Ssional EnglishPoarson Education Limited Vchibunaly Gate 1 harlow Pose GMP 2, Engkand wid Associated Companies throughout the world. ISIIN.0 58 45149 3. Just published 1997 under the title Test Your Business English: Intermediate hus edition published 2002 ‘ond impression, 2003 Text copyright © Steve Flinders 1997, 2002 Designed and typeset by Pantek Arts Ltd, Maidstone, Kent Test Your format devised by Peter Watcyn-Jones lllustrations by Roger Fereday and Anthony Seldon Printed in China swrc/o2 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may fe reproduced, stored 11.1 retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, cloctronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without fhe: phir written preven. Publishers. on of He Acknowledgements Many thanks to John Fagan and Bob Dignen al York A.sockile for ther advice on the content of this edition, and to Mathieu, Jéréme: anc Lorena tor the help with the Answers and the Word list. Published by Pearson Education Limited in associalion with Penguin Books Ltd, both companies beng subsidiaries of Pearson plc. Fora complete tint of the titles available from Pengtin Lnghsh ple webstle at www.) enquinengiish.com, or write to your tac «al Pearson Education office oF to: Penguin English Marketing Department, Pe | cahurgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2ut wisit our ont ducation,Contents To the student Section 1 Business and you Your interview Your education Your experience Your job Your responsibilities Your pay Your pension ONODRON = Your computer Section 2 Business language 9 Business verbs 1 10 Business verbs 2 11° Business verbs 3 12 Business verbs and nouns 13 Business adjectives and nouns 14 Business adverbs 15 Business prepositions 16 Business word building Section 3 Areas of business 17 Business sectors 18 Production 19° Marketing 20 Human resources 21° Trade 22 Finance 23 Facilities Section 4 Business expressions 24 Problem pairs 25) Word families 26 Opposites % Se@arnon 12 13 18 19 21 22 24 26 30 3t 32 34 35 27 28 29 30 Idioms Business initials Figures Sexist language Section 5 Business management 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Business problems Business principles Business cliches Business ratios Business strategy Project management Management development The management conference Section 6 Business communication 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Presentations 1 Presentations 2 Meetings Telephoning Socializing Letters E-mail Business forms and documents Section 7 Background to business 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Geography Politics The economy Social issues Travel and transport Entertainment and media Tax 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68. 70 72 73 74 78 80 82 a4Section 8 Business in the twenty-first century 54 The internet 86 55 Customer service 87 56 Business culture 88 57 Learning 90 58 Organization 91 59 Managing yourself 92 60 Business challenges 94 Answers 95 Word list 101To the student 10 you work in business and use English in your job? Or are you a business ludent? Whatever your background, if you need to improve your business { nglish the tests in this book will help Designed to accompany Test Your rofessional English Business General, they will check your knowledge of ore business words and essential business expressions so that you can .inderstand and communicate more effectively and confidently Shere are eight sections in the book The first section tests your ability to talk vbout yourself and your background to say who you are and talk about your business role and experience The other seven sections each cover a different aspect of business — from business language and communication to business in the twenty first century You can work through the book from beginning to. end or you can work first on the tests which are most important to you Many tests also have tips (advice) on language and language learning, and information about business Do read these explanations and tips they are there to help you To make the book more challenging and more fun, many different kinds of test are used, including gap-filling, word families, multiple choice and crosswords There is a key at the back of the book so that you can check your answers, and a word list to help you revise key vocabulary Your vocabulary ts an essential resource for effective communication It 1s important to remember that the more words you know, the more you can say and the more you can understand These tests can help you check what you know and develop your knowledge of new concepts and terms in a structured and systematic way This book can help you significantly increase your business vocabulary Steve FlindersThe full series consists of Test Your Protesstonal t nolish: Jest Your Profesional | nglish: lest Your Professional Cnglish: sional English: Jest Your Professional English: Test Your Professional English: fest Your Professional English: Test Your Professional English: Test Your Professional English: Test Your Professional English: lest Your Protes vi Accounting Business General Business Intermediate Finance Hotel and Catering Law Management Marketing Medical Secretarial Alison Pohl Steve Flinders Steve Flinders Simon Sweeney Alison Pohl Nick Brieger Simon Sweeney Simon Sweeney Alison Pohl Alison Pohl‘| Your interview Complete the interview questions with words from the box © en OoOner OD A a BB @ON AO achievement approach get good know learn like look for motivates = offer = plan _ sort strengths +e weaknesses work Tell me about yourself. Why should we you the job? What is your major? What are you_ at? What of person are you? ‘Whiat ate yOUR = and What do yous about our organization? How would you this job? How do you ____ __ things done? What do you _1n a manager? What you? Do you like to in a team or on your own? What do you _ best about your current job? What did you in your last job? How long would you to stay with this company? Pp Here are some other questions you can prepare to ask or answer in a job interview How important is work to you? What sort of salary are you expecting? What will you do if you don't get this job? What decisions do you find it easy to make? difficult to make? Section 1 Business and youaq Your education Marcia Garcia toll ts about her educational background. Complete each sentence will one of the words or phrases from the box below. You will need to put the verbs into the right tense. (You can then make similar sentences about your own education and qualifications - academic and professional.) apply degree graduate (verb) grant higher degree job option =PhD place paimeny scheet thesis. secondary school stay on study, subject 1 started at_primary school in tondon when | was five. 2 At the age of 11, | went on to , also in London. 3 Atlz | _ to university A ieoa | : al Manchester to Engineering. 5 But at the end of the first year 1 Changed to another 6 fo from university in 1997 in Peonomics. 7 Thave a firs 8 I decided to AL UIIVErSILY 9 Soldida _ in Business Administration at the University of California. 10 During the course, | did an __ on small business development.W 12 13 14 Tlound the topic so interesting that Lapplied fora . __ ____ to do a doctorate on the same subject. Once | had got the money, | had to write a 50,000-word So now I have a BA, an MBA and a : All [need now is a_ ! People who do well in their examinations (‘exams’) at school or at university usually have good academic qualifications. In Britain and the USA, the most common university qualifications are a BA (Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of Science) after three years and an MA (Master of Arts) or MSc (Master of Science) after another one or two years. Many people in business also have some kind of professional qualification and for some jobs you must have such a qualification When students get grants from the government, they keep the money, When they get loans, they have to pay the money back later. A PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy. Doctors of Medicine are MDs. Section 1: Business and youw Your experience Charlie Kim tells us about his professional history up to now. Complete the sentences with verbs from the box. Make sure the verbs are in the right tense. 10 12 buy a om What are the power verbs that describe you? Would you put them in your CV? costs. organizations. market opportunities. change. performance. results. profits. strategically. people. . winning teams. conflict. obstacles. value. on the customer. by example. Section 2: Business language 13» . ousiness verbs and nouns til one verb from the box into each of the headlines (1-13) about Kazoulis Communications in the business press. There are three possible answers for 9. BENDS CUTS ‘GENERATES IMPLEMENTS INCREASES LAUNCHES MAKES MEETS PLAYS REACHES RUNS SENDS SIGNS EXPANSION IN US __ GENERATES _ NEW BUSINESS FOR KAZOULIS COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH ___ CLEAR SIGNAL TO COMPETITORS KAZOULIS _ COSTS BY CLOSING REGIONAL OFFICES “KAZOULIS . __ CLIENTS’ NEEDS MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN EVER,’ GHAIRMAN TELLS SHAREHOLDERS KAZOULIS ___ _ RULES ON ADVERTISING: QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT KAZOULIS ___ BIG RISK WITH LATEST SHARE ISSUE 14 Section 2. Bus JanguageKAZOULIS SS SMALL PROFIT IN FOURTH QUARTER KAZOULIS BOARD _____ _____ DECISION TO CLOSE REGIONAL OFFICES: MANY JOBS LOST MANAGEMENT ____ AGREEMENT WITH UNIONS. ON NEW PAY AND CONDITIONS FOR KAZOULIS WORKFORCE, KAZOULIS ___ LEADING ROLE IN ADVERTISING STANDARDS CAMPAIGN KAZOULIS ___ NEW PRODUCT IN YOUTH MARKET CHAIRMAN _ MAJOR CONTRACT WITH THE CHINESE 13 KAZOULIS MARKET SHARE AFTER CHINESE DEAL Section 2 Busin nguage 15»w vousiness adjectives and nouns Some adjectives typically go with certain nouns. Complete the letter using the adjectives in the box. -accurate competitive critical easy future guaranteed high large 4eyat mixed positive right valued verbal I.N.Sanebury plc 1 Nottingham Road Derby DE1 3AB Tel: 01322 55887 Fax: 01322 55888 e-mail: enquiry@insane.co.uk Fatima Jones Frescos Business Services Bethlehem House Zelda Road London W3 6H] Dear Fatima 1am writing to you to thank you for another year of fruitful co- operation between our two companies. You are one of our most (1) loyal and (2) __ __ customers and we always try to give you as (3) _a level of service as possible at an extremely (4) price. We are sure that this is the (5) _ approach. ‘This is why we want you to be one of the first to know about our plans to improve our (6) _ prospects through 16 Section 2: Business languageexpansion. We have alicady invested a (7) ___ sum ot money in up-to-date distribution facilities and negotiations tor further financing are now entering a (8) stage. lhe result of all this will be (9) ordering, more (10) figures on the status of your orders, and (11) satisfaction for all. Of course, there has been a (12) _ reaction from some of our newer customers, but I am sure that you will be patient with us during the period of transition. These changes will make a (13) contribution to our continuing partnership and I can assure you that we shall continue to operate by (14) agreement on telephoned orders in the future as we have in the past. Please contact me if you need more information. With best regards Altrede McKay Alfredo McKay Customer Relations Manager I.N. Sanebury Pp Other useful adjectives for business are: customized, committed, entrepreneurial, curious, effective, balanced, flexible Which words do they go with? How could you use them in your work? Section 2 Business language 17. « wusiless adverbs Insert adverbs from the box into the extracts from business documents or conversations (1-11). There is more than one possible answer for sentences 2 and 8. absolutely actively -eerverientty deeply extensively _ financially highly satisfactorily tactfully totally unfairly 1 The new offices are conveniently situated close to the motorway and to the local railway station. 2 | think what he said was unnecessary, inaccurate and unjustified. 3 The new model has been impressed by its quiet operation, case of use and elegant __ tested and you will be appearance. 4 She said she had been dismissed but the court said her employer had been right to sack her. , 5 Now that the special project has been __ completed, we can all get on with our old jobs again. 6 Dear Sir / Madam, | am _ seeking employment and wonder whether you have any vacancies in your accounts. department at the moment. 7 [think we should drop this project right now because I just don’t believe that it’s viable. 8 — Your performance in this office over the last two or three months has been unsatisfactory. 9 I think the best thing you can do in the circumstances is to decline the offer. 10 This book is _ recommended for anyone interested. in the workings of international financial markets. 11 Are you sure? I’m certain. 18 Section 2: Business languageoO Business prepositions “supply the missing preposition(s) in each sentence. You can use some of tiem more than once. 10 1 12 at between by in into on to over under Could you call back late She's on the other phone. It's not surprising that he’s working less hard. He's very close retirement They thought everything was control until they had a big dispute pay. ‘ There's clearly a strong link pay and productivity. The people on the shop floor want more participation the decision-making process. We need a much stronger focus the needs of our customers. These meetings always start late. Could everyone make an effort to arrive time next time? I've divided this talk three main parts. It’s impossible to say this stage the negotiation whether or not we will reach an agreement. We have to have all the figures the end of the month the very latest. We plan to achieve a 20% reduction ___ the workforce in the next two years. I’m afraid she’s not here — she’s holiday until next Monday. Section 2: Business language 19» w vousiness word building Fill in the missing words in the table. Verb Person noun General noun Adjective 1 administer administration 2 distributive 3 advise 4 constructor 5 innovate , 6 pay it inspection ae ; 8 promoter 9 co-ordinate aoe 10 supervision 1 finance P The person who pays is the payer. We use this most to talk about slow payers. But what do you call the person who receives the payment? Learning a new word often means learning not just one word but several. For example, a person who can solve problems (verb), is a good problem- solver (person noun). Problem-solvers are good at finding solutions (general noun). They believe that every problem is soluble (adjective) Building word families like this is a useful and important technique for developing your business vocabulary. 20 Section 2: Business language10 1 12 13 14 15 16 Ve 18 19 20 21 22 23 ‘A comnpany which makes aspirin, A company which mines diamonds. A company which makes men’s suits. A company which sells package holidays. A company which makes trucks. A company which distributes electricity. A supermarket chain. A company which builds houses. A company which makes washing machines. A company which sells hamburgers. A company which makes camcorders. An airline. A company which makes fighter planes. A company which makes shampoo. A restaurant chain. ‘A newspaper publisher. A company which sells things over the internet. A company which makes mobile phones. A company which sells investment advice. A company which makes chocolate. A company which makes beer. A property company. A company which writes computer programs. 3 2 0 0 | { Business sectors Match the companies (1-23) with their sectors (a-w). automotive construction consumer electronics financial services confectionery software ten telecommunica- tions media pharmaceuticals beverages textiles toiletries real estate transport utilities household goods retail fast food catering defence e-commerce tourism extractive Section 3: Areas of business 21