Below are the top four supermarket chains in the world in 2012 and the reasons behind their success.  Tesco Headquartered in Chestnut, United Kingdom , this global grocery store is one of the largest supermarket chains in terms of revenues and profits. If was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen. Tesco stores can be found across all continents. Even though it was set up only for food and beverages, Tesco has drastically branched out , not only in geographical terms, but also in terms of products. Which now include electronics , clothing, health care, home improvement and even financial services. Safeway Founded in the year 1915 by a young M. B, Skaggs. Safeway developed from just a small grocery store  on the fundamentals of providing value to customers and narrow profit margins. The success story of Skaggs becomes more evident when , by the end of the year 1926,he  had opened almost 428 stores across ten states. Almost two years later, Safeway was listed at the New York Stock Exchange . At present, there are more than fifteen hundred Safeway stores across US and Canada. The Kroger Company  Founded at Cincinnati, Ohio, US in 1883 by Mr. Bernard Kroger, the Kroger Company is now one of the largest supermarket chains not only in the US. but across the world . Over the last couple of decades, the Kroger Company has vastly expanded by acquiring popular brand names, including those of Owen's Market. Its stores are largely spread out across Middle. Western and Central United States.  Reve-Gruppe Reve - Gruppe was founded in 1927 and is presently headquartered at Cologne, Germany . This supermarket chain is easily counted among the top supermarket chains of the world . Its vast line of products includes grocery, home improvement, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, optical as well as clothing . Its stores can be found in as many as fourteen European countries, providing employment to more than 325,000 people. Which of the following is TRUE? A) Tesco was founded four years earlier than Safeway. B) Tesco and Safeway are headquartered in the same country. C) Reve - Gruppe provides financial services. D) Safeway was listed at the New York Stock Exchange around 1928.
D


It is said that in the United States much has been told about that anyone can become rich and successful if he works hard and has some good luck. Yes, when one becomes rich he wants people to know it. And even though he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That's what "Keeping up with the Joneses " is about The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand looked around him and noticed that many people did things to keep up with their neighbours. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses", because Jones is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years. People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read "right" books, go to "right" universities and eat in "right" restaurants. Every city has an area where people want to live because others will think better of them if they do. And there are Joneses in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses, because no matter what one does, Mr Jones always seems to be ahead. Why, according to the passage, do many people try to keep up with the Joneses? A) Because they feel proud to be taken for the Joneses. B) Because they want others to know or think they are rich. C) Because they are afraid that others will know they are rich. D) Because they want to be as rich as their neighbours.
B


Q: In 1977, Jack, an Italian-American who lived in San Francisco, flew from America to Italy to visit his  s. On the way, the plane made a one-hour stop to refuel at the New York Airport. Thinking that he had arrived, Jack got out and spent three days in New York, believing he was in Rome. When his  s were not there to meet him, Jack thought they had been caught in the heavy Roman traffic mentioned in their letters. While looking for their address, Jack could not help noticing that modernization had changed most, if not all, of the ancient city's landmarks. He also noticed that many people spoke English with strong American accent. However, he just thought that Americans got everywhere. He also believed that so many street signs were written in English especially for the Americans. Jack spoke very little English himself so he asked a policeman in Italian the way to the bus station. As chance would have it, the policeman came from Italy and replied in the same language. After twelve hours traveling round on a bus, the driver handed him over to a second policeman. After brief argument with the policeman, Jack was very surprised to find that the Rome police had employed someone who did not speak his mother tongue. Jack did not believe he was told that he was in New York. In order to get on a plane to San Francisco, the policeman raced him to the airport in a police car with sirens screaming. "See," he said to his interpreter. "I know I'm in Italy. That's how they drive." Which of the following is Not true? A) The first policeman could speak Italian fluently B) The second policeman could not speak Italian at all C) Jack had a brief argument with the second policeman D) Jack could speak much English
A: D


Q: A new age is coming.Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society.It all translates to a fundamental change in the way we work.Already we're partly there, the percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen dramatically in the Western World.Today the majority of jobs in America, Europe and Japan are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise.More women are in the work force than ever before.There are more part-time jobs.More people are self-employed.But the range of the economic transformation can't be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to important new way of thinking about the nature of work itself.Long-held ideas about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers - all these are being challenged.  We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead.No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip , would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots.Tomorrow's achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes.But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more valid, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth.Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write.The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be valued above all else.If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information service will be superior.It will be the way you do your job. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A) People's traditional concepts about jobs need changing. B) The relation between employees and employers is becoming tense. C) More women than men are in the work force. D) Part-time jobs are more welcome than full-time jobs.

A: A