sábado, 22 de abril de 2017

Reading test: The economics of beard popularity in the US

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the insert-the-word kind of task.

In the Vox article The economics of beard popularity in the US, a number of words and phrases have been taken out. Insert the word A-M in the corresponding blank. There are three words/phrases you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

The economics of beard popularity in the US

You (0) … think people grow beards (1) … their fashionability or warmth, but author and professor Stephen Mihm says there might be (2) … reason. In a New York Times piece, he claims that in Western countries, trends in beard popularity often closely follow (3) … in capitalism.

(4) … the mid-19th century, communists and labour radicals grew thick Karl Marx–style beards as a form of protest. Members of the business community viewed these movements (5) … scary and threatening to the establishment, and as a result, beards became not allowed in general society. But (6) … these protests ended and capitalist enterprises could safely show their supremacy again, beards came back into fashion, and titans of the business world began to put on impressive displays of facial hair as a means of showing an image of strength and masculine individuality.
In the early 20th century, beards again began to be associated with anti-capitalist movements, and for (7) … a century they were nowhere to be seen in corporate boardrooms and many parts of society.

Then along came the tech boom, (8) … made many untidy computer geeks in Silicon Valley rich and powerful members of the capitalist landscape. People like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Jack Dorsey redefined (9) … we view powerful business heads and have helped bring in a new period of beard acceptance and popularity.


A - another
B - as
C - because
D - because of
E - during
F - how
G - like
H - may 0 Example
I - nearly
J - once
K - other
L - trends
M - which





KEY
1D 2A 3L 4E 5B 6J 7I 8M 9F