LISTENING 1 Tasks

Are the sentences true or false?

1. Emily thinks that change is a part of everyday life. TRUE

Beating stress 2. Emily recommends we avoid other people to reduce stress FALSE.

Listen to Emily talking about the importance of managing her stress levels and the techniquesshe uses.
3. If we have too much to do, we should not do as many things in one
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
day. TRUE
4. Emily suggests reducing exercise and eating better foods to reduce
Vocabulary Definition stress. FALSE
1 . …… an expectation a . to manage something successfully 5. We should play the piano to relax. TRUE
2 . …… to be crowdedinto b . food or other things needed to live and grow
3 . …… to cope with c. a promise to do something
6. Emily suggests trying to be perfect. FALSE
4 . …… nourishment d . a belief about how things should be 7. Emily recommends not sleeping too much at night. TRUE
5 . …… to release e . to solve a problem or difficulty 8. Emily says that if you smile more, you will feel more positive about
6 . …… a commitment f. a group of (informal) things. FALSE
7 . …… a bunch of g . to express a feeling you were not showing
8 . …… to resolve h . to completely fill a space
•
Complete the sentences with words from the box.

cope commitments bunch crowded

resolve nourishment expectations release

1 . We can do many things to ............................................... with stress.

CROW
2 . Some families live in ............................................. flats with little space.
3 . It’s important to try to ............................................. disagreements with people because
then you
LISTENIN
can keep the ...................................... you have made.
BRUNCH of friends who can listen to you can help reduce stress.
G
4 . Having a.........................................
5 . Exercising and eating well will help your body get the
it needs. NOURISHMENT
EXPECTATIONS
6 . It’s also important to have realistic ……………………………… .
REALISE
7 . You can also ...................................... stress by not trying to be perfect.

Discussion
What do you do to beat stress?
 In n ova tion in bu sin e ss
M a tch th e de fin itio n s (a – h ) w ith th e v o ca b u lary (1 – 8 ).

Vocabulary D e fin itio n

1 . … … p rofits a. u sin g n e w id e a s o r w a y s o f d o in g th in g s

READING 1
2 . … … in n ovative b. to lo o k a t so m e th in g a g a in to ch a n g e it if n e ce ssary
3 . … … a dem a n d c. re se a rch a n d de v e lo p m e n t, th e p art o f a b u sin e ss th a t d e v e lo p s
4 . … … to review or improves its products
5 . … … fe e d b a ck d. m o n e y th a t is m a d e b y a b u sin e ss a fte r a ll th e co sts are p a id
6. …… R&D e. a n e e d fo r so m e th in g to be so ld o r p ro v id e d
7 . … … to targe t f. to d ire ct a pro d u ct a t a p articu lar p erso n o r g ro u p
8 . … … to b e a w a re o f g. to kn o w th a t so m e th in g e xists
h. info rm a tio n a b o u t p e o p le ’s o p in io n s o f so m e th in g th a t can b e
used to improve it
Reading text: What does it mean to be innovative in business?

Aimed to a business to survive in today’s world, it is important that we regularly review what we are doing and
how we are doing it. By considering new ideas and new ways of doing things, and trying to innovate, we can
improve on our products/services, increase sales, reduce costs and make our processes more effective and
efficient. Innovation is key to increasing profits.
There are several ways a company can be innovative with their products and services. Today we will look at four of
them.
1. Using the latest technology to improve your product/service When we think of innovation, we often think of
new technologies. While they might be impressive, we should not use new technologies just because they are
available. It is
important to consider how the technology can improve our product/service and make a
difference to our customer. Companies that produce cars, toiletries, household appliances, etc. often have a large
R&D department to work on making their products better.

2. Responding to customer demands by changing what is on offer

By listening to customer feedback, we can get their opinions on how we are doing and find out about what it is
that they want. We also need to be aware of changes in customer demands and keep up with the times. When
fast-food restaurant McDonald’s realized that the market wanted healthier choices, they introduced fruit and
salads, while removing the ‘super- size’ option from their menus.
3. Offering a new product/service to reach new customers
Your business might be doing well, but there is no growth or development and there is a
risk that your competitors might take away some of your customers. Innovation
sometimes means developing a new product that targets a different market. Although
video games were often played by boys, in 2006, video games giant Nintendo
introduced the game console Nintendo Wii, successfully targeting girls and older
customers with games like Cooking Mama and Brain Training.

4. Changing the way, you provide a service

By looking at the changes to the customer’s lifestyle and needs, we sometimes realize
that there might be better ways to serve them. Customers who do not have a lot of time
might prefer to have their food or their shopping delivered to their homes, or they
might like to do their banking online rather than in an actual bank.

Not all innovation will bring success to our businesses, but it can give us the opportunity
to grow and learn more about what we do and what our customers might want.
Tasks

aware recent innovative customers

convenient development better demands

We need to introduce (1) innovative ideas and ways of doing things so that we can improve and grow. One way of doing this is to
look at the most (2) recent technologies and see how they can make our products or services (3) better. Some companies have a
research and (4) development department that specialises in this. Another way is to be (5) aware of changes in what our customers
want and make sure we offer products or services that meet their (6) demands A third way of introducing innovation is to develop
new products that can help you target new (7) customers. You can also change the way your service is offered to make it more (8)
convenient for your customers.

Are the sentences true or false?

Answer
1. We innovate because we want to increase the amount of money our businesses make. False
2. Being innovative is all about using the newest technologies in your business. FALSE
3. Customers often don’t know what they want. FALSE
4. McDonald’s have not changed their menu since they started. TRUE
5. If you always target the same customers, you might lose them to your competitors. TRUE
6. Nintendo understood that only boys will play computer games. FALSE