Questions 1-5 refer to the following letter

Raina Gibson 365: No Repeats – A years of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook)
Even your favorite dinner can lose its appeal when it’s in constant rotation, so mix it up! With her largest collection of recipes yet, Foodit Network’s Indefatigable cook Raina Gibson guarantees you’ll be able to put something fresh and exciting on your dinner table every night for a full year.

Based on the popular 30-Minute Meal cooking classes, these recipes prove that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every night. Raina offers dozens of recipes that, once mastered, can become entirely new dishes with just a few ingredient swaps. Learn how to make a Southwestern Pasta Bake and you’ll be able to make a Smoky Chipotle Chill Mac the next time. Try your hand at Spring Chicken with Peas and you’re all set to turn out a delicious Rice and Chicken Soup that looks and tastes like an entirely different dish.

As a bestselling cookbook author and host of three top-rated Foodit Network shows, Raina Gibson believes that both cooking and eating should be fun. Drawing from her own favorite dishes as well as those of her family, friends, and celebrities, she covers the flavor spectrum, from Asian to Italian, and with dozens of delicious stops in between. These flavor-packed dishes will satisfy your various cravings and renew your taste or cooking. With so many delicious entrees to choose from, you’ll never have an excuse for being in a cooking rut again.

 

Dear Ms. Gibson,

I bought this cookbook with no prior knowledge of you or your other cookbooks. The idea of 365 30-minute meals is appealing, but unfortunately may of the recipes included in the book take far more than 30 minutes if you include prep time. This is a useful cookbook for families as the yields are fairly large and it covers a variety of flavors. However, the flavors aren’t always great; they are often combined in unappetizing mixtures that just don’t work. The method of substituting ingredients to change up a dish is not terribly useful either. Most often, you will have to change half the recipe to get a new dish. The worst part, though, is the lack of a useful index. It’s extremely difficult to find your way around the book. Just try looking for a “chicken” dish. If you don’t know the title, chances are you won’t find it fast. A future edition that remedies this problem would be highly recommended.

Sincerely,

Rachael Santis

1. What is the purpose of the article?

2. What does the article imply about Raina Gibson?

3. In the letter, the word “unappetizing” in paragraph 1, line 5 is closest in meaning to

4. What does Ms. Santis ask the author to do?

5. What is true about Ms. Santis?

Questions 6-10 refer to the following e-mails

To: <service@toppurchase.com>

From: Gary Sheppard <gsheppard@hotmail.com>

Date: March 10

Subject: Warranty complaint

I recently had a problem with my Samlion TV, which I purchased on January 25. The Top Purchase.com repairmen came to my place 14 days ago and told us a part had to be ordered. In the meantime we watched a TV with a buzzing sound and a terrible picture. After a week the company called and told us that the part was severely back ordered. I was then told I could get another TV but had to wait until the 9^th of March because of a fourteen-day waiting period. So today, I brought the 46-inch TV back to the store to exchange it only to find out I needed a confirmation number from the warranty people. We called and spoke to a warranty supervisor while at the Top Purchase store that the new Terry Springs location but he could not help us. We still have to wait another day or two before we will see a replacement TV.

This whole experience has not left me on good terms with Top Purchase. At this time I’d like to request a refund for the price of a new TV.

Sincerely,

Gary Sheppard

 

To: Gary Sheppard <gsheppard@hotmail.com>

From: <allanw@toppurchase.com>

Date: March 12

Subject: RE: Warranty complaint

Dear Mr. Sheppard,

Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns to Top Purchase. My name is Allan, and I’d be happy to assist you with any questions you may have.

The person that advised you to wait fourteen days should have been clearer on how the replacement process works. This would have saved you a trip to the Top Purchase, store and the effort to carry your old TV into the store and back home. Top Purchase return policy states that if a product was purchased less than 30 days ago, it may be returned to the store for any reason as long as receipt is presented and the product is in its original packaging. Purchases made more than 30 days ago may be returned if the product was damaged or defective through no fault of the customer. In this case, a Merchandise Return Form must be filled out, available for download at our company website. Once your replacement request is approved, you receive a phone call with a confirmation number of the approval, and that number is what the store needs to process the replacement. Original purchase price is never a consideration in what the store determines to be comparable model, and we do require the old TV back before we can release the new TV to you.

If you are getting the new TV delivered to your home, we would pick up the old TV when we deliver the new one. But if you want to walk out of the store with your new TV, you would need to bring the old TV in with you. If your TV is approved for replacement, there is no way to get you a refund.

It is always our goal to provide world class customer care. To improve our service for you, would you please let us ask you a few questions about your shopping habits? Please make sure to fill out the enclosed form with your full name and current address, so we can send you a store coupon for 10$ off your next purchase. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. Thanks for expressing your concern.

Allan

Community Connector

Top Purchase Corporate

6. What problem with the product does Mr. Sheppard report?

7. What most likely is a part of Allan’s job?

8. When did the repairmen go to Mr. Sheppard’s home?

9. What additional item does Mr. Sheppard need to obtain before going to the Top Purchase store for a return?

10. How can Mr. Sheppard receive a discount on a future purchase?

Questions 11-15 refer to the following e-mail and announcement

From: Lila Adams <lila@softtech.net>

To: Diana Wang <dwang@fastmail.net>

Date: September 17

Subject: Development Conference

Diana,

I’m so glad we had a chance to meet and exchange numbers. I wish we had had more time so talk about your growing business. I can understand your hesitation and anxiety about hiring people to expand the business.

When we hire new employees at my department in SoftTech, we first select desirable candidates from the initial interview, and then have them come in for a second round of interviews where they are given a personality assessment test. We find the results of these tests to be helpful in determining a person’s personality type, which then gives us an idea of how they would react to certain situations.

I’d like to invite you to a conference I’m attending next month. I went to their workshops last year, and they provided some valuable insight for businesses. I think you’ll be able to get a good idea of how to use assessments for your company expansion if you attend the conference I’m referring to.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes,

Lila Adams, Human Resource Manager

SoftTech Inc.

 

The 2^nd Annual Cherry Hills Business Development Conference
Cherry Hill National is pleased to announce that final addition workshops will be held as part of the 2^nd Annual Cherry Business Development Conference. These workshops, in addition to the original list of workshops and seminars, will require pre-registration to gain entry.

Networking: Doing Business with the City of Cherry Hill

• Be Steven Holmes
• Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2010
• Time: 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.

Business Tax Seminar

• By Rina Holmes
• Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2010
• Time: 3:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Introduction to Record Keeping and Accounting for First-Year Workers

• By Debra Allans
• Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2010
• Time: 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M

Personality and Psychological Considerations in the Workplace

• By Rose McCallister
• Date: Monday, November 3, 2010
• Time: 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

11. Why is Ms. Adams writing to Ms. Wang?

12. According to the e-mail, what concern has Ms. Wand expressed?

13. What is true about the workshops listed in the announcement?

14. What day’s workshop would probably be most helpful to Ms. Wang?

15. For whom is Debra Allan’s presentation most likely intended?

Questions 16-17 refer to the following advertisement

Digital Photos Come to Life!
You’ve all seen the countless ads for digital photo albums. These albums have the advantage of allowing you to store many pictures instead of looking at the same picture all day. While these digital albums are novelty items, they do not fully utilize the technology available. That’s where Dream Pictures comes in. We have developed a new digital album that not only displays pictures, but also plays video files in the most popular formats. Now you can look at pictures and short video clips that play in a loop. We have many customer service consultants waiting to take your call. We’ll help you choose from our diverse line of products and styles. You can also send us your pictures and videos and simply tell us what kind of album you want. We personally guarantee that you’ll be 100% satisfied or your many back!

Dream Pictures, INC.

(212) 589-8512

www.dreampictures.com
16. What is being advertised?

17. What kind of support will customers receive?

Questions 18-19 refer to the following notice

MEMORANDUM
To: Hannah Song

From: Karen Wilson, Manager, Global Strategic Planning

Subject: Nelson Insight Conference

Date: Mon, 5/12

Dear Hannah,

As you may already be aware, next week is the scheduled conference meeting with Nelson Insight. I will be giving a presentation on behalf of my team, based on the attached proposal. Because this conference is pivotal in deciding whether to go through with the next steps of our joint venture project, our team has put a lot of time and effort into perfecting this presentation material.

Although our team members, including myself, have reviewed it many times, I wanted to make sure that the material is fully localized to the needs of the Korean market and that we have not missed any important points that need to be addressed. Can you please review the attached document and give me any critical feedback that you or your team may have? I am aware that you have extensive experience working with Korean research agencies like Nelson Insight, so I’d really appreciate it if you could give me any advice or tips. In particular, I am especially concerned about the length of our proposal. It seems a bit long and I would like to make it more concise and direct, but I am having trouble deciding on which part(s) to get rid of. Also, this is a minor issue, but can you please double-check to make sure that the Korean logo graphics included have no mistakes?

When you’re done with the review, perhaps we could meet sometime this week to review it together in person. I will be flying to Korea tonight and arriving at Incheon on Tuesday at 6 a.m. I’m available to meet with you any time between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. from Tuesday on. Please let me know what time is the best for you, so we can set up a meeting.

I’m looking forward to seeing you soon and thanks for your assistance in advance.

Best regards,

Karen

18. What is the purpose of the memo?

19. What does Karen request that Hannah do?

Questions 20-22 refer to the following e-mail

From: Angela Leason <aleason@novarttspharma.com>

To: All employees <employees@novarttspharman.com>

Date: July 10

Subject: Vacation Policy

Novartts Pharmaceutical has a new vacation policy for certain full-time employees and which will go into effect one month from today, on Monday, August 10.

This new vacation policy is designed to provide employees who have completed at least six continuous months of service a period of rest and relaxation away from work without loss of pay or benefits. Part-time employees, employees who have not completed at least six continuous months of service, temporary employees, and seasonal employees are entirely ineligible to participate in the vacation plan or to earn any vacation pay. The length of an employee’s vacation will depend on how long he or she has worked as a full-time employees, and on whether the employee is paid annually or hourly.

Your immediate supervisor and/or manager must approve your vacation time before vacation benefits can be granted. To help us assure that your responsibilities are covered while you are away, you must request your vacation time in writing at least two weeks before the day you wish to leave or start vacation. This form can be downloaded from our company website at www.novarttspharma.com/ vacation form. To request a vacation, please download the form, have your supervisor/manager sign it, and return it to Miriam Wales, director of the human resources department.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this new policy.

20. What is the purpose of the e-mail?

21. When will the change take effect?

22. What are the employees instructed to do before taking a vacation?

Questions 23-25 refer to the following memo

To: All current clients

From: ewall@qmerchants.net
Dear Clients,

Thank you for your continuing business with qmerchants.net. Regrettably, I have some bad news to relay to you. Due to the increase in raw material costs, we must unfortunately raise the cost of our merchandise to you.

As you know, our company mission is to sustain long-term relationships and not be driven by profit margin. As such, we have avoided raising our inevitable. These changes were deemed necessary in order for our company to stay solvent.

We have enclosed our new price list for your review which goes into effect on May 18. Any orders placed between now and May 17 will be honored at the lower prices. I would like to hold a meeting with you next week to discuss the new prices in more detail.

We wish to thank you for your valued account and know that you will understand the necessity for this price increase.

Thank you,

Erin Wall

Account Manager

23. What is the purpose of the memo?

24. What will NOT be discussed at the meeting?

25. According to the memo, what would have happened without the price changes?

Questions 26-30 refer to the following letter

Bloomdale Trailer Association

278 Warwick Rd Oklahoma City, OK 683090

January 21

Mr. Joh Cousins

Oklahoma City Mayor

City Hall

Oklahoma City, OK 683090

Dear Mr. Mayor,

I am writing on behalf of the Bloomdale Trailer Association to urge you to support legislation lifting the ban on overnight parking charges of large vehicles in our area. The number of campers and tourists who travel in trailers has increased significantly during the last year. While RV (recreational vehicle) tourism is not a significant portion of traditional tourism, it still represents a sizeable portion of the area’s tourist draw. I am sure you will agree that forcing RV tourists to pay substantial overnight parking fees will compromise the city’s efforts to promote tourism, and in fact discourage the traditionally enjoyed pastime of camping outdoors.

In an age where our children are attached to computers and mobile devices more than ever, we must strongly encourage outdoor activities and physical exercise. We are confident that making Bloomdale “RV friendly” will benefit the local tourism industry and encourage our children to enjoy the outdoors more.

Jayment Town, Teaneck Village, and Coda City recently lifted seminar parking fees and have subsequently reported a strong positive response from locals and tourists alike. These nearby towns are proof that allowing TV tourists to enjoy free overnight parking can promote tourism, and in turn generate more revenue for restaurants and local shops. Lifting the parking fees have benefitted all parties involved in other places.

Another benefit of lifting the parking fees would be the additional revenue it would help create. The tourism and food service industries employ a significant portion of the workforce in our community. Currently, however, many visitors are leaving in the early evening to avoid the overpriced parking fees. Subsequently, our local businesses are losing revenue to neighboring cities. RV tourism is an essential part of hotel tourism. Fostering the industry would increase the total number of visitors to our great city.

I look forward to hearing your response, and I’m confident you’ll see the benefits of lifting the parking fees.

Sincerely,

Drew Bledsoe

Vice President of Community Affairs

Bloomdale Trailer Association

26. What is the purpose of the letter?

27. The word “compromise” in paragraph 1, line 6, is closest in meaning to

28. What is suggested about Coda City?

29. What is indicated about tourism in Oklahoma City?

30. Why are nearby cities mentioned in the letter?