Harrods

Harrods was established in 1834 in London’s East End and its founder was
Charles Henry Harrod. In 1849 the store moved to a small shop in the
district of Knightsbridge where it still exists nowadays.
Beginning in a single room, with only two assistants and a messenger boy,
Harrod’s son Charles Digby Harrod expanded the tea business selling
medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruit and vegetables. The store grew
quickly, acquiring the next door buildings, and by 1880 it already had a
hundred workers.
However, in early December 1883, there was a huge fire that burnt the
store to the ground. Remarkably, Charles Harrod built a new modern store
on the same site and soon Harrods became the favourite shop of famous
poets, artists and of many members of the British Royal Family. Harrods
was the first store in England to have a “moving staircase” (escalator). In
1985 the department store was bought by the AI Fayed brothers.
Harrods is the biggest department store in Europe and it offers a wide range
of products, which include clothing for every sort of customer ( women,
men, children, infants), electronics, jewellery, sporting gear, pets, and pet
accessories, toys, food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts,
housewares, home appliances, furniture and much more.
The store also has 32 restaurants, serving all kinds of food, from pub food
to haute cuisine, a personal shopping assistance programme, a beauty spa
and a salon and offers many other services, like banking or event planning.
Up to 300,000 customers visit Harrods on peak days and more than 5,000
staff from over fifty different countries work at Harrods.
Harrods was for a long time the official supplier of goods and clothing of
the Royal Family, but the relationship between AI Fayed and the members
of the Royal Family got worse after the tragic death of Princess Diana of
Wales and Dodi AI Fayed (AI Fayed’s son) in a car accident. Inside the
store there are two memorials to the couple, as AI Fayed said he wanted to
keep their spirit alive.
In May 2010, AI Fayed decided to sell Harrods because he wanted to retire
and spend more time with his family. He sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings
for a price £ 1,5 billion.
Answer the questions according to the text.
1. When was Harrods founded?
Harrods was founded 1834.

2. Why did Charles Digby Harrod need to rebuilt the store?

Because in 1883, there was a huge fire that burnt the store to the
ground.

3. What kind of things can you buy at the Harrods? Give three
examples.
There we can buy a wide range of products such as clothing,
jewellery, electronics and much more.

4. How many people work at Harrods nowadays?

Nowadays about 5,000 staff from over fifty different countries work
at Harrods

5. Why did AI Fayed decide to sell the department store?

Because he wanted to retire and spend more time with his family.

Fill in the blanks with when or while.

____When______ her friend arrived, Sue was already in the spa.
The employee was waiting for Martha ____while_____ she was
comparing the LCD’s.
_______While______ Samantha was having lunch, her sister was
still trying to find a new purse.

After having lunch at the sushi restaurant Beth calls her friend
Alice. Choose the best option to fill in the blanks in the dialogue.

Beth: Hi, Alice! You won’t believe what

(a)________happened______ today at Harrods!
Alice: Tell me all about it!
Beth: I (b)________went___________ there because I
________needed______(c)
to buy some make-up and it was on sale. Then, while I
(d)_______was waiting__________ for the receipt, I (e)
________was hearing________ a voice calling me.
 Alice: Who was it?
Beth: It was Tom and his new girlfriend. They (f)________were also
waiting_________ for their turn to pay for a perfume they had
bought.
Alice: Really?
Beth: Yes, and they (g) ________invited__________ me to have
lunch with them at the sushi restaurant.
Alice: And (h)_______did you have________ lunch with them?
Beth: I did and I (i) ______found out__________ that Tina, his new
girlfriend, is a really nice person. The problem was that after lunch
while we (j)_______were talking________ at the table, Eilleen
arrived with her new boyfriend!
Alice: How embarrassing!
Beth: Very embarrassing, indeed!

(a) 1. was happening 2. happened 3. happening

(b) 1. was going 2. went 3. were going
(c) 1. needed 2. was needing 3. were needing
(d) 1. were waiting 2. was waiting 3. waited
(e) 1. was hearing 2. were hearing 3. heard
(f) 1. were also waiting 2. was also waiting 3. also waited
(g) 1. invited 2. were inviting 3. inviting
(h) 1. were you having 2. you havng 3. did you have
(i) 1. found out 2. were finding out 3. was finding out
(j) 1. was talking 2. were talking 3. talked

Beth is at the beauty department at Harrods. Fill in the blanks in

the dialogue with indefinite pronouns.
Beth: Excuse me, I’m looking for the Pinky Gloss lipstick, but I
can’t see it on the shelves.
Shop assistant: Just a second, it must be ___somewhere_________
around here. Exactly, here it is.
Can I help you with __anything_________ else?
Beth: Yes, please. I’d like the new Glance eyeliner, that one that
_______everybody_______ is wearing now!
Shop assistant: Sure. It’s right over here. Will that be
________everything__________?
Beth: Yes, that’s all. Just a question, is the travel agency closed at
lunch time? I passed by and there was ______no one_________
there.
Shop assistant: Yes, sorry. It opens now at 14:00.