9 Form Reading I

Reading Comprehension Test

For 9^th Form Students

Text 1

SUITS OR SMART CASUAL?

The modern office dilemma

So what’s appropriate for the office? Experts differ in opinions, but there are a few points they agree on. Ripped and worn looking jeans, shorts and Hawaiian print shirts are all unacceptable. Faded denim is also associated with sloppiness. Keep your look smart. For example, pair up dark jeans with a button-down blazer.

There are two important factors when discussing dress codes in the workplace. First of all, it must be clear. Employees need to know what is expected of them: otherwise, a dress code that is meant to create a relaxed atmosphere might actually increase stress. Second, employees must always consider their clients. We spoke with a lawyer in a firm with a casual dress policy who keeps a jacket and a tie in his office, and puts it on when expecting a client who might be offended by a more casual approach.

And one final thing – no matter what clothes people wear, they must always be clean and neat. Coffee stains are unacceptable on the front of one’s casual as well as one’s formal shirt.

Mark ‘T’ if the statement is true, ‘F’ - if it is false.

1. Cleanliness is always important in the workplace.

2. Some clients may not accept casual dress code in business situations.

3. Experts agree on what should be worn for the office.

4. Jeans are considered inappropriate for office casual days.

Text 2       

Busy little buyers

It's a typical Sunday afternoon at Tokyo's Girl Is Girl store and customers crowd into this mecca of Japanese teen fashion. 11-year-old Chihiro holds up a lemon yellow shirt with hearts and stars and says longingly, 'This is so cute. The next time I'll come with Mum.' Her two friends nod in agreement.

Chihiro and her friends are no ordinary shoppers; they are about the only dynamic consumers left in the sluggish Japanese economy. Marketers call them 'bubble juniors': the 9- to 14-year-old daughters of Japanese women who spent lavishly as carefree twenty some things during Japan's 'bubble' years of the 1980s. They are the potential trendsetters, like college girls in the 1980s and high-school girls in the 1990s.

Since Japan entered its recession, the retail clothing industry has been in a tailspin. Clothes sales at Japan's department stores have shrunk by almost 10% in the last five years. All the traditional market sectors- men's, women's and children's - have suffered. Only recently did Japanese clothing lines awaken to the purchasing power of the bubble juniors.

The girls are a unique and profitable niche. They don't want to wear what's in the kids' section. Rather, they mix mature styles with bright colours and childlike frills.

Mark ‘T’ if the statement is true, ‘F’ - if it is false.

5. 'Bubble juniors' are all Japanese children from a certain age group. 

6. Young girls have been known to set fashion trends in Japan before. 

7. Clothes sales in Japan have increased by 10% in recent years. 

8. Japanese 9- to 14-year-old girls choose clothes that give them a mature look.

Text 3

ASSISTANTS TO THE STARS

 It stands to reason that a city like Los Angeles, which is home to so many of the famous and the semi-famous, would have an Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants (ACPA). The organization describes personal assistants (PA) as ‘multitasking’, as ‘possessing the most resourceful, creative, insightful, and results-driven abilities.’

When I first got in touch with Josef Csongei, the organization’s president, he was initially reluctant to talk to me because I was a journalist. As he sees it, celebrity PA has not always been treated fairly by the press. But despite this, and all the hard work, he explained, the jobs were still widely sought after. He noted that people regularly travelled great distances to attend a seminar titled ‘Becoming a Celebrity PA’ run by the ACPA. To prove his point, he told me about Dean Johnson. In the coming weeks, I heard this story from a number of assistants, including Johnson himself, and every time it left me baffled.

The story begins one night in September 1994, with Dean Johnson sitting at home in Columbia, South Carolina. Johnson is a single, 32-year-old business executive in charge of marketing and advertising at a sizeable company in the healthcare industry. It is 11 pm and he’s looking to unwind in front of the television after a long day’s work. A repeat of a talk show appears on the screen, and the host introduces her four guests: the celebrity PA for Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Burt Reynolds and Carol Burnett. As these assistants talk about flying on private jets and attending Hollywood parties, Johnson reaches for a pen and starts taking notes. Without wasting another minute, he picks up the phone, calls directory enquiries in Los Angeles, and asks for the home phone numbers of the four assistants on the show.

Choose the correct variant: A, B, C, or D.

 9. When the writer first contacted him, Josef Csongei was

10. The phrase ‘to prove his point’ refers to Csongei’s belief that celebrity assistants

11. At the beginning of the story about Dean Johnson, we learn that

12. What was Dean’s immediate reaction to what he saw on the program?