EuroProB2 Web Coursebook PDF

EuroPro B2
Web Coursebook
Web Coursebook introduction
EuroPro B2
unit 1 - short texts
unit 2 - paragraph headings
unit 3 - scan reading
unit 4 - multiple choice reading
unit 5 - short conversations
unit 6 - making notes
unit 7 - meeting
unit 8 - transactional writing
unit 9 - extensive writing
unit 10 - dictation
unit 11 - muliple choice gapfill
unit 12 - modified cloze
unit 13 - dialogue
unit 14 - summary
unit 15 - letter
unit 16 - interview
unit 17 - presentation
unit 18 - transactional dialogues
unit 19 - collaborative speaking
unit 20 - CEFR
EuroPro B2 Coursebook - Introduction Page 1
Introduction to EuroPro B2 Web Coursebook

About this book
This coursebook is intended to prepare students for the EuroPro
Examination at B2 (Vantage) level. The EuroPro coursebook is
primarily intended for classroom use, but can also be used by
those working alone or with a tutor.
The book has twenty units; one for each task in the examination
(reading 4 tasks, listening 3 tasks, writing 2 tasks, grammar and
vocabulary 3 tasks, mediation 3 tasks and speaking 4 tasks); and
finally a unit containing the CEFR criteria and extra classroom
activities.
Each unit, except the last, follows a similar structure: first
vocabulary related to a particular business or professional topic is introduced; second, students
meet and work with a reading text; third, examination skills for that task are practised, and
fourth, there is a practice task for the examination. Throughout the unit there is a continuity of
topic.
The teaching time for each unit will, of course, depend on the students’ level and needs as well
as the teacher’s method of presentation. However each until should provide for three hours
teaching. The book is, therefore, best suited to a 48-50 hour course.
Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
The CEFR of the Council of Europe (language division) is a set of can-do criteria which enable
all language examinations in Europe to be related to a common framework of standards. The
criteria are designed positively, i.e. through establishing what a student can do, and not
focussing on what the candidate can’t do yet. As the criteria for examinations are based
positively and on communication competence, those examinations which are related to the
framework are practical and non-threatening.
This coursebook and the EuroPro Examination are fully related to the CEFR. As a result both
the student’s successful preparation using this book and the anticipated successful examination
result will establish him/her at B2 (Vantage) level. The achievement will be recognised across
Europe.
Euro Examinations
At present Euro Examinations are offered at three levels B1 (Threshold), B2 (Vantage) and C1
(Operational Proficiency).
The examinations are in two systems: The EuroExam for general learners of English, and the
EuroPro for business and professional learners.
In addition to coursebooks, teachers’ books and sound recordings, the Euro Examination Centre
also publishes sample sets of examination papers, diagnostic tests and mock examinations.
Distinguishing the format of the EuroPro from the EuroExam
The EuroPro and the EuroExam differ in format in just two of the tasks. In the speaking tasks
the EuroPro features a presentation whereas the EuroExam has a picture story, and in the
listening tasks the EuroPro has a business meeting and the EuroExam has a radio/TV
programme.
The format of the remaining seventeen tasks is the same for both exams.
Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

The Structure of the EuroPro B2 Coursebook
The EuroPro examination has nineteen tasks. Each task has one teaching unit. The answers and
tapescript (if relevant) are contained in the unit.
The Reading Units (1 - 4)
Unit 1: Organisation in the Workplace

task name Reading test, part 1: short texts
You match five short texts (hand-written notes, short advertisements,
notices, instructions, directions, or excerpts from a leaflet), with one of
task description
seven possible responses (pictures, titles, notes, definitions, etc.). An
example is provided.
skills tested Skim reading, scan reading and reading for detailed information
It is important to understand the meaning in context of notes and other
real life link
short texts (e.g. business emails)
topic for task in
The principles of ‘scientific’ management
this book
Unit 2: The Restructuring of Business

task name Reading test, part 2: paragraph headings
There are six paragraphs for which you must find the most appropriate
task description heading from a choice of eight paragraph headings. Two headings are
not needed. An example is provided.
skills tested Reading for gist.
You will often have to read long texts, but only have to understand
real life link
what the text is about and not for detailed information.
topic for task in
The rights and options of workers who are made redundant
this book
Unit 3: The Private Lives of Business People

task name Reading test, part 3: scan reading
You read four texts on a single topic and eight statements containing
task description information from one of the texts. Your task is to decide which text
each statement comes from. An example is provided.
skills tested Scan reading
real life link You often have to find key pieces of information in a longer text.
topic for task in
The constitution and rules of a club for wealthy businessmen
this book
Unit 4: Work-Related Conflict

task name Reading test, part 4: multiple choice reading
You answer seven multiple choice comprehension questions based on a
task description
single text of 350-450 words, normally an article, letter or narrative.
skills tested Skim and scan reading plus reading for detailed information
Some documents, such as proposals, need to be understood fully in
real life link
professional life.
topic for task in
The Grenberg miners’ strike
this book

Listening Units (5 – 7)
Unit 5: Business Talk and Chatter

task name Listening test, part 1: short conversations
You listen twice to six short recordings made in the same location, and
task description match them with eight pictures or eight short pieces of text, (e.g. a list,
email extracts, advertisements)
skills tested Listening for gist and specific information to enable matching.
real life link We often need to understand a situation from small pieces of speech.
topic for task in
Boring talk at meetings, presentation and speaking skills
this book
Unit 6: Personal Bankruptcy

task name Listening test, part 2: making notes
You listen twice to an extended monologue. There are notes based on
the text, which contains nine gaps. Each gap requires a piece of
task description
information, which you must write in no more than three words, whilst
listening.
skills tested Listening for specific information.
In meetings you will often have to listen and take down key points in
real life link
notes.
topic for task in
The legal procedure affecting a person who is declared bankrupt.
this book
Unit 7: People Changing Jobs

task name Listening test, part 3: meeting
You listen twice to an excerpt from a formal meeting. You answer ten
task description
multiple choice questions while listening.
skills tested Listening for gist, specific information and detailed information
Understanding what is being said in a meeting is vitally important in
real life link
business
topic for task in
The rules for fair and unfair dismissal of employees
this book
Writing units (8 – 9)
Unit 8: Formal Letters

task name Writing test, part 1: transactional writing
You read several pieces of written or diagrammatic text (leaflets, notes,
letters, maps, timetables) providing a context and information for the
task description
task. You are asked to write a ca. 200 word transactional letter, email or
message using the information provided.
Achieving a transactional outcome within the correct genre with written
skills tested
language accuracy.
real life link Most of your letter and email writing is to realise specific purposes.
topic for task in
Letter terminating a contract of employment
this book

Unit 9: Formal Reports

task name Writing test, part 2: extensive writing
There are three tasks from which you choose one. You must write a
ca. 200 word text within the genre specified. The type of text could be
task description
an article, a report, a descriptive or narrative composition, or a
discursive essay.
Producing a relevant text within a given genre with written language
skills tested
accuracy.
You need to be able to write in different genres, e.g. a report, a
real life link
proposal, a letter of complaint.
topic for task in
A report on the office Christmas dinner
this book
Grammar & Vocabulary Units (10 – 12)
Unit 10: Social Welfare

task name Grammar and vocabulary test, part 1: dictation
You listen to a recorded extended monologue of 85-120 words. You
have to write the text down word for word. The text is heard three
task description times, once all the way through with no break. The text is then heard
again broken down into small units with each unit repeated once. There
are breaks between units to allow time for writing.
skills tested Spelling, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary and detailed listening skills
Sometimes you need to write down exactly what someone has said in a
real life link
meeting
topic for task in
The rules for paying social welfare benefits
this book
Unit 11: Work Satisfaction

task name Grammar and vocabulary test, part 2: multiple choice gap-fill
You receive a written text of 150-200 words with ten gaps where a
task description single content word has been removed. For each gap, the task is to
choose the correct word from four options.
skills tested Vocabulary, meaning in context, collocations and phrasal verbs
When writing a letters, emails and other texts you often need to find the
real life link
correct word to express yourself clearly.
topic for task in
Levels of work satisfaction among women workers
this book
Unit 12: Business Etiquette and Ceremony

task name Grammar and vocabulary test, part 3: modified cloze
You receive a written text of 150-200 words with ten gaps where a
task description single grammar word has been removed. For each gap, the task is to
write in a correct word.
skills tested Grammatical structure and meaning in context.
When writing emails, letter and other texts, you need accurate
real life link
grammatical structures to ensure your meaning is clear.
topic for task in
Etiquette at a formal business dinner
this book

Mediation Units (13 –15)
Unit 13: Doing Business Abroad (incomplete)

task name Mediation test, part A1: dialogue
You hear a dialogue of six turns between two participants, a Hungarian
(speaking in Hungarian) and an English speaker (speaking in English).
task description One of the speakers may be an official working in the public sphere.
You write down the main points of the conversation in the opposite
language to the one you hear. Two examples are given.
skills tested Listening for key points and writing them down in another language.
real life link You may have to mediate speakers of Hungarian and English.
topic for task in
Doing business abroad
this book
Unit 14:
task name Mediation test, part B1: summary
You receive a text in English of 200-225 words, written in five
task description paragraphs. For each paragraph you are given three summaries written
in Hungarian. You must choose the most appropriate summary.
skills tested Reading for gist in English and choosing a summary in Hungarian.
You will often have to read long texts, but only have to understand
real life link
what the text is about and not for detailed information.
topic for task in
Professional associations and trade unions
this book
Unit 15:
task name Mediation test, part B2: letter
You receive a personal or semi-formal letter of about 80 words written
task description
in Hungarian. You have to translate the letter into English.
skills tested Translation from and to particular genres
real life link You may have to translate letters, emails and other documents
topic for task in
Work experience
this book
Speaking Units (16 – 19)
You are examined in pairs. There are two examiners: one an interlocutor, the other an assessor.
You have ten minutes before the test for preparing Task 2.
You may use printed (i.e. non-electronic) dictionaries.
Unit 16: Interviews at Work

task name speaking test, part 1: interview
The interlocutor will ask you one introductory question, and then two
questions on another topic. Topics include travel, work, family, sport,
task description
cinema, hobbies, education, relationships, housing, news and current
affairs and the environment.
skills tested Turn taking, language functions, detailed listening skills
real life link Interviews are common in the world of work; e.g. job interviews.
topic for task in Interviews are important. They involve preparation and communication
this book skills.

Unit 17: Business Profits

task name Speaking test, part 2: presentation
You receive a set of information (e.g. graphs, charts, figures) to be used
in the presentation. Before meeting the examiner, you have ten minutes
task description
to prepare. You may make notes in the preparation stage but should not
read aloud from a prepared script. (2 minutes)
You may have to give a presentation of your firms product or service,
skills tested
or you may give in-house presentations
You may have to give a presentation of your firms product or service,
real life link
or you may give in-house presentations
topic for task in Is all the behaviour of managers in firms directed towards the
this book maximisation of profits?
Unit 18: Status at Work

task name Speaking test, part 3: transactional dialogues
You receive a cue card. The card describes a situation, your role and
gives you an instruction. You speak, the interlocutor gives a scripted
task description
reply and then you respond to the reply. You will have three cue cards.
You and your partner will alternate in doing this task.
Understanding a situation, use of language functions, appropriateness of
skills tested
style and register
Being asked questions and responding to them effectively is a key skill
real life link
in business life
topic for task in
The language of power and inequality at work
this book
Unit 19: Expanding a Company

task name Speaking test, part 4: collaborative speaking
You receive a topic card which contains a debatable point or question,
(e.g. what are some of the problems of living in a foreign country?)
First you and your partner think of issues which answer the question or
task description
contribute to the debate. Then you discuss, expand on and prioritise
these issues. Task 4 is the only task in the speaking test where you talk
to your partner. (3 minutes)
skills tested turn-taking skills, negotiating, prioritising
You will have to negotiate and agree plans with others in your
real life link
professional life
topic for task in
The expansion of a software company
this book
The Common European Framework of Reference for languages and extra lesson
activities
Unit 20: EuroPro, the CEFR, and Extra Activities (incomplete)

CEFR criteria All skills plus grammar & vocabulary
Extra activities All skills plus grammar & vocabulary

Recurrent skills in the exam
While each exam task tests a particular language skill, sub-skill or aspect of the language
systems of English, there are three themes that permeate every exam task.
A Recognising and producing genre texts
Every text in the exam, be it receptive/productive or visual/aural, is written in a particular genre,

e.g. the genre of a letter of complaint, of a humorous narrative, of a joke, etc. Much is at stake
here. The candidate needs to be able to recognise genre for reading and listening and be able to
produce in the correct genre for speaking and writing. The following genre related issues will
arise repeatedly throughout the course and in the exam.
• What is the genre of the text?
• What is the purpose of the text?
• What information is, or should be, included?
• What is, or should be, the format and layout of the text?
• How is the information (to be) sequenced into paragraphs?
• What kind of language is appropriate for the text?
B Recognising lexical and grammatical words
The distinction between lexical and grammatical words is central not only to the grammar and
vocabulary tests, but is an important part of decoding texts in the receptive skills as well as
playing a role for the candidate in producing coherence and cohesion in the productive skills.
Lexical words have nominal, attributive or action roots, have meaning when standing alone and
their number is infinite. Let us examine this definition in a little more detail.
Nominal root words refer to things (e.g. stone, committee), attributes refer to qualities (e.g.
strong, beautiful), and action root words to actions (e.g. walk, hit). Though their root may be of
one kind, words can transform into other classes (e.g. strong, strength, to strengthen) All lexical
words, whether nominal, attributive or active at root, are capable of transformation into nouns
and possess a clear meaning when standing alone (e.g. stone, committee, strength, walk). The
number of lexical words in the language is potentially infinite; (i.e. lexical words form a
paradigmatic open set)
Grammatical words create reference and cohesion, largely lack meaning when standing alone
and are definite in number, They may also be distinguished negatively; i.e. as non-lexical
words. Let us examine this definition in a little more detail.
Reference words substitute one word for a word or phrase: i.e. pronomination, and/or relate the
text, either in part or in whole, to time and place: i.e. deixis. Cohesion is a more general concept
in which words connect different parts of the text. All reference words serve a cohesive
function. The major classes of grammatical words are listed below in non-exclusive categories:
• Pronouns: substitute for nominals (e.g. she, their, whose, those) and thus create either intra
or extra-textual reference.
• Prepositions front phrases with either adverbial (e.g. She lived in France) or adjectival
(e.g. the book on the table) force. Dependent prepositions indicate nominals connected to
the headword (e.g. She listened to John, to bet on horses)
• Discourse markers are supra-sentential and relate one part of the text to another (e.g.
however, consequently)
• Conjunctions syntactically link words, phrases, clauses, (e.g. and, but, although,)

• Determiners qualify nominal phrases: articles for definiteness (e.g. a, the), and quantifiers
(e.g. some, all)
• Reference adverbials: these contain a pronominal function (e.g. there/in that place, now/at
this time, likewise/in that way), or a pure relational function (e.g. more coffee)
• Adverbial particles indicate the perfective aspect (e.g. to tidy up) or are components in
phrasal verbs (e.g. to put up with)
• Auxiliaries indicate time and aspect (e.g. is, was, has does).
• Modals establish the mood of a clause (e.g. should, could, might).
Grammatical words are often called functional words because they bind with lexical words to
form propositional meaning and textual coherence. Grammatical words cannot be transformed
into nouns (being and having excepted) and have little meaning when standing alone. The
number of grammatical words is fixed in the language; (i.e. grammatical words form a
paradigmatic closed set)
C Using top-down decoding
For every receptive task the issue of top-down decoding is necessarily applicable. The skill
requires the reader/listener to establish as a first step the topic and genre of the text, which is
achieved by looking at the task title and any appended picture and then skim reading the whole
text by concentrating on the lexical words. Having established the topic and genre the candidate
needs to call up his/her knowledge of the topic and genre. In this way the candidate establishes
an outline meaning of the whole text, which then becomes a tool for determining detailed and
specific meaning within the text.
Top-down methodology is doubly important: first, as a tool for organising the staging of
receptive lessons, and second, as a tool for candidates approaching tasks in the exam. Even
productive task units in the book do not escape its grip, as invariably any model speech or piece
of writing is introduced using a top-down decoding system.
In conclusion, a sound grasp of genre, recognising the distinction between lexical and
grammatical words and acknowledging the wide application of top-down decoding enable
teachers to prepare students for the EuroPro B2Exam. For students these skills make possible
their success in the exam.

Unit 1- Reading: Short texts Page 1
1 Organisation in the Workplace

In this unit you will…
• meet expressions about relationships and roles in the workplace
• read an article about ‘scientific management’
• write up the minutes of a meeting
A What makes a workplace efficient? Do you think your

workplace is efficient? What could be done to make your
workplace more efficient?
B What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box

mean?
prosperity, dividends, class, self-evident, to be coupled with, mutual relations,
identical, to modify, to begrudge, to be entitled to, a competitor.
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may need to adapt the word.
Mr Jenner, a free-market thinker, believes that it is _1_ that shareholders want large
_2_. He believes everyone is a _3_ in the market and thinks that nobody is _4_ to
anything from society, except the protection of their property. He doesn’t _5_
anybody their wealth, nor does he want to 6 the free market in any way.
D Look quickly at the text on the next page. How do you know it was written in the past?
E Look again at the text quickly. What was Taylor’s main message?
1 Efficiency is to the benefit of everybody
2 Employees should be made to work harder
3 Wage rates don’t reflect efficiency
F Summarise each paragraph in one sentence.
G Thinking and Writing Look at the opinion in the box below. In one continuous piece
of writing (not notes), contrast Arnie Fisher’s view with that of Frederick Taylor. Give
your opinion with reasons.
There is no doubt in my mind that the relationship between employers and workers is one of
conflicting interests. All profits for the bosses come from the workers who work in the
factories or organise production distribution and exchange in the offices. The bosses want the
highest profits for (themselves and) their shareholders, and the workers want the highest
wages for the well-being of their families. Because there are always many unemployed
people, the workers are in a difficult position. Only strong trade unions and left-wing
governments can help ordinary working people.
Arnie Fischer, United Workers Union.
H Before moving on, look at these words in Mr Bibby’s notebook and work out the
meaning.
to chat, to giggle, to stand in line, to duplicate, literacy, to monitor, crockery
Meeting language – real-life phrases

I’d like it noted in the minutes that…
I’d like to propose that…
On a point of clarification…

The Principles of Scientific the long term unless

Management it is accompanied by
prosperity for the
Frederick Taylor (1911) employee, and vice
versa. It is possible
(1) THE principal object of management to give the workman
should be to secure the maximum what he most wants
prosperity for the employer, coupled with high wages, and the
the maximum prosperity for each employer what he
employee. wants a low labour
cost.
(2) The words maximum prosperity are
used - in their broad sense - not just to (6) It is hoped that some at least of those
mean large dividends for the company or who do not sympathise with these views
owner. ‘Maximum prosperity’ also refers to may be led to modify their opinion. Those
the development of every branch of the employers whose attitude toward their
business to its highest state of excellence. workmen has been that of trying to get the
Efficiency helps prosperity to become largest amount of work out of them for the
permanent. smallest possible wages, should see that a
more liberal policy toward their men will
(3) In the same way, maximum prosperity pay them better. Those workmen who
for each employee means higher wages begrudge profit to their employers should
than are usually received by men of his realise that such profits are not against their
class. More importantly, however, it also interests. So, I suggest a change of opinion
means the development of each man to his from those workers who feel that all of the
state of maximum efficiency, so that he can fruits of their labour should belong to them.
do the highest grade of work for which his They are wrong to say that the capital
natural abilities fit him. Maximum invested in the business should yield little
prosperity also requires giving that man, or nothing; they should be led to modify
whenever possible, this type of work to do. these views.
(4) It would seem to be so self-evident that (7) No one can be found who will deny that
maximum prosperity for the employer, in the case of any single individual the
coupled with maximum prosperity for the greatest prosperity can exist only when that
employee, ought to be the two leading individual has reached his highest state of
objects of management, that even to state efficiency; that is, when he is turning out
this fact should be unnecessary. And yet his largest daily output.
there is no question that, throughout the
industrial world, a large part of the (8) The truth of this fact is also perfectly
organisation of employers – as well as clear in the case of two men working
employees – is for war rather than for together. To illustrate: you and your
peace. It is sadly the case that perhaps the workman have become so skilful that you
majority on either side do not believe that it and he together are making two pairs of
is possible so to arrange their mutual shoes in a day, while your competitor and
relations, that their interests become his workman are making only one pair. It is
identical. clear that after selling your two pairs of
shoes, you can pay your workman much
(5) The majority of these men believe that higher wages than your competitor – who
the fundamental interests of employees and produces only one pair of shoes – is able to
employers are necessarily opposed. pay his man. There will still be enough
Scientific management, on the contrary, has money left over for you to have a larger
for its very foundation the firm conviction profit than your competitor.
that the true interests of the two are the
same. Additionally, we believe that
prosperity for the employer cannot exist in

Exam Skills
A Mr. Bibby is a partner in a leading firm of management consultants. There are a number
of things which annoy him around the office, some of which he has made notes about.
What is annoying him in each case?
Mr. Bibby’s Notebook
1. All this chatting in the corridors, and endless giggling from the
young female trainees.
2. Look at these documents. Did these trainees ever go to school!
3. I nearly cut my lip when drinking my coffee this morning.
4. Look at this dust everywhere in my room.
5. I don’t expect to queue when I need a duplicate of a document.
6. It’s ridiculous my having to wear a jacket indoors in winter.
7. The selection is so bad, I feel quite sick when I look at it.
Exam tip: all the notes are on a related topic and take place in one location. Make sure
you know place, topic and gist of the notes.
B Here is an agenda for the firm’s monthly meeting. Match the agenda items with Mr
Bibby’s complaints above. Which item do you not need?
a New photocopier
b Control the work done by cleaner
c Renew the office furniture
d Include literacy test in recruitment process
e Office manager to monitor employee behaviour
f Change lunchtime sandwich delivery service
g Call the heating engineers
h Reserve special crockery for the senior partners.
Exam tip: in the exam there are two ‘titles’ which you don’t need. When you find the
unnecessary titles check that they do not apply to any of the notes.
C. Miss Gold, the office manager, has written the minutes of the meeting. Here is her
report for item a.
Mr Bibby noted that the photocopying of documents took over five minutes
because of the formation of a queue at the photocopier. The firm believes that this
constitutes an inefficient use of work time, so resolved to purchase another
photocopier.
N.B.: Miss Gold (i) notes the facts, (ii) states the policy of the firm (i.e. believes that),
and (iii) finally states what the meeting resolved. Write up the minutes of the meeting
for the other issues on the agenda. When you have finished, read each item (without the
heading) to a partner, who tries to guess the heading. Finally, check each other’s work.
Exam tip: the titles are designed to mislead you. You should work out the exact
relationship between the notes and the title.

Exam Practice: Software Company in Dire Straits
A Imagine a poorly organised computer software company. What

can go wrong in the following?
• bad workmanship
• untidiness
• staff parking
• staff clothing
• music and noise
B How would a manager, scientific officer, factory-floor supervisor and hourly-paid
packer look at these problems?
C Look at the comments by workers in the first box (A-H). What are they talking about?
Do their opinions seem reasonable?
D Mr Grice, the managing director, is dissatisfied with several aspects of his company,
and has listed in the second box (1-5) some points for discussion by company workers.
Match these with the workers’ comments. There are two comments you do not need.
A ‘It’s all very well for them to talk like that, but they should install air-conditioning
in the office.’ Sally, typist.
B ‘It’s boring enough working in the factory all day, and the machinery is so loud, so
we have little choice. They should meet elsewhere.’ Terry, factory worker
C ‘It’s not our fault at all, Often the foreman’s late and even he can’t start it for
mechanical reasons.’ Emma, factory worker. EXAMPLE
D ‘If you’re a smoker, you haven’t much choice, have you?’ Becky, clerical assistant
E ‘Well that’s rich, as I’ve never managed to get in at all. It’s the bosses who arrive
first and block the entrance to the building.’ Stephen, factory foreman
F ‘Well, as far as I’m concerned the whole problem is that they’re not prepared to pay
for the office to be cleaned. It’s really basic.’ Lisa, secretary
G ‘Holiday’s are important, and they’ll just have to learn to accept that.’ Deirdre,
photocopying assistant.
H The problem is they always buy the cheapest they can get. Most of what they’re
buying is rubbish and you can’t work with it.’ Gary, factory worker.
To all company employees:

Please take note of the following points, and bring any comments to the Works Council
meeting on Thursday, 7 May.
Ex Staff are insufficiently punctual. Often the assembly line starts up to twenty minutes late.
As a result, production is down by over 10 per cent. (The Answer is C)
1. Over 20 per cent of our manufactured products are defective in some way. While some
of this is undoubtedly due to poor workmanship on the assembly line, much of the
problem lies with the poor quality of what we purchase.
2. The office area is unnecessarily dirty. Plastic cups from the coffee machine litter every
available space. All of this serves to make a very poor impression on visitors to the
company and has an adverse effect on profits.
3. The parking situation needs immediate attention. There are no markings in the car park,
so space is not used rationally. The extensive practice of double parking means that
early arrivals are blocked in. Often it is hard to reach the front entrance.
4. Staff appearance has also become a major source of concern. In summer office staff
have taken to wearing tee-shirts, shorts and sandals. While this may be fine on the
factory floor for certain jobs, in the office it has the effect of conveying an
unprofessional image.
5 There is no objection to music on the factory floor, but the volume of this music has
become a matter of serious concern. Office meetings have been made impossible
because of the noise.

Unit 1: Organisation in the Workplace
(p. 1) C 1. self-evident, 2. dividends, 3. competitor, 4. entitled, 5. begrudge, 6. modify
(p. 1) D the photograph / language, e.g. gender specific language (e.g. workman, etc.)
(p. 1) E No. 1. ‘Efficiency is to the benefit of everybody.’
(p. 1) F 1. Prosperity should be maximized for everybody, 2. ‘Maximum prosperity’ means the
highest development of business, 3. Efficient use of labour means high wages, 4. Not everyone
can see that prosperity for everyone is a good aim., 5. Managers and workers have the same
basic interest, 6. Both employers and employees should modify their views, 7. Individual
prosperity is based on individual efficiency, 8. Efficiency leads to higher profits which can be
shared.
(p. 3) B 1e, 2d, 3h, 4b, 5a, 6g, 7f. Agenda item c does not correspond to any of Mr Bibby’s
notes.
(p. 4) D 1H, 2F, 3E, 4A, 5B

Unit 2 - Reading: Paragraph headings Page 1
2 The Restructuring of Business

• meet words and expressions about losing your job.
• read an article about redundancy rules.
• learn to write and practise writing organised paragraphs.
A Have you (or somebody you know well) changed jobs? Why did
you/he/she do it? If you did, was it easy to do?
B What does to be made redundant mean? Who of the following are

more likely to be made redundant? Why?
• a policeman
• a teacher
• a factory worker
C Have you ever been made redundant, or do you know anyone who has been? How do
people feel when they have been made redundant?
D What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?
collective redundancy, a civil servant, a fixed term contract, to dismiss a worker, a

plant, to consult, to notify, a threshold, an obligation, an unfair dismissal claim,
collective bargaining, a shop steward, a representative, an establishment, a statute,
to mitigate,
E For all the verbs in the vocabulary box, write the derived nouns, e.g. to consult /
consultation.
F Find the word or expression in the box above which fits these definitions:
• a factory
• to reduce the negative effect of something
• a person who speaks for somebody else
• when a group of workers negotiate together
• to tell somebody else some new information
G Look at the article written by Professor Otto Slovo. Where might you find this article?
How do you know?
H There are twelve paragraphs in the article. Half the class should write headings for or
briefly describe the purposes of paragraphs 1,3,5,7,9 and 11; the other half should do
the same for the remaining paragraphs. Discuss the headings in class.
I You have a friend, Sara, who is about to be made redundant. Write her a letter,
informing her of her rights. Use the information in the article to help you. (100 – 150
words)
Formal notification – real-life phrases

I hereby give notice that…
I am writing on behalf of…
I regret to inform you that…

employer must inform and consult other

What are your rights if you appropriate representatives of those workers.
are made redundant? These may be either existing representatives, or
new ones specially elected for the purpose. It is
Professor Otto Slovo provides some the employer’s responsibility to ensure that
guidelines consultation is offered to appropriate
(1) Generally speaking, people can be made representatives.
redundant in two situations. One is when some (8) In non-union cases, where affected workers
of the workers are no longer needed; the other is fail to elect representatives – having had a
when a business is closing down, so all the genuine opportunity to do so – the employer
workers have to go. In both cases the law is concerned may fulfil their obligations by
pretty much the same. The only difference in providing relevant information to those workers
law is whether or not there is a collective directly.
redundancy.
(9) The employer must begin the process of
(2) Redundancy law covers most people except consultation in good time (and in any event at
the military, the police and some civil servants. least thirty days before the first of the dismissals
The only class of workers who have no rights takes effect) in a case where between twenty
under redundancy law are people on fixed-term and ninety-nine redundancy dismissals are
contracts of less than three months. proposed at one establishment within a ninety-
(3) A collective redundancy situation arises day period. A ninety-day period must be
where an employer proposes to make twenty or allowed for before the first of the dismissals
more workers redundant within a ninety-day takes effect in a case where one hundred or
period. This means dismissal for a reason more redundancy dismissals are proposed at one
unrelated to the individual workers concerned. establishment within a ninety day period.
This might occur, for example, when a business (10) Before the consultation, the employer must
or plant closes down, or when an employer no provide the following information in writing:
longer needs as many workers to carry out a
particular task. • the reasons for the proposals;
• the numbers and descriptions of
(4) There are a number of requirements which workers it is proposed to dismiss as
fall on employers in all cases. An employer is redundant;
required to inform and consult trade unions or • the total number of workers of any
other representatives of workers who are being such description employed by the
collectively made redundant. The employer is employer at the establishment in
also required to notify the Ministry for Industry question;
of the proposed dismissals. • the proposed method of selecting the
(5) Employers are under no specific legal workers who may be dismissed;
obligation to inform and consult workers’ • the proposed method of carrying out
representatives in cases falling below the the dismissals, taking account of any
twenty-redundancy threshold. They may, agreed procedure, including the period
however, be at risk from successful unfair over which the dismissals are to take
dismissal claims if they fail to inform and effect;
consult individual workers who are to be • the proposed method of calculating any
dismissed. redundancy payments –, other than
those required by statute – that the
(6) When workers who may be affected by the employer proposes to make.
proposed redundancy action are represented by
a trade union recognised for collective (11) The consultation is to include ways of
bargaining purposes, the employer must inform avoiding the redundancy situation or dismissals,
and consult an authorised official of that union. or of reducing the number of dismissals
This may be a shop steward or a district union involved and mitigating the effects of the
official or a national or regional official. The dismissals. The legislation does not require
employer is not required to inform and consult agreement to be reached, but the employer must
any other worker representatives in such consult in good faith with a view to reaching
circumstances, but may do so voluntarily if agreement.
desired. A trade union may be recognised for (12) I hope this brief set of guidelines will make
one group of workers, but not for another. the situation clearer for workers.
(7) Where there are workers who may be
affected by the proposed redundancies, the

Working with gist – paragraph building
A Look at the paragraph below. Give the paragraph a title.

Can you find the topic easily?
Where is it in the text? What is the structure of the
paragraph?
Redundancy can be the result of several causes. First,

a whole factory may be unprofitable and the bosses
decide to close it, so everybody loses his or her job. A
second cause of redundancy is when a business
‘downsizes’ and decides it needs fewer workers.
Thirdly, new investment in machinery can lead to a
reduction in the workforce.
Exam tip: The topic of a paragraph can often be in the first sentence. Sometimes the
paragraph title is only a re-wording and/ or summary of that first sentence.
B Look at the paragraph below and give it a title. Can you find the topic easily? What is
the structure of the paragraph?
One hundred years ago there were no laws protecting workers in the event of
redundancy. Most manual workers had only a daily contract and could be dismissed
with only a few hours notice. Redundancy rights didn’t come easily; trade unions
had to struggle hard for the law to be changed. Today, under the pressure of
globalisation, workers rights are again being threatened.
Exam tip: some paragraphs are organised chronologically. The gist is a summary of
the history.
C. Look at the information below. Work out the topic of the paragraph and then write and
organise it into a coherent paragraph.
• More than 20 workers = collective redundancy (in 90 days)

• Inform the trade union (if there is one) if collective redundancy situation.
• If only one person made redundant, then possibility of unfair dismissal.
• If no trade union, then inform workers individually.
• Redundancy applies to everybody with more than 3-month contract.
Exam Tip: in the exam, you won’t find the sentences of a paragraph ‘thrown down’ in a
disorganised manner, so let the structure of the paragraph help you.
All the highlighted words in the paragraph below make sense by joining the sentences
and sentence parts to make meaning. Explain to what each highlighted word is
connected. What is the connection doing?
DISCOURSE – connectors / reference

Danny Noble only spent one day, Monday 3rd February, working in the shoe factory.
He went in at nine that morning, one hour late, and was given a job putting the
shoes into boxes. That afternoon the closure of the factory was announced.
Consequently, he was told that that he had no job from the following day. In
addition, as he had only worked one day, he was not entitled to any redundancy
benefits.

Exam Task: Ice Cream Factory Goes to the Wall

A Why do factories close down? What are the main reasons?
• production is too expensive
• we buy things from China these days
• wages are too high
• factories pollute the environment
B What are the social effects of factory closures?
C What do the following mean?
proletariat, monopoly, to plummet, to exploit, diversification, streamlining, a depressed
area, to fall on deaf ears
D Read the article. Why did Kenning’s ice cream factory close.
E Find a title in the box for the paragraphs below.
A
B
BAD PUBLICITY
THE DOMINO EFFECT Last lick of
C ADVICE FALLING ON DEAF EARS
D
E
ORGANISING A STRIKE
FALLING SALES
Kenning’s ice
F
G
CHANGES AT THE COMPANY
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
cream
H REDUNDANCIES
I EARLY HISTORY OF THE FIRM - Saul Denman reports on the closure of a
EXAMPLE historic icon of English ice cream.
0 The Industrial Revolution created a proletariat, and the proletariat liked to eat ice cream.
Capitalising on that trend, and to service the urbanised and industrial Midlands, Isaac
Coupland opened an ice-cream factory in Meckham in the 19th century, which was sold on to
the Kenning family at the turn of the century. (Title I)
1 From the 1930s onwards Kennings operated a fleet of yellow ice-cream vans which played a
catchy ragtime tune to attract customers. In the 1950s Jack Kenning himself appeared on cinema
advertisements eating an ice cream the size of a football. In the area the Kenning family had a
virtual monopoly, and cleverly exploited it.
2 The 1950s were the heyday for Kennings, but sales have declined or plummeted on a yearly
basis since then (depending on the year). In a 1985 interview Jack Kenning said, ‘It’s all that
foreign ice cream. The government ought to ban it to help people like me. We’ve never thought
of selling our ice cream in Italy, so why should they sell theirs here?’
3 Hector Jenner, a leading management consultant who worked with the company in the 1980s,
thinks otherwise. ‘As I always told them, if you have a product that isn’t selling, you’ve got
some important questions to answer. In their case, diversification and streamlining was the
answer. You can’t go on only making just two flavours of poor quality ice cream. Yet that’s
exactly what they did.’
4 In the mid-nineties Consumer Review produced a damning report. Of all the ice creams on the
market, Kennings came bottom, and a majority of respondents actually said that the ice cream
had a horrible chemical taste. All of this came on top of a Health and Safety Inspectors’ report
which stated that the standard of hygiene in the factory fell below legal requirements.
5 So next month the factory will close, and Kennings ice-cream will be licked no more. John
Pizzy, one of forty employees, will be joining an ever-growing dole queue in the area.
Employment prospects are grim. ‘I’ve spent twenty-two years packing ice cream in that darn
factory. What is there for me? It’s OK for Kenning, who’ll retire on a big pension. But what
about us, the workers?’
6 The area around Meckham has been officially described in a government report as
‘depressed’. The industrial base in the area has taken several blows recently, with a string of
factory closures adversely affecting consumer purchasing power and house prices.

Unit 2: The Restructuring of Business
(p. 1) E to dismiss / a dismissal, to consult / a consultation, to notify / a notification, to

mitigate / a mitigation
(p. 1) F a factory / a plant; to reduce the negative effects of something/ to mitigate;

someone who speaks for somebody else / a representative; when a group of
workers negotiate together / collective bargaining; to tell somebody else new
information / to notify
(p. 1) G It is from a trade union magazine or a workers’ advice centre. We know this
because the article is addressed to employees.
(p. 1) H 1. the situations in which redundancy arises, 2. who is covered by redundancy

law, 3. collective redundancy, 4. employer requirements in cases of collective
redundancy, 5. as ‘4’ but for making fewer than twenty workers redundant,
6. consultation with workers’ representatives, 7. wider consultation, 8. what
happens when there are no workers’ representatives, 9. when consultation must
start, 10. information to provide before consultation, 11. the aim of the
consultation, 12. purpose of the text.
(p. 3) A Suggested title: The causes of redundancy. The topic sentence is the first. The
paragraph then goes on to give instances of the topic.
(p. 3) B Suggested title: The history of workers’ redundancy rights. The paragraph is
organised chronologically.
(p. 3) C Suggested title: Employers’ duties in the event of redundancy
(p. 3) DISCOURSE: ‘in’ refers to ‘into the shoe factory’ in the previous sentence;
‘the’ in ‘the shoes’ refers to the shoes the factory produces implied in the
previous sentence; ‘that’ in ‘That afternoon’ refers to the afternoon of Monday
3rd February in the first sentence; ‘the’ in ‘the factory’ refers to the shoe factory;
‘Consequently’ means that the whole previous sentence is the reason for the
sentence; ‘In addition’ establishes that the current sentence is additional
information to the previous sentence(s).
(p. 4) B unemployment, poverty, low spending power, the knock-on effect on other
companies (e.g. suppliers go out of business, workers can’t buy products for
themselves), social breakdown
(p.4) D They produced a single low quality product and faced competition from
elsewhere.
(p. 4) E 1G, 2E, 3C, 4A, 5H, 6B

Unit 3 - Reading: Scan reading Page 1
3 The Private Lives of Business People

• meet words and expressions about meetings.
• read the rules and constitution of an organisation.
• learn the structure of a meeting agenda.
A Are you a member of any clubs (e.g. a tennis club)? What are the rules? How much do
you have to pay?
B Match words from the vocabulary box in section C with the following definitions:
1. the head of a club
2. s/he looks after the club money
3. a group of people elected to make decisions
4. a document showing money coming in and going out
5. a change to the rules
C What do the other words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?
to be eligible for, to exceed, a chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, an annual general meeting

(AGM), a committee, to expel, an obligation, to cease, conduct, to deem something, to be,
to audit, a balance sheet, to submit a document, premises, to be liable for s.th., on behalf of,
a debt, to sue, an amendment, to convene, to vest in somebody or something.
D Find a word or expression from the vocabulary box to fit each gap.
(You may have to alter the words or expressions slightly.)
Mr Bibby is _1_ of the club and keeps order at meetings. He is helped by the _2_ and the
_3_ as well as the members of the _4_. Last week Mr Bibby voted to _5_ a member from the
club at a general meeting he had _6_ for that purpose. The _7_ of the member had been
unsatisfactory. Mr Bibby is _8_ for club _9_, which if not paid could lead to his being _10_
in court.
E Look quickly at the club constitution on the next page and answer this question: Is the
Businessmen’s Circle easy to join? Why (not)?
F Are these statements true, false or not stated? If they are incorrect, correct them.
1. One purpose of the club is to provide its members with education.

2. At present the club contains 60 members.
3. The officers of the club are elected annually.
4. The management committee of the club controls the property.
5. A new member must be approved by the chairman.
6. The management committee can change the membership fee.
7. A member who has resigned has no further obligations to the club.
8. Nobody can go to the club in the morning.
9. The accounts are audited by the treasurer.
10. Changing the constitution is only allowed if all the members agree.
G Find three paragraphs in the constitution of the club which you disagree with. What is
wrong? Pool your ideas and vote as a class on changes to be made.
H Re-write the club constitution with the necessary changes.
Meeting talk – real-life phrases
May I call the meeting to order!
I declare the motion carried/defeated.
I’d like to put…to a vote.
Constitution
1. The club shall be called ‘The 10. A member may tender his resignation in
Businessmen’s Circle’. writing at any time, but shall remain
liable for any obligations incurred by
2. The aim of the club is to provide the
him while he was a member. After
members of the club with a common
resignation he shall cease to have any
meeting place, for the purposes of
interest in the property of the club or
recreation, entertainment and discussion.
exercise any rights in the club.
3. Only businessmen earning over EUR
11. If the conduct of any member shall – in
20,000 a month shall be eligible to be
the opinion of the committee or of any
members of the club.
ten members of the club – be deemed
4. The total number of members of the injurious to the club, a specially
club shall not exceed fifty, unless in a convened general meeting of the club
special general meeting this number is may expel that member with a three
altered by a three-quarters majority of quarters majority of those who vote.
the members present.
12. The club shall be open to its members
5. The chairman, secretary and treasurer between 18.00 and 5.00 seven days a
shall be elected for one year at the week, unless otherwise determined at a
Annual General Meeting of the club, to special general meeting. Any member of
be held in the month of April each year, the committee (including the chairman,
or as early as possible thereafter. secretary and the treasurer) shall
6. There shall be a management committee however be entitled to visit the club
consisting of seven members in addition premises at any hour.
to the chairman, secretary and treasurer. 13. The accounts shall be audited annually,
The three longest serving members of and the annual balance sheet shall be
the committee shall retire each year, and submitted to the members at least
their replacements shall be elected at the fourteen days before the Annual General
Annual General Meeting. Meeting.
7. The property of the club shall be vested 14. A member shall be entitled to invite not
in the management committee, and in more than two guests onto the club
the event of any members of the premises at any one time, but such
committee dying, being expelled or guests shall not be entitled to be present
otherwise being incapable of carrying at any general meeting. The names of
out their duties, the property shall be invited guests shall be written into the
vested in the remaining members. guest book.
8. A new member of the club must be 15. A member shall not be personally liable
proposed by five existing club members, for goods supplied to, or any obligation
and then must be approved by the incurred by, any officer of the club on
management committee. behalf of the club, but the property of
9. Each member shall pay a monthly the club may be demanded in settlement
subscription of EUR 500, which is of debts. The management committee
subject to alteration at an Annual shall be entitled to sue, and be liable to
General Meeting, provided at least be sued in the name of the club.
three-quarters of the members present 16. Amendments to this constitution may
vote for such an alteration. only be made by a majority of three-
quarters of the members present at a
general meeting specially convened for
the purpose of its amendment.

Exam skills
A What is the difference between the reading sub-skills skimming and scanning? When
scanning, which is better (i) reading the statements first, or (ii) reading the text first?
Exam Tip: it is important to know what ‘scan reading’ is and how to do it.
B The following are items on an agenda. What do they mean? In what order would you
expect to find them? If you don’t know, put the agenda items in a logical order.
A Any other business

B Approval of minutes
C Approval of new members
D Chairman’s opening address
E Minutes of previous meeting
F Resolutions
G Secretary’s report
H Time and date of next meeting
I Treasurer’s report
J Matters arising from the minutes (easily confused with E)
Exam Tip: when you are asked to find items in a text, read all the items, as it will tell you a
lot about the content of that text.
C On the next page is the agenda of a meeting of the Businessmen’s Circle. Under which item
are each of the following relevant?
a Only small items of business should be raised here.

b A proposed change to behaviour in the club.
c The secretary talks about another meeting
d A financial discussion
e A non-controversial part of the meeting to be enjoyed
f Fifty per cent of the members need to agree
g Five people have put forward a proposal
h Changing regular meeting times
i Members are asked to do some homework
Exam Tip: it is important to understand the structure of a text. Use your background
knowledge and skim read before you scan.
Supplementary Task
Divide into two groups with at least three people in each group. Each group should prepare
seven questions about the Businessmen’s Club (from the constitution and the agenda). Test
the other group with your questions. The other group has only thirty seconds to look at the
material before answering.

Dear Members,
I enclose the agenda for next month’s management committee meeting, to be held in the
meeting room at the club on Thursday 17th of next month.
1. Chairman’s opening address

Mr Bibby’s short opening address will be: ‘Being a businessman: a pleasure or a burden?’ It
is very much hoped that members will come on time for the meeting and not miss this short
but pertinent speech.
2. Minutes of previous meeting

The minutes are attached to this agenda. Mr D. Styn has raised an issue over the accuracy of
the recording of the discussion under Item 7 of last month’s meeting.
3. Approval of minutes
You are reminded that a simple majority of members is sufficient to approve the minutes of
the previous meeting. I note this to answer a point raised in a letter to me by Mr S Guth.
4. Matters arising from the minutes

Members are reminded that under this heading only issues directly related to the minutes of
the previous meeting may be discussed.
5. Secretary’s report
My report is attached to this agenda. Please note that I have attached a list of possible other
times and dates on which to hold this meeting.
6. Treasurer’s Report
Mr Rene’s report is attached to this agenda. He anticipates a major discussion on the cash
flow account, which is now overdrawn by EUR 50,000. Please make yourself fully
conversant with the report before the meeting.
7. Approval of new members

Mr C. Reninson has been proposed as a new member by Messrs R. Wilf, K. Hent, P. Rene,
F. Relf and V. Aspad.
8. Resolutions
One resolution has been submitted to the meeting, proposed by Mr Wilf and seconded by
Mr Aspad: ‘The main lounge should be a no smoking area.’
9. Any other business

Please do not raise any major matters under this section. It is helpful if the secretary is
notified of major issues before the meeting, so they can be included on the agenda.
10. Time and date of next meeting

According to the standing orders, unless otherwise agreed.
E. Meredith (Secretary)
Enc. Minutes of previous meeting

Report of the Secretary
Report of the Treasurer

Exam Practice: Waking Up

A Do the task by finding the information below in texts A, B,C or D.. Underline the
information in text which gives you the answer.
B Summarise the characters of the four people. Whose character is most likely to create a
successful businessperson? Why?
Example: This person thinks it odd that

journalists cover this topic – text A
Wake up, it’s
morning
1 S/he is driven to work.
2 S/he uses public transport for Most of us know the feeling of rushing to
environmental reasons. work in the morning. But what is it really like
3 S/he is not in a good mood in the for other people? Every day this week you will
morning. read about four people in the town. Series
4 S/he has academic interests. editor, Saul Denman.
5 S/he drives him/herself to work.
6 S/he has few visitors. (A) Miss Rebecca Gold Oh
7 S/he tidies her/his house dear, I thought, when I was
him/herself. asked to write this piece – what
strange questions journalists ask
and what strange things people
are interested in these days. I’m an office manager, so keeping things tidy at work is very
important and, although I live alone, I try to keep everything in order at home too. Well, my
little alarm clock goes off at 6.30, and I get up and go to the bathroom. Now, as my mother
taught me, I always fold my night clothes and make my bed. Although other people hardly ever
come into my little house, I still feel it is important to be tidy and live properly. Breakfast is a
simple affair, consisting of tea, toast and jam – a delicious plum and apple jam made by Miss
Pinkerton from my church group. Now, going to work is a bit of a jolly old trek, as I can’t drive
– as my late father once said, ‘Who would ever trust you behind the wheel of a car?’ So, it’s the
bus for me. I normally arrive at about 8.30, before most people arrive at 9.00.
(B) Mr Ralph Bibby To be perfectly honest, I am usually more irritable in

the morning than at any other time during the day. At work, as a senior
management consultant with clients to meet, I can’t always show my irritation
with things. I’m not a married man, and I am alone, unless I have a friend
staying over. The alarm goes off at 7.30 most mornings, but I usually get up
around eight. After washing and dressing, my coffee and chocolate croissants
are uppermost in my mind. I am very particular about how my coffee is made –
not too strong or too weak. For the last couple of years I’ve had a fellow who comes in at 7.45
with fresh croissants, and he makes my breakfast. He also does the cleaning after I’ve left for
work – I need order and cleanliness, but the sound of the vacuum cleaner – well I couldn’t
tolerate that. I have a driving licence, but I don’t drive to work – I just simply haven’t the
patience. My taxi comes at 8.45.
(C) Mr Hector Jenner My approach to the morning is to get what needs

to be done completed as efficiently as possible. I am a senior management
consultant, and I believe that if I can’t organise my own affairs, then who am
I to make recommendations to others? Our alarm goes off at 6.00 and both
my wife Sarah and I get up promptly. I immediately go to the gym we have
in our house for a twenty-minute workout. For several years now we have
adopted the practice of laying the breakfast table before we go to bed. We

have a simple breakfast of toast, jam, cereal and tea. We live some distance from the town, so I
need thirty minutes to drive to work. Sarah, who is an accountant, has her own car and usually
leaves twenty-three minutes after me. She tends to wait to let Mrs Hardie, the cleaner, into the
house. I am normally the first to arrive at the office at 7.30, and I like to be well underway with
my work by 7.35. My father used to say, ‘Don’t waste the morning, and you won’t waste the
day’.
(D) Mr Arnie Fischer In the last few years I have had problems sleeping. I
am the regional secretary for the United Workers Union, and my work follows
irregular hours, with meetings often going on into the small hours. But even if I
don’t get to bed until one, I am up at 5.30 or so. My wife Barbara, who is
partially disabled, sleeps on till eight. I call the period until eight my ‘quiet
time’, when I go downstairs and read. I’ve recently finished a major work on the
philosopher, Kant. I make a simple breakfast for myself and Barbara – coffee,
rolls and cheese – and we usually have it on Barbara’s bedside table. I used to
drive to work, but in view of the early morning congestion in the town, I decided my conscience
required me to do my bit and go by tram. I usually get to my office at about 9.00, and there’s so
much to do I don’t know where to start.
C Look at the five quotations below. Look at the personalities above and decide who you
think might have said them? How true do you think these sayings are?
1 ‘Money makes the world go round.’

2 ‘The workers united will never be defeated; the problem is they’re not
united.’
3 ‘The market knows no morality, and I believe in the market.’
4 ‘Principles – what I want to know is their buying and selling price.’
5 ‘Business knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.’
Short Story
A wealthy businessman returned from work one day to find his three-year-old son
standing on the stairs.
‘Why are you standing there, son?’ the father asked.
‘I’m afraid to jump,’ replied the boy.
‘Don’t worry,’ his father reassured him. ‘Jump, and I’ll catch you.’
More confident now, the little boy jumped, but his father made no attempt to
catch him. He fell onto the floor and bumped his head.
Through his tears he asked his father, ‘Dad, why were you so horrid to let me
fall?’
‘I’m not horrid,’ his father replied. ‘I’ve just taught you the most important
lesson in life: “Never trust anyone.”’

Unit 3: The Private Lives of Business People
(p. 1) B 1. the head of a club / chairman; 2. s/he looks after the club’s money / a
treasurer; 3. group of people elected to make decisions / a committee; 4. A
document showing money coming in and going out / a balance sheet; 5. A
change to the rules / an amendment
(p. 1) C Vocabulary
to be eligible for s.th. to have the right to apply for s.th

to exceed to go over the maximum
a chairman the head of an organisation/club
a secretary the officer in an organisation who carries out its
decisions
a treasurer the officer in a organisation who controls the
finances
an annual general meeting a yearly meeting which has special powers.
(AGM)
a committee a group of people who exercise power as a
group
to expel to throw s.b out of an organisation
an obligation something which must be done
to cease to stop
conduct behaviour
to deem s.th to be a person or an organisation holds s.th to be true,
irrespective of whether it is true or not
to audit to control the finances
a balance sheet an account sheet which shows income and
expenditure
to submit a document to officially give a document
premises a building (used legally)
to be liable for s.th the have to pay the costs or bills for s.th
on behalf of s.b. to do s.th for s.b else
a debt money that is owed to s.b else
to sue to take civil legal action
an amendment to make a change in the content of a motion
to convene to call a meeting
(p. 1) D 1. chairman, 2. secretary, 3. treasurer, 4. committee, 5. expel, 6. convened,

7. conduct, 8. liable, 9 debts, 10. sued
(p. 1) E The club is seemingly hard to join, as a new member needs to be proposed by
five existing members.
(p. 1) F 1. False, 2. False: the number of members cannot be over fifty, 3. True, 4. True,
5. False, 6. False, 7. False, 8. False: the officers and members of the committee
may visit the club in the morning, 9. Not stated (this is not in the text: accounts
are audited by an independent auditor), 10. False
(p. 3) A Skimming is fast reading the whole text for gist; scanning is fast reading to find
specific information. In a scanning task, students should read the information
sought before searching the text.

(p. 3) B 1D, 2E, 3B, 4J, 5G, 6I, 7C, 8F, 9A, 10H
(p. 3) C a 9, b 8, c 5, d 6, e 1, f 3, g 7, h 10, i 6
(p. 5) A 1B, 2D, 3B, 4D, 5C, 6A, 7A,
(p. 5) B Miss Gold (loyal, obedient), Mr Bibby (selfish, arrogant), Mr Jenner (direct,
organised), Mr Fischer (sensitive, intellectual) Mr Jenner would probably make
the most successful businessman.
(p. 6) C There is no right answer. Fischer (2 and 5), the most likely person to say the
others is Jenner.

Unit 4 - Reading: Multiple choice reading Page 1
4 Work-related Conflict
• meet words and expressions about strikes
• read an article about a strike
• practise detailed reading of a text
A What happens during a strike? What was the most famous strike
in your country? When are strikes justified?
B These words and expressions are about things which can happen
during or after a major strike. Match each word/expression to its definition
1 a ballot A To admit that you have lost a fight

When two sides directly oppose each other –
2 a picket B
sometimes violently
A striker who stands outside his/her
3 a breakaway party C workplace urging other workers not to break
the strike
When somebody secretly listens to your
4 a confrontation D
telephone calls
5 a historical re-enactment E When there is a vote
A political party which is created from a split
6 to concede defeat F
in an older one
When actors make a play out of a historical
7 Phone-tapping G
event
C Work with a partner. Invent a scenario/short story involving all of the items in the
vocabulary box above.
D What are the following, and what do they do?
a political activist, a renowned and fiery orator
E What do the following words and expressions mean?
to declare, local, national prominence, the polls, crucial, a tactical error, funds,
to seize, to concede defeat, to impoverish, hostile, to reveal, counter subversion
F Fill each gap with vocabulary items which you have met up to now in this unit.
Arnie Fischer, leader of the United Workers Union, is a _1_ and _2_ speaker. He
came to _3_ when he led a national strike some years ago. There were both _4_ and
national _5_ and a strike was _6_. He sent _7_ to talk to workers around the country,
and there were _8_ with the police. The government _9_ the _10_ of the trade union,
so the union had no money. The security service _11_ his phone.
G Look quickly at the article on the next page. Does the writer, Professor Otto Slovo,
generally support the miners?
H Summarise each paragraph of the main article in one sentence or in a title.
I Write a summary of the article in not more than 100 words.
J ‘The right to strike is a basic right.’ Do you agree? Write a list of reasons for your
opinion and discuss it with others in the class.
Reaching ‘breaking-point’ at work – real-life phrases
I’ve just about had enough of this…
That was the last straw!
Right. I’m walking!

Jack’s strike
Professor Otto Slovo outlines one the most famous strikes in Grenberg’s history,
the 1994 miners’ strike led by Jack Landau.
(1) In 1994, Northern Coal PLC announced that the Ministry of the Interior to bring the full
it would break an agreement reached with the weight of the law down on the striking miners
Grenberg’s miners in 1984; the company and the union. The union’s funds were seized on
intended to close twenty pits. Twenty thousand 24 October 1994. The miners received no wages
jobs would be lost, and many communities and were denied state benefits. The police were
around Grenberg would lose their primary source mobilised to deal with picket lines, on the
of employment. The stage was set for conflict. grounds that they represented illegal public
disturbances. The miners were also split, with a
(2) Strikes broke out across the area, but they minority – mostly in the villages to the south of
were strongest in those pits most heavily affected Grenberg – forming the anti-strike Union of
by the job losses. In the Meckham pit, strikes Democratic Grenberg Mineworkers.
began on 5 March following a local ballot, and
the following day pickets from Meckham (4) One of the most famous clashes of the
appeared at pits in the villages south of Grenberg Miners' Strike took place in Traunt, a small
(one of the areas least threatened by pit closures). village east of Grenberg on 18 June 1994. This
On 12 March 1994, Jack Landau – President of confrontation between striking miners and
the Mineworkers’ Union – declared the strikes Ministry of the Interior police became known as
official, and ordered a strike across the whole the Battle of Traunt. It was the subject of a
Grenberg coalfield. historical re-enactment for television in late
2005.
Jack Landau was born in
1938 in Meckham, just (5) The strike ended on 3 March 1995 – nearly a
north of Grenberg, the son year after it had begun – when Landau conceded
of Harold, a miner and defeat, faced as he was with an impoverished
member of the Communist membership and overwhelming state power.
Party. The young Landau
became a miner himself (6) Rueben Stein, head of the Ministry of the
after leaving school. He Interior’s secret service, published an
soon became a left-wing autobiography in late 2005. In this he revealed
political activist, joining the the extent of the service’s ‘counter-subversion’
Young Communist League, but later joined exercises against Landau and the striking miners,
the Social Democrats as the influence of the which included the tapping of trade union
Communist Party in the town waned. In leaders' phones.
1981 he was elected leader of the Meckham
miners, and in 2001 was elected President (7) The rights and wrongs of the strike and the
of Grenberg’s miners. behaviour of the state authorities still divide
Grenberg. Local management consultant, Hector
He is renowned as a fiery and effective Jenner, believes, ‘Defeating the miners, and
orator. He bitterly opposed the industrial thereby breaking the power of the trade unions in
policies of several governments, and rose to the area, was a great gain for business in the area.
national prominence during the 1994 I welcome it.’ But local councillor, Arnie
Grenberg miners' strike; defeat for the Fischer, points to the lasting divisions and high
miners in this strike was followed by a split in unemployment in Grenberg. ‘The tactics used by
the union. the government were a disgrace,’ says an angry
Councillor Fischer.
In December 1995 he founded the Socialist
Labour Party, after criticising what he saw as Prof. Otto Slovo lectures at the University of
a further move to the right by the Social Grenberg. His book, 2004 and the Grenberg
Democrats. His breakaway party has had Miners’ Strike will be published later this
little success in the polls. year.
(3) Crucially, although there was widespread

support for the strike amongst mine workers,
Landau did not call a ballot for the Grenberg-
wide action. This tactical error made it easier for

Exam Skills
A Read the following paragraph. Who do you think wrote it?
You need to get pickets at the factory gate to stop the workers going in. Often, to
make things more difficult, there is a real problem of getting the message through,
because most of the media is against the strike. Negotiators need to spend time with
management. Collecting money is important, as is getting the message across to the
public, who may be having difficulties because of the strike. Strikes are often harder
work than going to work.
B Which of the following is the best title for the above text?
• Strikes can be fun
• Organising a strike
• How to end a strike
C Think of further appropriate titles for the text. Debate with your partner which is the
best and why.
D Where is the topic sentence in the paragraph in A?
Exam tip: you need to read the text very quickly to work out what kind of text it is and
what it is about.
E Look at the following ‘sentence heads’: unfinished sentences which can be completed
by one of four multiple-choice options (here the multiple-choice options for each are
not shown), Work out the topic of the text.
The strikers threw stones because…

The police arrested the three women when…
Mary’s husband thought that…
The conflict became worse when Mary’s husband…
Exam tip: Reading all the sentence heads for the multiple-choice questions (not the
multiple-choice options) will tell you what the text is about.
F Look at the following question (without multiple-choice options), and work out in
which of the two following paragraphs the answer can be found. Why can’t the answer
be found in the other paragraph? Write a question which has its answer in the other
paragraph.
Why did Mr Fischer call a strike?
1 Conditions for workers in the whole region have been getting worse for several years now.
The number of houses built by the local council for ordinary working people has declined,
and little money has been put into education. Unemployment in the region has now passed
two million. Protest and unrest are now common.
2 At PKZ Engineering, where I represent over half the workers, conditions have actually
improved in the last year. A major order from Saudi Arabia boosted production, profits and
employment levels in the factory. In these circumstances I found it strange that the managing
director, Mr Grice, should choose to end the profit-sharing agreement worked out last year.
Exam tip: Read the questions and work out exactly the kind of answer required.

G Read the following paragraph, written by Arnie Fischer, and answer the multiple-
choice question. Give reasons for the correct answer and explain why the ‘distractors’
are incorrect.
The strike…
A was supported by all the members of the executive committee.

B received Mr Fischer’s vote.
C was supported by a majority of the members of the union.
D was opposed by a minority of those who voted.
‘Whether the strike would go ahead or not was not decided till the last minute.
The executive committee of the United Workers Union, of which I am
chairman, voted eight to four in favour of a strike, but then there had to be a
vote of all the workers. We sent out voting papers for a postal ballot, but less
than half the members returned the ballot papers. Of those who voted, 59%
voted for the strike, and the executive committee then endorsed the strike
seven to five.’
Exam tip: work out why the distractors are wrong before choosing the correct answer.
Extra Task
Read the pieces of speech below (1 to 6). Which of the following people (A to F) do you think
said each one?
A. Jack Landau – the miners’ union president
B. a police officer from the Ministry of the Interior
C. a miner on the picket line
D. the mayor of Grenberg
E. Rueben Stein – state security service
F. Hector Jenner – management consultant
(1) ‘We were running like hell. Mrs Green at number 47 opened her front door. We thought
we were OK, but then the whole door was knocked in.’
(2) ‘Well, we have people everywhere. We have a unit at the telephone exchange, and of
course we get information from the odd miner – but we pay “under the table” for that.
Then we have people in the media.’
(3) ‘We get our orders. We have shields and batons, of course. If we use gas, we need
masks.’
(4) ‘Trade unions get in the way of profit-making and the market. I welcome anything
which weakens their power.’
(5) ‘It’s not just a question of the miner’s jobs, but the whole community is dependent on
the mining industry.’
(6) ‘What is terrible is that all this is happening in the first place. We’ve already had two
deaths, and the effects will be felt in Grenberg for many years to come.’

Exam Practice: Everybody Out!
A When workers get angry with pay and conditions, what (apart from leave!) can they do?
B What do the following mean?
go slow, work-to-rule, industrial dispute, line manager, negotiation, non-contractual

work,
C Which forms of industrial action are most successful and why?
D Read the following letter from Arnie Fischer. Why is he writing?
E Do the task.
Dear Colleague,
You will by now be in receipt of the letter from Regional Office, outlining the latest
revised view concerning the current pay dispute. It has come as some surprise to me,
as it is mistaken and is now superseded by this letter. To help you understand the
events leading up to the present situation, I will endeavour to explain them.
Last month the union decided that we would begin a work-to-rule protest. In other
words, we would only do what our contracts require of us and no more.
The ‘work-to-rule letters’ which all members were asked to send to their line
managers came to the attention of the company manager, Mr Edgar Grice. In
response, Mr Grice declared that he had withdrawn from negotiations, and wrote to
me indicating this, also questioning the legality of the branch taking industrial action
against the company. I contacted the Regional Officer to request direction from
national officers. Their immediate response was unequivocal: we were in dispute,
and the dispute was legal for the reason in the following paragraph.
The company was informed of the pay claim and the intention to ballot the
membership for strike action on 24 April 2003. No challenge was received. The
ballot was conducted following all legal requirements. I read this statement to Mr
Grice at the last industrial works council, and there was no protest made at the time.
Following a meeting of the regional committee of the United Workers Union on 9
May, the regional officer (Ms O’Brien) circulated a letter to members in this branch,
stating that the latest advice from National Office was that we would have to be
excluded from the action in November. I understood there was now some doubt over
our legal position, and that National Office did not want to risk the integrity of the
entire national ballot.
In consequence of the above, I must further advise you that this branch of the United
Workers Union and its members are in dispute with employers in pursuance of the
national pay claim. The industrial action on 5 November will proceed as originally
planned. The work-to-rule is also to proceed with immediate effect as part of the
national industrial action. This has consequences for all non-contractual work,
including the Open Day on 9 November. Advice regarding action on Open Day can
be viewed on the branch website.
Yours fraternally,
Arnie Fischer
United Workers Union, Branch Chair

1 This letter… 5 Ms O’Brien…

A comes from the Regional A wrote to the members of the
Office of the union. branch.
B is the first that members B opposed a national strike.
have heard of the industrial C ignored the advice of the
action. national officers.
C corrects an earlier letter. D believed the national ballot
D confirms an earlier letter. would have to be held
again.
2 The Union will ask its members…
6 The latest position is…
A to go on strike.
B to break their contract with A as Ms O’Brien described it.
their employers. B that the branch will not join
C to break company rules. the national industrial
D not to do any work not action.
specified in their contracts. C that the national union is not
in dispute.
3 Mr Grice… D that the branch will start a
‘work-to-rule’.
A refused throughout to
negotiate about the pay
7 Most of the letter is about…
claim.
B thinks a ‘work-to-rule’ isn’t A the history of the industrial
an industrial dispute. dispute.
C has told Mr Fischer that he B what members of the branch
has finished discussing the should do.
issue. C Ms O’Brien’s opinions.
D doesn’t know the details of D the national officers of the
the industrial dispute. United Workers Union.
4 About the ballot…

A Mr Grice questioned it from
the beginning.
B Mr Grice was given notice
of it.
C It was organised illegally.
D Mr Fischer and Mr Grice
discussed it before it was
held.

Unit 4: Work-related Conflict
(p.1) B 1E, 2C, 3F, 4B, 5G, 6A, 7D
(p.1) D political activist: somebody who engages in political activity, usually unpaid
(not a politician); a renowned and fiery orator:– renowned: well-known; fiery:
adjective related to fire (here it means ‘passionate or hot-tempered); orator: a
public speaker.
(p.1) F 1. renowned, 2. fiery, 3. national prominence, 4. local, 5. ballots, 6. declared,

7. pickets, 8. confrontations, 9. seized, 10. funds, 11. tapped.
(p.1) G The article is mainly factual and includes comments from both pro- and anti-
strike people. The article, however, largely explains the strike from the miners’
point of view.
(p. 1) H (possible answers) 1. the reasons for the strike, 2. the start of the strike, 3. the
politics of the strike, 4. The Battle of Traunt, 5. the end of strike, 6. the role of
the secret service, 7. present-day opinions on the strike
(p. 3) A a trade union organiser
(p. 3) B organising a strike
(p. 3) C A strike is hard work, Many things to do in strike…
(p. 3) D arguably the last one: Strikes are often harder work than going to work.
(p. 3) E Mary’s husband is involved in violent confrontations during a strike.
(p. 3) F The answer can be found in the second paragraph, because it states a possible
reason for the strike. The first paragraph talks about the social decline of an
area.
(p. 3) G The correct answer is D, a minority (i.e. 41% of those voting) opposed the
strike. A is incorrect because the votes at the executive meeting were split. For
B there is no evidence, as we have no idea how Mr Fischer voted. C is
incorrect, as a majority of the members of the union didn’t vote.
Extra Task 1 C, 2 E, 3 B, 4 F, 5 A/D, 6 A/D
(p. 5) D to clarify the status of the strike to branch members
(p. 5) E 1C, 2D, 3C, 4B, 5A, 6D, 7A,

Unit 5 - Listening: Short conversations Page 1
5 Business Talk and Chatter

• meet words and expressions about public speaking
• read an article on boring presentations
• role-play situations during a presentation
A Do you like listening to business talks and

presentations? What makes them interesting or boring?
B What are PowerPoint presentations? What advantages do they have? Do you like them?
C What do the following words and phrases mean? Which are connected to presentations?
Power Point, to hire a venue, assorted expenses, to point the finger of blame, a slide,
to detract from, a monotone voice, umming and erring, to be onside, to come down
to s.th., a tip
D Fill in the gaps with a word or expression from the vocabulary box. You may need to
adapt the word.
Wayne Shatner runs a small catering business. He has a _1_ presentation which uses
twenty _2_. He _3_ through the local business college for his presentations.
Unfortunately, he has a _4_ which is boring to listen to. He never pauses, but _5_ all
the time, which _6_ from his message. He wants to keep his listeners _7_, so he tells
bad jokes.
E Look quickly at the article on the next page. Who wrote it, and who is likely to read it?
Where would you find it?
F Read the article again quickly. What is Mr Jenner’s main point?
G Make a list of the most important pieces of advice from Mr Bibby. Which is the most
important? Do you agree with everything Mr Bibby says?
H You have received the following letter from a colleague and friend. Write a reply. Look
again at Mr Bibby’s advice in the text. Remember, you are writing to a friend.
Hi there,
It’s absolutely terrible.
Last week I gave a presentation to some managers in the catering business and
they just looked bored all the way through. I thought I had very interesting Power Point
slides, and I kept talking and had a good stock of jokes. But nobody laughed. Next week
I have to give them a second presentation, and I’m really worried that things will go
badly again.
Have you got any advice for me?
Jane
Being clear in public – real-life phrases

Good Morning. Could I have your attention please…
In this short talk I want to make three points…
To conclude, my key message is…

Boring presentations
Hector Jenner, management consultant, explains his anger at
boring and unprofitable talk in meetings and presentations.
Meetings are about talking. Talking should be about effective

communication. And effective communication is necessary for profit.
Yet the sad truth is that boring meetings cost business millions of
euros each year. And wasting money on orange juice and sandwiches
doesn’t make the meeting any more interesting or profitable.
By the time the typical business presentation comes to an end the interest levels of the average
listener will have disappeared. I am fed up with this army of PowerPoint-crazed middle
managers. One study suggested that these boring meetings cost businesses more than EUR 8m a
year. Include preparation time, the cost of providing refreshments, hiring venues and equipment,
travel and other assorted expenses, and the figure is even more.
Why then, if there must be meetings, do we get such poor value for money?
My colleague Ralph Bibby, who teaches public speaking techniques to business people, has
pointed the finger of blame at slide shows. ‘In a lot of organisations it's not regarded as a proper
presentation unless there are slides,’ he says. ‘Relying on "visuals" restricts a speaker's eye
contact with the audience. And the nervous speaker uses them as a support. Nobody wants to sit
there watching a series of slides. People might as well go away and read a book.’
Bibby, a professional public speaker, also focuses on the voice, ‘Listening to people speaking in
a monotone voice and “umming and erring” – well, they shouldn’t be public speakers at all until
they’ve had lessons. They need to learn to pause’
‘Another problem is those who insist on telling bad jokes in a desperate attempt to keep the
audience on-side. Bad jokes really irritate me. Why should we have to waste time sitting there
listening to somebody else’s bad humour and stupid jokes?’ says Bibby. I would add to that the
financial cost of wasted time and effort.
‘There's no such thing as a boring subject, only boring speakers,’ says Bibby. ‘A year ago I
heard someone give a speech about the history of pensions and he held the attention of a
hundred people for over an hour. It all comes down to training and, I suppose, natural ability’
Bibby has a few tips for those who want to improve their speaking skills. The ability to use
metaphor, storytelling and rhetoric helps keep up interest levels. But, I would add, nothing is
more important than the speaker believing that his speech will communicate a message that will
make money.
The extraordinary thing is that even people who don't like being on the receiving end and can
see the waste when they're sitting in an audience still use the same slide-dependent approach
when making presentations themselves.
So this self-defeating cycle continues, with thousands attending presentations from which they
are getting little or no benefit. It’s time it stopped, as it’s a waste of money.

Exam skills
A A presentation is being given at a firm of management consultants. Working with a

partner, write a three or four-turn dialogue of not more than sixty words for one of the
following situations. Role-play the dialogue to the class; other class members must
guess which situation.
Two participants…
• meet before the presentation. They know each other, but have not met for some
time.
• participants can’t hear the presenter. When one complains, the presenter can’t
hear him/ her.
• are at the buffet table. One spills orange juice on the other.
• discuss the presentation.
• who have met at the presentation exchange telephone numbers.
Exam tip: all the conversations occur in one place, or involve one topic.
B Look at the following dialogues between two participants, and work out what the
highlighted pronouns might be referring to.
Wayne My God, he was boring.

Kevin Yes, he kept asking all those questions
Wayne And nobody shut him up.
Wayne It was quite funny to see Mr Bibby holding it and waving it around like
that.
Kevin Well, it saves having a whiteboard-pointer
Wayne He does have a bad leg, though, poor guy.
Wayne Wow, they were disgusting.

Kevin They must have been made yesterday.
Wayne It was what was in them that was awful.
Wayne I couldn’t find it at all.

Kevin Yes, you’d think they’d tell you at the start of the day.
Wayne Quite. It’s daft, having people wondering around the building looking for
it.
Exam tip: often you will hear an object referred to by pronouns. You will have to listen
carefully to work out what it is.
C Listen to the following dialogues, which occur at a business presentation. In each,

determine what the speakers are talking about.
Exam tip: you will need to listen to the full text to understand what is happening.

Exam practice: The Garden Party
A What is a garden party? What do you think

business executives talk about there? Would
you feel comfortable there?
B Look at the structure of the management
consultancy Bibby and Jenner. What kind of
job does each person do? Which job would
you most/least like?
C Read the instructions and remind yourself of
the structure of the firm. Do the task.
D Listen again. What additional information can
you remember about each person?
Mr Hector Jenner – senior partner in the firm of management consultants Bibby and
Jenner – and his wife Sarah are holding a garden party for members of the
consultancy.
In each conversation you will hear Mr Jenner talking to a person in the firm. Match
each conversation with a person in the office structure diagram below. There are two
people you will not hear.
A. Mr Anders Mr Jenner B. Mr Bibby

Senior International Senior Partner and Senior Partner and
Consultant Partner Executive Director Chief Consultant
C. Miss Schlick D. Mr Pringle

Personal Secretary to Consultant and
Mr Jenner Assistant to Mr Bibby
E. Miss Gold
Consultant and Office Manager
F. Miss Fletcher G. Mr Watergeist H. Mr Strapling

Trainee Management Management Part-time Consultant
Consultant Consultant
E Make a list of as many job positions in a company you can think of.
F Make a diagram of the hierarchy in a real firm that you know – or otherwise an
imaginary one. Explain it to somebody else in the class.

(p. 1) D 1. PowerPoint, 2. slides, 3. hires a venue, 4. Monotonous voice, 5. ums and ers,
6 detracts, 7. onside
(p. 1) E Written by Mr Hector Jenner, an experienced management consultant, who has

attended many business presentations. You might find it as a general feature in
a magazine for professional people.
(p. 1) F His main point is that money is being wasted on ineffective presentations
(p. 1) G relying on visuals is a mistake; nervous people shouldn’t use slides as a

support; speakers need training; they need to pause; they should avoid bad
jokes; any subject can be made interesting; should use metaphor, intonation,
rhetoric, storytelling; speakers should concentrate on subjects that they believe
will help people to make money.
(p. 3) B (possible answers) a participant in a seminar, a walking stick, sandwiches, the

toilet
(p. 3) C 1. the seats, 2. the room, 3. the (PowerPoint) screen
(p. 4) C 1B, 2A, 3E, 4D, 5H, 6C.
Conversation One
Mr Jenner Ah, there you are. I wanted to catch you. This party’s creating a massive
amount of good will in the firm.
Ralph Yes, Hector. I suppose these types of occasions are necessary. We see these
people every day in the office, so I’m not exactly over-excited by spending my
Saturday afternoon with them.
Mr Jenner Just one thing, given your position in the firm,. I’m expecting you to bear half
the cost. That comes to around £600, I think.
Ralph Of course, Hector. If we’d paid a little more we would’ve been able to get
higher quality French cheeses. This cheap stuff is murdering my palate.
Conversation Two
Mr Jenner Hello, Felix. I wasn’t sure that you were back in the UK, when I sent out the
invitations.
Felix Yes, I flew in from the States yesterday.
Mr Jenner Ah, now I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the Seattle-based Liebermann
Corporation, Felix.
Felix Next week, Hector. We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves.

Conversation Three
Mr Jenner Hello there, I didn’t know that you drank red wine! Are you enjoying it?
Rebecca Yes, it’s fine, Mr Jenner – but I only drink in extreme moderation.
Mr Jenner And I bet now, that even here you’re still keeping an eye on people as if you
were at the office.
Rebecca You know me, Mr Jenner. My life’s my work.
Mr Jenner Yes indeed, middle-management can be quite fascinating.
Conversation Four
Mr Jenner Ah, young man. You’re as well-dressed as usual. I like the tie.
Gavin Well to tell the truth, it’s a present from Mr Bibby.
Mr Jenner Yes, well I suppose if you have a close one-to-one working relationship with
your boss, strange things happen. Anyway, let’s change the subject – more
wine?
Conversation 5
Mr Jenner Hello, there. Oh, there are serviettes, so you don’t have to wipe your hands on
your jacket.
Laurence Oh, I’m just being my dirty old pig-like self, Mr Jenner.
Mr Jenner So I can see. I miss your appalling manners since you’re only in the office a
couple of mornings a week now. Not bad for you. eh? – if you can survive on
the money.
Laurence Yes, well, Mr Jenner. After twenty years with the firm I’m still at the bottom of
the pile.
Conversation Six
Mr Jenner Hello, my dear. May I pay you the compliment of saying your perfume smells
as if it were made in Heaven.
Lorna I’m not wearing perfume, Mr Jenner. And perhaps you’re standing just a little
too close – and Mrs Jenner’s looking at you.
Mr Jenner Good Heavens! We wouldn’t want any misunderstanding, would we? It can
easily happen, you know, when two people work so closely together.

Unit 6 – Listening: Making notes Page 1
6 Personal Bankruptcy
• meet words and expressions about closing down a business
• read an article about bankruptcy
• practise listening for specific information
A What does it feel like when you have no money? What happens
to you when you can’t pay your debts?
B Check you understand the words and expressions. Put one into
each gap below. You may have to adapt the word.
bankruptcy, a creditor, a debtor, to petition, a settlement, a receiver, a utility

supplier, to comply with s.th, a lump sum cash payment, a will
Leah Bash owned a large business which failed. She had many debts, so she was a
_1_ and had many _2_ who wanted to be paid. No _3_ with her creditors was
possible, so she _4_ a court for _5_. The court appointed a _6_, who informed the
electricity company and other _7_ . She had to_8_ bankruptcy laws and hand over a
_9_, which she had received in her grandmother’s _10_.
C What do these words and expressions mean? Which ones are connected to bankruptcy?
to impose restrictions, a procedure, an asset, a partnership, to commit a criminal

offence, to disclose, a redundancy payment,
D Look quickly at the article on the next page. Who is ‘you’ in the text?
E Look at the article again quickly. In which paragraph can you find the following?
a how the public finds out that somebody is bankrupt

b a bankrupt can keep some furniture
c a bankrupt must visit the receiver
d who can become a bankrupt
e organisations which are told about a bankrupt person
F Give each paragraph a title, or summarise it in one sentence.
G A friend has just sent you an e-mail saying that she owes EUR 5 million which she
can’t pay. Write to her and tell her that she will become a bankrupt, and what will
happen to her. The mail should be no longer than 150 words. Remember, you are
writing to a friend.
Talking about debts – real-life phrases

We’re in the red. (having debts – particularly a firm)
I’m skint / broke (?) at the moment (slang- having no money)
The business has a cash flow problem.

I’m bankrupt!
What does going bankrupt mean? Sara Liebermann explains.
(1) Bankruptcy is a serious matter. You will (8) When a bankruptcy

have to give up any possessions of value, and order has been made, you
you will lose your house or flat. Bankruptcy must comply with the
will involve the closure of any business you run receiver’s request to
and the dismissal of any employees. Being a provide information about
bankrupt will also impose certain restrictions on your financial affairs. The
you. receiver may request that
you visit his or her office for an interview.
(2) Bankruptcy is a way of dealing with debts
Before the interview you will be sent a
you cannot pay. Bankruptcy can free you from
questionnaire, which you must fill in fully and
overwhelming debts, so you can make a fresh
accurately.
start in five years time. It also ensures that your
assets are shared out fairly among your (9) After being declared bankrupt you must do
creditors. Anyone can go bankrupt, including the following:
individual members of a partnership. There are • give the receiver a full list of your
different insolvency procedures for dealing with assets, and details of what you owe and
companies. to whom;
(3) A court makes a bankruptcy order only after • hand over all your assets to the receiver
a bankruptcy petition has been presented. This together with all your financial records,
can either be presented by yourself (debtor’s bank statements, insurance policies and
petition), or by one or more creditors to whom other papers relating to your property
you owe at least EUR 750 (creditor’s petition). and financial affairs;
(4) A bankruptcy order can still be made even if • inform the receiver of any property
you refuse to acknowledge the proceedings or which becomes yours during the
refuse to agree to them. You must co-operate bankruptcy – such property includes
fully once the bankruptcy proceedings have lump sum cash payments that you may
begun. If you dispute the creditor’s petition, you receive (for example redundancy
should try and reach a settlement before the payments, property or money left in a
bankruptcy petition is due to be heard. Trying to will);
do so after the bankruptcy order has been made • stop using your bank, building society,
is both difficult and expensive – and money is credit card and similar accounts
something you don’t have! straightaway;
(5) Once the bankruptcy order has been made, it • not obtain credit of EUR 500 or more
is advertised in the leading newspapers to from any person without first
inform everybody that you are a bankrupt. A disclosing the fact that you are
receiver is appointed by the court to deal with bankrupt;
your case. He or she has responsibility for • hand over to the receiver any pay or
administering your bankruptcy and protecting salary you receive from work – you
your assets from the date of the bankruptcy will be allowed to keep a minimal
order. amount for living;
(6) The receiver is also responsible for looking • hand over to the receiver all documents
into your financial affairs for the period before relating to your home, so it can be sold.
and during your bankruptcy. He or she may
report to the court, and has to report to your (10) You can keep the following items unless
creditors. The receiver must also report any their individual value is more than the cost of a
matters which indicate that you may have reasonable replacement: work tools up to a
committed criminal offences in connection with value of EUR 2000;, clothing, bedding, a bed,
your bankruptcy, or that your behaviour has table, chair and cupboard. All personal items
been dishonest. must be disclosed to the receiver, who will then
decide whether you can keep them.
(7) The receiver will give notice of the
bankruptcy order to local authorities, utility
suppliers and the Land Registry. Enquiries will
also be made of banks, mortgage, pension and
insurance companies, and landlords.

Exam Skills
A Look at the following paragraph and give it two possible titles. Discuss with your
partner which one is the best. (NB the exam task will be gapped)
From childhood Leah Bash formed a strong interest in cosmetics. When she left
university she borrowed some money from her father and opened a small shop.
Many women sought her advice and bought her products, so she was able to open
several more outlets and after five years had a staff of eighty. However in 2004
people stopped buying her cosmetics because of a bad review in a newspaper. Soon
she had debts which she couldn’t pay and went bankrupt.
Exam tip: when you first see the gapped notes, read them through quickly to get the gist
of the text. This will help you to understand the recording when listening to it.
B The following are all in the paragraph above. What is the significance of each term in
the text?
cosmetics – university – borrow – eighty – a newspaper review
Exam tip: when you hear the text you will have to listen for factual pieces of
information to fill the gaps.
C Look at the following text. Predict what information will fill each gap. You can put up
to three words in each gap.
By April 2004, Leah could no longer pay her _1_. Her shops weren’t able to open
because she couldn’t afford to buy _2_. She went to court to petition for _3_, and a
_4_ was appointed to manage her affairs. She became very _5_ because she _6_ and
now she 7 .
D Listen and check your answers.
Exam tip: predict the information for the gaps. You may be wrong, but at least you
know what you are listening for.
E Finish each of the sentences below in not more than three words.
1. Leah opened a business…

2. At first the business…
3. A newspaper published…
Exam tip: remember not to put more than three words into each gap
F Each of the sentences below has one or more grammatical mistakes. Look at them
quickly and correct them, if necessary.
1. Leah was always interesting in cosmetics.
2. He business quickly grown.
3. She employing more than eighty peoples.
Exam tip: in this task spelling and grammar do not matter, as long as the meaning is
clear.

Exam practice: ‘I just threw it all away’

A What can happen when parents hand over a successful business to their children?
B Write down all the words you know about a business getting into trouble (e.g.
bankrupt).
C Read the notes and try to guess what should fill the gaps.
D What are Lionel Metcalf’s problems?
E Morgan Fletcher of Business World Magazine is interviewing Lionel Metcalf, who has
not been successful in his business life. As a trainee journalist, you are taking notes.
Listen and fill each gap with not more than three words.
An unsuccessful businessman
The Beginnings
• Lionel Metcalf’s father had a/an _1_ ,
• which Lionel inherited in _2_.
A Youth Spent in Vain/ A Wasted Youth

• When he was young he liked to _3_
• and have a/an _4_ .
• For his girlfriends he bought _5_
• and _6_ .
Like Father, Like Son

• Godfrey Metcalf established a/an _7_
company.
• Soon his company _8_ .
The Present
• Both father and son lost their _9_ .
• They live together in _10_ .
• Their income comes from _11_ .
F Make a list of all the mistakes which Lionel Metcalf made. What does the future hold
for Lionel?
G Working with a partner, discuss what Lionel should have done.
H For each gap, choose one option (A, B or C)
When Lionel became unemployed he had no income. Lionel was entitled to

unemployment _1_ for a year, because during his working life he had paid into the
_2_. After a year, Lionel applied for _3_ benefit. He was given a _4_ test to see
what income and assets he had. As he had neither, he was given benefits. He also
receives money from the local council, to pay for his _5_.
1 A scheme B benefit C expenditure

2 A bank B welfare C scheme
3 A money B bankruptcy C welfare
4 A rent B means C spending
5 A benefit B employment C rent

Unit 6: Personal Bankruptcy
(p. 1) B 1. debtor, 2. creditors, 3. settlement, 4. petitioned, 5. bankruptcy, 6. receiver, 7.

utility suppliers, 8. comply with, 9. lump sum cash payment, 10. will
(p. 1) D the person who might be going bankrupt
(p. 1) E a5, b10, c8, d2, e7.
(p. 1) F (suggested answers) 1. Bankruptcy is a serious matter 2. Bankruptcy is about

dealing with unpayable debts 3. Debtors or creditors can petition for bankruptcy
4. You can’t hide from bankruptcy 5. Bankruptcy is made public 6. The
receiver investigates and reports 7. Notices and inquiries 8. The debtor’s duty to
provide information
9. The obligation of a bankrupt 10. What you can keep
(p. 3) A Possible titles From Success to Failure or The Ups and Downs of Business.
(p. 3) B cosmetics: Leah always had an interest; university: after that she set up in
business; borrowing: from father to open shop; eighty: had a staff of 80;
newspaper review: bad and went bankrupt
(p. 3) D 1. bills, 2. any cosmetics, 3. bankruptcy, 4. receiver, 5. depressed, 6. had

worked
hard, 7. would lose everything
(p. 3) E (possible answers) 1. …after leaving university, 2. …prospered. 3. …a bad

review
(p. 3) F 1. Leah was always / had always been interested in cosmetics. 2. Her business
grew quickly / quickly grew. 3. She employed more than eighty people.
(p. 4) E 1 electronics business, 2 1950, 3 drive expensive cars / spend money, 4 luxury
flat / expensive car, 5 dresses, 6 bracelets, 7 computer , 8 went bankrupt, 9
houses, 10 a small flat, 11 welfare payments.
(p. 4) H 1B, 2C, 3C, 4B, 5C
Unit 6: Bankruptcy and Starting up Again
Listening – making notes
Morgan Well, Mr Metcalf, sadly your business career has not been successful. Would
you like to tell us about it?
Lionel Well, to tell you the truth my life in business was a complete and total disaster.
It’s sad to say, but it’s true. I suppose I had a good start in life. My father had
built up a successful small electronics business, which I inherited when he died
in 1950. The truth is I wasted all my money. It was far more important for me
to drive expensive cars and have a luxury flat in London.

Back in the 1950s, when I was young, I would drive along in my new sports’
car. Of course, I really should have been running the business, not driving
around the countryside. Well, inevitably, everything started to go wrong with
the company.
I also spent too much money. The girls would say, ‘Oh. Lionel, couldn’t you
buy me that dress,’ or ‘I really must have that bracelet.’ Like a fool I would buy
them what they wanted just to keep them happy. In the end I spent twice as
much as the company was making in profit. The situation at the company went
from bad to worse. The company could not pay its creditors, and we were
rapidly becoming insolvent. Bankruptcy was just around the corner.
I also set a bad example for my son, Godfrey. He set up a small computer firm
on borrowed money in the boom of the 1980s, but the company went bankrupt,
too. I would tell him, ‘Well, son, you can’t run a race and tie up your shoelaces
at the same time.’ And he kept running up huge debts and in the end that
brought him down.
Father and son. Well, we are now both in the same position. We lost our houses
in the bankruptcy proceedings. The local council rent us a small flat, and we
live there now on welfare payments.

Unit 7 - Listening: Meeting Page 1
7 People Changing Jobs

• Meet words and expressions connected to employment contracts
• Read an article about fair and unfair dismissal
• Practise listening for detailed information
A Think of five reasons why people change their jobs. Have you ever
changed your job?
B Check you understand these words: employer, employee, to dismiss
C Make a list of all the reasons an employer might want to dismiss an

employee.
D What do the following words and expressions mean?
to resign, to give notice, a fixed term contract, an employment tribunal, a

qualification, conduct, redundant, to be entitled to s.th., a disciplinary procedure, an
verbal warning, a right of appeal, financial compensation, to be habitually late, to be
dismissed on the spot
E Put the words and expressions from the vocabulary box into one of three columns: good
things that happen at work; bad things that happen at work; neither/don’t know.
F Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may need to adapt the word.
The ice cream factory closed, and John Pizzy, who had worked there for many
years, was made _1_. He knew about the closure because he was given three months
_2_. He also received EUR 300 in _3_, and is _4_ to unemployment benefit. He will
find it difficult to get another job as he has no _5_.
G Complete the table. Which syllable is stressed in the words in each box? Does the stress
change when the word is converted ot another type of word?
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE
qualification
procedural
compensation
dismiss
H Look quickly at the following article by Professor Otto Slovo. Which of the following
magazines do you think the article is from?
1 Management Consultants’ Review, 2 Workers’ Briefing, 3 Meckham Community Post
I Look at Professor Otto Slovo’s article again quickly. When can an employee be fairly
dismissed?
J Write a short leaflet (not more than 100 words) informing workers about the law on
dismissals. Use the structure on the opposite page, under Mr Slovo’s article.
Employment – real-life phrases
They took her on (informal)
He got the sack/boot / was fired/sacked/ thrown out/kicked out (informal)
To give notice

Fair and unfair dismissal

Have you ever been dismissed from your employment? Was it fair? Read Professor Slovo’s
article and find out.
Dismissal is defined as the ending of a contract of employment. It doesn’t matter if the
employer gives you notice or not. You are also dismissed in law if you resign because the
employer has broken the contract of employment, or intends to do so. Finally, in law you are
dismissed if you have a fixed term contract and that contract comes to an end. So you may
have been illegally dismissed without knowing it!
Dismissals may be fair or unfair. Dismissal is only fair if it was for one of the reasons listed
below, and the employer has acted ‘fairly’. You should know, however, that you can only
claim unfair dismissal before an employment tribunal if you have worked for the employer for
at least one year, so if you are new to a job you are in a pretty weak position. Let us look at
the reasons for fair dismissal.
First, you can be dismissed if you are incapable of doing the job or don’t have the correct
qualifications. So if you are a singer in a choir and can’t sing, your employer can say good-
bye to you! And if you’re working as a doctor without ever having been to medical school,
then your days in the job could be numbered.
Secondly, you can be dismissed if your conduct is unacceptable – so if you are a waiter and
you throw soup at the customer or steal the money from the till, then you can be thrown out.
Thirdly, there is redundancy. This is when you are no longer needed to do the job that you do,
for example when a factory making ice cream no longer has any customers, and closes. A
dismissal for redundancy will be unfair if you have been selected unfairly for redundancy.
Even if you are fairly dismissed you may still be entitled to a redundancy payment.
Fourthly, if your employer dismisses you because of your race, religion or gender, then that is
automatically unfair. It doesn’t matter how long you have worked for the firm, you can take
the case to an employment tribunal.
Now, it is not just a case of the employer having a good reason to dismiss you, but the
employer must also act reasonably. The correct disciplinary procedures must be followed.
This usually involves a verbal warning, a written warning and then a dismissal with a right of
appeal. So even if you are habitually late for work and you get dismissed on the spot, you
might still have a case.
If you think your employer has dismissed you unfairly, you can take your case to an
employment tribunal, which has the power to recommend that you get your job back or to
give you financial compensation.
Have you been sacked unfairly? You might have been, if:
•
•
•
What can YOU do you about it?

•
•

Exam Skills
A Mr Jenner is the senior partner in the firm of management consultants Bibby and
Jenner. Look at the questions below and discuss in pairs exactly what information is
being asked for. Predict the answers.
(i) Why does Mr Jenner often offer dismissed employees money?
(ii) What rights do dismissed employees have?
(iii) What does Mr Jenner want to avoid?
Now look at the extract from the exam script and find answers to the questions.
Compare your answers with a partner.
Mr Jenner…
‘Now of course when we terminate a contract by dismissing somebody, that
employee has the right to take the case to an employment tribunal. If the employee
decides to go down that road, the problem for us is the amount of time it takes us to
prepare the case and attend the court proceedings For us, time is money. We usually
get round this problem by offering the dismissed employee some money to leave
without taking the matter to court. It makes financial sense, even if we believe we
were right to dismiss the employee. The important thing is to employ good people in
the first place, so we don’t have to dismiss inefficient or otherwise useless people.’
Exam tip: At the beginning of the ‘meetings’ task you are given one and a half minutes
to read through the multiple choice questions to decide what each question is asking
for. Questions are often answered wrongly because the question itself has been
misunderstood.
B Look at the following multiple-choice question. In pairs decide on the correct answer
and the three ‘distractors’. Find evidence for your choice in Mr Jenner’s speech.
Mr Jenner avoids employment court cases because…
A he is worried about losing the case
B the company doesn’t have the ability to fight the case
C they are expensive for the firm
D he needs to employ lawyers
Exam tip: When you are looking at the questions, it helps to predict the answer and
listen to see if you are correct.
C Fill in the gaps in Mr Jenner’s speech.
‘Very often people have to leave the firm because the pace of work causes _1_.
Obviously we need our people to work as _2_ as possible to maximise our profits.
But if we overdo it, we end up _3_ good people, which is of no benefit to us.’
Exam tip: you may not hear every word of the recording. When you cannot hear a word
try to guess what it means from the context.
D Fill in the text below with the following words: appeal, standard, code, image,
procedure, dismissal.
Bibby and Jenner is a management consultancy which requires a very high _1_ of
conduct from its employees. There is a strict dress _2_ too. Mr Jenner believes that
it is important to present a professional _3_ to clients. If a staff member does not
perform satisfactorily s/he will go through a disciplinary _4_. First, an oral / a verbal
warning is given, then a written warning and finally _5_. Any employee who is
dismissed has the right of _6_ to the managing directors, Mr Jenner and Mr Bibby.

Exam practice: Saying Good-bye to Miss Fletcher
A Imagine a firm with over fifty people. What issues will concern the
managing directors? Which ones will not?
B What is the procedure for dismissing an employee in a properly
organised company?
C Read the first lines of the questions and glance over the options
looking for key words. What do you think the listening text is about?
D Listen and do the task. You will hear Ralph Bibby, Hector Jenner
and Sarah Fletcher.
E Compare Mr Jenner and Mr Bibby’s approach to the issue. What is your opinion?
1. The meeting between Ralph Bibby 6. What does Hector Jenner lie to
and Hector Jenner was… Fiona Fletcher about?
A. one of their regular meetings. A. Miss Gold having recommended her
B. the result of a note from Mr Bibby. dismissal.
C. set up by phone. B. Mr Bibby knowing the full facts of the
D. called by Mr Jenner. case.
C. Mr Bibby being pressed for time.
2. Concerning Fiona Fletcher’s D. the senior partners giving the matter
dismissal, Ralph Bibby thinks … their full consideration.
A. the matter is not important.
B. Miss Gold is incompetent. 7. When his tea arrives, Ralph
C. he should not be involved Bibby…
D. Mr Jenner should deal with the matter A. is grateful.
alone. B. is irritated.
C. is amused by the circumstances.
3. Concerning Fiona Fletcher’s D. leaves it with Fiona Fletcher.
dismissal, Hector Jenner feels…
A. Miss Gold has done her job correctly. 8. Concerning the complaint against
B. he should not be involved. Fiona Fletcher, Ralph Bibby…
C. Miss Gold’s conclusions are A. believes Miss Gold’s report.
unreasonable. B. doesn’t see the complaint as serious.
D. the matter will take the whole morning. C. takes a balanced view of the matter.
D. wants to hear what Fiona Fletcher has to
4. On the question of her dismissal, say.
Fiona Fletcher…
A. is required to meet the senior partners. 9. Which of the following would best
B. has the option of meeting the senior describe Ralph Bibby’s behaviour?
partners. A. self-controlled
C. can ask, but has no right to see the senior B. formal
partners. C. impatient
D. cannot question a decision made by Miss D. friendly
Gold.
10. How does Hector Jenner treat
5. Hector Jenner suggests that Ralph Ralph Bibby?
Bibby has some tea… A. Dismissively
A. to pacify him. B. With understanding
B. because he is thirsty. C. With humour
C. because he always drinks the same tea. D. Rudely
D. because Mr Jenner is thirsty too.

(p. 1) F 1. redundant, 2. notice, 3. financial compensation, 4. entitled to, 5. qualifications.
(p.1) G
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE

a qualification (oooOo) to qualify (Ooo) qualified /-ing (Ooo – ooOo)
a procedure (oOo) to (e.g. to institute) a procedural (oOoo)
procedure
compensation (ooOo) to compensate (Ooo) compensatory (rare) (ooOoo)
a dismissal (oOo) to dismiss (oO) dismissed (oO)
(p. 1) H A trade union journal, Workers’ Briefing (it is easy to understand, oriented to the
worker’s point of view)
(p. 1) I inability to do the job, no qualification, unacceptable conduct, redundancy
(p. 3) A (i) Mr Jenner offers to dismissed employees money in compensation because it costs
the firm money to fight a dismissal case, (ii) to take their case to an employment court, (iii)
spending money on fighting a case at an employment court
(p.3) B Option A: Jenner never mentions this; he assumes his dismissal is justified. Option B:
Jenner implies that the firm is unwilling to devote the funds to the case, not that it does not have
the funds. Option C: the correct answer, Option D: while ‘D’ may be true, it is not the reason
given.
(p.3) C (possible answers) 1. stress/illness/dissatisfaction/discontent/friction, 2. hard/much, 3.

losing
(p. 3) D 1. standard, 2. code, 3. image, 4. procedure, 5. dismissal, 6. appeal
(p. 4) D 1D, 2C, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7B/A, 8A/B, 9C, 10B
Listening – meeting
Mr Jenner Ah, Ralph, come in. I see you got the note I left on your desk about the
probable dismissal of one of our new young recruits.
Mr Bibby Yes, I did. What’s all this about exactly? I certainly hope it won’t be too time-
consuming.
Mr Jenner Well, the office manager, Miss Gold prepared the report. It would appear that
Fiona Fletcher – whom we appointed at the last minute in January, if you
remember – has been playing up. Miss Gold’s made a full report of the
incidents involved, and has - so I believe – fully discussed the matter with
Fiona Fletcher. On the basis of that discussion, Miss Gold has recommended
her dismissal – and has communicated the fact to her.

Mr Bibby I fully understand, Hector, but why on earth does a matter of this kind require
the attention of both senior partners in the firm? What do we employ Miss Gold
for, if she can’t sort out this kind of matter herself?
Oh, Hector, don’t answer me, because I know the answer. It’s just that I’m
really very annoyed about having to give up a whole morning to listen to the
Fletcher girl.
Mr Jenner Well, as you know, Ralph, under clause 27 of her employment contract she has
the right of final appeal to us. It doesn’t help us make money directly, Ralph,
but…
Mr Bibby But I’ve got so much to do with the re-writing of the management contracts for
PLZ Engineering. Where’s Miss Gold anyway? Why are things all over the
place at the moment?
Mr Jenner (irritated, but with understanding) Ralph, calm down. These little tempers of
yours are beginning to affect profits. What I’ll do is have Lorna make you one
of your teas. What do you want? The Darjeeling tea?
(loudly) Lorna, be so good as to make Mr Bibby a Darjeeling tea, if you would.
KNOCK AT THE DOOR
Ah, that’ll be the Fletcher girl now.
(loudly) Come in.
Now, come in and sit down, Miss Fletcher. Mr Bibby and I’ve had the
opportunity to familiarise ourselves with Miss Gold’s report on the matter in
hand.
Miss Fletcher Shall I sit here, Sir?
Mr Jenner Yes, sit there where we can see you. What’s that you’ve got in your hand? Is it
Mr Bibby’s tea? Ralph, your tea seems to be here.
Miss Fletcher Yes, I think so.
Mr Bibby (irritated) Ok, I’ll take it off you – and for heaven’s sake don’t let us waste any
more time. Let’s get on with things, Hector.
Mr Jenner Now, Miss Fletcher. The heart of Miss Gold’s case against you is that you’ve
come in late on average three times a week, you’ve wasted time while at work,
used the firm’s phone for private calls and been rude to Miss Gold. Last week,
if I understand correctly, you were given a final warning by Miss Gold, but the
offending behaviour since that time has continued. Is all that correct, Miss
Fletcher?
Miss Fletcher Could I just say…
Mr Bibby ‘Could I just…’ Who on heaven or earth do you think you are, Miss Fletcher?
Do you think we are running some kind of hotel or holiday camp here?
Miss Fletcher If I could just say…

Mr Bibby The point is…
Mr Jenner Ralph, let her comment. Yes, now what do you have to say, Miss Fletcher?
Miss Fletcher What I want to say is that I’ve found another job, and I’m leaving at the end of
the week.

Unit 8- Writing: Transactional writing Page 1
8 Formal Letters
• meet words and expressions about formal procedures
• read an article about the legal steps for dismissing an employee
• write a letter dismissing an employee
A Do you enjoy writing formal letters? Why? Why Not?

B Match the types of letter described on the left with the extracts on
the right
A letter telling you that you’ve

1 A It’s really great…what I have to do is…
been successful in a job interview
We are pleased to inform you…We look
2 A letter dismissing you from a job B
forward to…
In relation to clause 8 of your contract of
3 A letter to a friend about your job C
employment…
C What do the following words and phrases mean? Which words have a negative
connotation?
employment termination, redundancy, (gross) misconduct, poor performance, an

appeal, to delay,
(a piece of) evidence, to have sth. at your fingertips, vindictiveness, malicious,
alienating, a victim, vengeful, libel, defamation, a liability
D Use one item from the vocabulary box to fill each gap. There is more than one
possibility for some. You may need to adapt the word.
Sara Liebermann helps workers who have had _1_ bosses. The official reason for
the _2_ of their _3_ can be _4_, _5_ or _6_. In many cases the formalities were not
followed, and most of the workers weren’t given a chance to go to an _7_ at work.
‘If you decide to go to court, it is important to have _8_, and have all the
information _9_. I tend to see most of these workers as _10_,’ she says.
E Look quickly at the article on the next page. Who is Mr Jenner advising?
F What is the purpose of the first paragraph? (You can include the text in bold as part of
the first paragraph.)
G Each paragraph has a function and makes a point. Summarise each paragraph in a
sentence or title.
H Compare the internal structure of paragraphs 3 and 4. What are the topic sentences of
each of the two paragraphs? Is there a difference between the topic sentence and the
theme of the paragraph?

I Look at the following paragraph from a review of Mr Jenner’s article. Is the letter
logically ordered? Re-write it.
He is completely partisan. For Jenner the purpose of keeping records is solely to
empower the boss, not the worker. Jenner’s article reveals everything which is
wrong with management consultancy today. Jenner writes entirely from the
employer’s point of view. He says bosses should avoid vindictiveness, not because it
hurts the employee, but only because it can cause problems for the employer.
J Reply to the following email in not more than 150 words. Advise Wayne on the what
steps he would have to take to make the dismissal legal.
Hi
I hope you are feeling better than I am. This new chap has just borrowed one
of our company vans to go off and get himself some lunch. When he gets back in
a minute, I’m going to call him a fool and an idiot and sack him on the spot.
How are things with you?
Wayne,
Wayne Shatner, Shatner Catering, 7-11 Park St. 3830 Meckham.
Giving formal notification – real-life phrases

I hereby give notice that…
I have been asked to inform you… (writing for somebody else)
With reference to clause 4 of your contract…

Good-bye Letters
Writing letters terminating employment contracts is not easy.

Management consultant Hector Jenner provides some advice.
(1) Whenever you write any kind of official and meetings must
letter there are two things that it is vital to be at reasonable
get right: the style and the content. times and venues.
Assuming you have mastered proper The employer must
business style, here I will concentrate only also not
on the content. unreasonably delay
any of the stages in this process.
(2) Employers must use proper employment
termination and dismissal procedures to (5) The above process means a minimum of
ensure that the process when an employee three official letters. Letters should
leaves is professionally and legally correct. concentrate on the facts of the situation, and
There are severe costs to the firm if the clear evidence to support these facts.
employment termination is, for whatever Having facts and figures at management’s
reason, not handled properly. fingertips requires good record-keeping. An
essential part of a properly run firm is the
(3) Employment termination by the keeping of accurate day-to-day records on
employer normally falls into one of these every aspect of an employee’s conduct.
categories: redundancy, misconduct or poor Nothing could be worse than getting into
performance. Poor performance may or the middle of a dismissal process and
may not be the fault of the employee; s/he finding basic facts and figures are lacking.
might be doing his/her best but his/her best
is simply not good enough. The central (6) Even in cases of gross misconduct,
principles for dealing with all three of these avoid vindictiveness; there is no money to
situations are broadly similar. be made from it, and unnecessary hostility
may cause management problems later.
(4) There are basic steps that need to be Any subsequent legal review process will
followed properly. First, give reasons for not look kindly on any aspects of malicious
the proposed dismissal to the employee in behaviour used in the employer's handing
writing, and give the employee a reasonable of a dismissal.
period during which to consider the facts
and his/her response. Second, hold a (7) As a matter of good practice, always try
meeting with the employee to explain the to part as friends, not enemies. Nothing is
reasons and give the employee the gained by alienating people who already
opportunity to explain his/her position. see themselves as victims; negative
Third, after the meeting, give the employee treatment can prompt them to be vengeful,
your decision in writing (whether to which does nobody any good at all. Also,
proceed with the dismissal or other action), by keeping employment termination and
and invite the employee to make an appeal dismissal letters positive you avoid the risk
and attend an appeal meeting. After any of libel or defamation, which carry potential
appeal meeting the employer must confirm legal liabilities for the employer,
the appeal decision in writing. A manager irrespective of the circumstances and
of proper authority must attend meetings, process of the dismissal itself.
Dear Miss Fletcher,
Further to our meeting held earlier today, I regret to inform you that your employment
with Bibby and Jenner is terminated with effect from Friday 14 June.

Exam Skills
A Look at the letter template below. On a separate sheet of paper, write out the
formalities: letterhead and closure (i.e. the position of the sender’s name and address,
the recipient’s name and address, salutations, the date and the reference).
Exam tip: you do not need to reproduce addresses in the exam, but you need to
recognise who the letter is from and who it is to.
B Look at the letter template again. What is the purpose/function

of each paragraph?
Exam tip: your letter in the exam needs a clear structure,

through logical paragraphing.
C What is the function of the pieces of formal language

highlighted in the text?
Exam tip: you need to use appropriate register in formal

letters.
D You are Mr Jenner’s assistant. Using the template below, write a letter dismissing Miss
Fletcher, the trainee management consultant. Invent details, but be realistic. Your letter
should look authentic.
Name, address, date, reference
Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs ………..
(1) Further to our meeting of (date), I (regretfully) confirm that your employment with us is
terminated with effect from (date)/with immediate effect.
(2) As stated at our meeting, the reason(s) for terminating your employment with us is/are as
follows:
(Employer must clearly state reasons – transgressions and relevant policies if applicable.)
(3) (Employer must clearly state previous warnings – informal, formal, written etc. – the
circumstances for each warning and the person's response and subsequent
behaviour/performance.)
(4) (Clearly state requirements regarding return of documentation, equipment, car,

submission of final expenses claims, and any other leaving administration issues.)
(5) (Clearly state actual leaving date, requirement or otherwise to serve period of notice,
holiday pay, and other pay and pension details.)
(6) (Optional sign-off, for example: Thank you for your past efforts and all the best for your
future endeavours.)
Yours sincerely,.
name and position

(Optional section requiring person to sign, confirming receipt, and return copy of this letter.)
E Swap your letter with a partner. Discuss how effective the letter is, and check for
spelling and punctuation.

Exam Practice: Mr Bibby gets angry with Miss Jowell
A List behaviour which is acceptable (and unacceptable) in an office which deals

with high-paying professional clients (e.g. coming to work in jeans).
B What information should go into a warning letter to an employee?
C Read Mr Bibby’s letter. What kind of person is Mr Bibby?
Bibby and Jenner are a leading firm of management consultants. As Mr Bibby’s

personal assistant you have received the following emails.
To assistant@bibbyandjenner.com
From rbibby@bibbyandjenner.com
I am so angry that I can hardly write this e-mail!!!
This morning I had a meeting in my room with representatives from a very

important client of ours. Throughout, a noisy circus seemed to be going on outside
in the corridor. The main culprit was undoubtedly the new trainee in the office, Miss
Jowell, who:
• was shouting to her colleagues (I can never stand the shrill sound of young
women’s voices when they are shouting)
• was using language which was vulgar
• brought in our coffee at 11am, and banged it down on the table, spilling a fair
proportion of it into the saucers.
Please draft an official warning letter to Miss Jowell, and mention clearly the
standards that Bibby and Jenner expects from its employees. Bring it to me for
signature when you’ve finished.
Take any other steps you think necessary to deal with this matter. I’m too busy to
give it any more time.
Ralph Bibby, Senior Partner, Bibby and Jenner.
From hjenner@bibbyandjenner.com
There will be a senior staff meeting on Thursday at 9.00. If a matter needs placing
on the agenda, notify the office manager, Miss Gold, by 13.00 on Tuesday.
H. Jenner, Senior Partner, Bibby and Jenner.
D Write a letter to Miss Jowell, as Mr Bibby instructs. (About 200 words)

E Write an email to Miss Gold, giving a short explanation of the matter as an item to be
included in the senior staff meeting agenda. (About 50 words)
F Write the full agenda for the senior staff meeting on Thursday. Act it out in groups of
three.
(Tasks E and F are not examination tasks)

Unit 8: Formal Letters
(p.1) B 1B, 2C, 3A Letters 1 and 2 are formal; 3 is informal. A dismissal letter will be
more formal and legalistic in style than a letter of appointment which will
probably have an optimistic tone.
(p.1) C employment termination, redundancy, (gross) misconduct, poor performance,

vindictiveness, malicious, alienating, a victim, vengeful, libel, defamation, a
liability, to delay
(p.1) D 1. vindictive, malicious, vengeful, 2. termination, 3. employment,

4./5./6. redundancy, misconduct, poor performance (in any order), 7. appeal, 8.
evidence, 9. at your fingertips, 10. victims
(p.1) E employers
(p.1) F to establish the topic of the article (i.e. the correct contents of a letter of
dismissal)
(p.1) G 1. Getting the style and content right, 2. Use correct procedures, 3. Types of
dismissal, 4. Detailed steps of a dismissal, 5. Keeping records and evidence,
6. Avoid vindictiveness, 7. Try to part on friendly terms
(p.1) H In both 3 and 4 the topic sentence is the first. Paragraph 3, after the topic
sentence, details one aspect and then finishes with a transitional sentence
linking to the next paragraph. Paragraph 4, after the topic sentence, details a
procedure chronologically.
(p.1) I The sentences in the paragraph do not follow a logical order. A possible
correction could be:
Jenner’s article reveals everything which is wrong with management

consultancy today.
(= main thesis statement) Jenner writes entirely from the employer’s point
of view. (= further specification of thesis) He is completely partisan.
(=reformation of specific thesis) He says bosses should avoid
vindictiveness, not because it hurts the employee, but only because it can
cause problems for the employer. (= example and illustration of thesis) For
Jenner the purpose of keeping records is solely to empower the boss, not the
worker. (= another example and illustration of thesis)
This paragraph identifies the topic/thesis at the beginning, then

proves/illustrates/exemplifies it in the body of the paragraph. Normal paragraph
structure moves from the general to the specific.
(p.1) J The letter should remind Wayne of the correct procedures if he wishes to
dismiss an employee. The letter to the employee should be written in a formal
style. He should try not to part with the employee on unfriendly terms. But your
letter to Wayne will be informal.
(p. 3) A This is a suggested format for a formal letter

Bibby and Jenner Management Consultancy

436 The Grenberg Ring
2318 Grenberg
12 February 2007
Mr G. Schlick
Management Consultant
12 Green Rd.
2567 Meckham
Dear Mr Schlick,
Re: your employment contract
I am writing to inform you…
Yours sincerely,
H. Jenner
Senior Partner
(p.3) B 1. announcement of employment termination, 2. reasons for termination,

3. history of the case to date, 4. what will happen next, 5. further details of
termination, 6. final comments on termination
(p.3) C These are formulaic pieces of writing used to structure the information in the
letter.
(p.4) C Mr Bibby appears to be intolerant, bad tempered and impatient.

Unit 9 - Writing: Extensive writing Page 1
9 Formal Reports
• meet words and expressions about office consultation
• read a report about a Christmas party
• write reports, essays and articles
A Do you ever have to write formal reports in your job? What is

easy/difficult in writing a report? Give three reasons why reports are
written.
B What do the words and expressions in the vocabulary box mean?
suspicion, to be entitled to s.th, to mingle, a questionnaire, anonymous, a (prior)

engagement, resentful, a committee, a grant, to let your hair down
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may need to adapt the word
One _1_ not to be missed every year is Arnie Fischer’s New Year Party. All trade
unionists are _2_ to attend, and can have a good time and _3_. The guests eat, _4_
and talk. Arnie has a _5_ that not everybody who comes is really a trade unionist,
but he is not _6_ at paying for his or her food. ‘If an _7_ person wants to be with us,
then so much the better,’ he says.
D Very quickly read Mr Bibby’s e-mail on the next page. What does he want?
1. more free time
2. to cancel the Christmas party
3. to re-think the Christmas party
E Look quickly at Gavin Pringle’s report on the next page. What are the four parts into
which the report is divided?
F Summarise in one sentence the findings of Gavin’s survey of the staff.
G Summarise in one sentence Gavin’s recommendations. Do you think he is right in his
recommendations?
H The report is over 500 words long. Reduce the report to one of about 200 words (the
length you will have to write in the exam)
H Imagine you are Mr Bibby. Write a letter to the staff telling them of the new
arrangements for the Christmas party (add details to Gavin’s recommendations). The
beginning and ending of the letter have been given to you.
Dear Staff,
You will be thrilled to know that this whole question of the staff Christmas party has
come up again. Many of you will have filled in the questionnaire that my assistant, Gavin
Pringle, sent round. Well, decisions have been made, and here they are.
WRITE THE NEW ARRANGEMENTS HERE
Well, I hope everybody is looking forward to our Christmas feast this year.
Ralph Bibby,
Senior partner
Reports – real-life phrases
Report for the attention of…

I/We found/discovered that…
I/We recommend that…
From rbibby@bibbyandjenner.com
I’m completely fed up with signing cheques of / paying over EUR 7,000 for the firm’s Christmas party.
Nobody seems to enjoy it. Everybody just sits there looking bored and miserable, so my suspicion is that it is
money down the drain. Anyway, I have no time to deal with the problem. Write me a full report and have it
on my desk by a week Wednesday. Ralph.
Report for the attention of Mr R. Bibby, Senior Partner, Bibby and Jenner Management Consultants.
Subject: Possible changes to Bibby and Jenner’s Christmas Party
Background
1 Every year since the foundation of the firm in 1970, Bibby and Jenner have held a Christmas party
which has been free for all full-time members of staff employed at the company’s head office. Each
full-time member of staff has been entitled to bring one person as a guest for a fee (last year EUR 50).
Attendance has grown so that in the past three years between 50 and 70 persons have been present.
2 The party in recent years has been held in the Grand Hotel in the centre of Grenberg. The format has
been speeches, a five-course dinner, and then after-dinner speeches and mingling. The party has been
held on the last working Friday before Christmas, beginning at 19.00 and running until 23.00.
Method
1 I wrote a questionnaire (attached), seeking the opinion of staff on the Christmas party. The
questionnaire could be completed and returned anonymously. Eighty per cent of staff returned the
questionnaire, and the rate of return did not vary significantly between departments. All subsequent
information about staff attitudes is based on the returned questionnaires.
Results
1 A large majority (85%) felt that they were obliged to attend the party, even if they had prior
engagements on that evening. Of these, 82% felt resentful at having to attend, which affected their
enjoyment of the evening.
2 A majority (55%) enjoyed the speeches, but a substantial minority (39%) did not. The most common
reasons cited were that the speeches focused only on the concerns of senior management. A large
majority (90%) felt that the speeches were too long.
3 A concern of a large minority (45%) was that staff had to be ‘well-behaved’ at the party due to the
attendance of senior management, and this limited their enjoyment. This feeling was strongest among
the younger staff members (78%).
4 The current cost of bringing a guest to the party (EUR 50) was a problem for a substantial minority
(47%). A clear majority favoured a simpler, cheaper and more open party (72%).
5 A major concern for a slight majority (55%) was the timing of the party on the last working Friday
before Christmas. Many in the firm would have preferred to attend other engagements on that
evening.
Recommendations
1 My main recommendation is to create two events instead of one: a formal end-of-year dinner with
speeches in the Grand Hotel, and an informal Christmas party at another location.
2 The formal dinner would begin at 18.00, with a maximum of 45 minutes devoted to speeches (Mr
Jenner and Mr Bibby only). The formal dinner would end at 20.30. Attendance at this event would
still be ‘expected’.
3 The informal party would be organised by the Staff Committee. The Committee would be given a
small grant for this purpose. The party would start at 21.00, and would be an opportunity for the staff
to ‘let their hair down’.
4 Both events would be held on the Thursday of the last full working week before Christmas.
5 I propose that the guest fee be abolished.
Report by Gavin Pringle
Submitted to Mr Bibby: 14 October

Exam skills
A What is a discursive essay? What is the purpose of a discursive essay?
Exam tip: No piece of writing will be effective and successful unless you know the
purpose of the text.
B How many sentences are there in a typical

introduction? What is its purpose?
Exam tip: write short and clear introductions. Don’t

put information into the introduction which belongs in
the body of the essay.
C Look at the exam essay below. What is the function of each paragraph? What is the
function of the text in italics?
Exam tip: In an essay there is a structure both within paragraphs and between
paragraphs.
D An argument in an essay can have every point simply contributing to strengthening the
thesis of the essay, or it can have points which modify or qualify the initial thesis. The
first type can often be a simple list, which fails to reflect the complexity of a particular
issue. In the example essay below, where is the thesis modified?
Exam tip: good essays are more than simple lists.
E What is the difference between the content of the introduction and the conclusion?
Exam tip: A conclusion should be based on the argument of the essay.

‘Reports are the best means of communicating formal information’: discuss.
(1) Reports are formal documents for conveying information within and between
organisations. They are a vital form of communication.
(2) Reports have a structure that can easily be recognised: who commissioned the
report, its remit, facts/findings and recommendation(s). The structure allows the
information to be assimilated easily.
(3) Reports are also effective because they require the use of formal language. As a
rule formal language leaves less room for ambiguity, and can be understood more
easily when a report is read by someone with a different linguistic or ethnic
background.
(4) Reports are not appropriate for conveying certain types of information. A
resolution to be put to a meeting, for instance, will have a different format. Reports
suggest a hierarchy, with a subordinate reporting to his/her superior(s), so where no
such relationship exists other forms of communication (letters, e-mails) will
probably be more appropriate.
(5) In conclusion, while reports have a key role to play in organisational

communication, they are not appropriate in every case.
F Now write the following essay: ‘Writing reports is fun’: discuss
Exam practice: To what extent do you agree with this statement?

A Which of the tasks below would you choose? How

important is the topic? How important is the genre?
Discuss in groups.
B Note down some important features of the
following genres: essay, article, report.
C Choose one of the topics below and write a plan.
Discuss your plan with a partner.
D Write your text, check it, and give it to your partner
to improve.
‘Economic growth is the solution to all social problems.’ To what extent do you
agree with this statement?
Write an essay. (ca. 200 words)
Think of an advertising campaign for a product which you have seen. Imagine you
work for the company that produces that product. Write a report for the managing
director of the company on the effectiveness of the campaign.
Write a report. (ca. 200 words)
You have been asked to write an article for a national newspaper on the economic
situation in your town.
Write an article. (ca. 200 words)
E
Which of the following would you use in an essay? Why? What are their functions?
In conclusion…, First, I think…, It has been argued that…, On the one hand…,
A lot of people say…, In other words…, As a result…, In my Dad’s opinion…,
I don’t know much about this…, Additionally…, However,…
F The following essay has been given an introduction and a conclusion. Complete the
essay. You have 150 words for the main part of your essay.
‘The only motivation of business is to maximise profit.’ To what extent do you

agree with this statement?
Businesses operate in a commercial environment, and the main motivation of their

owners is to maximise profits. Businesses, on a day-to-day basis, however, have a
range of objectives. (28 words)
In conclusion, businesses exist to make profit. All other objectives in the majority of
cases are subordinate to the drive for profits. (22 words)

Unit 13: Formal Reports
(p. 1) A Purposes of reports: to collect together information; to provide a clear and

logical record; to show that a matter is of some importance; to provide the basis
for action.
(p. 1) C 1. engagement, 2. entitled, 3./4. mingle / let their hair down, 5. suspicion,
6. resentful, 7. anonymous
(p. 1) D Option 3: Mr Bibby wants his assistant to suggest ways to stop EUR 7,000
being wasted on a Christmas party that nobody enjoys.
(p. 1) E 1. background 2. method 3. results/findings 4. recommendations
(p. 1) F The staff felt that the current party was too formal and expensive, and not held
at the best time.
(p. 1) G There should be two parties: firstly a formal dinner, and then following that an
informal party organised by the staff committee.
(p. 3) A An discursive essay is about taking a statement, stating the arguments for and
against it and finally coming to a reasoned conclusion.
(p. 3) B An introduction in a short essay should consist of no more than two sentences.
The first is an orientation statement (which puts the matter in context); the
second is the thesis (the argument you are making across the whole essay).
(p. 3) C 1 introduction, 2 illustration of essay thesis, 3 ditto, 4 modifying the thesis, 5

conclusion
(p. 3) D The essay modifies the thesis in the fourth paragraph.
(p. 3) E The introduction sets out what is to be proved in the essay; the conclusion
establishes what has been proved in the paragraphs of the essay.
(p. 4) B Essay: formal register, logical and standard structure, argumentative,

impersonal
Article: formal or informal, informative/argumentative, logically structured,
opens and closes with powerful points.
Report: formal, clearly signalled parts, bullet points, economic use of language
(p. 4) E In conclusion…, It has been argued that…, On the one hand…, In other
words…, As a result…, Additionally…, However…

Unit 10 - Grammar & Vocabulary: Dictation Page 1
10 Social Welfare
• meet words and expressions about social welfare for people
• read an article about social welfare for people with no money
• practise writing down exactly what you hear
A Look at the quote below. Do you agree with Mr Jenner?
‘Unemployment is certainly a problem for the unemployed person. But it’s not a
problem for me, and nor should the government be concerned with it.’
Hector Jenner, management consultant
B What is it like being unemployed? What benefits should be given to the unemployed?
C Which of the following words are connected to money?
a benefit, invalidity, a lone parent, maternity benefit, rent, mortgage payments,

a supplement, individual circumstances, an orphan
D Fill in the gaps in the text below with a word or expression from the vocabulary box.
You may need to adapt the word.
Maria is unemployed. She lives in a small flat with her young son. As a _1_ she
receives a _2_ to her social welfare _3_. She is now eight months pregnant, so she is
on _4_. She also needs help with her _5_ because she still owes the bank EUR
10,000. Some extra money comes in because of her _6_; poor Maria only has one
leg.
E Look quickly at the article on the next page. What kind of magazine do you think the
article comes from?
F Look at the article on the next page again. What kind of person would receive the
highest social welfare payments?
G The following people all want social welfare benefits. Advise them on the basis of the
Sara Liebermann’s advice.
‘I am 17 and still go to school. I live at home with my parents.’ Martin
‘I live alone, work ten hours a week and can’t pay the mortgage on my big
house.’ Joan
‘I can’t find a job, but my husband has a full-time job.’ Rachel
‘I’m 16 and still at school, but my parents moved to Australia last year and send me
no money.’ Colin
Benefits – real-life phrases

She’s on the dole. (colloquial – unemployed)
I can’t make ends meet. (not enough money to live)
I’m going to sign-on. (register as being
unemployed)
Do you need welfare payments?
Are you unemployed with no money? Sara Liebermann tells you whether you can
get benefit.
As a general rule if you are unemployed, do towards rent or mortgage

not have any income and have nearly payments. However, a
nothing in savings then you are entitled to welfare officer has to
Social Welfare Benefit. issue a certificate that
the size of your house is
Social Welfare Benefit is for people who reasonable for your
are under sixty, earn less than EUR 500 a needs, and you must show proof of the rent
month and have savings of under EUR or mortgage payments that you make.
3,000. If you are ill you should apply for
Invalidity Benefit, and if you are over sixty You can usually get extra money for your
then you should apply to the Pension family. The amount paid is dependent on
Bureau. how many children you have, and their
ages. You can also get a supplement to your
Savings of over EUR 500 affect how much Social Welfare Benefit if you are caring for
Social Welfare Benefit you can get. elderly relatives.
Basically, the more savings you have, the
lower your benefit will be. Students are generally not entitled to Social
Welfare Benefit. If you are studying, you
To apply, you need to go to the Social may be able to get Income Social Welfare
Welfare Benefit Division at the Social Benefit while you are on your course if you
Security Offices. But you can apply by are a lone parent, sick or disabled, or
phone or letter if you are a lone parent, if registered blind. You should check with
you are unable to work because you are your social security office.
caring for someone, or if you are blind.
If you are aged between 16 and 18 and still
If you have a partner (wife, husband or at school or college you cannot get benefit
someone you live with) who works an for yourself unless you are looking after
average of 24 hours a week or more, you your own child, or you are an orphan. You
cannot usually get Social Welfare Benefit. will be considered an orphan if: you are not
If you have a partner who works an average living with or not in touch with your
of less than 24 hours a week, their earnings parents and not being supported by them;
will usually affect the amount of benefit you are separated from your parents for
you can get. You will be able to get Social reasons that cannot be avoided and nobody
Welfare Benefit if you or your partner are is looking after you in their place.
not working because of parental leave.
Pregnant women and people with children So, how much will you get? The rules for
under five get free milk and vitamins in benefits mean that your individual
addition to their welfare benefit. circumstances (age, housing cost, and
dependants) will affect the amount you can
If you do not fully own your own home and receive. This means you will not always be
you are entitled to Social Welfare Benefit, able to easily work out exactly how much
you may receive extra money to help you are entitled to.

Exam Skills
A Match each grammar term on the left with the highlighted word it corresponds to on the
right.
adverbial particle He has been unemployed for three years now.

article They won’t pay us any benefit until next month.
auxiliary verb You can’t receive both unemployment and invalidity benefit.
conjunction The welfare officer that works in that office is quite helpful.
(demonstrative) pronoun She sat on a bench and waited to see a welfare officer.
modal auxiliary She’s looking for a job.
preposition At his age he might not find another job.
(personal) pronoun Welfare benefits are paid out on Wednesday.
relative pronoun You need this form to complain.
Exam Tip: In the dictation, it is often difficult to hear these small grammar words. If
you know your sentence grammar you can often work out the correct word.
B Which of the above highlighted words can contain a schwa when said in a sentence at
normal speaking speed? (A schwa sound is the sound at the start of the word about and
at the end of the word better.)
Exam Tip: The dictation task requires you to reproduce every word. Often in connected
speech short grammar words change their pronunciation and have a schwa sound.
C Look at the text below and for each gap work out the class of the missing word. Then
find a suitable word for each gap.
Maria has _1_ long form to fill _2_ before she _3_ get invalidity _4_ unemployment
benefit. She picked up the form yesterday and needs to return _5_ to the social
welfare office _6_ the town centre tomorrow.
D Don’t look at your book. Tell your partner all you can remember about Maria. Now fill
in the gaps.
Maria is i__ her flat alone with her s__. She w___ a job, but she can’t find o__. She
needs to claim b___ to buy food and p___ the loan on her flat. There are different
types of b___ she can claim. She is en___ to inv___ and unem___ payments. She
receives a sup___ because of her s___.
Exam Tip: In the dictation look at the title and picture and think about all you know on
the topic. It will help you to predict and guess words.
What’s the Exam Task?

You will hear a tape recording of a text read in separate pieces (or ‘chunks’). You must write it
word-for-word with the correct spelling.

Exam Practice: No Hope for Ellen
A How do people’s lives change when they lose their

jobs? The woman in the picture is unemployed. How
do you think that she is feeling?
B You will hear a short text about Mandy Gibbons, an
office cleaner. Write down the text as closely to the
original as you can. Nearly all of the grammar words
are missing. Check what you have written with a
partner.
C Listen again to make sure that you have written down the text correctly. Insert suitable
grammar words to make the sentences grammatically accurate and meaningful.
Compare your answers with a partner.
D Now listen to the complete text. Discuss any differences between your answer and the
text on the tape.
E What do the following mean?
a short-term contract, promotion, redundancies, benefits, employment agencies, evicted,
alternative accommodation
F The dictation is about the misfortune of someone called Ellen. What do think her story
is? Do the dictation. Now listen and write down every word you hear.
G Read Facts about dictation below.
Facts about the dictation
Length: the dictation is between 85 and 100 words.
The text is divided into parts (or chunks) in two ways: reading chunks and marking chunks.
There are between twelve and eighteen reading chunks. (Each of these is divided into one or
more marking chunks).
Each marking chunk which is ‘correct’ (see below) gains a point. What is necessary in order
to get the point?
• You must include all the words.
• You must spell every word (except names) correctly.
What is not important:

• punctuation, i.e. capital letters and any punctuation marks
• spelling proper nouns: e.g. Mr Smith, Budapest
• whether you use British or American spelling
• whether you abbreviate or not (e.g. I have or I’ve, do not or don’t) but slang
abbreviations (e.g. gonna, wanna) are not acceptable
H Now mark the four marking chunks in the box below. Check what you have done with a
partner.
Look at the four following marking chunks in a dictation. Which of them would gain would gain points in
the examination. Why?
danny noble lives in the small town of which is now a suberb of the
Meckjham
Neighboring Town of Grenberg. since leaving school the begining of the 1990s
I Now finish writing the dictation about Danny Noble. There is no right answer. How you
finish the story is up to you. Make sure you only have twenty marking chunks. Practise
your dictation with someone else in the class.

Unit 10: Social Welfare
(p. 1) D 1. lone parent, 2. supplement, 3. benefit, 4. maternity benefit, 5. mortgage

payments, 6. invalidity
(p. 1) E A magazine for the unemployed, a community paper – perhaps any magazine
written for people on low incomes. It could be an official magazine published
by a social welfare office.
(p. 1) F People with no income and with savings of under EUR 3,000 who are pregnant
or have children under five, or have rent/mortgages to pay, or have many
children, or are caring for elderly relatives.
(p. 1) G Martin: not entitled to benefits.

Joan: possibly, if earning less than EUR 500 a month and with savings of
under EUR 3,000.
Rachel: not entitled to benefit
Colin: if he is not supported by anybody else, then he is probably entitled to
benefit.
(p. 3) A adverbial particle (out), article (a), auxiliary verb (has), conjunction (and),
(demonstrative) pronoun (this), modal auxiliary (might), preposition (on),
personal pronoun (us), relative pronoun (that)
(p. 3) B has, us, and, that, on (possibly), a
(p. 3) C 1. Article / determiner (a), 2. adverbial particle (in), 3. auxiliary/modal auxiliary

(e.g. can),
4. conjunction (or), 5. object pronoun referring back ( anaphoric reference) (it),
6. preposition (in).
(p. 3) D Maria is in her flat alone with her son. She wants a job, but she can’t find one.
She needs to claim benefit to buy food and pay the loan on her flat. There are
different types of benefit she can claim. She is entitled to invalidity and
unemployment payments. She receives a supplement because of her son.
(p. 4) D For ten years Mandy Gibbons was directly employed by a firm of management
consultants to clean the main offices. Last week, however, poor Mandy was
made unemployed when the cleaning was transferred to a private cleaning
company.
(p. 4) F
Ellen was employed on a short-term contract by a firm of management
consultants. Initially, she had hoped for promotion and a comfortable life,
but poor profits led to redundancies and unemployment for Ellen. She
received benefits for sixth months, but despite going to several employment
agencies, failed to find work. ‘I now have no income, and I was evicted
from my flat this morning,’ said a deflated Ellen. When asked whether she
had found alternative accommodation, she replied, ‘Yes, I’ve found a place
under a bridge for tonight’. (88 words)

1 1 Ellen was employed 2 on a short-term contract

2 3 by a firm of 4 management consultants.
3 5 Initially, she had hoped 6 for promotion
4 7 and a comfortable life,
5 8 but poor profits 9 led to redundancies
6 10 and unemployment for Ellen.
7 11 She received benefits 12 for sixth months,
8 13 but despite going to several 14 employment agencies,
9 15 failed to find work.
10 16 ‘I now have no income,
11 17 and I was evicted 18 from my flat this morning,’
12 19 said a deflated Ellen.
13 20 When asked whether 21 she had found
14 22 alternative accommodation,
15 23 she replied, ‘Yes, I’ve found a place
16 24 under a bridge 25 for tonight’.
(This dictation has 25 marking chunks. The exam dictation has only 20 marking
chunks)
(p. 4) H
First Chunk: This chunk gains a point. The lack of capital letters in the name
Danny Noble, and the misspelling of Meckham, a proper noun, are ignored.
Second Chunk: This chunk does not gain a point. The misspelling of suburb, a
common noun, loses the point.
Third Chunk: This chunk gains a point. The unnecessary capitalisation of
neighbouring and town are ignored, as is the American spelling of
neighbouring.
Fourth Chunk: This chunk does not gain a point. Both the omission of the
preposition at and the misspelling of beginning cause the point to be lost.
Unit 10: Social Welfare: tapescript
(p. 4) B/C First and second reading
For ten years Mandy Gibbons * directly employed ** firm **

management consultants * clean * main offices. Last week, however,
poor Mandy * made unemployed * * cleaning * transferred * * private
cleaning company
(p. 4) D Third Reading
For ten years Mandy Gibbons was directly employed by a firm of

management consultants to clean the main offices. Last week, however,
poor Mandy was made unemployed when the cleaning was transferred to
a private cleaning company.
(p. 4) F Grammar and vocabulary – dictation

Ellen was employed on a short-term contract by a firm of management

consultants. Initially, she had hoped for promotion and a comfortable life, but
poor profits led to redundancies and unemployment for Ellen. She received
benefits for sixth months, but despite going to several employment agencies
failed to find work. ‘I now have no income, and I was evicted from my flat this
morning,’ said a defeated Ellen. When asked whether she had found alternative
accommodation, she replied, ‘Yes, I’ve found a place under a bridge for
tonight.’ (88 words)
1 Ellen was employed on a short-term contract

2 by a firm of management consultants.
3 Initially, she had hoped for promotion
4 and a comfortable life,
5 but poor profits led to redundancies
6 and unemployment for Ellen.
7 She received benefits for sixth months,
8 but despite going to several employment agencies
9 failed to find work.
10 ‘I now have no income,
11 and I was evicted from my flat this morning,’
12 said a defeated Ellen.
13 When asked whether she had found
14 alternative accommodation,
15 she replied, ‘Yes, I’ve found a place
16 under a bridge for tonight.’
Repeated reading chunk by reading chunk

Unit 11 - Grammar & Vocabulary: Muliple choice gap-fill Page 1
11 Job Satisfaction
• meet words and expressions about experiences at work
• read an article about job satisfaction
• find out more about ‘words that go together.’
A Do you enjoy your job? What gives you satisfaction at work? What is boring or
irritating?
B Thinking about job satisfaction, what is good and bad

about these jobs?
• a teacher
• a factory worker
• a call-centre operator
• a painter
• a management consultant
C Which of the words below are connected to work? Which can be used to describe a
person?
the service sector, an assembly line, the common good, deprivation, to invest, to
manipulate, consciousness, narcissistic, isolated, hostile, a letter of resignation,
discrimination, an appraisal, job enrichment, the dole
D Put an appropriate word or phrase from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may
need to adapt the word.
Danny Noble was looking for _1_, so he moved from a job in _2_ (He did
photocopying in an office), to work nights on an _3_. ‘We can’t talk for eight hours
because of the noise, so I feel _4_. Management has a very negative and _5_ attitude
towards us. I went to a job _6_ meeting last week, but no promotion for me. I feel
that I’m a victim of 7 , so I decided to send them 8 . I’m back on 9 again.
E Look quickly at the article on the next page. In what kind of magazine would you find
this article? Who would read it?
F Look at the article again quickly. What is the main point made in (i) the first three
paragraphs, and (ii) the last four paragraphs?
G Form two groups. Group A should list the problems identified in the first three
paragraphs and suggest solutions. Group B should list the problems identified in last
four paragraphs and suggest solutions.
H Half the members of each group should swap groups. Discuss the problems and
solutions with the members of your new group.
Job satisfaction – real-life phrases

I’ve got a dead end job. (a job with no prospects)
It’s a drag. (slang – very boring)
She got a 9-to-5 job. (regular office work)

‘I hate my job!’
Levels of job satisfaction are falling, particularly among women, says Sara
Liebermann
As more workers enter the service sector, because they're given far
increasing numbers are complaining about less meaningful work
jobs that provide them with little than men.
satisfaction. I don’t want to romanticise
work on assembly lines, but people had a A lack of overall job
sense that they were creating products that satisfaction, particularly
served some higher purpose other than the chance to do meaningful work and the
making money. They thought they were opportunity for promotion, compels more
serving ‘the common good’. Most working women than men to hand in a letter of
people have a deep desire to serve some resignation. In a survey of 595 male and
higher purpose or goal other than their own female workers in the civil service and
financial needs, and the deprivation of this higher education, researchers measured the
vital need is an important source of their workers’ intentions to leave and then
stress. examined thirteen possible motives for
resignation. Among them were job security,
These days more and more people spend wages, working conditions, benefits and
their working days trying to get others to paid holiday.
want their products or services, which
means investing a great deal of effort in Women were approximately twice as likely
manipulating and controlling the as men to admit that they would ‘definitely’
consciousness of others. Sometimes we are or ‘probably’ leave their employment
selling a product for others to make a profit within two years. Only 12.2% of the men
with, but at other times we are selling indicated an intention to quit, while 22.2%
ourselves, particularly if we work in the of the women said they were ready to
professions. resign. Female workers were far less
content than their male counterparts with
We need others to see us as desirable their chances for advancement and the
‘products’, so that they will buy us, our meaningfulness of their everyday duties. In
services, our product, our way of doing addition, the researchers found that the
things. We go to seminars to become the longer women had worked at their jobs, the
right person to sell. This creates self- more they wanted to leave; for them this
centred human beings who know how to was an ‘alarming’ finding, which
treat others as objects, but rarely as contradicted previous studies.
subjects. People tend to feel lonely and
isolated, surrounded by a hostile world. Studies suggest that discrimination, high
They find it increasingly difficult to trust expectations, underlying performance
others. They hate being part of that kind of problems, or differential treatment in the
a world, yet to be realistic they feel they appraisal process may account for women's
must be part of it, and that there is little they dissatisfaction with advancement
can do to change it, so they had better opportunities. All this means that
protect themselves as best they can. companies that want to have a solid core of
workers at the end of the decade may want
Women suffer particularly, and have a to consider starting programmes in career
higher turnover in employment than men. development and job enrichment, for their
The reason is not because they are less female workers in particular.
committed workers, a new study finds. It's

Exam Skills
A Celeste Stein is an interior designer. Give her short text a title.
‘I simply love my job. To be honest, it’s my hobby as well. Most of the day I’m
thinking or writing about how to design the insides of people’s houses or offices.
What I think I like most is the challenge of every room being different. Just think
about it for a moment: every room has a different shape, a different height and a
different purpose, because no two people have the same needs. Never forget that we
live most of our lives in rooms, so when I design a room I’m doing something really
important.’
B Look again at the text above and find the correct option for the gap in Celeste’s
sentence below.
‘In the evenings I’m often tired, but I can look back on a day full of _1_’
A. boredom B. variety C. predictability D. stress
N.B. Without reading the text we could probably discount the negative options ‘A’ and
‘D’ because she says ‘I’m often tired (a negative feature), but…’ (we expect a positive
feature). Determining between options ‘B’ and ‘C’, however, can only be done by
understanding the overall meaning of the text.
Exam tip: before you start looking at the gaps and options, read the text for gist.
C Collocation is about words that can and can’t go together, e.g. Let’s begin/start the
lesson but only Let’s start the car. Read what Celeste says below and choose an option.
The correct option forms a partnership with of living to produce a collocation.
Celeste says, ‘Although money is not the main thing in my life, my fees give a high
_1_ of living’.
A. level B. degree C. standard D. measure
D Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and one or two adverbial particles. The adverbial particle
often changes the meaning of the verb; e.g. with the verb to break. I broke the vase
(non-phrasal) and War broke out. (phrasal). Read what Celeste says below and choose
an option. The correct option completes a phrasal verb.
Celeste says, ‘Every day I wake up really excited and I _1_ forward to the day
ahead.’
A. view B. see C. glance D. look

E Look at the passage below. Which is the correct alternative? In each case decide
whether the correct answer involves meaning in context, collocation and/or phrasal
verbs.
‘Being an interior designer involves/avoids keeping in contact with a large/big

number of people. There are of course the furniture makers, from whom each item is
individually/ collectively ordered according to my design specifications. The
curtains are all tailor/ individual made, and the type and colour of the fabric
involves several types of experts. Carpet specialists and manufacturers are also
involved/ignored. Lighting also makes/constitutes up an important/irrelevant
element/part of room design; there is the design of the fittings themselves as well as
the technical questions/issues of organising the wiring and the switches. People
often don’t realise/take in the complexities of designing and putting/making
together even one room, but all these specialists have to communicate/get on well
together.’
F Look at the four options for the word that is gapped in Celeste’s sentence below. Find
the correct answer and then state why the distractors are incorrect, and how the
distractor was intending to distract you.
‘Once I’ve designed a room I can’t _1_ up with clients changing their minds.’
A. put B. take C. tolerate D. stand
Exam tip: Don’t just choose what you think is the correct answer, but work out why the
distractors are wrong.
G Work out the part of speech for the gap in Celeste’s sentence below, and then fill it in.
_1_ by the door of the room, Celeste surveys the beauty she has created.
Exam tip: Before looking at the options, try to work out the part of speech for the gap
and what the word might be. If your guess is indeed among the options, it is probably
correct.

Exam Practice: Caught in a dead-end Job
A What does the title of the newspaper article mean?

B Read the text quickly and find out what John Pizzy and Hector
Jenner enjoy in their jobs.
C Do the task. Give reasons for why the distractors are wrong.
Job satisfaction: the modern oxymoron

What makes people happy at work? It’s very difficult to find an answer that _0_ to everybody.
Saul Denman called in at a couple of workplaces in Grenberg to _1_ out.
John Pizzy has been packing ice cream into boxes for twenty-three years now. Is there any job
satisfaction in his work? ‘Well, there’s satisfaction being at _2_ when all the lads are together. We
often tell _3_ all day, and that really keeps us going. Sometimes I am _4_ on taping up the boxes and
that makes a bit of a change. If the assembly _5_ breaks down for a few hours, that can give us a
laugh.’ And what is unsatisfying about the job? ‘Well, what do you think? Wasting eight hours a _6_
in this place doing the same thing, year in _7_ out.’
I then went to ask Hector Jenner, a successful management consultant. He was ready with his
answers. ‘Work satisfaction for me is pretty simple. Work becomes satisfying when it _8_ in financial
gain. For me, work is never a(n) _9_ in itself. It’s always about money.’ Is there such a thing as job
dissatisfaction in his lexicon? ‘Yes, when a muddle or inefficiency _10_ to financial loss. I call that a
tragedy.’
Ex. A. fits B. applies C. joins D. affects (‘B’ is correct)

1 A. find B. discover C. locate D. investigate
2 A. job B. work C. workplace D. labour
3 A. humours B. funs C. amusements D. jokes
4 A. asked B. ordered C. given D. put
5 A. line B. process C. row D. job
6 A. day B. week C. job D. work
7 A. day B. week C. month D. year
8 A. causes B. results C. develops D. makes
9 A. finish B. end C. ending D. affect
10 A. causes B. signals C. points D. leads

Unit 11: Job Satisfaction
(p. 1) C Connected to work: the service sector, an assembly line, the common
good, to invest, a letter of resignation, discrimination, an appraisal, job
enrichment, the dole
Connected to a person: deprivation, to manipulate, consciousness,

narcissistic, isolated, hostile, discrimination,
(p. 1) D 1. job enrichment, 2. the service sector, 3. an assembly line, 4. isolated, 5.

hostile, 6. appraisal, 7. discrimination, 8. letter of resignation, 9. the dole.
(p. 1) E a general or women’s magazine
(p. 1) F 1. In the service sector today many people feel that they are doing useless and
stressful jobs. 2. Women feel under more stress than men, and many want to
leave their jobs.
(p. 3) A Why Celeste likes her job
(p. 3) B The answer is B.
(p. 3) C The answer is C.
(p. 3) D The answer is D.
(p. 3) E involves (avoids makes no sense in context), large (big does not collocate with number
of), individually (collectively makes no sense in context), tailor (individual does not
collocate with made), involved (ignored makes no sense in context), makes (makes up
is a phrasal verb), important part (collocates with makes up a(n)), technical issues
(collocates better) putting together (is a phrasal verb and makes sense in context), get
on (a phrasal verb).
(p. 4) F The correct answer is A.

DISTRACTORS: B take up with s.b is a phrasal verb, but it means to form a
relationship with, and is therefore inappropriate here. C The verb tolerate
cannot be followed with the particle up. D The verbal phrase to stand up with
s.b is possible, but has no idiomatic meaning and is meaningless in the context.
(p. 4) G It is a participle, probably a present particle, e.g. Standing, Sitting; Seated (third
form).
(p. 4) A An oxymoron is the putting together of two words that contradict each other,
e.g. a square circle. The title of the article suggest at satisfaction and
employment cannot go together.
(p. 4) B John Pizzy – when work stops for some reason. Hector Jenner – making money.
(p. 4) C 1.A, 2.B, 3.D, 4.D, 5.A, 6.A, 7.D, 8.B, 9.B, 10.D

Unit 12 - Grammar & Vocabulary Modified cloze Page 1
12 Business Etiquette
• meet words and expressions about professional associations
• read an article about dinner parties
• role play a dinner party
A How do you feel in business meetings with people you don’t

know?
B How important are the following in doing business?

• knowing the language of your business associate
• knowing how to dress for a meeting
• knowing how to make appropriate conversation with business associates
• knowing the format of a business meeting
• knowing what to do at a formal business dinner
C What do the following words or expressions mean?
to negotiate, discourteous, a course, a hostess, conspicuous, an honoured guest, to

cultivate contacts.
D Put one of the words or expressions from the vocabulary box above into the gaps.
When you are abroad and an _1_, should you give flowers to your _2_ when you are
invited to a five- _3_ dinner. Nobody wants to be _4_, and formal dinners are a good
time to _5_. You can _6_ the details later.
E Look quickly at the article on the following page. In what kind of publication would
you find it? Who would read it?
F Look again quickly at the article. Find three pieces of advice which would not be
appropriate at McDonald’s.
G Wayne Shatner, who runs a catering firm, has read Mr Bibby’s article and has written
the following letter to the magazine.
Dear Sir,
What Mr Bibby has written is total rubbish. I am a millionaire and have never gone
to a dinner like that, nor would any of my business associates. If Bibby enjoys that
kind of nonsense, then let him enjoy it, but it has nothing to do with running a profit-
making business.
W. Shatner (Shatner Catering PLC)
How much do you agree with Mr Bibby? How much do you agree with Mr Shatner?
Discuss in groups.
Being polite on social occasions – real-life phrases

May I introduce…to you?
I think we’ve met before.
It’s been a pleasure meeting you.

Does success in business come from creating a good

impression at dinner?
Management consultant Ralph Bibby thinks it does
facing the room. On the

There are few people who reach the top of
speaker's right sits the
the business world without having to face a
honoured guest, the
formal dinner. Observing the correct
principal speaker of the
etiquette can only enhance your status and,
evening. On the speaker's left sits the
indirectly, your profits.
second most important guest. All those at
A formal business dinner never begins the speaker's table, of course, sit on the side
before seven o'clock, though the time is of the table facing the room. Guests other
usually eight or eight-thirty. It is very than the speakers may be honoured by
discourteous for a guest to be late. You being placed at the speaker's table.
should arrive at least five minutes before
Who should be served first is a much-
the hour set for the dinner. If you are late
debated question, but in any event the
for some unavoidable reason, offer
waiter moves around the table to the right,
apologies, and take your place at the table
serving each guest in turn. When the waiter
as quickly as possible. The late guest begins
holds a dish so that you may serve yourself,
with the course that is then being served.
he presents it at your left. Treat the waiter
At the start of the dinner, the hostess leads impersonally while you are being served.
the women guests into the dining room, ‘Thank you,’ ‘No, thank you,’ or ‘If you
followed by the host and the male guests. please,’ in low tones is sufficient.
The hostess then tells her guests where to
And a very important point about drinking:
sit. She must always have the seating
do not look around the room while you are
planned in advance, in order to avoid
drinking; look into the glass. Use the
confusion and delay. These days guests are
napkin for the fingers or mouth whenever
seated wherever the hostess thinks they will
necessary, so that you will not dirty the
be happiest. The host and hostess sit at
glass. Do not drink while you have food in
opposite ends of the table.
your mouth.
Each person stands behind his or her chair
When it is time to stand, push your chair
until the hostess starts to take her seat. Each
from the table by taking hold of each side
person moves to the left of the chair in
of the seat of the chair. Don't rest your
order to sit. Step close to the table and –
hands or arms on the table, then push
still standing – pull the chair toward you by
yourself up. Remember to rise from the
taking hold of each side of the seat. Don't
chair from the left side.
sit down, then move the chair to the table
with two or three jerks. Neither lean back in It is not necessary to remain longer than
the chair, nor sit too close to the table. Keep thirty minutes after a dinner if the invitation
your feet on the floor. Your feet may be does not include the whole evening. You
crossed if you wish, but not your knees. should avoid seeming in a hurry to depart,
however. But remember: use the dinner, the
The speaker's table is placed in a
time before it and the time after it to
conspicuous part of the room. The guest
cultivate useful business contacts.
speaker sits in the middle seat on the side
Dinner party role -play
The tables in the classroom are laid out for a formal dinner: a host, hostess, waiter, speaker, etc.
are appointed; the remainder of the class are guests. Once it has been decided who everybody is,
the students should work together to write role cards of what everyone has to do.
What happens
The guests arrive and are greeted. Everybody has ‘dinner,’ and talks politely. At the end of the
party, the class should discuss how many of Mr Bibby’s rules were broken. An award should be
given to the best and worst guest.

Exam Skills
A Working in groups of three or four, try to define the following terms. Give examples of
each in a sentence.
adverbial particle, article, auxiliary, conjunction, demonstrative, pronoun, modal

auxiliary, preposition, pronoun, relative pronoun.
B Which are the ‘grammatical’ words in the following sentence? What parts of speech are
they?
Mr Bibby is a successful businessman who has made a lot of money.
Exam Tip: In the modified cloze task only grammatical words are gapped.
C Look at the short comment by Wayne Shatner below. Which part of speech goes in each
gap? Fill each gap with a suitable word.
‘I will _1_ business with anyone, and matters of formality are unimportant for me.
I’m _2_ the catering business and _3_ met this fellow who was selling cooked
beans. He couldn’t speak _4_ write properly, but his cans of beans were good value
_5_ money, so we did business. To _6_ honest, I keep business and pleasure _7_.’
Exam Tip: You need to know the grammatical structure of sentences to do this task
well.
D Read the short article by Wayne Shatner below and give it a title. You will need
information from this text for Exercise E.
‘Working in the catering business means that I need to have many meetings, and a
large number of those meetings occur over a meal. Of course you feel better talking
about business when you have a full stomach. What we mostly do is leave the office
around midday and go to a fast food outlet. In most cases I have a burger and a fizzy
drink. There is nothing formal in it because we are always on first name terms and
just talk to sort out our contractual arrangements.’
E Fill in the gap in the following sentence:
In his business affairs Wayne Shatner is _1_ formal than Mr Bibby.
Exam Tip: To do this exam task you need to understand the meaning of the text, so read
the task quickly before you start filling in the gaps.

E Get into groups of two or three. Your teacher will give each group either Text A or Text
B. When your teacher tells you to do so, do the following. (Your teacher will give you a
text of 100-150 words, probably from the internet.)
• Give the text three possible titles; none of them should be silly or irrelevant, but
only one of them should be a good title.
• Underline all the grammatical words.
• ‘Tippex out’ as many of the grammatical words as you can, but remember to leave
six words between each blanked-out word. Make a
record of the blanked-out words.
• Swap your text with one from a group which has the
other text. Choose the best title. Try to fill in the gaps.
• Hand back your test to the other group for marking.
Exam Practice: Honouring Mr Reninson?
A What can successful business people expect to receive in

their lives, apart from money? Do business people like
publicity?
B Read the text, Honouring Mr Reninson. How does Mr
Reninson feel about the event and why?
C What part of speech can fit into each gap?
D Do the task. Write a short news item on what happened to
Mr Reninson.
Fill each gap with ONE appropriate word. The first has been done for you as an example.
‘Well, I left my hometown some twenty years EXAMPLE … ago … to pursue a

career in business management in a provincial city. _1_ several years I already had
my _2_ company and the profits were pouring _3_. I married, bought a big house
and car _4_ started a family.
‘A month ago I received an invitation _5_ my hometown to receive an
honour, which _6_ to be presented to me in the town’s arts’ centre. _7_ I had very
little time, I decided to go, particularly as a big show was to be put on for me.
‘The auditorium was packed. A full orchestra played a classical piece and
then the lights went out. In complete darkness the stage curtains were pulled back
and there I was, standing alone on the stage. Suddenly, _8_ single beam of light was
projected onto me and the audience burst _9_ applause. I waved, but what was I to
do after the applause had died down? I had no microphone, _10_ I just walked off
the stage and drove home. It was all very poorly organised.’
Pigs
A fat, wealthy, self-made businessman decided to move his family from the town to the
country, so he bought a large farmhouse, had it renovated, and then moved in.
One day, after a business lunch, he was arriving home in his new BMW when he
caught sight of his three-year-old son rolling around in the mud in the yard. He pulled up in
his car.
‘Ho, what a dirty little boy you are!’ His young son looked at his father, but said
nothing. So his father moved a little closer.
‘You are a piglet my son.’ But still his son just stared in silence. The businessman
thought his son had not understood.
‘Do you know what a piglet is, son?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Dad,’ his son replied, ‘A piglet is the son of a pig.’

Unit 12: Business Etiquette
(p. 1) D 1. honoured guest, 2. hostess, 3. course, 4. conspicuous / discourteous, 5.

cultivate contacts, 6. negotiate
(p. 1) E a magazine for wealthy/pretentious/affected/snobbish people
(p. 1) F The text is full of examples.
(p. 3) A
adverbial particle In form often similar to a preposition: qualifies
and sometimes changes the meaning of a verb,
e.g. to put up with s.th.
article The determiners (which come before nouns)
the a and an.
auxiliary verb A word (used either alone or with another
auxiliary) which qualifies the main verb, either
to form a question or negative, or to form
continuous, perfect or passive verb forms , e.g.
have, do
conjunction Joins words, phrases and clauses, e.g. and, but
demonstrative pronoun A pronoun which ‘points’: this, that, these,
those
modal auxiliary Expresses the speaker’s judgment or opinion
related to the main verb, in terms of obligation,
possibility, etc. E.g. must, can, would, might
preposition Establishes the relationship of a noun phrase to
other elements, esp. in terms of time and place,
e.g. on, after
pronoun Substitutes for a noun, e.g. he, them
relative pronoun Substitutes for an item in a subordinate relative
clause, and refers to the main clause, e.g. who,
which
(p. 3) B The following words are grammar words: is (an empty meaning linking verb
called a copular), a (indefinite article) who (relative pronoun), has (auxiliary),
a, of (preposition).
(p. 3) C 1. verb – do; 2. preposition – in; 3. pronoun – I, or adverb – once;

4. conjunction – or; 5. preposition – for; 6. verb – be; 7. adverb – apart/ or
adjective separate/ distinct
(p. 3) D Talking business over a quick meal
(p. 3) E 1. less
(p. 4) C/D 1. preposition – For/After; 2. adjective – own; 3. adverbial particle – in;

4. conjunction – and 5. preposition – from/to; 6. auxiliary verb – had;
7. (subordinating) conjunction – Although/Though; 8. article – a
/quantifier(one;
9. preposition – into; 10. sentence conjunct /adverbial – so/therefore/and.

Unit 13 – Mediation: Dialogue Page 1
13 Doing Business Abroad (incomplete)

A What possible problems might arise with a company doing business in Albania?
Have you ever done business abroad?
B What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?
to impede, macro-economic policy, to cite,

a constraint, to shoulder, a deregulated market,
on the ground, a follow-up, field investigations,
to designate, an executing agency, persistence,
to pinpoint
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may have to adapt the words.
In some countries the __1__ of the government has led to high inflation. A __2__
has removed all __3__and restrictions on firms. Nothing __4__ business. People on
fixed salaries and pensioners have had to __5__cuts in government expenditure. An
economic study has __6__many specific problems __7__ but a __8__ is required to
provide even greater detail.
D Look at the article quickly. Find two things that Mr Jenner believes impede business
development in the new market economies.
E In which paragraph can you find the following:
• quantified evidence of slow moving bureaucracy

• being able to rely on state institutions is important
• the importance of local implementation
• discussion of the amount of state involvement
F Look the context of the following. Translate them into Hungarian.
• At the head of the list is concern for… ..................................(paragraph 2)

• You may find yourself in a complete mess............................(paragraph 2)
• Business friendly....................................................................(paragraph 3)
• To uphold property rights ......................................................(paragraph 3)
• The policy-related costs shouldered by the firm....................(paragraph 4)
• The time management has to waste dealing with… ..............(paragraph 6)
• Governments should focus on…............................................(paragraph 7)
• …addressing important constraints that face firms…............(paragraph 9)
G Translate paragraph 8 into Hungarian.
H Mr Jenner’s article is written entirely from the point of view of business.

Would workers in the new market economy have a different opinion?
Write a review of Mr Jenner’s article from a workers’ perspective.

Doing business in Albania on the ground. The law may say

something, but in many new market
Management consultant, Hector economies, you find the local officials
Jenner, examines the issue. apply yesterday’s laws or simply decide
(1) I think I can safely say that most things without reference to laws. Progress
countries these days see success of their requires more than changes to formal
businesses as a precondition for the success policies.
of their countries. But that does not mean (6) The study has highlighted some
that overseas there aren’t often all sorts of bureaucratic problems businesses face. The
problems that impede investment and time managers have to waste dealing with
business. Albania is a particularly difficult officials of various kinds ranges from 5.5
case. per cent in the Czech Republic to about 15
(2) There are a number of factors which per cent in Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia,
might worry a company investing overseas. Montenegro and Albania. Registering
At the head of the list is concern for the property takes over 950 days in Bosnia and
stability of government policies. Sudden Herzegovina, only 3 days in Lithuania and
changes in macro-economic policy can be 47 days in Albania. Enforcing a contract
disastrous for companies. You may find can take over 1000 days in Poland, Serbia,
yourself in a complete mess if suddenly the Montenegro and Slovenia and 189 in
currency is devalued by fifty per cent, for Latvia. In Albania it’s 390 days.
instance. In a recent study by Professor (7) Governments should focus on
Otto Slovo of Grenberg University, only 12 improving the basic foundations of a good
per cent of firms in Slovenia and Estonia investment climate to benefit all firms and
cited changes in government policy as a activities in the economy. The study
major constraint, while 60 per cent did so in reviews four core areas: stability and
Belarus. 48 per cent of the Albanian firms security; regulation and taxation; finance
mentioned it as a major constraint. and infrastructure; workers and labour
(3) A closely related issue is the question of markets.
confidence in state institutions. For us to (8) The Slovo study attempted to improve
make profits they need to be reliable and the investment climate for the private
business friendly. Confidence in the courts sector. This was in response to a request
to uphold property rights is vital. Professor from the Albanian Government to pinpoint
Slovo showed that such confidence varies the administrative barriers to investment as
from less than 30 per cent of firms in part of the country’s programme of change.
Moldova, to 70 per cent in Estonia. In The study covered 500 firms and follow-up
Albania 50 per cent of firms lack field investigations by specialists identified
confidence in the courts to uphold property the most problematic areas. The study led
rights. to detailed policy and institutional
(4) The policy-related costs shouldered by recommendations. The Albanian
firms can also be substantial, making many Government acted on the study and asked
potential investment opportunities for continued assistance in establishing the
unprofitable. The study highlighted the necessary institutions and in action
heavy burden imposed by outmoded or ill- planning. The Plan specifies reform targets
conceived regulation and argued that against a timetable, and designates specific
regulation is part of a larger problem. responsibilities to the relevant ministries
Obviously we would like a completely and executing agencies.
deregulated market everywhere, but in (9) The report emphasises that persistence,
reality we have to settle for minimal not perfection, is the key. Everything does
regulation. not have to be done at once. Rather,
(5) While improvements in the investment significant progress can be made by
climate require changes to laws and addressing the problems and constraints
policies, I believe business is often more that firms face, and by sustaining a process
concerned with how local officials behave of ongoing improvements.

Answers:
C. page 1
1, macro-economic policy. 2, de-regulated market. 3, constraints. 4, impedes.

5, shoulder. 6, pinpointed. 7, on the ground. 8, follow up/ field investigation.
D. page 1
possible answers- unstable government,

changes in government policies,
confidence in state institutions, eg. courts
too many regulations,
local officials being difficult or ill-informed
the slowness of bureaucracy
poor investment and finances
E. page 1
in order- Paragraph 6, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 4.

Unit 14 - Mediation: Summary Page 1
14 Professional Associations and Trade Unions

(incomplete)
A What is a professional association? What kinds of things do they do?

Do all professions have associations?
B What do trade unions do? How are they different from professional associations?
C What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?

a guild, peer support, endorsement, a misleading
claim a code of professional conduct, to abide by
something, a provision, on behalf of somebody,
in contravention of, discredit, in breach of, a
subsequent revision, confidential, to disclose,
thorough, cutting corners, impartial, to represent.
D Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap.
You may have to adapt the words
Arnie Fischer speaks __1__ several thousand trade union members. He often has
__2__ discussions with business and government officials. He must not__3__ the
information. Often business leaders try to __4__ him by making __5__ about what
he said in private. Sometimes Mr Fisher makes an audio-recording of meetings so
there can be no __6__ about what happened. Mr Fischer is not __7__ because
he__8__ the workers but he agrees __9__ a code of professional conduct for
negotiators. Mr Fischer works hard and doesn’t 10 .
E Look at the article quickly. What kind of person does Mr Bibby see as a typical reader
of his article?
F Look at the article again quickly. Find three things that the Guild of Management
Consultants does.
G Are the following statement about the article true or false.
1. Mr Bibby thinks that most people already understand the professional status of
management consultants
2. The Guild of Management Consultants can confirm a consultants professional
ability
3. The Code of Conduct binds all members
4. All the members of the Guild have to vote to change the code.
5. Only members of the Guild are affected by the Code of Conduct
6. The Guild can punish members who break the code of conduct
7. Members of the Guild can accept any work they want
8. Once a contract has been signed with a client it cannot be changed.
9. Management consultants need to keep secrets
10. The Guild is not concerned with consultants working methods
H A close friend who runs a small perfume business has written to you asking for advice
on whether to hire a management consultant. In the letter inform her of what she can
expect. Remember you are writing to a close friend.

Maintaining High Standards
Good management consultancy is about maintaining high

standards, argues senior management consultant, Ralph Bibby.
Nothing is more irritating than when people ask,

‘Oh, are management consultants professionals? One of the most important
Do you have ethical standards?’ Of course we rules is that a member will
do, and I hope this article fills a gap in people’s only accept work that they
knowledge which has long needed to be filled. are qualified to perform and
can provide the client with an effective service.
Our professional association, the Guild of Guild members must not make any misleading
Management Consultants – organised at claims and will provide references from other
national and regional level - promotes clients if requested. That means, for example, if
excellence in the profession by supporting, our firm were asked for advice in business
qualifying, and regulating individual management in Chad, we would not accept as
management consultants. Membership of the we have no experience of working there.
Guild brings many benefits including peer
support and the ability to display an Money and fees are also important. A member
independent endorsement of a management must agree formally with the client the scope
consultant’s skills. and nature of the services to be provided and the
cost before the start of the work. Any
In their work members of the Guild give advice subsequent revisions to the agreement must be
to all levels of management and with this comes discussed and agreed with the client.
the obligation to maintain the highest standards
of honesty and competence. The Guild, as the All clients expect management consultants to
professional body for management consultants, keep the affairs of the client companies
has a Code of Professional Conduct which lays confidential. Management consultants must
out duties and obligations which are required of hold all information concerning the affairs of
all members. clients in the strictest confidence and in no
circumstance may disclose information obtained
The Guild Council may, from time to time, during the course of their work.
issue further principles, rules or notes which
will be published in our Gazette The And finally it goes with saying that
Management Consultant. Members are expected management consultants must act to the highest
to abide by all such new provisions from the professional standards in their work. We must
date of their publication. always make certain that our advice, solutions
and recommendations are based on a thorough
The principles, rules and notes of the Code and impartial consideration of all the
apply not only to the members personally, but information available. There can be no room for
also to acts carried out through a partner, co- cutting corners or laziness.
director, employee or other agent acting on
behalf of, or under the control of, the member. Everybody should now understand that
management consultants are not only members
Guild members may face action by the of one of the higher professions, but also that
Disciplinary Committee of the Guild if they act our professional association ensures that we
in contravention of the Code, or if they discredit provide the highest standards of service.
the profession by their conduct. Members may
be required to make a declaration in answer to Ralf Bibby is senior partner in the firm Bibby
enquiries from the Guild Council concerning and Jenner and was chairman of the Guild of
their professional conduct. A member failing to Management Consultants 2003-04.
make such a declaration may be found in breach
of the Code of Conduct.

Answers
Page 1
D.
1. on behalf of 2. confidential 3. disclose
4. discredit 5. misleading claims 6. subsequent revision
7. impartial 8. represents 9. to abide by
10. cut corners
G.
1 F
2 T
3 T
4 F
5 F (employees too)
6 T
7 F
8 F (it can be changed if both parties agree)
9 T
10 F

Unit 15 - Mediation: Letter Page 1
15 Work Experience (incomplete)

A Is it important for students and unemployed people to get work experience? Why?
Have you every done work experience or voluntary work?
an employment agency, the dole office, to be on somebody’s back,

the long-term unemployed, probation work, a caseload, criminology,
a learning curve, under-resourced, to feel at home, to enhance,
tantamount.
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap.
You may have to adapt the words.
Arnie Fischer is very concerned about the large number of __1__ in the town.
People go to the __2__ to collect their benefits and then go to __3__ in the hope of
finding work.
Mr Fischer feels that the social security department in the town is __4__ and social
security officers have too big a __5__. Mr Fischer wants to see the level of social
security services in the town __6__ and he believes the current situation is __7__ to
social neglect.
D Look quickly at the interview with Danny Noble.

Who would be interested in the article and why?
E Look again at the article quickly.

Why did Danny Noble do work experience? Has there been any change in his attitude?
F Look at the following letter written by Danny Noble.

Find the differences between what he says in the letter and what he says in the interview.
Dear Greta,
How are you, Greta? There have been plenty of changes in my life. You know I have been
working full time running a widow cleaning business. Well I decided to give all that up and
work for social services and to help people who have been recently released from prison.
My motive for taking up community work is purely altruistic.
When I went into the social services office they nearly begged me to start immediately;
they have so many vacancies. I was given a permanent post immediately. After a couple
of weeks they were so impressed with my work that I also got an opportunity to do some
teaching of criminology and rehabilitation in evening classes.
You may wonder why I left that field of work. The reason was that I felt the social
services department was not doing enough to give me support in my projects to help
people recently released from prison. I am now in the process of writing a book on my
experience.
As you know in the past I have had several of my poems published, and my plan now is
devote myself full time to my poetry.
Let me know when you are next in Meckham and we can go out for burger at McDonalds.
Best wishes,
Danny

H You are a friend of Greta’s. Write her an email explaining how Danny has lied to her.
Getting Your Foot in the Door

Sara Liebermann interviews Danny Noble who has recently finished
a work experience scheme
How old are you Danny? studied criminal justice and

Well, I’m 34. I know I look criminology one day per
younger, but I’m 34. week at an evening class
What qualifications do you What did the work experience make you feel
have? about the job?
Not many. I left school at 16 It was two-fold learning curve for me; I realised
and didn’t pass any exams. just how stressful, under-resourced, and
I’ve mostly been unemployed undervalued by the public, social work is as a
since then. Well, I occasionally help a friend profession, but also that it is a very good career
window cleaning. Oh, and I did a few weeks choice as it puts something back into the
work through an employment agency once, community that is so desperately needed.
Why did you decide to do a work experience Was the placement enjoyable aside from the
placement? work? Were there any problems during the
It’s a good question. Apart from the window placement?
cleaning, my plan was to become a professional It was a very enjoyable, developmental
poet. You know I wrote over six hundred poems experience with no significant problems. I felt at
but couldn’t get any of them published. Then I home meeting many of people just out of
had the dole office on my back. They were prison, and I felt I was able to advise and help
saying, “Now, Mr Noble, if you don’t do some them.
work experience, we’ll cut your benefits. Well
that didn’t leave me with much choice.” What kind of skills did you develop in your
work experience placement?
What kind of work experience did you do? I realised that being social worker it is crucial to
I though long and hard about it, but in the end I be able to communicate effectively and
decided to work with the social services coherently at a variety of levels to perform the
department. I wanted to work with people who role properly. My interpersonal and
had recently been released from prison and to communication skills were greatly enhanced,
help them re-integrate back into the community. and I have found this useful in all aspects of
everyday life, as communication is crucial to
What was the process for you to get your success.
placement?
There were various placement opportunities Do you feel that your work experience was
organised by the Job Centre. Each long-term valuable, why?
unemployed person applied for his or her first It has proven to be of fundamental value, as the
and second choice and allocation was dependent experiences and knowledge I gained on
on availability and demand. placement should help me get a get a good job
in social work. I now do voluntary work
What did the placement work experience whereby I take food to old people – and I need
involve? Do you feel you had enough tasks to to talk to them.
complete and responsibility in your role? It
was a six month opportunity for me to develop Have you been looking for a permanent job?
an awareness of criminal justice social work Well, yes I have applied for about twenty jobs,
such as probation work, writing up reports etc. I but so far I haven’t been successful. Maybe I’ll
had my own caseload and clients to work with, go back as a volunteer, but there are problems
and it was very much a case of learning ‘on the with that too – or so they tell me.
job’. Alongside the placement work I also
“All my life as poet, social work assistant and as a window cleaner, I have
felt the need to help the community with advice and support”
- Danny Noble -
No
Answers
Page 1
C
1. long-term unemployed 2. dole office 3. an employment agency
4. under resourced 5. caseload 6. enhanced 7. tantamount

Unit 16 - Speaking: Interview Page 1
16 Interviews at Work
• meet words and expressions about job interviews
• read an article written by an employer
• role-play a job interview
A How do you think you would feel at a job interview?

Tell your partner about one particular event.
What advice would you give to people going to job interviews? Tell the class.

Which items are connected to job interviews?
a curriculum vitae, management consultancy, to apply for, to evaluate, an
asset, to accomplish, to substantiate, prior to, a brochure, well-groomed,
a social misfit, in a nutshell.
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap. You may have to adapt the words.
Fiona Fletcher sent off for a __1__ and other materials

from a __2__firm. She decided to __3__ the job and
wrote a new __4__ just for this interview, because she
knew she would have to __5__ every detail she wrote.
__6__ the interview she bought a new business suit
and went to the interview looking __7__. She tried to
look happy, intelligent and normal because she did not
want her interviewer to think she was some kind of
__8__.
D You are going to read the article on the next page, ‘Interviews Matter’.
Look quickly at the article and decide who ‘I’ and ‘we’ are in the text.
E What attitude does Mr Jenner show in his article - confidence, arrogance or confusion?
F Make notes about what Mr Jenner says on the following topics:
the purposes of the job interview

preparation
difficult questions
research into the consultancy
dressing for an interview
“small talk”
Compare your notes with those of a partner.
G Write five questions which Mr Jenner might ask at an interview.

Role-play the interview with a partner.
Job interviews – real life phrases

What really interests me about this job is…
I’ve had a great deal of experience in…
I’d be interested to know…

Interviews matter
Management consultant Hector Jenner tells us what he expects from
job seekers at interviews
Sitting behind this desk, I see an endless queue to demonstrate how

of youngsters coming in front of me hoping to and why he or she will
get a job in our management consultancy. So be an effective
what should be said about the job interview? employee.
The interview is a mutual exchange of At the very least I expect a candidate to find out
information between an employer and a as much as possible about the consultancy prior
candidate for a position. This interview process to the interview. The candidate should have
serves several purposes. We want information asked us to send a variety of materials, for
about the candidate that is not contained in the example our annual report, brochures, in-house
curriculum vitae. We need to check that the job newsletter and the firm’s magazine. This
seeker understands what he or she is applying knowledge will also help the candidate decide
for and has a sense of direction in his or her whether he or she is suitable for employment
career. We need to evaluate the candidate’s here.
personality and attitudes in terms of the
demands of the consultancy and the possible Candidates should recognise that their success
position. We are also working out whether or or failure in the interview can depend on
not it is in our interest to look further into the appearance and first impressions. If these are
candidate with a view to employing him or her. not good, it will be much harder during the rest
of the interview for them to change our opinion
To impress an employer such as myself the of them. The candidate should look neat, clean
candidate must be well prepared and let me and well-groomed. He or she should always
know clearly what he or she has to offer. The select suitable clothing for the type of
candidate should also be able to relate his or her organisation. In our case that means
assets to the position and the consultancy. To conservative business dress.
accomplish this, a certain level of maturity and
self-knowledge on the part of the candidate is I don’t particularly worry about candidates who
required. are nervous during the interview – this is normal
and will be expected. And obviously the
Before the interview the candidate should have candidate will have worked hard and have
reviewed their curriculum vitae and be prepared prepared for days to get an interview in the first
to answer questions about its contents. I want to place.
see any point the candidate has made
substantiated by detailed information. What we We begin the interview with some "small talk"
want to see in particular is not just the level at to help the candidate relax. This may seem
which the candidate is currently functioning, but irrelevant to the position, but the candidate is
how the candidate has grown over time in the already being evaluated. The last thing we want
business world. We are focusing on areas in the office is a social misfit. The candidate
related to his or her position(s), e.g., should use these opening moments to show a
interpersonal/work skills, motivation. positive and business-like attitude, e.g., showing
pleasure at speaking with me, and
An interview isn’t meant to be easy, and we will demonstrating a knowledge of interesting facts
force candidates to address their failures and about the consultancy which he or she has found
mistakes to find out what they have learned or during research.
would now do differently.
Candidates should not forget the facts of
When a candidate comes before me he or she economic life. We will employ people who will
must be familiar with the position they want in work hard in the firm and make the consultancy
the consultancy. Full information is available money. Put in a nutshell: if we can make
on our website, so the candidate has no excuse money out of you, we want you. If we can’t, we
for not being fully informed. A candidate needs don’t.

Exam skills
A Look at the questions below.

Write a one or two-sentence reply to any five of the questions below on separate pieces
of paper. Ask your partner to find the question for each answer.
• Tell me about yourself.

• What are your short-term goals? What about in 2 and 5 years from now?
• What is your own vision, or mission statement?
• What do you think you will be looking for in this job?
• Why do you feel you will be successful in this job?
• What other types of job are you looking for in addition to this one?
• What supervisory or leadership roles have you had?
• What experience have you had working in a team?
• What have been your most satisfying/disappointing experiences?
• What are your strengths/weaknesses?
• What kinds of problem do you handle the best?
• How do you reduce stress and try to achieve balance in your life?
• How did you handle a request to do something contrary to your moral code
or business ethics?
• What was the result the last time you tried to sell one of your ideas to
others?
• Why did you apply to our organisation, and what do you know about us?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages of joining our organisation?
• What is the most important thing you are looking for in an employer?
• What were some of the common characteristics of your past supervisors?
• What characteristics do you think a person would need to have to work
effectively in our company with its policy of staying ahead of the
competition?
• What courses that you have been on did you like the best/least? Why?
Exam Tip: in the exam you will be asked a question about your personal work or study
experience. It is important to have the language to answer it briefly and effectively.
B Look at the list of issues below. Choose one.
You should note the arguments in favour of the propositions and your partner should
note arguments against.
Have the discussion.
“There is more conflict at work these days.”

“People work harder now than they used to”
“Computers are making work less interesting”
Exam tip: in the exam you will be asked an ‘issue’ question. It is important that you
have something to say, and that you say it clearly and accurately.
Giving your opinion – real life phrases
I have always felt that…
In my view…
In my opinion…

Exam Practice: ‘Are you a student or do you work?’
A Prepare a forty-five second speech about you and the world of

work, e.g. previous jobs, promotion, things you like, etc.
Write it down. Give your speech to your partner.
B Your partner will ask you the following questions.

Answer each one in about two sentences.
• Are you a student or do you work?

• What do you like about your work/college?
• How long will you stay there?
• Will you take any further exams?
C Now take it in turns to role-play the dialogue below.

The interlocutor asks one ‘A’ question and one ‘B’ question.
THE EXAM SCRIPT
First we’d like to find out some information about you. Are you a student or do you
work?
(The candidate speaks)
Now I’d like to ask about a different topic. (Ask either about exams or pay)
Exams
A How do you feel before an exam?

A Does anybody in your family like doing exams more than you?
A What was the worst exam you have ever done?
B Exams are becoming more important these days. Do you agree?

B People worry too much about exams. Do you agree?
B The worst exam is the driving test. Do you agree?
Pay
A How important is money in your life?

A Which is more important for you; qualifications or money?
A Are you (or will you be) paid enough?
B What determines how much people get paid?

B What kinds of people earn too much?
B What kinds of people earn too little?
D Write your own set of three “A” type questions and three “B” type questions on another
topic (e.g. taxation, management systems, fringe benefits).
Role-play them in pairs.

Unit 16: Interviews at Work
Answers
page 1
C (suggested answers)
1. brochure 2. management consultancy 3. apply for 4. curriculum vitae
5. substantiate 6. prior to 7. well-groomed 8. social-misfit
D
‘We’ is the management consultancy. ‘I’ is Hector Jenner, the management consultant.
E
Mr Jenner has a superior, overbearing, insensitive and ‘one-sided’ (i.e. employer-centred)
attitude.
F (only the key points are mentioned below)
The purpose of the job interview: a mutual exchange of information, for information
not in the CV, understands the position applied for, evaluation of candidate’s
personality.
Preparation: candidate should review CV, ready to answer questions on it, find out
about the position.
Difficult questions: because Jenner needs to find out candidate’s failures and weak
points.
Research into the consultancy: study the firm from its website and write off for
brochures, reports, newsletters.
Dressing for an interview: clean, well-groomed, conservative business clothes.
“Small talk”: tells Jenner about the personality of the candidate.

Unit 17 - Speaking: Presentation Page 1
17 Business Profits
• meet words and phrases about microeconomics
• read an article about profit maximisation
• get practice in preparing a presentation
A How important is money to you? Do businesses have any

goals other than maximising their profits?
B What is ‘legal personality’?

Match each word with a definition.
1 business A an organisation which has legal personality

2 company B A sole trader or partnership, usually with no legal personality
3 firm C any profit-based organisation
C What do the words and expressions in the vocabulary box mean?

Are all the highlighted words specifically related to economics?
neo-classical, to pursue, an implication, profit maximisation, to identify,

marginal revenue, marginal cost, a behavioural economist, a shareholder,
an emphasis, an equity and bond market, a takeover bid, a rival, to sustain
industrial action, to be divorced from, a perk, a predatory pricing strategy,
D Put one of the items highlighted above into each gap.

You may need to adapt the word. Where necessary, change singular nouns to plural.
One school of economics is the __1__, which believes companies always __2__
strategies for __3__. Such economists look at marginal __4__ and __5__.
__6__ economists look at what groups of people, such as __7__ do. Managers have
day-to-day control, but if a company’s __8__ and __9__prices fall, a __10__
company may put in a __11__ to buy the company. In these circumstances the
behaviour of shareholders becomes more important. Some large firms adopt
__12__ to drive smaller firms out of the market.
E Look quickly at the article on the next page.

What is Professor Slovo’s attitude to making profit – favourable, unfavourable or
neutral?
F Read the article again and give the most complete explanations you can for the
following:
• Profit maximisation
• Behavioural economists
• Satisficing
• Sales revenue maximisation
• Predatory pricing strategies
G Arnie Fischer, a trade unionist, has said, ‘Businesses know the price of everything and
the value of nothing.’ How far do you agree
Presentations – real life phrases with Mr Fischer?
Some people have argued that… Discuss the issue with a partner, and then write
My personal view is… a joint statement on your opinions. (200
The key point here is… words)

Is it all just about profit?

Professor Otto Slovo looks at the role of profit in the economy
The standard neo-classical assumption is in order to stop or

that a business seeks profit maximisation prevent industrial
from producing and selling an output in a action. Any number of
market. However, there are other objectives sub-strategies is
firms might decide to pursue – at least in possible.
the short run – and these have implications
for price, output and economic welfare. The economist
William Baumol has
Although profit maximisation might be the argued that managers
motive, other strategies have to be pursued may follow a strategy
to that end. It is often difficult for firms to of sales revenue maximisation. His research
identify their profit maximising output, if focused on the behaviour of manager-
they cannot accurately calculate marginal controlled businesses – where the day-to-
revenue and marginal costs. day decisions taken by managers are
divorced from the actions of shareholders
While traditional economic theory assumes (the owners of the business). Baumol
there is a single goal (profit maximization), argued that annual salaries and other perks
behavioural economists argue differently. might in fact be more closely connected to
They point out that any business is an total sales revenue rather than profits
organisation with various groups:
employees, managers, On the other hand, larger firms may adopt
shareholders, and customers. Each of these predatory pricing strategies by lowering
groups, behaviourists argue, is likely to prices to a level that would force any new
have different objectives and goals. The firms entering the industry to operate at a
dominant group at any moment in time can loss, and be driven out of the market. This
give greater emphasis to their own would allow larger firms to sustain a
objectives; for example, the main price and monopoly position in a market.
output decisions may be taken at local level
by managers, with shareholders taking only There can be little doubt that the long-term
a distant view of the company's ambition of any firm is profit maximisation,
performance and strategy. but in a complex market- place including
large corporations, any number of different
‘Maximising’ behaviour may be replaced sub-strategies might be followed.
by satisficing – i.e. setting minimum Behavioural economics is beginning to cast
acceptable levels of achievement. For light on some of this complexity.
instance, the equity and bond markets may
play an important role in monitoring the
performance of managers in a company Professor O. Slovo,
when companies are under-performing. Head of the Economics Department at the
Such a situation could arise if there is University of Grenberg.
downward pressure on the share price and Maul Ring 34. 3462 Grenberg.
there is the prospect of a takeover bid by a
rival firm. In other circumstances a firm
may be under pressure to reduce prices to
consumers if it has made large profits, and
may choose to do this in order to stop an
investigation by the Competition
Commission, or to improve its image with
customers. A third example is that a firm
may reward workers through higher wages

Exam skills
A PLZ Engineering PLC wants to accept a new contract (worth EUR 2 million), but it has
problems.
Look at each problem and think of three pieces of advice to give Mr Grice, the
managing director.
• The company has rent arrears on its premises of EUR 71 000
• The workers are threatening a strike if they do not receive a 5 per cent pay
increase.
• PLZ Engineering sold a machine to a company which has not paid for it and has
recently gone bankrupt.
Exam tip: when you see the input data you will need to brainstorm to give yourself
something to say.
B Write a plan for a presentation outlining your solutions to Mr Grice’s problems.

Consider the following:
• An introduction of yourself and the topic of your presentation.
• Three or four points. For each point describe: what the problem is, what you
want to achieve, and how you will achieve this.
• Your conclusion.
Do not write in full sentences. Write in notes and in ‘parts of sentences’ of not more
than about five words.
Exam tip: you have ten minutes to plan your presentation. You should plan in note
form, and not write out your entire presentation.
C Look at the following presentation ( which is on another topic).

The ‘signposting’ language is in bold. Add some or all of this language to your
presentation notes.
Exam tip: to give order and meaning to your presentation, you need to use
‘signposting’ language.
My name is Rebecca Klein. I’m the catering manager for PLZ Engineering. Today I want
to address the problem of our troubled canteen.
First of all, there have been complaints that the canteen meals are always cold and are
covered in fat. Of all the complaints, this is the one made most often. We believe as a
company that our workers should have good food. We have, therefore, changed the catering
company that runs the canteen. The new company will start work in the New Year.
Second, several workers have complained that there is little or no vegetarian food on the
menu. We should recognise that tastes are changing. As a result, there is a clause in our
agreement with the new caterer, stating that there must be a vegetarian option every day.
Finally, some workers have complained that the seating in the canteen is uncomfortable. We
would like to improve the furnishing, but feel that in the current financial situation this is not
a priority.
In conclusion, I would emphasise the steps we have taken to improve catering in the
company.

D Give your presentation to a partner. Your partner should take notes, and prepare
three questions to ask you about your presentation
Exam tip: to give a good presentation you need to practise aloud many times.
Exam Practice: ‘Now, I’d like to start off by saying…’
A The following are all examples of signposting

language. Put them in pairs.
first, however, therefore, second

moreover, additionally, consequently,
on the other hand,
B Plan a one-minute presentation on one of the following topics, and give it to your
partner. Use the signposting language presented in A:
• ‘Business is organised greed.’ Do you agree?
• ‘Free enterprise is always best.’ Do you agree?
C You have ten minutes to prepare for the following presentation.

You may use your dictionary.
As a management consultant you have been asked to give advice in the form of a presentation to
Mr Jack Kenning, the managing director of Kenning Ice Cream PLC. Some details of the firm’s
performance over a thirty-year period are presented below. All prices are in euros and have
been adjusted for inflation.
Sales
1970 EUR 345m
1980 EUR 290m
1990 EUR 150m
2000 EUR 72m
Cost of maintaining plant
1970 EUR 34m
1980 EUR 52m
1990 EUR 134m
2000 EUR 190m
Variety of ice cream manufactured
1970 6 types
1980 7 types
1990 5 types
2000 4 types
Problem – where is the missing 10 Euro?

Three businessmen go out for a business lunch. The joint bill for their meal comes to EUR
300. Satisfied, they pay the waiter and walk outside. After they have left, the manager
checks their bill and finds that the businessmen have overpaid by EUR 50. He quickly hands
the waiter five EUR 10 notes, telling him to find the men and repay them. The waiter catches
up with the three men, hands each of them EUR 10, and keeps EUR 20 himself.
Now as I see it, the men have each paid EUR 90 for their meal, which is EUR 270 in total.
The waiter has kept EUR 20, which comes to EUR 290. Where is the missing EUR 10?

Unit 17: Business Profits
(p. 1) B
Business; this refers to any person or group of persons who carry out commercial activity.
Company: this is a business which has a separate legal identity; i.e. the company is
different legally from the people who own it.
Firm: a commercial organisation which may or may not be a company.
(p. 1) C
The technical economic terms have been underlined in the text of the article
(p. 1) D
1. neo-classical, 2. pursue, 3. maximise profits, 4. costs, 5 revenue,
6 behavioural, 7. shareholders, 8. equity, 9. bond, 10. rival,
11. take-over bid, 12. predatory-pricing strategies.
(p. 1) E.
neutral
(p. 1) F
Profit maximisation: this means getting as much profit as you can. In the article profit
maximisation refers to the ideal of this being the motivation of everybody in the firm.
Behavioural economics: this branch of economics looks at what people actually do rather
than predict from economic models.
Satisficing: people look to minimum levels and only reaction if the minimum is not
reached.
Sales revenue maximisation: basically trying to get as much money as possible from
selling your product or service.
Predatory Pricing Strategies: when a business lowers its prices in order to prevent other
businesses selling and driving them out of the market
(p. 4) A
first/second, however/on the other hand, therefore/consequently,
moreover/additionally.

Unit 18 - Speaking: Transactional dialogues Page 1
18 Status at work
• meet words and expressions about status
• read an article about power relations at work
• practise short conversational replies
A Do people talk differently to their boss than to their colleagues?

At work or at college, how do you speak differently to different people?
B What do the following words and expressions mean?

sensitive, emotional, task-oriented, submissiveness,
to share the back seat, to perceive, a power move,
an emotionally-loaded question, to be socialised to,
to suppress, conversation turn-taking, to gaze, to reassure,
docility, a scatterbrain.
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap.
You may need to adapt the word.
Ruby is not a dominant person and often __1__ with other
unassertive people. She has strong feelings and is __2__ and
__3__. Her boss likes her __4__ and he calls her a __5__.
She believes she was __6__ to be passive, and she has never
been able to __7__ her feelings. Every day in the office she
__8__ her boss that he is the best boss in the world.
D Look quickly at Sara Liebermann’s article on the next page.

What type of inequality is she most concerned with?
E Give each of the paragraphs a title.
F Answer the following questions:

1. How many types of power relation are mentioned in the article?
2. When the researchers videoed the same speech given by men and women, what
did they find?
3. What did the researchers find out about revealing emotions?
4. What is ‘conversation turn-taking’? What did the researchers find out about it?
5. What does the article say about eye contact?
6. How do bosses label subordinates, and what does this cause?
G You are a member of a trade union which finds such inequalities of power at work
unacceptable.
Write a report on the situation and make suggestions for dealing with the problem.
Reports – real life phrases Headings for a simple report

This report was commissioned by… Introduction (the report’s audience
The author was asked to… and scope)
We discovered that…. Findings
We recommend that ….should… Recommendations

Language and power at work

Sara Liebermann looks at the language of power and inequality at work
(1) Warm, sensitive, dependent, passive, (5) Researchers have found

emotional, co-operative, supportive and that dominant people
subjective. These adjectives are often used to suppress emotion, and
describe women, but they also describe all those subordinates express it. A
people who don’t have power at work. On the successful poker player
other hand, the opposite adjectives – aggressive, doesn’t want to show the
dynamic, cold, task-oriented, competitive, weakness in his hand. The
intellectual, objective, independent – are used to same is true for the politician and the business
describe men and those people who have power. executive. They can't afford to let people know
that they are scared or confused.
(2) Women of course are not the only people
who lack power, psychologically or socially. (6) It is an interesting question to consider who
Children and the poor play subordinate roles will be the more dominant when two business
everywhere, while in America, blacks and people meet. Researchers asked fifty male and
certain other ethnic groups have long shared the fifty female business people to hold a seven-
back seat. Not to be forgotten either are the old, minute conversation with a stranger of the same
the sick, the unattractive, and the uneducated. sex, and another with a stranger of the opposite
sex. They found that each pair maintained
(3) The powerful speak a special language and
conversation turn- taking, but that the men
subordinate people listen to them in a different
talked longer than the women, because ‘holding
way. Men and women who were judged by
the floor’ is considered a power move, and the
testers to be equally articulate were videoed
men assumed they were dominant in the male–
making the same factual speeches. The tapes
female pairs. When facing another male, men
were shown to groups of male and female
talked at even greater length – trying to
students, who were instructed to listen carefully.
establish themselves as dominant.
The students were then questioned on the facts
delivered by the speakers. Researchers (7) If you gaze at someone while that person is
discovered that the students remembered more talking, you reassure the speaker. Researchers
of, and could answer questions better on, the found that the women performed this
speeches given by the men than those by the reassurance ‘service’ for the men far more than
women. The researchers concluded that more the men did for the women. The women also
attention was paid to what the men were saying looked at the men while they themselves talked,
simply because our society perceives males as revealing a need for feedback. Similar tests
more powerful. The powerless, no matter how show the same thing happening in all power
well they speak, are often ignored. relations: conversations between workers and
management, patients and doctors, and students
(4) In a recent study, eighteen women and
and teachers.
eighteen men answered ten questions each. Five
questions had little emotional content, but the (8) Power corrupts, and bosses often encourage
other five were emotionally loaded. In employees to believe that they are stupid,
answering the ten questions, women clumsy, inefficient and inferior, in order to
consistently used facial expressions indicating make it easier to maintain discipline. A boss
emotion. Yet the women were not any more may even reward employees for
expressive answering the emotional questions submissiveness, passivity, docility, dependence,
than they were in response to the factual lack of initiative and lack of mental sharpness
questions – they were simply showing emotion (‘She's so cute – such a scatterbrain!’).
while responding to the questioners. The men, Employees will often come to accept their
on the other hand, were controlling their subordinate role.
emotions. This was shown by the fact that they
(9) We can say with confidence that power
revealed some slight facial movement when
relations exist between people in society, and
responding to the factual questions, but when
that these power relations are reflected in
the questions focused on emotional areas, the
behaviour and language. There is no place
men's faces became blank. Women are
where these power relations are stronger than at
socialised to express emotion (whether it's there
work. Perhaps it is time we started to address
or not), while men are ‘conditioned’ not to do so
them.
(even when they feel like it).

Exam skills
A Who says each of the following lines – the candidate (Ado) or the interlocutor?
Put the following dialogue in order. Remember the student speaks first.
You meet an old work colleague in the street. Greet him/her and ask about
his/her new job.
• In this part of the test you must say something that is appropriate to say in a
situation. Read each card and follow the instructions. Ado, here is your first
card.
I am your ex-business colleague.
• I’m OK. I’m sorry to hear about your problems. Can I help at all?
• Well, actually, I’m not feeling too good. I lost my job last week, and I have
loads of debts. How are you?
• Oh, hi, Ben! I haven’t seen you for ages. How are you? How’s the new job
going?
Exam Tip: in the transactional dialogues you need to know exactly who says what and
when.
B Look at following conversation starters. Match them with the replies.
1. I’m sorry, would you mind if I opened a window? It’s a bit stuffy in here.
2. Could I use your stapler for a second?
3. I’d be really grateful if you could close the door after you.
4. I’m really not too happy about you smoking right next to the window.
5. Excuse me, do you know the way out of the building?
6. I’m looking for Mr Jenner. You wouldn’t by any chance know where his office
is, would you?
7. Let me hold the door open for you.
8. Do you want a hand sorting out your computer?
a It’s all right thank you. Wheelchair users like to be as independent as possible.
b I wish I did. I’m looking for the exit too.
c I would, if I weren’t carrying so much all the time.
d Sorry, but I’d be in a terrible draught.
e You can, but it’s empty.
f Well, shut it then. Sorry, but I’m in a foul mood today.
g Well, you’ve found me/ him. What can I do to help you?
h Thanks, but do you really know what you’re doing?
Exam tip: in the transactional dialogues you need to be ready to give an answer to
something unexpected.
C Look at the above transactional dialogues. Which are-
(1) making complaints, (2) requesting information, (3) offering help, (4) asking
permission?
D Underline the functional language for-
(1) making complaints, (2) requesting information, (3) offering help, (4) asking
permission.

Exam Practice: ‘I am the person you meet in the lift…’
A List as many possible business interactions as you can think of in three

minutes; e.g. manager/secretary, shop assistant/customer.
B Mark the relationships to show those between people of equal status
(e.g. colleagues) and those of unequal status (boss / worker).
Discuss doubtful cases.
C In pairs, role-play the transactional dialogues on the cards below.
The ‘interlocutor’ should think of an appropriate response to the candidate’s reply and
write it down.
For example:
YOU SEE A COLLEAGUE DROP A PEN
Candidate Excuse me, but here’s your pen. You just dropped it.
Interlocutor Sorry, but I’ve never seen that pen in my life.
D In the same pairs, check the ‘interlocutor’s’ responses.

Then get into new pairs and practise the three-turn conversation.
For example:
YOU SEE A COLLEAGUE DROP A PEN
Candidate Excuse me, but here’s your pen. You just dropped it.
Interlocutor Sorry, but I’ve never seen that pen in my life.
Candidate But, I thought you just dropped it.
E Write your own set of six transactional dialogues and act them out.
Card 1
You go into the reception of a management consultancy. Ask to speak to Mr
Piper.
Card 2
You are in the lift. You are not sure where in the building the Bibby and
Jenner management consultancy is. Ask someone.
Card 3
You visit your business associate Mr Piper at his office. Greet him and ask
about the health of his wife, who has been ill recently.
Card 4
You are in the office of a business associate. Ask the secretary for either tea or
coffee.
Card 5
You have just left the office of a business associate. You now realise you have
left your hat in the office. Explain your problem to the secretary.
Card 6
You are lost in a large office building and can’t find the way out. Ask someone
in the corridor for help.

Unit 18: Status at Work
(p. 1) C (suggested answers) 1. shares the back seat, 2. sensitive, 3. emotional,
4. submissiveness, 5. scatterbrain, 6. socialised, 7. suppress, 8. reassures.
(p. 1) D gender inequality
(p.1) E (suggested answers) 1. Adjectives to describe power relations,

2. Different types of power relations, 3. The powerful and the powerless
speak and are heard differently, 4. Men and women express different levels
of emotion in speech, 5. Dominant people suppress emotion, 6. Power
and the length of speaking turns,
7. Power, gaze and a reassurance ‘service’, 8. Power corrupts,
9. Power relations at work are reflected in behaviour and language
(p. 1) F 1. men/women, adults/children, richer/poorer people, ethnic

majorities/minorities, not old/the old, the healthy/the sick, the
educated/the uneducated,
attractive/unattractive people, employers/employees, managers/workers,
doctors/patients, teachers/students
2. That people tend to listen more carefully to men than to women,
3. Men, irrespective of topic, suppress emotions; dominant people suppress
emotions,
4. Taking turns to speak; that generally men and those who want to be dominant
take longer
turns,
5. Maintaining eye contact during speech reassures the speaker; those in a
subordinate role do this for those in a dominant role,
6. Bosses label them according to the adjectives and nouns in paragraph (8), i.e.
as inferior;
employees tend to accept this, and their subordinate role.
(p. 3) A I=interlocutor, C=candidate

I: In this part of the test…
C: Oh, hi, Ben!…
C
I: Well, actually…
C: I’m Ok. I’m sorry…
C
I: Thank you.
(p. 3) B 1.d, 2. e, 3. c, 4. f, 5. b, 6. g, 7. a, 8. h.
(p. 3) C Complaints: 3, 4. Requesting information: 5, 6. Offering help: 7,

8.
Asking permission: 1, 2
(p.3) D Complaints: I’d be really grateful if you could …, I’m really not too happy
about…
Requesting information: Excuse me, do you know… You wouldn’t by any

chance know…
Offering help: Let me… Do you want a hand…
Asking Permission: I’m sorry, would you mind if I… Could I…

Speaking – Unite 19: Collaborative speaking Page 1
19 Expanding a Company
• meet words and expressions about building up a business
• read an article about a company moving into a depressed area
• participate in a discussion aimed at achieving an outcome
A When a company expands, what are the advantages?

Are there any disadvantages? Is your company (or a
company you know about) expanding, contracting or standing
still?
an aspiration, a grant, run-down, a drop in the ocean, a commitment, to secure,
to sustain, a qualification, a link, innovative, collaborative, to gather, cutting
edge, knowledge-based industry sector, extensive, prospective customers, to
launch, commercial viability
C Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap, changing the form where
necessary:
The once __1__ town of Meckham is now developing fast. The municipal council
has __2__ EUR 30 million through a government __3__ so that the town’s growth
can be __4__. The council maintains __5__ with __6__ local businesses providing
they are __7__. Mayor Edgar Grice is enthusiastic, ‘We want __8__ industry in the
town. Our __9__ is to build a dynamic local economy with all workers having
__10__.’
D Fill in the gaps in box. Underline the stressed syllable in the words.
NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB

aspiration
commitment
sustain
qualification
innovative
collaborative
E Look quickly at the article on the next page, ‘Upwards for TKN Software’.
What is the good news for Grenberg?
F Read the article more thoroughly.
What are the quoted opinions of Arnie Fischer and Mayor Landau?
Rewrite their opinions in indirect speech.
G Make notes on what you know about the following, and then compare them with a
partner.
David Kantor – ZSZ - ROMBOLO
H You have just been employed by TKN Software.

Write a short letter (100 – 150 words) to a friend about your new job.
Talking to achieve a goal – real-life phrases

• Would you agree that….
• Another factor that we need to consider is…
• Is there anything more you want to add to…

Upwards for TKN Software

Saul Denman looks at the expansion of the TKN Software
College, and aims to

Up to ten more jobs could be created in
build on successful
Grenberg with the further development of a
use of the Graduate
local IT company that has aspirations to
Placement Scheme,
market software products around the world.
which last year
This follows the decision of Grenberg enabled the firm to
Municipal Council to give the company a take on a graduate of
grant of EUR 3million if it invests in the run- the college's BSc
down eastern area of the city. Local Computing course.
councillor Arnie Fischer commented, ‘Of
TKN Software was set up in 2001 to provide
course we welcome any new investment in
consultancy services to organisations looking
the area, but ten jobs in a town with 8 500
for IT and internet solutions. It also wanted to
unemployed – well, it’s a drop in the ocean.’
provide management services and develop
TKN Software already employs a team of innovative software that would provide
five in Grenberg and a further six in the collaborative, team-workspace solutions, and
regional capital, and is intending to focus its lead to the development of software products
product development and headquarters staff that could be used widely, both at home and
in Grenberg. It aims to make full use of the abroad.
fact that the internet enables staff to work
TKN Software’s main product is called
globally.
ROMBOLO, a program which will allow
The total expansion project is worth almost enterprise agencies across the region to use
EUR 7 million, with ZSZ involvement identical approaches to companies looking for
totalling EUR 2 million. ZSZ's commitment assistance. It will systematically gather
includes buying EUR 70,000 of shares in the information about them and will also allow
growing company, as well as providing a regular updates as the businesses develop. It
substantial loan secured on the company’s is designed to assist business and
property. management consultants.
Two of TKN Software’s founders are David David Kantor, managing director of TKN
Kantor and Ben Sanders, who are both from Software, said he wanted to find development
Grenberg. Both David and Ben are former partners for the projects so that they could
students of the town’s Business Institute. jointly finance the research. The aim was to
They were later at university together, and find individual solutions which could then
also worked for the internet company, Straba have a general application; if successful, the
PLC, when it was creating and running the system could be applied to any number of
Kranon Internet Service Provider – situated in companies in the area.
the Torgut Business Park, also in Grenberg.
Harold Landau, Mayor of Grenberg, said the
David Kantor, who is TKN’s technical development of TKN Software would create
director, said: ‘We are delighted to have good quality, well-paid employment in a
received this investment from ZSZ, which cutting edge, knowledge-based industry
will help secure the future of the business and sector. ‘The company has developed an
sustain its growth over the next twelve extensive list of prospective customers and
months.’ has a tested product to launch in the
The existing staff are all educated to graduate healthcare sector. I believe there are
level or equivalent, and the new posts will reasonable prospects for commercial viability
demand similar qualifications. TKN Software and additional growth in a sector which has
has built up strong links with Grenberg grown gradually in the town over several
years,’ Mr Landau said.

Exam Skills
A Look at the following conversation and decide what the students are talking about.
Andreo Well, I think having low taxes is very important, don’t you?
Maria Yes, I agree, but nothing can happen unless there is customer
demand, right?
Andreo True, well to that I would add advertising. That’s important too.
Maria Well we’re assuming the labour is there and is flexible, aren’t we?
Andreo And, I would add, properly trained, with the right qualifications.
Maria But aren’t we forgetting the most important thing of all – start-up
capital?
Exam tip: in the collaborative task it is important in the first minute to mention things
to talk about.
B Underline all the devices used above (a) to agree with a speaking partner, before we
make a new point, and (b) to give a speaking partner an opportunity to speak.
Exam tip: taking your turn to speak, responding to what your partner has said and
giving your partner an opportunity to speak are important to do well in this task.
C Look at the following dialogue and note how the speakers disagree.
How polite are they? Highlight phrases showing different degrees of politeness.
Andreo The management needs a low-paid workforce who will work long
hours when needed.
Maria Yes, but the management needs commitment from its workers.
Adreo Does it? Many cleaning firms have a high turnover, so commitment
just isn’t that important.
Maria Come on, Andreo. When we are talking about industrial expansion,
we are not mainly talking about cleaning firms.
Andreo The fact of the matter is, Maria, that the economy of Grenberg is
driven by low wages and flexibility.
Maria That’s rubbish, …
Exam tip: in the exam task, you need to know how agree, disagree respond and change
the topic.
D What is the problem with the following dialogue?

Andreo I think advertising is very important.
Maria I think investing in people is important
Andreo When you advertise properly, you can sell your product.
Maria If your workers aren’t happy, they won’t work hard.
Andreo Advertising can be over half of all expenditure.
Maria I agree
Andreo You’re right.
Exam tip: your discussion needs to be cohesive; it needs to be ‘linked together’.
F What are some of the advantages that business expansion offers to the community ?
In discussion with a partner, list four or five things, then discuss the question and try to
agree on the most important.

Exam practice: ‘Oh, so you think that, do you?’
A Look at the following expressions. Match them with the functionsin the second box.
Find more than one expression for each function.
a Let me get a word in here…, b Just to add to that…, c Well, if we could move on
from that now…, d What is your reaction to the idea that…, e I don’t quite go along
with that, f Yes, you’re right
1. agreeing
2. disagreeing with somebody
3. expanding on what someone has said
4. interrupting
5. inviting an opinion
6. changing the subject
B Look at the three topics in the box below.

By yourself, quickly make a list of things you would say about each topic.
Underline the one you think is most important, and think of a reason why.
What are some of the things that stop a company from expanding?
E.g., shortage of skilled labour
What qualities do you need to be a good secretary?

E.g., to be polite at all times
What factors are important in deciding where to locate a new office?

E.g., the rent you must pay
C Get into groups of three.

One person is the examiner, and the other two will do one of the collaborative tasks
chosen by the examiner.
At the end, the examiner will give feedback. Then switch roles.
THE EXAM SCRIPT
• For the final part of the test, you are going to talk to each other about a
topic I will give you. I’m just going to listen.
< Pick up the Topic Card but do not give it to the candidates yet. >
< Read the topic and any instructions out loud to them >
• First make a spoken list of four or five things.

• Then, when you have done that, discuss which one is the best/ most
important. Remember to give reasons for what you say.
• You have 3 minutes altogether to try and agree. All right?
< Place the topic card in front of the candidates. >

Unit 19: Expanding a Company
(p. 1) C 1. run-down, 2. secured, 3. grant, 4. Sustained/secured, 5. links,
6. innovative, 7. collaborative, 8. knowledge-based,
9. aspiration/commitment, 10. qualifications.(other answers are possible)
(p.1) D – stress is shown where it does not fall on the first syllable
NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB

aspiration ooOo aspiring oOo Aspire (to) oO
aspirational ooOoo
commitment oOo committed oOo commit (to) oO
sustainability oooOoo sustained oO sustain oO
qualification oooOo qualifying/qualified qualify
innovation ooOo innovative innovate
collaboration oooOo collaborative oOooo collaborate (with) oOoo
(p. 1) E Up to ten new jobs in the town
(p.1) F Arnie Fischer welcomed any new investment in the area, but thought that ten
new jobs in a town with 8,500 unemployed would be just a drop in the ocean.
Mayor Harold Landau said that the company had developed an extensive list of
prospective customers and had tested a product for launching in the healthcare
sector. He further said he believed there were reasonable prospects for
commercial viability and additional growth in a sector which had grown
gradually in the town for several years.
(p. 1) G David Kantor: TKN Software founder/ from Grenberg/ with Ben Sanders,
went to Grenberg Business Institute and University/ worked for Straba PLC
/wants to expand his business
ZSZ: contributed EUR 2 million to TKN Software/ has EUR 70,000 in shares
in TKN/ has made a loan to TKN secured on the property of the company
ROMBOLO: a software program which will gather information designed to
help management consultants
(p. 3) A How to start up or expand a business.
(p. 3) B (a) Yes, I agree/ True/ And I would add…

(b) I think…don’t you? (and other question tags)/
…right?/ framing the whole of the turn in the form of a question
(p. 3) C Yes, but… (polite)/ Does it? (neutral)/ Come on. (informal)/
The fact of the matter is…(quite formal)/ That’s rubbish (rude)
(p. 3) D The participants do not seem to be listening to each other, nor are they building
on each other’s contributions.
Also, there is repetition of ‘I think…’ It is not clear exactly what they have
agreed at the end.
(p. 4) A a4, b3, c6, d5, e2, f1

Unite 20: Extra Activities Page 1
20 EuroPro the CEFR and Extra Activities

1 Reading at B2 Vantage Level
A Make a list of all the things that you can read, e.g. newspapers,
novels, railway timetables, instructions. Which do you enjoy most
and least? Why? Compare your opinions with a partner, then tell
the class about it.
an idiom, contextual clues, to grasp, a stance
C Match the words with the comments.
1 An idiom A Information which helps you understand something

2 A contextual clue B E.g., ‘That’s not my cup of tea.’
3 To grasp C A way of standing or (metaphorically)– an opinion
4 A stance D Hold tightly or (metaphorically)– understand
D Read the standards expected at B2 level in the box below. Shut the book.
In groups of three, try to remember as much as you can.
When you have finished compare your notes with the text.
At B2 level (vantage) a business reader…

can read with a large degree of …., adapting style and speed of reading to
different texts and purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively.
Has a broad active reading vocabulary, but may experience some difficulty with
low frequency idioms.
can use a variety of strategies to achieve comprehension, including checking
comprehension by using contextual clues.
In the short texts task, a business reader…

can understand correspondence relating to his/her field of interest, and readily
grasp the essential meaning.
In the paragraph headings task, a business reader…

can quickly identify the content and relevance of news items, articles and
reports on a wide range of professional topics, deciding whether closer study is
worthwhile.
In the multiple-choice reading task a business reader…

can understand articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in
which the writers adopt particular stances or viewpoints.

Communicative Activity – Running Dictation
Your teacher will attach to the walls of the room four or five
(slightly enlarged) copies of an English text concerned with
business.
The text will be about 150 words long, and the copies will be
attached to the wall around the room so that they can easily be read.
Students should form pairs, and all the pairs should be (more or
less) the same distance from the nearest copy.
One member of the pair is the runner and the other is the writer.
The aim of the activity is for the writer to write down the text as accurately as possible.
The runner needs to go to the text, read a chunk of it, return to where the ‘writer’ is sitting, and
dictate that chunk to the writer. When the writer has written it down, the runner should go back to
the text and repeat the process for the next chunk.
The activity has the following rules:

• The runner may not shout but must dictate next to the writer.
• The runner may not write anything.
• The writer must remain seated.
• Once or twice during the dictation, the teacher will tell the runner and the writer to exchange
roles.
Your teacher will note the order in which pairs finish.

The original version of the text is then handed out, and each pair checks the work of another pair.
The winner is the pair which has made the fewest errors.
In the event of a tie the pair which finished earlier is the winner.
Communicative Activity – Business Articles

Your teacher will collect five articles of between 150 and 250 words each.
Students form groups of five, and each student in the group will receive a different article.
(The articles can be edited from the internet, e.g. from ‘BBC Online’ business pages)
Stage 1:
Read the article individually, and extract the main points.
Then write a summary of about 50 words.
Then compare your work with a student in another group who has the same article.
At this stage, agree to insert three or four things which are untrue – or are not in the article.
Stage 2:
Return to your original group of five, present your article and answers questions from the other four
students.
The other students will take notes. In your presentation remember to include the false or invented
information.
Stage 3:
Your article will now be given to the other members of your group, and, using their notes, they will
try to find the ‘lies’ and invented information.

2 Listening at B2 Vantage Level
A What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?
a proposition, a concrete subject, a standard dialect,

extended speech, contextual clues
B Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap.
♦ He is very easy to understand because he speaks __1__
♦ Talking about how to get to work in a traffic jam is __2__; moral philosophy is not.
♦ ‘All businessmen are nice people,’ is __3__ many people don’t accept as true.
♦ Giving a lecture is an example of __4__ ; a single sentence is not.
♦ You can’t understand, ‘He picked it up and put it there,’ without __5__.
C Read the standards expected at B2 level in the box below. Shut the book.
When you have finished compare your notes with the text
At B2 level (Vantage), somebody listening in a business context…

can understand the main ideas of propositionally and linguistically complex
speech on both concrete and abstract topics delivered in a standard dialect,
including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation.
can follow extended speech and complex lines of argument, provided the
topic is reasonably familiar, and the direction of the talk is sign-posted by
explicit markers.
can with some effort catch much of what is said around him/her.
can use a variety of strategies to achieve comprehension, including listening
for main points and checking comprehension by using contextual clues.
In the short conversations task, somebody listening in a business context…

can understand messages on concrete and abstract topics spoken in standard
dialect at normal speed
In the making notes task, somebody listening in a business context…

can follow the essentials of lectures, talks and reports and other forms of
academic/professional presentation which are propositionally and linguistically
complex.
In the meeting task, somebody listening in a business context…

can understand most radio documentaries and most other recorded or
broadcast audio material delivered in standard dialect, and can identity the
speaker’s mood, tone, etc.

Communicative Activity – Just a Minute
You are going to speak on a business topic You are going to try to talk non-stop for one minute
Get into groups of four or five.
Make a list of business topics suitable for a one-minute (slightly humorous)

speech, e.g. Money makes the world go round, Look after the cents and the
euros look after themselves, Time is money, etc.
The rules of the activity are:

• the student who starts chooses one of the topics and becomes the speaker
• the aim of the speaker is to speak for a minute on the topic without :
hesitation (i.e. pausing for more than a couple of seconds),
deviation (going off the topic) or
repetition (saying a content word not in the topic title more than once).
• anybody can challenge if the rules are broken. If the challenge is correct, then the challenger
gets a point; if the challenger is wrong, then the speaker gets a point.
• a student who makes a correct challenge takes over the speaking.
• the ‘stop-watch’ is stopped during a challenge, and is only started again when the same, or a
new speaker, starts to speak.
• the student speaking at the end of the minute receives an extra point.
Communicative Activity – Business Stories
You are going to tell a story about the history of a business. The story is imaginary. Get into groups
of four or five.
Individually, think of a story and make some notes, (e.g. a business started by a street seller
becomes a multinational, or a wealthy man becomes bankrupt). Your story should take about two
minutes to tell. Leave your story unfinished.
Each student tells his/her story in turn to the group. The other members of the group listen and
make notes. When the storyteller has finished, the other members should ask questions. When the
details of the unfinished story have been established, the other members of the group should agree
an end to the story.
As a final stage, each group of students should present the story to the full class, who may ask
questions in order to find out extra details about the story.
Three very wealthy businessmen are sitting together in an elite business club in Berlin.
Suddenly, one of them notices that they are all wearing the same tie.
‘Do you know, chaps, we are all wearing the same tie,’ says the first man. ‘Where did you get
yours? I got mine here in Berlin and paid EUR 300 for it’
‘Ah,’ says the second, ‘I got mine in Rome and I paid EUR 500 for it.’
‘Well,’ says the third, ‘you two were cheated. I bought mine in Paris and paid EUR 1000 for it!’
In economics, the tie is an example of a Giffen Good: as the price rises, demand increases – in
this case because its value is measured in terms of its cost.

3 Writing at B2 Vantage Level

A Match up the words with the definitions:
synthesise to say indirectly, by describing

evaluate obstruct (make something difficult)
circumlocution observable
conspicuous assess
hinder put together
B How many syllables do the words above have? Which is the stressed syllable?
(E.g. synthesise Ooo)
C Read the standards expected at B2 level in the box below. Shut the book.
When you have finished, compare your notes with the text
At B2 level (vantage) a writer in a business context…

can write clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects related to his/her field of interest, synthesising and
evaluating information and arguments form a number of sources.
can plan what is to be written and the means to write it, considering the effect on the recipient/s.
can use circumlocution and paraphrase to cover gaps in vocabulary and structure.
can correct slips and errors if he/she becomes conscious of them, or if they have led to
misunderstandings.
can give clear descriptions, express viewpoints and develop arguments without much conspicuous
searching for words, using some complex sentence structures to do so.
can vary formulation to avoid frequent repetition.
can use accurate and correct lexis, though some confusion and incorrect word choice does occur,
without hindering communication.
can show a relatively high degree of grammatical control, and does not make mistakes which lead to
misunderstanding.
can produce clearly intelligible continuous writing which follows standard layout and paragraphing
conventions
can spell and punctuate reasonably accurately, but may show signs of mother tongue influence.
In the extensive writing task, a writer in a business context…
can write clear, detailed descriptions on a variety of subjects related to his/her field of interest.
can write a review of a film, book or play.
can write an essay or report which develops an argument, giving reasons in support of or against a
particular point of view, and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
can synthesise information and arguments from a number of sources.
can express news and views effectively in writing.
can write letters conveying degrees of emotion and highlighting the personal significance of events and
experiences, and can comment on the correspondent’s news and views.

Communicative Activity – Business Letters
Write three short e-mails, each on a separate piece of paper,

and address them to three other members of the class, (your
teacher will tell you to whom, so that a few students don’t
receive all the letters). The subjects of the e-mails are:
• an offer to sell something

• a complaint about services received
• a request for information about the other’s product or
service
The e-mails should be short, no more than 60 words.

They should be in the style of an email.
Your teacher will act as a postal worker and will ‘deliver’
your e-mails to their recipients.
The recipient should write a reply – no longer than 70 words – on the back of the sheet of paper,
and your teacher will then deliver it back to you.
Your teacher will give you e-mails you haven’t seen. Try to improve the content and the English.
Discuss your changes with the original writer of the e-mails.
Communicative Activity – Improving the Office
Everyone in the class is a member of a team of management consultants, who have been asked to
find solutions for some problems in a badly run company office.
(e.g. lateness, untidiness, money being stolen, etc.).
In pairs, make a list of other problems which you can think of for the office.
The whole class should now sit in a circle; each of you should have a pen and a hard surface to
write on. The teacher will then give you a sheet of paper. You should write recommendations in the
following way:
We have noted that….
We believe that…. is necessary for the proper functioning of the office.
We therefore recommend that…. (at least two things)
Obviously, as you have noted a large number of problems in the office, your list of
recommendations will be long. The full report will need hundreds of words. However, every
minute, or minute and a half, the teacher will stop you writing. You should stop writing
immediately and hand the paper to the person on your right. You will receive a sheet of paper from
the student on your left, and should continue writing at the point where s/he stopped. You should
not write exactly the same thing on any two reports. You should try to make the report as sensible
as possible.
The activity continues until everybody has contributed to every report.

4 Grammar & Vocabulary at B2 Vantage Level
A Put the following into two lists. What is the difference between your two lists?
reading, pronunciation, listening, writing, grammar,

vocabulary, speaking
B Think back to the dictation unit (Unit 14).

Which of the following are important if you want to do well in the dictation task? Why?
spelling, pronunciation, reading, listening for detail, listening for gist,
C What is the difference between what is being tested in the multiple-choice gap fill and the
modified cloze?
D Read the standards expected at B2 level in the box below. Shut the book.
When you have finished, compare your notes with the text.
At B2 level (Vantage) a business language user…

can use a wide variety of strategies to achieve comprehension, including checking
comprehension by using contextual clues
can spell reasonably accurately (but for the specially selected vocabulary which you need to
write for these tasks in the Euro Exam there is NO allowance for error)
In the dictation, the business language user…

can produce clearly intelligible continuous writing, which follows a standard layout
can follow extended speech and complex lines of argument, provided the topic is reasonably
familiar, and the direction of the talk is sign-posted by explicit markers.
can understand broadcast audio material delivered in standard dialect
can take messages
can understand a clearly structured lecture on a familiar subject
In the non-dictation tasks the business language user…
can read with a large degree of independence
can deploy a broad active reading vocabulary
In the multiple-choice gap fill, the business language user…
can deploy a good range of vocabulary for matters connected to his/her field and most general
topics.
In the modified cloze, the business language user…

can show a relatively high degree of grammatical control

Communicative Activity – Dictogloss
• Your teacher will give you the title to a text.

What do you think the text will contain? Tell a partner
• The text will be about 100 words long.
• Your teacher will read the text at normal reading speed.
Note down key words and phrases, either during the
reading or afterwards. Exchange ideas with other
students near you.
• Your teacher will read the text through again at normal
reading speed. Try to add to your notes.
• Now get into groups of three or four students.
Together you should try to re-write the text as closely to the original as possible.
• Your teacher will now read the original text slowly, or give you a printed copy of the text. You
should note differences between your version and the original, and discuss these in the lesson.
Communicative Activity – Grammar Auction
• Look at the grammar items in the box below. Write sentences of at least twelve words which
start with the following.
He’d have…
Although it had been…
But for…
Never before had…
Rarely…
Not wanting…
Having opened…
AND THREE OTHER SENTENCES OF YOUR CHOICE
• When you have written several sentences (your teacher will tell you how many), hand them in.
At this stage don’t discuss them with other people.
• Your teacher may have some sentences which s/he has written.
• Everybody in the class (or every pair) will get the same amount of imaginary ‘money’.
You are going to use this as you would in an auction.
• The teacher will write a selection of the sentences on the whiteboard and then ‘auction’ them.
Some of these will be grammatically correct, and others not.
Your aim is to buy as many grammatically correct sentences as possible for as little ‘money’
as possible, and ungrammatical ones for even less.
You should take care not to use up all your money at the beginning of the auction.
• When everybody’s money has gone, or when the sentences have run out, discuss in class, with
your teacher’s help, which sentences are grammatically correct.
• For a grammatically correct sentence which you have bought you receive 10 points,
for a sentence which is grammatically incorrect you receive 1 point.
• The winner is the person (or pair) with the most points.

6 Speaking at B2 Vantage Level
A What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box mean?
subsidiary, a stretch of language, to impose a strain, to prod, a concession
B Put one item from the vocabulary box into each gap.
♦ He produced a very long _1_.
♦ She has such a strong foreign accent that listening to her _2_ .
♦ You have to _3_ her to get her to say anything.
♦ We will have to make a _4_ if we want them to sign the contract.
♦ The main office is in Berlin, but they have a _5_ in Paris.
C Read the standards expected at B2 level in the box below. Shut the book. In groups of three,
try to remember as much as you can. When you have finished, compare your notes with the
text.
At B2 level (Vantage) a business speaker…

can give clear, systematically developed descriptions within a wide range of subjects
related to his/her field of interest, expanding and supporting ideas with subsidiary points and
relevant examples
can produce stretches of language with a fairly even tempo; although s/he can be hesitant
as s/he searches for patterns and expressions, there are few noticeable long pauses
can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with
native speakers quite possible without imposing a strain on either party
In the interview, a business speaker…

can expand and develop ideas with little help or prodding from an interviewer
In a presentation, a business speaker…
can develop a clear argument, expanding and supporting his/her points of view at some
length with subsidiary points and relevant examples
can construct a chain of reasoned argument
can expand a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of
various options
In real life situations, a business speaker…

can explain a problem which has arisen, and make it clear that the provider of the service
or customer must make a concession.
In a collaborative task, a business speaker…

can help along the progress of work by inviting others to join in, say what they think, etc.
can outline an issue or a problem clearly, speculating about causes or consequences, and
weighing advantages and disadvantages of different proposals

Communicative activity – The businessperson’s mingle
Take a piece of paper and write a name

(if you are male write a female name; if you are female write a male name)
NOW YOU ARE THIS IMAGINARY PERSON.
ON YOUR PAPER, WRITE BRIEF NOTES ON THE FOLLOWING:

• the name of your business
• how many years you’ve been in business
• where your business is
• what your business is
• how many people you employ
• three problems your business has
• two hopes you have for expansion
• your last business trip
• your last holiday
• your family
Now try to remember as much as you can about your new self – but keep your piece of paper to
remind you.
Your teacher will invite you to a party.
Move around the room, talk to all the other ‘business people’ and find out as much information
about them as you can. Do not write it down, but try to remember it. Introduce yourself and
‘mingle’, as you would in a real party.
AT THE END OF THE PARTY
Sit down and tell your partner about the most interesting person you met.
Communicative activity – Selling your product
Imagine that you are in business, and have a new product to sell (e.g. a new type of glue, a new
insurance policy). What is the product? Make a few brief notes.
Now explain your product – and how you will market it – to your partner.
Your partner should ask you questions, and you should give answers.
Move around the room, and talk to all the other ‘business people’.
Ask and answer questions about your business, and about selling your product.
When you have finished, sit down. As a class, discuss each of the businesses in turn.
Consider:
• is the product one which would sell?
• how much would it cost to set up the business?
• who would buy it?
• what is the best way to market it?

Answers
1 Reading at B2 Vantage Level
(p. 1) C 1B, 2A, 3D, 4C
2 Listening at B2 Vantage Level
(p. 1) 1. a standard dialect, 2. a concrete subject, 3. a proposition,
4. extended speech, 5. contextual clues
3 Writing at B2 Vantage Level
(p. 1) A synthesise: put together; evaluate: assess; circumlocution: to say indirectly,

conspicuous: observable; hinder: obstruct (make something difficult)
(p. 1) B
evaluate oOoo
circumlocution oooOo
conspicuous oOoo
hinder Oo
4 Grammar & Vocabulary at B2 Vantage Level
(p. 1) A language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking

language knowledge: pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary
(p. 1) B listening for detail – absolutely crucial, as the dictation needs to be reproduced
word for word
spelling – all the words in the chunk must be correctly spelt to get the point.
listening for gist – in the first reading through you need to listen for gist to work
out the topic of the dictation which then helps you to understand the details.
pronunciation – need to listen to the recording, and work out written text from
the speech. Many sounds are reduced or elided.
reading – just need to read the instructions and the title, minimal role
(p. 1) C In the multiple-choice gap fill your vocabulary is being tested: do you know the
right word? Can a particular word fit into the sentence here?
In the modified cloze your grammar is being tested, i.e. which grammar words go
into a gap so the sentence is grammatically correct and makes sense?
Speaking at B2 Vantage Level
(p. 1) B 1. stretch of language, 2. imposed a strain, 3. prod, 4. concession, 5. subsidiary.

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EuroPro B2

unit 2 - paragraph headings

unit 3 - scan reading

unit 4 - multiple choice reading

unit 5 - short conversations

unit 6 - making notes

unit 8 - transactional writing

unit 9 - extensive writing

unit 11 - muliple choice gapfill

unit 12 - modified cloze

unit 18 - transactional dialogues

unit 19 - collaborative speaking

Introduction to EuroPro B2 Web Coursebook

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

The Structure of the EuroPro B2 Coursebook

The Reading Units (1 - 4)

Unit 1: Organisation in the Workplace

Unit 2: The Restructuring of Business

Unit 3: The Private Lives of Business People

Unit 4: Work-Related Conflict

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Unit 5: Business Talk and Chatter

Unit 6: Personal Bankruptcy

Unit 7: People Changing Jobs

Unit 8: Formal Letters

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Unit 9: Formal Reports

Grammar & Vocabulary Units (10 – 12)

Unit 10: Social Welfare

Unit 11: Work Satisfaction

Unit 12: Business Etiquette and Ceremony

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Mediation Units (13 –15)

Unit 13: Doing Business Abroad (incomplete)

Speaking Units (16 – 19)

Unit 16: Interviews at Work

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Unit 17: Business Profits

Unit 18: Status at Work

Unit 19: Expanding a Company

Unit 20: EuroPro, the CEFR, and Extra Activities (incomplete)

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Recurrent skills in the exam

A Recognising and producing genre texts

Every text in the exam, be it receptive/productive or visual/aural, is written in a particular genre,

B Recognising lexical and grammatical words

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

C Using top-down decoding

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

1 Organisation in the Workplace

A What makes a workplace efficient? Do you think your

B What do the words and phrases in the vocabulary box

F Summarise each paragraph in one sentence.

Arnie Fischer, United Workers Union.

to chat, to giggle, to stand in line, to duplicate, literacy, to monitor, crockery

Meeting language – real-life phrases

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

The Principles of Scientific the long term unless

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Mr. Bibby’s Notebook

Copyright 2007 Euro Examination Centre.

Exam Practice: Software Company in Dire Straits

A Imagine a poorly organised computer software company. What