ESL B1-B2 English Reading Text – Exercise 7

B1 B2 English Intermediate Reading Text & Exercise 7 – Read the text carefully and choose the best answer!

In some countries the government controls all trade and in others it allows companies and firms to trade freely. However, all governments control trade in some way. Sometimes a government forbids companies to buy or sell dangerous or illegal products, or military technology. When companies expand and get bigger they often take over others and form a monopoly. Governments pass laws to prevent companies from becoming too strong and powerful and from controlling the market. Many governments try to help their own industries by making it more difficult to import foreign products. They put import taxes on foreign goods to make products more expensive and their own products cheaper. A government may also limit the number of products that it will buy from another nation. European countries, for example, may limit the number of cars that are imported from Japan or the USA. They want their people to buy European cars. We call this strategy protectionism because governments want to protect their companies and industries.

1. Which of the following is true?

 All governments are not willing to keep trade under control.

 Medicine is freely traded all over the globe without restrictions.

 Governments sometimes adopt new legislation to protect companies and trade.

 In Japan, companies are allowed to sell military technology.

2. Trade is rarely controlled by nearly all governments.

 Not stated

 True

 False

3. Governments try to protect and develop their own industry by ……………….. .

 signing trade agreements with EU for cheaper goods

 forbidding illegal products in certain regions

 putting taxes on export goods

 limiting the number and volume of import goods

4. The phrase “take over” means ………….. .

 taking trade under control

 negotiating with a rival to make more profits

 dominating or buying smaller companies

 obeying state laws in paying taxes

5. It is very usual that smaller companies establish a monopoly in illegal trade.

 False

 Not stated

 True

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