Ｐｒｅ－１（Ｓ）

One day, a mayor was talking with one of her staff in city hall. The staff member was showing a graph that said the employment rate had been decreasing year by year. He said "we need to do something to creat more jobs. The mayor was looking at the graph and looked concerned. She was thinking what to do.

At a meeting, the mayor suggested two possible ideas to solve the problem. One was to build a new shopping mall, and the other was to attract new factories. She said that the first idea was better. Everyone in the meeting agreed with her.

A couple of years later, the new shopping mall, called ABC Mall, opened. The mayor attended the opening ceremony. She was hoping that the shopping mall would raise the employment rate soon later.

The following year, the mayor was in the office, reading a newspaper article that said local shops were struggling to compete with the new mall.

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One day, a mayor was talking with one of her staff in city hall. The her staff member was holding a graph showing that the employment rate was falling, and he said they needed to do something to create more jobs.

At a meeting, the mayor was talking to her staff about her ideas to atrract investiment. One idea was to build a new shopping mall, and the other was to encourage factories to come to the area.

The mayor and her staff thought the shopping mall was the better idea.

A couple of years later, the new shopping mall had been built and there was an opening ceremony, which many people attended. The major was hoping that the new mall would help increase the employment rate.

The following year, she was reading the newspaper in her office. She noticed an article that said local shops were struggling to compete with the new mall.

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No.1 Please look at the fourth picture. If you were the woman, what would you be thinking?

I'd be thinking that maybe we should have thought more about the effects on the local shops before the project was carried out. It's good that the shopping mall has helped create new jobs, but we should do it at the expense of local businesses.

No.2 Do you think that peope these days care enough about their local community?

Yes. I think that most people know it's important to help their community. For example, people organize events that help keep their local area clean. Such activities make communities better places to live in.

No.3 Do companies today make their employees work too hard?

No. I think most people are working less than they used to. Companies these days are trying to improve working conditions for their employees. In fact, by doing so, they're making their employees more productive.

No.4 Do you think that the media has too much influence on people's opinions?

Yes. I think today's media, such as the Internet or TV has too much influence on our ideas or opinions. There is a lot of information available to choose from today, so it is important to think critically about the what media reports, and we need to be able to make good judgment in the news they report.