Some of the World’s Oldest Companies

The Coca Cola Company was founded in 1888. At more than 120 years old, it is one of the oldest companies in the United States, but that’s nothing when you expand your view to the rest of the world – these 10 are some of the oldest continuously-operating companies ever.

1. Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd, just saw the end of its long run a couple of years ago. Up until 2006, the Japanese construction company had been going strong since 578 A.D. The company was primarily involved in building temples. Things started going downhill in the 1980s, when they borrowed a lot of money to invest in real estate. By 2004, revenues were way down, and by 2006, they were $343 million in debt and ended up being absorbed by Takamatsu construction.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

1. long run – тривала робота; ек. тривалий період (період, упродовж якого всі фактори виробництва розглядаються як змінні);

2. A.D. [ֽeı`di:] (Anno Domini) [ֽænəu `dOmınaı] / [ֽænou `dα:məni:] – нашої ери, від різдва Христова;

3. temple [`temp^əl] – храм; церква;

4. to go downhill [ֽdaun`hıl] – погіршуватися;

5. real estate [ֽrıəl ı`steıt] / [ֽri:<sup>ə</sup>l ı`steıt] – нерухомість; нерухоме майно; земля;

6. revenues [`revənju:z] – виручка;

7. to be (way) down – скоротитися; знизитися;

8. to end up – припинити своє існування; припиняти(ся), завершувати(ся);

9. to absorb [əb`zO:b] 83% / [əb`sO:b] 17% – поглинати.

2. Hōshi, a traditional Japanese inn in operation since 718, took over the “World’s Oldest Continuously Operating Company” title when Kongō Gumi Co. folded. Located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, the hotel has been in the same family for 46 generations so far.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

1. inn [ın] – отель (сільський); заїжджий двір;

2. in operation [ֽOpə`reı∫<sup>ə</sup>n] / [ֽα:pə`reı∫^ən] – діючий; функціонуючий;

3. to take over – приймати від когось (нагороду, посаду тощо);

4. to fold [fəuld] / [fould] – припиняти існування;

5. prefecture [`pri:fekt∫ə] – префектура (адміністративно-територіальна одиниця);

6. so far – до цих пір; поки що; допоки;

3. Within the walls of St. Peter’s Archabbey in Salzburg, Vienna, lies Stiftskeller St. Peter, a restaurant and wine cellar that has been feeding the masses since at least 803 A.D. And apparently being in business that long has allowed them to perfect a thing or two, because it consistently gets outstanding reviews from the travelers who pass through its doors – and there are some pretty impressive travelers that are rumored to have eaten here. Supposedly Mephistopheles met Faust at Stiftskeller, Charlemagne liked to eat there, and Christopher Columbus downed a mug of beer there before he hopped on the Santa Maria.

Vocabulary and Cultural Notes:

1. St. Peter’s Archabbey (otherwise St. Peter’s Abbey) [ֽsənt `pi:təz ֽα:t∫`æbi] – a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg (Austria). St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg was founded by Saint Rupert in 696 for the mission to the South Alps and is thus considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world, if not in fact the oldest.

2. Salzburg [`sæltsbə:g] / [`sO:lzbə:g] (German [`zaltsbʊrk]) – a city in western Austria, near the border with Germany. It is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg.

3. Vienna [vi`enə] – the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC.

4. wine cellar [ֽwaın `selə] – винний погріб;

5. apparently [ə`pærəntli] – явно; безсумнівно; мабуть, певно, напевне;

6. to perfect [pə`fekt] / [p<sup>ə</sup>r`fekt] – довести до досконалості;

7. consistently [kən`sıstəntli] – постійно; послідовно;

8. outstanding reviews [₍ֽ₎aut`stændıŋ rı`vju:z] – відмінні (запальні) відгуки;

9. pretty impressive [`prıti ım`presıv] – досить вражаючий;

10. rumoured (to) [`ru:məd] / [`ru:m^ərd] – як стверджують; як говорять; за переказами;

11. supposedly [sə`pəuzıdli] – за загальною думкою; припустимо, приблизно;

12. Mephistopheles [ֽmefı`stOfəli:z] / [ֽmefı`stα:fəli:z] (also Mephistophilus, Mephistophilis, Mephostopheles, Mephisto and variants) – is the name of the demon in the Faust legend. The character has since appeared in other works as a stock character version of the devil.

13. Faust [faust] or Faustus [`faustəs] (Latin for “auspicious” or “lucky”, but also German for “fist”) is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. The origin of Faust’s name and persona remains unclear, though it is widely assumed to be based on the figure of Dr. Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480–1540), a magician and alchemist probably from Knittlingen, Würtemberg, who obtained a degree in divinity from Heidelberg University in 1509.

14. Charlemagne [`∫α:ləmeın] / [`∫α:rləmeın] – (742-814), king of the Franks 768-814 and Holy Roman emperor (as Charles I) 800-14; Latin name Carolus Magnus; known as Charles the Great (Карл І Вели́кий). As the first Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne promoted the arts and education, and his court became the cultural centre of the Carolingian Renaissance, the influence of which outlasted his empire.

15. to down – ковтати; випивати залпом;

16. a mug of beer – кружка пива;

17. to hop – стрибати, скакати; ускочити (на ходу);

18. the Santa Maria [ֽsæntə mə`ri:ə] (The Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción – The Imaculate Conception of Mary) was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. The Santa María was a small carrack, or “nao”, about 70 feet long, used as the flagship for the expedition. She carried 40 men. The Santa María was constructed from pine and oak which was from the Bialowieza Forest.

4. It should come as no surprise that there is a brewery on the list – the Weihenstephan Brewery [`bru:əri] of Bavaria [bə`veəriə], to be exact, which has been serving patrons since 1040, and maybe even earlier. But that’s the year it was licensed by the city, so we have actual paperwork to prove it. It survived even when the monastery it was attached to was secularized under Napoleon in 1803. These days the brewery not only makes a selection of pale lagers and wheat beers, it’s also a learning facility for students at the Techincal University of Munich.