Open Cloze: Fill in the blank with a suitable word to complete the passage.
Shopping Abroad



Shopping is an activity that most of us enjoy, but buying things in a country (1) ____________________

than your own is difficult if you can’t speak the local language. Reading a package label in a foreign language

and communicating with salespeople can be (2) ___________________ challenge.

In many countries, (3) ____________________are not written on the item for sale. It is (4)

____________________ necessary to ask the seller what the price is. In some cultures, the salesperson will

set a (5) ____________________ price, expecting the buyer then to offer a low one, and the final amount can

depend on the mood of the person selling the items. After discussing the price a little longer, the buyer and

seller eventually agree (6) ____________________ the amount. This kind of (7) ___________________ is

common in many cultures of the Middle East and Asia, but in Europe and America, the price is usually (8)

____________________.

Another problem is the local (9) ____________________. If you are not familiar (10)

____________________ the money of foreign country, paying for things can be confusing. Sometimes

tourists in foreign countries simply hold out a handful of coins, trusting the merchant to be honest.

Nowadays (11) ___________________cards are popular as they allow people to charge their purchases

and (12) ____________________for them later. Using this ‘plastic money’ means that you don’t have to

carry a lot of (13) ___________________when you travel. Your signature on the credit slip is enough. Using

credit cards is thus extremely (14) ____________________for travellers, but there is one slight (15)

____________________: it might be a very bad day when you get the bill.