BUSINESS OBJECTIVES Vicki Hollett Oxford University Press| | Contents 1 MEETING PEOPLE paces orcs Getting information Describing jobs Commuters Pessonalicy profile 2 TELEPHONING Stating calls ‘Transferring information Deciding what to do Requests 3 COMPANIES Tones Company profiles Facilites Organizations Cureent activities Company srengchs Description Explaining whar you need Size and dimension Sorting words LaNcuace Introductions Prepositions — jobs 1Wh- question Forms Present Simple tense How long does it txket PAGE 16 LANcUAce Gan Nel faay La? Can could S woud you? Instant desisions: PAGE 28 Present Continuous and Preset Simple tenses Has got Ie is There is / There are EXCHANGING INFORMATION Adjectives twas and were What as it lke? Dimensions Ir weighs costs. \VOCABULARYIPRONUNCIATION (Countries and nationalities Word stress \VOCABULARY/PRONUNCIATION Telephone language lend and Borrow Spelling the alphaber Telephone numbers VOCABULARY:PRONUNCIATION ‘Company departments endings fl iad Nambers PAGE 38 Sorting and recording new vocabulary Words with diffrent spellings that sound the same seus WORK SPEAKING 1: The Conference Game -wnmnnic: A personal profile sveaxinG 2: Organizing your seudies SUS WORK LusTeNNes Messages SmEARING: Two telephone role-play waInNc: Business lecterg SKIL WORK LusreNinc: A presentation of BICC SreaKoscs Preventing your company SKLLS WORK STEAKING 1: A exossword LusTINING: A sales team briefing SpEanG 2: Executive toys5 REPORTING — pacesa Tones LANGUAGE YOCABULARYIPRONUNCIATION SKILLS WORK Company history ase Simple tense jn/on (at and time phrases READING: Marketing problems Saying winen Prepositions with time SPPAKING: Reporting on a work Reporting on tip Question forms sed verb endings: AU, hdl project, Complains 6 SOCIALIZING acess ores LANGUAGE YOCABULARTIPRONUNCIATION SILLS WORK Business Laces some and any Countable and uncountable SPEAKING: Socializing over Innch fess Would you tke. ? nouns ~ food eaDove: Newspaper article on Inverests and routines Expressions of frequency Verb-noun collocations: sport executive lifestyles Chatting Polite replies Consonant sounds: i! ‘and Mf 7 MEETINGS pac rors LANGUAGE VOCABULARYFRONUNCITION SKILLS WORK Recommending action Should Multi-word verbs Lusrasanc: Taking notes of decisions Asking for opinions Expressing opinions ata mecting Making suggestions Going to tfarure) ‘Vowel sounds soeannsc: Holding 2 meeting to Justifying decisions Why don't wef discuss budget cuts Problem solving Shall we..2 We could 8 MAKING ARRANGEMENTS pace 7a orcs wancusce YOCABULARYIPRONUNGIATION SILLS WORK Dates resent Simple and Verbs thar collocate with venrrinc: Faxes ‘Timecables, plans, and Continuous tenses (future) appointment srenxino: Arranging and rearranging arrangements Would Dictionary ences schedule ‘Making appointments Iwtations Avoiding fla intonation ising time‘tonics Rises and falls Describing changes Describing graphs Giving ceasons 10 PROGRESS UPDATES i roms Te Contin ee 11 PLANNING “Talking about quantity ‘Making predictions | Giving advice Offering help Conference planning 9 DESCRIBING TRENDS PAGE 88 LaNcuace Prepositions ~ finance Verbs of change — rise, fall, ete ‘Adjectives and adverbs, Causeleffee: connectors PAGE 98 resent Perfect Simple tense Question forms PAGE CCouneable and uncouncable nouns with much and many ura facts and predictions Will /wor't Shall fae? You'd better (not). 12. COMPARING INFORMATION. Comparing sates figures Comparing counteies Comparing companies Laxounce CCompacacives and superlatives ler more thts the-est/ the most. Guessing unknown words from context ‘Words with silene lewers \VOCABULARYIPRONUNCIATION Employment verbs Vowel sounds VOCABULARY PRONUNCIATION Countable ad wncoustable Contractions PAGE 118 VOCABULARYIPRONUNCIATION Jobs and occupations Suffsess-er [ost Stress patterns in words SUIS WORK. sranivcr Preventing graphs neapivci The story of Coke Lustmuncs Radio business news sreaxescs Discussing share pesfermance SKS WORK. LUSTENING: A projet briefing on an office move sreacavo; Planning a business sreaxinG 1: Job satisfaction esainc: Serss levels of business people SPEAKING 2: Diseabsing workplace sess13 BUSINESS TRAVEL pace 128 ‘Tories wwneuace \VOCABULARYIPRONUNCIATION, Ai travel ‘Modals expressing ‘Travel vocabulary Roles and regulations obligation ature possibilities Mustn' vs, don’t have to Voiced and unvoiced Company policy Open conditional consonant sounds Social exstoms 14 COMPANY VISITS pace 13a ‘Tones LANGUAGE \YOCABULARY/PRONJNCIATION Achievements Present Perfect vs, Past Make and do collocations Experience Simple Systems and processes For and since, Yowal sounds ever and never Passive voice Sequencers 15 TACKLING PROBLEMS pace 148 ‘Tories Lancuace YOCABULARY/PRONUNCIATION Consequences would / might J could ‘Terms of sale Hypothesizing Second conditional Problems Supposing. Contrastive stress in sentences Solutions Negotiating INFORMATION GAP FILES. GRAMMAR AND USAGE NOTES GLOSSARY TAPESCRIPT SKILLS WORK. [ReApING: Business lunches SPeakine: Introducing changes to work systems [WaITNc: A report on lasing a let of vehicles Lisrexincs A visit toa car assembly plant SmpaKiNc: Showing visitor around your organization skis WORK tasrenov: Problems with sales SHEAKING 1: Negotiating solutions to problems SrexKiNG 2: Evaluating your progress in English PAGE 158, PAGE 165 PAGE 178 PAGE 18jt A RS RS OMS ? i Meeting People PRESENTATION T Do you know the other people in the class? Introduce yourself to everyone Good morning. My name is... and I work for / itt « 2 Look at the peaple in the photographs. 1 Is ita formal or informal situation? 2 What are they saying? OBJECTIVE to meet foreign contacts and get to know them: TASKS to introduce yourself to other people to describe jobs and responsibilities Q to find out about other people's jobs to ask questions about foreign companies to read and write a personal profile 3 2 Listen to three conversations and match each one to the correct piceure.THAR ie aN Stee Mio a is a i at uc i FAN te ee 1 meerine PEOPLE 2} 4) & Listen to the first conversation again and complete this conversation. Louise Mr Veldzquez,\ ____you to Peter Brien, Peter, Mr Velazquez of Telefonica de Expafa Mr Velézques 2 Peter = =e Louise Peter works for our New York branch. He's international accounts. 5 Put this conversation in the right order. Write numbers in the boxes. Then listen to the second conversation again and check yout ©) Thomas Yes, I do. How are you, Sven? i Sven Not bad, thanks. 2) Thomas Welcome to Oxford. It’s nice to see you again. 2 Thomas Good. Ler’s go upstairs and have some coffee Sven Fine thanks, Thomas, And you? Ulla And you. Do you know my colleague, Sven Olsen? ST Thomas Fine. How was your trip? 6 GE Listen to the third conversation again and correct the mistakes in these sentences. Bob, Liz and Luigi are in an-office, a pub 1. Irs the afternoon 2 Liz and Luigi work together 3 Luigi is in the construction business. 7 Work in groups. Practise making introductions. Introduce: 1 two people in a formal situation, 2. two people in an informal situation. 3 yourself at a company reception desk. 4 yourself to a new colleague. 5 yourself to a foreign visitor you are meeting at an airport. May introduce you to... ? this is How do you do? How do you do? Do you know ... ? this is Hello. / Hi Nice to meet you. Good morning. My name is... I have an appointment to see ... Idon’t think we've met. I'm . Excuse me. Are you Mrs Eustace? I'm 8B When do we say good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good nig¥ | | MEETING PEOPLE LANGUAGE WORK Getting information — I _ Five people are visiting your company today. Look at their business cards and ask and answer questions about them. What's his/her name? (What is) ‘What nationality ishe/she? Who does helshe work for? Where does helshe work? ‘What's his/her position in the company? | | a | berry in Publlc Relation Officer cre 7 5. sia oro | Teoria Poe Fe RSANN | cence ee SS | S| —— Driv, i Loe, Beas | re ees ___ samen sna cnn SO X on inFORMALING RK Date cRostY i Jetinese vet og | = Se? i | | 2 i JEAN. CLAUDE AURELLE ieee Wea | “Techical Direcror nb f \ \ | 132 Yon 948 Aire en J Ms ‘ | | INAS2 3 ‘| 4 | MEETING PEOPLE Now find out about the people sitting next to you. What's your name? What nationality ... ? etc. Put the right question word in the spaces. ‘When Where Why What How Who Which WELCOME TO THE CONFERENCE are you here? Ie,find cut about IP's newest produch, is it? The RMIO data communication syetem. - Many people are attending? ...7.... .. are they? European members of the IPQ. ream.. divisions do they work in? Marketing and Salee dowe meet? At Gabieck thie ening. .. do we meet? I? the Regeney Lounge (let flor). z-) Here are some answers, but what ate the questions? How do you do? José Pérez, FOSE. Tm Spanish. No, I'm single. IBM. They produce and sell computers. ‘The financial department. man auditor. 10. English, Spanish, and Italian. Coan eunn All these questions are in the Present tense. For more information on the Present Simple, see page 166 in the Grammar and Usage Notes ‘Write some questions to ask a colleague. Ask about * their company their job ‘ their responsibilities * their hobbies and interests. Find someone you don't know very well and ask your questions.| MEETING PEOPLE ! Describing jobs | Study the words in bold type in these sentences. ' Tm —afinancial controlle. —_(a/an + job) an engineet Twork for ATT. (for + employer) | Yimin marketing (in + type of work) the chemicals business. chemicals. Complere this conversation, Use a, av, for, and in. ‘What do you do for a living? T'm ___ computers. Really? Who do you work > Olivetti. I'm ___ product manager. What about you? Lwork Balfour Beatty. So you're the construction business? Yes. P'm engineer. PU S>uboD 2 Complete these sentences about yourself. 1 Pmalan 2. Lwork for 3. min ' 3° How many executive managers and divisions does this organization have? ‘Me Richard Balen S| President and Chet Executive Otier DeKavn tgs | |e David Egham Research ang ; Production spre i Ms June Hesketh Marketing and Sales Mrs Ptea Casimano nel and ‘Administration DIVISIONS | Me Patrick Amos || MsEmma Wood || Mr Roger Carter || Ms Vera Roberts {| Mr Robert Shaw | Multiplex || Cable Systems | Microwave | Space Systems {! Mobile Radio | Systems systems | 1 systemAsk and answer ations about it Who is _responsible for “in charge of _Who is he responsible to? Who does he report to? 4 Find out about your partner. production? | MEETING PEOPLE Mr Ellingham. The Chief Executive Officer, + Which division do they work in? + What are they responsible for? * Who are they responsible to? Commuters | Ask and answer questions about these commuters. Rosa Gonzalez, architect. Works in ind Street, New York. Lives 2 miles ‘sway at Central Park West and 86th Street 15-minute journey on rollerblades. Thinks about the day | ahead or listens to her personal stereo ‘Mathew Long, jeweller. Works in Hatton Garden, London. Lives 4 miles away in Hornsey. 25-minute journey fon bike. Has to concentrate on the aff. Daisuke Tanaka and Hideo Nakafima ‘Work for banks in Otemachi Tokyo. Live 20 miles away in Chiba, $0-minute journey by tran, Read comic books or sleep What does Rosa do for a living? Where does she live? Where does she work? How long does it take to get there? How far is it? How does she get there? What does she do on the journey? 2. Now ask a partner similar questions about their journey to work.| MEETING PEOPLE Countries and | Toshiba is a Japanese company. The headquarters are in Japan. nationalities 1 nationality countey What about these companies? 1 Honda 6 LOréal 2 IBM 7 Rolls-Royce 3. Oliversi 8 Nestlé 4 Ericsson 9. Siemens 5. Norsk Hydro 10 Philips 2. “Complete the etsre Country National Japan The USA Tealian Sweden Norwegian France Beitish Switzerland Germany 3) Work with a partne:. Say where these letters and stamps are from. This one’s from Brazil. t's Brazilian Kg. nn GR aunt. Py FF | Ss What other countries and organizations does your company have contact with?| SIRS Sa ae a a aoe Personality profile George Wong comes from _ _t. He's > successful, an Parkview, a property development and “business Pronunciation ra he loves his job. He is Chairman of | MEETING PEOPLE Read this article about a businessman called George Wong. What information is missing? Suggest possible words to fill the spaces. 2 He In his free sime George listens to likes bands like Led Zeppelin and T Rex. He has © cars, including a Ferrari 512TR, an ‘Jaton Martin Lagonda, a Lamborghini Diablo, three Mercedes, and a Mini I's an unusual Mini because ithas a television, fridge and machine inside, George hates ___ He says he's bad at things like balance sheets and profit and Joss accounts, and he also bates He never pace lives yeats of age, Vory 1, ship building, i 2 Work with a partnes. One person uses the information below and the other uses the information in File 1 on page 158. Ask your partner questions to get the information missing from the acticle. Complete the article. Where does George Wong come from? Where does he live? 1 Listen to these words from Unit 1, Mark the syllable where the main stress falls Example international a construction © European b engineer f responsible © headquarters responsibilities financial h nationality 2 Now practise saying the words. Make sure you stress the right syllable.nein cc I SS SRA, 1 MEETING PEOPLE SKILLS WORK Speaking | Work in twos or threes. You are participants at an international conference, {Tose a coin to move. © Heads: inove one square, Y.2e'.a- Tails: move two squares. Follow the instructions on each square and start a conversation. The first person to finish is the winner. You see an old Name three Ask another Introduce two Ask another friend. Greet person where people to one person about him/her. they come another. thelr farnily. letter ‘BY from. Ask another Name two a: CONFERENCE countries where you bow when you meet person about their company. Ask another person about their hobbies Name four countries you ‘want to visit on holiday. and interests. Ask another Exchange person at the business cards conference with another what their participant. — job Introduce Say ‘thank you" yourself to in three another person different at the languages. conference. You arrive at It’s time to go Ask another the conference home. Say person about hotel. Go to the goodbye to your the department reception desk new friends. or division they and register. work in.Rr RN | MEETING PEOPLE Writing Read the profile of Derek Stirling and then write another profile about yourself. Use the topics below to help you. name company responsibilities nationality position in the company hobbies, home town My name is Derek Stitirg and Im Scottish vein Hadlow, a lovely Engish vilage near London, ara | work or Te Sie Grou, Brain's gest pate company. The Group's actives ae died || into fe business areos: shiping, aviation, proper, inaustres, | | and tracing. Our bestknown companys Cathay Poste ways, | | | work at our London head office; I'm head of Corporate Finance, and 'm responsible for developing the business of the Group. q ''m always very busy and | don't have much free time, but when 1 do, Ike fishing and | grow my own vegetables, Just for fun Speaking 2 Interview a partner about their learning objectives. 1 Why do they want to learn English? Who do they want to communicate with in English? What do they want to practise most: reading, writing, listening, or speaking? How many hours a week can they spend studying English? What equipment and materials do they have to help them learn? 6 What equipment and materials do they want to buy? a FINANCIAL TIMES, wl” ainOBJECTIVE to make contact and exchange information cover the phone TASKS to spell and note down key words and numbers in a telephone message to make, agree to, and refuse requests to respond to new situations and say what action you will take to write business letters confirming telephone calls Telephoning PRESENTATION I Study these forms. What are they for? [ZI Listen to the two telephone conversations and complete the forms, Conversation 1 ease GALAXY COMPUTER SUPPLIES AREAS OF INTEREST (TICK v1 FIRESAFE CABINETS Dey o ACTION NECESSARY TICK W) GALAXY COMPUTER SUPPLIES | gies2. TELEPHONING. 2. Listen to the conversations again and answer these questions. @a b @e a ‘Why doesn’t the switchboard operator connect the caller immediately? ‘What does the woman say she'll do? What question does Christophe Terrien ask about the =photoconductor units? Whar does Mary Thatcher ask Christophe Terrien to do? 3° Match the words and phrases (1-10) with similar meanings (a-j). 1 put you through, ¢ a e = ‘number. your name? f zg h i I tines || A.country or ; ji The ki ry te that a Can you wae ising anbied. area number502 TELEPHONING LANGUAGE WORK Starting calls Study these phrases for starting calls IDENTIFYING WHO IS SPEAKING SAYING WHO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO This is Paul Henig. CouldT speak t0...? Paul Henig speaking. Cant Is that Julia Gardini? Td like to speak to Extension $96, please Supply the missing words in these conversations. 1 Ms Brunet Sales Department, good morning, Mr Keller _Helena Steines, please? Ms Brunet Hold on. I'll get hee, Mrs Steiner Hello, Sales. Mr Keller Helena Steines, please. Mrs Steiner 3. Switchboard Curtis Holdings. MrKeller = ____-293, please. Miss Delmont Accounts Department, Mr Keller Jean Delmont? Miss Delmont Ye How can I help you, Mr Keller? S_Listen to check your answers. Pronunciation | [2 Can you spell English words over the phone? Listen to the English alphaber and look a¢ the chart. All the letters with'similar sounds ace grouped together, TT aa Eee Z| | A T ° Q | R J a v wha | * : | Z is pronounced /zeW/ in British English and fzisl in American EnglishTransferring information PRONUNCIATION NOTE a ee 2 TELEPHONING. 2 Study the chart fora moment then close your book and try writing it on your own. ©) Listen and write down the words you hear spelt 4 Work with a partner. Take it in turns to dictate abbreviations and write them down. One person dictates the abbreviations below, and the other dictates the ones in File 2 on page 158. IBM FOB OPEC vip EU vpU EDP CIF JAL AGM FBI 1T Do you know what the letters stand for? You can find out in the Glossary on page Notice these different ways of saying telephone and fax numbers. 91430 nine one four three zero (American English) nine one four three ob (British English) 6687 six six eight seven (American English) double six eight seven (British English) Exchange your work and home numbers with a partner 2. Work with a partner. Take ir in turns to dictate telephone numbers and write them down, One person diezates the telephone number below, and the other dictates the ones in File 3 on page 158 29508 47766 966015 01525 372245 03 916 600721 In phone and fax numbers, English speakers normally group the numbers in threes, not in twos as is common elsewhere in Europe. 914306 — nine one four, three ob six not ninte-one,four-three-ob-six-2 TELEPHONING Prone Pauk Cov nee fomorren Ndnwg— (03) 408- 44/932Z- Deciding what to do 3 When you transfer information by phone, try not to leave long 1 silences or pauses. These phrases will help you. STARTING Ready? Go ahead CONTINUING — Have you got that? Gor that. FINISHING Anything else? That's all CHECKING Could you read that Could I read that back t0 me? back to you? Work with a partner, Take it in curns to give each other messages and write them down, One person dictates the messages below, and the other dictates the messages in File 4 on page 158. Fay exhibvhm daks : fo Vera in Sio Panto, WOPIELS, 49 5 1) 223-3181 Yep no. 306/AS, b> two Stena Fac Sometimes we meet new situations or problems and we have to say what action we'll take. A. The line's busy B rl call back bat A. Could you take a mn B Hold ow. Fil g ae et 8 pencil Decide what to do in these situations A D'nt afraid your train is delayed. B [take a taxi. 1 Pm afiaid your train is delayed, trax) 2 The President is husy juse now (laser 3 We need some more pape (order) 4 They done speak English (cranslaror 5 This quotation is very high. (another supplier) 6 Lhave 10 go to head office somoreow (a life) 7 They want written confirmation oF the order, (fas) Mrs Bell just fainced water}2. TELEPHONING 2. Sometimes the person we phone is not available. Match these reasons to the right picture. Pm afraid she’s on the other line. 4 Pm afraid she’s off sick. T'm afraid she’s tied up at the moment. Pm afraid he's in a meeting. T'm afraid he’s not here just now. b c d e Can you think of any more reasons? 3° Work with a partner. Make up conversations deciding what to do when someone is not available A. Could I speak to Barbara Morey, please? B I'm afraid she’s on holiday this week. A. Can you ask her to ring me next week? These phrases will help you. Pi hold. Pl call back later. Could you take a message? sive her a message? Can you put me through to her secretary?2 TELEPHONING Requests We use these phrases to ask other people to do things. Cam you ...? Couldyou... ? Would you ... ? You're on the phone. Whar do you say in these situations? You can't hear the other person. You want them co repeat something, They are speaking 100 fast. You want them to spell a word. You want them to transfer you to the Finance Department. 2. We can reply to requests like this. The AL rs mati dntratexial “ves, CERTAINEY. Se 1M ARRAID emer | | THANK YOU. ‘OK. IT DOESNT } THANKS. eerie | Nor PORTANT. Re WeLCOME I (A PLEASURE | 2 Practise these expressions with a colleague. Ask them to: spell their suename for you. tell you the time, tell you their computer password. ive you a lift home ronighe. lend you their dictionary. lend you some money d f VOCABULARY NOTE Put fend or borrow in these questions. Could Ra Qeeme money? Could you ral. me some money? Notice we lend to someone and we borrow from someone. So when we lend, we give; and when we borrow, we take.rs 2 TELEPHONING 3° We use these phrases to ask if it’s OK to do things, ASKING savin Yes saxING NO Cant? Yes, please do. Tm afraid ... Could I Of course. Tm sorry but May I... * Yeah, go ahead. ** Help yourself. “Informal * Inviting someone ro take something Practise with a colleague. You are in their office and you want to: 1 use their phone 2 smoke 3. look at their copy of the production plan 4 copy a file on theit computer 5. borrow their copy of the Economist 6 borrow theie cat. 4 Who makes these requests: a customer (C) or supplier (5)? 0 © Can I place an order? 5) May Thave your name and company name? © Could you tell me the delivery address? © Can you deliver next Friday? GF Could Ihave an addzess for the invoice? Could you tell me how much it will cost? I May Ihave a discount? 1 Would you confirm this order in writing? Work with a partner, Make up a conversation berweet and a supplier. Use as many requests as you can. 5 Work in pairs. One person looks at the information below and the other looks at the information in File 6 on page 158. lec You sell computers, A foreign customer phones you. Answer their es enquiries about your lap-rop computer, the NC-200. They will ask about * your prict *# delivery times * the guarantee * discounts * your terms of payment. Invent your answers. You can agree to oor refuse their requests. Don’t forget 10 write down their details 23EG 279 TELEPHONING SKILLS WORK Listening | Listen to a message on a telephone answering machine and answer these questions. £3, Boruan Wis Greece + be tutes a Where is Anne Parker going? Monks, (I= “hry or. b How can you reach her? [?. One of Anne's colleagues listened to Anne's messages and made notes. Listen to che call, find the mistakes in the note below, and oa 0/223 50621| correct them, AMESSACEFOR nme Par Ker FR; manufactures the products? invoices customers? Sey looks after customers’ problems and Fomplaints? _att dispatched the products and sends them to customers? ~~ organizes control systems to prevent mistakes? 'p (deals with taxation, investment, and cash management? o Production buying vo€ Custer racing. | yF asain, GAY Ect a ns f Disebution 2M Aeros AD pina nerves Services Quality 2B adver ising [eblamoss 9 anaes ug DDE FerrlikesUae eee 3 COMPANIES Pronunciation 1 [2] There are three ways to pronounce s at the end of words: /s/ /z/ and fiz/. Practise saying these words. sINGuLAR PLURAL. Ww mistake mistakes product products fal employee employees sale sales tal box boxes package packages Now listen to some verbs. They all end with s. Which ones end with an fz/ sound? Tick () them. 1 puts 6 plans 11. invoices 2 places vw 7 services — 12 looks after ¥ pays 8 arranges 13 dispatches 4 purchases 9 recruits 14° organizes — S. sells 10 manufactures 15 deals with J) Ae Current activities (1 Ave use the Present Continuous tense to talk about actions that are going on at the moment. Complete these sentences using words from the box. wait call go build- expand develop stay get a Philips are expanding their activities in China. b Our research department S01) Clow’ a new drug. They axe Siduin at the Dorchester Hotel Someone {S14 13 for you in your office. We'yEis ().O0%>@ a new factory in Barcelona. Ty QiR LEGA about order no, AY/2496, % g These products ¥2G near the end of their life cycle. The dollar iy 2.9 ow wi ‘The IT department | ez lot of money on new equipment ar the moment GRAMMAR NOTE ‘We use the Present Simple tense to talk about regular activities. The maintenance department services the equipment. But we use the Present Continuous tense to talk about temporary activities. The IT department is spending a lot of money at the moment. For more information on these two tenses, see the Grammar and Usage Notes, pages 166-167.jn SR H 3 COMPANIES Company strengths 2) Work with a partner. Find out what's happening in their company at the moment. + Are they entering any new markets? (Which ones?) + Are they developing any new products or services? (What?) + Ace they building any new facilities? (What? Where?) => = * Ace they working in any joint ventuces? (What?) And what's happening in their department or division? + Are they taking on new staff? (Why?) ‘© Are they reotganizing ay Work Systems? (Which ones? Why?) ‘+ Ace they introducing a quality programme? (What exactly? + Ace they introducing new technology? (What?) w T Are these statements true for your company? We produce high quality products. We provide a high quality sevice. We use the most advanced technology. We are in close contact with the market. We produce a wide range of products. We invest « lot of money in research and development. We have sales representatives all over the world. We are market leaders Why is your company special? Whar is your company’s main strength? 2 Whar do you know about MeDonald’s? Are these facts true or false? What do you think? ‘Three new MeDonale!’s stores open every day MeDonald’s charge high prices. MeDonald’s spend more on advertising than anyone else ‘There is a Hamburger University ‘The company CEO has a computer in his office. MeDonald’s prefer American managers t0 run oO oggos|4 gooeol overseas stores. Now read this article and find our"Sta eee ese perience 3 COMPANIES ‘Three new MeDonald’s stores open somewhere in the world each day. There are now over 14,000 McDonald’s stores worldwide and sales are over $23 billion. So how do they do it? What are the company’s strengths? ‘VALUE MeDonald’s keep prices low. They concentrate on increasing market share. ADVERTISING McDonald's spend $1.4 billion annually on marketing, more than any other company in the world “TRAINING Every employee receives at least two or three days taining and all managers attend regular courses. ‘The company even has its own Hamburger University in Oakbrook, Mlinois, FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS ‘The company headquarters don’t have an e-mail system and there's no computer in the CEO's office bbut ideas still fly around. There ave regular meetings between people in the same region and people in the same line of work, (CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS MeDonald’s work closely with their suppliers to make sure the McDonald's specifications. they can meet CULTURAL SENSITIVITY Before they enter a new country’s market, they research the culture thoroughly. And they employ local staff if they ean. (CUSTOMER SERVICE ‘The restaurants are clean, the service is quick and. ‘every MeDonald’s burger comes with a smile. 3 Incerview a partner about their company. Ask: a Are your prices low or high compared with your competitors? b Is advertising important to your business? © Whar training do your staff receive? d_ Do you hold regular meetings with your colleagues and counterpart Yomrd’ earbrer © Do you have clase relationships with your suppliers? f Are your manay Why do your customers like your produets/service? ers locals or foreigners?3 COMPANIES SKILLS WORK Listening E21 A manager from BICC describes her company. Listen and complete the organization chart below. sce ple wan | BUSINESS inital | ACTIVITIES - wide Posie TURNOVER os onvision main BUSINESS. ACTIVITIES TURNOVER AUSTRALASIA castes. piping, | Madumvottage | cable products ane power cables wholesalingSpeaking 3 COMPANIES Prepare to make a short presentation about a company to the class. You can talk about your own company or one of the companies from this unit. Write notes first. Don’t write sentences — just write key words and numbers. (Guess any information you don’t know.) My COMPANY ‘THE GROUP Products/Services ‘Main customers Locations (factories, branches, etc.) Size (no. of employees/turnover) Main strength Current projects Other informacion? Now decide on the structure of your presentation. These phrases will help you order the information. THE INTRODUCTION ORDERING INFORMATION Td like to tell you about Tl begin with .. Now Fl move on to turn t0 CHECKING UNDERSTANDING FINISHING Is that clear? Are there any questions? Are you with me? Thank you very much. OK s0 fa Use your notes to give the presentation and answer questions from your colleagues 74 Exchanging Information PRESENTATION T Label these inventions with words from the box, a the aerosol can the pinball machine the bar code | d the remote control __e the ring-pull opener OBJECTIVE to exchange information about products and services TASKS to give effective descriptions and explanations to exchange information on size and dimension to make enquiries about transporting a product 2 EZ ose your booke and listen ro some people talking abour the . different inventions, Which invention are they raking about? to evaluate different ways of recording new apn otinacor ding nas 3 Listen to the person talking about the aerosol can again. You words can read the text at the same time, to make an informal a product presentation iiss ne CFC Why do they say ‘was designed” in one place, ur “is designed! in another? 38FASE SERENE 4 EXCHANGING INFORMATION | 4B Listen 10 the person talking about the bar code again and read the text. Originally these were circular. They were first used in the early 1960s 10 identify railroad cars and keep efficient records of stock in warehouses Now supermarkets use rectangular versions for point-of-sale stacktaking, Some people say they are the sign of the devil, They point out that the two thin lines at both ends and in the centre are a way of representing the number six. So every product in every store contains the numbers 6566 in code. 5 [J Complete this text with was or were, ‘Then listen to the person 6 GH Listen to the pe z ‘Was isthe past form of is. What is the past form of are? Find it in the talking about the ring-pull again and check your answers. These invented in 1963 by Ermel Freize, a metals expert, after a family picnic. it___* a very hot day and there » lots of cold drinks around, but no can opener. Exmel + determined to find 2 it t tears a strip of metal from the 5" alitter problem with ‘a lot of complaints, but now solution to the problem. And thi can and leaves a hole to drink from. There the original pull-off type and there we use a pushein type son talking about the pinball machine again and read the text Originally these were designed to entertain the unemployed! in Chicago in the Depression years of the 1930s. The first machines weren't very sophisticated and it wasn’t a very interesting game to play by modern standards, but it was only a penny a try. A famous user today is ‘Andrew Lloyd Webbe, the composer af musicals, such as Phantom of the Opera and Cats. He uses one to help him relax. Whar are the negative forms of was and were? Find them in the text. C) Complete this text with was, were, wasn't, and weren't, Then listen co the person talking abour the remote control again and check The first version in the 1950s ' remote, t___? connected to the television by a wire. So there —__*.a wire across the user’ living room flaor and it__* very safe. The early models very popular and replaced by ultra sound madels in the early 1970s, These fine for humans, but __* popular with dogs and | «ats, Today we use infra-red versions to change channels.Description LANGUAGE WORK 1 Do you know sehat al hese adjectives mean? cold old-fashioned expensive _ineflicient unfriendly crowded five-star busy wonderful boring useless short tiring inexperienced informative windy fast entertaining _large uncomfortable 2 Cold is the opposite of hor. 1. Find opposites for these adjectives in the box. slow, cheap, long, small, modern, interesting, terible. 2 Whar are the opposites of these adjectives? (Look in the box to check your answers.) comfortable, efficient, friendly, experienced, useful Find adjectives in the box co describe the things. Then think of different hotels, journeys, exe. What other adjectives can you use ro describe chem? THE WEATHER AHOTEL A JOURNEY ENGLISH LESSONS PEOPLE RESTAURANTSz 1 4 EXCHANGING INFORMATION. Work with a partner. 1. Imagine one of you went on an excellent training course in England. Answer your partner's questions about the journey the lectures the trainers the hotel © the weather * English pubs What was the journey like? What were the lectures like? 2./Now imagine one of you went on a terrible camping holiday in England. Answer your partner's questions abo + the journey What was 1 Ube © the weather «the camp sites you stayed at Uneemfculable + the people you met + the restaurants you visited + English food What was the journey like? What were the cantp sites like? Interesting and interested are both adjectives. Interesting describes a quality something has. Interested describes a reaction. Complete these sentences with interesting and interested. 1 Tewasan Wleves\.s. meeting. Twas very uebereibed There are a lor of bskeresic buildings in Rio de Janeico. Thar’ an (eeresis idea.” We're inicve:he-l ieryour products. be ingen no Do these adjectives describe the products or services your company sells or provid e efficient reliable good value sophisticated technologically advanced professional expensive high-quality well designed environmentally-friendly Think of more adjectives to describe your products or servis what is special about them. Our prices are competitive, Our staff are well trained, We offer a wide uariety of options.Explaining what you need [Label the photographs using the words in the box “microphone” projector, remote control, flip-chart®” lectern marker socket carousel J Someone is preparing to give a presentation and they can’t remember the names of she things they need. Listen and help them. Presenter [need a thing to show transpa: You Do you mean a projector? The 3 Now choose one of the items (or something else in the room if you like) and describe it to a part. They must guess what itis You It’s similar to a note pad and it’s used to write on. Its white, rectangular, and made of paper. Partner You means a flip-chart Size and dimension —|__Study these ways of describing dimension. Then cover them up, look at the diagram opposite, and try to remember them. How long is it? It’s 484.Sem long. The lengthvis 484.5em How wide is it? Irs 165.0cm wide. ‘The width is 165.0cm How high is it? es 157.Sembhigh. ‘The height is 157.5em How heavy is it? Ie weighs 2,570 ke. How much does it weigh? The weig 0 kg. ery? Ir can carry 1,160 kg, Is 1,160 ke. How much ean it What's the maximurn |imax. load. 1,160 kg mm weight 2570 kg 2. A transport manager is thinking of buying some pick-up trucks for his fleet. Act out the conversation with the salesperson. Ask and answer questions about the size and dimension of the truck below. max, load 1815 kg mm weight 3370Kg [FP \ jk ee Eg 3 Work with a parinee. One person looks at the information below. The other looks at the information in File 7 on page 158. You want to forward some large steel components to a customer in Rome. Phone your partner’s forwarding company and make enquiries Your information The components are in 6 wooden crates, ‘The dimensions of each crate are: Length — 4m Width - 2m Height — 2.5m ‘The cubic capacity of each crate is 20m’ Each crate weighs 1,500 kg. Information required How much does it cost? How long does it take to drive a trailer to Rome?Pronunciation Sorting words = liveaison aewvery = s boing * «to adjust interesting a competinn® 44 ae ee) foa nen position! Some English words have the same pronunciation but different ‘meanings and spellings. wel How much does it weigh? Could you tell me the way to the town centre? Awe! — The weight is 3,370 kg. Til wait in the car for you. Listen to some words and write them down. Write different spellings for each word. weVauaune 1 7 Ir Now turn to File 13 on page 160. 1 How do you write down the new English words you want co learn? Have you got a system? Here are some different ways of recording the meaning of a new word. Which one is ‘* an example sentence? a diagram or picture? an explanation in English? a translation? '* an opposite? And which are good ways of recording words? Which ones # are quick and simple? * explain the meaning clearly? «help you to use the word in a sentence? « make the word easy to remember? 2 Record these words in different ways. Use a dictionary to help you, if necessary. (What is the best way’ of recording each one?) truck, inefficient, component, weight, , reliable3. Sorsing words into groups can help you remember them. You can group together words belonging to the same family. Complete this table: vers to produce fo mange to employ NOUN production sale ‘management NOUN (PEOPLE) producer advertiser 4 You can group together words that often go together. Think of more \ _/ words to add to these boxes. to make a product a presentation a mistake a phone call a to manufacture to sell to market to design to a product 5 / You can group together words connected with the same topic. Use the words in the box to complete this network. length easy maintenance sophisticated dimensions, shape selling points domestic plastic circular modern user-friendly controls _ steel PRODUCTS hea 1 CIeCK AR 5Speaking I Listening SKILLS WORK ‘When you don’t have the exact word you need in English, you have to find another way of communicating what you mean, using words you do know. So, for example, when you can’t remember the word ‘newspaper you have to paraphrase and say ‘the thing you read every day in the ‘morning’, I's important to do this quickly to inczease your fluency in the language and this exercise practises this skill Work with a partner to complete the crossword. One person uses the crossword below and the other uses the crossword in File 9 on page 159. There are no clues but your partner has the words you need and you have the words they need. You can say anything you like to help your partner, but of course, you can't say the missing word. What's one down? What's thirteen across? [LlATNiGlulalele Mi fnlvlols se an exercise cycle? Why/Why not? Who buys these machines? Whar sort of features are the interested in? = 2 You are going co hear a sales manager briefing his sales team on this product. Before you he eycle with the words in the box. aseatb foot sti Chandle bars d handle bar gripsSpeaking 2 SPECIFICATIONS lash LeneTit auld estat wir HEIGHT welch 3 © Listen and complete the specifications. -4)' CIE Lies again ad complese sheet seczncen, ‘The ACA was very successful ‘The AC4 is popular with ‘The ACA doesn't sell well in ‘The ACS is designed for The ACS is suitable for ‘The special feature of the ACS is that aaRube 5 Match the words and phrases with similar meanings. 1. low cost a strongly made 2. portable b collapsible 3 high stability © good value 4 robust construction doesn't take up much space 5 compact easy to change to a new position 6 adjustable F easy to pick up and carry about 7 folds up for easy storage —_g doesn't fall over easily ‘Work in groups of three or four. You are looking for executive toys to give your customers and clients this Christmas and you want to ‘give them something unusual. You have all collected information on a different product. Read the information and then take it in turns to describe your product to the group. Tell them about: * its use or purpose its size and dimensions © the accessories (extras) it comes with © the price. Decide what to buy your customers. Each person in your group needs to look at different information. (See Files: 5 on page 158, 16 on page 160, 24 on page 162, and 30 on page 164.) arReporting happened. modify the designs TB mun tests BE prepare OBJECTIVE to report on past actions ' TASKS 1 | to talk about events in a company’s history to establish what happened ona business trip to deal with customer complaints to read about product launches and discuss what went wrong to give an account of a project in your workplace PRESENTATION ten to someone describing the history of a product development project. Number these actions in the order they TH run a feasibility study srequolatlin? bonnsn, send the drawings to potential customers Gi shelve the project hole —< design and construct the prototype sgiled drawingsPronunciation 3° What problems did they have 1 at the test stage? 2. at the drawings and specifications stage? 3. at the design modification stage? 4 ar the manufacturing stage? 1 Regular verbs end in -ed in the Past Simple tense. This is pronounced in three different ways. id} joined, prepared Ki finished, discussed fal constructed, started [2] Listen to a description of a project. Notice how we Pronounce the Past Simple tense verbs. Do they end in /dl, // ot hdl? d é \We prepared desiggs and discussed them with the clients before we stri Yobe te aves tera te ted ay, Ne Provided detailed specications and showed them the plans af every Stage. They discovered a few small mistakes but we corrected them. We {changed anything they dcn't ike. Wo oven included extra feetures when they asked for them. Then as soon as we finished they complained. They said they wanted something different. panera 2 Listen to the verbs again and complete the table, ia i fd prepared discussed started @vscouresl! Bajos Poe ies! Cbareee Binerbac! Unc oles Compohas foolyed Wor Lerl Notice that we use the voiced /d/ sound with verbs that end with /di ort. 4“Company history LANGUAGE WORK THE HISTORY OF THE NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY ‘are smal moses form the Dat idoxha Seize Company ‘The company produces the Rist Dateun ea. ‘The owners rename the company "The Nissan Matar Company Lid Nissan opens the Yokohama plant scan introduces is production hed ‘Nisin stops producing ppssenger casand * Driksh Engh Jorsy Alter World War I Nissan begins ear production agi. A Datsun 10 wins the Australian Rally Nissan sets up its est foreign manufacuring ‘operation in Mexico The National Space Development Agency of Japan sen a rocket into space, wih solidfuel rocket boosters designed and produced by Nisan. ‘ment with Vorkswagen Simana i Japan. Inthe UK, Nisa a Queen's Avard Export Aghiement for tece year Fansing soI Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about the Nissan Motor Company. A. What happened in 19257 B Three small motor companies merged. A What happened in 1947 B Nissan began car production again Regular verbs end -ed in the Past Simple tense. Irregular verbs have a special form. There is a table of irregular verbs on page 177. 2's Aak-antacewen hort qadelanl abdupiied A. When did the original three companies merge? B In 1925 A When did... ? For information on Past Simple tense questions, see page 168. 3 Choose the correct verbs from the boxes to complete the passage, Remember to use the Past Simple tense. be es | THE HISTORY OF NISSAN IN THE UK Nissan established a small trading company in 1969. It She. 20-9 -saloblicle imaoukee! * ears from Japan and “10! _* them in the UK. The Seow: “tect ene ‘company only 2.4 * 0.2% of the market in 1970 but it GQ * fast, By 1974 it WAS * the UK's leading car importer. When the Uk becexing a major export market, Nissan | fied- decide -begin- ecu, to build an assembly plant. After a long search it Ree 2 suitable site in Tyne and Wear. Cars 2 rolling off the production line in 1986. ~ lane At first, the plant _hra.cl * limit production because of the daa, be JAMA import restriction agreement. But ty 1988 UK companies Fane) supply ‘uupalicit! the majority of components and Nissangehiive? — | the target of 60% local content. The plant wos) increase production. In 1994 Nissandob yp a new distribution company and it GATED" operations in January 1992 witha network of 150 sto teen conae, | SRUESS once eae | pce Walla ne ners (rc in 109 ed hous = te | European Car of the Year Award. It_v/43_™ the first Japanese-badged car eve o wnSpgs REPORTING i Facit started trading in the ‘feeenth century asa mining company. Facit produced woodan furniture for many years. J Facie began manufseturing ‘mechanical calculators in 1924 4) Work in pairs. One person uses the information below and the other uses the information in File 15 on page 160. You are'a newspaper reporter writing an article on Facit, a Swedish office equipment company. Ask the public relations officer for information to complete these notes. When did Facit start trading? What happened in 1889? Faseiarce rand Sony al Gppar ny copy heat, pr Qnurochie. Yosuke 2 alaptiow s Facieextabfished te first subsidiary in Denmark, Melde “ypc Face introduced its products ingo the USA. neg Facl established subsidiaries in the USA and Braz tse Paced loattch Ihe Gat swesich aan The Facit 2254 ealeulator became standard in Tokyo! largest ban, ies Feces Lochs! iN Vat tere eel 1990 Facic opened a marketing co-ordination centre in Brussels t4 GalabUchel row alle, tlaroda iy Fusee “Typewriters were added to the range when Facit purchases Hada ‘Typewriters. “Today, Face isa leading erading and distribution company within the office and computer industry. The produer range includes caleultors, printers, dgplay ‘erminals, and portable clectronic device.'5 REPORTING Saying when — I Study the different prepositions we use with these times. 2 a N on a 1999 Saturday 5.30 August 2 May Easter 2Qhnakmos winter the end of the war the afternoon, Which preposition do we use with 1 dates? 6 religious festivals? 2 months?x, 7 hours of the clock? 3. days of the week? 8 parts of the day?x 4. years? 9 points in time? seasons? 2 Pur the right preposition with these times. 1 WW 1969 7 G& Christmas 2 ON Thursday 8 Qn Christmas Day 3 DA) 19 January 9 {0 the autumn (US: the fall} 4 10 January 10. uJ the 19608 5 GT midnight 11 EL the weekend 6 LJ the morning 12 AT the tum of the century 3. Aaléa colleague when they dil thete things. Maieiruré they uit & preposition in their answer. When did you join your company? In 1981, 1. joined their company 6 last spoke 10 someone in 2 got married English 3. got up this morning 7. last gave someone a present 4 last had a holiday 8 last had a beer 5 bought their ear Reporting onatrip — [Find out about your partner's last business trip, First write some questions. ‘Town/country where chia, Method of transport Hewaiaste. 5. Journey time How long ch Accommodation Where L.A op Aen ,,_Lenth of stay BhOue Panty rebel Cd Lspurpose of trip Why Aol. : Opinion of trip Was Ma. Aeti2 successful? 2. Now practise asking the questions with a partner. (The person answering them can tell the truth or invent answers.)( Complaints | [J Listen co half of a telephone call. What is it about? | Flora Hello Roger. It’s Flora Silveira. Roger | Flora I'm fine, thanks. And yo \ Roger Flora I'm afraid there's a problem with our order. You delivered | the wrong quantity Roger | Flora 60. We asked for 80. Roger Flora Thanks.a lot. Can you send them today? Roger Flora No, chat’ all thanks, ‘What is Roger saying? Can you guess? Write in the words. 2 Gl Now listen to the whole call and check your answers. Then turn to File 20 on page 161. 3 When customers make complaints, i's important to ask questions £0 get all the facts you need, Ask questions about these problems. | A. You delivered the wrong quantity. B Oh dear. What quantity did we deliver? i A. 300. We ordered 3,000 B T's sorry about that 1 You delivered the wrong quantity (300, We ordered 3,000.) | 2. You sent the order to the wrong address. (30 South Road. We're at 40.) 3. You invoiced us for the wrong amount, (£4,000 instead of $4,000.) 4. The goods came with the wrong accessories. (Plastic hooks. We wanted metal.) 5. The cover was the wrong colou: (Black, We asked for brown.) 6 The handles were the wrong size. (15cm, We ordered 10cm.) The goods arrived on che wrong day. (Friday. We asked for Tuesday.) 8 The case was no good. | (The glass was broken.) | 4 What possible reasons are there for these problems? We're very short staffed at the moment. } Our computer erashed and we lost a lot of data, ‘Think of some more excuses.5 REPORTING 5. Here are some useful phrases for dealing with complaints. Complete the chart with phrases from the box. P'll find out what happened and let you know. I'm afraid we're not responsible for damage in transit. Would you like a refund? Til look into it steaight away. Would you like us to repair it? ‘We're very sorry about this but its not our fault DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS MAKING OFFERS ‘Would you like a replacement? PROMISING ACTION ‘We'll send the rest immediately. REFUSING RESPONSIBILITY We reserve the right to make small changes to products. Can you think of any more phrases to add to the chart? ‘Work with a partner. Act out the complaints in Exercise 3 again. Deal with them. Make up excuses and/or use phrases from the chart. Discuss these questions with a partner. 1 What sort of complaints do you have to deal with? 2 What advice would you give to someone who has to deal with complaints?