Exam B3 LV

Which TWO answers are similar in meaning to the underlined word or phrase?

1. Man: Should we buy this chair? I think it would look good in our living room.

Woman: I disagree. The style is attractive, but the colors don’t match our other furniture.

2. Woman: Are you going shopping tomorrow? There are some great sales on at the mall.

Man: I doubt it. I try to avoid the mall when the stores get really crowded.

3. Man: Did you know the convenience store down the street only accepts cash?

Woman: Yeah, I told you that the other day.

Man: You did? I must have forgotten.

4. Man: We need some food for the weekend. Should we go to Green’s Supermarket?

Woman: No. The prices are too expensive there. Let’s go to Price Saver instead of Green’s.

5. Woman: Do you want to go shopping tomorrow, Bob?

Man: Sure, that sounds … oh, it’s a holiday. All the stores will be closed.

6. Woman 1: You always manage to get such good deals when you go shopping, Diane. How do you do it?

Woman 2: Before I go, I check smartbuyer.net. It’s a website that has great strategies for saving money.

7. Man 1: What’s the most expensive product you’ve ever bought?

Man 2: Hmm. I’d say it was my car.

Choose ONE word to answer each question.

READING 1: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SUPERMARKETS

A When we go shopping at a supermarket, we often buy more than we need. But it may not be our fault – supermarkets are controlling the way we shop. In fact, the whole experience of shopping for food is planned and arranged for us. Every detail of a supermarket has a purpose. The way the aisles are organized, the music, the lighting, the product advertising – all these things make us stay longer and spend more.

B From the moment we enter, a supermarket’s floor plan controls the way we experience the store. There is usually only one way in and one way out, so we have to start and stop at particular places. Fruit and vegetables and the bakery are usually near the entrance. Fresh produce and the smell of bread baking can make a store seem fresh and attractive. This puts us in a good mood and makes us hungry, so we take our time and buy more food.

C In addition, we often have to walk through the whole supermarket to find what we need. For example, common items that most people shop for – like milk and eggs – are usually at the back of the store. Popular items are often placed in the middle of aisles, so we have to walk through the aisles to get what we want. Supermarkets also put expensive food at eye-level where they are easy to reach. Cheaper items are placed on lower shelves, so we have to bend down to get them. Cash registers are usually at the exit, so we have to walk through the entire store before getting to the payment area. All of these strategies make us see more food and spend more money.

D Supermarkets use other techniques to control our shopping experience, too. For example, they play music to affect how we shop. In a study of shopping habits in a New York City supermarket, researchers found that slow music in a store makes us shop more slowly. In fact, when supermarkets play slow music instead of fast music, shoppers spend about 38 percent more. Additionally, most grocery stores don’t have any clocks or windows. We can’t look outside or see what time it is while we shop. That way, we don’t know how long we’ve been shopping.

E So what can you do to avoid buying more than you need? First, make a list and don’t buy anything that isn’t on it. If you don’t trust yourself to do this, bring only enough cash to buy what you need. Second, don’t shop too often. Plan several days of meals and shop for food only once or twice a week. Lastly, don’t shop when you’re hungry. That’s when everything in the store looks delicious!

READING 2: THE POWER OF PERSUASION

F You’re shopping, and you see two similar products. How do you decide which one to buy? You might think you make this decision by yourself – but this isn’t always the case. Don’t believe it? Try this. What word is missing?

APPLE TREE GRASS GR________

G What was the first word you thought of? Did you think of “green”? That’s probably because we influenced your answer. The words “tree” and “grass” made you think of the color green, right? The color of the words also influenced your decision. This is an example of priming.

H Psychologist Joshua Ackerman explains that priming is a way to “use cues to influence your attitudes [and] responses, often without you even noticing.” Priming speeds up our decision-making. That’s why advertisers use it to persuade us to buy things.

Influencing Your Thinking

I Use of color is one type of priming. Did you ever notice that a lot of signs and packaging use the color red? Studies show that red gives people warm and positive feelings. We feel good about products connected with the color red, so we want to buy them. Green, on the other hand, makes products seem natural. Food companies often use green packages to make their food seem healthy.

J Descriptions in ads and signs also influence buying decisions. For example, studies show that if an ad says there’s a limit to the number of items you can buy, you’ll want more of them. Why? According to psychologists, something becomes more attractive if it’s rare.

K The sounds in ads also influence decision-making. For example, advertisers sometimes use rhymes in their ads. In a study at the University of Texas, researchers showed people pairs of messages with the same meaning – one that rhymed and one that didn’t. The study found that people are more likely to believe the rhyming message. Rhymes are also easier for people to remember, so when they go shopping, they’re more likely to buy the product.

L Advertisers use a lot of techniques to persuade customers to buy their products. You might think you’re in control when you shop, but maybe you’re not. Priming strategies could be influencing your decisions.

The questions refer to Reading 1 and Reading 2 from Unit 3. Review the two reading passages. Then decide which paragraph in the passages contains the following information. Write the letter of the paragraph.

What Companies Don’t Want You to Know About Online Shopping

A The growth of online shopping has been incredible. When it first started in the U.K. in 1979, it was not well known. As a result, sales totals were small. By the mid-1990s, when the Internet really started to become popular, online shopping was becoming better known and more attractive. By the early 2000s, shoppers in the U.S. spent over $50 billion online. And these days, online sales continue to grow. For example, data from 2016 shows that just one online retailer – Amazon – achieved more than $80 billion in sales. As a majority of Americans prefer shopping online to visiting stores, this figure does not seem surprising. What may be surprising, or perhaps shocking, is that different customers may be offered different prices online.

B The price that a shopper sees online seems to depend on several things. One is the geographical location of the customer: Where he or she lives, in other words. People shopping from a large city, for example, might see lower prices than customers who live in the countryside. Or shoppers who live near a large bookstore might be able to buy books online more cheaply than customers who live far away from any stores selling books. This is probably due to competition. In places with a lot of competition, stores – both physical and online – usually have lower prices in order to attract more customers.

C Shopping history is another factor that can affect the price an online customer sees. A simple example can show how this works. Customer A, for example, often shops online and spends around $300 per month. When he buys something, he looks for quality and rarely buys the cheapest item. In contrast, Customer B is not a regular online shopper. When she does buy something, she usually waits until the item is on sale. Online stores track and save this information – among other details – about customers, and they use it to set prices that are likely to be attractive. Not surprisingly, the prices offered to a shopper like Customer A are generally going to be higher than the prices Customer B would see.

D Among online shopping sites, some offer better prices to people who connect using a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet, rather than a desktop or laptop computer. Others give cheaper prices to customers who are logged in to the site. Some may offer different prices to users who visit by following a link from a social media site. As these examples suggest, how a shopper connects to the Internet may affect the prices that he or she is offered.

Read the passage before. Look at each statement and write in CAPITAL LETTERS:

TRUE if the statement agrees with information in the passage

FALSE if the statement contradicts information in the passage

NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

What Companies Don’t Want You to Know About Online Shopping

A The growth of online shopping has been incredible. When it first started in the U.K. in 1979, it was not well known. As a result, sales totals were small. By the mid-1990s, when the Internet really started to become popular, online shopping was becoming better known and more attractive. By the early 2000s, shoppers in the U.S. spent over $50 billion online. And these days, online sales continue to grow. For example, data from 2016 shows that just one online retailer – Amazon – achieved more than $80 billion in sales. As a majority of Americans prefer shopping online to visiting stores, this figure does not seem surprising. What may be surprising, or perhaps shocking, is that different customers may be offered different prices online.

B The price that a shopper sees online seems to depend on several things. One is the geographical location of the customer: Where he or she lives, in other words. People shopping from a large city, for example, might see lower prices than customers who live in the countryside. Or shoppers who live near a large bookstore might be able to buy books online more cheaply than customers who live far away from any stores selling books. This is probably due to competition. In places with a lot of competition, stores – both physical and online – usually have lower prices in order to attract more customers.

C Shopping history is another factor that can affect the price an online customer sees. A simple example can show how this works. Customer A, for example, often shops online and spends around $300 per month. When he buys something, he looks for quality and rarely buys the cheapest item. In contrast, Customer B is not a regular online shopper. When she does buy something, she usually waits until the item is on sale. Online stores track and save this information – among other details – about customers, and they use it to set prices that are likely to be attractive. Not surprisingly, the prices offered to a shopper like Customer A are generally going to be higher than the prices Customer B would see.

D Among online shopping sites, some offer better prices to people who connect using a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet, rather than a desktop or laptop computer. Others give cheaper prices to customers who are logged in to the site. Some may offer different prices to users who visit by following a link from a social media site. As these examples suggest, how a shopper connects to the Internet may affect the prices that he or she is offered.

Supporting ideas help a reader to understand the main idea of a paragraph. They provide more information about that idea, such as details, examples, or reasons. Look at the four underlined sentences in this passage. Then answer the questions.

32. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph A?

33. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph B?

34. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph C?

35. What is the function of the underlined sentence in paragraph D?

Here are some words and phrases you can use to connect a series of ideas:

• Another reason people like shopping is that …
• In addition, many people like shopping because …
• Furthermore, shopping is popular because …
• Also, shopping makes people feel …
• Shopping may also give people a feeling of …

Look at the statements. Write T (in CAPITAL LETTER) if a statement is True or F (in CAPITAL LETTER) if it is False. For false statements, rewrite the underlined word in the right side, so that the statement is true. 

Example:

(TRUE/FALSE) 36. When used to connect ideas, another is an adjective that comes after a noun or noun phrase. (THE UNDERLINED WORD)

A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single topic. The paragraph’s topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. Other sentences providing supporting information, such as examples, details, or reasons.

Read this short paragraph and think about the function of the five numbered sentences. Then answer the questions.

(1) Have you been to a store in the past few days? (2) Around the world, shopping is one of the most popular activities for both men and women. (3) Studies show that both men and women enjoy a variety of other activities. (4) One reason for shopping’s popularity is that buying things can make us feel happy, at least for a short time. (5) Furthermore, shopping is a good opportunity to spend time with friends or family members.

40. What kind of sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph?

41. What kind of sentence is the second sentence in the paragraph?

42. What kind of sentence is the third sentence in the paragraph?

43. What kind of sentence is the fourth sentence in the paragraph?

44. What kind of sentence is the fifth sentence in the paragraph?

Write full sentences in answer to these questions.

45. In general, do you prefer shopping in stores or online? Why?

46. If you could go to a mall or for a walk in a forest, which would you rather do? Why?

47. What is the best thing you have ever bought for yourself? Why?

48. Do you prefer to buy things you can own, or experiences you can have? Why?

49. If you won $500, what is the very first thing you would buy? Why?

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

“To be happier, people should spend less time buying things and more time making things.”

50. Write at least 100 words and provide reasons and details to support your opinion.