Part II

Reading for General Comprehension

Reading for general comprehension - вид чтения, предполагающий общее понимание текста.

Text 1 Consumer Law

Have you ever bought a meal in a restaurant or a pair of sneakers at a sporting goods store? Have you ever ridden a bus to work or had your car repaired at a service station? If you did any of these things, you were a consumer. A consumer is a person who buys goods and services from another person.

When sellers agree to provide and consumers agree to pay for goods or services, the parties have entered into a legal agreement. The agreement is called a contract. Every time you order a meal in a restaurant, you promise to pay for it, and the restaurant promises to give you a meal that is fit to eat. If the consumer and the seller have a dispute they can’t settle themselves, the law may help determine the outcome.

For many years, consumer law was characterized by the legal expression caveat emptor*. This means «let the buyer beware». In other words, consumers had to look out for unfair and misleading sales practices before buying or else be prepared to suffer the consequences. Once consumers bought something, they were stuck with the purchase, even if they got less than they bargained for, such as unsafe or poor-quality products.

Today the law is more balanced. Consumers now have a right to be correctly informed of important data, such as quality, price, and credit terms. Sellers must avoid sales and advertising practices that mislead, deceive, or are otherwise unfair to consumers. This increased concern for consumers is based on the fact that sellers are better informed about the products or services being offered and are usually in control of the sales transaction.

Even though the law has changed, the best protection is still a careful purchase. Learning about products and services, shopping carefully, and knowing your legal rights are the best ways to avoid a problem.

*caveat emptor - (лат.) «пусть покупатель будет осмотрителен», т.е. качество на риске покупателя.

Assignment

Find passages suitable for the given titles

1. Burden of risk rests on a buyer.

2. Responsibility of a seller.

3. Consumer agreement.

Text 2

Influences on consumer

Smart consumers understand the factors that influence their shopping habits. They think about whether they need the product, whether they can afford it, and how they can purchase it carefully. They also know the difference between wanting and needing a product. Of course, sometimes all consumers splurge and buy things they really don’t need. But smart shoppers don’t spend so much on things they want that they can’t afford what they really need.

Advertising can, of course, be beneficial. For example, merchants use advertising to tell potential customers about their products. Ads* can also help consumers by telling them about new goods and services and by providing other useful information. Their primary purpose of ads, however, is to sell products. Although ads can be helpful, they can also mislead, deceive, and confuse.

Ads sometimes mislead consumers by vague claims or, in a few cases, outright lies. Other ads try to create a desire for products that consumers don’t really need or want. Many ads appeal to emotion rather that provide the kind of factual information needed to make a wise buying decision.

The federal and state governments have laws that prohibit false or deceptive advertising. However, deception takes many forms despite these laws, which are difficult to enforce.

When the public is widely exposed to a misleading ad, the FTC** can order the seller to stop the false advertising. They can also order corrective advertising. This means that the advertiser must admit the deception in all future ads for a specified period of time. For example, a well-known mouthwash company advertised that its product cured sore throats and colds. When an investigation proved this claim false, the FTC ordered that all new ads state that the previous claims were untrue.

As a general rule, false or misleading ads are illegal; however, one type of ad is an exception to this rule. Ads based on the seller’s opinion, personal taste, or on an obvious exaggeration are called puffing***. While perhaps not literally true, ads that puff are not illegal. For example, a used car dealer that advertises the «Word’s Best Used Cars» is engaged in puffing. This is because a reasonable person should know better than to rely on the truthfulness of such a statement.

The difference between illegal advertising and puffing is small, so consumers should be on guard. If the statement tends to mislead about an important fact concerning the product, it is illegal; but if an ad is merely an exaggeration of a nonspecific opinion, it is probably puffing and legal.

*ad = advising, advirtisement

**FTC - the Federal Trade Commission

***puffing - дутая реклама, преувеличение качеств товара