think customer service in the U.S. is the worst it s ever been. And, because in

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2 ! Recently, there have been a lot of! complaints about customer service. People think customer service in the U.S. is the worst it s ever been. And, because in today s economy more people " perform services than before, poor customer service is more common. The biggest complaints are against the large airlines, banks, department stores, telephone and television cable companies. Although it seems customer service should be important in these big businesses, in fact, these companies seem less concerned than smaller businesses. Part of the problem comes when one company has too much power. This is called a monopoly. When a company has no competitors, there is no reason to provide good service. # Many people think the airlines in particular have had a great decrease in the $ quality of their customer service. Business class passengers, for example, now get the basic service that economy class passengers used to get. And it costs money. The airlines call it premium service. This is true not only of the airlines, but of banks, and even of department stores. Banks often charge customers for even simple services. Freida Ullrich, a bank customer, says, It costs money to use the ATM. It also costs money to use the teller*. I think they forget that I m the customer. They act like it s their money, not mine. The companies say that part of the problem is that customers want to have it all. They want cheap prices and good service. So, many companies choose low prices over good service. Airline fares are a good example. Customers can get very % good prices on the Internet or by buying in advance. However, these prices mean less service. So, passengers can t expect to be served the best food and free drinks. Although consumers care about price, they say service is still very important to them. Department stores with good service sell more than those that focus only on prices. And of course, some airlines and banks still care about service. They know that customer satisfaction is very important, and they want customers to & return. But the wrong kind of customer service is not helpful, either. Some shoppers don t like the greeters at the front door who say hello when they walk in. The

3 problem is, says Yung See, they say hello, but then there s no one to help you when you shop. Why are they at the door, and not helping people in the store? The American economy also focuses on productivity; that is, making more with less. In a service economy, that is very difficult to do without getting bad service as a result. However, companies aren t ignoring the problem. When a customer is not ' satisfied he or she usually tells nine people, and each of those people shares that story with nine others, and so on. The smallest problem can result in a big headache for a company. Many companies hold special classes to teach their employees good customer relations. So customer service pays, but how much? (Source: TAPESTRY Reading 1, Shohakusha, 2010) teller*!'!$!! unhappy feelings " mixed feelings # nervous feelings $ sympathetic feelings "! make out " stand for # account for $ carry out #! allies " rivals # candidates $ supporters $! difference " confusion # rejection $ decline %! as well as " moreover # rather than $ more than &! contentment " disappointment # involvement $ acknowledgment '! accepting " neglecting # recognizing $ handling

4 !$!$! According to paragraphs 1 and 2, which of the following sentences is true?! Until recently, American people were not familiar with the concept of customer service. " The increasing number of workers who provide customer service has enhanced the overall quality. # Small businesses are more aware of the significance of customer service than big businesses. $ Many companies have asked their competitors to help provide better customer service. " According to paragraphs 3 and 4, which of the following sentences is true?! A lot of people assume that airlines do not provide good customer service any more. " Today, business and economy class airline passengers receive exactly the same services. # Bank customers do not need to pay any extra money as long as they only use an ATM. $ Freida Ullrich is angry at the poor services provided by her airline company. # According to paragraph 5, which of the following sentences is true?! Some companies partly blame customers for the reduction in the quality of customer service. " It is not difficult for companies to strike an equal balance between price and service. # People tend to buy airline tickets online nowadays, even though they are more expensive. $ Airline passengers are expected to serve themselves on board if they want to eat meals.

5 ! According to paragraph 6, which of the following sentences is true?! Consumers only care about price and nothing else. " Department stores with efficient customer service are still popular among consumers. # Department stores can win an advantage over other stores just by greatly decreasing their prices. $ All airlines and banks believe that a high level of customer service is necessary. " According to paragraph 7, which of the following sentences is true?! Greeters stand at the front door of the store to tell shoppers which items are on sale. " Thanks to the greeters, shoppers also become more polite to one another. # Yung See does not like the greeters because they are very impolite. $ Yung See thinks that helping in the store is more important than greetings at the door. # According to paragraphs 8 and 9, which of the following sentences is true?! It is always very difficult to draw a clear line between productivity in America and other countries. " A customer who is treated badly usually tells eighteen people about their experience. # Companies need to be careful even about small problems because bad rumors can spread quickly. $ Some companies encourage their employees to attend special classes to improve the relationships among the staff.

6 ! "% Passengersareallowedtotaketwo intothecabin. " luggage # luggages $ pieces of luggage % pieces of luggages Please keep in that there is no easy road to learning. " mind # head $ sense % brain I m afraid there is hardly I can do for you. " something # anything $ nothing % everything Only ten out of a hundred students passed the exam; failed it. " other # the other $ the others % another The baby was named a character in the novel that his father really liked. " after # before $ with % by If she had not known she was pregnant, she smoking. " stopped # could not stop $ didn t stop % could not have stopped I know you are busy, but could you me a favor? " help # do $ get % give You need to return the books to the library as soon as you them. " was reading # would have read $ will read % have read Stop worrying about what other people think about you; you cannot enjoy life. " otherwise # however $ although % and

7 To our disappointment, the manager always looks for reasons to postpone important decisions.! make " to make # making $ to making

8 ! ") I wonder from work. " that shop # home $ drop by % on & if ' time to ( your way ) you have The president their hard work. " aparty # thank $ to % planning & all of ' is ( for ) the employees I realized how important good health is. " was # got $ that % not & I ' until ( sick ) it expect. " more time # takes $ might % of & your wedding ' than ( the planning ) you She. " was # the music $ her % with & to ' eyes ( closed ) listening

9 ! "% Brett: How do you feel about having some Indian food? Koichi: Brett: Koichi: Sounds good. I know a great place that s open for lunch. It s not far from here. Let s go then! " As soon as there are cheaper meals. # I m sure it will be as good as new. $ As long as it s not too expensive. % I feel as if I ve had enough of it. Smith: Mr. Kato, I appreciate what you ve done for me during my stay in Japan. Kato: Smith: You re welcome. I look forward to seeing you again. Me, too. I don t know when I can come to Japan next, but Kato: Please do. Send me an as soon as you arrive back in the U.S. " I ll keep in touch. # have a wonderful trip. $ I have written to you once a month. % you can come back anytime.

10 David: Did you catch the news last night? Sachiko: David: There was a plane crash in the mountains and only one person survived. Sachiko: That s a miracle. What are the chances of that?! When did you start reading the news? " No, nothing is new with me. What have you been up to? # I hardly ever miss it, but I was working late yesterday. $ Yes, I saw a movie last week. Sarah: There seems to have been an accident on the tracks. It s not clear when the train will start running again. Keiko: Sarah: How about getting a taxi? Isn t it cheaper to take the bus? Keiko:! There s no big hurry. We have lots of time. " I m going to give you a ride, so don t worry. # The bus is easier to drive and much faster. $ There are three of us, so a taxi will be about the same. Driver: I have a flat tire. Where is the nearest auto repair shop? Police Officer: Driver: Police Officer: There is a gas station about a kilometer down this road. Thank you. I think it s open until 10:00 p.m. on weekdays.! Is the road open yet? " Do you know how late it is open? # When do you get gas? $ Have you decided to stay open an extra hour on weekdays?

11 ! Date: March 31, 2014 From: Neil Green, Managing Sales Director Subject: Annual Sales Report MEMO TO ALL STAFF Please find attached the final yearly sales figures for our stores. As you can see, despite the difficult economic climate, we have had a fairly good year. Well done everybody for all your hard work! However, there is still room for improvement. The Bayside Mall store, despite an increase in sales, has not reached its sales expectations. Given the great location of this store, and also the fact that the rent we pay for the location is much higher than our other stores, we need to see better results here next year. The store manager has suggested that the window display is too small, and we are now considering installing a larger window with a new display space next year. In addition, as only two stores managed to equal or better their sales targets for this year, we will be holding a series of workshops in January and February to share ideas and work together on improving sales at all our locations. Branch Sales Figures Shop locations Last Year This Year (target) This Year (actual) Parkside Orly New Town Dunstone Bayside Mall (All figures in thousands of dollars) (Source: Before-After Practice for the TOEIC TEST, Cengage Learning, 2013)

12 According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?! The design of the displays at the Bayside Mall store may change next year. " The Bayside Mall store is located in a very inconvenient place. # Neil Green is completely unhappy with the sales figures this year. $ Bayside Mall must double its sales figures next year. According to the passage and the table, which of the following statements is true?! The same as last year, this year the Parkside store achieved the second highest sales. " Although Dunstone had the lowest sales this year, it was able to meet its sales goal. # Managers of the Parkside and Dunstone stores are going to give a speech at the workshop. $ A series of workshops will be held twice yearly only at the Bayside Mall. Which stores showed a decrease in sales this year in comparison to last year?! Both Parkside and Orly New Town. " Only Dunstone. # None of the stores. $ All of the stores. Which store had the highest sales last year?! Parkside. " Orly New Town. # Dunstone. $ Bayside Mall.