- •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 the Netherlands
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, fairly low unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The country is one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment.
The stern financial policy has been abandoned in 2009 on account of the current credit crises. The relatively large banking sector was pertly nationalized and bailed out through government interventions. Large unemployment, double the current rate of 4% is expected since the Netherlands is an open economy. The government wants to stimulate the economy by accelerating already planned projects. Fundamental reforms for long term recovery will be implemented as well.
While the private sector is the cornerstone of the Dutch economy, governments at different levels have a large part to play. In addition to its own spending, the government plays a significant role through permit requirements and regulations pertaining to almost every aspect of economic activity. The government combines a rigorous and stable microeconomic policy with wide-ranging structural and regulatory reforms. The government has gradually reduced its role in the economy since the 1980s.
Services account for more than half of the national income and are primarily in transportation, distribution, and logistics, and in financial areas, such as banking and insurance. Industrial activity, including mining, generates about 20% of the national product and is dominated by the metalworking, oil refining, chemical, and food-processing industries. Construction amounts to about 6% of GDP. Agriculture and fishing, although visible and traditional Dutch activities, account for just 2%.
Contents
Unit 1 Being an Economist ------------- |
4 |
Unit 2 Money --------------------------- |
8 |
Unit 3 Economy -------------------------- |
13 |
Unit 4 Company ------------------------- |
18 |
Unit 5 Company history --------------- |
23 |
Unit 6 Company structure (A) --------- |
28 |
Unit 7 Company structure (B) -------- |
31 |
Unit 8 Business travel ------------------ |
36 |
Supplementary reading ------------------- |
43 |