Task 1

Circle the best answer (a, b, c, or d) for each question.

1. The sharing economy does not involve …
   a. people selling their used things to others.
   b. people offering their services to others.
   c. businesses selling their goods to people.
   d. businesses acting as a middleman for people who want to sell a product and people who want to buy it.

2. People can now sell things more easily because …
   a. people nowadays buy more things.
   b. businesses want to buy the things they don’t use.
   c. there are now more market stalls and car boot sales.
   d. there are now online platforms where they can meet people who want to buy their goods and services.

3. Parents might want to sell their baby clothes and baby equipment because …
   a. they want to make back some of the money they spent on those baby purchases.
   b. they don’t like the baby items they have bought.
   c. the baby clothes and equipment are old and worn out.
   d. they need the money for other investments.

4. Which of these is something that the author says we might underutilise?
   a. A thick coat in a cold country
   b. The latest smartphone
   c. Clothes our babies don’t or can’t wear any more
   d. The storeroom in our house

5. It might be a problem for unregulated individuals to sell to others because …
   a. they have to follow certain regulations.
   b. what they sell might be of a lower quality.
   c. they don’t have a business licence.
   d. they like to criticise their buyers.

6. What might be a good title for this article?
   a. The consumerist society
   b. Parents who need money
   c. The rise of the sharing economy
   d. Why we buy things we don’t need