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C1+ BE Homework For 05.11.2024

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12 views

C1+ BE Homework For 05.11.2024

Uploaded by

r.ashleyfynnela
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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C1+ Business English

Homework for the next lesson on 05.11.2024

Unit 2

Do exercises 2 and 3 on page 129 of “Market Leader Advanced”.

The answers are given on the following page.

Do the Vocabulary, Emphasising your point and Writing exercises on page 33 of “Market Leader
Advanced”.

Read the text about John Lewis and do the exercise (page 3 and 4 of this file).
Emphasising your point

Answers to exercise 2

1. to say the least


2. Whatever
3. Not only
4. the biggest ……. the biggest
5. as then ……………. crucial
6. Wherever
7. extremely …………….. indeed
8. the world’s biggest …………………….. the world’s biggest. What it does not have ……..

Answers to exercise 3

1. but easy
2. but he was also
3. Whatever you do,
4. ………… the best work placement I’d /I’ve ever done.
5. extremely / highly practical
6. Don’t focus on what you can’t do.
Exercise 1

Look at the statements below and the five extracts from an article about a chain of department stores
and supermarkets called John Lewis.

Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to?

You will need to use some of these letters more than once.

Example:

It has a very low rate of staff turnover - Extract B

1. The company can survive an economic downturn because of the variety it provides.
2. The company partially belongs to the people who work for it.
3. The company has a better chance of survival than its competitors.
4. The company’s profits are healthy because of its website.
5. The company’s customer service appears to be the cause of its success.
6. Staff are paid according to how well the company performs.
7. The company’s performance is based on an increase in the number of people who are well off.
8. The company uses sites where it has a good target market.

A.
Is it any different from other high street names?
Its radical philosophy derives from the company’s messianic founder, John Spedan Lewis,
whose father had opened a shop in 1864. After progressing rapidly through the family business,
he wanted to found a company in which the employees had a greater stake. A system of
committees, sub-committees and board positions were created to give employees a say. And
crucially, they were given joint ownership of the company. For this reason, they reap a slice of
the profits each year.

B. Does its approach work?


Judging by the results, it’s hard not to reach the conclusion that motivated staff have a pretty
large impact on a company’s performance. Its staff retention rate is also excellent, with 80%
staying for more than a year. Furthermore, if you ask John Lewis customers, they often praise the
staff very highly. John Lewis (stores) and Waitrose (supermarkets) have come top in their
respective categories in consumer surveys carried out in the last three years.

C. Are there any other factors in its success?


It has become a brand that consumers want to be associated with. The range offered by John
Lewis protects it from collapses in certain sectors. It also runs an extremely successful online
business. Although it has just 4% of the market, Waitrose is arguably the only supermarket not
to be losing market share to Tesco. Analysts say the reasons for that are obvious: staff, quality
products and locating stores in areas where they know they will find their customer base.
D
Is there any bad news for the store?
Sales dropped by 3.4% one week last month compared to the same week a year earlier. That
made everyone sit up and take notice. It was just a sign that even a brand as powerful as John
Lewis will have to contend with tricky market conditions this year. In fact, it could be the case
that the company is better equipped than others to deal with falling consumer spending. The
people who will still have disposable income burning a hole in their well-tailored pockets will be
those in professional jobs. In other words, just the sort of people you might expect to meet in
John Lewis.

E
Is John Lewis really run differently from other companies?
It must be doing something differently, recording increased profits during a difficult period for
retailers. Its success is more down to latching on to a growing upper-middle class customer
base than any “radical” philosophy. Many companies hand out bonuses. The shared ownership
idea is just a gimmick. It succeeds not because of its philosophy, but owing to its very successful
online operation.

Find words in the text to match these definitions:

1. To allow someone to express their opinion.


2. A trick or device intended to attract attention.
3. To become firmly attached to someone or something.
4. To enjoy the good things that happen as a result of an action.
5. Eager to spend money.
6. To show interest or surprise.
7. The people who buy or use a particular product.

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