Marks and Spencer to open at midnight on Christmas Eve for first time

KEY

Question 1

a)       TRUE. It is the first time that the department store has opened its branches so early the day before Christmas

b)       TRUE hundreds of thousands of families usually choose the day to stock up on groceries.

c)       TRUE. … retailers to persuade the Government to relax Sunday trading laws and let large shops extend their opening hours on December 23.

d)       FALSE. Waitrose stores will also open earlier. More than two-thirds of its branches will open at 7am on Christmas Eve.

Question 2

a) Marks and Spencer will change its timetable on Christmas Eve so that  their customers can have enough time to buy all they need to prepare their dinners.

b) Waitrose is going to open many of its supermarkets earlier in the morning on Christmas Eve and they will also have their doors open later at night, with shops closing at 10 pm or even at 11 pm.

Question 3

a) Retailer

b) Groceries

c) Ease

Question 4

a.       Sacha Berendji said that they knew that the days leading up to Christmas were some of the most hectic for their customers.

b.       The company said “Our branches will be opened for 4,700 more hours than usual in total”.

c.       Large stores can only open for six hours on December 23, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of families usually choose the day to stock up on groceries. / despite hundreds of thousands of families usually choosing the day to stock up on groceries.