Scene II

Notes:

solo	without a companion or especially instructor
clearance	the distance between one object and another passing beneath or beside it
to wedge to unwedge	if you wedge something somewhere, you fit it there tightly
securities	are stocks, shares, bonds or other certificates that you buy in order to earn regular interest from them or sell them later for a profit
to expand into (in business)	to increase in size, grow larger by acquiring smth (i.e. a new line of business)
barracuda	a barracuda is a large tropical sea fish with a protruding lower jaw and sharp teeth
associate associate partner	associate is used before a rank or title to indicate a slightly different lower status
memo	a memo is a short official note that is written from one person to another within the same company or organization
containment	- containment of something is the action of controlling it and preventing it from spreading or increasing

Vocabulary:

avail	if you do something to no avail or to little avail, what you do fails to achieve what you want
the light at the end of the tunnel	when you talk about the light at the end of the tunnel, you are referring to a pleasant situation in the future which gives you hope and optimism, especially because you are in a difficult or unpleasant situation at the moment
in this day and age	in modern times
to trick	if someone tricks you, they deceive you, often in order to make you do something
upside	(especially in business) showing an expectation or likelihood of advantage or success
the name of the game	if you say that something is the name of the game, you mean that it is the most important aspect of a situation

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

1. If a colleague of mine had a strategy that they needed help with, would you look at it if I asked you to.

2. I look at stuff all the time. Nobody’s ever accused me of stealing.

3. For hours all the experts tried to find some way to unwedge the vehicle but to no avail.

4. I’ve decided to sell Mr. Trask the Metro radio system for $ 68,5 mln in cash and securities.

5. You are being tricked. That is what’s going on.

6. The players may have changed, but the game remains the same. And the name of the game is “Let’s make a deal”.

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

1. I am flying solo on this.

2. Well, by letting some of the air out of our strategy to expand into broadcasting, Miss McGill and Mr. Trainer have effectively shown all of us here at Trask the light at the end of our tunnel.

3. This is, of course, an agreement in principle. As to what constitutes principles in this day and age I am going to leave it to you, barracudas, to squabble over.

4. The upside is that I have found out in time to control the damage. We have containment and we have a deal on the table!

Task 3. Watch the start of the meeting at Trask Industries again and 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).

to push, to expand into, to no avail, the light at the end of our tunnel, clearance, listlessly, to unwedge, to move into

Gentlemen,

There was a story on the news last night showing life imitating an old children’s riddle. It seems that a truck got stuck at the entrance to the Holland tunnel too high for the entrance. For hours the experts tried to find some way (1) ____________ the vehicle, but (2) ____________.

Finally, a 10-year-old girl in a passing car suggested simply letting the air out of the truck’s tyres thus lowering the truck to the (3) ____________ level, which they did. And it worked.

Well, by letting some of the air out of our strategy (4) ______________ broadcasting, Miss McGill and Mr. Trainer have effectively shown all of us here at Trask (5) ______________.

Task 4. Answer these questions:

1. Why do you think Tess brought up the subject of a hypothetical colleague who “might need help with some strategy” as soon as she met Jack in the conference room.

2. Do you think Katherine sounded convincing? What things did she take advantage of to make the audience sympathize with her?

3. Why do you think Tess refrained from telling her side of the story there and then?

Task 5. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think personal integrity is a thing of the past in the higher echelons of business and finance? Is it likely that the series of corporate fraud scandals that shook the US at the start of the 21^st century will have a lasting effect on the world business community? Give your reasoning.