Discussion

1. What type of economy is Russia now? Is the UK? Some other countries?

2. The economy of which type do you think to be the most efficient? Give examples.

3. Is the role of government in solving various economic problems critical? Support your point of view.

Part B

export, import, bidder, shareholder, future, profit, deal

It was later that year at a football game that he first met Roger Sharpley and discovered that the rich have their problems too. Sharpley, a young man from Boston, had inherited his father's company, which specialized in the import of whisky and the export of furs. Educated at Choate and later in Dartmouth College, Sharpley had all the assurance and charm of the Boston set, so often envied by his fellow countrymen. He was tall and fair, looked as if he came from Viking stock, and with his air of the gifted amateur, found most things came easily to him — especially women. He was in every way a total contrast to Harvey. Although they were poles apart, the contrast acted like a magnet and attracted the one to the other.

Roger's only ambition in life was to become an officer in the Navy, but after graduating from Dartmouth he had had to return to the family business because of his father's ill health. He had only been with the firm a few months when his father died. Roger would have liked to have sold Sharpley & Son to the first bidder, but his father had made a codicil to his will to the effect that if the firm were sold before Roger's fortieth birthday (that being the last day one can enlist for the U.S. Navy), the money gained from the sale would be divided equally among his other relatives.

Harvey gave Roger's problem considerable thought, and after two lengthy sessions with a skilful New "fork lawyer, suggested a course of action to Roger: Harvey would purchase 49 per cent of Sharpley & Son for $100,000 and the first $20,000 profit each year. At the age of forty, Roger could relinquish the remaining 51 per cent for a further $100,000. The Board would consist of three voting members — Harvey, Roger and one nominated by Harvey, giving him overall control. As far as Harvey was concerned, Roger could join the Navy and need only attend the annual shareholders meeting.

Roger could not believe his luck. He did not even consult anyone at Sharpley & Son, knowing only too well that they would try to talk him out of it. Harvey had counted on this and had assessed his quarry accurately. Roger gave, the proposition only a few days' consideration before allowing the legal papers to be drawn up in New York, far enough away from Boston to be sure the firm did not learn what was going on. Meanwhile, Harvey returned to the Morgan Bank, where he was now looked upon as a man with a future. Since banks deal in futures, the manager agreed to help him in his new enterprise with a loan of $50,000 to add to his own $50,000, enabling Harvey to acquire 49 per cent of Sharpley & Son, and become its fifth President. The legal documents were signed in New York on October 28th, 1939.

Roger left speedily for Newport, Rhode Island, to commence his Officers Training Programme in the U.S. Navy. Harvey left for Grand Central Station to catch the train for Boston. His days as a messenger boy on the New York Stock Exchange were over. He was twenty-one years of age and the President of his own company.

What looked like disaster to most, Harvey could always turn into triumph. The American people were still suffering under Prohibition, and although Harvey could export furs, he could no longer import whisky. This had been the main reason for the fall in the company profits over the past

decade. But Harvey soon found that-with a little bribery, involving the Mayor of Boston, the Chief of Police and the Customs officials on the Canadian border, plus a payment to the Mafia to ensure that his products reached the restaurants and speak-easies, somehow the whisky imports went up rather than down. Sharpley & Son lost its more respectable and long-serving staff, and replaced them with animals better-suited to Harvey Metcalfe's particular jungle. From 1930 to 1933 Harvey went from strength to strength, but when Prohibition was finally lifted by President Roosevelt after overwhelming public demand, the excitement went with it, Harvey allowed the company to continue to deal in whisky and furs

while he branched out into new fields. In 1933 Sharpley & Son celebrated a hundred years in business. In three years Harvey had lost 97 years of goodwill and doubled the profits. It took him five years to reach his first million and only another four to double the sum again, which was when he decided the time had come for Harvey Metcalfe and Sharpley & Son to part company. In twelve years from 1930 to 1942, he had built up the profits from $30,000 to $910,000. He sold the company in January 1944 for $7,000,000, paying $100,000 to the widow of Captain Roger Sharpley of the U.S.Navy and keeping $6,000,000 for himself.

Harvey celebrated his thirty-fifth birthday by buying at a cost of $4 million a small, ailing bank in Boston called the Lincoln Trust. At the time it boasted a profit of approximately $500,000 a year, a prestigious building in the centre of Boston and an unblemished and somewhat boring reputation. Harvey intended to change both its reputation and its balance sheet. He enjoyed being the President of a bank — but it did nothing to improve his honesty. Every dubious deal in the Boston area seemed to emanate from the Lincoln Trust, and although Harvey increased the Bank's profits to $2 million per annum during the next five years, his personal reputation was never in credit.

	NOTES
	Prohibition — the forbidding by law of the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic liquors for beverage purposes in the US from 1920 to 1933.
	VOCABULARY NOTES
		export ant. import to specialize in the export (import) of smth — специализироваться на экспорте (импорте) ч-л to export (import) smth — экспортировать (импортировать) ч-л
		profit a fall in profits — падение прибыли to go up (down) — возрастать (уменьшаться) (about profits) to purchase profit in a company — приобретать право на долю прибыли в компании to realize a profit — реализовать, использовать прибыль to double profits — удвоить прибыль to increase profits — увеличить прибыль syn. to build up profits
		deal dubious deal — сомнительная сделка to deal in smth (futures, furs, etc.) — заниматься ч-л, специализироваться в области ч-л to deal for oneself (text 1) — заботиться о себе
	WORD-COMBINATIONS
		to inherit a company — унаследовать компанию
		to sell smth to the first bidder — продать ч-л первому покупателю
		to be poles apart — быть полными противоположностями
		to relinquish smth — отказаться от ч-л, передавать ч-л
		to make a codicil to one's will to the effect that — внести дополнительное распоряжение в завещание, касающееся ч-л
		to draw up legal papers — составить юридические документы
		to branch out into new fields — расширять свою деятельность на другие области
		to attend a shareholders meeting — принимать участие в собрании пайщиков
		to part company — расстаться, отделиться

■ Ex. I. Answer the following comprehension and problem questions based on the text:

Comprehension Questions

1. What do we come to know about Roger Sharpley's background?

2. How did Harvey Metcalfe happen to become "the President of his own company at the age of 21"?

3. In what way did Harvey Metcalfe go from strength to strength?

4. How did Harvey Metcalfe celebrate his 35th birthday?

Problem Questions

1. What was it that drew Roger Sharpley to Harvey Metcalfe? How can you explain it?

2. What attractions did Roger Sharpley have for Harvey Metcalfe? Why?

3. Do you think Harvey Metcalfe felt any remorse for the way he had dealt with Roger Sharpley and his widow?

4. Do you believe the author had every right to say that Metcalfe's reputation had never been in credit over the years? Why?

5. Would you say that purchasing the Lincoln Trust was a good deal? Support your answer.

■ Ex. II. Role play. Enact the talk between Roger Sharpley and Harvey Metcalfe that decided the future of Sharpley and Son. Make the most of the text.

Roger Sharpley. Your only ambition in life is to become an officer in the Navy, but your father's codicil to the will seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. You hope Harvey Metcalfe will help you out. You trust him, you don't doubt his integrity. You are prepared to go all the way with him.

Make use of the following helpful phrases

to complain:

Look I am sorry to trouble you but ...

I've got a bit of a problem here, you see.

to request:

If you could .... I'd be very grateful.

Do you think you could possibly ...

I was wondering if you could help me.

to state intentions:

Nothing is going to stop me.

I am certainly going to ...

I am going to … that's for sure.

Harvey Metcalfe. You consider your meeting Roger Sharpley another stroke of luck. You want to turn it to your benefit. With the help of a skillful lawyer from New York you have worked out a course of action and now you suggest it to Roger Sharpley. Your task is to convince Roger that your only concern is to help him. You should rule out any possibility of him consulting his lawyer.

Make use of the following helpful phrases to make a suggestion:

I was wondering if you'd ever thought of...

Might be an idea to ...

If I were you I'd ...

Why don't you ...

to agree:

Sure.

I'd be glad to.

Why, yes, of course.

By all means.

to delay the answer:

Well, let me see.

Well, now...

I am not sure, I'll just have to find out.

■ Ex. III. Role play. Enact an imaginary talk between two friends. One of them used to be chief accountant of Sharpley and Son, the other deputy manager of the Lincoln Trust. Both were fired by Harvey Metcalfe and bear him a grudge. Make the most of the text.

Make use of the following helpful phrases.

to complain:

I don't know about you but ...

What does he think he is doing?

Personally, I think ...

to talk about unpleasant experiences:

It was dreadful (mean, disgraceful), I was completely shocked.

The worst thing (the most terrible thing) was that ...

I can't describe how depressing it was to ...

to make a point strongly:

It's quite clear to me that ...

I think it's absolutely disgraceful the way he ...

Anybody can see that ...

to express agreement:

I can't agree more.

That's just what I think.

■ Ex. IV. Write a speech on the occasion of Harvey Metcalfe's thirty-fifth anniversary.

■ Ex. V. Render the text as if you were:

1. Harvey Metcalfe;

2. Roger Sharpley's widow.

UNIT III

Part A