Independent bookshops fight back with tax campaign

Posters boasting 'We Pay Our Taxes!' aim to convince consumers to shop locally. 

Beleaguered independent booksellers have found a new way to hit back at retail giant Amazon.

Bright red posters with the words “We Pay Our Taxes!” have started to appear in book shop windows; a clear reference to recent allegations that the online bookseller has diverted hundreds of millions of pounds of profit to tax havens.

The Booksellers Association, who is behind the poster campaign, is keen to highlight the benefits of buying books from independent sellers, in the wake of the public finance committee questioning executives from Amazon, Starbucks and Google over their tax affairs.

Although the Booksellers Association has recognised that Amazon’s tax affairs are not illegal, they have pointed out that the company is being investigated for allegedly failing to pay corporation tax on more than £3.3 billion worth of earnings in the UK.

The Association's chief executive Tim Godfray commented: “Overseas-registered bookselling companies doing a lot of business in the UK, but paying little – or no – tax put our members who do pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage. In view of the public mood and interest we have produced two posters for those of our members that want to use them.”

Other slogans include: “Can pay, do pay! We pay our taxes” and “Your money, your bookshop, your community, we pay our taxes.”

Author Jeanette Winterson has also argued that a back tax on corporations could be used to fund public libraries. Speaking during the inaugural Reading Agency Lecture at the British Library on Monday evening, she said “Libraries cost about a billion a year to run right now. Make it two billion and charge Google, Amazon and Starbucks all that back tax on profit here.”

Amazon’s director of public policy Andrew Cecil failed to answer many of the MPs' questions last week on the company's financial structures, meaning another Amazon executive will appear to answer questions at a later date.

A company spokesman said: “Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a)   Amazon is in favour of this “poster” campaign.

b)  The campaign started because booksellers want to pay less taxes.

c)  It has been proved that Amazon doesn’t pay all the taxes.

d) Andrew Cecil hasn’t successfully answered the government’s questions, and he won’t do it.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What was Jeanette Winterson’s suggestion to improve libraries?

b) Why have the posters been produced?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) Refuge, shelter (paragraph 2)

b) Business, duty (paragraph 4)

c) Earnings, interest (paragraph 7)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Although the association has recognised it is not illegal, they think it is unfair for them.

     Despite...

b) They pointed out that the company is being investigated.

     They pointed out: “we....

c)  Public libraries can be improved, but they need that the government creates a new tax for some international corporations.

     If...

           

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Advantages and disadvantages of buying online.

Hitchcock and Shakespeare

KEY

Question 1

a) False. The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme which aims to reach every child in schools across Britain in four years. …. Alongside the after school education programme, the institute is hoping to train teachers.

b) False. Mr Dyke, the former director general of the BBC,

c)False. However, he added that he finds it “hard to believe” that the changes will be brought in by the Coalition, saying: “I think it’s possible if there was another government.”

d) True. As well as hoping to inspire the next generation of filmgoers and cinematographers, the institute wants to change a film industry that is “disproportionately male, white and in London”,

Question 2

a) They see that British schools offer old-fashioned studies for their students, who, more than ever before, are exposed to audio-visual materials through all sorts of video facilities. By teaching about films and the film industry, they also want to give this a new and wider dimension.

b) They are starting a programme to teach film education in schools and plan to make it global in four years. This programme will continue in higher education and future teachers will be trained to become film directors, producers or screenwriters.

Question 3

a) prominence 

b) weird

c) aspire

Question 4

a) A £ 26 million film education programme is being launched by the BFI.

b)Mr Dyke said that people argued all the time and he thought they were right.

c)If there were no / not any advances in modern technology, video wouldn’t be so accessible now.

'Black Death' skeletons unearthed during Crossrail project

More than a dozen skeletons thought to be victims of The Black Death have been unearthed in the City of London during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.

So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square in Farringdon during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.

Archaeologists made the discovery 8ft (2.4m) below the road that surrounds the gardens in the centre of the square.

They believe there could be as many as 50,000 plague victims buried in the area.

Nick Elsden from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) says that further discoveries are likely.

"The short answer is we don't know just how many skeletons are out there," he said.

Tests will be carried out on the skeletons but experts are linking the discovery with the Black Death as it is known that a burial ground for plague victims was opened in the Farringdon area.

Pottery dated up until 1350 found in the graves by the Crossrail team and the layout of the skeletons all point to them being plague victims.

Once analysis of the bones has been completed, the skeletons will be reburied on the site or at another cemetery.

Around 1.5 million Britons died in the Black Death - more than a third of the population - while about 25 million perished in Europe.

Rephrasing

1. So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square

So far they ………………………………………………….

2. They believe there could be as many as 50,000 plague victims buried in the area.

It is…………………………………………………………………………………

3. "The short answer is we don't know just how many skeletons are out there," he said.

He said that ……………………………………………………………………….

4. Tests will be carried out

They………………………………………………………….

5. It is known that a burial ground for plague victims was opened in the Farringdon area.

A burial ground………………………………………………………..

Read the text and say if the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE

1. All the skeletons found in the excavation died because of The Black Death.
2. They expect to find ………………………. Skeletons buried in the area.
3. They have found some other things apart from the bodies.
4. The number of Britons who died in The Black Death is a third of the dead in Europe.

Watch the video and answer the following questions.

1. What percentage of British people died in The Black Death? 
2. Where did The Black Death originate? 
3. What do they examine? 
4. Can they tell the age of the people they have found? 
5. What do they study? 

Rita Hosking's seven-song EP Little Boat is a little gem of classy Americana.

Rita Hosking's seven-song EP Little Boat is a little gem of classy Americana.

I admit I warm to Rita Hosking because of the way a history teacher — for 12 years in David, California, where she used old songs as a source in lessons — took the brave decision to become a full-time musician and fulfil her potential. You can tell from her music that a literate and thoughtful songwriter is at work.

Her new mini-album, Little Boat, is more understated than Burn (one of the delights of 2011) yet the seven songs are rich and sparkle with class.

Hosking has a powerful, expressive voice, and she is clearly enjoying performing on what is in many ways a very personal album — her husband Sean Feder plays dobro and banjo, and her daughter Kora (who co-wrote a song) plays clawhammer banjo. Producer Rich Brotherton, at whose Austin, Texas studio Little Boat was recorded, features on guitar, bass and most everything else apart from the kitchen sink. The result is beautifully textured and harmonious Americana.

Burn was filled with high temperature anger at injustices and there is some of that in the song Five Star Location, about a town that has lost lots of its jobs to China. However, Clean, a song about the life of a student working as a maid, makes its points in shrewd and subtle ways. Blow Northwest Wind is an affecting track — and provides the album's title in the line 'man and his little boat, thinking 'bout what he's got to show'.

The opening track, Parting Glass, is also lovely, and in itself shows why Hosking deserves to be far better known.

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

      a) The author admires Rita Hosking because she was brave.

      b) Rita Hosking has been a teacher for 12 years in David, California.       

      c) “Little Boat” gets its name from the song “Blow Northwest Wind”

      d) The author thinks Rita is very famous.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a)       What does the author like about Rita Hosking?

b)       Why does the author think this is a personal album?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a)  wrath (par. 4)

b)  female servant (par. 4)

c)  astute, artful (par. 4)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a)       I had to go to school although I had a temperature

Despite ………………………………

b)       “Why don’t we eat out tomorrow?”, he said

He suggested …………………………….

c)       People say that he was a very good footballer

He ………………………………………………

             

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

In your opinion, what makes a good album?

Would you like to listen to some of her songs? Try:

http://www.ritahosking.com/fr_home.cfm

Rephrasing

 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

1. He asked her to write the report by midnight.

Will……………………………………………………………?

2. She suggested working on the report together.

Why don’t………………………………………………….…?

3. He advised her to sell her story.

If I ………………………………………………………

4. What’s the lesson this afternoon? He asked.

He wanted to know …………………………………………..

5. What a pity Mary didn’t remember to take the camera.

I wish Mary………………………………………………………………

6. ‘Please bring me another cup of coffee,’ I said to the waiter.

I asked ………………………………………………………………………………..

7. I’m sorry I can’t speak English perfectly.

I wish ………………………………………………………………………………...

8. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your last letter, he said.

He apologised to me ………………………………………………………………..

9. They sell English books in that shop.

English books ………………………………………………………………...……..

10. Someone is repairing my car.

My car ………………………………………………………………………………..

11.   They took him to hospital.

He …………………………………………………………………………………….

12. People were watching the match on TV 

The match…………………………………………………………………………….

13. Although he was wealthy, he spent very little money.

Despite…………………………………………………………………………………………………

14. Despite the long journey, they stayed up until midnight.

Although…………………………………………………………………………………………………

15. If you don’t go on a diet, you won’t lose weight.

You should go on a diet…………………………………………………………………………………..

16. She won’t get better unless she takes physical exercise.

If she……………………………………………………………………………………………………

17. Last night we saw Patrick. His children go to the same school as our daughter.

Last night…………………………………………………………………………………………………

18. This is the plan. You have been talking about it for three hours.

This is ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

19.   She started drinking too much alcohol two years ago.

She has ……………………………………………………………….

20.   I don’t have a computer so I can’t type the essay on English grammar.

If ……………………………………………………………………………………

Independent bookshops fight back with tax campaign

Question 1.

a)  False.-  Beleaguered independent booksellers have found a new way to hit back at retail giant Amazon.

b)  False.-  A clear reference to recent allegations that the online booksellers has diverted hundreds of millions of pounds of profit to tax havens.

c)   False.-  the company is being investigated for allegedly falling to pay corporation tax.

d)  True .- Andrew Cecil failed to answer many of the MP’s questions last week on the company’s financial structures, meaning another Amazon executive will appear to answer questions at a later date.

Question 2.

a) If the big companies had to pay a back tax, the money could be used to improve the libraries.

b) To make people realize that if they buy things where taxes are paid, it helps the whole society.

Question 3.

a) Haven

b) Affairs

c) Profit

Question 4.

a) Despite having recognised it is not illegal, they think it is unfair for them.

b) They pointed out: “we are investigating the company”.

c)  If the government created a new tax for some international corporations, libraries could be improved.

Can't decide which book to buy?

      Question 1       

      a) False. Describing itself as “Toronto’s most idiosyncratic second-hand bookshop”, The Monkey’s Paw is living up to its reputation with the arrival of an ingenious new curiosity

      b) False. The $1 bargain bin sitting dejectedly near the register would not do

      c) False. With help from Toronto animator Craig Small, the Biblio-mat was born

      d) True. Although all the books are hidden so it essentially functions as a lucky dip.

Question 2

a)       It is a machine that sells books randomly

b)       For readers who can’t decide what book to buy

Question 3

a)       to live up to

b)       to dispense

c)       to envisage

Question 4

a)       Unless he gets a good mark, his father won’t buy him a car.

b)       It’s six months since Anna got divorced

c)       The claim will be dealt with and a meeting will be conducted afterwards.

Head warns over 'bunfight' for places at top schools

Parents are forcing their children to commute for up to 10 hours a week to get into the most sought-after private schools in Britain, a head teacher warned today.

Jane Grubb, headmistress of Bedales prep school in Hampshire, said children were being required to travel long distances – or drilled for months to pass entrance exams – when they should be spending time enjoying themselves.  Tutoring is increasingly popular in preparation for the 11-plus and Common Entrance – the traditional entry exams for state grammar schools and private senior schools.

One study last year suggested almost half of families in some parts of the country paid for private tutors to prepare sons and daughters for school entrance tests.

Mrs Grubb, the head of Dunhurst – the prep school attached to Bedales senior school – said that many parents were also prepared to send their children on lengthy commutes to secure places at some establishments.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, she said: “It starts when children are as young as eight. By the time they get to 10 they are spending two terms doing old exam papers to try to get into these places.  “Parents genuinely want them to be happy but they need to put their heads up and see what other life there is. The 10 hours they spend commuting could be spent getting more sleep or seeing their friends.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) Children are being obliged to travel long distances to certain schools.

b) Children are advised to have more time for themselves.

c) In some areas parents often pay for private lessons.

d) Parents are believed to be doing the right thing.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What are the children requested to do by their parents to attend some schools?

b) What is the opinion of the people who are against?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) to travel par. 1

b) to train par. 2

c) to guarantee par. 4

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Children were being required to travel long distances.

            Parents...

b) Parents send their children on lengthy commutes to secure places at some establishments.

            If parents...

c)  She said: “It starts when children are as young as eight”

            She said that..

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Are children nowadays doing too many extra curricular activities?

Pre-historic tooth filling found with new X-ray machine

            Scientists have discovered a pre-historic tooth believed to have the first known filling.

            The tooth is from a fossilized 6500-year old human jawbone found 101 years ago in the European country of Slovenia. It appears to come from a 24 to 30-year old, and have a filling made from beeswax, say Italian scientists.

            Even though the fossil was found a century ago, the filling has only been spotted now because of X-ray equipment. Scientist Claudio Tuniz said: "The jawbone remained in the museum for 101 years without anybody noticing anything strange."

Dental detective work

            But when they wanted to try out new X-ray imaging equipment, they used this fossil - and discovered unusual material attached to a tooth.

            The scientists' detective work led them to discover the material was beeswax - natural wax which comes from bees. It was filling a large crack and a cavity in the tooth. Radiocarbon dating of the wax and the tooth showed both to be around 6500 years old.

            The researchers aren't sure if the filling was put in while the person was still alive, or after their death. But they say this discovery will help them learn how pre-historic humans looked after their teeth.

            The findings have been published on an online science website called PLOS One.

Match the words below to their definitions

filling / findings / fossil / museum / pre-historic / published

from a time before there were written records

ancient animal or plant that has been preserved in rock

substance used to repair a hole in a tooth

building where things of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept

information that is discovered during a study or investigation

made information available to people, especially in a book, magazine or newspaper

True or false?

1.  The filling was not found for over a century.

2.  The tooth with the filling was not damaged.

3.  The tooth and the filling were both the same age.

4.  Scientists say the filling was put in while the person was alive.

5.  Scientists do not plan to publish their findings.

6.  The filling was not detected for 101 years.

7.  The jawbone was x-rayed as soon as it was found.

8.  The beeswax filling appears to be 24 to 30 years old.

What is the missing word?

1.  The filling has only been_____________now.

2.  The findings have been published on an______________science website.

3.  The jawbone________________in the museum for 101 years.

4.  The scientists'_______________work led them to discover the material was beeswax.

KEY

pre-historic           from a time before there were written records

fossil                      ancient animal or plant that has been preserved in rock

filling                      substance used to repair a hole in a tooth

museum               building where things of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept

findings                                 information that is discovered during a study or investigation

published             made information available to people, especially in a book, magazine or newspaper

True or false?

1. True

2. False

3. True

4. False

5. False

6. True

7. False

8. False

What is the missing word?

1. spotted

2. online

3. remained

4. detective

Head warns over 'bunfight' for places at top schools

Question 1

a) TRUE “Parents are forcing their children to commute for up to 10 hours a week to get into the most sought-after private schools in Britain”

b) TRUE “ they should be spending time enjoying themselves”

c) TRUE “ almost half of families in some parts of the country paid for private tutors” or “ The 10 hours they spend commuting could be spent getting more sleep or seeing their friends”

d) FALSE “ Parents genuinely want them to be happy but they need to put their heads up and see what other life there is”

Question 2

a) Some children are forced to travel for up to 10 hours to get to these school. Some others are taught by private tutors to pass the entry exams to these places.

b) People who are against believe that parents do not see that there are other ways of preparing their kids for the future; they should also be thinking on the time their children have for themselves, to be with their friends or simply to have some more sleep.

Question 3

a) (to) commute

b) (to) drill / drilled

c) (to) secure

Question 4

a) Parents are requiring children to travel long distances.

b) If parents didn't send their children on lengthy commutes, they wouldn't secure a place at some stablishments.

c) She said that it started when children were as young as eight.

Shakespeare was a tax-evading food hoarder, study claims

William Shakespeare illegally stockpiled food during times of shortage so he could sell it at high prices, academics have claimed, and was threatened with jail for not paying tax.

As well as writing many of the world’s greatest plays, he was a successful businessman and major landowner in his native Warwickshire who retired an extremely wealthy man.

However, a new study has found that he was repeatedly prosecuted and fined for illegally hoarding food, and threatened with jail for failing to pay his taxes, The Sunday Times reported.

Court and tax records show that over a 15-year period Shakespeare purchased grain, malt and barley to store and resell for inflated prices, according to a paper by Aberystwyth University academics Dr Jayne Archer, Professor Richard Marggraf Turley and Professor Howard Thomas.

The study notes: "By combining both illegal and legal activities, Shakespeare was able to retire in 1613 as the largest property owner in his home town, Stratford-upon-Avon. His profits - minus a few fines for illegal hoarding and tax evasion - meant he had a working life of just 24 years."

The research sheds new light on Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus - written around the time of a 1607 peasant revolt in the Midlands - which centres on riots over grain-hoarding by the wealthy few.

Dr Archer, a researcher in Renaissance literature, told The Sunday Times: "There was another side to Shakespeare besides the brilliant playwright - as a ruthless businessman who did all he could to avoid taxes, maximise profits at others' expense and exploit the vulnerable - while also writing plays about their plight to entertain them.”

1. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE. Give evidence from the text.

1.  Shakespeare spent some time in prison.

2. Researchers have studied official legal and financial reports to make their claims about Shakespeare.

3. The writer bought stored and resold cereal for almost 15 years.

4. He didn’t pay his taxes or fines.

5. Shakespeare made a profit from starving people and wrote about their extreme hardship in his plays.

2. Find words in the text that mean the same as:

a)      accumulate

b)      very important, principal

c)      supply additional information

d)      protest, public disturbance

e)      merciless, hard-hearted

KEY

1

1. False. … was threatened with jail for not paying tax.

2. True. Court and tax records show … according to a paper by Aberystwyth University academics Dr Jayne Archer, Professor Richard Marggraf Turley and Professor Howard Thomas

3.  False. Court and tax records show that over a 15-year period Shakespeare purchased grain, malt and barley to store and resell for inflated prices,

4. False. His profits - minus a few fines for illegal hoarding and tax evasion

5. True…. who did all he could to avoid taxes, maximise profits at others' expense and exploit the vulnerable - while also writing plays about their plight to entertain them.

2.

a)  Hoard, stockpile

b)  Major

c) Shed  new light

d) Riot

e) Ruthless

Rita Hosking

Question 1.

a) True. “I admit I warm to Rita Hosking because of the way a history teacher (…) took the brave decision to become a full-time musician and fulfil her potential.”
b) False. “the way a history teacher — for 12 years in David, California -  took the brave decision to become a full-time musician and fulfil her potential” false por el “has been”
c) True. “Blow Northwest Wind is an affecting track — and provides the album's title in the line 'man and his little boat, thinking 'bout what he's got to show'.

d) False. “The opening track, Parting Glass, is also lovely, and in itself shows why Hosking deserves to be far better known.”

Question 2

a)       The fact that she is very witty/intelligent, brave/determined (and her voice)

b)       Because her family (husband and daughter) have played and co-written a song.

Question 3

a)      anger

b)      maid

c)      shrewd

Question 4

a)      Despite having a temperature, I had to go to school

b)      He suggested eating out the following day

c)      He is said to have been a very good footballer