- •Business English
- •Unit 1 Being an economist
- •1. Reading. Read the article and find the following:
- •Working in a foreign country
- •2. Read the article again. Are these statements true or false?
- •3. Speaking. Do you like the idea of working in a different country as part of your job? What countries do you think are interesting to work in?
- •4. Complete the table with a country or nationality. 1-5 are from the article. Use a dictionary to help you with 6-12.
- •8 (1). Listening. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.
- •9. Speaking. Use the information from the table. Introduce yourself to your partner and ask questions.
- •11. Read the text and explain the words in bold. What is Economics?
- •Unit 2 Money
- •3 (2). Listening. Listen and complete the information.
- •4. Reading. Read the article and answer the question:
- •The Business of Giving
- •5. Read the article again and answer the questions.
- •11. Speaking. How much do the items in the table cost in your country? Is the cost of living high in your country? Where is the cost of living low?
- •12. Read the text and explain the words in bold. Money
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit 3 Economy
- •2. Reading. Read the article below. Write t (true) or f (false) under “What the article says” in the previous exercise.
- •An Economy
- •Vocabulary
- •8. Give Russian equivalents:
- •9. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
- •10. Answer the questions:
- •11. Make notes under the following headings:
- •Unit 4 Company
- •1 (5). Listening. Listen and practice.
- •2. Translate the following words.
- •3. Put places above in the correct group. Add more for each sector.
- •4. Reading. Read the article. Which of the following best describes the subject of the article?
- •Look east
- •5. Are these statements true or false?
- •6. Match the numbers 1-6 with the information they describe a-f.
- •7. Speaking. Think of three more luxury goods companies. What products do they make and sell? Are they family or multinational companies?
- •8. Word families. Complete the table.
- •9. Complete the sentences with the correct word in italics.
- •10. Complete the text with the correct word from the table above. There may be more than one possible answer.
- •11(6). Listening. Sam and Alex work for the training company. Listen to their telephone conversation and answer the questions.
- •12. Company information.
- •13 (7). Listening. Listen to Miles Norton answering questions about his company. Find suitable answers to the questions in exercise 12.
- •14. Work with a partner. Ask questions about his/her company.
- •15. Read the text. Planned Economy
- •Unit 5 Company history
- •Ford of Britain
- •4. What do these numbers from the text refer to?
- •5. Complete these sentences.
- •6. Reading. Read this history of Dr. Martens Shoes. The writer uses present tense to make the summary seem ‘alive’. Change the verbs into past tense while reading.
- •Dr. Martens
- •7(10). Listening. Faith Walker talks about her first pair of Dr. Martens (dMs). Listen, fill in the gaps and then answer the questions.
- •8. Speaking. Speak on the history of the company you know.
- •9. Read the text and explain the words in bold. Market Economy
- •Vocabulary
- •10. Give Russian equivalents:
- •11. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
- •Unit 6 Company structure (a) Jobs
- •4. Reading. Read the text about the French company Perrier Vittel and fill in the gaps. Use the words in the box.
- •Perrier Vittel
- •5. Look at the organization chart. Use the information from the text above to complete the missing information. The first is done for you. Give the summary of the text.
- •6. Read the text and explain the words in bold. Mixed Economy
- •Unit 7 Company structure (b) Departments
- •2. Where do these people usually work?
- •3 (12). Listening. At a budget meeting four managers talk about their departments. Listen and complete the table below.
- •4. Listen again and complete these sentences.
- •5. Speaking. Think about your department or the department you’d like to work in. Draw an organization chart. Use the phrases from the box below to give a short presentation about your department.
- •6. Read the text and explain the words in bold. A Market
- •Unit 8 Business travel
- •2. Discuss the questions.
- •3. Match the words with the correct picture.
- •4. Complete the sentences with some of the words above.
- •6. Complete the headings in the text with the words in the exercise above. Results from a survey: Business travel is boring!
- •7. Match the words in bold in the text above to these definitions.
- •8. Discuss these questions.
- •9 (14). Listening. Listen to the conversation at the check-in desk and look at the departure board. What is the flight number and destination?
- •10. Listen again. Complete the conversation and check. Reproduce it with your partner.
- •11 (15). Listening. Listen to Colin Knapp talking about travelling to the Far East and answer the questions.
- •12. Discuss these questions.
- •13. Speaking. Speak on the transport you prefer for business and pleasure travelling. Give examples of advantages and disadvantages of different means of transport.
- •14. Read the text and explain the words in bold. Financial Market
- •Vocabulary
- •15. Give Russian equivalents:
- •16. Choose words from the list to fill in the gaps, then use them to make sentences:
- •17. Answer the questions:
- •18. Use words/phrases from the list to help you retell the text:
- •Supplementary reading The Economy of Great Britain
- •The Economy of Germany
- •The Economy of France
- •The Economy of Spain
- •The Economy of Italy
- •The Economy of the Netherlands
- •Contents
The Economy of Germany
Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world. Since the age of industrialization, the country has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalised economy. Germany is the world’s second largest exporter with $1.120 trillion exported in 2009 (Eurozone countries are included). Exports account for more than one-third of national output.
Germany is relatively poor in raw materials. Only lignite and potash salt are available in economically significant quantities. Power plans burning lignite are one of the main sources of electricity in Germany. Oil, natural gas and other resources are, for the most part, imported from other countries. Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.
The largest annual international trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
Of the world’s 500 largest stock market listed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany.
With unification on October 3, 1990, Germany began the major task of reconciling the economic systems of the two former republics. Its task was complicated by the dismantling of the extensive welfare system of the former German Democratic Republic, which resulted in a temporary but significant drop of the standard of living of its citizens; interventionist economic planning ensured a quick return of the standard of living and a gradual increase up to the level of that of western Germany.
Even after the German reunification in 1990, the standard of living and annual income remains significantly higher in the former West German states. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a long-term process scheduled to last until the year 2019, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The overall unemployment has consistently fallen since 2005 and reached a 15-year low in June 2008 with 7.5%. The percentage ranges from 6,2% in former West Germany to 12,7% in former East Germany.
The Economy of France
By the 18th century, France was one of the world’s richest nations. Industrialization began promisingly at the end of the 18th century, as it did in England. Unlike England and the rest of Europe, however, France failed to maintain the moment of its early industrial start and was still primarily an agricultural nation at the end of the 19th century. Industry expanded behind protective trade barriers in the early 20th century, but most growth has occurred since the end of World War II. France now ranks among the world’s most economically advanced nations.
The leading manufacturing industries are metallurgy, mechanical and electrical engineering, chemicals, and textiles. France is one of Europe’s leading producers of steel and aluminum. These and imported metals are fabricated into a wide range of mechanical and electrical equipment marketed throughout the world. A wide range of chemicals, including perfumes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and fertilizes, are also produced. The French textile and garment industry has long been known for its high fashion, although in recent years the industry has lost many former markets to lower-priced imports from countries with lower labor costs.
France is the leading agricultural nations of Western Europe, and about 7% of the labour force are engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Three-fifths of the land area is used for agriculture; about one-third is cultivated; one-quarter is used as meadow and pasture. France is a leading European producer of beef, veal, poultry, and dairy products. Cereals and sugar beets are the most important crops. Wine is the major crop throughout the country, both the wine ordinaire, or everyday wine, of the region and the appellation controlee, or quality-controlled, wines of such regions as Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, and Alsace. Flowers are grown for perfume at Grasse, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are raised in the warm Mediterranean region for shipment to northern and central Europe.
Fishing is locally important in the costal areas of Normandy and Brittany, the southern Atlantic coast, and the Mediterranean.
France is one of the leading exporters and importers on the foreign trade market. Most trade is conducted with other members of the European Union.