Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer of each question.

Boots has reduced the price of "feminine" razors to bring them in line with men's. The chemist chain says it is just an isolated incident, but campaigners say it is part of a "pink tax" that discriminates against women. Who's right and what's the bigger story, ask Jessica McCallin and Claire Bates. Campaigners against what's been dubbed the "pink tax" - where retailers charge women more than men for similar products - are celebrating after Boots said it would change the price of some of its goods.

Stevie Wise, who launched the petition, was driven by a Times investigation which claimed that women and girls are charged, on average, 37% more for clothes, beauty products and toys. The New York Department of Consumer Affairs had compared the prices of 800 products with male and female versions and concluded that, after controlling for quality, women's versions were, on average, 7% more expensive than men's.

“This is a very exciting response,” says Wise. We are delighted with Boots' decision, but we now need to get them to look at all of their products, not just the ones highlighted in the petition. We hope this decision is just the first of many and we may broaden our campaign to focus on other retailers as well." Wise says that women have been getting in touch with examples of other price discrepancies from lots of companies and says there seems to be a particular problem with toys and clothes. Argos has been criticized for identical scooters that cost £5 more if they were pink rather than blue. Argos said it was an error that had already been rectified and that it would never indulge in differential pricing.

Among the examples sent to Wise was Boots selling identical child car seats that cost more in pink. Another retailer was selling children's balance bikes which cost more for a flowery print aimed at girls than a pirate print aimed at boys. But the latter example  already appears to have been tweaked on the retailer's website, albeit by applying a £10 discount to the flowery version.

When challenged over sexist pricing, both Levi's and Tesco argued that different versions of things could have different production costs even if appearing fairly similar. Prof Nancy Puccinelli says her research suggests that women are much more careful shoppers than men, better able to scrutinise adverts and pricing gimmicks. She wonders if women are perceiving more value in the more expensive products. “If products are separated into male and female sections far away from each other it's harder to scrutinise prices.” Such a situation could either be deliberate or accidental but the campaigners are not convinced.

There is an opportunity for some companies, argues Olchawski. “The finding shows the power of marketing in our lives, how it shapes our perception of what it means to be a man or a woman. Some companies could choose not to play into this, not to play into the stereotypes and rip women off, but launch products more in tune with moves toward gender equality.”

(Adapted from FELTS Academic Reading Test 6. Section 3)

 What of the following most accurately reflects the author's imply in the last paragraph?

 

 

He worked on fixing the computer for two ______ hours before giving up  and calling tech support.

Bill was      ______ on and on about his weekend fishing trip - I really didn't  need to know all the details!

No sooner had I turned on my new PC than there was a strange noise.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our group's scheduled visit to the museum has been called off

His cell phone makes an ______ noise every time he gets a text message.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

We respectfully advise the Culture Secretary not to put her shirt on it.

If I had known about their wedding plan earlier, I would have been able to make time to attend the reception party.

1/4 of my income _____ to pay for my university debts

Mai: “l'm really excited about Aunt Mary's surprise birthday party this afternoon! Aren't you?”

Lan: “_____________.”

Mark the letter A, B, C or ID to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word (s) in each of the following questions.

It's unfair for Marry to be done out of  chances to get promotion.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

In recent years, the WTO has also made it a priority to assist developing nations as they come under WTO regulation. Many developing countries and emerging markets lack the experience and technical expertise needed to deal with large and very comprehensive trade agreements. The WTO provides them with critical training and support, (25) ______ ensuring that the WTO is inclusive and equitable toward both the wealthiest and the poorest nations in the world.

Part of the nondiscrimination mandate of the WTO is most-favored-nation (MFN) status. Most-favored-nation status requires that a WTO member must apply the same

terms and conditions to (26) ______ with any and all other WTO members. Also, you (27) ______ experienced a version of most-favored-nation status as a child, when an adult told you that if you were going to take gum or candy to class, you had to bring enough for everyone.

One of the other key elements to the success of the WTO is its transparency requirement. WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations and follow a system that allows all external parties (28) ______ will review and evaluate any administrative decisions and their impact on trade regulations. When a WTO nation changes its trade policies, those changes must be reported to the WTO.

Overall, the WTO's mission is to improve the stability and (29) ______ of global trade. As a result, it tends to support free-trade, as opposed to protectionist, policies, and strongly discourages the use of quotas and other such restrictions on imports.

(Adapted from https://courses.lumenlearning.com)

Điền vào số: 28

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer of each question.

Boots has reduced the price of "feminine" razors to bring them in line with men's. The chemist chain says it is just an isolated incident, but campaigners say it is part of a "pink tax" that discriminates against women. Who's right and what's the bigger story, ask Jessica McCallin and Claire Bates. Campaigners against what's been dubbed the "pink tax" - where retailers charge women more than men for similar products - are celebrating after Boots said it would change the price of some of its goods.

Stevie Wise, who launched the petition, was driven by a Times investigation which claimed that women and girls are charged, on average, 37% more for clothes, beauty products and toys. The New York Department of Consumer Affairs had compared the prices of 800 products with male and female versions and concluded that, after controlling for quality, women's versions were, on average, 7% more expensive than men's.

“This is a very exciting response,” says Wise. We are delighted with Boots' decision, but we now need to get them to look at all of their products, not just the ones highlighted in the petition. We hope this decision is just the first of many and we may broaden our campaign to focus on other retailers as well." Wise says that women have been getting in touch with examples of other price discrepancies from lots of companies and says there seems to be a particular problem with toys and clothes. Argos has been criticized for identical scooters that cost £5 more if they were pink rather than blue. Argos said it was an error that had already been rectified and that it would never indulge in differential pricing.

Among the examples sent to Wise was Boots selling identical child car seats that cost more in pink. Another retailer was selling children's balance bikes which cost more for a flowery print aimed at girls than a pirate print aimed at boys. But the latter example  already appears to have been tweaked on the retailer's website, albeit by applying a £10 discount to the flowery version.

When challenged over sexist pricing, both Levi's and Tesco argued that different versions of things could have different production costs even if appearing fairly similar. Prof Nancy Puccinelli says her research suggests that women are much more careful shoppers than men, better able to scrutinise adverts and pricing gimmicks. She wonders if women are perceiving more value in the more expensive products. “If products are separated into male and female sections far away from each other it's harder to scrutinise prices.” Such a situation could either be deliberate or accidental but the campaigners are not convinced.

There is an opportunity for some companies, argues Olchawski. “The finding shows the power of marketing in our lives, how it shapes our perception of what it means to be a man or a woman. Some companies could choose not to play into this, not to play into the stereotypes and rip women off, but launch products more in tune with moves toward gender equality.”

(Adapted from FELTS Academic Reading Test 6. Section 3)

 Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

The course was so difficult that I didn't _______ any progress at all.

A temporary lift has been installing to enable wheelchair access to one of the wonders of the world.