Sales Survey, Business Stress and Darwin: Reading Comprehension Exercises

Summary

This worksheet collects English reading comprehension exercises on three texts: a survey of women in the sales industry, a report on stress among business owners across countries, and a short passage on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Each text is followed by matching headings, questions and short-answer tasks. Students practise scanning for specific information and identifying main ideas.

Key points

The sales survey exercise asks students to match eight headings to eight paragraphs, including main finding, motivation and personal qualities.
Business owners in China, Vietnam, Mexico, India and Turkey face stress from keeping up with fast expansion, while owners in Ireland, Spain and Greece worry about a shrinking economy.
The four major causes of workplace stress listed are the economic climate, pressure on cashflow, competitor activities and heavy workload.
Business owners in China, Mexico and Vietnam take fewer holidays, while those in Sweden, Denmark and Finland take more.
Darwin's On the Origin of Species describes slow change called evolution, with newer fossils found at the top of rock layers.
Darwin's example of 'survival of the fittest' is the giraffe, and its neck is the key feature in the idea.

Test yourself

Women on Top in New Sales Industry Survey

Read the article and match each of these headings (a-h) to one of the paragraphs (1-8).

Motivation
Professionalism
TV
Personal qualities
Main finding of the survey
Why women make the best salespeople
What the survey asked
The woman who would make the best salesperson

Over Half of Business Owners Feeling Increasingly Stressed

Read the article and answer the following questions.

What is the difference between these groups of countries in terms of reasons for high-level stress?

China, Vietnam, Mexico, India, and Turkey (high growth is expected from these countries)
Ireland, Spain, and Greece (economy is shrinking in these countries)

According to Alex MacBeath, how do business leaders experience stress differently in China and Ireland?

In China, the pressure is on to keep up with the speed of expansion, while in Ireland, the economy is shrinking, and business owners are worried about how they will keep their business alive

What are the four major causes of workplace stress?

The economic climate, pressure on cashflow, competitor activities, and heavy workload

According to Alex MacBeath, what three types of pressure are there?

Economic, business, and personal

Look at this list of countries.

Vietnam
Sweden
Denmark
Mexico
China
Finland

In which countries do business owners take:

Fewer holidays? China, Mexico, Vietnam
More holidays? Sweden, Denmark, Finland

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Answer these questions with one word.

Who wrote On the Origin of Species? DARWIN
Where were the newer fossils, at the top or the bottom of the rock? TOP
What is slow change called? EVOLUTION
Darwin believed that our species had evolved from what? MONKEYS
Which animal did Darwin use as an example of “survival of the fittest”? GIRAFFE
Which part of this animal is important for the idea of “survival of the fittest”? NECK

FAQ

Which countries have business owners who take fewer holidays?

According to the exercise, business owners in China, Mexico and Vietnam take fewer holidays. Those in Sweden, Denmark and Finland take more.

What did Darwin use as an example of survival of the fittest?

Darwin used the giraffe as his example, and the neck of the animal is the important part for this idea.