Text 9. Made in britain

You now know that Britain used to have many manufacturing industries, but since the Second World War its service industries, especially banking and retail­ing, have expanded. Heavy industries, including steel manufacture and shipbuild­ing, have been replaced by high-technology manufacturing industries, such as aeroplane engine manufacture and Pharmaceuticals.

In Britain, there are only a few successful large companies, but very many successful small companies. Many of them appeared in the 1980s. It was at that time that small businesses began to increase rapidly. At the end of 1990 officially there was a total of more than 1.5 million small businesses, though the real figure, including the «black economy», was probably nearer two million. However pro­portionately there were 50 per cent more in West Germany and the United States, and about twice as many in France and Japan.

Unfortunately, many small businesses fail to survive, mainly as a result of poor management, but also because, compared with almost every other European Community member, Britain offers the least encouraging conditions. But such small businesses are important not only because large businesses grow from small ones, but also because over half the new jobs in Britain are created by firms em­ploying fewer than 100 staff.

The large companies invest a lot of money in research and development (R & D) to find new and better, usually high-technology, products. Glaxo is Britain's leading pharmaceutical company and is one of the largest in the world. It tries to find and make new medicines that can cure or reduce the effects of disease. BP (British Petroleum) is at present the second-largest company in Europe. It is in­volved in oil and gas exploration, oil refining and the manufacture of petrochemi­cal products. It is investing money in making cleaner petrol.

Successful small manufacturing companies in the UK often make expensive products. These companies are successful because they use first-class materials, have excellent quality control and the workers are proud of what they make. Such companies include J.Barber & Sons, the Morgan Motor Company, Quad Electroacoustics, Wilkin & Sons. J.Barber & Sons makes waterproof jackets. Ori­ginally designed for fishermen and farmers, these waterproof jackets are now fash­ionable in cities throughout Europe and the US. The Morgan Motor Company produces elite cars. Quad Electroacousticsis is well-known for its expensive but high-quality loudspeakers and hi-fi equipment. Wilkin & Sons makes jams which British people cannot do without.

Notes and Commentary

European Community — Европейское сообщество («Общий рынок»); основано в 1957 году; Великобритания стала членом сообщества в 1973 году

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. Are there many successful large companies in Britain?

2. What began to increase rapidly in the 1980s?

3. Why are those small manufacturing companies in the UK, that make expensive products, successful?

4. Unfortunately, many small businesses fail to survive, don't they? Why do they fail to survive?

Exercise 2. Match the English words with their Russian equivalents.

1. retail (n) A. высокие технологии

2. retail (a) B. работник

3. retail (v) C. работодатель

4. small business D. малый бизнес

5. black economy E. продавать в розницу

6. management (n) F. розничная продажа

7. large business G. производить

8. employ (v) H. теневая экономика

9. employee (n) I. контроль качества

10. employer (n) J. крупная компания

11. high technology K. розничный

12. quality control L. нанимать на работу

13. produce (v) M. управление; менеджмент

Exercise 3. Find the Russian equivalents of the following.

First-class materials; hi-fi equipment; to cure or reduce the effects of disease; to increase rapidly; to do without something; research and development; to find new high-technology products; the least encouraging conditions.

Exercise 4. Find the English equivalents of the following.

Ведущая компания; больше половины новых рабочих мест; вкладывать много денег в проведение исследовательских работ и развитие; создавать рабочие места; плохое управление; приблизительно в два раза больше компаний; выпускать дорогие товары.

Exercise 5. On a separate sheet of paper, translate from English into Russian Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the text beginning with the words «In Britain, there are only...» and ending with the words «...fewer than 100 staff». When translating, please keep in mind the norms of the Russian language.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct word or phrase from the list below. Use the words or phrases only once.

Successful; poor; small; large businesses; to survive; economy.

1) … business

2) black …

3) … management

4) … grow from small ones

5) … small companies

6) to fail …

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct preposition.

1. … present

2. to invest money … R& D

3. to be well-known … expensive hi-fi equipment

4. to design … someone

5. to be proud … something

6. to do … Wilkin & Sons jams

7. about twice … many

8. to be involved … exploration

9. to replace … something

Exercise 8. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why.

Rewrite false statements to make them true.

1. There are less people who work in service industries than in manufac­turing industries in Britain.

2. Because of various economic problems, retailing and banking could not develop at the end of the last century.

3. The goods, which British small manufacturing companies make, are very expensive.

4. Large companies do not invest money in R&D.

Exercise 9. Choose all the words that are appropriate in answering the questions.

1. What does Glaxo make?

2. What does BP manufacture?

3. What does the Morgan Motor Company produce?

Elite cars, high-quality loudspeakers, petrochemical products, new medicines, hi-fi equipment, petrol jams, waterproof jackets.

Exercise 10. Look through the text again and write down ways to express

what each of the following companies is involved in.

1. Quad Electroacoustics

2. Wilkin & Sons

3. J Barber & Sons

Exercise 11. From the text, select those facts and ideas concerning small businesses (in written form).

Exercise 12.

A. Say what the text is about. Comment on the content of the text (orally).

B. Present the general idea of the text in five-six sentences. Do it in written form.