English language

Fashion

You are going to read an extract from a leaflet about the fur industry. For questions 1-7, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. The fur fashion industry is in poor health. The campaigns that started in the 1980s have had their effect and in the US alone the number of fur farms fell by over 50% from 1987 to 1997. In a move that is bound to be a waste of effort, the fur industry has tried to rebuild by using the slogan 'fur is back'. However, a loss of profits and an uncertain future mean that there are far fewer people working in the fur industry today. The number of manufacturers in the US has fallen from 797 in 1972 to fewer than 200. This trend will continue. We still need to be careful, though. Many people who would never consider buying fur are doing so without knowing it. Clothes designers are aware of the bad image fur has with many people. Some of them have taken the sensible decision not to work with fur. Those that still encourage this cruel trade are forced to find ways to disguise fur. Coats are often trimmed to make the fur feel like other materials. It's dyed bright orange or powder blue to hide its origins. Perhaps the most common trick is to use a small amount of fur around the edges of coats, hoping that the customer won't realise that animals have died to make their clothes. As the fur farming industry faces problems, so does the fur trapping industry. Governments have been rather slow to introduce effective laws, but the situation is not looking good for fur trappers. The most popular trap is the leghold trap. Around ninety countries have banned these traps and over twenty countries, mostly in Africa, have banned trapping altogether. The use 36 of these shocking devices is falling, but there is more that we can do to persuade governments to act. Letter-writing campaigns can still help. Demonstrations still take place around the world against this evil trade. These actions do produce results. In Sweden, for example, the government agreed to pass a law saying that foxes cannot be kept in cages and that all foxes kept for fur must be allowed to dig. The extra cost will mean that most fur farms in Sweden will go bankrupt. In Switzerland, too, the law makes this old-fashioned industry impossible. There, all animals must be given enough space to behave naturally. If only more countries would follow this lead, a lot of suffering would be prevented. The number of animals suffering around the world for the fur trade has fallen by about twenty-seven million over the last decade. The people working against the industry can be proud of what they have achieved. Employment in this area of the economy has fallen to only about 600 workers. Many of them are looking for other jobs. Most of them realise that their industry has no future. Some of them have taken the brave decision to leave because they recognise the cruelty around them. The increase in sales of furs in the US does not mean that 'fur is back'. At a time when the rest of the economy is growing quickly, sales of fur grew by a tiny 1.6% last year. This figure, even if it is correct, is a clear sign that people are moving away from fur. Thankfully, the industry is dying around the world.

1 The writer thinks the fur industry is
A never going to recover.
B trying harder than ever.
C becoming more trendy.
D getting more careless.

2 The writer thinks that designers have to

A make logical choices about their designs.
B fool people if they want to sell fur.
C use other materials that look like fur.
D use little fur because it's expensive.

3 What is meant by 'these shocking devices' in line 36?

A laws against trapping
B forms of protest
C leghold traps
D fur trappers

4 The industry will suffer in Sweden because companies will have to
A have more space.
B buy more cages.
C increase prices.
D keep more foxes.

5 The writer admires people who leave their job when they

A can no longer survive in the industry.
B see that profits are likely to fall.
C are offered other employment.
D realise the suffering they cause.

6 What is the writer's attitude to the 1.6% growth in the fur industry?
A It is a worrying statistic.
B It happened too slowly.
C It may be a lie.
D It shows the need for action.

7 What would be the most suitable title for this extract?

A Don't be fooled by designers
B A return to popularity
C The decline in the fur trade
D Millions of animals are suffering

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