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Предоплата всего
Подписываем
Федеральное агентство морского
и речного транспорта
Федеральное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования
Волжская государственная академия водного транспорта
Кафедра иностранных языков
Ю.Р. Гуро – Фролова,
О.Б. Соловьева
Business English
Учебное пособие
для студентов 1 курса экономических специальностей
Нижний Новгород – 2012
Федеральное агентство морского и
речного транспорта
Федеральное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования
Волжская государственная академия водного транспорта
Кафедра иностранных языков
Ю.Р. Гуро – Фролова,
О.Б. Соловьева
Business English
Учебное пособие
для студентов 1 курса экономических специальностей очной формы обучения
Нижний Новгород
Издательство ФБОУ ВПО «ВГАВТ»
2012
УДК 811.111
Г 95
Рецензент: к.п.н. Чувилина О.В.
Гуро – Фролова Ю.Р., Соловьева О.Б.
Business English: учебное пособие для студентов 1 курса очной формы обучения экономических специальностей / Ю.Р. Гуро – Фролова, О.Б. Соловьева. – Н. Новгород: Изд-во ФБОУ ВПО «ВГАВТ», 2012. – 49 с.
Целью данного пособия является развитие умений во всех видах речевой деятельности на основе профессионально-ориентированных тем. Система упражнений направлена в первую очередь на формирование и развитие лексических, коммуникативных навыков, а также умений чтения и перевода со словарем текстов по специальности. Материал пособия организован в виде тематических уроков. К пособию прилагается диск с аудиоматериалами.
Учебное пособие предназначено для студентов 1 курса очной формы обучения по специальности 080100 «Экономика (бакалавриат)», а также может быть использовано для специальности 080200 «Экономика (менеджмент)».
Работа рекомендована к изданию кафедрой иностранных языков (протокол № 2 от 10 октября 2011 г.).
© ФБОУ ВПО «ВГАВТ», 2012
Unit 1
Being an economist
1. Reading. Read the article and find the following:
1. Carlos Ghosn’s nationality Brazilian.
2. Two companies that he works for _______.
3. A city in Asia _________.
4. Three European cities ________.
5. A country in Asia __________.
New words from the article:
|
foreign |
иностранный, зарубежный |
|
the head of the company |
глава компании |
|
employee |
работник |
|
it (informational technology) |
информационная технология |
|
to commute |
перемещаться на работу и с работы |
|
tax |
налог |
|
ticket |
билет |
|
expensive |
дорогой |
|
increase |
увеличение |
|
government |
правительство |
Working in a foreign country
Today more and more people travel in their job. Carlos Ghosn is a Brazilian businessman and he travels to different countries for his work. He is the head of the French car company Renault, and he spends 40 per cent of his time in Paris. He is also the head of Nissan, and he spends 35 per cent of his time in Asia, in Tokyo. He spends 25 % of his time in other countries, such as the USA.
Some employees travel to different countries to work on projects. They are in the country until the project ends and then they return home. For example, many IT engineers live in India but work on projects in the USA. Other people live in a country but go to work every day to a different country. In Europe, workers regularly commute between Brussels, London and Paris. Plane tickets are not expensive and travel between the cities is easy with a European passport.
But is the increase in business travel a good thing? It is interesting for employees to meet different nationalities. It is also good for business to have contacts in different countries around the world. But there are also problems. Some employees spend a lot of time away from their home country and it is not easy for governments to decide exactly where workers should pay tax.
2. Read the article again. Are these statements true or false?
1. Carlos Ghosn is the head of BMW. It is false. He is the head of Renault company.
2. He travels between Asia, Europe and the USA.
3. Some workers travel to different countries to work on projects.
4. Indian software engineers work on projects in the UK.
5. It is difficult to travel between European cities.
6. It is interesting to meet people from different countries.
7. Contacts in different countries are good for business.
8. It is difficult to know what country to pay tax in.
3. Speaking. Do you like the idea of working in a different country as part of your job? What countries do you think are interesting to work in?
4. Complete the table with a country or nationality. 1-5 are from the article. Use a dictionary to help you with 6-12.
|
1. France |
1. French |
7. Germany |
7. |
|
2. Brazil |
2. |
8. |
8. Chinese |
|
3. |
3. American |
9. |
9. Polish |
|
4. |
4. British |
10. Japan |
10. |
|
5. |
5. Indian |
11. |
11. Russian |
|
6. Spain |
6. |
12. Kuwait |
12. |
5. Choose the correct word in italics.
1. We are Britain/British but we live in China / Chinese.
2. There are a lot of Australian / Australia workers in Hong Kong.
3. I am from Poland / Polish and I live in Warsaw.
4. Three of our employees are in Japanese / Japan on a project.
5. The head of the company is Sweden / Swedish.
6. Is this your first visit to Asia / Asian?
6. Talk about the nationalities of these companies. Talk about other companies you know.
Shanghai Tang, Michelin, General Motors, Aeroflot, Adidas, Sony, McDonalds.
Shanghai Tang is a Chinese company.
7. Career skills.
Introducing yourself
When we meet business contacts for the first time, we usually give information about ourselves, for example name, nationality, job title, company, etc. We may also need to ask people for information about themselves. Look at the following examples:
|
1.What is your name? |
I am Tom Allen. (My name is Tom Allen.) |
|
2. Where are you from? |
I am from Brazil. |
|
3. What do you do? |
I am an IT manager. |
|
4. What company are you with? |
I am with Alcoa. |
|
5. What countries do you have contacts with? |
We have contacts with Japan and China. |
|
6. How many employees are there in your company? |
There are one million employees. |
|
7. Do you travel a lot on business? |
Yes, quite a lot. |
8 (1). Listening. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.
1. Is this Jan’s first or second meeting with Ben?
2. What company is Ben (Jan) with?
3. What is Ben (Jan)?
4. What nationality is Ben’s company?
9. Speaking. Use the information from the table. Introduce yourself to your partner and ask questions.
10. Find the meaning of the following words in the dictionary: production, distribution, consumption, supply, demand, income, entrepreneur, profit.
11. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
What is Economics?
Economics is a social science studying production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services. Economists focus on the way in which individuals, groups, business enterprises, and governments try to achieve efficiently any economic objective they select.
Standard economics can be divided into two major fields. The first, microeconomics, explains how supply and demand in competitive markets create prices, wage rates, profit margins, and rental changes. Microeconomics assumes that people behave rationally. Consumers try to spend their income in ways that give them as much pleasure as possible. As economists say, they maximize utility. For their part, entrepreneurs seek as much profit as they can extract from their operations.
The second field, macroeconomics, deals with modern explanations of national income and employment. Macroeconomics dates from the book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1935), by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. His explanation of prosperity and depression is based on the total or aggregate demand for goods and services by consumers, business investors, and governments.
Vocabulary
business enterprises – коммерческие
предприятия
efficiently – эффективно
objective – цель
fields – отрасль
competitive markets – конкурентные
рынки
wage rates – ставки заработной платы
profit margin – размер прибыли
to assume – предполагать
utility – полезность
to extract – извлекать
employment – занятость
prosperity – процветание
aggregate demand – совокупный спрос
12. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
maximize, aggregate, business, rental
|
1. _______ enterprise |
3. _______ utility |
|
2. _______ change |
4. _______ demand |
13. Answer the questions:
1) What does economics study?
2) What do economists focus on?
3) What are the two major fields in economics?
4) What does microeconomics explain?
5) What does microeconomics assume?
6) What do entrepreneurs seek?
7) What does macroeconomics deal with?
14. Make notes under the following headings:
Economics as a science, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics.
Close your books, look at your notes an talk about economy.
Unit 2
Money
1. Match the countries with the currency.
|
country |
currency |
|
1. Italy |
a. dollar |
|
2. the UK |
b. pound |
|
3. Japan |
c. yen |
|
4. the USA |
d. riyal |
|
5. Saudi Arabia |
e. euro |
2. What is the currency in your country? Add more currencies to the list above.
|
Look at how we say large numbers 800 eight hundred 80,000 eighty thousand 50,000,000 fifty million |
|
|
Look at how we say these numbers |
|
|
157 |
a/one hundred (and) fifty-seven |
|
579 |
five hundred (and) seventy-nine |
|
5,790 |
five thousand seven hundred (and) ninety |
|
57,901 |
fifty-seven thousand nine hundred (and) one |
|
5,790,000 |
five million seven hundred (and) ninety thousand |
|
When we talk about exchange rates, we can say the decimal point (.) |
|
|
$239.34 |
There are two hundred and thirty-nine point three four US dollars to the euro. (to the British pound, etc.) |
3 (2). Listening. Listen and complete the information.
1. We have ______ workers in our factory.
2. There are ______ dollars to the British pound.
3. Their company manufactures more than _______ products every year.
4. I have _______ Saudi Arabian riyals. How much is that in euros?
5. The world population increases by ______ people every day.
6. Our profits this year are _______ euros.
4. Reading. Read the article and answer the question:
Does the writer think that money is the only thing that rich people can use to help the world?
New vocabulary:
|
charity |
благотворительность |
|
recently |
недавно |
|
charitable foundation |
благотворительный фонд |
|
founder |
основатель |
|
the rich |
богатые |
|
the poor |
бедные |
|
poverty |
бедность |
|
solution |
решение |
|
social connections |
общественные связи |
|
skills |
умения |
|
environment |
окружающая среда |
The Business of Giving
Today many rich and famous people give money to charity. Technology billionaire Bill Gates recently gave $ 31 billion to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other technology leaders also give away money. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay wants to use his billions to help “make the world a better place”.
Why do charities receive so much money? One reason is that there are more rich people than in the past. The world now has 691 billionaires, compared with 432 in 1996. Rich people in many different countries give millions of euros, riyals, yen and other currencies to charity.
What can the world of charity learn from the world of business? Michael Porter, a management guru at the Harvard Business School, believes that the rich need to think about how their charitable foundations spend money. In the USA, it is traditional for the rich to give money to hospitals, libraries and universities. These are very important, but some people think that this does not always help the very poor.
People with a lot of money often have useful social connections. They usually know how to market ideas and how to interest the media in a subject. So, some people think that the rich can give more than money. They can also use their time, social connections and skills to help find solutions to some of the world’s problems, such as poverty and the environment.
5. Read the article again and answer the questions.
1. What currencies does the article mention?
2. What do rich people in the USA often give money to build?
3. What problems can rich people help to find solutions to?
6. Speaking. Think of some ways for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to spend their $ 31 billion.
|
When we say prices, we don’t say the decimal point (.) €13.95 thirteen euros ninety-five cents thirteen euros ninety-five thirteen ninety-five Money can be in notes (a €50 note) or coins (€1 coin) We can pay for things: with cash, by cheque, using a credit card. |
7 (3). Listening. Listen and complete the prices.
1. A new Orion laptop costs _£_1,290______.
2. The share price is _______.
3. The Dior bag is ________.
4. Those cars cost about ________.
5. A seven-day rail pass is ________.
6. We import the DVDs at _______ and sell them at ________.
7. The book costs _______.
8. The prices of our digital cameras start at ________.
8. Say these prices.
$30.25 (cents), £420.88 (pence), ¥2,500, €18.25 (cents)
9. Say the prices of different things you usually buy.
10 (4). Listening. Listen to three people talking about the cost of living in their city. Write the name of the cities in the table below (a-c). Then listen again and fill in the prices in the table.
|
City |
A |
b |
c |
|
Monthly rent for a one-bed apartment |
¥550,00 |
4. |
7. |
|
Dinner for four at a top restaurant |
1. |
€1,000 |
8. |
|
A newspaper |
¥130 |
5. |
70 pence |
|
A Big Mac hamburger |
2. |
€2.94 |
9. |
|
A cinema ticket |
3. |
6. |
£8 |
|
Bread |
¥120 |
90 cents |
10. |
11. Speaking. How much do the items in the table cost in your country? Is the cost of living high in your country? Where is the cost of living low?
12. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
Money
Money is anything that is accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are as follows: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and a standard of deferred payment.
The money supply of a country usually consists of currency (banknotes and coins) and demand deposits or 'bank money'. Bank money exists only in the form of various bank records. Bank money performs the basic functions of money, as checks are generally accepted as a form of payment and as a means of transferring ownership of deposit money.
Many items are used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals. Commodity money value comes from the commodity out of which it is made. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity. Use of commodity money is similar to barter.
In 1875 economist William Stanley Jevons described "representative money," i.e., money that consists of token coins, or other physical tokens such as certificates, that can be reliably exchanged for a fixed quantity of a commodity such as gold or silver. The value of representative money stands in direct and fixed relation to the commodity that backs it. But it is not composed of that commodity.
Fiat money or fiat currency is money whose value is not derived from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be converted into a valuable commodity (such as gold). Instead, it has value only by government order (fiat). Usually, the government declares the fiat currency (typically notes and coins from a central bank) to be legal tender. It is unlawful not to accept the fiat currency as a means of repayment for all debts, public and private.
Commercial bank money or demand deposits are claims against financial institutions that can be used for the purchase of goods and services. A demand deposit account is an account from which funds can be withdrawn at any time by check or cash withdrawal. You shouldn’t give the bank any prior notice. Banks have the legal obligation to return funds upon demand (or 'at call').
Commercial bank money is created through fractional-reserve banking. This is banking practice where banks keep only a fraction of their deposits in reserve (as cash and other highly liquid assets) and lend out the remainder. But they maintain the obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand.
Commercial bank money differs from commodity and fiat money in two ways. Firstly it is non-physical, and secondly, there is some element of risk that the claim will not be fulfilled if the financial institution becomes insolvent.
Vocabulary
repayment – возмещение, возврат
a store of value – средство сбережения
deferred payment – отсроченный платеж
money supply – денежная масса
currency – валюта
demand deposit – бессрочный депозит
ownership – собственность, владение
commodity money – товар, выполняющий
функцию денег
barter – бартер, товарообмен
representative money – бумажные деньги,
полностью обеспеченные золотом или
серебром
token coins – денежные знаки
back – финансировать, субсидировать
fiat money – неразменные бумажные
деньги
intrinsic value – внутренняя стоимость
cash withdrawal – снятие наличных
legal tender – законное платежное
средство
prior notice – предварительное
уведомление
assets – активы
insolvent - неплатежеспособный
13. Give Russian equivalents:
medium of exchange, unit of account, convert into, declare, highly liquid
14. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
bank, liquid, legal, main, token, means of
|
1. ______ assets |
4. ______ records |
|
2. ______ function |
5. ______ obligation |
|
3. ______ repayment |
6. ______ coins |
15. Read the text again and answer the questions:
1) What is money?
2) What are the main functions of money?
3) What does the money supply of a country consist of?
4) In what form does bank money exist?
5) What does the commodity money value come from?
6) What does representative money consist of?
7) What does the value of representative money depend on?
8) What is fiat money?
16. Correct the statements:
1. Bank money exists in the form of currency.
2. Fiat money value is derived from any intrinsic value.
3. Funds can be withdrawn from a demand deposit only after prior notice.
4. Commercial bank money does not differ from commodity and fiat money.
17. Make notes under the following headings:
Functions of money, Bank money, Commodity Money, Representative money, Fiat money, Commercial bank money.
Close your books, look at your notes an talk about money.
Unit 3
Economy
1. Are these statements about China true or false? Give your opinion.
Mind some new words:
free-market economy – свободная рыночная экономика
population – население
industrial production – промышленное производство
competitive – конкурентоспособный
attracted – заинтересованный
labor force – рабочая сила
consumer goods – потребительские товары
average income – средний доход
to afford – позволять
sales – продажи
joint venture – совместное предприятие
manufacture –производитель
pollution – загрязнение окружающей среды
impact – воздействие
|
Statement |
My opinion |
What the article says |
|
1. Today China has a free-market economy. |
||
|
2. Population of China is almost 1 billion. |
||
|
3. Foreign companies invest money in China. |
||
|
4. Most Chinese like modernization. |
||
|
5. Few Chinese people who live in cities nowadays can afford buying a car. |
||
|
6. The top ten carmakers are thinking of investing in China. |
||
|
7. China’s rapid industrial development causes pollution problems. |
2. Reading. Read the article below. Write T (true) or F (false) under “What the article says” in the previous exercise.
In China, the state controls less than a quarter of industrial production and the country has a free-market economy. Economy in China is growing faster and now it is the sixth largest economy in the world.
More and more foreign countries invest in China attracted by its market of 1.3 billion people and its very competitive low-cost labor force. China’s major cities are changing dramatically. Nowadays there are many new huge office blocks, hotels, shopping malls. Most Chinese like modernization and are very happy with their 21st century cities of glass and steel. Consumer goods are everywhere and millions of Chinese can afford them because average income doubled. In cities, many people now have not only a TV-set, washing machine, video and mobile phone, but also a car and an apartment. Moreover, car sales are rising rapidly and as a result, there are joint ventures of the world’s top ten global carmakers with Chinese car manufacturers.
However, as in every industrialized country, in China there are many problems concerning industrial development, especially pollution. As industrialization countries and huge numbers of people enjoy western standards of living for the first time, the worry is that the impact on the environment may also be huge.
3. Read the article again. Find in the text the words and phrases that mean:
1. To put money into
2. To have enough money to buy
3. Business activity where two organizations work together
4. Effect
5. The natural world
4. What do these numbers and phrases from the article refer to?
Sixth largest, 1.3 billion, top ten, less than a quarter, 21st.
5. Match words from A and B to make collocations (words which we often use together). For some of the words, there is more than one possible combination.
Examples: consumer society, mass production
|
a |
b |
|
consumer |
skills |
|
free-market |
income |
|
industrial |
economy |
|
mass |
country |
|
average |
standard |
|
foreign |
production |
|
western |
goods |
6. Speaking. Would you like to visit China for a holiday? Would you like to live and work in China for a year or more? Give reasons.
7. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
An Economy
An economy is the way in which people use their environment to meet their material needs. It includes the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. A given economy is the end result of a process that involves its technological evolution, history and social organization, as well as its geography, natural resource endowment, and ecology, among other factors. These factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions.
Consumption, saving and investment are core variable components in the economy and determine market equilibrium.
In modern economies, there are four main sectors of economic activity:
Primary sector of the economy involves the extraction and production of raw materials, such as corn, coal, wood and iron.
Secondary sector of the economy involves the transformation of raw materials into goods e.g. manufacturing steel into cars, or textiles into clothing.
Tertiary sector of the economy involves the provision of services to consumers and businesses, such as baby-sitting, cinema and banking.
Quaternary sector of the economy involves the research and development needed to produce products from natural resources. Education is sometimes included in this sector.
There are a number of parameters to measure economic activity of a nation. They include:
The GDP - Gross domestic product of a country is a measure of the size of its economy. It should be noted that GDP only includes economic activity for which money is exchanged.
Vocabulary
consumer spending – потребительские
расходы
gross domestic product – валовой
внутренний продукт
gross national product – валовой
национальный продукт
interest rate – ставка процента
balance of trade – торговый баланс
8. Give Russian equivalents:
|
production |
manufacturing |
|
evolution |
provision |
|
endowment |
research |
|
consumption |
exchange rate |
|
extraction |
stock market |
9. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
variable, technological, interest, raw, secondary, gross domestic, economic, consumer
|
1. _____ materials |
5. _____ rate |
|
2. _____ sector |
6. _____ activity |
|
3. _____ spending |
7. _____ components |
|
4. _____ evolution |
8. _____ product |
10. Answer the questions:
1) What is an economy?
2) What does an economy include?
3) What factors does an economy involve?
4) How do these factors influence an economy?
5) What are the core components in the economy?
6) What are the four main sectors of economic activity?
7) What do they involve?
8) How is economic activity of a nation measured?
9) What is GDP?
11. Make notes under the following headings:
An Economy, Sectors of economic activity, Economic activity measure.
Close your books, look at your notes an talk about economy.
Unit 4
Company
1 (5). Listening. Listen and practice.
Companies are involved in many activities, for example buying, selling, marketing and production, in a range of different industries, such as information technology, telecommunications, film, and car manufacture. Many well-known companies are multinationals, these are companies which operate in a number of countries.
Multinationals often have a complicated structure. There is usually a parent or holding company. This company owns other companies or parts of other companies. These other companies are called subsidiaries.
2. Translate the following words.
Factory, clothes shop, restaurant, bank, supermarket, mall, insurance company, plant, beauty salon, chain shop, specialist retailer, fitness club, library, hypermarket, swimming pool.
3. Put places above in the correct group. Add more for each sector.
|
manufacturing |
retail |
services |
|
factory |
4. Reading. Read the article. Which of the following best describes the subject of the article?
1. Designer glasses in China.
2. The price of Italian sunglasses.
3. A company that manufactures and retails glasses.
New vocabulary:
|
luxury goods |
предметы роскоши |
|
competitor |
конкурент |
|
profitable |
доходный |
|
challenge |
новая задача |
|
founder |
основатель |
|
multinational |
международная |
|
double |
удвоить |
|
chairperson |
председатель правления |
Look east
Luxottica makes sunglasses. It is an Italian company and 85% of its factories are in Italy. But less than 5% Luxottica’s sales are in its home country. Most of Luxottica’s shops are in the USA. The company produces glasses for Channel, Prada, Bulgari and other companies selling luxury goods. It also owns Ray-Ban.
Luxottica’s main competitor is Safilo, another Italian glasses manufacturer. The big difference between Luxottica and Safilo is that Safilo has 50 shops and Luxottica has nearly 5,500 shops.
Luxottica started as a manufacturing company. Today, they make more money from retail than from manufacturing. They specialize in glasses that cost £50 or more. This market is ten times more profitable than the market in cheap glasses. The company has two big challenges in future. The first challenge is China. At the moment, Luxottica has 250 shops there. But the company wants to double the number of shops to 500. The second challenge is the next chairperson. The company’s founder is 70-year-old Mr. Del Vecchio. At the moment, he is the chairperson and he owns 70% of the company. It is a family company, but Mr. Del Vecchio’s four children don’t work for Luxottica. A new chairperson could make changes that run Luxottica from a family company into a multinational company.
5. Are these statements true or false?
1. Luxottica is a Chinese company. It is false. Luxottica is an Italian company.
2. It doesn’t sell products only in Italy.
3. Luxottica manufactures most of its glasses in the USA.
4. The company also produces glasses for other companies.
5. They make more profit from manufacturing than retail.
6. Luxottica doesn’t have any competitors.
7. The company wants to open shops in China.
8. Mr. Del Vecchio’s children work for the company.
6. Match the numbers 1-6 with the information they describe a-f.
|
1. 70 |
a. The number of shops that the company want in China |
|
2. 5% |
b. The minimum price of Luxottica’s glasses |
|
3. 15% |
c. Mr. Del Vecchio’s age |
|
4. £50 |
d. group sales from Ray-Ban |
|
5. 500 |
e. Luxottica’s manufacturing in its factories in Italy |
|
6. 85% |
f. Luxottica’s sales in Italy |
7. Speaking. Think of three more luxury goods companies. What products do they make and sell? Are they family or multinational companies?
8. Word families. Complete the table.
|
verb |
noun (person) |
noun (thing) |
|
manufacture |
manufacturer |
1. manufacturing |
|
2. |
producer |
product/production |
|
3. |
salesperson/seller |
sale |
|
4. |
retailer |
retail outlet |
|
Make |
5. |
no noun |
|
Build |
builder |
6. |
|
Organize |
7. |
organization |
|
Compete |
8. |
competition |
9. Complete the sentences with the correct word in italics.
1. A multinational company is a large organizer / organization.
2. Department stores sell / sale a lot of different products/producers.
3. Swatch is a watch make / maker.
4. Our office is in the builder / building in New York.
5. A lot of people in this country work in manufacturing / manufacturer.
6. Many retails / retailers buy direct from the factory.
7. Who is your main competitor / competition in the computer market?
10. Complete the text with the correct word from the table above. There may be more than one possible answer.
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is a big tractor 1. manufacturer in India. It 2.________ more than 68,000 tractors in its factories every year. Its main 3._________ is the company called TAFE, which produces 48,000 tractors. The companies 4._________ the tractors at home and also to the USA and Europe. M&M has 270 5._______ _______ in the USA. Now the company also plans to 6.________ factories in China.
11(6). Listening. Sam and Alex work for the training company. Listen to their telephone conversation and answer the questions.
1. How many people are on the course?
2. What company does John Jacobs work for?
3. What does the company produce?
4. What does Project Playa build?
5. What company does Sonja Berkovic work for?
6. How many employees does it have?
12. Company information.
|
Sometimes we talk about our company’s activities in a professional or social situation. Translate the questions and answers. 1. What is the name of the company? / What is the company called? (The company name is [Riva]./It’s called [Riva]) 2. Who do you work for? (I work for [Riva]) 3. What type of company is it? (It is a [manufacturing] company) 4. How many employees does the company have? / It employs [100 people]. 5. What does it do/sell? / It sells [medicine equipment] 6. Where is it based?/ It’s based in [London] 7. Where are its offices? It has offices in [Berlin] |
13 (7). Listening. Listen to Miles Norton answering questions about his company. Find suitable answers to the questions in exercise 12.
14. Work with a partner. Ask questions about his/her company.
15. Read the text.
Planned Economy
Planned economy or directed economy is an economic system in which the state or workers' councils manage the economy. It is an economic system in which the central government makes all decisions on the production and consumption of goods and services. Its most extensive form is referred to as a command economy, centrally planned economy, or command and control economy. In such economies, central economic planning by the state or government controls all major sectors of the economy and formulates all decisions about the use of resources and the distribution of output. Planners decide what should be produced and direct lower-level enterprises to produce those goods in accordance with national and social objectives. Planned economies are in contrast to unplanned economies, such as a market economy, where production, distribution, pricing, and investment decisions are made by the private owners of the factors of production based upon their own interests. Less extensive forms of planned economies include those that use indicative planning, in which the state employs "influence, subsidies, grants, and taxes, but does not compel." This latter is sometimes referred to as a "planned market economy".
A planned economy has a number of advantages:
Several disadvantages also exist:
Vocabulary
output – продукция, продукт
planner - плановик
in accordance with – в соответствии с,
согласно чему-л.
objective – цель, задача
owner – владелец, собственник, хозяин
advantage – преимущество
standard of living – уровень жизни
to duplicate production – дублировать
производство
to divert – отвлекать (напр., ресурсы на
другие цели)
profit - прибыль
16. Give Russian equivalents:
directed economy to waste
manage to ensure
direct incentive
lower-level inefficient
17. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
private, social, inefficient, economic, proper, central, lower-level
|
1. _____ enterprise |
5. _____ industries |
|
2. _____ health |
6. _____ objectives |
|
3. _____ system |
7. _____ government |
|
4. _____ owners |
18. Answer the questions:
1) What is a planned economy?
2) What is the role of the government in planned economy?
3) How do planned economies differ from unplanned economies?
4) What are the advantages of planned economies?
5) What are the disadvantages?
19. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text:
planned economy, manage, make decisions, use of resources, distribution of output, planners, in accordance with, private owners, advantages, standard of living, duplicating production, divert resources, disadvantages, incentive, start business, inefficient.
Unit 5
Company history
1(8). Listening. Listen and practice.
Companies often include details about their history in their marketing literature, their annual reports and company presentations, in order to show that they are established, and have experience in their field. This can include information about the founder or person who started the company, and key dates and events in the company history.
2 (9). Listening. Marks and Spencer is a major retailer selling food, clothes, household furnishings. Listen and answer the questions about key events in the company history.
1. When did Michael Marks and Tom Spencer form a partnership?
2. When did they register the Saint Michael trademark?
3. When and where did they open their first store?
4. What did they introduce in 1931?
5. Where did Marks and Spencer open stores in 1975?
6. When did they open stores in Hong Kong?
7. What happened in 1997 in the history of the company?
3. Reading. What do you know about Ford company and its history? Read the magazine article.
Ford of Britain
In the spring of 1896 Henry Ford built his first horseless carriage. In 1903 Ford, backed by 12 local businessmen, formed the Ford Motor Company which later pioneered modern production line techniques.
In 1911 Ford’s first assembly plant outside North America opened at Trafford Park, Manchester, and in 1929 work started on building the Dagenham plant where the first Model AA truck rolled off the line at 1:15 p.m. on October 1, 1931.
4. What do these numbers from the text refer to?
12, 1903, 1929, 1896, 1931, 1911.
5. Complete these sentences.
1. In 1996 Henry Ford _________ his first car.
2. In 1903 Henry Ford __________ the Ford Motor Company.
3. Twelve local businessmen _________ him.
4. In 1911 Ford __________ the first assembly plant in Manchester, England.
5. In 1929 he _______ building the Dagenham plant.
6. Reading. Read this history of Dr. Martens Shoes. The writer uses present tense to make the summary seem ‘alive’. Change the verbs into past tense while reading.
Mind new words:
|
injure |
повредить |
|
tyre |
шина |
|
air sole |
воздушная подушка, прослойка |
|
bootmaker |
производитель обуви |
|
youth |
молодежь |
|
antiestablishment attitudes |
антиправительственные настроения |
|
rebel |
повстанец |
|
violent |
жестокий |
|
stall |
маленький магазин |
|
customized |
по индивидуальному заказу |
Dr. Martens
1946 A German doctor Klaus Maertens, living in Seeshaupt, near Munich, goes skiing and injures his foot. He makes himself a pair of shoes from old tyres with air soles to comfort the foot. Dr. Maertens and a friend, Dr. Herbert Funck, an engineer, patent and develop the Dr. Maertens Shoe.
1959 Maertens and Funck sell the manufacturing rights to R. Griggs and Co., a traditional British bootmaker.
1 April 1960 The first British DMs go on sale.
Mid 1960s British youth adopt the DM as a symbol of their antiestablishment attitudes.
1970s Unemployed youth wear DMs and behave violently on football terraces. The police wear DMs to catch them.
1971 Rebels wear DMs in Stanley Kubrick’s violent film A Clockwork Orange.
1975 Elton John wears DMs in rock-opera Tommy.
Mid 1970s Punk rock fans adopt them.
1980s Thousands of Japanese, American and European youth come to London’s Camden market to buy DMs.
1983 Young designer Wayne Heminway and his wife-to-be Geraldine, set up a stall in Camden market selling clothes and DMs.
Griggs supplies Heminway with customized DMs for his Red or Dead Fashion Shows.
Some women wear them as a form of protest.
1985 Madonna wears DMs in the film Desperately Seeking Susan.
1992 Designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace offer designer DMs.
1993 The Pope wears them walking in the Alps and we hear that Dalai Lama likes them too.
Today the Vatican Guard wear them.
7(10). Listening. Faith Walker talks about her first pair of Dr. Martens (DMs). Listen, fill in the gaps and then answer the questions.
1. When did you __________?
2. How much _____________?
3. Where ________________?
4. What color _____________?
5. Why __________________?
6. Do you still _____________?
8. Speaking. Speak on the history of the company you know.
9. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
Market Economy
Market economy is economy based on the division of labor in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system set by supply and demand.
In a true market economy the government plays no role in the management of the economy. The system is based on private enterprise with private ownership of the means of production and private supplies of capital.
This is often contrasted with a planned economy, in which a central government determines the price of goods and services using a fixed price system. Market economies are also contrasted with mixed economy where the price system is not entirely free but under some government control or heavily regulated, which is sometimes combined with state-led economic planning that is not extensive enough to constitute a planned economy.
Such a system is very attractive at first sight. The economy adjusts automatically to meet changing demands. No planners have to be employed. Firms tend to be highly competitive in such an environment. New advanced products and low prices are good ways to increase sales and profits. Since all firms are privately owned they try to make the largest profits possible. In a free market individual people are free to pursue their own interests.
There are also problems. Some goods would be underpurchased if the government did not provide free or subsidized supplies (for example, health and education). In a market economy there might be minimal control on working conditions and safety standards concerning products and services. It is necessary to have large-scale government intervention to pass laws to protect consumers and workers. Some firms produce goods and then advertise heavily to gain sufficient sales. Besides wasting resources on advertising, they may also duplicate one another’s services. Firms have no confidence in future sales if they are to produce new goods and services
The term market economy is not identical to capitalism where a corporation hires workers as a labour commodity to produce material wealth and boost shareholder profits.
Vocabulary
private ownership – частная собственность
means of production – средства
производства
to adjust automatically – автоматически
приспосабливаться
competitive – конкурентоспособный
to pursue interests – преследовать
интересы
working conditions – условия работы
safety standards – нормы техники
безопасности
large-scale intervention –
широкомасштабное вмешательство
to pass laws – принимать законы
advertise – рекламировать
to gain sufficient sales – добиться
достаточного объема продаж
to have confidence – иметь уверенность
hire – принимать на работу
10. Give Russian equivalents:
to determine, free price system, fixed price system, to protect consumers, material wealth
11. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
material, free-price, government, private, labour, subsidized, sufficient, working
|
1. _____ intervention |
5. _____ conditions |
|
2. _____ supplies |
6. _____ wealth |
|
3. _____ commodity |
7. _____ sales |
|
4. _____ system |
8. _____ enterprise |
12. Fill in the gaps with the words and expressions from the text:
1. The system is based on _____ with _____ of.
2. Firms tend to be highly _____ in such an environment.
3. In a free market individual people are free _____ .
4. Some goods would be _____ if the government did not provide _____ supplies.
5. It is necessary to have _____ to pass laws _____ consumers and workers.
13. Answer the questions:
1. What’s a market economy?
2. What is this system based on?
3. What is the main difference between a market economy and a planned economy?
4. What are the advantages of a market economy?
5. What are the disadvantages of a market economy?
14. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text:
division of labour, a free price system, the management of the economy, private enterprise, private ownership, determine the price of goods and services, adjust, to meet changing demands, competitive, to increase sales and profits, free to pursue their own interests, working conditions, safety standards, to pass laws.
Unit 6
Company structure
(A) Jobs
1. Translate the jobs in the box.
|
managing director, head of research, purchasing manager, personal assistant, sales representative, marketing director, laboratory technician, quality control manager, training officer, lawyer, accountant, human resource officer, sales director |
2(11). Listening. Isaac Cady is on a visit to Milan. Piera Macaluso introduces him to some collegues. Listen to a dialogue and write down the jobs they do.
a. William Bernstein ………………………..
b. Marianna Tardelli ………………………..
c. Carla Dendena ………………………….
d. Gianni Baresi ……………………………...
e. Daniel Jones ………………………………
f. Erika Chang ……………………………….
g. Frank Jensch ………………………………
3. Match the words with the descriptions below.
Managing director, purchasing manager, personal assistant, sales representative, laboratory technician, quality control manager, training officer.
1. I organize training courses for members of staff – languages, computers, etc.
2. I set up the equipment and do experiments and tests.
3. I am a senior executive.
4. I check that products are made to the right standards.
5. I visit customers and try to increase business.
6. I work with the Managing Director. I am responsible for his diary, organize his travel, and take calls for him.
7. I buy everything the company needs, from raw materials to stationary.
4. Reading. Read the text about the French company Perrier Vittel and fill in the gaps. Use the words in the box.
|
product, takeover, subsidiary, market leader, research centre, turnover, division, brands, customers, market share, production sites, acquisition, CEO (chief executive officer) |
Perrier Vittel
Perrier Vittel is a 1._________ of the Nestle Group. It has millions of 2._________ all over the world. It is the water 3.________ of the group and has many famous 4.________ such as San Pellegrino, Contrex, Panna and Aquarel. There are sixty-seven 5._________ _________ producing billions of liters of bottled water. The main 6. ________ _______ of the Nestle Group is in Lausanne and there is a network of seventeen other centers on four continents employing 2,500 staff. This research helps produce safe and affordable water for everybody.
A recent new 7.________ is Nestle Pure Life. The company bottles this water locally in developing countries such as Pakistan and Brazil.
Nestle’s interest in water began in 1969 with the 8.________ of 30% of Vittel. After the 9._______ of Perrier in 1992 the new company Perrier-Vittel became a major part of the Nestle Group. Today water sales represent 8.8% of the group’s 10._______. The group is the international 11.________ ________ for bottled water with a 15% 12._______ ________. A new 13._______, Frits van Dijk took over in 2000 and he aims to keep Perrieri-Vittel at the front of the bottled water market in both sales and technology.
5. Look at the organization chart. Use the information from the text above to complete the missing information. The first is done for you. Give the summary of the text.
1. Parent company
Nestle
2.………………………
Perrier-Vittel S.A.
3……….
Perrier, Nestle Pure Life
4……..
Frits van Dijk
5………
North America, Europe, Asia, South America
6. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
Mixed Economy
Mixed economy is an economic system that includes a variety of public and government control, or a mixture of capitalism and socialism.
There is not one single definition for a mixed economy, but relevant aspects include: a degree of private economic freedom (including privately owned industry) intermingled with centralized economic planning and government regulation (which may include regulation of the market for environmental concerns, social welfare or efficiency, or state ownership and management of some of the means of production for national or social objectives).
Technically all the economies of the world are mixed: it is just the balance elements between market and planned elements that alters.
The aim of mixed economies is to avoid essential disadvantages of both systems while enjoying the benefits that they both offer. So, in a mixed economy the government and the private sector interact in solving economic problems. The state controls the share of the output through taxation and transfer payments and intervenes to supply essential items such as health, education and defence, while private firms produce cars, furniture, electrical items and similar, less essential products.
The UK is a mixed economy: some services are provided by the state (for example, health care and defence) whilst a range of privately owned businesses offer other goods and services.
Vocabulary
social welfare – социальное
благосостояние
to avoid disadvantages – избегать
недостатков
to enjoy the benefits – пользоваться
преимуществами
to solve economic problems – решать
экономические проблемы
a share of the output – доля в объеме
производства
essential items – товары и услуги первой
необходимости
7. Give Russian equivalents:
environmental concerns, relevant aspects, state ownership, taxation, transfer payments.
8. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
government, economic , social , essential
|
1. _____ welfare |
3. _____ disadvantages |
|
2. _____ control |
4. _____ freedom |
9. Fill in the gaps with the words and expressions from the text:
1. Mixed economy is an economic system that includes a variety of _____ control.
2. The aim of mixed economies is to avoid _____ of planned and market economies.
3. The state controls _____ through taxation.
4. In the UK economy some services _____ by the state.
10. Answer the questions:
1. What’s a mixed economy?
2. What are the aspects of mixed economy?
3. What may government regulation include in this system?
4. What is the aim of mixed economies?
5. What does the state control in mixed economies?
6. Can you give examples of countries with mixed economy?
11. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text:
public and government control, private economic freedom, centralized economic planning, essential disadvantages, solving economic problems, share of the output, transfer payments, essential items.
Unit 7
Company structure
(B) Departments
1. Most large companies have different departments. Look at the extracts from the documents below and match them with the appropriate department. Can you think of some other departments?
b. Telephone message
Perry wright called.
(journalist from economic news)
Wants to interview the chairman about our results.
Call back on 08145 0168975
c. ….working in this field for 12 years. I look forward to meeting you and discussing further the post that you are advertizing.
Please find enclosed my CV and application form.
Your sincerely
Jennifer Plater
|
e. Newlands laboratories, initial test results |
|||
|
age |
weight |
time |
dosage |
|
65 |
90 |
35 |
20 |
|
55 |
90 |
25 |
20 |
|
45 |
90 |
20 |
20 |
|
35 |
90 |
15 |
20 |
f. Currency……….$
Document number…..154
Discount……..20%
Supplier invoice date…..25/10/2012
Invoice number……023
Gross amount…..$ 459
1. Sales and Marketing department ____.
2. Financial (Finance) department ____.
3. Legal Department ____.
4. Human Resources department ___.
5. Communications department ___.
6. Research and Development department___.
2. Where do these people usually work?
1. Accountants work in the _______ department.
2. Scientists often work in the _________ department.
3. Sales people ___________.
4. Lawyers ________.
5. PR people _________.
6. Training Managers __________.
3 (12). Listening. At a budget meeting four managers talk about their departments. Listen and complete the table below.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Department |
Human Resources |
|||
|
Staff |
12 (5+7) |
|||
|
Office |
||||
|
Activity |
Software research |
|||
|
Other information |
4. Listen again and complete these sentences.
1. We __________ a __________ with ______ companies in the USA, so we ______ a lot of our _________ on _________.
2. We are __________ for _______ purchases, raw material, components, and other _____________.
3. ________ _________ six _______ _______ in the department, plus Director.
4. We are _________ ________ ________ internal and external communications and public relations.
5. Speaking. Think about your department or the department you’d like to work in. Draw an organization chart. Use the phrases from the box below to give a short presentation about your department.
|
Describing your department 1. Describing the activity of the department. My department deals with / is responsible for marketing etc. We organize research / tests etc. We work with customers / suppliers / subsidiaries etc. 2. Describing the staff. There are _______ people in the department. Sam Johnson is in charge of / responsible for _________. I am one of the managers / engineers etc. 3. Describing the equipment. We have a large office / three labs etc. We use computers / fax / e-mail etc. We have a well-equipped laboratory etc. |
6. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
A Market
A market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy. It is an arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things. Markets vary in size, range, geographic scale, location, types and variety of human communities, as well as the types of goods and services traded. Some examples include local farmers’ markets held in town squares or parking lots, shopping centers and shopping malls, international currency and commodity markets, legally created markets such as for pollution permits, and illegal markets such as the market for illicit drugs.
In mainstream economics, the concept of a market is any structure that allows buyers and sellers to exchange any type of goods, services and information. The exchange of goods or services for money is a transaction. Market participants consist of all the buyers and sellers of a good who influence its price. This influence is a major study of economics and has given rise to several theories and models concerning the basic market forces of supply and demand. There are two roles in markets, buyers and sellers. The market facilitates trade and enables the distribution and allocation of resources in a society. Markets allow any tradable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emerges more or less spontaneously or is constructed deliberately by human interaction in order to enable the exchange of goods and services.
There are various types of markets and various organizational structures to assist their functions.
Financial markets facilitate the exchange of liquid assets. Most investors prefer investing in two markets, the stock markets and the bond markets. Futures markets, where contracts are exchanged regarding the future delivery of goods are often an outgrowth of general commodity markets.
Currency markets are used to trade one currency for another, and are often used for speculation on currency exchange rates.
The money market is the name for the global market for lending and borrowing.
Prediction markets are a type of speculative market in which the goods exchanged are futures on the occurrence of certain events. They apply the market dynamics to facilitate information aggregation.
Vocabulary
arrangement – зд. механизм
currency market – валютный рынок
commodity market – товарный рынок
transaction – сделка
supply – предложение
demand – спрос
allocation – распределение
to evaluate – оценивать
liquid assets – ликвидные активы
bond market – рынок облигаций
futures market – фьючерсный рынок
futures – фьючерсные сделки
7. Give Russian equivalents:
institution, human community, illegal market, to influence price, tradable item, delivery of goods, prediction market.
8. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
geographic, market, tradable, liquid, commodity, human
|
1. _____ markets |
4. _____ communities |
|
2. _____ item |
5. _____ scale |
|
3. _____ assets |
6. _____ participants |
9. Fill in the gaps with the words and expressions from the text:
1. A market is an arrangement that _____ .
2. A market is any structure that allows _____ to exchange any types of goods, services and information.
3. Markets allow any _____ to be evaluated and priced.
4. Most investors prefer investing in two markets: _____ .
5. Currency markets are often used for _____ on currency exchange rates.
10. Answer the questions:
1) What is a market?
2) How do markets vary?
3) What is a transaction?
4) Who are market participants?
5) What are the functions of a market?
6) What markets facilitate the exchange of liquid assets?
7) What is a futures market?
8) What are currency markets used for?
9) What is the money market?
10) What is a prediction market?
11. Talk about a market and types of markets.
Unit 8
Business travel
1(13). Listening. Listen and practice.
Business today is international. Business people often have to travel a lot. They have to plan an itinerary for a foreign business trip to make good use of their time. On a business trip people may meet colleagues and business partners for the first time. It is usual for colleagues from different countries to experience cultural differences. In other words, they may be surprised by foreign social conventions, that is the different ways that other nationalities or different cultures do things.
2. Discuss the questions.
1. When did you travel last?
2. Where did you go? How did you get there?
3. Where did you stay?
3. Match the words with the correct picture.
To fly, road, to be sea-sick, traffic jam, station, carriage, to fasten belts, ferry, to be air-sick, to drive, ocean, to land, compartment, to take off, to sail, flight, gate, platform, port, on board the ship, sea journey, petrol, railway, driver.
|
train |
□ platform □ □ □ □ □ |
|
plane |
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
|
ship |
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ |
|
car |
□ □ □ □ □ |
4. Complete the sentences with some of the words above.
1. Passengers must go to ___________ 17 for the 14:15 ________ to Lisbon.
2. The train at _______ 6 stops at all stations to Cambridge. Passengers for Stansted should sit in the _________ at the back of the train.
3. Remember that in the UK you must ______ on the left side of the road.
4. We waited at the port for three hours, but the _________ to France couldn’t ________ because of the bad weather.
5. Reading. When you travel by plane, which of these is most important to you? Number them 1 to 4 (1 = important, 4 = not important).
1. Fast internet access.
2. Comfortable seating.
3. No delays.
4. Security.
6. Complete the headings in the text with the words in the exercise above.
Results from a survey: Business travel is boring!
In the past, business travel was cool and exciting. But interviews with 1,600 travellers show modern travel is stressful and boring.
1. ______________. Nowadays, this rarely happens. Most modern travellers expect to be late. The problem starts at check-in. There are long queues at passport control and the gate. Then, if the planes aren’t late, they can often be cancelled.
2. _______________. Everyone agrees this is important, but the rules for bags and hand luggage are making journeys longer.
3. ________________. 47% don’t get proper sleep. Business class helps, and the difference between the window and aisle seat can improve a journey, but more and more companies are saving money and choosing economy class for their employees.
4. ________________. The successful business trip includes high-speed connections to the Internet at the airport terminal and hotel.
7. Match the words in bold in the text above to these definitions.
1. Show your ticket and passport here and get your boarding card check-in.
2. Get on the plane here _______.
3. Show your passport here ________.
4. Two types of ticket _________, ________.
5. Pack this and carry it onto the plane _____.
6. Pack these and check them in _________.
7. Building where you arrive and leave ____.
8. Lines of people ________.
9. When the plane doesn’t go ________.
10. Two places to sit on the plane _____, ______.
8. Discuss these questions.
1. What type of ticket or seat do you usually buy?
2. What was your worst journey? Give reasons (delays, queues, etc.).
9 (14). Listening. Listen to the conversation at the check-in desk and look at the departure board. What is the flight number and destination?
|
Destination |
Flight |
Time |
Gate |
|
London |
BA 227 |
0615 |
49b |
|
Lima |
BA 655 |
0635 |
45 |
|
Hong Kong |
BA 335 |
0655 |
49 |
10. Listen again. Complete the conversation and check. Reproduce it with your partner.
A. Hello, is the _________for all BA flights?
B. Yes, it is. Do you have your passport and ticket?
A. Here you are.
B. And how many __________ are you checking in today?
A. None. I just have ____________.
B. OK. Would you like a _________ or an _________?
A. Err, aisle, please.
B. OK. So, your flight leaves from gate _______ at ________, but boarding starts half an hour before. You are in ______ 5 C.
A. Thanks.
11 (15). Listening. Listen to Colin Knapp talking about travelling to the Far East and answer the questions.
1. How often does Colin travel on business?
2. Which country does he visit regularly?
3. How long is the flight?
4. What two things does he do during the flight?
5. Does he suffer from jet lag?
6. Is jet lag different travelling west-east and east-west?
7. Why does he travel to the Far East instead of doing business by telephone or fax?
8. What example of the culture gap does he give?
9. What three tips does he give for visiting this country for the first time?
12. Discuss these questions.
1. Do you like or dislike flying (travelling by train, bus)?
2. What do you usually do while travelling by plane (bus, train, etc.)?
3. What do you know about jet lag?
4. Have you ever experienced cultural differences while travelling?
13. Speaking. Speak on the transport you prefer for business and pleasure travelling. Give examples of advantages and disadvantages of different means of transport.
14. Read the text and explain the words in bold.
Financial Market
In economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell (trade) financial securities (such as stocks and bonds), commodities (such as precious metals or agricultural goods), and other items of value at low transaction costs.
Financial markets facilitate:
The financial markets can be divided into different subtypes:
The capital markets consist of primary markets and secondary markets. Newly formed (issued) securities are bought or sold in primary markets. Secondary markets allow investors to sell securities that they hold or buy existing securities.
Without financial markets, borrowers would have difficulty finding lenders themselves. Intermediaries such as banks help in this process. Banks take deposits from those who have money to save. Banks popularly lend money in the form of loans and mortgages.
Many borrowers have difficulty raising money locally. They need to borrow internationally with the aid of Foreign exchange markets.
In finance, the money market is the global financial market for short-term borrowing and lending. It provides short-term liquidity funding for the global financial system. The money market is where short-term obligations such as Treasury bills, commercial paper and bankers' acceptances are bought and sold.
The money market consists of financial institutions and dealers in money or credit who wish to either borrow or lend. Participants borrow and lend for short periods of time, typically up to thirteen months. Money market trades in short-term financial instruments commonly called "paper." This contrasts with the capital market for longer-term funding, which is supplied by bonds and equities.
The core of the money market consists of banks borrowing and lending to each other, using commercial paper, repurchase agreements and similar instruments.
Vocabulary
securities – ценные бумаги
issuance of share – выпуск акций
subsequent – последующий
thereof – этого; того
lender – заимодавец, кредитор
intermediary - посредник
loan – заём, ссуда
mortgage – ипотека; заклад, закладная
to fund – вкладывать капитал в ценные
бумаги
Treasury bill – казначейский вексель
bankers’ acceptance – банковский акцепт
equities – акции без фиксированного
дивиденда
15. Give Russian equivalents:
stocks, bonds, derivatives markets, redistribution, repurchase, obligation.
16. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
financial, foreign, money, short-term, commercial, subsequent
|
1. _____ exchange |
4. _____ paper |
|
2. _____ obligations |
5. _____securities |
|
3. _____ trading |
6. _____ market |
17. Answer the questions:
1. What is a financial market?
2. What do financial markets facilitate?
3. What are the subtypes of financial markets?
4. What types do capital markets consist of?
5. What do money/derivatives/futures markets provide?
6. What do commodity/insurance/foreign exchange markets facilitate?
7. What is the difference between primary and secondary markets?
8. What’s banks’ role in financial markets?
8. What does a money market provide?
9. What is the difference between money markets and capital markets?
10. What does the core of the money market consist of?
18. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text:
financial securities, commodities, facilitate, capital markets, issuance of shares, subsequent trading, trading of commodities, debt financing, financial risk, futures markets, redistribution, foreign exchange, primary markets, secondary markets, intermediaries, loans and mortgages, short-term borrowing and lending, commercial paper
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
The Economy of Great Britain
People in countries outside the British Isles often call the inhabitants of the United Kingdom English. This is incorrect, for there are at least four main nationalities, the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. These four nationalities each have their own language and culture.
Great Britain is one of the world’s leading industrialized nations. It has achieved this position despite the lack of most raw materials needed for industry. It must also import 40% of its food supplies. Thus, its prosperity has been dependent upon the export of manufactured goods in exchange for raw materials and foodstuffs. Within the manufacturing sector, the largest industries include machine tools; electric power, automation, and railroad equipment; metals; chemicals; coal; petroleum; paper and printing; food processing; textiles; and clothing.
The economy is based largely on private enterprises but has some major publicly owned industries (notably coal, steel, gas, electricity and railways) and a few joint enterprises. The Government is reducing the size of the public sector, returning the parts of the steel, transport, telecommunications and aerospace industries, for example, to private enterprise.
The working population is just over 26 million (in a total population of 56 million) of which 7% are self-employed. Just under 40% are women. Unemployment has risen to around 3 million. Britain exports over 30% of its GDP. Machinery and transport equipment account for about one-third of export while finished manufactures comprise over one-third of imports. A recent trend has been the large fall in oil imports and the emergence of a significant export trade.
Earnings from invisible export, including financial and other services, are about half as much as those from visible exports. The Government aims to defeat inflation through firm fiscal and monetary policies, increasing competition, reducing the rise in public expenditure and restoring incentives to industry, particularly small businesses.
The Economy of Germany
Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world. Since the age of industrialization, the country has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalised economy. Germany is the world’s second largest exporter with $1.120 trillion exported in 2009 (Eurozone countries are included). Exports account for more than one-third of national output.
Germany is relatively poor in raw materials. Only lignite and potash salt are available in economically significant quantities. Power plans burning lignite are one of the main sources of electricity in Germany. Oil, natural gas and other resources are, for the most part, imported from other countries. Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.
The largest annual international trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
Of the world’s 500 largest stock market listed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany.
With unification on October 3, 1990, Germany began the major task of reconciling the economic systems of the two former republics. Its task was complicated by the dismantling of the extensive welfare system of the former German Democratic Republic, which resulted in a temporary but significant drop of the standard of living of its citizens; interventionist economic planning ensured a quick return of the standard of living and a gradual increase up to the level of that of western Germany.
Even after the German reunification in 1990, the standard of living and annual income remains significantly higher in the former West German states. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a long-term process scheduled to last until the year 2019, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The overall unemployment has consistently fallen since 2005 and reached a 15-year low in June 2008 with 7.5%. The percentage ranges from 6,2% in former West Germany to 12,7% in former East Germany.
The Economy of France
By the 18th century, France was one of the world’s richest nations. Industrialization began promisingly at the end of the 18th century, as it did in England. Unlike England and the rest of Europe, however, France failed to maintain the moment of its early industrial start and was still primarily an agricultural nation at the end of the 19th century. Industry expanded behind protective trade barriers in the early 20th century, but most growth has occurred since the end of World War II. France now ranks among the world’s most economically advanced nations.
The leading manufacturing industries are metallurgy, mechanical and electrical engineering, chemicals, and textiles. France is one of Europe’s leading producers of steel and aluminum. These and imported metals are fabricated into a wide range of mechanical and electrical equipment marketed throughout the world. A wide range of chemicals, including perfumes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and fertilizes, are also produced. The French textile and garment industry has long been known for its high fashion, although in recent years the industry has lost many former markets to lower-priced imports from countries with lower labor costs.
France is the leading agricultural nations of Western Europe, and about 7% of the labour force are engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Three-fifths of the land area is used for agriculture; about one-third is cultivated; one-quarter is used as meadow and pasture. France is a leading European producer of beef, veal, poultry, and dairy products. Cereals and sugar beets are the most important crops. Wine is the major crop throughout the country, both the wine ordinaire, or everyday wine, of the region and the appellation controlee, or quality-controlled, wines of such regions as Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, and Alsace. Flowers are grown for perfume at Grasse, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are raised in the warm Mediterranean region for shipment to northern and central Europe.
Fishing is locally important in the costal areas of Normandy and Brittany, the southern Atlantic coast, and the Mediterranean.
France is one of the leading exporters and importers on the foreign trade market. Most trade is conducted with other members of the European Union.
The Economy of Spain
The economy of Spain is the ninth-largest economy in the world, based on nominal GDP comparisons, and the fifth-largest in Europe. It is regarded as the world’s 15th most developed country. Spain’s economy had been credited with having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its largest partners in the EU.
The Spanish government official GDP growth forecast for 2008 in April was 2.3%. This figure was successively revised down by the Spanish Ministry of Economy to 1.6. In reality, this rate effectively represented stagnant GDP per person due to Spain’s high population growth, itself the result of a high rate of immigration.
Since the 1990s some Spanish companies have gained multinational status, often expending their activities in culturally closed Latin America. Spain is the second biggest foreign investor there, after the United States. Others have expanded into Asia, especially China.
During the last four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world, worth approximately 40 billion Euros, about 5% of GDP, in 2006. Being the second tourism destination in the world, Spain has a tourism industry sector which contributes nearly 11% to the country’s GDP employing about 2 million of the total labour force.
The automobile industry in Spain is a large employer in the country, employing 9% of the total workforce in 2009 and contributing to 3.3% of the Spanish GDP, despite the decline due to the economic recession of the past couples of years. In 2009, Spain was in the top ten of the largest automobile producer countries in the world.
The Economy of Italy
Italy has a capitalist economy with high GDP per capita and developed infrastructure. According to both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in 2009 Italy was the seventh-largest economy in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe. Italy is a member of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations, the European Union and the OECD.
In Italy there is a considerable north-south divide, where Northern Italy is dominated by a highly developed and capitalistic economy, whilst Southern Italy is far less advanced and more based on agriculture and tourism.
Italy has few natural resources. With much of the land unsuited for farming, it is a net food importer. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Proven natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic, have grown in recent years and constitute the country’s most important mineral resource. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country’s energy sources are imported.
The energy sector is highly dependent on imports from abroad: in 2006 the country imported more than 86% of its total energy consumption.
The northern part of Italy produces primarily maize corn, rice, sugar beets, soybeans, meat, fruits and dairy products, while the south specializes in wheat and citrus fruits. Italy is the first or the second largest producer of wine in the world and one of the leading in olive oil, fruits, flowers and vegetables.
Unemployment is a regional issue in Italy – low in the north, high in the south. Chronic problems of inadequate infrastructure, corruption, and organized crime act as disincentives to investment and job creation in the south. A significant underground economy absorbs substantial numbers of people, but they work for low wages and without standard social benefits and protections. Women and youth have significantly higher rates of unemployment than do men.
The Economy of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, fairly low unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The country is one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment.
The stern financial policy has been abandoned in 2009 on account of the current credit crises. The relatively large banking sector was pertly nationalized and bailed out through government interventions. Large unemployment, double the current rate of 4% is expected since the Netherlands is an open economy. The government wants to stimulate the economy by accelerating already planned projects. Fundamental reforms for long term recovery will be implemented as well.
While the private sector is the cornerstone of the Dutch economy, governments at different levels have a large part to play. In addition to its own spending, the government plays a significant role through permit requirements and regulations pertaining to almost every aspect of economic activity. The government combines a rigorous and stable microeconomic policy with wide-ranging structural and regulatory reforms. The government has gradually reduced its role in the economy since the 1980s.
Services account for more than half of the national income and are primarily in transportation, distribution, and logistics, and in financial areas, such as banking and insurance. Industrial activity, including mining, generates about 20% of the national product and is dominated by the metalworking, oil refining, chemical, and food-processing industries. Construction amounts to about 6% of GDP. Agriculture and fishing, although visible and traditional Dutch activities, account for just 2%.
CONTENTS
|
Unit 1 Being an Economist ------------- |
4 |
|
Unit 2 Money --------------------------- |
8 |
|
Unit 3 Economy -------------------------- |
13 |
|
Unit 4 Company ------------------------- |
18 |
|
Unit 5 Company history --------------- |
23 |
|
Unit 6 Company structure (A) --------- |
28 |
|
Unit 7 Company structure (B) -------- |
31 |
|
Unit 8 Business travel ------------------ |
36 |
|
Supplementary reading ------------------- |
43 |