I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happened to be that put-upon member of society-a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I’m convinced that things are being run only to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a new motto for so–called “service” organizations – Staff Before Service.

How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there weren’t enough staff on duty to man all the service grills or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to recruit cashiers or counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that unshrouding all their cash registers at any one time would increase overheads. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grills to be occupied “at times when demand is low.”

It’s the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is curtailed. As for us guests (and how the meaning of that word has been whittled away), we just have to put up with it. There’s also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been phased out in the interests of “efficiency” (i.e. profits) and replaced by coin-eating machines which dispense everything from larger to laxatives. Not to mention the creeping menace of the tea–making kit in your room: a kettle with assortment of teabags, plastic milk cartons and limp sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I don't, especially when I am paying for “service”.

Can it he halted, this erosion of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a nuisance? I fervently hope so because it’s happening, sadly, in all walks of life.

Our only hope if to hammer home our indignation whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, resurrect that other, older slogan-and Take Our elsewhere

The writer feels that nowadays a customer is

I have always wondered how life was twenty years ago. I (1) __________ that life in the past was boring and inconvenient (2) ___________ the lack of modern facilities. However, I changed my opinion after I heard my grandfather talk about his childhood. In the past, although modern and convenient gadgets were not available, everyone really enjoyed the simple and peaceful life. In the family, the father used to be the (3) ___________ while the mother used to just stay home and take care of the house. The saying” Men make house, women make home” used to be very popular that day. The children (4) ___________ play video games or go on extra classes after school as we (5) ___________ today. (6) ___________, they could enjoy a variety of outdoor activities with other such as kite flying, rope skipping, so on. In the past, many unique customs of Vietnamese people were seen more vividly than today. (7) ___________, Vietnamese women used to (8) ___________ their teeth black and people used to chew betel nut. It is such a pity that I rarely see those customs today.

I go on the internet every day, but I've never ______ more than an hour at a time online.

Shopping centers have become a ______ more than just places to shop and look for bargains. 

and / finally/ thanks to / math / kindness, i / passed / patience/ my examination/ my teacher’s

Read the following passage and choose the best answer A, B, C or D.

Sydney is Australia’s most exciting city. The history of Australia begins here. In 1788 Captain Arthur Philips arrived in Sydney with 11 ships and 1624 passengers from Britain (including 770 prisoners). Today there are about 3.6 million people in Sydney. It is the biggest city in Australia, the busiest port in the South Pacific and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In Sydney, the buildings are higher, the colors are brighter and the nightlife is more exciting. There are over 20 excellent beaches close to Sydney and its warm climate and cool winter have made it a favorite city for immigrants from overseas. There are two things that make Sydney famous: its beautiful harbor, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which was built in 1932 and the Sydney Opera House, which was opened in 1973.

Where did Captain Arthur Philips arrive in 1788?

Tìm lỗi sai: Last year, 16% of the EU population (75 million people) suffered with material and social deprivation. 

Immediately after his appointment to the post, the new editor fell ill.

=> No sooner _____________________________.

It is hard to imagine life in modern society without smartphones. These handy little devices keep us entertained and enable us to manage important tasks on the go. Although smartphones feature powerful hardware, they wouldn’t be so useful without thousands of handy applications. Here are a few free and helpful apps that you can download to help you throughout the day.
If you have a habit of forgetting things and want to organize your life, give Evernote a try. It promises to help users remember everything. With a few clicks, you can send all of your photos, documents, and audio notes to Evernote. Then, your digital information can be stored in folders or tagged with useful keywords. When you need to access this data, you can perform a simple search and it will appear in seconds. Evernote is available on smartphones, tablets, and computers, so you can access your data from everywhere.

Imagine this scenario. You are watching a TV show and you hear a cool song in the background. You want to buy it but there is one problem. You don't know the name of the song. SoundHound is an app that will make this problem a thing of the past. It enables users to quickly identify songs by launching the app and holding their phone in the air. The app takes the song playing and compares it to thousands of other songs until it finds a match. Within seconds, it can tell you the name, artist, and album of the song you just heard.
Another spectacular app is Lookout. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it often, but when you do need it. Lookout can be a lifesaver. Its main function is to help you find your phone if it goes missing. Lookout does this by using your smartphone’s data connection to locate your lost device. To see where your phone is on a map, simply log into Lookout from any web browser. In the worst-case situation, if someone steals your phone and you fear it has gone for good, you can wipe out all of its data with a few clicks. This will ensure no one will see any private information on your phone.

These helpful apps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you do some searching online, you are certain to find many other apps that will make your life more convenient.

Visitors can take a free boat from Manhattan to Staten Island for a great ______ of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

The fruit was expensive because it was imported. (Participial Phrases)

Even though I admire his courage, I think he is foolish.

=> Much ___________________________.

Tìm lỗi sai: The elders wish all of our traditions was preserved by the next generations.