ГМУ учебник по английскому

A Very Dear Cat

Kidnappers1 are rarely2 interested in animals, but they recently3 took considerable4 interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay’s cat. Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, was shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years. Rastus leads an orderly5 life. He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o’clock. One evening, however, he didn’t arrive. Mrs. Ramsay got very worried. She looked everywhere for him but couldn’t find him.

Three days after Rastus’ disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter. The writer stated thet Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom6 of £ 1000. Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box7 and to leave it outside her door. At first, she decided to go to the police, but fearing that she would never see Rastus again – the letter had made that quite clear – she changed her mind. She drew £ 1000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper’s instructions. The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs. Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word. Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o’clock that evening. He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty8, for he drank half a bottle of milk. The police were astounded9 when Mrs Ramsay told them what she had done. She explained that Rastus was very dear to her. Considering the amount she paid10, he was dear in more ways than one!

Notes:

1.kidnapper – похититель детей.

2.rarely – редко.

3.recently – недавно.

4.to take a considerable interest – проявить значительный интерес.

5.orderly – упорядоченный.

6.ransom – выкуп.

7.a cardboard box – картонная коробка.

8.to be thirsty – хотеть пить.

9.to astound – поражать

10.Considering the amount she paid… - Учитывая сумму, которую она заплатила…

Give your opinion about the information you have read. Retell the story. ¨ Grammar snack: Supply the correct forms of the verbs.

Mr. Smith, the manager of a small furniture (мебель) company, (speak)1

____ with his regular and very important customer.

Customer: All right. I (give)2 ____ you one last chance. That’s this order (заказ). No more mistakes. You last (deliver (поставить))3 _____ the furniture which I even (not order)4 ____.

Manager: Oh, I’m very sorry. We (not to do)5 _____ that again.

Customer: I (hope)6 ___ not. Remember! This order (be)7 ____ very important 71

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and I’d like to stress that I must have it next week. Any other delivery time (be not good enough)8 _____ to me.

Manager: Yes, certainly. We (send)9 ____ it on time. We always (send)10 ____

you your orders on time, ____ we?

Customer: No, you11 ____. You once (deliver)12____ me an order with a six months’ delay. Another thing, packing must be excellent.

Manager: Yes, of course. I think you (agree)13 ____ that this (be)14 ____ one thing we always (do)15 ____ in the past.

Customer: No, you… One last thing, write my name clearly, please.

Manager: Certainly. I (do)16 ____ that myself. The goods (товары) (come)17

____ to the right address and at the time you (require)18 _____ them. Customer: Good. That’s all.

Manager: Thank you, Mr. Harden, and good-bye, Mr. Harden. Customer: What you (say)19 ____?

Manager: Not that. I mean the name. Customer: Mr. Harden.

Manager: Harden? My name (not to be)20 ____ Harden. It’s Marden. “M” as in “man” and not “H” as in “ham”. Oh, I (think)21 _____ I (have) 22____ to order goods from another company.

—Skills: Comment on the picture. Translate from Russian into English.

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NOKIA.

Тщательно запланированный успех

Десять лет назад название этой фирмы знали немногие даже в ее стране. Сегодня NOKIA занимает второе место в мире по производству мобильных телефонов. Она производит 20% всех телефонов в мире (больше 30% - лишь знаменитая MOTOROLLA).В чем секрет фантастического успеха скромной финской компании? В планировании, утверждает ее президент Лаури Кивинен. В фирме существует два вида бизнес-планов.

Один рассчитан на перспективу и определяет те цели, которых необходимо добиться через год, пять лет, семь… Именно благодаря такому плану NOKIA вовремя сменила стратегию, перейдя от широкой наукоемкой деятельности к развитию одного приоритетного направления – телекоммуникационной индустрии. Результат – два года объем продаж вырос в 2 раза и составил 3,6 млрд. долларов. Над составлением долгосрочных планов в каждом подразделении работают два-три высокопрофессиональных экономиста, анализирующих как внутрифирменную информацию, так и данные конкурентов.

Второй вид бизнес-планов – тактический. Он переносит долгосрочную стратегию в каждодневную практику. Здесь у фирмы свои находки. Например, постоянная ротация кадров. Скажем, 500 ученых,

работающих в подразделениях передвижных средств связи по всему миру

– Европе, Австралии, США, - каждые 2-3 года переезжают на другое место работы. Постоянно меняющийся круг общения позволяет избежать застоя,

способствует взаимному обогащению идеями. Особое внимание уделяется планам по

рекламе. На эти цели тратится 3-5% общего оборота компании. Причем рекламируется не отдельная продукция, а товарный знак – NOKIA, который выставляется в самых престижных точках земного шара. Например, в Москве – на Красной площади. «Мысли глобально – действуй локально» - этот главный принцип своего планирования компания NOKIA успешно претворяет в жизнь.

Lesson 8. Leadership

“We all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say.”

Michael Caine, British film actor (in the film The Italian job)

& Useful vocabulary

1.to admire – восхищаться: He’s always looking in the mirror, admiring himself!

2.decisive – решительный: You’ll have to be more decisive if you want

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to do well in business.

3.passionate – вспыльчивый, невыдержанный: Why are you so passionate?

4.charismatic – обаятельный:He could never be a film star; he isn’t charismatic.

5.ruthless – безжалостный, жестокий: “Ruthless” means showing no human feelings; without pity or forgiveness.

6.straight – прямой, честный, искрений: I like him for his straight character.

7.careful – старательный, аккуратный, осторожный: Be careful crossing the road.

8.motivation – мотив, побуждение: The stronger the motivation, the more quickly a person will learn a foreign language.

9.flexible – гибкий, уступчивый, легко приспособляющийся: He is rather flexible in difficult situations.

10.accessible – податливый, доступный: A manager should be accessible to his\her staff.

11.thoughtful – думающий, мыслящий: The girl looked thoughtful for a moment and then answered.

12.adventurous – смелый, рискованный: “Adventurous” means ready to take risks.

13.uncaring – беззаботный: He seems to be so uncaring!

14.lunatic – помешанный, сумасшедший: You’re lunatic – you nearly drove straight into me!

15.moderate – выдержанный, умеренный: The union’s demands are very moderate; they’re only asking for a small wage increase.

16.to predict – предсказывать: The economists predicted an increase in the rate of inflation.

17.trait – штрих, черта (лица, характера): Anne’s kindness is one of her most pleasing traits.

18.to stifle – подавлять, гасить: “To stifle” means “to prevent from happening or developing.”

19.waste – тратить: It’s a waste of John’s talents to use him for such an

easy job.

20.self-confidence – самоуверенность: “Self-confidence” means “to be sure of one’s own power to succeed.”

21.to allow – позволять, разрешать: Walking on the grass is not

allowed.

22.reward – награда, награждение: As a reward for passing her exams, she got a new bike from her parents.

23.to reach – достигать: After several changes of plane, we finally reached London on Tuesday.

24. to establish – устанавливать, основывать: The company was

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established in 1850.

25.to articulate – произносить отчетливо, ясно: “Articulate” means to express or able to express thoughts and feelings clearly and effectively.

26.fringe – обрамление, кайма: It was easier to move about on the fringe of the crowd.

27.to belong to – принадлежать: That dictionary belongs to me.

28.quality – качество, качественный: The “Financial Times” is a quality newspaper.

29.foreman – мастер, старший рабочий: “Foreman” is a skilled and experienced worker who is put in charge of other workers.

30.expectation – ожидание: I usually enjoy his films, but that one didn’t come up to my expectations.

31.to provide – обеспечивать: These letters should provide us with al information we need.

32.chairman – председатель: He was elected chairman of the education committee.

33.breadth – ширина, широта (взглядов): His book shows the great breadth of his thoughts.

34.tutor – учитель, руководитель:“Tutor” is a teacher who gives private instruction to a single pupil or to a very small class.

35.to encourage – поощрять: He encouraged me to apply for the job.

36.to fascinate – очаровывать: Chinese art has a great fascination for

him.

37.to gamble – азартная игра, рискованное дело, афера: He’s gambling with his passengers’ lives, driving as fast as that.

38.to troop – собираться толпой, двигаться (строем), разделять (на взводы): We all trooped in the street.

39.aspiration – стремление, желание: She has aspirations to become a great writer.

40.conventional – условный, общепринятый: I’m afraid I’m rather conventional in my tastes.

41.matter – иметь значение, вопрос: There are several important maters we must discuss.

42.crucial – решающий, критический: Тhe success of this experiment is crucial to the project as a whole.

43.solution – решение: We bought a second car; it was the solution to all our problems.

44.to thrive (throve, thriven) – процветать, преуспевать, богатеть,

хорошо развиваться: How are your children? Thriving, I hope!

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Reading I: 1. Jack Welch is Chief Executive Officer of General Electric. In the extracts below he talks about leadership. Before you read what he says, try to predict which of the adjectives above describe his idea of a good leader.

2. Read what Jack Welch thinks and check your answers. Do you agree

"managing" - controlling, stifling people, keeping them in the dark, wasting their time on details and reports. You can't manage self-confidence into people. You have to get out of their way and let it grow in them by allowing them to win, and then rewarding them when they do. The word "manager" has too often come to be synonymous with control - cold, uncaring, passionless. I never associate passion with the word "manager", and I've never seen a leader without it”.

“Above all else good leaders are open. They go up, down, and around their organisations to reach people. They don't join to established channels. They're informal. They're straight with people. They make a religion out of being accessible”.

“One of the things about leadership is that you cannot be a moderate, balanced, thoughtful, careful articulator of policy. You've got to be on the lunatic fringe”.

“The future will not belong to "managers" or those who can make the numbers dance. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders - people who not only have enormous amounts of energy but who can energize those whom they lead”.

3. Discuss these questions. Imagine you are the leader of a large company.

1)What qualities do you need to run a large company effectively?

2)Which business leaders do you admire? Why?

3)What do business leaders actually do?

4)As a leader, how would you motivate your employees?

5)Do you think leaders are born or made?

Reading II: 1. Douglas Ivester is Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola. Before you read the article about him, discuss what qualities you expect him to have.

3. Now read the article and complete the fact sheet on the opposite page.

Focus on Douglas Ivester, CEO of Coca-Cola

Ivester, a factory foreman's son and former accountant, stepped in easily to run Coca-Cola as CEO following the death of champion wealth creator Roberto Goizueta. Early in his job as Coke's chief, Goizueta had recognised Ivester's drive, commenting that he was the hardest-working man he had ever

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met. Together the two changed the company' operations and capital structure to maximize shareholder value.

Both of Ivester's parents were factory workers from a small mill town in Georgia. His parents were children of the depression, he recalls, “strong savers, very strong religious values,” and had very high expectations for their only son. If he got an A, his father would say, “They give A pluses, don't they?”

Doug Ivester is the man who for nearly two years worked constantly to provide essential support to Roberto Goizueta as he not only turned Coca-Cola around but made it into a powerhouse. If you want to know just how driven Ivester is, know that more than a decade ago he set himself the goal of becoming the CEO and chairman of Coca-Cola. Then he put on paper the dates by which he intended to do that.

By comparison with Goizueta, Ivester is an accountant by training, an introvert by nature. He worked systematically to obtain the breadth needed to be a modern chief executive — getting media education and spending three years' worth of Saturdays, six hours at a time, being tutored in marketing. He is a straight rocket, constantly encouraging his executives to “do the right thing”, yet he is fascinated with Las Vegas, which he visits once a year, gambling and people-watching a lot.

He is big on discipline, which to him means: be where you're supposed to be. Return phone calls punctually (employees know never to get too far away from their office voice-mail, even on weekends). Still, when directing his troops, he asks them to set “aspirations” (difficult targets).

Hierarchy is out - it slows everything down: he communicates freely with people at all levels. The “conventional” desk job is also out. Ivester prefers that employees think of themselves as knowledge workers — their office is the information they carry around with them, supported by technology that allows them to work anywhere. This really matters when your business is as large as Coke's, which gets 80% of its profit from overseas.

At Coke, business planning is no longer a yearly ceremony but a continual discussion - sometimes using voice-mail - among top executives. Technology is not just nice; it's crucial. Huge volumes of information don't frighten Ivester; he insists that they are necessary for “real-time” decision-making. With pastgeneration executives, their style was more “don't bring me your problems, bring me your solutions,” says Tim Haas, Senior Vice President and Head of Latin America. “Doug thrives on finding the solutions.” “In a world this complicated and fast-moving, a CEO can't afford to sit in the executive suite and guess,” Ivester says. He believes that many of America's executives “are getting terribly isolated.”

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3. Answer these questions about the article.

1)The writer says that “Goizueta had recognised Ivester's drive” (paragraph 1). What does drive mean? How did Ivester show that he had this quality?

2)“They give A pluses, don't they?” (paragraph 2). Who is Ivester's father referring too when he says they?

3)How did Ivester prepare for the position he now holds?

4)Explain the meaning of this sentence: “Dress the part (he is opposed to casual Fridays)” (paragraph 5). Do you agree with this policy?

5)Why does Ivester want employees to think of themselves as 'knowledge workers'?

6)Ivester believes that many American executives “are getting terribly isolated.” What is Ivester doing to avoid becoming cut off from his staff?

4. Find words and phrases in the article which mean the following:

1)Someone who has greatly increased the company's profits (paragraph

1).

2)A time of high unemployment and poverty (paragraph 2).

3)A very successful, profitable company (paragraph 3).

4)Very determined to succeed (paragraph 3).

5)Carefully, following a fixed plan (paragraph 4).

6)Organising people into different levels of importance (paragraph 6).

7)Something that happens regularly each year (paragraph 7).

8)Gets a feeling of satisfaction from doing something (paragraph 7).

5. Discuss these questions.

1)What do you think Douglas Ivester's main objectives should be as leader of Coca-Cola?

2)What sort of problems do you think he has to deal with when running the company?

Reading III. Read the dialogue.

- Hi, Mark.

- Hi, Jane. What are you reading? - It’s a horoscope for next year. - Do you believe in horoscopes?

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-Not really, but sometimes I have doubts about my future and I want to find out what will happen. Then I read horoscopes.

-I never read horoscopes. I don’t believe in what they say.

-What is your zodiac sign?

-Libra.

-So you must be reliable, well-balanced, practical and rather realistic. That’s why you don’t believe in horoscopes.

-That’s interesting. What else can you tell me about my personality?

-You are logical and generally calm.

-And what about my future?

-You will be really absent-minded this week. You will forget about important meetings and it’s not the best time to be alone. You have to start taking part in more activities – go on holiday.

-You know, it’s true that I have been feeling rather lonely recently. But I can’t imagine myself being absent-minded. I never lose things or arrive late for meetings. What about my career?

-You will begin to look for a new job. You can start thinking about your future now.

-That’s amazing! I really want to change my job! My boss doesn’t want to give me a rise and I’m beginning to feel fed up with my work there.

-So, it’s high time you changed it.

-Thanks for the lesson, but I’m still not sure if I should start believing in horoscopes. What’s the time?

-It’s 6.40.

-What? I’m going to be late for the meeting concerning my new job!

-Didn’t I warn you?

Useful expressions

I (don’t) believe in horoscopes. – Я (не) верю в гороскопы.

It’s high time you changed it. – Самый подходящий момент на то,

чтобы это изменить.

What can you tell me about my personality? – Что Вы можете мне сказать о моем характере?

What is your zodiac sigh? – Каков Ваш знак зодиака?

You are calm, well-balanced and realistic. – Вы являетесь спокойным, рассудительным и реалистичным человеком.

Learn these useful expressions by heart and make your own dialogue as in the example.

Reading IV. Read this biography of the film star Tom Cruise and mark the statements below T (true) or F (false).

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