Advanced Business English John Silberstein Group Y3 Lesson 6 – February 23, 2009

Mother Lode – dict.com: a major or profitable source or supply Thwarting – dict.com: ADJECTIVE: preventing realization or attainment of a desire. NOUN: an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts Retrenchment – dict.com: the reduction of expenditures in order to become financially stable Gyroscope – dict.com: an apparatus consisting of a rotating wheel so mounted that its axis can turn freely in certain or all directions, and capable of maintaining the same absolute direction in space in spite of movements of the mountings and surrounding parts: used to maintain equilibrium, determine direction, etc. White Knight – dict.com: a beleaguered champion who fights heroically for a cause, as in politics. A company that comes to the rescue of another, as to prevent a takeover. Vocabulary Review

VW chief hails strength in depth Current Events How many lines of cars does VW own? How has VW responded to the sudden drop in demand? Why is it better for VW to drop the temporary workforce rather than letting go of fulltime employees? How does VW expect to make it through the downturn? Why do they expect to gain market share/

Match the sentence beginnings(1-5) with the Correct endings (a-e). Business Vocabulary in Use 1.The Canadian government decided to sell 45%... 2.UK Gold is a successful satellite channel… 3.Russia’s second biggest airline is trying to buy a stake… 4.China signed an agreement to develop a regional jet, setting up a joint… 5.Mr. Sugar’s majority holding in Amstrad… a)…made him the UK’s 15 th richest person. b)…of the state airline to the public and keep a 55% majority stake. c)…in which the BBC has a minority interest. d)…in its US counterpart so they can work out a marketing alliance. e)…venture company in which it will have a 46% stake, Airbus 39% and Singapore Technologies 15%. B C D E A

Choose the best word from the brackets () to fill the gap in each sentence. Test Your Business Vocabulary I have a 20% __________ in small printing company. (invest/interest/input) Charles Wilson now has a majority __________in Alicom PLC. (hold/holder/holding) ProSports and Fit Folk gave details of their new joint ________ (venture/account/combine) Kola-Co has made a _________ bid of 21p per share. (kind/friendly/gentle) Eastern Water proved to be our White ______ saving us from Collapse. (angel/knight/saint) Buying out the contracts of the senior executives will be a poison ______ for any predator to swallow. (medicine/tablet/pill) Their __________ company is a multinational based in New York. (parent/father/family) We started as a music company but we __________into television. (diversified/diverted/differed) interest holding venture friendly Knight pill parent diversified

Decide which time markers from below are usually associated with the present simple and which are with the present continuous. The Business 1.Usually 2.Currently 3.Always 4.At present 5.At the moment 6.Often Present Simple Present continuous Present Simple Present continuous Present Simple

Decide which time markers from below are usually associated with the past simple and which are associated with the present perfect. The Business 1.Ever 2.In 3.Never 4.Ago 5.Already 6.(not) yet 7.When 8.Just 9.Since/for 10.last Present perfect Past simple Present perfect Past simple Present perfect Past simple Present perfect Past simple

Match the sentence beginnings(1-5) with the Correct endings (a-e). Business Vocabulary in Use 1.The Canadian government decided to sell 45%... 2.UK Gold is a successful satellite channel… 3.Russia’s second biggest airline is trying to buy a stake… 4.China signed an agreement to develop a regional jet, setting up a joint… 5.Mr. Sugar’s majority holding in Amstrad… a)…made him the UK’s 15 th richest person. b)…of the state airline to the public and keep a 55% majority stake. c)…in which the BBC has a minority interest. d)…in its US counterpart so they can work out a marketing alliance. e)…venture company in which it will have a 46% stake, Airbus 39% and Singapore Technologies 15%. B C D E A

Based on an experience you have had in a work situation, write an that tells your manager about a problem you have encountered and a possible solution. Exercise