In the past, Britons mainly drank tea; but in recent years, coffee has become increasingly popular.
Chains of coffee shops, such as Starbucks, have opened in city centres across the country and now more than 80 per cent of Britons visit a coffee shop at least once a week.
Spending on coffee rose by 15 per cent since last year.
A recent report shows that Starbucks is the chain that is growing most rapidly and has a market share of 25 per cent. Costa Coffee is a close competitor with a 21 per cent market share.
The number of coffee shops in city centres has now reached а maximum level, and the chains are trying to expand into small towns.
This could be bad news for small cafes: if the chains continue to expand, many small outlets would go out of business.
We asked two consumers for their opinions on coffee shops.
Matt Wingford, an accountant, says: 'I like the coffee - it's excellent.
But my local coffee shop is often very noisy .
I would go more often if it was quieter.'
Cathy Mansfield, a student, says: 'It's great. My friends and I go there regularly.
But the coffee is quite expensive. I will drink more coffee if it is cheaper.'
2. Подобрать правильное слово
They produced a remarkable number of good ideas for new toys, which meant that their company was able to extend its 1 amount of popular products.
But things changed when the team's manager left to join a competitor. The new manager was much less successful in 2supplying_ the team. Instead of 3encouraging staff and praising them for their ideas, he put pressure on them. He tried to make them work harder and longer. This didn't increase their 4 efficiency_ : it reduced it. In fact, as the team became more and more stressed, their 5 creativity declined. Their product ideas were unpopular and failed to satisfy customer 6 demand . Now the company is losing market share and needs to find a 7 radical solution.
When I was a child my family moved to a big old two-floor house, with big empty rooms and creaking floorboards. Both my parents worked so I was often alone when I came home from school. One early evening when I came home the house was still dark.
I called out, “Mum?” and heard her sing song voice say “Ys?” from upstairs. I called her again as I climbed the stairs to see which room she was in, and again got the same “Ys?” reply. We were decorating at the time, and I didn’t know my way around the maze of rooms but she was in one of the far ones, right down the hall. I felt uneasy, but I figured that was only natural so I rushed forward to see my mum, knowing that her presence would calm my fears, as a mother’s presence always does.
Just as I reached for the handle of the door to let myself in to the room I heard the front door downstairs open and my mother call “Sweetie, are you home?” in a cheery voice. I jumped back, startled and ran down the stairs to her, but as I glanced back from the top of the stairs, the door to the room slowly opened a crack. For a brief moment, I saw something strange in there, and I don’t know what it was, but it was staring at me.
