The Internet is damaging traditional retail stores in the UK. A business leader's report found grim statistics, predicting that 20,000 shops - nearly a quarter of chain stores - will close in the next three years due to financial stress. The rise of online shopping is having dire consequences for high streets as town centers decline, with 11% of retail space now vacant. Traditional stores are not adapting sufficiently to the online challenge and remain nostalgic rather than innovative.

1. Internet damaging 20,000 U.K. storesInternet damaging 20,000 U.K. stores

2. • 1 What do you or your family buy on
the Internet?
• 2 Were they pleased with what they
bought?
• 3 Was it cheaper than in the shops?
• 4 Did it arrive quickly?

3. • Do you enjoy shopping? Why /not?
• Have you ever bought anything from a catalogue
or shopped online? What did you buy?
• How safe do you think it is to shop online?
• Do you know anyone who is a shopaholic?
• Are you saving up for anything at the moment? If
so, what?
• How has the way we shop changed over the last
fifty years?
• How do you think the way we shop will change over
the next few years?

4. • brainstorm all the words you can
think of associated with shopping.

5. SHOPPING: What are the pros and cons of
these ways of shopping? Complete this table
with your partner(s).
Pros Cons
• Online
• In malls
• Shopping streets
• Via catalogues
• Markets
• Garage sales

6. • shopping is boring and a waste of
time
• shopping is great fun.

7. • clothes shops
• music stores
• bakeries
• electronic goods shops
• bookshops
• toy stores
• furniture shops
• sports shops

8. TRUE / FALSE
• aF
• bT
• cT
• dF
• eT
• fT
• gF
• hF

9. Synonym match
1.naturea.character
2.direb.terrible
3.releasedc.issued
4.predictsd.forecasts
5.demisee.downfall
6.rangef.variety
7.emptyg.vacant
8.roughlyh.approximately
9.lurei.tempt
10.nostalgicj.sentimental

10. • The Internet has changed the nature of the way we shop. More
and more of us are shopping online instead of in "bricks and
mortar" stores. In the United Kingdom, this is having dire
consequences for the traditional high-street store. A respected
business leader has released a report containing grim statistics
on the future of U.K. retailing. CEO Bill Grimsey warns that 47
per cent of Britain's chain stores are "horribly stressed
financially". This amounts to some 20,000 shops. He predicts a
quarter of these will be out of business within the next three
years. Mr Grimsey has also said that the continual demise of
traditional shopping streets has led to what he termed as "ugly"
town centres.
• Mr Grimsey provided a range of reasons for the degeneration of
Britain's downtown areas. Over 40,000 of Britain's shops are
empty; roughly eleven per cent of all retail space. Grimsey said
many stores have not sufficiently risen to meet the challenge
posed by the Internet. He said that rather than looking to the
future, and at innovative ideas to lure customers back, many
stores are still stuck in the past. In particular, he said companies
were too "nostalgic". Another reason is that multinational
companies are draining local areas of money. He said: "It is not
difficult to keep local money within the local economy, but it
doesn't work if…we are listening too much to big firms."

11. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
• 1.As "bricks and mortar" stores
• 2.Dire consequences
• 3.Grim statistics
• 4.5,000
• 5.He said they were ugly
• 6.11%
• 7.Ones to bring customers back
• 8.Nostalgia
• 9.Multinational companies
• 10.By listening to big companies

12. How did the article describe traditional
shops?
a) as online stores
b) as being old-fashioned
c) as being concerned with nature
d) as bricks and mortar stores
What kind of consequences is the
Internet having on stores?
a) dietary b) dire
c) positive effects d) unfair

13. What did a report contain?
a) photos of every closed store
b) a way forward
c) bleak statistics
d) innovative ideas
How many shops could go bust within the next three
years?
a) 5,000
b) 47%
c) 20,000
d) 11%

14. How did a CEO describe the look of town
centres?
a) modern
b) comfortable
c) ugly
d) original
What percentage of retail space in the UK is
vacant?
a) 10
b) 11
c) 12
d) 13

15. What ideas have stores not been looking at?
a) ideas to move location
b) nostalgic ideas
c) ideas about new technology
d) ones to bring customers back
What feelings did the CEO say stores had
too much of?
a) nostalgia
b) pity
c) anger
d) relief

16. What is draining local economies of money?
a) sewage systems
b) tourists
c) multinational firms
d) nostalgia
How can local economies make things
difficult for themselves?
a) by not offering huge discounts
b) by listening to big companies
c) competing with the Internet
d) closing early

17. PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND
ADD CAPITALS
the internet has changed the nature of the way we shop more and more of us
are shopping online instead of in "bricks and mortar" stores in the united
kingdom this is having dire consequences for the traditional high-street
store a respected business leader has released a report containing grim
statistics on the future of uk retailing ceo bill grimsey warns that 47 per
cent of britain's chain stores are "horribly stressed financially" this
amounts to some 20000 shops he predicts a quarter of these will be out of
business within the next three years mr grimsey has also said that the
continual demise of traditional shopping streets has led to what he termed
as "ugly" town centres
mr grimsey provided a range of reasons for the degeneration of britain's
downtown areas over 40000 of britain's shops are empty roughly eleven per
cent of all retail space grimsey said many stores have not sufficiently risen
to meet the challenge posed by the internet he said that rather than looking
to the future and at innovative ideas to lure customers back many stores are
still stuck in the past in particular he said companies were too "nostalgic"
another reason is that multinational companies are draining local areas of
money he said "it is not difficult to keep local money within the local economy
but it doesn't work if…we are listening too much to big firms"

18. Sewage system
• facility consisting of a system of sewers for carrying off liquid an
d solid sewage sewage works, sewer systemfacility, installation -
• a building or place that provides a particular service or is
used for a particular industry;
"the assembly plant is an enormous facility“ infrastructure, base -
the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the
functioning of acountry or area; "the industrial base of Japan“
• sewer, sewerage, cloaca
- a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water
• sewer line, sewer main - a main in a sewage system
• Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012
Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

19. re•tail
(ri te l ) ɪ
n.1. the sale of goods to ultimate consumers, usu. in small quantities (oppos
ed to wholesale).
adj.2. pertaining to, connected with, or engaged in sale at retail.
adv.3. in a retail quantity or at a retail price.
v.t.4. to sell at retail; sell directly to the consumer.
5. to relate or repeat in detail to others: to retail scandal.
v.i.6. to be sold at retail.
• [1375–1425; (n.) late Middle English < Anglo-
French: a cutting, derivative of retailler to cut =re- re-
+ tailler to cut (see tail2);(v.) Middle English retailen < Old French retailler
• re′tail•er, n.
• Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K
Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All
rights reserved.

20. •
DEFINITION bricks and mortar
• Bricks and mortar refers to businesses that have
physical (rather than virtual or online) presences - in
other words, stores (built of physical material such as
bricks and mortar) that you can drive to and enter
physically to see, touch, and purchase merchandise.
This term is used as the basis for the term
clicks and mortar, a business that sells products and
services on the Web as well as from physical
locations.

22. • de·mise
(dĭ-mīz′)n.
• 1.a. Death.
• b. The end of existence or activity;
• termination: the demise of the streetcar.
• 2. Law Transfer of an estate by lease or will.
• 3. The transfer of a ruler's authority by death o
r abdication.

23. • degeneration
• (d d n re n)ɪˌ ʒɛ əˈ ɪʃə
• n1. the process of degenerating
• 2. the state of being degenerate
• 3. (Biology) biology the loss of specialization, function, or s
tructure by organisms and their parts, as in thedevelopment
of vestigial organs
• 4. (Biology)a. impairment or loss of the function and struct
ure of cells or tissues, as by disease or injury, often leading
todeath (necrosis) of the involved part
• b. the resulting condition
• 5. (Electronics) electronics negative feedback of a signal
• Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged,
12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994,
1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

24. • lure in to
• lure someone or something in to something
• and lure someone or something into
• entice someone or something into something or a place.
• The thief tried to lure the tourist into an alley to rob him.
Using an old trick, the thief lured in the tourist.
• McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal
Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

25. • go bust
Definitions
• to become bankrupt
• Synonyms
go bankrupt, fail, go under, break, be
ruined, be wound up, go to the wall, be
liquidated, go into receivership, go into
liquidation, become insolvent, cease trading

26. • The end!
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