BUSINESS CONVERSATION

Situation 21: “He worked his fingers to the bones.”

I. WARM UPS

1. Do you any hardworking person? Who is he/she?

2. What do you think of him/her? Do you want to be like him/her? Why or why not?
3. What about your parents? Do you think they’re hard working, too?
4. How should we treat hardworking people? Do they deserve respect?
5. What about your parents, how should you treat them? How can you make
encourage them especially when they work hard for you?

II. BEFORE READING / LISTENING

Pretend that you own a company, and that you have 30 employees. Of all these
employees, you observe 5 very hardworking people. Think of three (3) things that you
want to give or do for them. Ask help from your teacher.

III. READING / LISTENING

Read the following business conversation. Note the underlined phrases; they’re called
business idioms.

Conversation:

A: Good morning, Mr. Park. Did you get the news about the personnel re-shuffle?

B: Yes, Mr. Song told me about that. When I heard the company is planning to farm Mr.
Kim out to the Busan branch, I couldn’t believe my ears!

A: To tell the truth, I was more than a little surprised at the news. I don’t understand why
the company announced his appointment to Busan. So far, from headquarters, I thought
he would be promoted to director this time.

B: Search me. There’s no telling what happens in the future. You know, I thought the
company would show some of us the door, but it didn’t. That’s the bright side.

A: Yeah, I know. But they went too far this time. Mr. Kim did whatever it took for this
company to succeed. He worked his fingers to the bone! I’d bet there’s no one who
knows more than him when it comes to marketing.

B: That’s the company policy. They switch people around from time to time to stimulate
them.

A: It seems more like an exercise on futility to me.

IV. AFTER READING / LISTENING

Vocabulary: Match the correct meaning of the word.

A B

1) personnel(n) a) designation
2) announced(v) b) base/center
3) appointment(n) c) staff/employee
4) headquarters(n) d) declared
5) promoted(v) e) gamble
6) director(n) f) raised
7) future(n) g) to get ahead
8) succeed(v) h) executive officer
9) bet(n) i) the time yet to come
10) policy(n) j) uselessness
11) switch(n) k) procedure
12) stimulate(v) l) exchange
13) futility(n) m) motivate

Business Idioms: Meaning

1.”get the news” - hear about; be informed

2.”re-shuffle” - move around
3.”farm someone out” - to send someone outside the main
office or the headquarters
4.”I couldn’t believe my ears” - I couldn’t believe it; an expression
shock or disbelief
5.”Search me” - I don’t understand
6.”To show the door” - to be fired out of the job
7.”The bright side” - the good part; the good news
8.”To go (went) too far” - to do something that should not be
done (in a bad way)
9.”Whatever it takes (took)” - to work very hard
10.”Work his fingers to the bone” - to work very, very hard
11.”Exercise in futility” - a pointless/purposeless action

Test your idioms: Choose the correct idiom above and fill in the blanks.

1. ‘Have you heard about the latest news about Michael Jackson?’ ‘Yes, and
__________________ ! He disguised himself as a Moslem woman in Riyadh!’
2. ‘I thought the management decided to lay off some employees. I heard that they
only reduced some of the employees’ salary.’ ‘Well, that’s ______________ of
it. No one lost his job.’
 3. ‘The manager wanted _______________ to the newest employee. He goes to
work really late almost every day!’
4. Our town mayor ____________________ just to help our town be successful.
5. Sue is willing to do _________________ just to finish her school project.

V. SPEAKING

Role Playing
Practice reading the conversation above with a partner (or with your teacher); then try
exchanging roles. Read it several times until you learn pronouncing the difficult words or
phrases.

VI. LISTENING

Listen to your teacher read the conversation and fill in the gaps.

Conversation:

A: Good morning, Mr. Park. Did you get the news about the personnel __________?

B: Yes, Mr. Song told me about that. When I heard the company is ______ to farm Mr.
Kim out to the Busan branch, I couldn’t __________ my ears!

A: To tell the truth, I was more than a little _______ at the news. I don’t understand why
the company __________ his appointment to Busan. So far, from headquarters, I thought
he would be ___________ to director this time.

B: Search me. There’s no telling what happens in the _______. You know, I thought the
company would ________ some of us the door, but it didn’t. That’s the bright side.

A: Yeah, I know. But they went too far this time. Mr. Kim did whatever it took for this
company to _______. He worked his _________ to the bone! I’d bet there’s no one who
knows more than him when it comes to marketing.

B: That’s the company policy. They ________ people around from time to time to
stimulate them.

A: It seems more like an exercise on ___________ to me.