- Grammar, Vocabulary, Syntax & Structure:

- Interrogative

Find the correct question / Trouvez la question correcte / Encuentra la pregunta correcta:

- Passive

Find the correct and logical sentence in the passive form based on the sentence in the active:

Trouvez la phrase correcte et logique dans la forme passive en vous basant sur la phrase dans la forme active:

Encuentra la frase correcta y lógica en la forma pasiva basándote en la frase en la forma activa:

- Conditional

Find the logical conclusion:

- Reading Comprehension

Planning for Europe's wasteful future

As European society gets wealthier, its piles of rubbish grow higher. Countries in the European Union are now producing three billion tonnes of waste a year, about six tonnes for every man, woman and child, according to figures from Eurostat. One European country pitching to become cleaner is Denmark -- but one of its business leaders says the industry needs to be streamlined. Lars Petersen is the chief executive of Stena Recycling, part of the Swedish Stena Metall Group. The company employs 3,200 people across Europe and handles 15 million tonnes of waste a year --- recycling metals, paper, electronics, hazardous waste and chemicals. Stena Recycling can shred a car to create reusable resources in just one minute -- but getting through European Union red-tape is a far longer process. It can take up to four months for the European Union to give the company notification it has reclassified waste as secondary resource, he said, a process which can impact on profits.

24. Where does Lars Petersen’s company operate?

Germany
Denmark
Sweden
All across Europe

25. True or False: Stena Recycling has over 3000 employees.

True
False
The text doesn’t provide this information.

26. What effect do some of the EU’s administrative and bureaucratic procedures have on Stena’s bottom line?

This information is not provided.
They boost it.
They don’t affect it.
They hurt it.

27. How long does it take Stena Recycling to cut a car into very small parts?

one minute
one hour
four months
one year

Pay taxes with credit card? Fees may eat rewards

Like extreme couponers who dive into dumpsters in search of newspaper circulars, credit card rewards chasers will go to great lengths to earn points. A $100 gas fill-up? Whoo-hoo, double points! An emergency appendectomy? Doctor, do you accept American Express? The last few months have been particularly lucrative for rewards chasers. Credit card issuers have sweetened their offers, showering big spenders with airline miles and cash. Perhaps you're wondering if the upcoming tax deadline presents an opportunity to add to your stash. The IRS accepts plastic, and the prospect of a free trip or upgrade could take the sting out of your annual obligation to Uncle Sam.

Sadly, though, the cost of paying your taxes with a credit card usually exceeds the value of the rewards, says Jeffrey Weber, founder of SmartBalanceTransfers.com. That's because unlike retailers, the IRS doesn't absorb the convenience fees charged by third-party service providers to process the transaction. Convenience fees range from 1.89% to 3.93% of your payment.

28. It's a smart financial move to pay your taxes with a credit card in America.

True
False
The text doesn’t provide this information

29. If you pay for your taxes with a credit card, you will be charged with a convenience fee that could amount to 7% of your payment.

True
False
The text doesn’t provide this information

30. What rewards could the credit card companies offer to people who pay their taxes with credit cards?

plastic toys
a 100$ gas fill-up
an upgraded computer
a free trip

31. Why is the tax deadline an opportunity for rewards chasers?

Because it allows them to save money.
Because they can get double points if they have an appendectomy.
Because they can spend more money with their credit cards and thus receive higher rewards from the credit card company.
Because they will put their money in overseas accounts.

32. What is the main difference between the IRS and retailers?

The IRS accepts convenience fees.
The IRS transacts with third-party service providers.
None, the IRS is a retailer.
The IRS does not pay for convenience fees charged by a third-party service.

- Listening

Watch the following videos and answer the questions (watch each video a maximum of 4 times):

- BBC, Steve Jobs Billion Dollar Hippy

33. How did Apple depict IBM in its ad?

a capitalist monster
big brother
an inferior computer company
a dictator

34. The ad marked…

the decline of IBM.
the launching of Apple onto the stock market.
the merger of Apple and IBM.
the birth of the Apple brand.

35. According to a person being interviewed in the video, Apple users tend to see themselves as:

creative thinkers
serious thinkers
free spirits
wild spirits

36. How much time went by between the launch of the Macintosh and the unveiling of the latest iPad?

about 15 years
about 20 years
about 25 years
about 30 years

37. The origins of Steve Job’s vision are to be found in:

consumer focus groups.
a business school education.
the California counter culture.
his father’s desire for Steve to become a pioneer.

- Charlie Rose; An hour with Warren Buffet

38. What is the average tax rate for people in Warren Buffet’s office?

26%
27%
36%
33%

39. What is Warren Buffet’s personal tax rate?

70.4%
41%
37%
17.4%

40. How much are capital gains taxed in America?

15%
20%
They are not taxed.
This information is not provided in the video.

41. In America, you get taxed more if you make money with money than if you make money with hard work.

True
False
The video doesn’t provide this information

42. On average how much does the middle-class American pay in income tax?

15%
15 to 20 %
15 to 25%
36%

43. How many people pay taxes in America?

More than two hundred million people.
Between one hundred and two hundred million people.
Less than one hundred million people.
The information is not provided in the video.

44. What social class pays the most taxes in America?

None, all Americans pay the same amount of taxes.
The most wealthy Americans.
The middle class.
The poor.

- Graphics:

45. Which of the following statements is FALSE:

In 2011, India had over double the amount of mobile-phone subscriptions than the U.S.
At the end of 2008, China had about the same number of mobile-phone subscriptions as India and the U.S. combined.
Between 2006 and 2009, India had the steepest increase in mobile-phone subscriptions among the three countries shown in the graphic.
In 2010, the difference between the number of mobile-phone subscriptions in China and India amounted to the number mobile-phone subscriptions in the U.S.

46. Which of the following statements is TRUE:
Revenue for iPods in March of 2008…

…was higher than for Mac.
… had dropped compared to three months earlier.
… was catching up with that of iTunes.
… was at a 6-month peak.

47. What can we say about revenue for the iPad in June of 2010?

It was well below 5% of total Apple revenue.
It was significantly less than iPod.
It was on a steady rise since its launch.
Sales had plummeted.

48. In June of 2008…

…iPhone revenue had reached a peak.
…iPod revenue had experienced a significant drop in the 3 months prior.
…Mac revenue accounted for less than half than that of iPhone.
…overall revenue was about to pick up.

49. Which of the following statements is TRUE:

Quarterly mergers and acquisitions dropped significantly around 2007.
The banking industry is where the highest volume of mergers and acquisitions took place in the first quarter of 2012.
There was a spike in mergers and acquisitions around 2007.
Over 500 billion dollars in mergers and acquisitions took place in the first quarter of 2012.

50. Which of the following statements is FALSE:

In the three years following 2003, mergers and acquisitions shot up.
In the first quarter of 2012, more mergers and acquisitions took place in the internet software and services industry than in the healthcare equipment and supplies industry.
The rest of the world combined represents more than double the volume of mergers and acquisitions than that of America.
If we add the oil & gas industry numbers for the first quarter of 2012 with those of the power industry, the sum would be greater than the metals and mining industry result for the same period.

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