e trendiest and most avant-garde of these stores practise pattern s of merchandising and retain forms of prepaid credit, customer service, and spe cial relationships with suppliers characteristic of merchandising during the Tok ygawa era (1600 ¡ª 1868). To many Japanese these large urban stores may seem lik e a direct import from the West, but like the word depato, they have undergone a transformation in the process of becoming Japanese.ª¥ 

Throughout the Tokygawa era, Japan was closed by decree to foreign influen ces. During the Meiji era, however, Japan reopened to the western world; concurr ently, depato emerged as large-scale merchandisers in Japan. The Meiji depato we re soon perceived by Japanese customers as glamorous places to shop because of t heir Western imports, which the Japanese were eager to see and buy. Depato also sold Japanese goods but often followed practices that people of the time conside red foreign, such as letting customers wear their shoes while shopping in the st ore.ª¥ 

A representative of the Japan Department Store Association told me that th roughout their history depato have played on the Japanese interest in foreign pl aces, cultures and objects, and that to a great extent these were introduced to Japan through department stores. I suggest that in addition to this role of cult ural importer depato have also been involved in the creation of domestic cultura l meanings. They have made foreign customs, ideas and merchandise familiar by gi ving them meanings consistent with Japanese cultural practice.ª¤  

TEXT K 

First read the questions.ª¤ 

39. The Agency for International Development is a ___ organization. 

A. new B. regional C. UN D. USª¤ 

40. According to NDS¡¯s statistics, the number of babies the average Phil ipino woman bears dropped by ___ between 1960 and 1993.ª¤ 

A.4.1 B.6.4 C.2.3 D.2.9 

Now go through TEXT K quickly to answer questions 39 and 40.ª¥ 

When