Airbus crisis over

Airbus says it has turned the corner after a crisis connected to production
problems and turmoil in the boardroom at its A380 super-jumbo project that
has gone on for the past year. Speaking at the Paris air show, Louis Gallois, CEO
of the European planemaker, said, "Airbus is back."

Airbus, which announced a raft of orders on the first day of the show, is
competing with Boeing, its American rival, for the title of the largest
planemaker in the world.

Boeing is expected to reveal the numbers of orders for its 787 Dreamliner soon.
Airbus orders unveiled on Monday included Qatar Airways confirming a $16bn
order for 80 A350 Airbus planes and ordering three A380 super-jumbos for
about $750m.

Boeing and Airbus are also competing for orders from aircraft leasing firms.
Orders from these companies - who rank highly among the biggest global
buyers of aircraft - are often regarded as an indication of how successful a
model will be in the long term.

Airbus also secured orders from US Airways that are worth $10bn for 22 of its
A350 jets, 60 A320s and ten of its A330-200 wide-body planes.

A few months ago, Airbus unveiled a major cost-cutting programme aiming to

reduce the workforce in Europe by 10,000, as well as announcing a group
restructuring. "I can tell you with full confidence that Airbus is back and fully
back, as you have started noting yesterday as demonstrated by our first day
announcements," said Mr Gallois on the second day of the air show.

However, Boeing also announced a deal with General Electric (GE) on the
show's first day. GE's commercial aviation services placed an order for six 777
Boeing freighters valued at around $1.4bn, to be delivered in the last quarter of
2008.

A Wall Street Journal website report, quoting the Delta operating chief
yesterday said that Delta Air Lines were on the verge of ordering as many as
125 Boeing 787 jetliners by the end of this year. However, a spokesman for
Delta later said that it had been having conversations "with several aircraft
makers" and that "no final decision" had been made on future fleet purchases.

Comprehension Questions

Q1 - The problems at Airbus

a) have been resolved completely.
b) are well on their way to being sorted out.
c) are far from resolved.
Q2 - Airbus announced
a) a large number of orders on the first day of the show.
b) some orders on the first day of the show.
c) a few orders on the first day of the show.
Q3 - Qatar Airways ordered
a) 83 planes on Monday.
b) 80 planes on Monday.
c) 3 planes on Monday.
Q4 - US Airways
a) placed an order for the new super-jumbo.
b) didn't place an order for the new super-jumbo.
c) may have placed an order for the new super-jumbo.
Q5 - Boeing
a) announced sales of the Dreamliner.
b) may sell some Dreamliners to General Electric.
c) may sell some Dreamliners to Delta Air Lines.
Q6 - The Wall Street Journal website report
a) was definitely correct.
b) was possibly correct.
c) was definitely wrong.

Child Labour
Child workers, some as young as 10, have been found working in a
textile 1) __________ in conditions described as close to slavery to
produce clothes that appear destined for one the major high street 2)
__________.
Speaking to a British newspaper, the children described long hours of 3)
__________ work and threats and beatings. The company said it was
unaware that clothing intended for its 4) __________ had been improperly
5) __________ to a 6) __________ that used child labour. It further
announced it had withdrawn the garments involved until it had
investigated the alleged 7) __________ of the 8) __________ code it
imposed on manufacturers three years ago.
The discovery of these children working in appalling conditions in the
Shahpur Jat area of Delhi has renewed concerns about the 9) __________
by some large retail chains of their 10) __________ production to India,
recognised by the United Nations as one of the worlds's hotspots for
child labour. According 11) __________ one 12) __________, over 20 per
cent of India's economy is 13) __________ on children, which comes to a
total of 55 million youngsters under 14 working.
14) __________ in the West should not only be demanding answers from
retailers about how their 15) __________ are produced but also should be
looking into their consciences at how they spend their money and
whether cheap prices in the West are worth the suffering caused to so
many children.
Comprehension Questions
Q1 facility
factory
office
bureau
Q2 warehouse
retailer
warehouses
retailers
Q3 inpaid
unpaid
without pay

without
payment
Q4 warehouses
stores
outlet
branch
Q5 outsource
outsourcing
outsources
outsourced
Q6 association
sweatshop
closed shop

retailer
Q7 breaches
errors
mistakes
wrongdoings
Q8 ethic
ethnic
ethical
ethnical
Q9 outsource
outsourcing
outsources
outsourced
Q10 -

garment
raiment
garments
raiments
Q11 by
to
of
from
Q12 estimate
estimating
estimates
estimated
Q13 -

depends
dependent
dependant
dependence
Q14 Consume
Consumption
Consumer
Consumers
Q15 stuff
ware
goods
garment

Reality Television
Reality television is a genre of television programming which, it is
claimed, presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations,
documents actual events, and features ordinary people rather than
professional actors. It could be described as a form of artificial or
"heightened" documentary. Although the genre has existed in some form

or another since the early years of television, the current explosion of

popularity dates from around 2000.
Reality television covers a wide range of television programming
formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often
demeaning programmes produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (a
modern example is Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurismfocused productions such as Big Brother.
Critics say that the term "reality television" is somewhat of a misnomer
and that such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced
form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal
situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen
handlers, and with events on screen manipulated through editing and
other post-production techniques.
Part of reality television's appeal is due to its ability to place ordinary
people in extraordinary situations. For example, on the ABC show, The
Bachelor, an eligible male dates a dozen women simultaneously,
travelling on extraordinary dates to scenic locales. Reality television also
has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities,
outwardly in talent and performance programs such as Pop Idol, though
frequently Survivor and Big Brother participants also reach some degree
of celebrity.
Some commentators have said that the name "reality television" is an
inaccurate description for several styles of program included in the
genre. In competition-based programs such as Big Brother and Survivor,
and other special-living-environment shows like The Real World, the
producers design the format of the show and control the day-to-day
activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in
which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the
participants, and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events,
and settings to encourage particular behaviours and conflicts. Mark
Burnett, creator of Survivor and other reality shows, has agreed with this
assessment, and avoids the word "reality" to describe his shows; he has
said, "I tell good stories. It really is not reality TV. It really is unscripted
drama."
Comprehension Questions
Q1 - In the first line, the
writer says 'it is claimed'
because

1) they agree with the

statement.

2) everyone agrees with

the statement.
3) no one agrees with the
statement.
4) they want to distance
themselves from the
statement.
Q2 - Reality television has
1) always been this
popular.
2) has been popular since
well before 2000.
3) has only been popular
since 2000.
4) has been popular since
approximately 2000.
Q3 - Japan
1) is the only place to
produce demeaning TV
shows.
2) has produced
demeaning TV shows
copied elsewhere.
3) produced Big Brother.
4) invented surveillance
focused productions.
Q4 - People have criticised
reality television because
1) it is demeaning.
2) it uses exotic locations.
3) the name is inaccurate.
4) it shows reality.
Q5 - Reality TV appeals to
some because
1) it shows eligible males
dating women.
2) it uses exotic locations.
3) it shows average
people in exceptional
circumstances.
4) it can turn ordinary
people into celebrities.
Q6 - Pop Idol

1) turns all its participants

into celebrities.
2) is more likely to turn its
particiapants into
celebrities than Big
Brother.
3) is less likely to turn its
particiapants into
celebrities than Big
Brother.
4) is a dating show.
Q7 - The term 'reality
television' is inaccurate
1) for all programs.
2) just for Big Brother and
Survivor.
3) for talent and
performance programs.
4) for special-livingenvironment programs.
Q8 - Producers choose the
participants
1) on the ground of talent.
2) only for special-livingenvironment shows.
3) to create conflict
among other things.
4) to make a fabricated
world.
Q9 - Paul Burnett
1) was a participant on
Survivor.
2) is a critic of reality TV.
3) thinks the term 'reality
television' is
inaccurate.
4) writes the script for
Survivor.
Q10 - Shows like Survivor
1) are definitely reality TV.
2) are scripted.
3) have good narratives.
4) are theatre.