LISTENING

Listen to the dialogue between Jackie and John about corporate responsibility and
answer the following questions:

1. Corporate responsibility, in John’s opinion, is…

a) the influence of company owners on public opinions.

b) the way companies influence society.

c) the impact of companies’ activities on the environment.

2. The approach to corporate responsibility should be _____ .

a) monetary

b) ethical

c) all around holistic

3. Which of the parameters evaluating corporate responsibility that John mentions is

missing?

a) the way the company employs people

b) procurement

c) ………………………….. ?

d) money the company donates to charity

e) how a company does its contracting

f) taking care of the environment

4. Is the following statement true or false?

“It is not important anymore for a company to give money to charity.”

TRUE ____

FALSE ____

5. In no more than one sentence, explain why Jack thinks that to evaluate how a company
works in society, it is necessary to look at it over a longer period of time:
_______________________________________________________________________ .

USE OF ENGLISH

I. Complete the definitions:

1. A funny detail or an interesting piece of information is a ______________________ .

2. A collection of data stored in a two-dimensional database is called a

____________________ file.

3. Our manager decides everything for us and then wonders why we don’t come up with our
own ideas. He doesn’t understand that he ___________________ our initiative.

II. Complete the sentences with one necessary word:

4. His salary is so small, how does he manage to get _______________?

5. - When exactly shall we arrange a meeting?

- I don’t know yet. Let’s play it by ______________.

6. The manager will go above and ______________ to raise the performance bar.

III. Use the verb in brackets in a correct form:

7. Mr Parker ___________________________ (to invite) to the conference before it became

known that it was cancelled.

8. The room is in a mess, we ___________________________ (to tidy) it up since early

morning.

IV. Make a sentence with each of the following words/phrases. The maximum number
of points for each sentence is 3.

1. “INVERSE” (Unit 2, “Phillips Curve”).

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. “BROWN NOSER” (Unit 3, “Working Hard or Hardly Working”).

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
V. In which of the sentences the word/phrase in bold type is misused? Correct the
sentence with the misused word/phrase:

15. It is believed that video games could have caused homicides, which led to the demands
of censoring games.

Correct _____

Incorrect _____

_________________________________________________________________________

16. Offering to upsell products is not profitable for a business.

Correct _____

Incorrect _____

________________________________________________________________________
READING

Read the text and answer the questions below:

Before the dismissal

If an employer wants to dismiss an employee, there is a process to be followed. Instances of

minor misconduct and poor performance must first be addressed through some preliminary
steps.

Firstly, you should be given an improvement note. This will explain the problem, outline any
necessary changes, and offer some assistance in correcting the situation. Then, if your
employer does not think your performance has improved, you may be given a written
warning. The last step is called a final written warning which will inform you that you will be
dismissed unless there are improvements in performance. If there is no improvement, your
employer can begin the dismissal procedure.

The dismissal procedure begins with a letter from the employer setting out the charges made
against the employee. The employee will be invited to a meeting to discuss these
accusations. If the employee denies the charges, they are given the opportunity to appear at
a formal appeal hearing in front of a different manager. After this, a decision is made as to
whether the employee will be let go or not.

Dismissals
Of the various types of dismissal, a fair dismissal is the best kind if an employer wants an
employee out of the workplace. A fair dismissal is legally and contractually strong and it
means all the necessary procedures have been correctly followed. In cases where an
employee’s misconduct has been very serious, however, an employer may not have to
follow all of these procedures. If the employer can prove that the employee’s behaviour was
illegal, dangerous, or severely wrong, the employee can be dismissed immediately: a
procedure known as summary dismissal.
Sometimes a dismissal is not considered to have taken place fairly. One of these types is
wrongful dismissal which involves a breach of contract by the employer. This could involve
dismissing an employee without notice or without following proper disciplinary and dismissal
procedures. Another type, unfair dismissal, is when an employee is sacked without good
cause.

There is another kind of dismissal, known as constructive dismissal, which is peculiar

because the employee is not actually openly dismissed by the employer. In this case, the
employee is forced into resigning by an employer who tries to make significant changes to
the original contract. This could mean an employee might have to work night shifts after
originally signing on for day work, or they could be made to work in dangerous conditions.

Answer the questions:

1. According to the text, a dismissal…

a) is always a process that needs to be followed precisely.

b) may take place immediately without handing out warnings.

c) is entirely a solution of an employer.

2. Is the following statement true?

- A final warning means that dismissal is inevitable.

TRUE _____

FALSE _____

3. Constructive dismissal:

a) is beneficial for an employee because it is based on constructive relations with an

employer.

b) is based on creating conditions unbearable for an employee.

c) offers good monetary conditions for the dismissed employees.

4. An employee may:

a) create a situation where the dismissal procedure becomes longer.

b) change the manager who decides on their dismissal.

c) give a written warning to the employer about breaching the contract.

5. The dismissal procedure:

a) is designed to provide a legal basis for firing an employee so that they cannot complain.

b) provides time for an employee to find a new job.

c) allows the employee to improve their performance and not be fired.

WRITING

Why in your opinion is online education gaining popularity? Is it only connected with
the Covid-19? Does UUcoursekit as a tool of online learning contribute to the quality
of education? Why/why not?

You must write between 170 – 200 words.