1 Choose the correct verb form:

1. Have you ever seen/did you ever see a rock concert? 2. I saw/have seen the Rolling Stones last year. 3. I love rock and roll I like/have liked it all my life. 4. The Stones' concert has been/was excellent. 5. І have bought/bought all their records after the concert. 6. How long have you known/do you know Peter? 7. I know him/have known him since we were at school together. 8. When did you get/have you got married to him? 9. We have been/are together for over ten years, and we have got/got married eight years ago.

2 Put for or since into each gap. a. ____ two weeks b. ____ half an hour c. ____ August d. ____ 9.15 e. ____ I was ten

f. ___ a long time g. ___ 3 March h. ___ ages i. ___ the beginning of term j. ___ a couple of days

3 Make sentences about the following people:

1) Alice is a journalist. (meet/a lot of famous people; not be/on television) 2) Robert Swan is an explorer. (be/North Pole; see/polar bears; never/get lost) 3) Bill and Sophie are unemployed. (not have/a job for six months; not have/a holiday since Christmas; not be/the cinema for a year) 4) Sue is a tennis player. (play/since she was six; not win/a senior competition; never play/at Wimbledon)

4 Answer the questions about you. Use short answers. Have you ever...

...been to Mexico / tried Chinese food / forgotten to do the homework / made your teacher angry with you?

5 Put for or since into each gap. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian:

a) I haven't seen Keith_____a while. b) He's been in China_____January. c) Jack works for KMP. He has worked for them_____several years. d) He and his wife have lived next to me_____their son, Denny, was born. e) І have known them_____many years. f) We’ve been friends_____we were at university together. g) His wife, Carrie, is a designer. She has had her own studio_____six months. h) I’m looking after Tom today. He's been at my house _____8.00 this morning.

6 Ask these people questions about their experiences:

1 a racing driver - have an accident? 2 an explorer - get lost? 3 an actress - forget your words? 4 a mountaineer - climb Mount Everest? 5 a window cleaner - fall off your ladder? 6 a pop singer - have a number one song? 7 an electrician - have an electric shock?

7 Open the brackets. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian:

1 Sorry I’m late – I (miss) the bus. 2 We (live) here all our lives. 3 What they (tell) you? 4 She (have) a headache since morning. 5 You (ask) her yet? 6 I (not know) her very long. 7 He (be) a singer since childhood. 8 She (not do) her homework again! 9 Anybody (see) Jane this morning? 10 I (be) to France and Italy but I never (be) to Greece. 11 You (have) your breakfast yet?

5 Companies’ Restructuring

restructure market profitable combine merge (v) merger controlling share acquire / make an acquisition take over

реорганізовувати ринок прибутковий об'єднуватися зливатися, об'єднуватися злиття, об'єднання частка в капіталі компанії, яка забезпечує контроль за її діяльністю придбати поглинати (компанію)

hostile takeover willingly make a bid (for smth) buyout divest of / pull out abandon efficient

одержання контролю над компанією проти бажання її керівництва (вороже поглинання) охоче; добровільно, без примусу робити пропозицію викуп контрольного пакету акцій відмовлятися від участі залишати ефективний

In the world of business we can often see changes to the structure of companies and groups of companies. As a rule companies join with or buy other companies in order to have better control of a particular market, to diversify their business, to strengthen their operations or to remain profitable. When two companies combine, they merge to form one company in an agreement known as a merger.

To buy another company or to win a controlling share of a company is to acquire a business, make an acquisition or take over a company. There are two types of takeover: a hostile takeover is a situation in which a company is bought out when the owners do not want to sell. A friendly takeover takes place when a company is willingly bought out. When someone wants to buy a company they have to make a bid for it, i.e. offer to buy it at a certain price.

A buyout is a situation in which a person or group gains control of a company or a particular part of it by buying all or most of its shares.

If a company sells a business, it divests itself of that business. If you pull out of a business activity, you abandon it, perhaps as part of a programme of restructuring: reorganizing a business in order to make it more efficient and profitable.

1 Why do companies join with or buy other companies? 2 What happens when companies combine? 3 What does "making an acquisition" mean? 4 What types of takeover exist in business? 5 What is the difference between a hostile and a friendly takeover? 6 What do you have to do when you want to buy a company? 7 What is a buyout? 8 Why do businessmen restructure their business?