Reading Test

Read the text. Choose the correct answer

John     

We often travel by plane but we don’t use budget airlines, even though they are cheaper and often fly to the places we want to go. I’d rather pay more for a bit more comfort. Last Christmas, we wanted to spend the holidays with family and friends and we had a change of flight in Frankfurt, Germany. The time between flights was forty-five minutes and we soon realised that we weren’t going to make it. The airline was good to us and the other passengers and gave us food and a comfortable hotel to sleep in. We got a flight the next morning but, unfortunately, it meant that we missed a big family party. I thought I’d been clever and found a quick way to get to Canada but I was very wrong. Now I know that I need to leave at least two hours between flights if I want to be safe. That’s much better than missing a flight or arriving without your luggage.

John doesn’t use budget airlines because

Read the text. Choose the correct answer

John     

We often travel by plane but we don’t use budget airlines, even though they are cheaper and often fly to the places we want to go. I’d rather pay more for a bit more comfort. Last Christmas, we wanted to spend the holidays with family and friends and we had a change of flight in Frankfurt, Germany. The time between flights was forty-five minutes and we soon realised that we weren’t going to make it. The airline was good to us and the other passengers and gave us food and a comfortable hotel to sleep in. We got a flight the next morning but, unfortunately, it meant that we missed a big family party. I thought I’d been clever and found a quick way to get to Canada but I was very wrong. Now I know that I need to leave at least two hours between flights if I want to be safe. That’s much better than missing a flight or arriving without your luggage.

John

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Greta

We decided to travel across Europe by train. Train travel always looks so romantic in films. I imagined leisurely meals in the dining car, meeting exotic people, followed by a comfortable night’s sleep. Things started to go wrong before we had even left. The security and check-in for the train from London was just like at an airport except that the queues were longer. Then, when we got to Brussels, we found that our night train was three hours late and there was nowhere to leave our bags. After a very long and not very good meal at the station, it was finally time to get on the night train. It was OK but the compartment was too hot and when we opened the window, it was too noisy to sleep. The beds were hard and there was no dining car so everyone went straight to their own compartments and didn’t socialise at all. It wasn’t quite as I had imagined it!

When Greta travelled across Europe by train,

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Elias

We wanted to go to England but weren’t sure how to travel. We live along way from an airport and, anyway, none of us like flying. If we went by train, we would have to change three times. In the end, we went by coach. It left our home town at five o’clock in the afternoon, as planned, and arrived in London, exactly on time, twenty-two hours later. I wasn’t expecting to sleep well and it wasn’t as comfortable as a bed but it was better than I had imagined. The bus stopped every four hours for a rest and we all got out. Everyone was very friendly and chatted and the atmosphere was almost like a party. Then, at about eleven o’clock, it all went quiet as people tried to sleep. When I got out in London, half asleep but happy, I felt as if I was saying goodbye to old friends. I’m now planning on doing more travelling by coach.

Elias

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Have you ever dreamed about opening a restaurant? If so, then you have something in common with me. Ever since I was a small boy I wanted to be a chef, with much of my childhood spent in the kitchen with my grandma making cakes and sweet things. Back then, my main ambition was to work in a restaurant, but since taking a number of stressful and badly paid jobs in different restaurants, my ideas have changed. When I first started to talk about my big plans, many people told me it was an impossible dream. They thought there was too much risk involved, particularly since there are so many restaurants close to where I live. However, I’m happy I didn’t listen to them. It’s actually quite possible to follow any dream you have as long as you are ready to deal with some difficulties and enjoy taking on new challenges. If you really love what you do, it may be the best step you have ever taken.

Why did the writer change his mind about working in a restaurant?

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There are a number of things to consider before you go ahead with your plan. Money is always a big issue. There are a lot of things you need to buy before opening to customers such as furniture and supplies, and then once you open there will be staff to pay. They will need to be paid even during times when there isn’t a lot of business so you need to have money in the bank. I’d recommend having enough money saved so that you can continue to serve customers for two or three months even without making any money. Otherwise you might have to shut down before you even get going.

The next thing to consider is how to get customers. Choosing a popular location is vital, but even more important is offering a unique and interesting experience to diners. I love going to restaurants that serve unusual food or have a special atmosphere. You can do that by offering live music or hanging original art on the walls. I visited a lot of different restaurants when I was considering what my place should look like, and that helped me to decide what was important. I ended up opening a restaurant serving traditional food as I realised there was nothing like that in my local area. 

What’s the most important thing to consider when attracting customers?

Read the texts. Choose the correct answer

There are a number of things to consider before you go ahead with your plan. Money is always a big issue. There are a lot of things you need to buy before opening to customers such as furniture and supplies, and then once you open there will be staff to pay. They will need to be paid even during times when there isn’t a lot of business so you need to have money in the bank. I’d recommend having enough money saved so that you can continue to serve customers for two or three months even without making any money. Otherwise you might have to shut down before you even get going.

The next thing to consider is how to get customers. Choosing a popular location is vital, but even more important is offering a unique and interesting experience to diners. I love going to restaurants that serve unusual food or have a special atmosphere. You can do that by offering live music or hanging original art on the walls. I visited a lot of different restaurants when I was considering what my place should look like, and that helped me to decide what was important. I ended up opening a restaurant serving traditional food as I realised there was nothing like that in my local area. 

How did the writer decide what type of restaurant to open?