LICENCIATURA EM ASSESSORIA E TRADUÇÃO

ANO LECTIVO DE 2018/2019

INGLÊS COMERCIAL I
(1.º ANO, 1.º SEMESTRE)

CLASS FILE

Paula Carvalho
paulacarvalho@iscap.ipp.pt

Pedro Ruiz
pruiz@iscap.ipp.pt
 INGLÊS COMERCIAL I
1.º Ano, 1.º Semestre

Table of Contents

Units Page

1 English as a Global Language......................... 3

2 Cultural Diversity......................................... 32

3 Business across Cultures............................... 56

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 UNIT 1

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE

Background reading

Not the Queen's English

Non-native English-speakers now outnumber native ones 3 to 1. And it's changing the way we
communicate.
BY CARLA POWER

The name - Cambridge School of Languages -
conjures images of spires and Anglo-Saxon
aristocrats conversing in the Queen's English. But
this Cambridge is composed of a few dank rooms
with rickety chairs at the edge of a congested
Delhi suburb. Its rival is not stately Oxford but the
nearby Euro Languages School, where a three-
month English course costs $16. "We tell students
you need two things to succeed: English and
computers," says Chetan Kumar, a Euro
Languages manager. "We teach one. For the
other"—he points to a nearby Internet stall—"you
can go next door."
The professors back in Cambridge,
England, would no doubt question the schools'
pedagogy. There are few books or tapes. Their
teachers pronounce "we" as "ve" and "primary" as
"primmry." And yet such storefront shops aren't
merely the ragged edge of the massive English-
learning industry, which in India alone is a $100
million-per-year business. They are the front lines
of a global revolution in which hundreds of
millions of people are learning English, the
planet's language for commerce, technology—
and, increasingly, empowerment. Within a
decade, 2 billion people will be studying English
and about half the world—some 3 billion people—
will speak it, according to a recent report from the
British Council.
From Caracas to Karachi, parents keen
for their children to achieve are forking over
tuition for English-language schools. China's
English fever— elevated to epidemic proportions
by the country's recent accession to the World
Trade Organization and the coming 2008
Olympics—even has its own Mandarin term,
Yingwen re. And governments from Tunisia to
Turkey are pushing English, recognizing that along
with computers and mass migration, the language
is the turbine engine of globalization. As one 12-
year-old self-taught English-speaker from China's
southwestern Sichuan province says, "If you can't
speak English, it's like you're deaf and dumb."
Linguistically speaking, it's a whole new
world. Non-native speakers of English now
outnumber native speakers 3 to 1, according to
English-language expert David Crystal, whose
numerous books include "English as a Global
Language." "There's never before been a language
that's been spoken by more people as a second
than a first," he says. In Asia alone, the number of
English-users has topped 350 million—roughly the
combined populations of the United States,
Britain and Canada. There are more Chinese
children studying English—about 100 million—
than there are Britons.
Why such enthusiasm? In a word, jobs.
Governments, even linguistically protectionist
ones, are starting to agree. Last year Malaysia
decided to start teaching school-level math and
science in English. In France, home of the
Academie Francaise, whose members are given
swords and charged with defending the sanctity of
the French language, a commission recommended
last fall that basic English be treated like basic
math: as part of the mandatory core curriculum
beginning in primary school. As it turns out, the
minister of Education didn't agree. No matter;
French schoolchildren are ahead of their
government: 96 percent of them are already
studying the language as an elective in school.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

THE ALPHABET RACE

See how quickly you can work out the following.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

1 What’s the 14th letter of the alphabet? 1 ____________

2 What’s the 7th letter from the end of the alphabet? 2 ____________

3 Make two words starting with the 4th letter of the alphabet. 3 ____________

4 Make a word from the 1st, 20th, 7th and 15th letters of the alphabet. 4 ____________

5 How many different letters appear in the word embarrassed? 5 ____________

6 Make two words that end in the 20th letter of the alphabet. 6 ____________

7 Which letters in the word society come between D and P in the 7 ____________
alphabet?

8 Which letter in the word skirt is furthest from N in the alphabet? 8 ____________

9 Which letter occurs twice in realise and once in scream? 9 ____________

10 Which letters occur most often in interesting? 10 ____________

11 What is the position in the alphabet of the middle letter in the word 11 ____________
advertisement?

12 Which letter is halfway between the 5th and 15th letters of the 12 ____________
alphabet?

13 Arrange the following words in alphabetical order: 13 ____________

____________
crab comb carrot cream cotton
____________
____________
____________
____________

14 Which letter in the word hair is closest to n in the alphabet? 14 ____________

15 Make a word that includes the 1st and 16th letters of the alphabet. 15 ____________

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

SPELLING
Confusing words

Exercise A

Choose the correct word for each sentence. You can do this by crossing out the word you
think is wrong.

Exercise B

Choose the correct word for each sentence. You can do this by crossing out the word you
think is wrong.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

Speling? Sppeling? Sorry,

SPELLING QUIZ!

Name: …………………………..……………………………………………

1 16

2 17

3 18

4 19

5 20

6 21

7 22

8 23

9 24

10 25

11 26

12 27

13 28

14 29

15 30

SCORE:

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

SPELLING QUIZ
Listening

A. Listen to the recording and tick () the word you hear.

a) cereal serial e) crews cruise

b) aisle I’ll f) fare fair

c) eight ate g) principal principle

d) coarse course h) steak stake

B. How do you spell these pairs of words? Listen to the recording.

1  
2  
3  
4   
5  
6  

SPELLING QUIZ
Punctuating

Add the following punctuation:

Ten capital letters A, B, C…
Two full stops .
Six commas abcd, efgh
One colon :
One dash ─
One set of inverted commas ‘Abcd…’

the european community was a success story as was evident from the

number of applicants waiting to join in a speech reflecting last friday’s

birmingham summit the queen said the british presidency is working to build

on that success developing a community of all 25 member states which

draws on the strength of each which meets the needs of their people listens

to their anxieties and responds to their wishes a community which is open

to the rest of europe and to the worl d

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

PUNCTUATING
Reading

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in
the air.

‘Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly
punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

So, punctuation really does matter,

even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

To be fair, many people who couldn’t punctuate their way out of a paper bag are still interested in
the way punctuation can alter the sense of a string of words. The consequences of mispunctuation
(and re-punctuation) have appealed to both great and little minds, and in the age of the fancy-that
email a popular example is the comparison of two sentences:

A woman, without her man, is nothing.

A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Which, I don’t know, really makes you think, doesn’t it? Here is a popular “Dear Jack” letter that
works in much the same fundamentally pointless way:

Dear Jack, Dear Jack,

I want a man who knows what love is all
about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful.
People who are not like you admit to
being useless and inferior. You have
ruined me for other men. I yearn for you.
I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re
apart. I can be forever happy — will you
let me be yours?
I want a man who knows what love is. All
about you are generous, kind, thoughtful
people, who are not like you. Admit to
being useless and inferior. You have
ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you
I have no feelings whatsoever. When
we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will
you let me be?
Yours,

Jill Jill

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss, 2003

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

SPELLING
Crossword Puzzle

4 2

3 6

7 5

9 8

11

12 10

12

13

14

15

17 16

18

19

20

21

Across
2. happening unexpectedly or by chance
3. relating to the North Pole or the region near it
5. a sweet white confection
8. the character * used as a reference mark in printing
10. endorse as fit or worthy
12. a right or immunity granted as a benefit or favour
14. lying beyond what is evident; deliberately and deceptively concealed
16. at a basic level or in a basic manner
19. the use of too many words or of more difficult words than are needed to express an idea
20. acknowledging someone’s achievements or good fortune
21. the way of treating a holy thing, place or person without respect

Down
1. a legislative body or a formal conference for the discussion of public affairs
4. not fully worked out or agreed on
6. the act or process of absorbing something; occupying full attention or interest
7. a low indistinct sound; an abnormal sound of the heart
9. serious, grave, causing pain or anguish
11. to cause someone to feel self-conscious or ill at ease
12. a right or a privilege held by a person or group
13. certain, clearly defined, having distinct limits
15. the science of numbers and their operations
17. a perfect example of a class or type
18. a disastrous event

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

GOOD GRAMMAR MEANS MORE MONEY

Listening 1

Listen to the recording and then decide if the statements below are true (T) or false (F).

T F
a) The article says students with good grammar test scores are richer.
b) Some people thought the grammar in an Apple commercial was
wrong.
c) The six biggest companies in the world make no grammar mistakes.
d) Companies who make fewer grammar mistakes may be richer.
e) A study looked at the writing of two top fashion companies.
f) A study said that Coca Cola is better at grammar than Pepsi Co.
g) Ford is better at making money than General Motors.
h) Customers usually buy from companies with good grammar.

UK LEADER TELLS SCHOOLS - MANDARIN, NOT FRENCH

Listening 2

Listen to the recording and then decide if the statements below are true (T) or false (F).

T F
a) David Cameron is removing French from the curriculum in UK
schools.
b) The British Prime Minister was speaking to reporters in China.
c) There will be 400,000 Mandarin teachers in Britain by 2016.
d) Mr Cameron said Britain is one of the world's fast-growing
economies.
e) Cameron said China will become the world's biggest economy.
f) The British leader said more children should also learn German.
g) The number of Chinese language assistants in UK schools will
double.
h) The British Council said Mandarin will help people find jobs.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

WORD FORMATION
Strategy and hot tip!

Strategy
Before you try to fill in the gaps, decide whether a missing word is an adjective (e.g.
beautiful), an adverb (e. g. carefuIIy), a noun (e.g. information) or a verb (e.g. believe).

Look at the underlined words in each sentence and decide whether they are adjectives,
adverbs, nouns or verbs.

1. And so began two hours and forty minutes of disbelief (noun), fear and finally horror for
the 2,300 passengers of the ‘unsinkable’ (adjective) Titanic.

2. For that was all the time that it took for the biggest and supposedly (……………..….) safest
liner in the world to sink beneath the icy waters of the North Atlantic.

3. The myth of the Titanic’s unsinkability was only one of an incredible (……………..….)
combination (……………..….) of human errors.

4. Although the Titanic struck the iceberg at 11.40 p.m., it was not until five minutes after
midnight that the order was given, ‘Uncover (……………..….) the Iifeboats!’

5. In one of the last overcrowded (……………..….) lifeboats to cave the Titanic stood Mrs Emily
Richards, then twenty-four, and going off to join her husband in the USA.

6. The sea was full of wreckage (……………..….) and bodies.

7. One of the strangest aspects of this disaster was that it had been foreseen in
extraordinary (……………..….) detail in a novel published fourteen years earlier.

8. The book, written by Morgan Robertson, told the story of the biggest and most luxurious
(……………..….) liner ever built.

Hot tip!
Always read the whole sentence to decide if you need a positive or a negative word to fill
each gap. For example, do you need the positive or the negative form of the word in this
sentence?

…………………..….. we arrived late and missed the first ten minutes of the film. (FORTUNATE)

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

WORD FORMATION
Exercises

A. Now fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the correct form of the word in capitals.
Decide what part of speech to use and whether you need a positive or a negative word.

1. The local people are sometimes rather ...unfriendly... and often seem to want to avoid the
tourists. (FRIEND)

Notes: the missing word is an adjective. You know this because ‘are’ and ‘rather’ come before it. The idea of
the sentence is negative.

2. It’s no use getting ………………….……… just because there’s a long queue to check in. (PATIENT)
3. The man in the tourist information office was very ……………….………… and gave us lots of free
maps and brochures. (HELP)
4. They decided to close the hotel because it had never been very ……………….………… . (PROFIT)
5. We had lovely, …………………….…… weather the whole time we were there. (SUN)
6. Don’t ………………… the cost of hotel accommodation when you plan your next holiday. (ESTIMATE)
7. A dishonest waiter tried to ……………….………… us for our meal. (CHARGE)
8. Take an umbrella if you go out in autumn as it is very ……………….………… to rain. (LIKE)
9. There are …………………….…… people in most of the world’s big cities nowadays. (HOME)
10. The safari park was a bit of a …………….…………… as there were too few animals. (APPOINT)

B. Again, use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the
space in the same line.

BOOKS
Nearly all the (0) …discoveries… that have been made through the ages can 0 DISCOVER
be found in books. The (1) ………………….…. of the book is one of humankind’s 1 INVENT
greatest (2) ………………….…., the importance of which cannot be overestimated. 2 ACHIEVE
Books are very adaptable, providing us with both (3) ………………….…. and 3 ENTERTAIN
information.
The (4) ………………….…. of books began in Ancient Egypt, though not in a form that 4 PRODUCE
is (5) ………………….…. to us today. The books read by the Romans, however, have 5 RECOGNISE
some (6) ………………….…. to the ones we read now. Until the middle of the 15th 6 SIMILAR
century, in Europe, all books were (7) ………………….…. by hand. They were often 7 WRITE
beautifully illustrated and always rare and (8) ………………….….. . With printing 8 EXPENSE
came the (9) ………………….…. of cheap, large-scale publication and distribution 9 POSSIBLE
of books, making (10) ………………….…. more widespread and accessible. 10 KNOW

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

HOW NEW WORDS ARE CREATED

Reading

A. Find words or expressions in the text with the following definitions.

a invents (paragraph 1) ________________

b ordinary and not interesting or exciting (parag. 1) ________________
c happen (parag. 1) ________________
d talked about without mentioning the thing or idea itself (parag. 2) ________________
e simple and produced ‘at home’ (parag. 2) ________________
f to put something into or onto something else (parag. 3) ________________
g (creating) a new word or phrase (parag. 4) ________________
h a new part that is added to the beginning or end of a word that changes its meaning (parag. 5)
________________
i with no sign that it was ever present (parag. 5) ________________
j a situation in which something has been completely forgotten (parag. 5) ________________

B. Read paragraph 1 again and answer these questions. Check your answers in the dictionary.

a What does the phrasal verb make up mean? ___________________________________________

b What other meanings does it have?__________________________________________________
c What is the meaning of the following phrasal verbs?
1 make up for____________________________________________________________
2 make it up to___________________________________________________________

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

HOW NEW WORDS ARE CREATED

Exercises

A. Try to match each term below with an example.

Way word is formed Word

a) Mixing two words and their meanings together • scuba
• brunch
b) Using part of a word • exam
• racist
c) Forming a word from the letters of a phrase • ping-pong
• igloo
d) Adding a prefix or a suffix • diskette
• bungalow
e) Changing the way a word is used e.g. noun becomes verb • biohazard
• brainstorm
f) Joining two words • to chair
• britpop
g) Words made with rhyming pairs • chocoholic
• yuppy
h) Taking a word from another language

B. Try to explain what these words mean.

e.g. user-friendly: a machine that is easy or friendly to use.

• snail-mail __________________________________________________________
• teleshopping __________________________________________________________
• technophobe __________________________________________________________
• coffee-matic __________________________________________________________
• brainstorm __________________________________________________________

C. Here are parts of words made from rhymes, e.g. snail + mail = snail-mail. Complete the sentences below
with the second half of each phrase

and bustle beaver hush

woogie nilly weensy
zagging jeebies

1. Seeing a spider, even on the TV, always gives me the heebie ______________ .
2. She never cleans her room – she just throws everything willy ______________ .
3. He’s a really keen student – an eager ______________ if ever I saw one!
4. I do like that old piano music, especially boogie ______________ .
5. Are you angry? No? Not even a teensy ______________ bit?
6. She doesn’t like the countryside because she misses the hustle ____________ of the big city.
7. The whole affair was very hush _______________ - no-one knew about it until it was over.
8. It doesn’t surprise me the police stopped his car – it was zig ____________ all over the place.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

HOW NEW WORDS ARE CREATED

Exercises (cont.)

Try to match each phrase from the sentences above with one of the meanings below. Use the
context to help you guess.

a. kept secret ______________________________

b. very small ______________________________
c. very enthusiastic ______________________________
d. a style of music ______________________________
e. moving from right to left ______________________________
f. randomly ______________________________
g. feelings of disgust and discomfort ______________________________
h. noise and busy people ______________________________

D. Now let’s think about words which are made by combining others. If you have any difficulty
look at the definition of the new word.

1. electrocute – kill someone using electricity

2. travelogue – a description of a journey
3. smog – air pollution in a city
4. twiddle – keep moving something with your fingers
5. Oxbridge – the two oldest universities in Britain
6. motel – a place to stay when travelling by car
7. snazzy –very smart and modern
8. rockumentary – a television programme about a music band

Below are the original words to help you – can you match them together?

Smart Hotel
Electricity Monologue
Rock Jazzy
Twist Documentary
Oxford Execute
Travel Fiddle
Smoke Fog
Motor Cambridge

E. Try to group the words to their original language. There are words from Arabic, German, Hindi
Portuguese, and Spanish.

Average Coffee Jungle Mirror Shampoo

Caste Cot Luck Palaver Sofa
Cheetah Guitar Lunch Patio Tornado
Cobra Hamburger Marmalade Poodle Zero

Arabic German Hindi Portuguese Spanish

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

FREE ONLINE DICTIONARIES AND THESAURI

www.askoxford.com

www.cambridge.dictionary.org

www.dictionary.com

www.dictionarylink.com

www.freebyte.com/dictionary

www.m-w.com

www.thefreedictionary.com

www.thesaurus.com

http://dictionary.law.com

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

USING ONLINE DICTIONARIES

Chapter I

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking
thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an
effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass
doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent
a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At
one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had
been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face,
more than a meter wide: the face of a man of about forty-five,
with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features.
Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at
the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the
electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of
the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was
seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine, and had a
varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several
times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the
poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of
those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you
about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the
caption beneath it ran.

Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell, 1949

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

UNKNOWN WORDS WORD CLASS POSSIBLE MEANING SYNONYMS/COLLOCATIONS IN DICTIONARY

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

MAKING DO WITHOUT A DICTIONARY

Characters Emma Woodhouse is happy, healthy, wealthy, intelligent and good looking. In the course of the
novel, we revise some of these assumptions about Emma. By the end of the novel she has learned
to accept that Mr Knightley (whose brother is married to Emma’s sister) has been right to warn her
about the way she treats others. It is her vivid imagination that leads to the problems she creates
when she attempts to make matches between people. As we learn more about her life, we realise
that her imagination is her refuge from a rather dull and lonely existence. Emma has a contradictory
attitude to marriage. She is fascinated by the thought of arranging marriages for others, but claims
not to want marriage for herself. As a wealthy heiress, Emma is the only one of the main female
characters who is in a position to make such a decision.

Harriet Smith is a pleasant but dull and ordinary girl made interesting by Emma’s over-active
imagination. Emma must learn to forget her romantic daydreams about the possibilities of Harriet’s
background when the mundane truth is revealed (she is illegitimate). Harriet’s indecisive and
impressionable nature serves to illuminate the theme of illusion and delusion.

Mr Elton is the local vicar and his snobbery takes the form of social climbing. In order to get on he
tries to please everyone superior to himself. The insincerity of his flattery is highlighted by his
refusal to dance with Harriet at the ball. He proposes to Emma early in the novel, is refused, and
feels deeply insulted by the fact that Emma wanted him to marry Harriet, who has no money and
no social status. He then marries a wealthy woman, who is an outrageous character. Mr and Mrs
Elton are comic characters whom Austen uses to satirise the evils of snobbery.

Mrs Weston is a gentle, kind woman who loves everyone around her. Her marriage to a gentleman
of local consequence is fortunate for her, taking her from relatively minor status as Emma’s
governess into settled, respectable marital comfort. Her marriage is clearly a happy one and her
husband loves her dearly.

Mr Knightley is the character who can most often be relied upon to behave well and might be said
to represent all the traditional English country values. He has a solid background of good breeding.
His finest hour is when he rescues Harriet from the ignominy of being cut by Mr Elton at the ball.
His reward for this is that his participation in the dance alerts Emma to his existence as a sexual
being who might be considered as a potential partner and not a brother.

Chapter 38 - The ball at the Crown

Synopsis As the ball gathers pace, Emma notices that Harriet is not dancing. So does Mrs Weston, who
entreats Mr Elton to partner her. When he deliberately snubs Harriet, much to Mrs Weston’s shock
and dismay, Emma is mortified. She notices gleeful smiles passing between Mr Elton and his wife.
He sits himself beside Mr Knightley, who does not dance. Emma cannot believe her eyes when she
turns again and sees Mr Knightley escorting Harriet to the dance floor, and Mr Elton retreating to
the card room in shame. As soon as she gets the opportunity, Emma thanks him for his kindness to
Harriet. He is disgusted with the behaviour of the Eltons and is quick to guess the real reason for
their unkindness to Harriet, and coolness towards Emma. She readily blames herself, but Mr
Knightley feels that she has learned her own lesson and that her ‘serious spirit’ will lead her right.
She asks him to ask her to dance, which he readily agrees.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

MAKING DO WITHOUT A DICTIONARY

The ball proceeded pleasantly. The anxious cares, the incessant attentions of Mrs. Weston, were
not thrown away. Everybody seemed happy; and the praise of being a delightful ball, which is seldom
bestowed till after a ball has ceased to be, was repeatedly given in the very beginning of the existence
of this. Of very important, very recordable events, it was not more productive than such meetings
usually are. There was one, however, which Emma thought something of.--The two last dances before
supper were begun, and Harriet had no partner;--the only young lady sitting down;-- and so equal had
been hitherto the number of dancers, that how there could be any one disengaged was the wonder!--
But Emma's wonder lessened soon afterwards, on seeing Mr. Elton sauntering about. He would not ask
Harriet to dance if it were possible to be avoided: she was sure he would not--and she was expecting
him every moment to escape into the card-room.
Escape, however, was not his plan. He came to the part of the room where the sitters-by were
collected, spoke to some, and walked about in front of them, as if to show his liberty, and his resolution
of maintaining it. He did not omit being sometimes directly before Miss Smith, or speaking to those who
were close to her. - Emma saw it. She was not yet dancing; she was working her way up from the bottom,
and had therefore leisure to look around, and by only turning her head a little she saw it all. When she
was half-way up the set, the whole group were exactly behind her, and she would no longer allow her
eyes to watch; but Mr. Elton was so near, that she heard every syllable of a dialogue which just then
took place between him and Mrs. Weston; and she perceived that his wife, who was standing
immediately above her, was not only listening also, but even encouraging him by significant glances. -
The kind-hearted, gentle Mrs. Weston had left her seat to join him and say, "Do not you dance, Mr.
Elton?" to which his prompt reply was, "Most readily, Mrs. Weston, if you will dance with me."
"Me! - oh! no -I would get you a better partner than myself. I am no dancer."
"If Mrs. Gilbert wishes to dance," said he, "I shall have great pleasure, I am sure - for, though
beginning to feel myself rather an old married man, and that my dancing days are over, it would give
me very great pleasure at any time to stand up with an old friend like Mrs. Gilbert."
"Mrs. Gilbert does not mean to dance, but there is a young lady disengaged whom I should be very
glad to see dancing--Miss Smith." "Miss Smith! - oh! - I had not observed. - You are extremely obliging -
and if I were not an old married man. - But my dancing days are over, Mrs. Weston. You will excuse me.
Any thing else I should be most happy to do, at your command - but my dancing days are over."
Mrs. Weston said no more; and Emma could imagine with what surprise and mortification she must
be returning to her seat. This was Mr. Elton! the amiable, obliging, gentle Mr. Elton. - She looked round
for a moment; he had joined Mr. Knightley at a little distance, and was arranging himself for settled
conversation, while smiles of high glee passed between him and his wife.
She would not look again. Her heart was in a glow, and she feared her face might be as hot.
In another moment a happier sight caught her; - Mr. Knightley leading Harriet to the set! - Never
had she been more surprised, seldom more delighted, than at that instant. She was all pleasure and
gratitude, both for Harriet and herself, and longed to be thanking him; and though too distant for
speech, her countenance said much, as soon as she could catch his eye again.
____________________________________________________________________________________

NOW LET’S SEE HOW THIS SCENE WAS ADAPTED ON THE 1996 VERSION OF EMMA

21
 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

22
 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

Vocabulary

A. Notice how the following are said in English.

B. Sums

Symbols Word (common term in brackets)

+ Plus (and)
- Minus (take away)
x Multiplied by (times)
÷ Divided by
= Equals (is)
. Point
% Per cent

1 + 6 – 2 x 2 ÷ 2.5 = 4 One plus six minus two multiplied by two divided by two point five equals four or
One and six take away two times two divided by two point five is four
C. Decimals

When pronouncing decimals we use the word "point" to represent the dot. The numbers following the dot
are pronounced separately.

For example:
When you have the number 2.75 we say "Two point seven five."

D. The number 0

There are a number of ways you can say ‘0’ in English.

When we use it For example:

oh after a decimal point 9.02 = "Nine point oh two."
in bus or room numbers Room 101 = "Room one oh one." Bus 602 = "Bus six oh two."
in phone numbers 9130472 = "Nine one three oh four seven two."
in years 1906 = "Nineteen oh six."
nought before a decimal point 0.06 = "Nought point oh six."
zero in temperature -10°C = "10 degrees below zero."
US English for the number 0 = "Zero"
nil in football Chelsea 2 Manchester United 0 = "Chelsea two Manchester
United nil."
love in tennis 15 - 0 = "Fifteen-love."

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

Exercises I

1. How numerate are you? Try this numbers quiz.

2. Write the following in words rather than in figures or symbols.

3. Read the underlined words aloud.

4. Write the following in full.

2 1/2 __________________________________________________________
2,345 __________________________________________________________
6.75 __________________________________________________________
0.25 __________________________________________________________
3 1/3 __________________________________________________________
1,250,000 __________________________________________________________
10.04 __________________________________________________________
52% __________________________________________________________
September, 10th = the __________________________________________________________
July, 3rd = the __________________________________________________________
602 8477 [phone number] __________________________________________________________
1903 [date] __________________________________________________________
1876 [date] __________________________________________________________
2-0 [football match] __________________________________________________________
2-0 = 2 __________________________________________________________
1 3/4 __________________________________________________________

24
 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

Exercises II

25
 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

Quiz I

On the recording you will hear someone reading out each set of numbers and words in the way
in which they are spoken in English. Listen to the recording and write down the numbers and
figures.

1 Around ................ worth of the shares on offer

2 You can apply for .......... shares at a cost of no more than ............

3 Sterling showed a ............................ gain at .......................

4 ................. x ................. cm

5 ................. x ................. cm

6 @ ................ per .................

7 ................. , ................. , .................

8 About ................. which works out at ................. per annum

9 ................. x .................

10 ................. a year, .................

11

12

13 Invoice No. ..............................

14 Invoice No. ..............................

15 Tel. No. ..............................................

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

NUMBERS AND FIGURES

Quiz II

Now you will hear someone reading out the report below. Write down the
numbers in the gaps as you hear them.

Profit before tax at .......................... was ahead by .......................... on

turnover of .........................., up by ........................... . We must allow for the

.......................... review of chemists’ labour and overhead costs, as well as the

net impact of currency fluctuations. Adjusting for these, profits were ahead by

.......................... on turnover up by .......................... .

Retail Division turnover at .......................... increased by .......................... , and

profits at .......................... were up by .......................... . UK sales and profits

increased by .......................... and .......................... respectively, before

property disposal surpluses.

Industrial Division achieved sales of .......................... , an increase of

......................... , with profits of .......................... , ahead by .......................... .

At comparative exchange rates these increases become .......................... and

.......................... respectively. The UK retail sales increased by ..........................

from an unchanged sales area.

27
 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

GRAMMAR CHECKPOINT
1 - Key word transformation

For questions 1-8, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five
words, including the word given. Here is an example (0):

0. You must do exactly what the manager tells you. CARRY

You must ....................................................................................................... instructions exactly.

You must …carry out the manager’s… instructions exactly.

1. Marcella left home very early because she wanted to be sure of catching the train. ORDER

Marcella left home very early ........................................................................................ miss the train.

2. You must show your student card as you enter the library. REQUIRED

You ............................................................................................ student card as you enter the library.

3. On arriving at an airport, I usually go straight to the check-in desk. SOON

I usually go straight to the check-in desk as ..................................................................... to an airport.

4. Patrick hadn’t heard from his uncle in Australia for over five years. MORE

It was ............................................................................. Patrick had heard from his uncle in Australia.

5. On business trips, I prefer driving home to staying in a hotel overnight. RATHER

On business trips, l’d ............................................................................................ in a hotel overnight.

6. Jack found it difficult to control his skis on the steep slope. UNDER

Jack found it difficult to ......................................................................................... on the steep slope.

7. They say the fashion model was discovered by her agent while working at a restaurant. SAID

The fashion model is ........................................................... discovered by her agent while working

at a restaurant.

8 Such success has not been achieved by many players in the world of ice hockey. FEW

Only ....................................................................................... such success in the world of ice hockey.

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

GRAMMAR CHECKPOINT
2 - Error correction

Read the text below. In most lines 1-15 there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect
or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct. If the line is
correct, write CORRECT below. If there is one extra word in the line, write the extra word below.
The exercise begins with two examples, 0 and 00.

Starting University
0 My first a few days at university were very
00 exhilarating and exciting. It was my first time away
1 from home and suddenly I found myself on my own
2 in a whole new world. Although this was been somewhat
3 daunting to begin with, living in college with a dozens of
4 other students gave me a sense of the security. With
5 no rules to cramp our lifestyle, most of us spent the
6 first week staying up all night for talking and getting
7 to know each one other. After numerous nights of
8 no sleep, however, life settled itself down a bit and
9 I began to pay attention to my studies. University it is very
10 different to school and it is very strange at first to have
11 so much such freedom. As a student of English Literature
12 I only had one hour a day of lectures, but I was expected
13 to spend the rest of the day on studying in the library.
14 I must to admit though, that most of my first year was
15 a time of meeting people and learning to be independent.

Answers:

0 a
00 correct
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

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 Unit 1 – English as a Global Language

GRAMMAR CHECKPOINT
3 – Multiple-choice cloze

A. Read the text and then decide which option best fits each space. Circle the right answers below.
There is one example at the beginning.

Red Bull company figures

(1) A total of 4.631 billion cans of Red Bull were sold worldwide in 2011, representing an increase
of 11.4% against 2010. Company turnover increased by 12.4% (2) from EUR 3.785 billion to EUR
4.253 billion. In all key areas such as sales, revenues, productivity and operating profit, the figures
recorded were the best in the company's history so far. The main reasons (3) for such positive
figures include outstanding sales, especially in key markets (4) such as the USA (+11%) and Germany
(+10%), and also in other markets such as Turkey (+86%), Japan (+62%), France (+35%) and
Scandinavia (+34%), combined (5) with efficient cost management and on-going brand investment.
(6) Besides winning both the constructors' and drivers' Formula 1 championships for a second year
running, 2011 also saw the extremely dynamic expansion of our media activities. (7) In terms of
further expansion, Red Bull is (8) targeting the core markets of Western Europe and the USA, as
well as the growth markets of Brazil, Japan, India and China. Growth and investment will – as is
customary at Red Bull – continue to be financed from the operating cash flow. As of the end of
2011, Red Bull (9) employed 8,294 people in 164 countries (end 2010: 7,758 in 161 countries). In
spite of the still very difficult and uncertain financial and global economic climate, our plans for
growth and investment in 2012 (10) remain just as ambitious and we envisage a continued upward
trend.

1 A Eventually B A total C Completely D No more

2 A from B for C in D over
3 A over that B about this C to a D for such
4 A such as B compared to C other than D unlike
5 A to B under C with D for
6 A Although B Besides C In spite of D Regardless
7 A Nevertheless B In terms of C However D Relatively
8 A targeting B achieving C focusing D concerning
9 A fired B employed C moved D sued
10 A have B got C remain D verify

B. Spot the following items in the text above and write down the entire expressions in full.

1. A percentage: _______________________________________________________________
2. A date: ____________________________________________________________________
3. An amount of money: _________________________________________________________
4. A no. of countries: ____________________________________________________________
5. A no. of cans or people: _______________________________________________________

30

ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE
Further reading
The worldwide triumph of English
The second president of the United States, John Adams,
predicted in 1780 that “English will be the most
respectable language in the world and the most
universally read and spoken in the next century, if not
before the end of this one.” It is destined “in the next
and succeeding centuries to be more generally the
language of the world than Latin was in the last or
French is in the present age.”
It was a bold prediction, for at that time there were only
about 13 million English-speakers in the world, almost
all of them living in Britain or on the eastern seaboard
of North America. They were barely 1 percent of the
world’s population, and almost nobody except the
Welsh and the Irish bothered to learn English as a
second language. So how is Adams’ prediction doing
now?
Well, it took a little longer than he thought, but last
week one of the most respected universities in Italy, the
Politecnico di Milano, announced that from 2014 all of
its courses would be taught in English. There was a
predictable wave of outrage all across the country, but
the university’s rector, Giovanni Azzoni, simply replied:
“We strongly believe our classes should be international
classes, and the only way to have international classes
is to use the English language. Universities are in a more
competitive world. If you want to stay with the other
global universities, you have no other choice.”
The university is not doing this to attract foreign
students. It is doing it mainly for its own students who
speak Italian as a first language, but must make their
living in a global economy where the players come from
everywhere — and they all speak English as a lingua
franca.
Many other European universities, especially in
Germany, the Low Countries and Scandinavia, have
taken the same decision, and the phenomenon is now
spreading to Asia. There is a huge shift under way, and
it has become extremely rare to meet a scientific
researcher or international businessperson who cannot
speak fluent English. How else would Peruvians
communicate with Chinese?
But wait a minute. Peruvians speak Spanish, the world’s
second-biggest language, and Chinese has the largest
number of native speakers of any language. Why don’t
they just learn each other’s languages?
Because neither language is much use for talking to
anybody else. Chinese won’t get you very far in Europe,
Africa or the Americas — or, indeed, in most of Asia. The
same goes for Spanish almost anywhere outside Latin
America. Since few people have the time to learn more
than one or two foreign languages, we need a single
lingua franca that everybody can use with everybody
else.
Unit 1 – English as a Global Language
The choice has fallen on English not because it is more
beautiful or more expressive, but just because it is
already more widespread than any of the other
potential candidates.
Mandarin Chinese has been the biggest language by
number of speakers for at least the last thousand years,
and is now used by close to a billion people, but it has
never spread beyond China in any significant way.
Spanish, like English, has grown explosively in the past
two centuries: each now has over 400 million speakers.
But Spanish remains essentially confined to Central and
South America and Spain, while English is everywhere.
There is a major power that uses English in every
continent except South America: the U.S. in North
America, the United Kingdom in Europe, South Africa in
Africa, India in Asia, and of course Australia (where the
entire continent speaks it). All of that is due to the
British Empire, which once ruled one-quarter of the
world’s people. For the same reason, there are several
dozen other countries where English is an official
language.
Of course, the British Empire went into a steep decline
almost a century ago, but the superpower that took
Britain’s place was the U.S., another English-speaking
country. After another century during which everybody
dealing in international business and diplomacy —
indeed, any independent traveler who went very far
from home — simply had to learn English, the die was
cast. English had become the first worldwide lingua
franca.
There have been few languages in world history that
were spoken by more people as a second language than
as a first; English has had that distinction for several
decades already. Never before has any language had
more people learning it in a given year than it has native
speakers; English has probably now broken that record
as well.
Most of those learners will never become fully fluent in
English, but over the years some hundreds of millions
will, including the entire global elite. And the amount of
effort that is being invested in learning English is so
great that it virtually guarantees that this reality will
persist for generations to come.
No other language is threatened by this predominance
of English. Italians are not going to stop speaking Italian
to one another, even if they have attended the
Politecnico di Milano, and no force on Earth could stop
the Chinese or the Arabs from speaking their own
language among themselves. But they will all speak
English to foreigners.
Gwynne Dyer
whyenglishmatters.com
31