an advertisement which promised a way of cutting household bills, such as those for electricity, in half. You sent off your £10 and received some plastic scissors! A lot of people were caught out by this.

Ł. CLppCOA - (*) -^. cl ndc (.£) "

3. a StrOnO fc&Uou9 •łwt' you słu⁰ (£) -

PhotocopiabJe O Oxford University Press 9