Investigated

carefully looked into, examined

freight rates

prices for transporting goods, not people

Answer the questions:

1. About what have two airlines agreed?

2. What did tens of thousands of passengers claim?

3. Why do the airlines need supplements to normal ticket prices?

4. Why did Virgin escape penalty?

5. What does the settlement for American passengers allow?

6. How many airlines are investigated by European Union regulators?

Find Russian equivalents to the following expressions from the text:

the payout aims to settle a lawsuit, to be overcharged, supplements, the wrath of passengers.

Translate the following passage.

But both airlines have faced the wrath of passengers, who mounted a class action lawsuit before the US courts seeking compensation. The payout just agreed mainly relates to American passengers. The law firm that fought the case in the US is thinking of starting a similar action in the British courts seeking compensation for UK passengers.

5. Teacake wrangle

The European Court of Justice has ruled that the British retailer, Marks and Spencer, can claim back £3.5m in overpaid VAT on teacakes. For years, the British authorities defined a chocolate teacake as a biscuit – which attracts a sales tax – rather than a cake, which does not. So when is a cake not a biscuit?

Teacakes are not made out of tea but many British people enjoy eating them while drinking a cup of tea. The chocolate teacake, which has been discussed by international lawyers for more than a decade now, is made by a leading supermarket chain, Marks and Spencer. It's got a shortbread base, a marshmallow type filling and a chocolate shell. So the key question has been – does that make it a cake or a biscuit?

Long ago, the British tax authorities decided it was a biscuit, a luxury food eligible for sales tax. The supermarket maintained it was a cake, a basic food which is exempt from tax. The argument's been through many courts and the latest ruling from the European Court of Justice seems to come down on the cake side of the argument. Marks and Spencer should get a tax refund, said the judges.

But it's not over yet. The European Court says – ultimately, it's for the British authorities to decide the matter, meaning it's now likely to be discussed by Britain's highest court, the House of Lords. Marks and Spencer gave the decision a cautious welcome; in the meantime it continues to sell the teacakes and its customers can go on enjoying them regardless of the bitter legal arguments that they've caused.

a leading supermarket chain

a number of popular, profitable supermarkets located in different areas, towns or even countries that have the same owner and sell the same goods

shortbread

a type of sweet biscuit made with a lot of butter

marshmallow

a confection made from syrup, sugar, gelatine and albumen (i.e. uncooked whites of eggs) beaten to a soft consistency

a luxury food

a type of food that people consider to be a delicacy, is expensive but not essential

maintained

said all the time, insisted