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.