EXERCISE

Read this article from the Financial Times by Rachel Sanderson and answer
the questions.

1) Look through the first paragraph to find the i) five years

names of: ii) ten years
a) a luxury Italian shoe company. iii) twenty years
b) its current owner.
c) the name of his father. b) ... many economists, in Italy and outside, were
d) the names of four actresses who have worn its convinced (line 19) that the small and medium
shoes. sized businesses ...

2) Choose the alternative with the closest meaning i) unsure

to the expression in italic. ii) secure
iii) sure
a) A decade (line 17) ago, ...
c) ... that make up a large part of the country's
economy were in decline. (lines 22-23)
 i) getting smaller and less important 3) Read paragraphs 3 and 4 and decide if these
ii) getting bigger statements about expressions are true or false.
iii) staying the same
a) A surge (line 32) is an increase.
d) The Italians could not compete with rival (line b) If something has an attraction (line 33), people
24) manufacturing countries in Asia. like it.
c) Emerging markets (line 41) have existed as
i) similar markets for a long time.
ii) competing d) Entrepreneurs (line 43) are people who start
iii) helpful new businesses and have new ideas for existing
businesses.
e) Their productivity (line 26) was too low and too e) Demand (line 53) for something is the amount
costly. of it that is available to buy.

i) sales 4) List all the products mentioned in paragraph 3.

ii) profits
iii) output per person

f) But the country's exports are estimated (line 28) 5) Choose the best summary of the whole article.
to have grown 12.5 per cent this year, ...
Italian manufacturing companies ...
i) known
ii) calculated a) have been successful because they have higher
iii) guessed productivity than Chinese or Indian companies.
b) were expected to do badly, but have been
g) ... with forecasts (line 29) of 8 per cent for next successful because of demand from emerging
year's growth. markets.
c) do well because customers in emerging markets
i) predictions want their shoes made in Florence.
ii) promises
iii) plans