Scene IV

Notes:

Fort Worth	a city in the northeast of the US state of Texas near Dallas. The airport which it shares with Dallas, Dallas-Forth Worth, is one of the largest in the world.
projected	if something is projected, it is planned or expected
revenue	revenue is money that a company, organization, or government receives from people
ruling	a ruling is an official decision made by a court or by someone in a position of authority
Metro Radio Network	the company owned by Mr. Armbrister
Memphis	the largest city in the state of Tennessee, also known for being the home of Elvis Presley
transmitter	a transmitter is a piece of apparatus that is used for broadcasting television or radio programmes
pending	if something such as a legal procedure is pending, it is waiting to be dealt with or settled
outdated	if you describe something as outdated, you mean that you think it is old-fashioned and no longer useful or relevant to modern life
to approve	if someone in authority approves something, they officially agree to it or state that they are satisfied with it
to double	when something doubles or when you double it, it becomes twice as great in number, amount, or size
to up (this ups the station’s value)	if you up something such as the amount of money you are offering for something, you increase it
scheduled	if something is scheduled to happen at a particular time, arrangements are made for it to happen at that time
programming	the programmes that a particular television or radio station broadcasts
to nail (kill) two birds with one stone	to get two good results from one action
bear hug	a bear hug is a rather rough, tight, affectionate hug
to put a bear hug on a company	an approach to the board of a company by another company indicating that an offer is about to be made for their shares. If the target company indicates that it is not against the merger, but wants a higher price this is known as a teddy bear hug.
the company’s in play	see a bidding war
bid	a bid is an offer by one company to buy the shares of another
bidding (bidding war)	the process of making bids for things etc. The latter are sold to the person who offers the most money.
Armbrister	the owner of Metro Radio Network
to pierce	if you have your ears or some other part of your body pierced, you have a small hole made through them so that you can wear a piece of jewellery in them

Vocabulary:

to faint	if you faint, you lose consciousness for a short time, especially because of hunger, pain, heat or shock
timing	timing is the skill or action of judging the right moment in a situation or activity at which to do something

Task 1. Who said these things? In what situations?

1. Here’s the way we see it. Trask Industries has two important needs to meet at this point in time.

2. And we certainly don’t want to get into a bidding war.

3. Yes, sir. All right, sir. Yes, he’ll take the meeting.

4. My girlfriend stuck the needle through and I heard this pop and fainted and hit my chin on the toilet.

5. I wouldn’t have mentioned it except she’s in your department at Petty.

Task 2. Explain these sentences (Who said them?):

1. By acquiring Metro Radio Network you’ll nail two birds with one stone.

2. …but a Chicago group just put a bear hug on Metro this morning. The company’s in play.

3. A: He cares who he’s selling to.

B: Yes, and he holds the majority of the stock.

4. It’s just a timing thing. She broke her leg skiing and is laid up. And I couldn’t see doing it over the phone. You know, kicking somebody when they’re down.

Task 3. Listen again (once or twice) to Jack making his final assessment of Metro’s financial state.

1. Fill in the gaps in the text with an appropriate word or phrase from the list below (the list includes some words that are not suitable).

2. Describe the recent changes in the state of Metro Radio Network using your own words.

a) outdated, scheduled programming, old fashioned, projected revenue, ups, doubles, pending, increases, approved, ruling, praised, value

The Fort Worth station…

___________ 1) should read up eight percent, not six. And where it says the FCC ___________ 2) on Metro’s Memphis transmitter is ___________ 3). That’s ___________ 4). FCC ___________ 5) it Friday. ___________ 6) the signal reach. ___________ 7) the station’s ___________ 8) by 30 percent. And now, back to our regularly ___________ 9).

Task 4. Number these sentences in the correct order; from 1 to 8.

• I was 19 and thought it would be cool to have a pierced ear.

• The Slade Brothers. Trask isn’t aiming at radio anyway.

• Mr. Trask doesn’t sit in at this level.

• Some guy pulled a knife in Detroit.

• And where it says the FCC ruling on Metro’s Memphis transmitter is pending. That’s outdated.

• Okay, there’s this woman. It’s over, but technically, it’s not. I just haven’t got a chance to break it off yet.

• A lot of ifs. We really don’t want to get involved.

• One hundred twenty, even. Miss, don’t forget your book.

Task 5. Answer the questions:

1. Why did Tim Draper (Oren Trask’s employee) display so little interest in the acquisition proposal suggested by Tess and Jack?

2. What do you think finally tipped the scales in their favour?

3. Explain what Jack meant when he said that his relationship with Katherine “was over, but technically it wasn’t, that it was just a timing thing”.

Task 6. Discuss the following:

You’ve had a glimpse of what some of Trask’s business methods are like? Do you think they are a little bit unorthodox? Is the scene in Tim Draper’s office realistic or does it have a humorous touch to it?

What can you gain by using suchtactics when starting a deal with strangers. What are the disadvantages of such an approach.