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Asking Questions

Exercise 1: Ask an appropriate question for the response

It was really rather wet and windy with temperatures well


below normal.

Since eight o'clock this morning.

I was cleaning up.

I'd buy a new house.

She can't be at home, I tried to call her a few minutes


ago.

Why don't you go shopping?

For about 2 years.


Exercise 2: Ask questions to fill the gaps with the missing
information

Student A
The last few weeks have been very difficult for my friend ______. He
discovered that he hadn't insured his car after his car was stolen
__________. He immediately went to hisinsurance agent, but she told
him that he had only bought ____________, and not against theft. He
became really angry and ________________, but, of course, he didn't
do that in the end. So, he hasn't been driving for the past two
weeks, but ___________ to get to work. He works at a company about
15 miles from his home in __________. It used to take him only twenty
minutes to get to work. Now, he has to get up at ___________ in order
to catch the seven o'clock bus. If he had more money, he would
___________. Unfortunately, he had just spent most of his savings on
an _____________ before his car was stolen. He had a wonderful time
in Hawaii, but he now says that if he hadn't gone to Hawaii, he
wouldn't be having all these problems now. Poor guy.

Student B
The last few weeks have been very difficult for my friend Jason.
He discovered that _______________ after his car was stolen
three weeks ago. He immediately went to his ___________, but
she told him that he had only bought a policy against
accidents, and not ________. He became really angry and

threatened to sue the company, but, of course, he didn't do


that in the end. So, he hasn't been ___________ for the past two
weeks, but has been taking the bus to get to work. He works at
a company about __________ from his home in Davonford. It
used to take him ____________ to get to work. Now, he has to
get up at six o'clock __________________________. If he had more
money, he would buy a new car. Unfortunately, he had just
__________________ on an exotic vacation to Hawaii before his
car was stolen. He had a wonderful time in Hawaii, but he now
says that if _______________, he wouldn't be having all these
problems now. Poor guy.

Black Friday sparks biggest retail sales


boost in a decade
Nationwide spending splurge on 28 November hailed as huge
success by shops
Black Friday spurred retail sales to the strongest year-on-year rise in 10 years, according to
official figures that show a 6.4% jump last month on the previous November.
The spending splurge on 28 November was hailed as a huge success by retailers that
discounted TVs, furniture and homewares to encourage a pre-Christmas buying rush.
Sales increased 1.6% from October, higher than analysts expected and adding to
expectations that households are relaxing their budgets as wages rise more than inflation and
the threat of an interest rate rise recedes.
But there was a warning that the figures could overstate the strength of consumer demand as
Black Friday fell in December last year, and though it had less impact in 2013, the spending
may have merely brought forward sales due in November.
Ian Geddes, UK head of retail at accountants Deloitte, said the numbers were very strong.
However, this year most of the boost provided by the biggest ever Black Friday has been felt
in November, and this is reflected in month-on-month volume growth and strong year-on-year
increase online. The extent to which sales have been promotionally driven is highlighted by
the steepest decline in store prices for 12 years.
Intense competition both on the high street and online has pushed down prices alongside a
near 50% fall in the oil price, which has cut the cost of petrol on the UKs garage forecourts.
Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg bank, said the falling oil price was like a big tax
cut for consumers, and UK consumers tend to spend extra income.
They also evidently like price deals in the shops. It is unlikely that falling oil prices will induce
a deflationary mindset among consumers, meaning they decide to delay buying a television
because filling up the car got cheaper. Those downside risks from falling oil prices are
overplayed, especially in the UK.

In our view, now is the time to be optimistic about the UK. A tax cut funded by Russia and
Middle East and falling mortgage rates should combine in a powerful cocktail that boosts UK
growth next year.
Maeve Johnston, UK economist at Capital Economics, was equally optimistic. The underlying
picture remains very strong, she said. Even if retail sales volumes shrink by 1% in
December to offset spending brought forward into November, they would be still 1.6% higher
in the fourth quarter than in Q3.
This could boost quarterly GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points in Q4, although some of this
boost may be offset by higher imports.

Electrical retailers offering misleading


discounts, study finds
Watchdog Which? calls for government action after finding savings at
some of UKs biggest retailers that either did not exist or were much
lower than claimed
Shoppers are being misled by the discounts offered at some of the UKs biggest electrical
retailers, a study has found.
Consumer group Which? tracked the prices of more than 100 electrical products sold by
Amazon, Argos, Currys and John Lewis, finding a number of savings that either did not exist
or were much lower than claimed.
Over the course of the six-month study, for example, Which? found Amazon selling a Canon
EOS 70D camera with a lens for 967.99 with the claim that it was a saving of 272 off the
recommended retail price (RRP) of 1,239.99. However, Canons typical price of 959 for the
camera meant customers were actually paying 8.99 more.
It also found Currys offering a Sony Bravia television for 579 with a claimed saving of 170
from the original price of 749. But Currys only sold the television at the higher price for three
weeks despite running the advertised offer for seven months.
John Lewis was caught lowering the price of its 55JL9000 LED HD Smart TV from the original
ticket of 1,699 to 1,599, 1,399 and then 1,299. At one point the retailer claimed that
customers were saving 400 when they were actually saving just 100 compared with the
previous week.
Which? said many of the strategies fell within government guidance on special offers because
retailers used signs to explain them. But consumer surveys suggest that many shoppers
would still be left thinking they had made a bigger saving than was actually the case.
When questioned by the watchdog, almost a third of shoppers said they had bought a product
only because it was on special offer, while 41% said they waited for offers before buying
items.
Shoppers could be better off seeking out the cheapest price and ignoring the offers altogether,
the consumer group advised. Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: With many
shoppers on the lookout for bargains this Christmas, weve found dodgy discounts that might
lure people into buying something they could have found cheaper elsewhere.

Its time for the government to force retailers to play fair by setting out new, clearer and
tougher rules on special offers.
A John Lewis spokeswoman added that it was not the stores intention to mislead customers.
We process a high number of promotions every week and have very robust checking
procedures in place. However, our processes do rely on manual input and it appears for one
of the examples highlighted there has been an individual human error.
Amazon also told Which?: We work with product manufacturers to provide our customers
with a wide range of information about any given product, including RRPs.
We aim to provide the very latest information.
A Currys spokesman said: We are the only retailer to always show customers when and for
how long our was prices applied both online and in-store.
We strictly observe government guidelines on pricing by giving customers clear information.

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