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ЧАСТЬ 2 READING

Прочтите текст и отметьте, какие утверждения верны (T), а какие нет (F).

SHOPLIFTING: FIVE-FINGERED DISCOUNTS

Losses from a combination of shoplifting, worker and supplier theft, and accounting errors amounted to 3% of all retail sales. This “shrinkage” cost global retailers almost $115 billion a year. The given figure continues its growth due to a rise in shoplifting, particularly in America and Europe. Branded clothes and fashion accessories were the most prized items globally, with items for the car and home-improvement goods a close second. In Europe, the most pilfered grocery item is luxury-

cooked meat.

Indians with money love to shop. Annoyingly for retailers, so do Indians without money. A new survey of retailers in 42 countries by Britain’s Centre for Retail Research found the highest level of “shrinkage” (losses from shoplifting, theft by workers and accounting errors) in India. Goods worth 2.72% of sales went walkabout. In Taiwan, the best performer, only 0.87% did.

This is not because India is a nation of tealeaves. It is because Indian shops have not yet learned how to protect their stock. Fifteen years ago Taiwanese shops had one of the worst rates of “shrinkage” in the world, but they took measures to improve it. Joshua Bamfield, the author of the survey, says he is confident that India can do the same.

Globally, “shrinkage" cost retailers $107 billion in the year to June. This was 5.6% less than the previous year, but still the equivalent of 1.36% of sales. In America, light-fingered employees are a bigger problem than thieving shoppers. In Europe, it is the other way around. Worldwide, crooked staff have better opportunities to steal than ordinary shoppers. Per incident, they pinch ten times more.

When it comes to thwarting thieves, shop-owners are on their own. In most countries the criminal justice system has all but given up trying to punish shoplifters. Even in Britain, which is not shy of locking people up, only 5,000-10,000 of the roughly 450,000 who are arrested every year go to jail, and then for an average of 2.2 months.

So retailers install CCTV cameras, attach so-called electronic article surveillance tags to their wares, train their staff to spot thieves and screen workers for criminal records before hiring them. This year retailers spent $26.8 billion, or 0.34% of sales, on preventing theft.

Some dismiss shoplifting simply as a cost of doing business. Yet it can be serious. Some shoplifters work in organised gangs. Some turn violent when interrupted. Some, especially those who are hooked on drugs, are persistent and prolific. And all impose a cost on honest shoppers. Theft inflates the average family’s annual shopping bill by $186.

1. The most prized items globally are branded clothes and fashion accessories and items for the car and home-improvement goods.

T

F

2. In Europe the most pilfered grocery item is first-grade stock cooked meat.

T

F

3. Indians without money don’t love to shop.

T

F

4. In Taiwan goods worth 2.72% of sales went walkabout.

T

F

5. Indian shops have learned how to protect their stock.

T

F

6. In Europe light-fingered employees are a less problem than thieving shoppers are.

T

F

7. In most countries the criminal justice system does almost nothing to punish shoplifters.

T

F

8. Electronic article surveillance tags, attached to the wares, serve to preventing theft.

T

F

ЧАСТЬ 3 LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Прослушайте аудиозапись. Кратко (8–10 предложений) изложите в косвенной речи основное содержание интервью с американским композитором Майклом Каменом, пересказав, альбомы с какой музыкой он предпочитает записывать; почему называет себя «an action guy»; что именно было написано для сериала «From the Earth to the Moon»; его отношение к главному треку фильма «Brazil»; как Майкл Камен характеризует самого себя.

ЧАСТЬ 4 WRITING

Напишите официальное письмо потенциальному работодателю.

Придерживайтесь следующей структуры:

1. Heading: a) your name, address, city, state, and zip code, phone number and email; the date should be on the next line; b) the name of the company contact, the company address and city, state, and zip code.

2. Greeting: Dr./Mr./Ms.

3. Body of Letter

• First Paragraph: mention the job you are applying for and where you found job vacancy information.

• Middle Paragraph(s): mention why your skills and experiences are a good fit for the job. For each skill or quality you mention, provide a specific example.

• Last Paragraph: Say thank you to the hiring manager for considering you and note how you will follow up.

4. Signature