Course: Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Economics Department of Modern Languages Applied To Economics

BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS
Department of Modern Languages Applied to Economics
ESPcourse
By Adrian CIUPE & Ioana NAN
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE COURSE 3
UNIT 1: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION 8
UNIT 2: NATIONALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 32
UNIT 3: RECRUITMENT 60
UNIT 4: THE EUROPEAN UNION: HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS 87
UNIT 5: STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION 115
UNIT 6: POLITICAL SYSTEMS 132
UNIT 7: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE 155
UNIT 8: MEETINGS 181
UNIT 9: PRESENTATIONS 183
UNIT 10: REPORTS 185
WRITING REVISION 189
APPENDIXES 192
RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY 219
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 221
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ABOUT THE COURSE
This is a course of English as a foreign language containing a

substantial part of the subject matter required of students in European
Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Communication and
Journalism at the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Partly, it also covers subjects for majors in the Management of European
Institutions, Public Administration and other business-related areas. It
provides practice in speaking, reading, writing and English in use
adapted to political, legal and business contexts. Consequently, more
than ESP (English for Specific Purposes) focused on one subject area
only, for example business language, the course could be better defined
as one preparing students in both general and professional English.
The course combines class tasks with self-study. While class-related

assignments are more interactive by nature, the self-study part is
intended to provide students with a wealth of language problems for
further reflection and consolidation of structures, vocabulary and
English in use / active reading / professional writing skills.
Given the commitments that the Babes-Bolyai University has made to a

series of European goals in foreign language teaching / learning /
testing, the authors have opted for the highest possible degree of
relevance. Therefore, relevance delineates two major goals: content and
format.
From the point of view of the content, the authors have made use of raw
texts as they are found in different types of discourses related to
political, legal, media and business pursuits. From this point of view,
the aim is that of both providing a substantial amount of vocabulary as
used in authentic texts and also of making students aware of larger
language units towards a much sounder comprehension of language as it is
used in these texts apt to become future professional areas of focus.
Regarding format, all tasks are adapted to the most relevant

international tests of English as a foreign language as well as,
obviously, to tests of English as a foreign language administered by the
LINGUA and ALPHA language centres at the Babes-Bolyai University.
By laying a special emphasis on content wedded to form(at), the authors

hope for the highest degree of relevance. Consequently, students enrolled
on this course will benefit in all possible ways: learning vocabulary and
structures relevant to their future fields of professional interest and
acquiring and reinforcing exam skills which they may need in their future
academic life, be it Romanian / European or American-based. Not only does
the conception of the course have in mind the objective of final / exit
exams in English at the Babes-Bolyai University, but also that of real
life application, as well as testing of English by international
standards. Following is an in-depth description of the course layout and
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content accompanied by a clear specification of the international tests
relevant to those specific sections.
It should be borne in mind that all Babes-Bolyai exams in English as a

foreign language are adapted to the requirements of the international
tests and exams mentioned. For a better understanding of these exams, a
brief description of each precedes the breakdown of the course sections.
BRITISH EXAMS
CAMBRIDGE CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English): advanced /

proficient level test for speakers of other languages than English, with
a lifelong validity.
CAMBRIDGE CAE (Certificate in Advanced English): advanced level test for

speakers of other languages than English, with a lifelong validity.
CAMBRIDGE FCE (First Certificate in English): upper-intermediate level

test for speakers of other languages than English, with a lifelong
validity (it should be noted that although this exam is recognized by the
BBU for entrance purposes, it is not recognized for exit purposes;
similarly, the CPE and CAE are usually required as a level of English by
universities, institutions and businesses worldwide).
CAMBRIDGE BEC HIGHER (Business English Certificate): advanced level test

of Business English for speakers of other languages, with a lifelong
validity.
AMERICAN EXAMS
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): upper-intermediate –

advanced / proficient level test for speakers of other languages than
English, with a two-year validity.
SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test): proficient level test both for native
speakers and for speakers of other languages than English, with a five-
year validity. This exam comprises a VERBAL (English language) section, a
mathematical and an essay section. The test is required of all
prospective undergraduate students (native or non-native) at a U.S.
university.
GRE (Graduate Record Examination): proficient level test both for native
speakers and for speakers of other languages than English, with a five-
year validity. This exam comprises a VERBAL (English language) section, a
mathematical and an essay section. The test is required of all
prospective graduate students (native or non-native) at a U.S.
university.
THE SPEAKING TASKS
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The speaking tasks in this course are in the form of warm-up / lead-in
discussions on the topic at hand. They are meant to introduce a given
topic, as well as to provide speaking practice for students, relevant to
any type of spoken English testing.
THE READING TASKS
The reading tasks are based on the following types:
 Multiple choice, c.f. TOEFL, CAMBRIDGE: students read a text and

answer questions by selecting the best choice, A, B, C or D. There is
always one and only one correct option.
 Text reconstruction, c.f. CAMBRIDGE: students read a jumbled text and
then reconstruct it either by putting paragraphs in the right order,
or by inserting fragments that have been removed.
 True / false questions, c.f. TOEFL: students answer true / false
questions either in the true / false multiple choice format (2
choices) or the A, B, C, D multiple choice format (4 choices).
These are intended to test reading comprehension of specialized texts

relevant as content and format (see above) to national and international
exam skills.
THE ENGLISH IN USE TASKS
The English in use tasks are based on the following types:
 OPEN CLOZE, c.f. CAMBRIDGE: students fill in the blanks in a text with
a structural word (one word only) required by the context.
 GUIDED CLOZE, c.f. CAMBRIDGE, TOEFL: students fill in the blanks in a
text with the best choice of word(s) out of four: A, B, C or D. Only
one option is correct each time and there is always one correct
choice.
 ERROR IDENTIFICATION, c.f. TOEFL: four parts of a sentence / fragment
are underlined and identified by A, B, C and D. Students have to find
the one underlined part, A, B, C, or D which contains an error in
itself or makes the rest of the sentence incorrect.
 WORD BUILDING, c.f. CAMBRIDGE: starting from an input word, students
have to derive another word so as to best fit in the context provided.
The concept behind these tasks is an original, unique breakthrough in

English in use methodology. Combining British thoroughness with American
practicality, the authors have generated a method apt to expand the
acquisition of vocabulary, grammar structures and exam skills in the
fastest and most efficient way possible.
The tasks are divided into three discrete sections. In the first section,
called “activator”, there are text fragments containing numbered items
that are the subject of directly following questions. Each question is
meant to expand one specific item into ramifications regarding polysemy,
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word choice, word derivation, word confusion, collocation, idiom, fixed
phrase and grammatical accuracy. In this way, the problem discussed is
not only the one present in the given fragment, but also all related ones
apt to be found later, in other texts or even exam formats. By
considering problems in terms of their logical interrelations, a much
greater comprehension is ensured along with a substantial inventory of
topics explained as clearly as possible through an interactive teacher-
student dialogue based on pinpointed difficulty areas of the language. It
is worth mentioning that this method has led to the inclusion of a huge
number of problems explained in the most concise possible way, which
truly compensates for their absence / more relative coverage in
traditional courses of English which are not sufficiently structured so
as to insist on both quantity and quality of explanations. Moreover, all
problems covered are explained in terms of their relevance to exam-format
tasks in word building, open cloze, guided cloze and error correction /
identification.
Section two also comprises text fragments, but this time there is a focus
on error spotting and discussion. Different parts are underlined in the
respective text and students know that each underlined part contains one
error in grammar, vocabulary or spelling. Again, by an interactive
teacher-student dialogue, errors are first detected and then discussed in
terms of their relations with the rest of the fragment as well as with
accompanying problems in grammar, vocabulary or spelling. This section is
particularly relevant to consolidating knowledge acquired in the first
section, as well as to the ERROR IDENTIFICATION part of exams (LINGUA,
CAMBRIDGE, TOEFL).
Section three contains practice tests in guided cloze, open cloze, error
identification and word building, all relevant to the topic in question.
APPENDIXES
These contain supplementary information relevant to the course and exams.
RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
This is a concise list of publications which the authors strongly

recommend students as a complement to the course, especially in the case
of self-study.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The acknowledgements section includes the sources used in the selection

of raw texts that have been interpreted / processed towards the making of
the tasks in this course. They may also be used as an encouragement for
students to access that information themselves for further reading.
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Obviously, this course will be complemented with other materials
(listening skills, presentation, negotiation, meetings and writing tasks)
according to the accompanying curriculum.
The authors hope that the course will be a useful tool for students who,
apart from meeting local examination requirements, are also motivated to
further their study of English as a foreign language to meet
international exam standards and to improve their performance in English
as professionals in a globalized culture.
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UNIT 1: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
SPEAKING: SOCIALISING
Discussion points
ORAL / WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Read the following dialogues. Make a list of all the elements that make
you recognize the discourse as spoken, as opposed to written.
A meeting invitation or offer made by Jane to Bina:
J: Had any lunch?

B: Yeah…
J. Oh, you have …
B: Oh, have you already bee- you going now?
J: No, no, I was just going to pop into the buffet to just get a
couple of leftovers.
B: No: I … I went `cos I couldn't wait …
Richard is standing up reading a document behind his desk when his

colleague Frank walks into view on his way to his own desk from
another office:
R: Frank, can you read this report for me?
F: Now?
R: Aye, if you've got a minute …
F: Yeah …
Maureen pops her head over the wall of Bina's cubicle:

M: Bina, you don't know when Ian's due- oh, here's Jane now- know
when Ian's back?
B: Tomorrow, I expect.
M: Ahh …
B: Oh, yeah, he's out today, yeah …
POSITIVE LANGUAGE
Sometimes you can say the same thing or describe the same point in a
variety of different ways. Each description might have a different
effect or create a different impression on the receiver.
Tick the expression which is more likely to impress the receiver and to
contribute to a more favourable impression.
1.  I appreciate job security

 I want a nice, safe job
2.  I like watching TV every evening

 I enjoy following world events in the media
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3.  I prefer a flexible approach, and to explore all avenues
 I don’t have any particular ideas on how to do this
4.  I had a great skiing holiday in Canada last year

 I enjoy international travel
5.  I gained experience in dealing with telephone enquiries

 I learned how to answer the phone
6.  I am keen to acquire new skills to apply to the job

 I don’t know how to do that so I would need training
7.  I got pretty average grades most of the time

 I was consistently successful at school
8.  I have used a variety of computer applications

 I mainly use the computer for playing games
9.  My term project was rather difficult and boring

 I did an in-depth investigation for my term project which was
highly relevant to my career interests
10.  I am easily bored by office routine

 I prefer to be challenged by different responsibilities and
opportunities
11.  I want a lot of money

 I expect that the reward would be commensurate with my
qualifications
12.  My university career demanded independence and high academic

standards
 I didn’t go to lectures but managed to pass most of the exams
13.  I am quite slow but I get there in the end

 I demonstrate perseverance and determination
14.  I ‘m keen to start making a contribution to society as soon as I

can
 I need to start earning money really fast to pay off my debts
15.  My friends think I’m really weird

 I have original and creative ideas
16.  I prefer to keep my options open for the time being

 I haven’t got a clue about what I want to do in future
17.  I expect to work as an office cleaner

 I will be responsible for general office maintenance duties
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18.  I am a good communicator and can create a congenial atmosphere
 I find it difficult to stop to stop talking but I like playing
practical jokes on colleagues
19.  I enjoy a leadership role

 I like telling other people what to do
20.  My last job was collecting and posting letters

 I was responsible for organizing the mail distribution system
21.  I’m sociable and approachable

 I spend all my time chatting and laughing
22.  I prefer independent work

 I dislike working with other people as part of a team
23.  My present job is really boring

 I’m looking for greater responsibility than offered by my present
job
24.  I take a consultative approach

 I don’t like being held responsible and taking decisions alone
25.  I hope that I will get a nice office when I start work
 I look forward to joining the team and meeting my new colleagues
FORMAL / INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
 Which of these two forms of communication do you consider more

important at the working place? Why?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of informal communication
at work?
 Can you mention a few jobs in which being a good communicator would
be an advantage?
 Is it important to learn a foreign language? Why (not)?
 How many ways are there to learn a foreign language?
 Do you find it easy or difficult to learn a foreign language? What
do you think makes a good language learner?
 Do you think that the people in the European Union should speak a
common language? If so, what should that language be?
 Read the following text. Do you agree or disagree with the proposals
it contains? Why (not)?
EUROPEAN ENGLISH
The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has

been reached to adopt English rather than German as the preferred
language for European communications. As part of the negotiations, the
British government conceded that English spelling had some room for
improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be
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known as Euro-English (Euro for short).
In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c".
Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard
"c" will be replaced with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but
typewriters kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik
enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced
by "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20 per sent shorter.
In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be
expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have
always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the
horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would
go. By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing
"th" by "z" and "w" by "v".
During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords
kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer
kombinations of leters.
After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be
no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech
ozer.
Ze drem vil finali kum tru.
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READING: SOCIALISING
TEXT 1
Read the following text and then choose from the list A-I given below it
the best sentence to fill each of the spaces. Each correct sentence may
be used once. Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
Smith: Ah, good morning, Ms Fox, do come in.

Fox: Hello, Mr Smith. (1) ….
Smith: Face to face instead of the phone, what? Haha. How are you?
Fox: Fine, thanks, very well.
Smith: (2) …. Would you like some coffee?
Fox: Oh, yes please, black.
Smith: Here you are.
Fox: Thanks. (3) …
Smith: Oh, not too bad, we're just about to open a branch in Denmark.
Fox: Oho...I'm hoping to -- if I can justify it to the marketing
director! How's your little girl, has she started school yet?
Smith: Oh, yes, she's in the second year now.
Fox: (4) …. Doesn't time fly! Is she enjoying it?
Smith: Very much, it's much more fun than being home!
Fox: Haha. (5) …. Shall we get down to business?
Smith: Right. First of all can I confirm the time and the date of the
presentation. It’s Friday 16 September in the evening. (6) …
Fox: Well, on the invitations we've sent out we've said that the
presentation itself will start at 10 and go on till 11.30...
A What, already?
B So, here we are again.
C Well, I suppose we'd better make a start.
D Nice to see you.
E Are you all right?
F What time exactly?
G I can’t believe it!
H Oh, do sit down.
I Where exactly?
J Well, how's it all going?
TEXT 2
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Read the text and say whether the statements below it are true (T) or
false (F). Underline the part(s) of the text that have helped you choose
your answer.
Informal communication is vital for achieving certain types of work-

related tasks. Research on scientific collaboration has shown that
physical distance is the strongest predictor of collaboration between
researchers. Physical proximity promotes frequent, impromptu face-to-face
communications, which are crucial for the planning and negotiation phases
of projects. Work on software development also has demonstrated that the
degree to which project workers engage in interpersonal communication
strongly predicts project success. Furthermore, other work has shown
negative impacts on teamwork when opportunities for ad hoc communication
are reduced, as in remote collaboration. Work becomes more difficult to
coordinate and advance despite the use of longer and more task-focused
meetings in remote settings. This finding is confirmed in other work on
the isolation experienced by teleworkers trying to collaborate over long
distances. Sociological studies of organizational life stress the primary
role of mundane office conversations in helping workers learn,
understand, adapt, and apply formal procedures and processes.[…]
Despite research from various disciplines showing the value of
informal interactions, evidence indicates that people in the workplace do
not recognize its value. Kraut & Streeter (1995) found that impromptu
communication is under-utilized compared with its value, whereas formal
communication techniques are overused relative to their value. Our own
preliminary evidence supports this result. In a series of interviews with
a dozen employees in a Fortune 500 U.S. corporation, we found that
although people reported gaining most of their work-related news and
information from informal interactions, those same people said they used
almost exclusively formal approaches to convey information to other parts
of the company. Most commonly, they reported their information to a high-
level management group and asked that they pass the information down the
hierarchy in their staff meetings. In many cases, they wrote a document
to convey information and either gave it to managers to give to their
employees, or made it available to employees directly (in email, mailings
to the home, or by publishing it on the company's internal World Wide Web
pages). Some also gave formal presentations to supplement the document.
When we asked information disseminators if they had considered spreading
their information through word of mouth, they either had not thought of
it or did not trust it. They were concerned that information passed
informally would be distorted and misinterpreted and might not become
available to all the intended recipients.
1 The farther they are from each other, the more effectively
scientists can cooperate.
2 Sometimes interpersonal communication makes it difficult for the

team to concentrate on their specific tasks.
3 Research has shown that teleworkers are lonely people.
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4 Corporate workers should be discouraged from engaging in routine
conversation during office hours.
5 Unfortunately, it is only sociologists that recognize the value of

interpersonal communication.
6 Mundane and unprepared dialogue is not used as often as it should

be.
7 Researchers interviewed dozens of employees in 500 U.S.

corporations.
8 Most of the time, the employees used to find out about the latest
projects and developments within the firm by talking to their colleagues.
9 The same employees were encouraged to talk to their superiors in

informal meetings.
10 Some of the interviewees said that they preferred the official

communication channels in order to make sure the information was
received.
TEXT 3
Read the text and answer the questions below it, by choosing the best
alternative (A, B, C or D). Underline the part(s) of the text that
justify your answer.
To communicate effectively you need to be familiar with the process

and the variables involved. The basic communication process includes: a
source, a message, a channel and a receiver. The source is you, including
your communication skills, your attitudes and your purpose, as well as
your knowledge of the subject, your audience, and the context in which
you are communicating.
The message includes the code or language you are using as well as
the message’s treatment, that is, what content is selected and how it’s
organized. You can think of the channel as both the senses and the medium
of communication used. Seeing and hearing, for instance, are the senses
variously involved in reading the printed page, listening to a tape or
speaker, watching a video. Generally, the more channels we use, that is,
the more senses we stimulate, the more effective the communication. Keep
Marshall McLuhan’s aphorism "the medium is the message" in mind. McLuhan
overstates his point but, by affecting different senses and thus our
perception of reality, the media or technology used can itself influence
the message we receive and how we respond to it. Recall that radio and
print reports of the Ethiopian drought and famine a few years ago were
largely ignored. We really didn’t receive the message until it was
conveyed through photos and TV video footage.
Receivers are the final link in the communication process. They must
accurately receive and decipher your message. How well your audience
understands the message you intend will depend not only on the previous
factors, but also their own knowledge, attitudes and context.
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The process of communication is on-going and dynamic, is
irreversible, requires perception of meaning, and occurs in a situational
context. There are many barriers to effective, accurate communication.
These can be mechanical, involve differing perceptions or values (not
having the same understandings), or be a matter of semantics, that is,
the use of words, images, or examples that are beyond the receiver’s
intellectual or cultural ability to understand.
However, you cannot not communicate. Every word, every gesture

communicates something to the receivers, to your audience. And once
communicated, they cannot be retracted. You want to communicate your
intended message and enhance your professional reputation. You do not
want to be remembered for a lackluster presentation and a garbled
message. First impressions are difficult to overcome! Communicating well
benefits you, your audience, and society as a whole. Thinking about
communication as a process is useful because it helps explain why we must
establish the purpose and goals of our message, why we need to know our
audience, what media we select, what meaning is perceived, and more.
1 By stating that “the medium is the message”, McLuhan meant to say

that
A. one can understand messages much better if one is an experienced

medium
B. our understanding of a message depends on the environment
C. we understand the message better if we use more senses than one
D. television as a communication medium is more manipulative than, for
instance, a magazine article
2 If someone does not understand your message, it may be because
A. they are not interested in what you have to say

B. they are members of the opposite sex
C. it cannot be translated into another language
D. it is too ambiguous
3 According to the text, semantics must study
A. the reasons why people cannot always understand each other

B. the way we interpret the meaning of words according to our cultural
and educational background
C. the relationship between intellectuals belonging to different cultures
D. the language of signs
4 You can never take back what you have stated because
A. your body language will betray you anyway

B. your audience can interpret a slip of the tongue
C. you won’t be given a second chance to speak
D. you want to be remembered as a perfectly frank person
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5 Why wouldn’t you want to put across a confused and confusing
message?
A. you won’t be able to overcome your embarrassment afterwards

B. it will be difficult to bring it to a conclusion
C. it will reduce your chances of being promoted
D. the audience may wrongly believe you are not a reliable person
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WRITING: SOCIALISING
WRITING FORMAL AND INFORMAL LETTERS
A student like you has received the following writing assignment:
Write a letter of about 100 words to an old school friend who you know is
in financial trouble telling her/him about your lottery win, offering
her/him help and arranging to meet up.
TASK 1:
Put the jumbled paragraphs of the letter in the correct order.
A I am aware that you have experienced some financial difficulty

recently, particularly with regard to the repayments on your
mortgage. I am, therefore, enclosing a cheque for ₤200,000, which I
hope you will be willing to accept. I believe this was the amount owing
on the mortgage.
B Gianfranco Duranti,
22 Sussex Terrace,
Brighton
Sussex
C I intend to visit Brighton in the near future and wonder if it would

be possible for us to see each other there. Might I suggest that we
meet at the King’s Head at eight o’clock on the evening of Friday 3rd
March? Should that be a convenient time for you, would you telephone
me to confirm the arrangement? You should not be too concerned if you
are unavailable on that evening. I feel certain that there will come a
time when we can meet.
D 26 February, 2004
E Yours sincerely,
Carolina Hernandez
F I have recently been informed of the fact that I have won first
prize in the National Lottery. It is difficult to fully appreciate such
a remarkable occurrence. Nevertheless, I feel certain that I will, in
the course of time, grow more accustomed to it.
G Dear Mr. Duranti,
H I look forward to hearing from you.
I 2 Haywain Lane
Findon
Sussex
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TASK 2:
What is wrong about this letter? (Consider the layout, the language, the
type of sentences, the way of addressing the recipient, the opening and
closing paragraphs).
Now compare the first letter to the re-written version. Find the
equivalent phrases and notice the changes.
2 Haywain Lane
Findon
Sussex
Sunday 26th February
Dear Gianfranco,
I’ve just heard that I won first prize in the National Lottery! I can’t
believe that something so absolutely incredible could have happened, but
I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.
I know you’ve been having a few financial problems, especially with
repaying your mortgage, so I’m sending you a cheque for ₤200,000 and I
hope you’ll accept it. I think this was the amount you had left to pay on
the mortgage, wasn’t it?
I’ll be coming to Brighton some time soon and wonder if we could meet up.
How about a drink at the King’s Head at eight on Friday 3rd March? If that
suits you, could you ring and let me know? Don’t worry if you can’t make
it that night. I’m sure we’ll be able to get together soon.
All the best,

Carolina
TASK 3: HOME ASSIGNMENTS
A. You are on holiday in the USA. Write a letter to a friend describing

your first impressions of the American way of life. Say what you like
about America and what you prefer about your own country and give your
reasons. (200-250 words)
B. You were badly treated by the staff of a shop recently when you tried
to return an item you had bought in a sale there. Write to the manager
of the shop to complain, explaining what happened and what you would
like her to do about it. (200-250 words)
This letter should include the following paragraphs:
1. Your reason for writing

2. Detailing your concerns
3. Supplying further information
4. Concluding requests
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Begin with: Dear Madam / Sir,…
End with: Yours faithfully, …
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ENGLISH IN USE ACTIVATOR
SECTION ONE: Answer the questions accompanying the following texts.
0001
In many countries it is quite normal for most people to be able to use

three languages. In the European Union, such people are (1) well placed
to take full advantage of European citizenship and of the single market.
They are better able to move between countries for educational,
professional or other reasons. Their (2) linguistic skills are (3)
attractive to employers. The European Commission wants everybody in the
Union to (4) share these benefits. In its 1995 White Paper “Teaching and
Learning: towards the learning society”, it set the objective of all EU
citizens being proficient in three European languages: their (5) mother
tongue plus two more.
(1) Give a synonymous expression.
(2) Give a less formal synonym for linguistic.
(3) What’s the difference between the nouns attractiveness and

attraction?
(4) Apart from with, what other dependent preposition can follow share?
(5) Give a less formal equivalent for this collocation.
0002
Use a self-teaching course; these may include CDs, videotapes or audio-

cassettes as well as text books and exercises; you follow the course on
your own and assess your progress as you (1) go along. (2) Courses are
available for most languages and most levels from beginners to advanced.
They are available from many (3) bookshops, and sometimes can be hired
from your local library. Watch TV! Many (4) broadcasting companies offer
language courses (5) via television or radio programmes.
(1) Give a synonym for this expression.
(2) Give examples of dependent prepositions with course.
(3) Give the American equivalent.
(4) Give the forms of broadcast.
(4) Give the meaning of the abbreviation BBC.
20
(5) This preposition is especially used to designate routes. However, it
is also a formal equivalent of other prepositions describing means or
ways to do something. Give examples of such prepositions.
(5) What’s the difference between the following?
1. He was hit with a rock.

2. He was hit by a rock.
0003
(1) Surf the web! There are more and more Internet sites offering lessons
in foreign languages, often with sound and pictures. Learn with a
teacher. In most parts of Europe there are language classes available for
(2) adults. Classes often (3) take place during the evening. The
advantage of taking lessons with a group of other learners is that you
have friends to encourage you in your learning and a teacher to guide you
according to your specific needs. Learn (4) at work. More and more
employers are (5) recognizing that foreign language skills are vital to
the success of their business. Many of the larger companies offer free or
(6) subsidized language courses.
(1) Can you also say sail or navigate the web?
(2) An adult is a person who has reached ____ (derivative from adult).
(3) Give other expressions that incorporate place.
(4) Which is correct, at the workplace or in the workplace?
(5) Give a synonym for recognize as used here.
(6) Give the noun from the verb subsidize.
0004
Of course, you can combine some or all of these methods, or use different
methods at different stages in your (1) learning. You can choose the way
to learn a language that's most suited to you, depending on your learning
style and your personal circumstances. Maybe you want to be able to
understand local people when you (2) go on holiday abroad, or maybe your
job brings you in contact with people from other countries, or maybe you
just want to be able to make friends with people from (3) other
backgrounds than your own. These are all good (4) reasons for learning a
foreign language! But don't forget that there are plenty of other reasons
too.
(1) Which sentences are incorrect and why?
1. “What are you doing?” “I’m learning for my exam tomorrow.”

2. “What are you doing?” “I’m studying for my exam tomorrow.”
21
3. “What are you doing?” “I’m revising for my exam tomorrow.”
4. “What are you doing?” “I’m reviewing for my exam tomorrow.”
(2) If you go on holiday you are ____ (verb form from holiday) somewhere
and you are a ____ (compound noun from holiday).
(3) Can you say “backgrounds other than…”?
(4) Can you replace for by of here?
0005
More and more companies are investing in staff training in foreign

languages, or (1) are looking to recruit people with language skills. It
needn't just be the top level (2) staff who learn - shop floor workers
can also be involved. Language learning can improve your (3) career (4)
prospects. Speaking someone else's language helps you to understand that
person's culture and their outlook on life: the more people who do this,
the more we can break down the barriers that (5) divide people.
(1) Give a more formal equivalent.
(2) Give a synonym of staff.
(2) On what basis are collective nouns followed by either singular or

plural verbs?
(2) Give other examples of collective nouns.
(3) Give an expression with career.
(4) What’s the difference between prospect and prospectus (nouns)?
(5) Can divide be a noun?
22
SECTION TWO: Find the one error in each of the parts underlined in the
following texts and correct it.
0006
Still, (1) simply provide video access among remote collaborators is not
sufficient for enabling smooth entry into interactions. People also need
to know when they are likely to encounter others so that they can adjust
their demeanour appropriately. The Montage system (2) used approach
sounds to signal a pending interaction and a slow video fade-in effect to
soften the intrusive of the video connection. Perhaps (3) such sounds and
video effects could be used to signal the proximity of other.
0007
In our experience, users of video systems often ask for the ability to
control visual access. (1) One way to do so is to design all connections
to be symmetric so that no one can watch it or listen without being seen
and heard themselves. In addition, explicit access controls can be
provided. (2) Once people successfully initiate an interaction, they need
support for, whether it began as an intended or unintended interaction.
Many informal conversations include references to on-line and paper
documents, from scribbled notes to published papers. People (3) should be
able to bring such as documents into a discussion at a moment's notice.
They also should be able to see each other pointing and writing on
documents. (4) Since many conversations are continuing of previous
discussions, it may be useful to help people keep track of their
concurrent discussions so they can easily restore the shared context when
a new "installment" occurs.
0008
Storing conversations might also help those who wish to (1) convey a
message to a large group but do not trust word from mouth. For example,
creators of information could make their message easily available on line
(in text, audio, video, or otherwise), (2) so that anyone passing that
information could easily share the first-hand version. The information
(3) might include a link with the information creator so that people
could easily contact them (though video or otherwise) if they had
questions.
0009
(1) As we discussed it, not all types of groups are alike, and those
differences suggest different requirements for supporting informal
communication. One obvious design implication is that people tolerate
different (2) levels of private violations from different types of
people, especially when video is involved. Our studies of workgroup
communication indicate that many people find it acceptable for other
workgroup members to interrupt them, overhear their conversations, view
23
many of their documents, handle issues for them in their absence, and so
on. Support for workgroup interaction could take advantage of this
openness to provide ongoing, (3) lightweight access to each other's
whereabout, activities, and stored materials.
0010
(1) We have discussed about a range of activities that occur through

informal communication among a range of types of groups, and we have
considered a variety of implications for the design of systems to support
that work. We do (2) not expect that anyone system could provide all the
support we explore; (3) we rise the ideas as possible considerations when
designing a system. We also do not expect that all (4) our suggestions
will turn down to be useful. We hope we have stimulated thought on the
issue and encouraged researchers and practitioners (5) to consider or
building tools to support informal communication or designing into other
systems mechanisms to support informal communication.
24
PRACTICE TESTS
OPEN CLOZE TEST: For each blank think of ONE word that can best fit in
the context. On your answer sheet write the ONE word you have found.
1 We often think of workgroups in terms of our immediate colleagues.

These are the people with ____ we perform our primary work function.
2 There are three types of workgroups ____ addition to project groups:

cross-functional, peer, and external.
3 We use the term “external” to describe the many relationships that

exist with partners ____ the organization.
4 Clients, suppliers and contract staff ____ into this category – that
of professionals getting into close contact with one another.
5 Organizations commonly locate members of a project close together,

although more groups are being asked to work ____ distance.
6 Project groups are formally recognized by their organizations, ____

so management is likely to support investments in technology for their
work.
7 Additionally, the group is likely to have control ____ their

equipment.
8 Communication with external parties is usually relatively formal and

frequently revolves ____ formal meetings.
9 External groups are not co-located, ____ their communications are

especially likely to include meeting arrangements, taking and leaving
messages, and tracking, in addition to task-focused communication.
10 Activities among external parties can ____ from simple process tasks
to complex negotiations.
25
GUIDED CLOZE TEST: For each blank decide which of the options A, B, C or
D is best. ONLY ONE answer is correct and THERE IS ALWAYS ONE correct
answer. On your answer sheet write A or B or C or D.
1 Most of the commercial video-based communication applications have

focused on pre-arranged, relatively formal and ____ interactions.
A expended
B extended
C expense
D extend
2 For instance, this system ____ meetings between groups of people

sitting in conference rooms at two or more sites.
A sustains
B supports
C assists to
D attends
3 The use of a dedicated conference room means that such meetings are
often arranged days or weeks ____.
A before hand
B in advance
C prior
D previous
4 Desktop video conferencing products may ____ conversations between

two or more people who are sitting at their desks, but the design of
these systems tend to encourage long interactions.
A allow for
B allow
C permit
D count
26
5 The long start-up time and complex activities necessary to set up
connections make people less inclined to invest the ____ brief, single
topic interactions.
A tendency of
B attempt about
C effort for
D amount of
6 A variety of research labs have built systems to ____ quick

connections between two or more people.
A assure
B insure
C enable
D make sure
7 All applications ____ the ones mentioned and a feature of the X24
system are "connection-based" in the sense that a person explicitly
decides to initiate interaction.
A excepting
B except of
C excepted
D with exception of
8 We will argue that these unplanned but intentional interactions are

____ style of impromptu interaction; there are other more opportunistic
types of informal interactions that have not been fully explored.
A but for one
B but one
C each
D kind of
9 We ____ that some of these types of human / professional

interactions are frequent and crucial for accomplishing the set amount
work.
27
A are pretending
B claim for
C demand for
D maintain
10 ____ their importance, informal interactions are especially hard to

support in distributed groups.
A in spite
B despite
C despite of
D regardless
28
ERROR IDENTIFICATION TEST: In each of the following sentences or
paragraphs there are four parts underlined and lettered A, B, C and D.
For each sentence, find the underlined part, A or B or C or D that makes
the sentence INCORRECT. Only ONE answer is possible for each sentence.
THERE IS ALWAYS ONE possible answer. On your answer sheet write A or B or
C or D.
1 (A) Most research and commercial (B) software for video-based

interaction presuppose that people (C) the most often (D) interact in
formal meetings.
2 According to this (A) viewpoint, people have long (B) interactions

on pre-planned topics, often with (C) multiple people and (D) frequent in
a room designed for meetings.
3 However, according to (A) some preliminary but detailed (B) data

about the interaction patterns of (C) people in real life workplace
settings, the vast majority of interactions look (D) rather differently.
4 Workplace interactions tend to be (A) spontaneous in that they occur

because (B) one person happened to be near another (C) at a time when one
wants to ask for or provide information, (D) often being continuations of
prior conversations.
5 Workplace interactions usually involve only two people (A) who

discuss about a single (B) piece of information, and they often involve a
reference to a document (C) previously brought up in conversation by (D)
one speaker or other.
6 When video is used to support planned meetings, its (A) benefits are
relative subtle and subjective, as this (B) helps people manage the
mechanics of conversation and understand (C) nuances in meaning, and
participants find meetings more (D) satisfying if they can see one
another.
7 Some of the interaction begins without (A) any of formal initiation

(B) given that it has a history, revealed by the (C) implicit shared
context between (D) the participants engaged in it.
8 Without (A) having been told, Robert knows the identity of Frank's
caller and (B) minute details of the case, the shared (C) context
resulted in a condensed and (D) cryptic conversational style.
9 Towards the end of (A) the fragment in question, Robert offers (B)
unprompted advice to Frank, (C) that eventually results in an agreed
action for Frank to report back, thus (D) an unplanned conversation
leading to a detailed task-oriented discussion.
10 Some conversations, which are (A) representative of the mentioned

corpus, (B) along with data from various other sources, suggest a
29
characterization of work (C) which people are engaged in multiple
intermittent and (D) interleaved collaborative tasks.
30
WORD BUILDING TEST: Starting from the word in CAPITAL LETTERS at the end of each sentence,
derive another word that best fits in the context of that sentence indicated by a blank space (“____”). On your
answer sheet, write the derived word.
1 Most workplace interactions occur ____ and in short bursts.

SPONTANEOUS
2 When tested, users found the existing linking feature highly ____.
OBJECT
3 People are expected to be able to ____ their anxieties for the sake
of mutual understanding. VERB
4 The system enabled awareness through a matrix of static images of

other people's offices, and those images were ____ every five minutes to
ensure more diversity. DATE
5 Some of the ____ reported in the research give us a glimpse of the

virtual design requirements for a system that enables impromptu
communication. FIND
6 A better ____ procedure of communicative functions is needed for a

final list of dos and don’ts regarding impromptu speeches. CLASS
7 The figures were taken from a(n) ____ study in which certain mobile
professionals were shadowed for a week by a panel of experts disguised as
employees. OBSERVE
8 The first subject of the experiment, Robert, was a surveyor working

for a small ____ downtown Brighton. CONSULT
9 More specifically, the available data show that, despite some

variation due to job type, ____ communication has certain well-defined
properties. PERSONAL
10 Based on the available data, up to 90% of interpersonal interactions

in the workplace are not ____ meetings, that is, they are not planned in
advance, but are initiated on the spur of the moment. PLAN
31
UNIT 2: NATIONALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
SPEAKING: INDIVIDUAL, LANGUAGE, NATIONALITY
Discussion points
1 How many nationalities are there in your country and what languages
do they speak?
2 What’s the difference between “nation”, “nationality” and

“nationalism”?
3 “People of the same nationality should all live in the same

country”. Do you agree with this statement? Why (not)?
4 What should someone be or do to be considered a “minority”?
5 “Minorities are always right”. Do you agree? Why (not)?
6 What does a term such as “the European nation” refer to? In what
context do you think it may be used?
7 One cannot choose one’s parents, one’s race, one’s mother tongue or
one’s nationality. How far do you agree? If you could change your
nationality and mother tongue, what would you choose instead? Why?
8 What does “the global village” refer to?
9 What could be, in your opinion, the global language of the future?
10 What is Esperanto?
32
READING: INDIVIDUAL, LANGUAGE, NATIONALITY
TEXT 1
Read the following text about Esperanto and then choose from the list A-
L given below it the best sentence to fill each of the spaces 1-8. Some
of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
Over the course of a century and more, Esperantists have dreamed of

the time when all mankind would share one common language, the language
which they have learned and the language which they have attempted to
spread throughout the world. Many Esperantists have been tireless in
their use of propaganda to promote their language. The word propaganda
arose in the Catholic Church where it was a short way of referring to the
Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith. (1) … In English
propaganda is now often used in a pejorative sense. This is not the case
with the Esperanto word propagando which simply means working hard to
propagate an idea.
(2) … They paint a picture of a language which can be learned very,
very easily. Zamenhof himself, in his first little brochure about
Esperanto, spoke of the language as being so extraordinarily easy that it
was child's play to learn it.
(3) … Most students need to invest dozens of hours of hard study
before they are ready to begin to correspond. Being able to read
literature and being able to converse fluently requires additional time,
perhaps a hundred to two hundred hours of study and practice.
(4) … There are those rare individuals who have learned the language
in a few weeks and there are others who have dabbled in it for years
without getting very far. Many have made the effort to learn how to read
and write and have exchanged quite a few letters in the language but have
not spent much time speaking. (5) …
Some are intrigued by the idea of Esperanto but never manage to
devote diligent and regular study time to learning the language. (6) …
Some of these insist on speaking English all the time at meetings of
their Esperanto club. Although their fervent support of the language is
welcome, they often seriously interfere with those who come to club
meetings to speak and hear the language. (7) … They know how to say "good
morning" in Esperanto but very little else.
Just as a lawyer who is defending a client or a candidate who is
running for office is not interested in presenting both sides fairly, so
propagandists for Esperanto are not interested in seriously dealing with
critiques of the language. (8) … Another example of a topic that
propagandists do not discuss is the problem of naming nations and of
nationalities.
A Nevertheless, they believe that by the year 2050, a quarter of the

world’s population will have adopted Esperanto as their main language of
communication, both spoken and written.
33
B The Nazis gave it a bad name by their use of vicious lies and
distortions against those whom they strove to eliminate.
C When they claim Esperanto is easy to learn, its supporters don’t

always tell the truth.
D Such Esperantists may write perfectly well without being able to

converse fluently.
E In their propaganda, as with any propaganda, Esperantists are one-

sided, and sometimes they even stretch the truth.
F If all people were talented enough, Esperanto could have become the
universal language long ago.
G Sometimes they are referred to as "bonan matenon" Esperantists.
H Instead, they continuously claim that by programming a language,

anybody would be able to learn it fast.
I They do not discuss suggestions like the one made by the Chinese
Esperantist who said that it would be easier to learn the months if they
were numbered rather than having individual names.
J Although Esperanto is much, much easier to learn than unplanned

languages, it still requires a certain amount of attentive study.
K Perhaps they have been misled by exaggerated claims about the

fantastic, incredible ease with which people supposedly learn Esperanto.
L Individual talents vary.
TEXT 2
The following excerpts are taken from the same novel. Read them and
answer the questions by choosing the best alternative (A, B, C or D).
Excerpt 1
He would like to believe there is enough pity in the air for black
people and their lot, enough of a desire to deal honourably with them, to
make up for the cruelty of the laws. But he knows it is not so. Between
black and white there is a gulf fixed. Deeper than pity, deeper than
honourable feelings, deeper even than goodwill, lies an awareness on both
sides that people like Paul and himself, with their pianos and violins,
are here on this earth, the earth of South Africa, on the shakiest of
pretexts. This very milkman, who a year ago must have been just a boy
herding cattle in the deepest Transkei, must know it. In fact, from
Africans in general, even from Coloured people, he feels a curious,
amused tenderness emanating: a sense that he must be a simpleton, in need
of protection, if he imagines he can get by on the basis of straight
looks and honourable dealings when the ground beneath his feet is soaked
34
with blood and the vast backward depth of history rings with shouts of
anger. Why else would this young man, with the first stirrings of the
day’s wind fingering his horse’s mane, smile so gently as he watches the
two of them drink the milk he has given them?
1 What does the boy realize, in his encounter with the milkman?
A. that two races will never be equal

B. that in South Africa white artists like he and his friend look out of
place
C. that coloured people approve of honest, compassionate white folk such
as himself
D. that he might not, after all, have the right to call South Africa his
homeland
2 What does the milkman’s smile signify?
A. he believes that white people must be quite naive

B. he is amused at the boys’ appearance
C. he is trying to conceal his hatred of white people
D. he is happy that he has sold some milk
Excerpt 2
Downstairs he has tea with her and her employer, an Englishwoman
whose cool eyes take his measure and find him wanting. This is a European
house, her eyes say: we don’t need a graceless colonial here, and a Boer
to boot.
It is not a good time to be a South African in England. With great
show of self-righteousness, South Africa has declared itself a republic
and promptly been expelled from the British Commonwealth. The message
contained in that expulsion has been unmistakable. The British have had
enough of the Boers and of the Boer-led South Africa, a colony that has
always been more trouble than it has been worth. They would be content if
South Africa would quietly vanish over the horizon. They certainly do not
want forlorn South African whites cluttering their doorstep like orphans
in search of parents. He has no doubt that Astrid will be obliquely
informed by this suave Englishwoman that he is not a desirable.
( from J.M. Coetzee, Youth, Secker&Warburg, London, 2002, p.17,
86-87)
1 Why doesn’t the Englishwoman like the boy?
A. he is wearing Boer boots

B. he is a non-British alien
C. he is an orphan with no income
D. he is a Republican
2 What is the attitude of the narrator in describing the Englishwoman?
A. he is heavily sarcastic
B. he is affectionately humorous
35
C. he is bitterly ironic
D. he is quite reserved
36
SPEAKING: HUMAN RIGHTS
Discussion points
1 If a person under 18 has committed a crime, why shouldn’t he/she be

tried like an adult?
2 What children’s rights are most often neglected or ignored?
3 Not everyone should have the right to have children. Do you agree?
Why (not)?
4 What does the Right to Human Development refer to?
5 It would be better for all the differently-abled persons to live in

specialized institutions. That way, they could be better looked after. Do
you agree? Why (not)?
6 In your opinion, what are the social groups that are most vulnerable
to discrimination? What could be the causes that lead to discrimination
and what could be some of its worst consequences?
7 Do you think that education should be free at all levels? Why (not)?
8 In your opinion, should parents be obliged to send their children to

school at the age prescribed by the law? Give reasons to support your
answer.
9 There should be separate schools for boys and for girls. In fact,
each minority should have their own schools. What’s your opinion?
10 Men and women will never be equal. Do you agree? Why (not)?
11 You cannot advocate economic progress and be an environmentalist at

the same time. Is this statement true? Why (not)?
12 National or ethnic minorities should not be allowed to make

decisions without the approval of the majority. How far do you agree?
13 The display of religious symbols in schools should be prohibited.

Give reasons to support your opinion about this statement.
14 If a child is born into a family of refugees, what nationality will

the child be? Can a person be stateless?
15 What is genocide? What does the term “Holocaust” refer to?
16 What do you understand by “conscientious objection”? Is it

justified?
37
17 Teach people tolerance and they will learn indifference. How far do
you agree?
18 Most homeless people are aged persons. Why do you think that is?
What can be done about it?
38
READING: HUMAN RIGHTS
TEXT 1
Read the following article about the purpose of punishment in British

society. Choose from the list A- L given below it the best phrase to fill
each of the spaces 1-8. Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
What is the purpose of the punishment meted out to a convicted

criminal? (1) …, one can argue that conditions of imprisonment should be
as punitive and restrictive as possible. But most commentators these days
wish to add an element of reform or rehabilitation to the concept of
punishment. One of its consequences, (2) …, should be that the person who
is subjected to the punishment will be less likely to commit further
offences or crimes in the future and will be helped to lead a useful life
in society. The change in behaviour will come about (3) … or because it
has led the person being punished to a greater awareness of the need to
live differently in the future. The judge, (4) …, punishes an offender
for his or her ‘own good’, in order to help the offender to become a
better person.
The difficulty with this worthy ambition is that (5) … it very
difficult to cope with such complex objectives. The offender who goes to
prison regards imprisonment primarily as retributive (6) … about their
potential for rehabilitation. The victim of the original offence is (7) …
by a series of mixed messages about how he or she is meant to benefit
from the outcome of court proceedings. (8) … – unsure, that is, whether
the process of justice is working or not.
A When one thinks about it

B If it is purely retributive
C The public is at best ambivalent
D will probably feel angry
E the British criminal justice system finds
F they argue
G likely to be confused
H either because of the deterrent effect of the punishment
I and is not convinced by arguments
J it is believed
K like the parent of the wayward child
L both because its effect is beneficial
TEXT 2
Read the following text and decide whether the statements below it are
true (T) or false (F). Underline the phrases in the text that justify
your decision.
As we have already seen in the case of the word free, words which
have once borne a heretical meaning were sometimes retained for the sake
of convenience, but only with the undesirable meanings purged out of
39
them. Countless other words such as honour, justice, morality,
internationalism, democracy, science and religion had simply ceased to
exist. A few blanket words covered them, abolished them. All words
grouping themselves round the concepts of liberty and equality, for
instance, were contained in the single word crimethink, while all words
grouping themselves round the concepts of objectivity and rationalism
were contained in the single word oldthink. Greater precision would have
been dangerous. What was required in a Party member was an outlook
similar to that of the ancient Hebrew who knew, without knowing much
else, that all nations other than his own worshipped ‘false gods’. He did
not need to know that these gods were called Baal, Osiris, Moloch,
Ashtaroth and the like: probably the less he knew about them the better
for his orthodoxy. (…) In somewhat the same way, the Party member knew
what constituted right conduct, and in exceedingly vague, generalized
terms he knew what kinds of departure from it were possible. (…) In
Newspeak it was seldom possible to follow a heretical thought further
than the perception that it was heretical: beyond that point the
necessary words were non-existent.
No word in the B vocabulary was ideologically neutral. A great many
were euphemisms. Such words, for instance, as joycamp (forced-labour
camp) or Minipax (Ministry of Peace, i.e. Ministry of War) meant almost
the exact opposite of what they appeared to mean. Some words, on the
other hand, displayed a frank and contemptuous understanding of the real
nature of Oceanic society. An example was prolefeed, meaning the rubbishy
entertainment and spurious news which the Party handed out to the masses.
Other words, again, were ambivalent, having the connotation ‘good’ when
applied to the Party, and ‘bad’ when applied to its enemies.
1 The fragment is taken from a scientific article about the language

of an ancient civilization.
2 In the B vocabulary, all the words start with B.
3 Anyone who thinks of such words as justice, democracy, morality is

probably going to be punished.
4 We can assume that everybody in this society is a Party member.
5 The example of the ancient Jewish gods serves to prove the point
that Party members are encouraged to decide for themselves what is true
and what is false.
6 All Party members have to be orthodox.
7 Even if one might have a faint opinion, one doesn’t have the
possibility to express it.
8 A characteristic of Newspeak is that its words mean exactly the

opposite of what they seem to say.
40
9 ‘Prolefeed’ would probably mean, in our language, “manipulation
through the mass-media”.
10 The words ‘good’ and ‘bad’ did not exist in Newspeak.
41
WRITING: INDIVIDUAL, LANGUAGE, NATIONALITY
WRITING AN ESSAY
Points to remember
Read the information and the instructions carefully. Underline any points
you need to cover in your essay.
Decide whether you will write a ‘balanced’ or ‘one-sided’ argument. (A

balanced essay presents both sides of an argument in a balanced
discussion; a one-sided essay presents one point of view, giving
supporting evidence.) If your essay is one-sided, don’t develop points
which contradict the overall aim of your writing: mention the alternative
view briefly in your introduction or conclusion.
Write a clear and organized outline. You should include all the main
details and indicate paragraphs. Each paragraph should cover a particular
point in your argument or aspect of the subject. Support your ideas with
brief examples. Make sure you have:
 an introduction to the topic – perhaps a brief outline of the

situation as it is today, or has been recently. You could also use a
rhetorical question to lead into the main body of your essay.
 a conclusion in which you summarize your arguments and ‘echoes’ your
introductory paragraph.
Write your essay following your outline closely.
Your language should normally be objective and impersonal.
Use connectors and adverbial phrases to link your sentences and ideas.
HOME ASSIGNMENT
You have read the following extract from a letter to a newspaper, in which the writer expresses his feelings
about the value of educating children at home. It has prompted you to write an essay for your tutor discussing
the points raised and expressing your own views. (250 words)
I’m convinced that parents should be allowed to educate their children at

home if they so desire. Some experts suggest that children need the
company of their peers if they are to develop properly. I’m not so sure
about that. Anyway, such considerations pale into insignificance when
compared with the benefits of such an education: the personal attention
and support that such children would undoubtedly receive can only be
positive. In fact, I have supervised private tutoring on a number of
occasions and have always been deeply impressed by what I have seen.
This is a suggested outline for your balanced essay:
42
Introduction
 Opening comments: situation nowadays

 Statement of topic and announced plan of development
First supporting paragraph
 Main idea (+): emotional support children would receive at home

 3-4 supporting ideas, illustrated by examples, where available
Second supporting paragraph
 Main idea (+): personal attention children would receive at home

Third supporting paragraph
 Main idea (-): effect of home education on personal/social development

Closing paragraph
 Summary and conclusion
43
WRITING: HUMAN RIGHTS
WRITING A FORMAL LETTER TO A NEWSPAPER
Points to remember
Think about the purpose of your letter – to give an opinion and make a
point about some matter.
Think about who your readers are.
Make sure your register and style are appropriate.
Refer to the situation or events you are describing in an unemotional,

reasonable way.
Organize your letter carefully. A standard method of paragraphing is:

5. Your reason for writing
6. Detailing your views
7. Supplying further information
8. Concluding remarks or suggestions
Begin with: Dear Sir / Madam,…

End with: Yours faithfully, …
Only include details which are strictly relevant.
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
You have just read a newspaper article under the title: “Political
correctness – a fashionable name for hypocritical tongue twisters”. Write
a letter to the editor, commenting on the article and expressing your own
views on the use of politically correct language. (250 words)
44
0001
Human Rights are universal, and civil, political, (1) economic, social
and (2) cultural rights belong to all human (3) beings, including older
people. The Human Rights of (4) the Aged are explicitly set out in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International (5) Covenants,
the (6) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, and other widely adhered (7) to international human rights
(8) treaties and Declarations.
(1) What is the difference between economic and economical? Could

economical replace economic in this context? Are there any contexts in
which they are interchangeable?
(2) There is an element missing in this underlined structure. Which is

it?
(2) When is it possible to delete the relative word?
(3) Is beings correctly spelt? When should there be an additional –e?
(4) What part of speech is aged?
(4) What part of speech is the aged?
(4) Is the aged singular or plural?
(4) Can you think of any other examples of such nouns?
(4) Do you know of any case in which such a noun is singular?
(5) Can you suggest any synonyms for covenant?
(6) Why are some words spelt in capitals, whereas others are spelt in
lower case letters? Can you make a rule?
(7) Should the preposition to be omitted? Is it redundant?
(8) What is the difference between treaty, treatise and treatment? Are
they interchangeable?
0002
The Human Rights of the Aged include the following (1) indivisible, (2)
interdependent and (3) interrelated (4) human rights:
45
 The human (5) right to an (6) adequate standard of living, including
adequate food, shelter and (7) clothing.
 The human right to adequate social (8) security, (9) assistance, and
protection.
 The human right to (10) freedom from discrimination based on age or
any other (11) status, in all aspects of life including (12)
employment and (13) access to housing, health care, and social
services.
 The human right to the (14) highest possible standard of health.
 The human right to be treated with (15) dignity.
 The human right to protection from neglect and all types of physical
or mental (16) abuse.
 The human right to full and active participation in all aspects of
political, economic, social and cultural life of (17) society.
 The human right to (18) fully and effectively participate in (19)
decision-making concerning their well-being.
(1) Give derivatives from divide.
(2) Give derivatives from depend.
(2) What is the difference between dependent and dependant?
(3) Give derivatives from relate.
(4) What is the difference between human and humane?
(5) What is the difference between right to and right of?
(6) Give derivatives of adequate.
(7) What’s the difference between clothes, clothing and cloth?
(8) What’s the difference between security and safety?
(9) Is assistance correctly spelt? How do you decide between –ance and –
ence; -ant and –ent?
(10) Can you give examples of free used with the dependent preposition
from?
(11) What’s the difference between status and statute?
(12) Give derivatives from employ.
(13) Give derivatives from access.
(14) Can the word possible be replaced by another word and still preserve
the same meaning?
46
(15) Give adjectives from dignity.
(16) Is abuse countable or uncountable?
(17) Is it possible to say here the society?
(18) Is this word order correct (putting adverbs between the infinitive
particle and the verb). What other positions for these adverbs are there
possible in the fragment?
 The human right to fully and effectively participate in decision-

making concerning their well-being.
 The human right to participate fully and effectively in decision-
making concerning their well-being.
 The human right to participate in decision-making fully and
effectively .
(19) Which is correct: to take a decision or to make a decision?
(19) Which is correct: decision-making or decision-taking?
0003
Everyone is (1) entitled to all rights and (2) freedoms without

distinction of any kind. Everyone, as a member of society, (3) has the
right to social security and is entitled to realization of the economic,
social and cultural rights (4) indispensable for his dignity. Everyone
has the right a standard of living adequate for health and well-being,
including food, clothing, housing and medical (5) care and necessary
social services, and the right to security (6) in the event of, (7)
sickness, (8) disability, (9) widowhood, (10) old age.
(1) From which word is this word derived?
(1) Drive a noun from entitle.
(1) What dependent preposition follows entitlement?
(2) Can freedom be used as a countable noun?
(3) Do words like everyone, anyone, someone, no one, none, everything,

anything (and all the –body compounds) always take singular forms after
them?
(4) Give a few examples of –able and –ible adjectives.
(5) As verbs, what’s the difference between care about and care for?
(6) Give a synonym for the phrase in the event of.
47
(7) Give two synonyms for sickness as used in this context.
(8) What’s the difference between disability and inability?
(8) What are the corresponding adjectives of disability and inability?
(9) Give other examples of –hood nouns.
(10) Give a more politically correct term for old age.
(10) What specific term applies to discriminating against aged people?
(10) In the following sentences, replace the underlined parts with

synonymous expressions containing the word age:
1. Turning 18 or 21 (depending on the country) gives citizens all

inalienable rights.
2. She’s 20 years old.
3. He looks great even in his 60s.
4. Old people should be given more attention by authorities.
0004
State Parties (1) undertake to (2) guarantee that rights will be (3)
exercised without discrimination of any kind. State Parties recognize the
right to work and the equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted (4)
subject to no considerations (5) other than those of seniority and
competence. State Parties recognize the right of everyone to social
security, including social (6) insurance; the right of everyone to an
adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and
housing; the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger; the
right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.
(1) What are the forms of this verb?
(1) Can you give another such example?
(1) Can you give a few examples of words formed with the prefix under-?
(2) A guarantee (noun) may accompany certain merchandise, by which those

products are declared to be fault-free. Can you give a synonym in this
context for guarantee (noun)?
(2) What is the difference between a warranty and a warrant?
(3) What does the verb to exercise mean here?
(3) Can you give a synonymous word also starting with the letter e-?
(3) What is the noun from exert?

48
(3) Do you know of another meaning of the verb to exercise?
(3) What is the difference between some exercise and some exercises?
(4) Give a synonymous phrase for subject to.
(4) Can subject be used as a verb?
(4) What verb form follows to here?
(4) What other constructions use the dependent preposition to?
(5) Can the word other be moved somewhere else in the context?
(6) What is the difference between insure, ensure, assure and reassure?
0005
Each State Party undertakes to (1) respect and to ensure to all

individuals rights without distinction of any kind. No one (2) shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, (3) inhuman or degrading treatment. (4)
In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to
medical (5) experimentation. All persons (6) deprived of their liberty
shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity
of the human person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or (7)
unlawful (8) interference with his (9) privacy, family, (10) home.
(1) You respect individuals. It’s more uncommon to say that you respect
laws and regulations. What verbs / phrases should you use instead?
(1) What is the noun from comply?
(1) Do you know of a fixed expression containing compliance?
(1) What is the meaning of the expression in all respects?
(1) Give synonymous words / expressions for with respect to.
(2) How do you explain the use of shall with the third person?
(3) What is the difference between inhuman and inhumane?
(4) Can you give synonymous words / expressions for in particular?
(4) Make a difference in examples between particular about and particular

of.
(4) In the following sentence, supply a synonym for specific and typical
that starts with the letter p- and is followed by the dependent
49
preposition to:This behaviour is ____ to people with the Alzheimer’s
disease.
(4) What is the meaning of the plural noun particulars?
(4) What’s the difference between specially and especially?
(5) What’s the difference between experiment and experience?
(6) What’s the noun from deprive?
(7) What’s a synonym for unlawful?
(7) What’s the difference between unlawful and outlawed?
(8) What’s the difference between interfere in and interfere with?
(9) What is the British and the American English pronunciation of this
word? Any other examples?
(10) In examples, differentiate between home and house.
(10) Explain the difference between the following:
 He’s not home. / He’s not at home.

 Let’s stay home. / Let’s stay at home.
50
0006
Human Rights are (1) universal, and civil, political, economical, social
and cultural rights belong to all human beings, (2) inclusive members of
minority groups. Members of (3) minorities entitle to the realization of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms on equal terms with others in
society, without discrimination of any kind. Minorities as well, -- both
the individuals belonging to minorities and the minorities as groups –
(4) also enjoy certain human rights specifically linked to their minority
status, including their right to maintain and enjoy their culture,
religion, and language free from discrimination.
0007
The human rights of minorities (1) are explicitly set up in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants, the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, the (2) Declaration on the Rights of Persons
Belonging to National or Ethnical, Religious or Linguistic Minorities and
other (3) widely adhered international (4) human rights treatments and
Declarations.
0008
The human rights of minorities include (1) the following indivisable,

interdependent and interrelated human rights:
 The human right of members of minorities to (2) freedom of any

distinction, exclusion, restriction or (3) preferance based on race,
colour, national or ethnic origin, language, religion, birth, (4) or
any other statute, which has the purpose or effect of impairing the
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
 The human right of members of minorities to freedom from
discrimination in all areas and levels of (5) education, employment,
accessing to health care, housing, and social services.
 The human right of each member of a minority to equal (6) recognition
as a person before law, to equality before the courts, and to equal
protection of the law.
 The human right of (7) minorities to enjoy and develop theirs own
culture and language.
 The human right of minorities to establish and maintain their own
schools and other training and educational institutions, (8) and to
teaching and receiving training in their own languages.
 The human right of (9) minorities to autonomy in matters internal to
group, including in the fields of culture and religion.
51
0009
(1) All human beings are born freely and equally in dignity and rights.
Everyone (2) is entitled to rights without any distinction of any kind,
such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. All
are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal (3) protection
against any discrimination and against any excitement to discrimination.
Everyone, (4) without any discrimination, has the right to equal payment
for equal work.
0010
State Parties (1) undertake to warrant that rights will be exercised

without (2) discrimination of any kind as of race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status. The State Parties recognize (3) the
right of everyone to fare wages and equal remuneration for work of equal
value without distinction of any kind, equal opportunity for everyone to
be promoted. Education shall be made equally accessible to all.
52
PRACTICE TESTS
1 Over the course of a century and ____, Esperantists have dreamed of

the time when all mankind would share one common language.
2 Esperantists have dreamed of the time when all mankind would share
one common language, the language which they have learned and the
language which they have attempted to spread ____ the world.
3 In their propaganda, ____ with any propaganda, Esperantists are one-

sided, and sometimes they even stretch the truth.
4 They paint a picture ____ a language which can be learned very, very
easily.
5 Although Esperanto is ____ easier to learn than unplanned languages,

it still requires a certain amount of attentive study.
6 Most students need to invest dozens of hours of hard study before

they are ready to ____ to correspond.
7 Individual talents vary. There are those rare individuals who have
learned the language in a few weeks and there are others who have dabbled
in it for years ____ getting very far.
8 Many have made the effort to learn how to read and write and have
exchanged ____ a few letters in the language but have not spent much time
speaking.
9 Esperantists may write perfectly ____ without being able to speak

fluently.
10 Some are intrigued by the idea of Esperanto but ____ manage to

devote diligent and regular study time to learning the language.
53
1 Smith himself, in his first little brochure about Esperanto, spoke

of the language as being so extraordinarily easy that it was child's ____
to learn it.
A game
B play
C easy
D enjoy
2 Although their ____ support of the language is welcome, they often

seriously interfere with those who come to club meetings to speak and
hear the language.
A vivid
B passionate
C fervent
D avid
3 Just as a lawyer who is defending a client or a candidate who is

running for ____ is not interested in presenting both sides fairly, so
propagandists for Esperanto are not interested in seriously dealing with
critiques of the language.
A function
B functions
C office
D presidential
4 European users of Esperanto ____ decided this usage. They decided

which category each country fits into.
A massively
B largely
C importantly
D in mass
54
5 Korean Esperantists point out, quite ____, that Korean culture and
thus the Korean nationality is thousands of years old.
A well
B interesting
C rightly
D really
6 It would save some study time for students of Esperanto and avoid
unintentionally ____ Korean Esperantists.
A hitting
B slanting
C striking
D slighting
7 In my opinion the propagandists are ____-sighted.
A far
B short
C long
D well
8 In 1980 the annual International Congress of Young Esperantists was

____ in the small town of Rauma in Finland.
A held
B located
C staged
D developed
9 There a group of young Esperantists ____ up and signed a document

called La Manifesto de Rau^mo.
A made
B drew
C set
55
D put
10 These adherents ____ an international community which shares a

common language and a well-developed literature.
A shape
B form
C hold
D provide
56
C or D.
1 It is (A) the idea which in a very important sense all (B) humankind
belongs to one family, and that (C) if we were all to share one auxiliary
language (D) we would be better able to understand each other and find
solutions to our many common problems.
2 It was (A) this idealism that inspired Zamenhof to create his (B)
plan of the language. It is (C) this idealism that has led so many people
from so many countries (D) to invest the time and effort to learn and
teach the language.
3 This (A) deep-rooted idealism has (B) helped make possible the
creation of a world-wide community that shares a (C) commonly second
language, a language that (D) many of them refer to as "nia kara lingvo"
(our dear language.)
4 Zamenhof called this idealism "the internal idea" of the language.

Esperanto developed to do (A) greater than communicate facts, (B)
important as that is. Esperanto grew as (C) a means of bringing together
the (D) members of the one human family.
5 This (A) powerful attachment to the language has, (B) interesting

enough, led some Esperantists to turn away from the original dream of a
universal auxiliary language. For (C) these individuals the language is
not a tongue that is (D) destined to be used by everyone in the world but
rather the particular language of a small but highly international
community. These Esperantists are the Raumists.
6 They decided that they would prefer not to waste their efforts (A)
in trying to convince people who were (B) indifferent to Esperanto, who
made fun of Esperanto, who refused to take the language seriously (C) as
the answer to the world language problem, the problem that arises because
most people in the world cannot talk to each other (D) so that they do
not understand each other's words.
7 These young Esperantists said that their goal from this time on was
to develop their language, their literature, their culture. They (A)
maintained that being an Esperantist, being part of this international
culture, (B) has the value in itself, (C) whatever the position of (D)
the outside world might be.
8 Esperantist (A) authors strove to get their language accepted by PEN

International, (B) prestigious organization of authors and editors (C)
from some sixty countries (D) all across the entire world.
57
9 PEN (A) gives out literary (B) rewards and it protects the (C)
rights of authors to freedom of expression. The languages which are used
in the meetings of PEN International are English, French and the language
of the (D) host country.
10 The first time Esperantists tried (A) to get an Esperanto chapter

admitted into PEN they (B) were turned down. The international writer's
organization (C) hardly felt no need to admit (D) a language whose goal
was to become the universal language.
58
WORD BUILDING TEST: Starting from the word in CAPITAL LETTERS at the end
of each sentence, derive another word that best fits in the context of
that sentence indicated by a blank space (“____”). On your answer sheet,
write the derived word.
1 Many Esperantists have been ____ in their use of propaganda to

promote their language. TIRE
2 The word propaganda ____ in the Catholic Church where it was a short
way of referring to the Sacred Congregation for Propagating the Faith.
RISE
3 The Nazis gave propaganda a bad name by their use of ____ lies and
distortions against those whom they strove to eliminate. VICE
4 Being able to read literature and being able to ____ fluently

requires additional time, perhaps a hundred to two hundred hours of study
and practice. CONVERSATION
5 If they were to make the case for Esperanto in a more balanced way
perhaps they would attract more people, including those who are turned
off when they sense that what they are hearing is ____ one-sided. OVER
6 However, a great many propagandists for Esperanto do not care to

weigh pros and cons in a ____ manner. JUDGE
7 They prefer to maintain that what they propose is not merely a

reasonable and ____ solution to the problem of international
communication but the only possible solution. WORK
8 Perhaps the reason for this kind of behavior of the ____ is the
strong emotion they feel for the language, an emotion that touches them
deep in their being. PROPAGANDA
9 There is a strong sense of idealism that a great many ____ share.

ESPERANTO
10 In it they stated that they were not interested in working to make

Esperanto the international language for the whole world. That goal
seemed to them to be quite ____. REAL
59
UNIT 3: RECRUITMENT
SPEAKING: RECRUITMENT
Discussion points: How far do you agree with the following statements?
1 The best time to find a new job is when you don't need one, and the
best time to cultivate business relationships is when everything is going
smoothly.
2 "The more time you spend in preparation, the less time you spend on
the pavement."
3 It helps to make a four-column ‘shopping list’: 1) things I want in

the new assignment; 2) things I don't want; 3) things I must have; and 4)
things that would be fun, but frivolous, like a car phone or window view
of the mountains.
4 Inactivity during unemployment can contribute to depression.
5 Always keep your resume updated.
6 Fifty to seventy-five percent of good jobs come from friends--and

friends of friends--by word of mouth.
7 The best way to approach unknown recruiters is by mail.
8 If you plan to answer ads, develop a "generic" letter that can be

mailed quickly by simply changing names and dates.
9 The best way to get a reference is to draft a statement for your

reference person to sign or revise.
10 Three things usually don't work in a cover letter: force, arrogance,

and humor.
11 It may be a good idea to send three different letters to the same

company.
12 If you want an answer to your application letter, enclose a response

card or letter and a self-addressed return envelope with your mailing. It
helps to pre-stamp the return envelope. The recipient answers you by
checking a few boxes or by answering one or two questions.
13 Write to businesspeople featured in newspaper stories.
14 A job-search is a public relations campaign.
60
15 It's better to hammer two or three opportunities to conclusion than
to begin in a dozen new directions.
16 In marketing personal services (job-hunting), relationships are

everything.
17 Do whatever it takes to gain public visibility: write, speak,

appear, volunteer.
18 Future employers often check references as far back as ten years.
19 When appropriate, encourage your close friends to write to their key

contacts on your behalf.
20 Before asking for a raise, prepare a statement of major

accomplishments, listing your results and achievements.
21 Follow up the interview with a handwritten, succinct thank you note

restating your interest in the job.
22 How would you handle the following questions? Take your time!
 Tell me about yourself?

 What interests you in this job/career/industry?
 What skills or accomplishments will you bring to this job?
 Why do you want to work for us?
 Why do you think you are the best person for this position?
 Why did you leave your last job?
 What is your greatest weakness?
 Why have you been unemployed for such a long time?
 Where do you want to be 5 years from now?
 What salary are you seeking?
 How do you handle stress?
 How do you deal with difficult people?
 Why should we hire you?
23 Is it appropriate of you to ask the interviewer the following

questions?
 How does this organization treat its employees?

 Where does this organization plan to be in five years?
 How is business?
 How does this position fit into the overall company structure?
61
 Who would I be working with?
 What would be my responsibilities?
 What would I be expected to accomplish in the first six months?
 Is on-the-job training provided?
 What is a typical working week or day like?
INTERVIEW ROLES QUIZ:
Look at each of the roles below and try to decide whether it is primarily
an interviewer's or interviewee's role. Jot down any ideas you might
have about why you have chosen your answer.
Intervi
Intervi
Role Comments
1. Try to put interviewee at ease.  

2. Think before you speak but don’t  
appear uncommunicative.
3. Try to appear confident and at  
ease. Self-consciousness can
detract from your purpose.
4. Don’t ramble on about  
irrelevancies.
5. Don’t just answer Yes or No.  
Qualify points where appropriate,
justify views, offer examples.
6. Consider whether open or closed  
questions are appropriate – use a
fair number of open questions.
7. Keep a record of key points and  
your impressions.
8. Try to monitor your own  
performance and assess the
impression you are giving.
9. Explain the purpose of the  
interview.
10. Pursue questions that have not  
been adequately answered.
11. Be helpful. If possible, guide  
the talk into interesting or
favourable areas.
12. Do not dodge difficult  
questions entirely.
13. Be informative - don’t answer  
in monosyllables.
14. Give as balanced a picture as  
possible.
62
15. Don’t be over-familiar or over-  
formal, smile as necessary (but
don’t over-do it).
63
WRITING: RECRUITMENT
WRITING COVER LETTERS (APPLICATION LETTERS)
A cover letter builds upon the information you provided in your CV. It is
a focused sales pitch stating clearly in simple language just why this
company should employ you. All of its contents should reaffirm to the
reader that you are the right person for that job.
Content
 Before you sit down to write your letter, do some research on the
company and into the role to which you are applying. Be sure you know
exactly what the company does and how they are placed amongst their
competitors.
 As accurately as you can try to know exactly what will be expected of
you should you get the job, for example what are a Marketing Manager's
duties, what qualities they should posses?
 Carrying out research shows to the employer that you have initiative
and that you are genuinely interested in the company, it will also
allow you to use style and terminology that is appropriate to the
audience. For example the company may be relaxed or very formal, new
or established, rapidly expanding or in the doldrums.
 If you are applying for an advertised position have the job advert in
front of you and refer to it frequently. With a marker pen circle all
of the job's requirements on the advertisement and be sure to address
each of them in the letter.
Addressing your cover letter
 It is imperative that you address your letter carefully. After

spending time wording it to perfection you do not want it to be
directed to the wrong person or to go astray.
 If you are applying for an advertised vacancy there is probably a
contact name on that advert, and so address your letter to that
person, e.g. Mr. I.P Freely.
 If you are writing to a company for a job when they have not
advertised a vacancy, the chances are that unless you have contacts on
the inside you will not know the name of the person you need to write
too. In this case you can address your letter to the manager of the
specific department to which you are applying, for example Marketing
Manager, Sales Manager, or else you can send it to the Human Resources
Manager or Personnel Manager. Go onto the company's WebPages and see
if you can track down the name of a relevant recipient. Alternatively
give the company a call and ask for the name of the head of department
to which you are applying.
 You should make sure that the recipient's name, department and address
details on the envelope are the same as at the top of the letter.
Beginning the letter

64
Dear Mr. Coxon - If you know the name of the person to whom you are
writing
Opening Paragraph
The opening paragraph should be short and hard-hitting. Begin with an

arresting sentence in which you explain why it is you are writing, for
example 'I would like to be considered for the position of Marketing
Manager'. If you are applying for an advertised position then say where
you saw the advert, ' In response to the Marketing Manager job vacancy
advertised in 'Marketing Weekly'. If someone referred you to your
contact, mention your friend's referral in this section.
Examples of opening paragraphs:
1. In response to the advertised position in The Guardian on July12th,

please consider my résumé in your search for a Client/Server Architect.
2. I was pleased to hear from Jeremy Green that you will soon have a
vacancy for a Marketing Assistant. I am very interested in this position,
and I think that with my skills I could be an asset to your company.
3. Having recently read in The Times of 'The Liederhosen Company's' plans

for expansion, I am writing to establish whether this will involve an
increase in personnel. As a final year business student at Durham
University, I am seeking a position in January that will develop my
marketing and finance skills.
4. I am writing to apply for the Photographic Assistant position

advertised in the November 1 listing of In The Buff Magazine.
Second Paragraph
Why should an employer be interested in hiring you? Briefly describe your

professional and academic qualifications that are relevant to the
position. If the job was advertised refer to all of the required skills
written therein.
Third Paragraph
Emphasise what you can do for the company, not vice versa. Outline a
relevant career goal, for example if you are applying for Sales positions
do not say that you are training to be an airline pilot. Incorporate your
research. Expand on the most relevant points of your CV.
Fourth Paragraph
Request action, for example indicate your desire for a personal interview
and that you're able to meet with the employer at their convenience.
65
Some job adverts ask you to include salary requirements, you can choose
to ignore this, opting instead to wait until the interview to talk about
money, or include a broad salary range.
Closing the letter
Close the letter professionally with ‘Yours sincerely’ and include your
name written/printed clearly under your signature. (Do not include your
current position title – it will mean nothing to the prospective
employer). Write an enclosure line at the bottom.
Format
Your address goes at the top right hand corner, miss a line and then put
the date. The recipient's address goes on the left side on the line. See
example:
Mr. Hugh Jazz

22 Lower Street
Cardiff
Pete Moss
Personnel Manager
The Catering Company May 12, 2001
Employ appropriate margin and paragraph spacing so that your letter is

not bunched up at the top of the page but is evenly distributed and
balanced. The covering letter should only be one page long.
The envelope should look as professional as its contents. A simple white

envelope is best. Use a good pen, with black ink and use your best
handwriting. Alternatively the envelope can be typed.
Always type your covering letter and use the same quality plain paper
onto which you printed your CV. Do not use any exotic fonts. You may be
specifically asked to handwrite your letter since some companies employ a
graphologist to analyse your handwriting. If you have a very shaky style
it means you drink too much.
Important points to note
 Write a letter for each application, tailored for the specific

situation. Even if the ad calls only for a résumé, send a letter
anyway. The letter makes a first impression, and it can direct the
reader to notice key points of the résumé.
 Avoid sounding pompous or using clichés and catch phrases. There are
some statements that are used all the time such as 'I have excellent
interpersonal skills’ - you want your letter to be unique.
66
 Try to avoid using 'I' too much. A page of I did this and that is not
appealing - it says to the employer you haven't thought about them.
 Do not use abbreviations.
 Do not exceed four paragraphs of content.
 Use paragraph structure to lead your reader from one interpretive
point to another. Refer to specific information in terms of examples
for the points you're making, and mention that your résumé gives
further evidence.
 To satisfy the skim reader, incorporate some industry sound bites and
buzzwords.
 Subtly flatter the company, for example 'you are the industry leader'
 Check and then recheck your spelling, grammar and punctuation. Get
someone else to read it through also.
 Start strong and clear. For an advertised position, name the job and
say where you saw the ad. For a speculative letter, name a specific
function you can offer and relate it to something you know about the
organization.
 If you are making a speculative application you should follow up the
letter with a phone call, e-mail or office visit.
 End strongly by requesting an interview. It is now standard to say
that you will call soon to set a time. Phrases like "thank you for
your time" are unnecessary.
 Paperclip your covering letter to your CV, one should never be sent
out without the other.
Checklist:
1. Keep it short
2. State the position to which you are applying
3. Explain why you want the job
4. Clearly describe ways you will contribute
5. Match, but don't reiterate, your CV
6. Don't say you're not qualified. Make every statement positive
7. Keep the tone and content professional
8. Tell the reader what you're going to do next - e.g. call within a week
9. Proofread
TASK 1:
Read the following job advertisement:
67
GARDENER
temporary, part-time.
We have a temporary vacancy for a gardener to work on a part-time basis

(15 hours/wk) for a period of approx. 12 months. Experience in the care
of Australian native plants is desirable. Weekend work is involved.
Salary $ 180 per week.
Please apply in writing to

Mr. J. Malloy, P.O. Box 202, Chesterfield 1943.
Applications close 1st June.
Below is a draft of an application letter for this job. Rewrite the

letter by adding the necessary punctuation and organising it into
paragraphs. Add addresses and the date.
Dear Sir / Madam
i am particularly interested in applying for the part-time position of

gardener advertised in the daily planet on april 14th i am a keen
horticulturist and am at present in the final year of a 3 year part-time
course at rosebank technical college i am specialising in the area of
australian native plants the position you offer would therefore be ideal
for me it would allow me to continue my studies and to work in an area
where i can apply my specialist knowledge i have attached a resume
outlining my qualifications and experience please contact me any time to
arrange for an interview yours sincerely
WRITING A RESUME (C.V.)
Specific Points about the Résumé (curriculum vitae or c.v.)
Once you’ve decided on the job the next step is ‘selling yourself’ to
potential
employers.
 Remember that the person reading your resume will be looking for key
reasons to choose you for an interview. Keep it brief and highlight
the points that will make a good impression and make the reader want
to find out more about you.
 Your resume should be concise and to the point. Make it easy to read
by using headings, point form, and lots of white space.
 The basic choice is between the traditional chronological organization

(with the main sections Education and Experience) and the functional
one (where sections name types of experience or qualities of
68
character). List facts in reverse chronological order, with the most
recent ones first. Shorten some lists by combining related entries
(e.g. part-time jobs). In general, omit details of high-school
achievements. You also don't have to include personal details or full
information for references. But don't try to save space by relying on
acronyms (even for degrees): they aren't always recognizable by
readers.
 Have more than one resume on hand, emphasizing different aspects of

your qualifications or aims. Then you can update and revise them
quickly when opportunities arise.
Some Do’s and Don’ts
DO:
Have your resume typed up on a word processor (keep a copy on disk for
easy updating and new copies).
Check all spelling.
Ensure your resume looks tidy – don’t be afraid of white space.
Ask others to read your resume and give you their opinion.
Include reference to specific things such as what you are experienced in,
have knowledge of and the licences you hold.
DON’T:
Include reference to things such as your gender, religion and your

general health.
Use brightly coloured paper or printing on your resume.
Exaggerate about your experience, education or capabilities.
Send out the original copy of your resume - make sure you always have
some copies on hand.
Include any mention of salary.
TASK 2:
Group the following information in a resume under the following headings

and then put these headings in order.
REFEREES
WORK EXPERIENCE
69
PERSONAL
OTHER INFORMATION
EDUCATION
1 NAME: Augusta Neves
ADDRESS: 3 The Parade, Stanmore, 1937
TELEPHONE NUMBER: (02) 560 2215
DATE OF BIRTH: 30th September, 1966
2 Typing: 50 wpm
Languages: fluent in Spanish and Italian
Hobbies: swimming, dancing, reading
3 1972 –82 Primary and Secondary school, Havana, Cuba
School Certificate, Ashfield High School
Subjects: English, Maths, Commerce, Spanish, Geography
4 P. Botham (Manager),
Morris Bros., City Store, Book Dept.,
Elizabeth St., Sydney 1000
160 3324
Dr. T. Angelis,
Burrows Pharmacy,
39 Diamond St., Stanmore 1937
70
560 3348
5 1987 - Sales assistant, Morris Bros., City Store, Book Dept.
Duties: Customer service, ordering, book displays
1985– 86 Sales assistant, Burrows Pharmacy, Stanmore
Duties: Customer service, advice on cosmetics
1984– 85 Waitress, Francesca’s Restaurant, Campsie
71
0001
With an in-tray full of applications an employer will spend approximately

20 seconds (1) casting an eye over each, you have to unsure that in that
brief time your cover letter has sufficient impact to make the reader
want to know more about you. A (2) covering letter builds upon the
information you provided in your CV, it is a focussed sales pitch stating
clearly in simple language just why this company should (3) employ you.
All of its (4) contents should reaffirm to the reader that you are the
right person for that job. Before you sit down to write your letter (5)
do some research on the company and into the role to which you are
applying. The easiest way to do this is on the Internet. Be sure you know
exactly what the company does and how they are placed (6) amongst their
competitors. Try to (7) gauge what the company's business plan is, for
example if they have they spent a lot of money on a flashy Webster they
could be hoping to expand more into online (8) sales. As accurately as
you can try to know exactly what will be expected of you should you get
the job, for example what a Marketing Manager's duties are, (9) what
qualities they should posses.
(1) Give a synonymous expression for cast an eye over something.
(2) Give the American English equivalent for covering letter.
(3) Give synonyms for employ.
(4) What’s the difference between content and contents?
(5) What other dependent preposition can be used with this expression?
(6) How do you explain amongst in relation to among?
(7) What does this verb mean?
(8) What is the difference between on sale and for sale?
(9) Why doesn’t the question read “What qualities should they possess?”
0002
Carrying out research shows to the employer that you have initiative and
that you are genuinely interested in the company, it will also allow you
to use style and terminology that is appropriate to the audience. For
example the company may be (1) relaxed or very formal, new or
established, rapidly expanding or in the doldrums. If you are applying
for an (2) advertised position have the job advert in front of you and
72
refer to it frequently. With a marker pen circle all of the job's
requirements on the advertisement and be sure to address each of them in
the letter. It is imperative (3) that you address your letter carefully.
After spending time wording it (4) to perfection you do not want it to be
directed to the wrong person or to (5) go astray. If you are applying for
an advertised (6) vacancy there is probably a contact name on that
advert, and so address your letter to that person, e.g. Mr I.P Freely. If
you are writing to a company for a job when they have not advertised a
vacancy, the chances are that (7) unless you have contacts on the inside
you will not know the name of the person you need to write too. In this
case you can address your letter to the manager of the specific depart to
which you are applying, for example Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, or
else you can send it to the Human Resources Manager or Personnel Manager.
Go onto the company's WebPages and see if you can (8) track down the name
of a relevant recipient. (9) Alternatively give the company a call and
ask for the name of the head of department to which you are applying.
(1) Give a synonym for relaxed, as could apply here.
(2) Give synonyms for relax as could apply to humans.
(2) What are the short forms of advertisement?
(2) What do you call that special section in a newspaper where jobs are
advertised?
(2) What is the difference between advertisement and commercial?
(3) This construction after that is a type of subjunctive (the mandative

subjunctive). It has two forms: analytical, with should, and synthetic,
without should. The construction appears after verbs and expressions like
require, demand, it is essential / imperative / compulsory, etc., or
after corresponding nouns. Have a look at the following sentences and
decide which ones are incorrect.
1. They require that he should resign from office.

2. They require that he resign from office.
3. They require that he resigns from office.
4. They required that he should resign from office.
5. They required that he resign from office.
6. They required that he resigned from office.
(4) What’s the verb from perfection?
(4) Give other derivatives from perfect.
(5) What does this expression mean?
(5) What part of speech is astray and how is it formed?
(6) What is a vacancy?

73
(6) What verb collocates with vacancy, the resulting expression meaning
“to take up a job”?
(7) Unless means “if not”. Can you always use it when you want to express
a negative condition? Which of the following is incorrect? Can you make a
rule?
1. You will not be able to do it unless you have a sound preparation in

computers.
2. We will go unless the weather is fine.
(8) Can you give a synonymous verb for to track down?
(9) What’s the difference between alternative and alternate as

adjectives?
0003
The opening paragraph should be short and hard-hitting. Begin with an (1)
arresting sentence in which you explain why it is you are writing, for
example 'I would like to be (2) considered for the position of Marketing
Manager'. If you are applying for an advertised position then say where
you saw the advert, ' In response to the Marketing Manager job vacancy
advertised in 'Marketing Weekly'. If someone (3) referred you to your
contact, mention your friend's referral in this section. Why should an
employer be interested in hiring you? (4) Briefly describe your
professional and academic qualifications that are relevant to the
position. If the job was advertised refer to all of the required skills
written (5) therein. Emphasize what you can do for the company, not vice
versa. Outline a relevant career goal, for example if you are applying
for Sales positions do not say that you are training to be an airline
pilot. Incorporate your research. (6) Expand on the most relevant points
of your CV. (7) Request action, for example indicate your desire for a
personal interview and that you're able to meet with the employer (8) at
their convenience.
(1) What does this expression mean?
(1) What else, apart from felons, can be arrested?
(2) What verb form follows consider?
(2) What’s the difference between the following sentences?
1. He decided to change his job.

2. He decided to change jobs.
(2) Is there a synonym for consider?
(3) What happens if someone refers you somewhere / to someone else?
74
(3) What is the noun for this meaning?
(3) Give derivatives from refer.
(4) Give synonymous expressions for briefly.
(4) Give examples to differentiate between in short and for short.
(5) What’s the meaning of this word?
(5) What’s the meaning of the following formal words especially used in
documents? Wherein, whereof, whereby, thereby, wherefrom, wherefores,
whereupon.
(6) Give a synonym for to expand on.
(7) What’s the difference between the nouns request and requirement?
(7) Can you give a less formal synonym for this set phrase?
(8) Give derivatives from convenience.
(8) What other part of speech can the word inconvenience be?
(8) Do you know of other noun-like words that can be used as verbs?
0004
Some job adverts ask you to include salary requirements, you can choose
to ignore this, opting instead to wait until the interview to talk about
money, or include a broad (1) salary range, for example £16 - 20K. Avoid
sounding pompous or using clichés and catch phrases, the are some
statements that are used all the time such as 'I have excellent
interpersonal skills', you want your letter to be unique. Try to (2)
avoid using 'I' too much. A page of I did this and that is not (3)
appealing - it says to the employer you haven't thought about them. Do
not use (4) abbreviations. Do not exceed four paragraphs of content. To
satisfy the (5) skim reader, incorporate some industry sound bites and
buzzwords. (6) Subtly (7) flatter the company, for example 'you are the
industry leader' Check and then recheck your spelling, grammar and
punctuation. (8) Get someone else to read it through also. If you are
making a speculative application you should follow up the letter with a
phone call, e-mail or office visit. Paper clip your covering letter to
your CV, one should never be sent out without the other. Your application
letter and résumé may be the most important documents you write during
(9) your time at university -- and being able to write good applications
will keep on being important during your (10) working life. Here's some
advice on (11) starting out well.
(1) What’s the difference between salary and wage(s)?
75
(1) What’s the difference between white-collar and blue-collar jobs?
(1) What is a pink-collar job?
(2) If a gerund follows avoid, what verb forms follow the following?
Risk, deny, anticipate, justify.
(2) Make a difference between gerund and infinitive usage after mean,
try, remember, forget, regret, stop, advise and allow.
(3) To appeal also means “to be likable”. Complete the blank with a
dependent preposition: It hardly appeals ____ me.
(3) If something is appealing, it is likable. What’s the opposite?
(4) What’s the difference between an abbreviation and an acronym?
(5) What happens if you skim a text and if you scan a text ?
(6) Give derivatives from subtle.
(7) What do you risk being called if you flatter someone or suck / toady
up to someone (formal)?
(8) What are causative constructions in English and how are they used?
(8) Give examples of causative constructions which refer to accidents,

rather than volitional acts on the part of the beneficiary / sufferer.
(9) While you are at university studying for your BA / Bsc degree you are
a(n) ____ student. After you receive your degree, or if you want to go on
for a PhD or an MA / MSc / MBA degree you become a(n) ____ student.
(10) Working days (usually Monday through Friday) are also called ____
days.
(11) Both onset and outset mean beginning, start. Which is negative? Give
some collocations and fixed phrases.
0005
Employers say they want to hire people who can communicate clearly,
handle personal interactions, and (1) analyze complex situations. Use
your application package to demonstrate these qualities.
 Keep the reader's interests in mind. Your message is "you need me,"
not just "I want a job." Know enough about the organization or company
to recognize what readers will be looking for. Then the focus of your
documents will be where you (2) fit and what you can contribute. This
principle will also determine your choice of emphasis and even your
76
wording (not "I have had (3) four years’ experience" but "My
experience will help me do X").
 (4) Balance facts and claims. Your documents will be boring and (5)
meaningless if they're just (6) bare lists of facts. They will be
empty and unbelievable if they are just grand claims about yourself.
Use each of the two or three paragraphs in the body of your letter to
make a few key (7) interpretive statements ("I enjoy selling
aggressively"). Back up each one with some examples (e.g. "achieved
highest sales figure of 10 employees for first quarter of 1999").
Mention that the résumé gives (8) further specifications and make sure
that it does.
 Write concisely. There's no space available for word-spinning. (9)
Prune your style by following any good writing guide.
(1) Give derivatives from analyze.
(2) If you are not adapted to society’s standards (usually because of a

rebellious nature) you don’t fit ____ and people look at you as a ____
(derivative from fit).
(2) What’s the difference between fit, suit and match?
(3) Suggest an alternative way of phrasing this expression.
(4) What’s the opposite of balance?
(4) What’s the opposite of balanced?
(5) What’s the opposite of meaningless?
(6) What synonyms does barely have?
(6) How do you differentiate in the usage of hardly, barely, scarcely, no

sooner?
(7) Give a synonym of interpretive.
(8) What’s the difference between farther and further?
(9) What does prune originally mean? What does it mean here?
77
0006
We arrived safely back in Los Angeles last night. (1) The occasion to
discuss the business with you and Susan Henderson was very much
appreciated. (2) Your openness in all the issues of the company is (3)
something I am very comfortable. These discussions (4) will enable us
grow ABC profitably. (5) In addition to the chance to get an overview of
a significant part of the Orlando area was very helpful.
0007
Yesterday we found an apartment in Lake Buena Vista (1) that would meet
with our needs. I (2) discussed about it with Karen Black and she thought
it would be safe and convenient for my wife. (3) I had them to put a cost
estimate together and I have enclosed it. It (4) looks that $1500 per
month will cover it. I will need to bring housewares and bedding, (5) but
I can bring that with my car. (6) The occupation date is February 4th, at
the latest. I could live in a hotel for a few days if necessary.
0008
Inactivity during unemployment can contribute to depression. (1) Usually,

the longer you are unemployed, the lower your self-esteem falling.
Therefore, never let yourself be "unemployed" in your mind, even for a
day. Always find something productive to do. If necessary, volunteer a
few hours a week or work part-time for a friend. (2) Job-hunters may
question these, but almost (3) any work is better than not work at all.
Even temporary work provides contact with people and the opportunity to
care and contribute. If you look around, (4) you'll see unmet needs
everywheres. (5) If you want help, the world needs you. That's why you
never need to be "unemployed"--especially in your own mind.
0009
(1) Temporary work isn't necessary a dead end. I call it a career field
goal. (2) It isn't seven points, but it isn't zero points, neither. What
do the successful pro football teams do when they can't score a
touchdown? (3) They go to the field goal, knowing they'll attempt the
touchdown later. Pay attention to your language. (4) Don't say things
like, "I'm out from work. I have nothing to do. No one wants me." (5)
That's not only ridiculous, it's terribly damage to your sense of self-
worth. In addition, you want (6) potential employers to perceive you busy
and active, not bored and depressed. Rather than say, "I've been out of
work for 18 weeks," say, "I've got several things going while I'm in the
market. (7) I work in part-time for Hewlett Packard on a new product
launch, and I'm helping (8) Memorial Hospital settle up their SIDS
department." Doesn't that sound better? You bet it does.
78
0010
The attitude that (1) you're working even not employed communicates
action, movement, and momentum! Just what employers look for. (2)
Everyone know it's a good idea to keep an updated resume, (3) but few
people actually are. We're just too busy. Suppose (4) your resume is
outdated and a headhunter calls and requests for it overnight for (5) an
important highly-paying job. What do you do? (6) Should you send an old,
uncomplete resume--one with 300-word paragraphs? (7) Absolutely no!
Remember, (8) you never get a second chance to have a first impression.
An outdated, poorly drafted resume will not sell you well, (9) because it
doesn't show you in your best. Your competitors' (10) resumes will come
in looking cleanly, crisply, and tightly written. Yours will look weak by
comparison. How will you compete? Do you think you'll be interviewed?
Perhaps... but maybe not. (11) Regarding of what the books say, you can't
draft a good resume overnight, especially if you're a well-experienced
pro. (12) It doesn't just happen.
79
PRACTICE TESTS
1 With an in-tray full of applications an employer will spend

approximately 20 seconds casting an eye ____ each, you have to unsure
that in that brief time your cover letter has sufficient impact.
2 Before you ____ down to write your letter do some research on the
company and into the role to which you are applying.
3 Be sure you know exactly what the company does and how they are
placed ____ their competitors.
4 Try to gauge what the company's business plan ____, for example if
they have they spent a lot of money on a flashy Webster they could be
hoping to expand more into online sales.
5 As accurately as you can try to know exactly what will be expected

of you should you get the job, for example ____ are a Marketing Manager's
duties.
6 Carrying out research shows to the employer that you have initiative
and that you are genuinely interested in the company, ____ will also
allow you to use style and terminology that is appropriate to the
audience.
7 For example the company may be relaxed or very formal, new or

established, rapidly expanding or in ____ doldrums.
8 ____ you are applying for an advertised position, have the job
advert in front of you and refer to it frequently.
9 If you are applying for an advertised vacancy there is probably a

contact name on ____ advert, and so address your letter to that person,
e.g. Mr. I.P Freely.
10 Expand ____ the most relevant points of your CV.
80
1 A covering letter builds upon the information you provided in your

CV, it is a focussed sales pitch stating clearly in ____ language just
why this company should employ you.
A simple
B simplistic
C oversimplified
D simplistical
2 With a marker pen ____ all of the job's requirements on the

advertisement and be sure to address each of them in the letter.
A circle
B encircle
C draw
D cross through
3 After spending time wording it ____ you do not want it to be

directed to the wrong person or to go astray.
A perfectly
B to perfection
C for perfection
D in perfection
4 Why should an employer be interested in hiring you? Briefly describe

your professional and academic qualifications that are relevant to the
position. If the job was advertised refer to all of the ____ skills
written therein.
A requested
B required
C demanded
D asked
81
5 ____ action, for example indicate your desire for a personal
interview and that you're able to meet with the employer are their
convenience.
A request
B require
C demand
D ask
6 Some job adverts ask you to include salary ____; you can choose to
ignore this.
A requests
B requirements
C demands
D askings
7 You may wait until the interview to talk about money, or include a
broad salary range, for example £16 – 20____.
A K
B Q
C M
D millions
8 Avoid sounding pompous or using clichés and ____ phrases; they are
some statements that are used all the time such as 'I have excellent
interpersonal skills'; you want your letter to be unique.
A catch
B catchy
C catching
D caught
9 Try to ____ using 'I' too much. A page of I did this and that is not
appealing - it says to the employer you haven't thought about them.
A evade
82
B refrain
C keep from
D restrain
10 Your documents will be empty and unbelievable if they are just ____
claims about yourself.
A great
B grand
C large
D lengthy
83
C or D.
1 You (A) can address your letter to the manager (B) of the specific
department you are applying, for example (C) Marketing Manager, Sales
Manager, (D) or else you can send it to the Human Resources Manager or
Personnel Manager.
2 Go (A) onto the company's WebPages and see (B) if you can track down
the name of a relevant recipient. (C) Alternately, give the company a
call and ask for the name of (D) the head of department to which you are
applying.
3 The opening paragraph should be (A) short and hard-hitting. Begin

(B) with an arresting sentence in which (B) you explain why is it you are
writing, for example 'I (D) should like to be considered for the position
of Marketing Manager'.
4 Do (A) not exceed over four paragraphs of content. (B) To satisfy

the skim reader, incorporate some industry sound bites and buzzwords. (C)
Subtly flatter the company, check and then recheck your spelling, grammar
and punctuation. (D) Get someone else to read it through also.
5 Your (A) application letter and résumé may be the most important
documents (B) you write during your time at university -- and (C) being
able to write good applications will keep on being important during (D)
your work life.
6 Use (A) standard letter format, with internal addresses ((B) spell
names correctly!) and salutes. Use specific names or at least position
titles whenever possible. (C) Avoid the dated "Dear Sir or Madam." You
can use an "Attention" line or a "Subject" line (D) instead if you do
have to.
7 Most (A) application letters at entry-level jobs are one page (B) in
length--a substantial page rather than a skimpy one. Start strong and
clear. For an (C) advertised position, name the job and say where you saw
the ad. For a speculative letter, name a specific function you can offer
(D) and relate it to something you know about the organization.
8 Use paragraph structure to (A) lead your reader from one

interpretive point to another. Refer to specific information (B) in terms
of examples for the points you're making, and (C) mentioning that your
résumé gives further evidence. End strongly by requesting an interview.
It is now standard to say that you will (D) call soon to set a time.
84
9 In general, omit (A) details of high-school achievements. You also
(B) don't have to include personal details or full information for
references. But (C) don't try to save space by relying of acronyms (even
for degrees): they (D) aren't always recognizable by readers or
electronic searches.
10 See the Career Centre library for (A) a selection of current books
of advice. Public libraries and bookstores also (B) stock a good deal of
material. Remember, though, that fashions change quickly (C) and that
little published material is Canadian. Web sites may be of more use,
since (D) they are as usually kept updated, and may be closer to your
situation.
85
1 If you are writing to a company for a job when they have not
advertised a ____, the chances are that unless you have contacts on the
inside you will not know the name of the person you need to write too.
VACANT
2 If someone referred you to your contact, mention your friend's ____

in this section. REFER
3 ____ what you can do for the company, not vice versa. EMPHATIC
4 ____ a relevant career goal, for example if you are applying for
Sales positions do not say that you are training to be an airline pilot.
LINE
5 If you are making a ____ application you should follow up the letter
with a phone call, e-mail or office visit. SPECULATE
6 Employers say they want to hire people who can communicate clearly,
____ personal interactions, and analyze complex situations. HAND
7 This principle will determine your ____ of emphasis and even your
wording (not "I have had four years experience" but "My experience will
help me do X"). CHOOSE
8 Your documents will be boring and ____ if they're just bare lists of
facts. MEAN
9 Mention that the résumé gives ____ specifications and make sure that
it does. FAR
10 Write concisely. There's no space available for ____. Prune your

style by following any good writing guide. WORD
UNIT 4: THE EUROPEAN UNION: HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS

86
SPEAKING: THE EUROPEAN UNION
Discussion points
1 Can the EU be defined as a sovereign state?
2 When was the idea of a united Europe suggested first and why was
such a union considered necessary?
3 What are the main EU institutions and their specific purposes?
4 Match the following EU bodies with their specific roles:
EU body Role
1. The European Economic and a. deals with citizens'
Social Committee complaints about
maladministration by any EU
institution or body
2. The Committee of the Regions b. helps achieve EU objectives by
financing investment projects
3. The European Central Bank c. expresses the opinions of
regional and local authorities
4. The European Ombudsman d. expresses the opinions of
organised civil society on
economic and social issues
5. The European Investment Bank e. responsible for monetary
policy and managing the euro
5 What were the six initial countries that formed a union in Europe?
When did the biggest enlargement take place? How many countries are there
in the EU now?
6 Which of the following subjects are not on the EU agenda?
trade and the economy

citizens' rights
ensuring freedom, security and justice
job creation
regional development
environmental protection
making globalization work for everyone
7 Can you name some of the greatest achievements of the union since
its foundation?
8 What do you understand by ‘unity in diversity’?
READING: THE EUROPEAN UNION

87
TEXT 1:
Read the article and then decide which of the paragraphs A-F fit into the
numbered gaps 1-5. There is one extra paragraph, which does not fit in
any of the gaps.
As the final decade of the 20th century got under way, two great changes
began transforming economies and ways of life around the world - not
least in Europe. One was globalisation: as economies everywhere became
increasingly interdependent, a 'global economy' was being born. The other
was the technological revolution - the coming of the Internet and of new
information and communication technologies.
1 …
By the year 2000, EU leaders were well aware that the EU economy needed
thorough modernization in order to compete with the US and other major
world players. Meeting in Lisbon in March that year, the European Council
set the EU a new and very ambitious goal: to become, within a decade,
"the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world,
capable of sustainable growth with more and better jobs and greater
social cohesion."
2 …
Every spring the European Council meets to review progress in

implementing this strategy. At the Council's request, the Commission has
put forward an action plan entitled "e-Europe 2005", aimed at boosting
use of the Internet in the European Union. By 2005, Europe should have
modern, online public services including government, training and health
services. Users everywhere should have access, at competitive prices, to
a secure 'broadband' infrastructure. In other words, they should be able
to send voice, data and video signals over high-speed lines or satellite
links and be confident that the privacy of their messages is protected.
3 …
This involves, for example, setting up a very high-speed trans-European

network for electronic scientific communications to link Europe's
universities and research institutes, its science libraries and -
gradually - its schools. Steps are also being taken to remove obstacles
that hinder research workers from moving around Europe. At the same time,
there must be incentives to attract the world's top scientists to Europe
and to encourage them to stay. In other words, one of the EU's priorities
is to step up investment in people and training, which are Europe's chief
assets.
4 …
Through programmes such as Socrates, Leonardo and the Youth Programme,

the European Union encourages students, teachers and research workers to
88
move around in Europe. It is also taking steps to ensure that training
periods spent and qualifications obtained in any one EU country are
recognised in all others.
5 …
So the Lisbon European Council aimed to raise the employment rate from an
average of 61% in 2000 to 70% in 2010, and to increase the proportion of
women in work from 51% to 60% over the same period.
A Much remains to be done if Europe is to exploit its full digital

potential, and to give its businesses and citizens access to low-cost but
world-class communication networks and a wide range of on-line services.
For example, all schools in the European Union must be connected to the
Internet and teachers must be trained to use it. There must be European
laws governing electronic trade and such matters as intellectual property
rights, electronic payments and online sales of financial services. With
this in mind, one of the aims agreed at Lisbon was to create a "European
research area".
B To tackle the effects of ageing on European societies, the Barcelona

European Council in March 2002 called on EU governments to reduce "early
retirement incentives for individuals and the introduction of early
retirement schemes by companies". By 2010, there should be "a progressive
increase of about five years in the effective average age at which people
stop working in the European Union".
C The latter was born in the United States and chiefly benefited the
US economy. Doing business via the Internet made American companies much
more efficient and productive. Between 1995 and 2001, the US economy
grew, on average, by 3.6% per year - well ahead of Europe's 2.4% annual
average over the same period. In Europe, GDP per capita is only 69% of
its level in the United States, and average labour productivity in Europe
is 78% of the American figure.
D The European Union recognises the importance of education and life-

long learning, the need to learn several languages and to have
technological skills. The lack of well-qualified personnel is a handicap
for Europe's telecommunications and Internet services.
E The EU's leaders also agreed on a detailed strategy for achieving

this goal. The 'Lisbon strategy' covers such matters as research,
education, training, Internet access and on-line business. It also covers
reform of Europe's social protection systems. These systems are one of
Europe's great assets: they enable our societies to embrace change
without too much pain. But they must be made sustainable so that their
benefits can be enjoyed by future generations.
F Finally, the Lisbon strategy involves tackling one of Europe's most

intractable problems - the fact that its population is ageing, and the
serious implications this has for the workforce and for the financing of
89
Europe's social security and pension schemes. There are not enough
Europeans in work, especially women and older people. At the same time,
long-term unemployment is endemic in some regions of the EU and
unemployment in general varies considerably from one region to another.
TEXT 2
Read the article about the history of the EU and answer the questions
below it, by choosing the best alternative (A, B, C or D). Underline the
parts of the text that justify your answer.
A worldwide economic recession in the early 1980s brought with it a

wave of 'euro-pessimism'. But hope sprang anew in 1985 when the European
Commission, under its President Jacques Delors, published a 'white paper'
setting out a timetable for completing the European single market by 1
January 1993. The Communities adopted this ambitious goal and enshrined
it in the Single European Act, which was signed in February 1986 and came
into force on 1 July 1987.
The political shape of Europe was dramatically changed by the fall

of the Berlin wall in 1989. This led to the reunification of Germany on 3
October 1990 and the coming of democracy to the countries of central and
Eastern Europe as they broke away from Soviet control. The Soviet Union
itself ceased to exist in December 1991.
Meanwhile, the European Communities were changing too. The member

states were negotiating a new treaty that was adopted by the European
Council (i.e. their presidents and/or prime ministers) at Maastricht in
December 1991. This 'Treaty on European Union' came into force on 1
November 1993. The EEC was renamed simply 'the European Community' (EC).
Moreover, by adding areas of intergovernmental cooperation to the
existing Community system, the Treaty created the European Union (EU). It
also set new ambitious goals for the member states: monetary union by
1999, European citizenship, new common policies - including a common
foreign and security policy (CFSP) - and arrangements for internal
security.
The new European dynamism and the continent's changing geopolitics

led three more countries - Austria, Finland and Sweden - to join the EU
on 1 January 1995. The Union now had 15 member states and was on course
for its most spectacular achievement yet - replacing its national
currencies with a single European currency, the euro. On 1 January 2002,
euro notes and coins came into circulation in 12 EU countries (the 'euro
area'). The euro is now a major world currency, having a similar status
to the US dollar.
As the world moves forward into the 21st century, Europeans must
together face the challenges of globalization. Revolutionary new
technologies and the Internet explosion are transforming the world
economy. But these profound economic changes bring with them social
90
disruption and culture shock.
Meeting in Lisbon in March 2000, the European Council adopted a

comprehensive strategy for modernizing the EU's economy and enabling it
to compete on the world market with other major players such as the
United States and the newly industrialized countries. The 'Lisbon
strategy' includes opening up all sectors of the economy to competition,
encouraging innovation and business investment, and modernizing Europe's
education systems to meet the needs of the information society.
At the same time, unemployment and the rising cost of pensions are
both putting pressure on the member states' economies, and this makes
reform all the more necessary. Voters are increasingly calling on their
governments to find practical solutions to these issues.
Scarcely had the European Union grown to encompass 15 member states

when another 12 began knocking at its door. In the mid 1990s, it received
membership applications from the former Soviet bloc countries (Bulgaria,
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), the three
Baltic states that had once been part of the Soviet Union (Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania), one of the republics of the former Yugoslavia
(Slovenia) and two Mediterranean countries (Cyprus and Malta).
The EU welcomed this opportunity to help stabilize the European

continent and to extend the benefits of European unification to these
young democracies. Accession negotiations with the candidate countries
were launched in Luxembourg in December 1997 and in Helsinki in December
1999. The Union was on the way to its biggest enlargement ever. For ten
of the candidate countries, negotiations were completed on 13 December
2002 in Copenhagen. The European Union has 25 member states in 2004, and
will continue growing as more countries join in the years ahead.
More than half a century of integration has had an enormous impact

on the history of Europe and on the mentality of Europeans. The member
state governments, whatever their political colour, know that the age of
absolute national sovereignty is over and that only by joining forces and
pursuing "a destiny henceforward shared" (to quote the ECSC Treaty) can
their ancient nations continue to make economic and social progress and
maintain their influence in the world.
Integration has succeeded in overcoming age-old enmity between

European countries. Attitudes of superiority and the use of force to
resolve international differences have been replaced by the 'Community
method' of working together. This method, which balances national
interests with the common interest and respects national diversity while
creating a Union identity, is as valuable today as ever. Throughout the
Cold War period it enabled Europe's democratic and freedom-loving
countries to stick together. The end of east-west antagonism and the
political and economic reunification of the continent are a victory for
91
the spirit of Europe - a spirit that European peoples need more than ever
today.
The European Union offers a response to the huge challenge of

globalization - a response that expresses the values Europeans believe
in. The EU offers, above all, the best possible 'insurance policy' for a
free and peaceful future.
1 The phenomenon of ‘euro-pessimism’ at the beginning of the 1980s

probably refers to:
A. the decline in the European economy

B. the wave of depression that overwhelmed the young European population
C. the very high rate of unemployment
D. the seemingly impossible project of founding a European union
2 What was the purpose of the ‘Single European Act’?
A. it was an official commitment to carry out an economic unification

plan
B. it was the first report that gave details of the European Commission’s
policy to boost the European economy
C. it set up a precise date by which any other European country could

join the union
D. it specified the requirements of a single European market
3 What was, in the EU context, the most important consequence of the

fall of the Berlin wall?
A. the disintegration of the Soviet Union

B. the reunification of Germany
C. the democratization of the political regimes in central and eastern

Europe
D. the new geopolitical context that allowed many countries freedom of

choice
4 ‘The European Union’ became an official name
A. at Maastricht, in December 1991

B. because ‘The European Community’ as a name could no longer cover the
complex economic and political cooperation ties established among the
countries involved
92
C. to emphasise the need for the Union to function along the same lines
as the United States
D. to underline the fact that a European market was no longer the only
goal of intergovernmental cooperation
5 What is the ‘euro area’?
A. the most spectacular achievement of the Union so far

B. any region of the world where the euro is the equivalent of the US
dollar
C. the countries that have renounced their national currency in favour of

the euro
D. the EU states where the euro is now official currency
6 Among other things, the ‘Lisbon strategy’ underlined
A. the need for computer literacy among the citizens of the Union
B. the necessity to cut the unemployment rates
C. the strategy to raise retirement pensions
D. the plan of economic strategies to compete with the US economy
7 According to the article, what is the major reason why other nations
would choose to join the EU?
A. for fear that by standing alone their national sovereignty would be

threatened
B. because their own economy is too weak to compete with the European
market
C. they are culturally and historically a part of Europe
D. they believe that the Union can guarantee them a secure and peaceful
future
93
WRITING: THE EUROPEAN UNION
The languages spoken in each Member State of EU: 15
The table below shows for each Member State the three most widely spoken
languages apart from the mother tongue, and the percentage of people
speaking them.
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Write a report based on the findings illustrated in the table, commenting

on the possibility of a unique official language in the European Union.
(250 words)
94
95
SPEAKING: THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE EU
Discussion points
1 What is the institutional triangle that takes legal decisions and

issues regulations valid for all the European member states?
2 How long does each EU country hold the presidency of the Council?
Why was the Council also known as the ‘Council of Ministers’?
3 How many votes can each EU country cast for a decision to be taken
by the Council?]
4 Who are the members of the European Council? How often do they meet
and who presides over each meeting?
5 Why do the meetings of the Council enjoy such wide media coverage?
6 Who is the present Secretary-General of the Council and what is his

role? Where is the Secretariat-General based?
7 How are the members of the European Parliament elected? Does the
same number of MEPs represent each country?
8 Where are the normal plenary sessions of the Parliament held? What
about the additional sessions?
9 Which institution(s) is/are responsible for adopting the EU budget?
10 What are the largest political groups in the EU Parliament?
11 What is the fundamental role of the EU Parliament?
12 How many members are there in the European Commission? Why is the
Commission also called ‘Guardian of the Treaties’?
13 Where is the European Court of Justice located? What is its

function?
14 What is the difference in the roles played by the European

Investment Bank and the European Central Bank?
15 Why was the European Convention set up?
96
READING: THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE EU
TEXT 1
Read the following article about European trade policies. Choose from the
list A-K given below it the best phrase to fill each of the spaces 1-7.
Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
The completion of the single market in 1993 affected the EU's trade
policy. The import restrictions that EU countries had been allowed to
maintain were steadily abolished, 1 … such as textiles, steel, cars and
electronic goods. Once the WTO had been set up, 2 …, it provided a
permanent forum within which to settle trade disputes through
multilateral negotiation.
The average weighted level of customs duties on industrial goods 3 … is

less than 5%. The EU and its world trading partners have agreed new rules
on trade 4 …. The discussions on agriculture clearly revealed the
divergent views of producers 5 …. Because the EU presented a united front
in these talks, it was able to mount an effective defence of its member
states' viewpoint.
The EU is a single trading bloc, and it is home 6 …, with a relatively

high average level of income. As such, it is a very attractive market for
exporters in other countries. The EU can use this influence to persuade
its trading partners to keep 7 … - rules that ensure healthy competition
and fair and equal access to one another's markets.
A that leave the US

B at a critical moment
C as was the internal distribution of 'sensitive' imports
D entering the European Union
E of 25 countries
F at Europe's instigation
G to the rules of the game
H up the quality standards
I on either side of the Atlantic
J in services and agricultural products
K to nearly half a billion consumers
TEXT 2
Read the article and then choose the paragraphs A-F that fit into the
any of the gaps.
Europe's post-industrial societies are becoming increasingly complex.

Standards of living have risen steadily, but there are still gaps between
rich and poor and they may widen as former Communist countries join the
97
EU. That is why it is important for EU member states to work more closely
together on tackling social problems.
1 …
Why? Because the EU is the world's leading trading power and thus plays a
key role in international negotiations. It brings all its trading and
agricultural strength to bear within the World Trade Organization, and in
implementing the Kyoto Protocol on action to reduce air pollution and
prevent climate change.
2 …
Europe's strength springs from its ability to take united action on the
basis of decisions made by democratic institutions - the European
Council, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European
Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors. The EU wants to
promote human values and social progress.
3 …
So the EU stands for a view of humanity and a model of society that the
vast majority of its citizens support. Europeans cherish their rich
heritage of values that includes a belief in human rights, social
solidarity, free enterprise, a fair sharing of the fruits of economic
growth, the right to a protected environment, respect for cultural,
linguistic and religious diversity and a harmonious yoking of tradition
and progress.
4 …
The Treaty of Maastricht enshrined, for the first time, the 'principle of
subsidiarity', which is essential to the way the European Union works. It
means that the EU and its institutions act only if action is more
effective at EU level than at national or local level.
5 …
On the other hand, Europe in the 21st century still has to deal with
issues of safety and security. These things can never be taken for
granted. Every new step in world development brings with it not only
opportunities but also risks. The 25 member states have to stand united
to ensure the safety and security of their citizens.
A The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed in Nice on 7

December 2000, sets out all the rights recognized today by the EU's 15
member states and their citizens. Europeans have a wealth of national and
local cultures that distinguish them from one another, but they are
united by their common heritage of values that distinguishes Europeans
from the rest of the world.
98
B This principle ensures that the EU does not interfere unnecessarily
in its citizens' daily lives. European identity is a valuable asset to be
preserved: it must never be confused with uniformity - which is something
Europeans definitely reject.
C In the long run, every EU country benefits from this cooperation.

Half a century of European integration has shown that the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts. The EU as a unit has much more
economic, social, technological, commercial and political 'clout' than
the individual efforts of its member states, even when taken together.
There is added value in acting as one and speaking with a single voice as
the European Union.
D It launched important initiatives at the August 2002 Johannesburg

Summit on sustainable development. It takes a clear position on sensitive
issues that concern ordinary people - issues such as the environment,
renewable energy resources, the 'precautionary principle' in food safety,
the ethical aspects of biotechnology and the need to protect endangered
species. The old saying "strength in unity" is as relevant as ever to
today's Europeans.
E The idea of a united Europe was once just a dream in the minds of
philosophers and visionaries. Victor Hugo, for example, imagined a
peaceful 'United States of Europe' inspired by humanistic ideals. The
dream was shattered by two terrible wars that ravaged the continent
during the first half of the 20th century.
F Europeans see globalization and technological change revolutionizing

the world, and they want people everywhere to be masters - not victims -
of this process of change. People's needs cannot be met simply by market
forces or by the unilateral action of one country.
99
WRITING: THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE EU
WRITING AN ARTICLE
Points to remember
Make sure you are clear about what kind of article you have to write (a
newspaper, a magazine or a journal article).
Why are you writing the article - to persuade or to entertain the reader?
Who will read it (i. e. what age they are, what interests they have)?
Think about the tone you should adopt – what degree of formality or
informality is appropriate?
Read the information you are given carefully. Underline any points you
are asked to cover in your article.
First, write a clear, organized outline of your article. Think about what
information you will include in each of the paragraphs. Make sure you
have:
 an introduction which makes an impact on the reader. What has happened

or what will happen in the near future?
 the views of someone involved in the event(s) or situation you
describe. In a newspaper article, direct speech is usually used for
this purpose.
 a closing paragraph which reflects on the issue or issues described in
the article and leads back to your opening comments.
Write your article, following your outline closely.
Give it an interesting title.
Use linking words, as well as descriptive verbs, adjectives and adverbs

to make events more interesting.
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Your local newspaper is running a series of articles on personal success.

The editor has asked readers to send in articles describing a success
they have had and what the effect of the success has been. Submit your
own article of about 250 words.
100
LANGUAGE IN USE ACTIVATOR
0001
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
A (1) core responsibility of the IMF is to provide (2) loans to countries

experiencing balance-of-payments problems. This (3) financial assistance
enables countries to rebuild their international reserves, stabilize
their currencies, continue paying for imports, and restore conditions for
strong (4) economic growth. Unlike development banks, the IMF does not
lend for specific projects. A member country may request IMF financial
assistance if it has a balance of payments need – that is, if it cannot
find sufficient financing on (5) affordable terms to meet its net
international payments. An IMF loan (6) eases the adjustment policies and
reforms that a country must make to correct its balance of payments
problem and restore conditions for strong economic growth. The volume of
loans provided by the IMF has fluctuated significantly over time. The oil
shock of the 1970s and the debt (7) crisis of the 1980s were both
followed by sharp increases in IMF lending. In the 1990s, the transition
process in Central and Eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market
economies led to further surges (8) in the demand for IMF resources.
(1) Give collocations with core.
(2) What’s the difference between lend and borrow?
(2) Discuss the following quotation from HAMLET: “Neither a borrower, nor
a lender be.”
(2) Give collocations or fixed expressions with loan.
(3) Mention what type of financial assistance the following people may
get: students, unemployed people, pensioners, a person on a business
trip, a child from his parents as pocket money.
(4) What’s the difference between economic and economical? Similarly,

what’s the difference between historic / historical, classic / classical,
comic / comical, magic / magical?
(5) One of the following sentences is wrong. Why?
1. I won’t buy that car because I don’t afford it.
2. I won’t buy that car because I can’t afford it.
(6) If something makes you relaxed, it makes you feel ____ ease. If
something causes you anxiety, it’ll make you ____ (derivative from ease).
101
(7) What’s the plural of crisis? Similarly, give the plural forms for the
following nouns: species, basis, means, lens, analysis.
(8) Which of the following words collocate with the dependent preposition
for? Able, capable, responsible, in need, reason, cause, matter, greedy,
avid, critical, supportive, appreciative, justification.
0002
THE WORLD BANK
The World Bank Group’s mission is to (1) fight poverty and improve the
living standards of people in the developing world. It is a development
Bank which provides loans, policy advice, technical assistance and
knowledge sharing services to low and middle income countries to reduce
poverty. The Bank promotes growth to create jobs and to empower poor
people (2) to take advantage of these opportunities. James D. Wolfensohn
became the ninth president of the World Bank Group (3) on June 1, 1995.
He has (4) traveled to more than 100 countries to gain first hand
knowledge of the challenges facing the World Bank's member countries.
It is the world’s largest external source of funding for education and

HIV/AIDS programs. It strongly supports debt (5) relief, is a leader in
the international anti-corruption effort, helps bring water, electricity
and transport to the poor. Bank-supported projects have helped increase
education for poor children in India, reduce tuberculosis infections in
China, fight AIDS in Brazil, connect villages in Peru.
The World Bank Group consists of five closely associated institutions,
all owned by member countries. Each institution plays a distinct role in
the mission to fight poverty and improve (6) living standards.
(1) What’s the difference between fight and fight against as verbs?
(2) Give expressions with (dis)advantage.
(3) Give alternative ways of writing the date. Give alternative ways of
saying the date.
(5) Give derivatives from relief.
(5) Give expressions and collocations with relief.
(6) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing standard(s):
1. The hotel service fell ____ of the usual standard.

2. The building was not completed ____ a satisfactory standard.
3. We need to ____ our computer system up to standard.
4. She’s a great violinist by ____ standard.
0003
102
THE EUROPEAN CONCIL
The European Council brings together the (1) presidents and prime
ministers of all the EU countries plus the President of the European
Commission. The President of the European Parliament also addresses every
European Council. Its origins go back to 1974, when the EU's political
leaders (the "heads of State or government") began holding regular
meetings. This practice was made official by the Single European Act
(1987). The European Council now meets, in principle, four times a year.
It is (2) chaired by the President or Prime Minister of the country
currently (3) presiding over the Council of the European Union. Given the
growing importance of EU affairs in national political life, it is
appropriate that the national presidents and prime ministers should have
these regular opportunities to meet and discuss major European (4)
issues. With the Treaty of Maastricht, the European Council officially
became the initiator of the Union's major policies and was empowered to
settle difficult issues on which ministers (meeting in the Council of the
European Union) fail to (5) agree.
(1) Is it ever possible to use president without any article?
(2) What do you understand by this word here? Give words that denote the
persons doing this action.
(3) Can the preposition over be replaced by another preposition here?
(4) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing expressions

with issue.
1. Arrest warrants were issued ____ certain protesters.

2. This statement was issued on ____ of the Secretary General.
3. The new guidelines have been issued ____ all doctors in practice.
4. Some of the police were issued ____ rifles.
5. The ____ issued banknotes will come into circulation as of Monday next
month.
6. What you say is interesting, but it doesn’t affect the point ____
issue here.
7. She spoke ____ the issue of health care.
8. He was evasive, ____ the issue as much as he could.
9. Her explanations only ____ the issue instead of clearing things up.
10. I don’t want to ____ an issue out of it, but I think he’s entirely
wrong.
11. I was bold enough to ____ issue with the director about current
policymaking.
0004
The European Council has become a major media event, since its members
are all well-known public figures and some of the issues they debate can
be highly (1) contentious. It also discusses current world problems. Its
aim is to speak (2) with one voice on international issues, developing a
103
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The European Council is thus
the EU's highest-level policymaking body. Some Member States would like
it to become the government of Europe, and want one of its members to
represent the Union on the world stage. Would this person be chosen by
the European Council or would it automatically be the President of the
European Commission? There is (3) disagreement over this question. In the
meantime, the role of "Mr. Europe" is played by the EU's High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (a post created
by the Treaty of Amsterdam), who is also Secretary-General of the
Council. Javier Solana was (4) appointed to this position in 1999.
(1) What’s the meaning of this word and what verb does it come from?
(1) Give example sentences to illustrate the meaning of the verb.
(1) What is a bone of contention (idiom)?
(1) Give example sentences to illustrate the meaning of the noun.
(1) What do you understand by a contentious person?
(2)Give a synonym.
(2) Give two synonyms for voiced in the following example: She voiced her
grief to the manager.
(3) Can the preposition over here be replaced by another one?
(4) Give another verb with a similar (but not identical) meaning that can
be used in the pattern ____ someone to office / a position.
0005
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
The European Parliament is the elected body that represents the EU's
citizens and takes part in the legislative process. Since 1979, members
of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been directly elected, by
universal suffrage, (1) every five years. Until the 2004 elections there
are 626 MEPs. Thereafter, enlargements of the EU will increase that
number. The number of MEPs from each country is as follows (in
alphabetical order (2) according to the country's name in its own
language): Parliament normally holds its plenary session in Strasbourg
and any additional sessions in Brussels. It has 17 committees that do the
preparatory work for its plenary sessions, and a number of political
groups that mostly meet in Brussels. The Secretariat-General is based in
Luxembourg. Parliament and the Council share legislative power, and they
do so using three different procedures (in addition to simple
consultation).
(1) What’s the meaning of this expression?

104
(1) What’s the meaning of every other day?
(2) Give synonyms for this expression.
105
0006
First, there is the "cooperation procedure", introduced by the Single

European Act in 1986. (1) Under procedure, Parliament gives its opinion
on draft directives and (2) regulations propositioned by the European
Commission, which can amend its proposal (3) to take into account of
Parliament's opinion. Second, there is the "assent procedure", also
introduced in 1986. Under this procedure, Parliament must give its assent
to international agreements negotiated by the Commission, to any proposed
enlargement of the European Union (4) and to an amount of other matters
including any changes in election rules.
0007
Third, there is the "co-decision procedure", introduced by the Treaty of

Maastricht (1992). This (1) puts the Parliament on an equal footage with
the Council when legislating on a whole series of important issues
including the free movement of workers, (2) the internal market,
education, researches, the environment, Trans-European Networks, health,
culture (3) and consumption protection. Parliament has the power to throw
out proposed legislation in these fields if an absolute majority of MEPs
vote against the Council's "common position". However, (4) the matter can
be put in front a conciliation committee. The Treaty of Amsterdam added
another 23 and the Treaty of Nice a further seven to the number of fields
in which the co-decision procedure applies.
0008
Parliament and the Council (1) also share with equal responsibility for
adopting the EU budget. The European Commission proposes a draft budget,
(2) which is then afterwards debated by Parliament and the Council.
Parliament can reject the proposed budget, (3) and it has already done on
several occasions. When this happens, the entire budget procedure has to
be re-started. (4) Parliament has made full usage of its budgetary powers
to influence EU policymaking. However, most of the EU's spending on
agriculture is beyond Parliament's control. (5) Parliament is a driving
force in the European politics. It is the EU's primary debating chamber,
a place where the political and national viewpoints of all the member
states meet and mix. So, Parliament quite naturally (6) gives birth to a
good many policy initiates.
0009
Parliamentary debates are dominated by the political groups. The largest

of these are: the (1) European People Party (Christian Democrats) and
European Democrats - the EPP-ED group; the Party of European Socialists -
PES. Parliament played a key role (2) in drawing out the EU Charter of
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Fundamental Rights ((3) declared in December 2000) and in setting up the
European Convention following the Laeken European Council in December
2001. (4) Last but not lastly, Parliament is the body that exercises
democratic control over the Union. It has the power to (5) dismiss the
Commission to adopt a motion of censure. (This requires a two thirds
majority). It (6) checks up that EU policies are being properly managed
and implemented - for example by examining the reports it receives from
the Court of Auditors and by putting oral and written questions to the
Commission and Council. The current President of the European Council (7)
also reports to Parliament in the decisions taken by the EU's political
leaders. Pat Cox was elected President of the European Parliament in
2002.
0010
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The Commission is one of the EU's key institutions. (1) Until 1st of May
2004 it had 20 members (2) (each two from France, Germany, Italy, Spain
and the United Kingdom, one from each of the other countries), (3)
appointed for five year period by agreement between the Member States,
(4) subject to the approval by Parliament. On 1 May 2004, when 10 new
member states joined the EU, the number of Commissioners also increased
by 10. From 1 November 2004, the new Commission has only 25 members – (5)
one per a country. The Commission acts with complete political
independence. Its job is to uphold the interest of the EU as a whole, so
it must not take instructions (6) from any member states government. As
"Guardian of the Treaties", it has to ensure that the regulations and
directives adopted by the Council and Parliament (7) are being put into
the effect. If they are not, the Commission can take the offending party
to Court of Justice (8) to obligate it to comply with EU law.
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PRACTICE TESTS
1 The EU needs to invent a new form of "governance" that is simpler,

more democratic and ____ Europe closer to its citizens.
2 Some have described the EU as an economic giant ____ a 'political

dwarf'.
3 The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European
Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), provided ____ in the Maastricht and
Amsterdam treaties, define the EU's main tasks in the area of defence.
4 The EU has developed its 'second pillar' - the policy domain in

which action is decided by inter-governmental agreement and in which the
Commission and Parliament play ____ a minor role.
5 With Russia following the path of friendship with the western world,
and the former Communist countries of central and Eastern Europe joining
NATO and the EU, more than half a century of Cold War is well and truly
____ us.
6 The EU has formed an organized partnership with its large

neighbours, such as Russia and the Ukraine, which have ____ prospect of
joining the European Union - at least in the medium term.
7 The attacks ____ Washington and New York on 11 September 2001, and
the terrorist violence that has struck many parts of the world since
then, have profoundly altered the strategic landscape.
8 ____ this shifting strategic landscape, the European Union is trying

to find the right balance between its different national traditions in
the field of security and defence policy.
9 The Convention ____ the future of Europe proposed changes that could
give Europe a much clearer identity.
10 The average weighted level of customs duties ____ industrial goods

entering the European Union is less than 5%.
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1 The institutions and other European bodies are the main ____ in the
EU's decision-making machinery.
A machines
B wheels
C cogs
D assemblies
2 The system needs ____ if the EU is to continue working effectively.
A overhauling
B restructure
C reviewing
D outlining
3 The EU member states have a long way to go before they can speak
with one ____ on major issues like peace and stability.
A accord
B concord
C voice
D principle
4 The EU countries ____ full national sovereignty over their armed

forces.
A render
B retain
C detain
D possess
5 European countries are working more closely together to exchange

information that will help ____ such attacks.
109
A prevent
B preventing
C in prevention
D preventively
6 The import restrictions that EU countries had been allowed to

maintain were steadily abolished, ____ the internal distribution of
'sensitive' imports such as textiles, steel, cars and electronic goods.
A as was
B as were
C as it was
D as they were
7 Because the EU presented a united front in these talks, it was able

to ____ an effective defence of its member states' viewpoint.
A put
B forward
C mount
D embark
8 Europe has to ____ with a certain tendency in the US Congress to

resort to unilateral action that may threaten Europe's global interests.
A contest
B contend
C carry
D put
9 These countries are very important partners for the EU, which has
traditionally chosen to ____ a policy of Mediterranean regional
integration.
A pursue
B contend
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C follow up
D trace
10 The Single European Act ____ convergence between European economies

and the need to limit fluctuations in the exchange rates between their
currencies.
A implied
B inferred
C implicated
D referred
111
C or D.
1 The EU's citizens want (A)to have a greater say in shaping EU

policies, (B) but they find hard to understand the EU's (C) highly
complex decision-making system and they perceive "Brussels" (D) as too
remote from their daily lives.
2 (A) Since the fight against terrorism is a global priority, Europe

today (B) is going beyond its traditional alliances, (C) working out not
only with the United States but (D) also with so many other countries
around the world to support democracy and human rights.
3 The Treaty of Amsterdam (A) tried to set up a procedure introducing

enough flexibility into the area. (B) Enhanced cooperation would enable a
group of countries (C) go ahead with action in which other member states
(D) did not wish to be involved - because of their tradition of
neutrality, for example.
4 The trouble with (A) this apparently pragmatic solution is that the
(B) cohesiveness of the Union as a whole and its (C) credibility on the
world stage would be undermined if European (D) foreign policy becomes a
matter of variable geometry.
5 The NATO alliance, (A) which brings together the US and many EU
countries, (B) has helped mitigate (C) for the impact of trans-Atlantic
trade (D) disputes over farm produce, steel and the aerospace industry.
6 The European Development Fund (A) finances the ACP programmes from a
budget of 13.5 billion euro (B) over a seven-year period. This is in
addition to 9.5 billion (C) euro left over the previous funds and 1.7
billion (D) euro lent by the European Investment Bank.
7 (A) Since the 1 January 2002, more than (B) 300 million European
citizens have been using the euro as a normal part of daily life. It took
only 10 years to get from the Treaty of Maastricht (February 1992), (C)
enshrining the principle of a single European currency, to the point
where euro notes and coins were circulating in 12 EU countries. This is a
remarkably short time (D) to carry through an operation that is unique in
world history.
8 The (A) euro has been replaced currencies that were, (B) for many of
the countries concerned, (C) century-old symbols of their national
sovereignty. (D) In doing so, the new currency has moved Europe closer to
economic union. I
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9 Its mechanisms (A) were weakened by a series of crisis caused by the
instability of the US dollar and (B) the weakness of some currencies that
(C) became prey to speculators, especially (D) at times of international
tension.
10 How could (A) a single market, based on the (B) free movement of
people, goods and capital, (C) be expected to work properly if the
currencies (D) are involved could be devalued?
113
WORD BUILDING TEST: Starting from the word in CAPITAL LETTERS at the end
of each sentence, derive another word that best fits in the context of
that sentence indicated by a blank space (“____”). On your answer sheet,
write the derived word.
1 The task of the European Convention was to propose a new way of

running the European Union after ____. LARGE
2 Their defence systems are firmly in the hands of the national

governments and the only ties between them are those forged within ____
such as NATO. ALLY
3 Decisions in this domain are taken by consensus, allowing individual

states ____. ABSTAIN
4 The continent of Europe is becoming ____ united, and European

countries are working together to fight international crime such as
people smuggling and money laundering. PEACE
5 The United States accepts that, for military action in which America
does not want to be involved, Europe can use some of NATO's logistical
capacity such as its intelligence, communications, command and transport
____. CAPABLE
6 Actual defence and ____ capabilities, such as the nuclear weapons

owned by France and the United Kingdom, remain under national control.
DETER
7 As military technology becomes ever more sophisticated and

expensive, EU governments will find it ____ necessary to work together on
arms manufacture. INCREASE
8 If armed forces are to carry out joint missions, their systems must
be interoperable and their equipment sufficiently ____. STANDARD
9 Several countries support the idea of having an EU President who

would be ____ to speak for the Union in the international arena. POWER
10 The President would be a member or former member of the European

Council and his or her term of office would be longer than the present
six months' ____ of the Council. PRESIDENT
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UNIT 5: STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
SPEAKING: THE STATE
Discussion points
1 Are government and state the same thing?
2 What do you understand by ‘civil society’? What about ‘civil

service’?
3 Is parliament an aspect of the state? What about the trade unions

and the political parties?
4 Which ancient thinker first put forward the concept of an ideal

state, rationally constructed, based on justice and the ‘good’ and ruled
by philosophers?
5 People are ‘political animals’. What do you think this means?
6 ‘Property and the state must be abolished if society is to be free

and just.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Give reasons.
7 ‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ -

Lord Acton, English historian. Do you agree? Why (not)?
115
READING: THE STATE
TEXT 1
Read the following article and decide whether the statements below it are
your decision.
An analysis of worldwide political corruption reveals common

factors. First, in many cases a person, regime or party has been
continuously in power for a long period. Second, and flowing from the
first, power rather than public service has become the main purpose of
the political life. Third, with the retention of power the main
objective, virtually any action is acceptable if it furthers this end. In
other words, morality and probity take second place to the essential
objective of maintaining power. Inevitably, this involves politicians
granting favours to win votes (‘pork barrel’ politics), or granting
favours to obtain money to finance their parties. It is an insidious
process, with one favour demanding another and one shady deal leading to
the next.
The most obvious effect of political corruption is a loss of public

esteem for politicians and political life. The cynical view that
‘politics is a dirty business’ becomes a reality; people enter politics
not from a sense of public service but in pursuit of personal power and
advancement. The debate in the UK about the funding of political parties
illustrates this very well. There is a growing sense that the
Conservative Party has been in office too long for its own and the
nation’s good; that it has become so accustomed to being in power that it
has forgotten why it was put there in the first place; that, because it
wants to remain in power, almost anything is acceptable if power can be
retained.
So it would seem that Lord Acton was right, human nature being what
it is. The evidence is there for all to see, right across the world.
There are probably few politicians whose hands are absolutely clean. Is
there an answer? There is certainly not a simple or instant one. In most
countries it will be a long-haul process. The theory of multiparty
politics, in which there is always an effective opposition ready to take
over should the party in power falter, should be made more of a reality.
Government should be opened up much more to public scrutiny and this
should include the accountability of political parties for their funds.
Most important of all, however, public esteem for politicians should be
restored. This can only be done by the politicians themselves,
demonstrating by deeds that they see themselves as elected to serve,
rather than to profit.
116
1 The longer one holds an important office, the greater the chances
that they are corrupt.
2 Some people would do just about anything to stay in power.
3 The term ‘pork barrel’ politics is exclusively used to refer to

‘horizontally challenged’ politicians.
4 Because all politics is corrupt, everyone refuses to get involved in

it.
5 The British Conservative Party is given as an example of a corrupt

party.
6 There’s no solution to the problem of political corruption.
7 Some countries will find it easier than others to solve the problem
of political corruption.
8 The opposition parties should take their role more seriously.
9 It is the duty of each citizen to inquire into the source of any

party’s funds.
10 To regain the public trust, politicians should change their image.
TEXT 2
Read the following article about state patronage of the arts. Choose from
the list A- K given below it the best phrase to fill each of the spaces
1-7. Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
Where state control of the arts is absolute – as in the Soviet Union from
the time of Joseph Stalin until its demise – the result will always be a
uniform official style, from which it is impossible to deviate 1 … .
Different problems occur in modern liberal democracies where the ideal,
in theory, is for the state to be a disinterested benefactor 2 … for
individuals, and more recently for businesses, to do the same. In
practice this still means 3 …, like the Arts Council in Britain or the
National Endowment for the Arts in the USA, have to make choices about
who deserves funding 4 …. In Britain the Royal Opera House, the Royal
Shakespeare Company, and the Royal National Theatre jointly receive more
money than all the other subsidized theatres 5 …. But even prestigious
national institutions are not secure: funding can be withdrawn or
switched around at will. For all those who applauded the diverse and
modern policy of the recent French Arts minister Jack Lang, 6 … that such
a policy was at the expense of France’s national heritage and the upkeep
of buildings like Chartres Cathedral. Artists may like to be paid, but
they can rarely expect to have a regular income guaranteed. 7 …, but few
employments are so susceptible as arts to the vagaries of both politics
117
and taste. It is worth remembering that both Harmensz van Rembrandt and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died penniless.
A that even if institutions
B not many people can
C that the agents of the state
D not only are they able to
E there were those who claimed
F and to survive
G and their competitors in the commercial sector
H there is reason to believe
I and to offer incentives
J and who does not
K and still continue to work openly
118
WRITING: THE STATE
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Consider the following aphorism: ‘Those who want to hold power are most
likely those least fit to do so.’ Write an essay for you tutor discussing
the meaning of the aphorism and presenting your own opinion. (250 words)
119
0001
Is Europe about people or about business? The process of (1) uniting

Europe began with the political (2) vision of the EU's (3) founding (4)
fathers. Their primary (5) concern was to ensure that (6) war could never
again (7) ravage Europe as it had for centuries (8) past. But to build
the united Europe as effectively and solidly as possible, they adopted a
pragmatic approach, creating European (9) solidarity in very (10)
practical areas: coal and steel; the (11) single market; agricultural
policies; competition.
(1) Give synonyms from unity.
(2) Derive a word from vision which is a synonym for prophet (literally
and figuratively speaking).
(3) Give the forms of the following verbs: to find, to found, to fund.
(3) Fill in the blanks: A long time ago, he ____ the foundation of the
now very successful company. She ____ ____ / ____ a charitable
foundation. The corruption scandal rocked / shook the establishment ____
its foundations. Rumours ____ foundation do not interest me in the least.
(4) Give a figurative term incorporating father and which means

“ancestor”.
(4) Give a synonym for fatherland.
(5) Give expressions and collocations with concern.
(6) Give expressions with war.
(6) For each blank, select the one best choice: These aircraft are
designed to take troops to any theatre / field of war in the shortest
time possible. The long-drawn crisis took the country to the edge / brink
of war. The army was placed on a war footage / footing. The US war on /
against Japan in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attacks. Hitler had
Germany on course / destination for war within weeks.
(7) Give synonyms for to ravage?
(7) Give synonyms for ravages as in expressions like: the ravages of

weather / the rain / war / time, etc.
(8) Fill in the blanks :

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1. Those who forget the past are ____ to repeat it.
2. His family settled there ____ years past.
3. It’s long past ____, child! You should go to sleep.
4. This is a ____ past procedure. Now they got modernized.
5. She’s past her ____ – she’s old and grey now.
6. He’s past his ____. He’s quite ordinary now, no more successes like
before.
7. They used to be very angry with me but now they’re past ____ that.
8. She’s old and quite past ____; senile as well.
9. I can’t put this into words. It’s really past ____.
10. In the ____ and distant past things used to be much different.
11. These events stretch back many years ____ the past.
12. The great artists ____ the past used to be hindered by many social
conventions.
13. In an effort to make a complete ____ with the past, she sold
everything and went to live abroad.
14. The uncovering of the gold treasury by archaeologists gives us a

unique ____ of the past.
15. At some time ____ her past she murdered someone.
16. Ghosts ____ his past wouldn’t let him rest.
(9) Fill in the blank: The strike spread throughout the jail ____
solidarity with my protest.
(10) Give derivatives from practice.
(10) What’s the difference between practice and practise? Similarly,

differentiate between the following: advice, advise, device, devise,
offence, offense, licence, license, defence, defense.
(11) Fill in the blank: She was singled ____ for praise as being the best
of the team.
(12) Fill in the blanks with derivatives from single: That was a campaign
of ____ scheming (= outstanding). We did some ____ boring experiments (=
121
remarkably). The judge heard the husband and the wife ____ and together
(= individually).
0002
(1) Thus was born a Europe that some people have described as
'technocratic', because it needs experts, economists and (2) civil
servants to make it work. Technocratic it may be, but the original vision
would never have become (3) concrete reality (4) had it not been
sustained by the political will of the European institutions.
(1) Give examples of inversion based on the usage of adverbs, negatives,

comparisons and conditions.
(2) What’s the difference between civil and civilian?
(2) What’s the difference between casualty and fatality?
(3) What meanings do you know for the word concrete?
(4) Give other examples of inverted conditional structures.
0003
Most of the objectives (1) laid down in the Treaties have now been
achieved. (2) Gone are the old rules and regulations, tax and customs
barriers that once restricted human activity in Europe and (3) hampered
the free movement of goods, capital and services. Although we are not
always aware of it, (4) each one of us in day-to-day life enjoys the
benefits of the single market: access to a wide range of consumer goods
and products; (5) prices kept down by competition; policies that protect
consumers and the environment; technical standards that tend to be
harmonized (6) upwards.
(1) Give the forms of the verb.
(1) Write the –ing and the –ed forms of the following verbs: lie, tie,
die, dye.
(1) Give a synonymous expression.
(2) Give another such example of an inversion.
(3) Give a synonymous verb and its corresponding noun (also starting with
an h-).
(4) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing every and
each.
1. They meet ____ other day.

122
2. ____ and every person has to make proof of his or her citizenship.
3. They’ve known each ____ for years. They’re great friends.
(5) What do you understand by the following sentence? “Well done. Keep it
up / keep up the good work!”
(6) Discuss the differences: upward / upwards; downward / downwards;

backward / backwards; forward / forwards; toward / towards, etc.
0004
(1) Similarly, people who live in (2) Europe's outlying regions benefit
from the structural (3) funds, such as the European Regional Development
Fund. Europe's farmers have, for decades, benefited from the price
support mechanisms provided by the EAGGF (European Agriculture (4)
Guidance and Guarantee Fund).
(1) Give the opposite (same –ly form).
(2) What do you say, a European or an European? Discuss also unit,

uniform, year, ear, umbrella. What’s the rule?
(3) Do you raise or rise funds for a particular purpose?
(4) What’s the difference between guidelines and guidance?
0005
Almost all (1) expenditure from the EU budget, which came to (2) around
€100 (3) billion in 2003, goes (4) on measures that have an impact on the
daily life of European citizens.
(1) What verb does this noun derive from?
(1) Fill in the blank: We have to cut down expenditure ____ office
stationery.
(2) Give other words and expressions used to approximate.
(3) When do we use singulars and plurals with such words?
(4) Is it possible to replace on with to here?
123
0006
(1) In the early 1970, Community leaders realized that they had to (2)
bring their economies into line to one another and that, (3) at the end,
what was needed was monetary union. At about the same time, however, the
United States decided to suspend (4) the dollar's convertibility in gold.
This (5) ushered a period of great instability on the world's money
markets, made (6) more worse by the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. The
introduction of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979 (7) helped
stabilize exchanging rates and encouraged the Community member states (8)
to implement strictly policies that allowed them to maintain their mutual
solidarity and to discipline their economies.
0007
In 1981 (1) Greece joined with the Communities, followed by Spain and
Portugal in 1986. This (2) made all the more urgent to introduce
'structural' programmes such as the first Integrated Mediterranean
Programmes (IMP), (3) aimed for reducing the economic development gap
between the 12 member states.
0008
(1) In the same time, the EEC was beginning to play a more prominent
international role. With the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the
Pacific (the 'ACP' countries) (2) it signed a serie of conventions on aid
and trade that (3) led to the Cotonou Agreement on June 2000. Instruments
such as these enable Europe, the world's leading trading power, to act –
(4) and be seen act - on the international stage.
0009
A (1) worldwide economic recession in early 1980s brought with it a wave

of 'euro-pessimism'. But hope (2) sprang anew in 1985, while the European
Commission, under its President Jacques Delors, published a 'white paper'
setting out a timetable (3) for completing the European single market
till 1 January 1993. The Communities adopted this ambitious goal and
enshrined it in the Single European Act, (4) that was signed in February
1986 and came into force on 1 July 1987.
0010
The political shape of Europe (1) was dramaticly changed by the fall of
the Berlin wall in 1989. This (2) resulted to the reunification of
Germany on 3 October 1990 and the coming of democracy to the countries of
central and Eastern Europe (3) as they broke away with Soviet control.
124
PRACTICE TESTS
1 Thus was born a Europe that some people have described as

'technocratic', ____ it needs experts, economists and civil servants to
make it work.
2 Technocratic Europe ____ be, but the original vision would never
have become concrete reality had it not been sustained by the political
will of the European institutions.
3 Most of the objectives laid ____ in the Treaties have now been
achieved.
4 But there were still so many activities governed by different

national rules that, on 21 December 1988, the EU member states adopted a
directive ____ up a system of mutual recognition for higher education
diplomas.
5 The first right of a European citizen is the right to move ____, work
and live anywhere in the Union.
6 Apart from activities covered by the prerogative of public

authorities (the police, armed forces, foreign affairs, etc.), any person
who is a national of an EU country can be involved in providing health,
education and other public services ____ in the Union.
7 The European citizen is not just a consumer or someone with an

economic or social ____ to play.
8 Thanks to the Maastricht Treaty, every citizen of the Union -

regardless of nationality - has the right to vote and to ____ as a
candidate at municipal and European parliamentary elections in the EU
country where he or she is living.
9 The Charter promotes equality between men and women and introduces
rights such as data protection, a ban ____ eugenic practices and the
reproductive cloning of human beings, the right to environmental
protection, the rights of children and elderly people and the right to
good administration.
10 This "citizens' Europe" points towards some form of political

Europe, the exact nature of which has ____ to be decided.
125
1 The process of uniting Europe began with the political vision of the
EU's ____ fathers.
A funding
B founding
C fundamental
D foundation
2 ____ are the old rules and regulations, tax and customs barriers
that once restricted human activity in Europe and hampered the free
movement of goods, capital and services.
A passing
B gone
C down
D out of
3 Although we are not always aware of it, each one of us in day-to-day

life enjoys the benefits of the single market: access to a wide range of
____ goods and products; prices kept down by competition; policies that
protect consumers and the environment; technical standards that tend to
be harmonized upwards.
A consumption
B consumers’
C consumer
D consuming
4 Similarly, people who live in Europe's ____ regions benefit from the
structural funds, such as the European Regional Development Fund.
A outlaying
B outlying
C outlaid
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D outlain
5 Europe's farmers have, for decades, benefited ____ the price support
mechanisms provided by the EAGGF (European Agriculture Guidance and
Guarantee Fund).
A from
B of
C in
D after
6 As soon as the Treaty of Rome came into ____ in 1958, European

legislators got to work on laws guaranteeing the free movement of
workers, freedom to provide services and the right of establishment for
professional people.
A action
B force
C office
D power
7 The European Union's commitment to citizens' rights was confirmed in

Nice in December 2000 when the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union was solemnly ____.
A declared
B expressed
C outspoken
D proclaimed
8 A sense of being European and belonging together cannot be

manufactured. It can only ____ from a shared cultural awareness - which
is why Europe now needs to focus its attention not just on economics but
also on culture.
A rouse
B arise
C raise
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D arouse
9 MEDIA+ aims to ____ good this shortfall and to encourage the

distribution of European films and programmes in Europe.
A make
B do
C achieve
D render
10 Thanks to the Schengen Agreement, ____ have been abolished at most of

the borders between EU countries, and this already gives citizens a sense
of belonging to a single, unified geographical area.
A controls
B checks
C cheques
D checkings
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C or D.
1 Every EU citizen, (A) irregardless of nationality, is (B) thus free

to look for work anywhere in the Union. Discrimination (C) on the grounds
of nationality is banned. EU directives have harmonized the rules
allowing people to (D) practise their professions in the Union.
2 This directive applies to all (A) university courses lasting at

least (B) three years period and it is based on the (C) principle of
mutual trust between (D) the national education and training systems.
3 The Treaty of Amsterdam (A) extends the principle of non-

discrimination so that it covers not only nationality (B) and also
gender, race, religion, age and sexual orientation. The Treaty (C)
further strengthens the (D) tenets of equality between men and women.
4 This Charter (A) was made up by a convention composed of members of

the national and European parliaments, (B) representatives of the
national governments and a member of the Commission. (C) Under six
headings - Dignity, Freedoms, Equality, Solidarity, Citizens' rights and
Justice - its 54 articles (D) spell out the European Union's fundamental
values and the civil, political, economic and social rights of the EU
citizen.
5 (A) First steps include the EU's educational and training programmes
such as Erasmus (which (B) promotes student mobility), Comett
(technological education and training) and Lingua, (C) that encourages
people to learn foreign languages. More than (D) two million students
have been able to study abroad thanks to the Erasmus programme.
6 The European Union (A) has set itself the target of having 10% of
(B) its students spend one year in another European country taking (C) a
higher education course. To achieve, more EU funds will have to be
invested in education policy. (D) Further progress in this direction
should be possible thanks to the Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth
programmes.
7 The idea of a 'citizens' Europe' is very new. (A) Making it a

reality will mean, (B) among others, rallying popular support for symbols
that represent (C) shared European identity. EU model (D) driving
licences have been issued in all member states since 1996.
8 Since 1979, the European Parliament has been (A) directly elected by
the universal suffrage. This gives greater democratic legitimacy to the
process of European unification, (B) linking it directly with the will of
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the people. Europe needs to be made even more democratic (C) by giving
Parliament greater role, by creating genuine European political parties
and by (D) giving the ordinary citizen a greater say in EU policymaking
via non-governmental organizations and other voluntary associations.
9 To (A) help bring the EU closer to its citizens, the treaty on

European Union created the post of Ombudsman. The European Parliament
elects the Ombudsman and (B) his term of office is the same as (C)
Parliament's. His (D) role is to investigate about complaints against EU
institutions and bodies.
10 (A) From 1995 and 2001, the US economy grew, (B) on average, by 3.6%
per year – (C) well ahead of Europe's 2.4% annual average (D) over the
same period.
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1 Their ____ concern was to ensure that war could never again ravage
Europe as it had for centuries past. PRIME
2 Almost all ____ from the EU budget, which came to around €100
billion in 2003, goes on measures that have an impact on the daily life
of European citizens. EXPEND
3 ____ work was done to harmonize legislation so that the

qualifications obtained by a doctor, barrister, nurse, vet, chemist,
architect, insurance broker, etc. in any EU country would be recognized
in all others. TAKE
4 The Treaty of Maastricht ____ this right in its chapter on

citizenship. SHRINE
5 What could be more natural than recruiting a British teacher to

teach English in Rome, or ____ a young French graduate to compete in a
civil service exam in Belgium? COURAGE
6 Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a

citizen of the Union. ____ of the Union shall complement and not replace
the national one. CITIZEN
7 The Treaty of Amsterdam goes further in underpinning fundamental

rights. It introduces a procedure for suspending the EU ____ rights of
any country that violates EU citizens' fundamental rights. MEMBER
8 The opening articles are about human dignity, the right to life, to
the 'integrity of the person', to freedom of expression and of ____.
CONSCIOUS
9 The chapter on 'Solidarity' brings together, in an innovative way,

social and economic rights such as the right to strike, the right of
workers to be informed and consulted, the right to reconcile family life
and professional life and the right to health care, social security and
social assistance ____ the European Union. THROUGH
10 The Directive on Television without frontiers gives viewers better

access to television programmes produced in Europe: European broadcasters
must include a certain ____ of European programmes in their schedules.
CENT
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UNIT 6: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
SPEAKING: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
Discussion points
1 What is autocracy? Is there such a thing as a benevolent dictator?
2 Which political system requires that freedom of expression be

mediated by the state in order to maintain the ‘integrity’ of the
collective?
3 Why do you think that communism, as a political system, has failed?
4 What is the political philosophy that tends to support the status

quo and uphold the value of tradition? What do you think is the main
criticism its representatives are usually confronted with?
5 Which political system allows the majority to ‘vote away’ the

freedom of a minority?
6 Which political system promotes opposition between different

interest groups, each trying to obtain the favours of the government, at
the expense of the others?
7 Pride in the nation, anti-Marxism, the cultivation of military

virtues, loyalty to a strong leader. What political philosophy do these
elements describe? If in communism the individual is second to the
society, in fascism the individual is … . Can you complete the sentence?
8 There are countries – especially in the Third World – whose history

is a long battle against this political system.
9 Which political system is considered by many as obsolete and too

expensive to maintain? Why?
10 Do you agree that pacifism is a form of anarchism? Why (not)? What

is the major problem with anarchism?
11 When people are free to choose their own paths, they cannot arrive
at equal ends. How far do you agree? Give reasons.
12 What is the purpose of the government in a republic?
13 Those who have more opportunities also have more freedom. Do you
agree? Why (not)?
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14 In a complex modern society, individual participation in every act
of decision-making is impractical. That’s why individuals can only have
influence on policy making by being active in one of a variety of
leadership or power groups (business, labour, government, etc.). How far
do you agree? Give examples.
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READING: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
TEXT 1
Read the following article and decide whether the statements below it are
your decision.
The civil liberties and political rights of a democratic system foster

and maintain an exchange society. This is a social field, whose medium is
composed of a people's meanings (as those given to the flag or a cross),
values, and norms; its social forces are imbedded in this medium and flow
one way or another, forming various equilibriums among what people want,
can, and will try to get; and conflict or cooperation within this field,
violence or peace, depend on the congruence between these equilibriums
and the expectations people have about the outcome of their actions.
Democratically free people are spontaneous, diverse, pluralistic. They

have many, often opposing, interests pushing them one way or another.
They belong to independent and overlapping occupational, religious,
recreational, and political subgroups, each involving its own interests;
and then they are moved by the separate and even antagonistic desires of
different age, sex, ethnic, racial, and regional strata.
Freedom thus creates a social field in which social forces point in many
different directions, and in which individual interests, the engine of
social behavior, are often cross-pressured. Like the Catholic political
conservative who cannot decide whether to vote for the Episcopalian,
Republican conservative, or the Catholic welfare democrat, many within a
free society must balance often contradictory wants This means that those
very strong interests that drive the individual in one direction to the
exclusion of all else, even at the risk of violence, do not develop
easily. And, if such interests do develop, they are usually shared by
relatively few individuals. That is, the normal working of a
democratically free society in all its diversity is to restrain the
growth across the community of that consuming singleness of view and
purpose that leads, if frustrated, to wide-scale social and political
violence.
Consider by contrast a centralized society with a totalitarian

government. In the main, behavior is no longer spontaneous, but
commanded; in its major, most significant outlines, what one is and does
is determined at the center. The totalitarian model is familiar and need
not be elaborated. Relevantly here, such a system turns a social field
into an organization, with a task to achieve (such as equality,
communism, social justice, development), a management-worker, communal-
obey class division cutting across all society, and all the
characteristics of an organization (coercive planning, plethora of rules,
lines of authority from top to bottom) needed to direct each member's
activities.
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The consequence is to polarize major interests. If the satisfaction of
one's interests depends always on the same "them"; if "they" are
responsible for one's job, housing, quality and cost of food, and even
life and death, then almost all that is important depends on whether one
is in the command or obey class. In effect, these are two poles to which
interests become aligned. Thus, and most importantly for us here, since
most vital interests depend on one center, it is easy to see that the
interests related to this center - who commands and what is commanded -
are matters of grave concern. In a democracy one can shrug his shoulders
over losing: "win some, lose some, I'll do better next time." But in a
highly centralized system, a loss on one issue may result in a loss on
all, including even one's life.
With so much at stake, therefore, violence comes easily, especially to

the rulers who must use repression and terror against possible dissent or
sources of opposition; the gun, prison, or concentration camp are the
major tools of social policy. And, as happened in Poland, in such a
polarized system, conflict and violence involving local interests soon
engage the whole society. For the split between those who command and
obey is a fault line: slippage in one place moves along the whole fault
and causes a social quake - wide-scale conflict and, given the importance
of the issues, quite possibly violence.
1 According to the article, a democratic society relies on an ever-

shifting balance of interests.
2 A democratic society is free of conflict.
3 The case of the Catholic political conservative serves as an example

of the harmful state of indecision promoted by a democratic society.
4 A too large diversity of options leads to alienation and finally to

fundamentalism.
5 A democratic society will discourage any dangerously strong interest

by developing a range of equally strong antagonistic options.
6 The writer assumes that the readers know what a dictatorship is.
7 According to the article, planning and organisation are not the

attributes of a democratic society.
8 A centralized society can only be an antagonistic society.
9 Violence is the weapon of the oppressed against the ruling class.
10 A society under the rule of a totalitarian regime is always under

the imminent threat of internal conflicts.
TEXT 2
135
Read the following text about political systems and violence and then
choose from the list A-L given below it the best sentence to fill each of
the spaces 1-8. Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all.
Are political systems related to collective violence and war? 1 …

Recent theoretical and empirical research confirms the first answer:
those political systems that maximize and guarantee individual freedom
(democracies) are least violence prone; those that maximize the
subordination of all individual behavior to state control (totalitarian
systems) the most, whether socialist or not; and wars do not occur
between democracies.
Known for centuries, a tenet of classical liberalism, the pacific

nature of democracy has became largely forgotten or ignored in the last
half-century. 2 … In part this has been due to the intellectual
defection of Western intellectuals from classical liberalism to some
variant of socialism, with its emphasis on the competitive violence and
bellicosity of capitalist freedoms. Many intellectuals, and in
particularly European and Third World peace researchers, have come to
believe that socialist equalitarianism is the answer to violence. 3 …
Socialism aside, there also has been a rejection of Western values,

of which individual freedom is prominent, and acceptance of some form of
value-relativism (thus, no political system is better than any other). 4
… To accept, therefore, that democratic freedom is inherently most
peaceful, is to the value-relativist, to say the unacceptable - that it
is better. For another, to accept that this freedom promotes non-violence
seems to take sides in what is perceived as the global ideological
struggle or power game between the United States and the Soviet Union.
5 … One of these is the strong, general tendency to see only

national characteristics and overall behavior. Then a nation is rich or
poor, powerful or weak, belligerent or pacific. But most important for
identifying the relationship between freedom and violence is rather the
similarities and differences between two states and their mutual
behavior. 6 …
Another error has been to selectively focus upon the major powers,
which include among them not only several democracies having many wars,
but also Great Britain having the most. 7 … Along with this selective
attention is the tendency to count equally against democracies all of its
wars, no matter how mild or small. Thus, the American invasion of Grenada
would be one mark against democracy; Hitler's invasion of Poland that
initiated World War II would be a similar mark against non-democracies.
This stacks any such accounting against democracy. 8 … Yet, researchers
have done little theoretical testing of this relationship, thus resulting
in their overlooking or ignoring it when it appears in their results.
A We don’t know for sure.
136
B This is now fundamentally answered in one of three ways: yes,
democracies are least violence prone; yes, socialist equalitarianism
assures peace; and no, political systems and violence are unrelated.
C Unfortunately, the researchers have failed to see the advantages of

democracy.
D However, a systematic comparison among all the belligerents and

neutrals in wars, would uncover the greater peacefulness of democracies.
E Nevertheless, the number of peaceful countries is on the rise.
F That democracy is inherently peaceful is now probably believed by no

more than a few prominent peace researchers.
G Thus should be observed a lack of violence and war between

democracies; and the most severe violence occurring between those nations
with the least freedom.
H In some cases this rejection has turned to outright hostility and

particularly anti-Americanism, and thus opposition to American values,
such as freedom.
I Sometimes, America is seen as the country of shallow values.
J A systematic survey of the literature shows significant support for

the inverse relationship between democracy and violence.
K Independent of different ideological or philosophical perspectives,

several interacting methodological errors have blinded intellectuals and
peace researchers to the peacefulness of democracies.
L Others, particularly American liberals, believe that if the

socialist are wrong, then at least democracies are no better than other
political systems in promoting peace.
137
WRITING: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
WRITING A PROPOSAL
Points to remember
Make sure you understand what points you are being asked to cover in your
proposal.
Write a detailed plan of what each section of the proposal should

contain, and its heading. Include:
 An introduction or brief summary of the present situation

 An outline of the proposals you are making (recommendations), together
with other relevant details, e. g. the benefits they will bring
 A conclusion, perhaps in which you state clearly why you think it is
important for your proposals to be adopted
The layout and organization of a proposal is very important, as is the

register of the language used. The tone you adopt should be formal and
impersonal.
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Your local neighbourhood has been having problems with petty crime, and
your local radio station has started a campaign to try to do something
about it. It has invited listeners to send in formal proposals on ways of
reducing crime; these will be considered in a panel discussion on air,
voted on by listeners, and the best one sent to the council.
Write your proposal, identifying the main problems leading to crime in

your area and making formal recommendations for improving the situation,
with reasons. (250 words)
138
0001
FASCISM
A relative newcomer (1919 - Mussolini) fascism is characterized by

elements of (1) pride in the nation, anti-Marxism, the complete rejection
of parliamentary democracy, the cultivation of military (2) virtues,
strong government, and loyalty to a strong leader. (3) Whereas in
communism the individual is second to the society, in fascism the
individual is (4) second to the state or race. It is not 'right wing' (5)
per-se, but is virtually the same as National Socialism (Nazism), it
therefore shares much with Marxism in its view of (6) mankind as a
collective. We all know what can happen when sufficient people in a state
are in (7) eager support of National Socialism, hence its widespread (8)
repulsion.
(1) Fill in the blank: She prides herself ____ being the best.
(1) Fill in the blank: She takes great pride ____ being the best.
(2) Is virtual a derivative from virtue? What’s the adjective from

virtue?
(2) Give expressions with virtue.
(3) This is a way of introducing a contrast. Give alternatives.
(4) Give expressions with second.
(5) Give a less formal synonym.
(6) Give a less sexist term.
(7) Give a synonym.
(8) Give synonyms.
(8) What’s the difference between repulsive and revolting?
0002
SOCIALISM
Sharing the same collective (1) view of mankind as communism socialism is

a political system in which the (2) means of production, distribution and
(3) exchange are mostly owned by the state, and used, at least in theory,
139
on behalf of the people (whose 'good' is decided by the legislator). The
idea (4) behind socialism is that the capitalist system is intrinsically
unfair, because it concentrates (5) wealth in a few hands and does
nothing to (6) safeguard the overall welfare of the majority. This is (7)
fallacious. Under socialism, the state redistributes the wealth of
society in a more equitable way, according to the judgement of the
legislator. Socialism as a system is (8) anathema to most Americans, but
broadly accepted in Europe – (9) albeit in a much diluted (10) fashion.
Socialism is a system of expropriation of private property ((11)
regardless of how this was earned) in order to distribute it to various
groups considered (by the legislator) to (12) warrant it, usually the
unemployed, ill, young and old and significantly, those with (13)
political pull. Since all property must be created before being
distributed, modern socialists allow some free market (14) enterprise to
exist in order to feed from its production. This seems to (15) admit that
the free market is the best way to produce wealth.
(1) Give synonyms.
(1) What’s the difference between opinion of, opinion on and opinion
about?
(1) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing view.
1. She has a very prejudiced view ____ life.

2. He tends to ____ a view of things far wider than most people.
3. He viewed the future ____ gloom.
4. The windows of his condominium look out on to a nice view ____ London.
5. I looked over my shoulder ____ a last view of the mountain ridge.
6. The crowds were pushing forward for a ____ view of the presidential
suite.
7. Viewed ____ a microscope, blood looks nothing like it.
8. Viewed ____ the air, the surroundings of the city are not much.
9. It’s a rather long way, ____ my view, to such an achievement.
10. Civil servants generally ____ the view that experts know best.
11. He’s a high achiever who generally takes a ____ view of mediocre
people.
12. Taking the ____ view, I think the future has a lot of good things in
store.
13. The folder was marked “classified” in view ____ its very sensitive
content (= considering).
14. We exchanged letters with a view ____ setting a date for a face-to-
face meeting.
15. She failed to keep the child ____ view, so he got lost among the
tourists.
16. She flashed her finger at me in ____ view of all the people
gathered.
17. As the crossroads never ____ into view, we knew we were lost again.
18. The exhibition is ____ view (= on show / display) at the gallery
until next week.
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(2) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing means.
1. She means ____. She’s really going to do it.

2. Don’t be too hard on him; he means ____.
3. He’s a big tease, but he doesn’t mean ____.
4. He didn’t mean any ____; it was just a joke.
5. What I’m doing is only a means to a(n) ____, not a purpose in itself.
6. The rig was anchored in place ____ means of steel cables.
7. “Is it all right if I leave now?” “By ____ means, please do.”
8. It is by ____ means certain that he’s the killer.
9. By no ____ of means is he the killer; we have to follow another lead.
10. Living ____ your means like that will soon make you destitute.
11. His was ____ mean achievement; in fact, he was the best of all.
12. He’s ____ mean writer; in fact, he managed to pull off two best
sellers.
(3) Fill in the blank: She received nothing much in exchange ____ her
investment.
(4) Give a verbal synonym and its forms.
(5) Give collocations with wealth.
(6) Give collocations with safeguard.
(7) Which is the noun? What do these words mean? Give other derivatives
as well.
(8) What’s the meaning of this expression? Derive the verb.
(9) Give less formal synonyms.
(10) Give synonyms in this context.
(10) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing fashion.
1. He was another prodigy who, ____ the fashion of his kind, was able to
read at a very early age.
2. Well, he did the job, in the end, ____ a fashion (= just about, not
very well).
(11) Give a synonym.
(12) What’s the meaning of this verb?
(13) Give a synonymous expression (specialized).
(14) Give derivatives from enterprise.
(15) What’s the difference between admit and admit to?
141
0003
MONARCHY
A monarchy is a form of government in which one person has the (1)

hereditary right to rule as head of state during his or her lifetime. In
Western Europe, most monarchy systems transitioned to constitutional
monarchy after World War I, whereby the monarch became (2) essentially a
symbolic head of state with nearly all of the actual executive power (3)
vested in a President or Prime Minister. Countries such as Saudi Arabia
and Jordan continue to invest (4) ultimate authority in the King,
although they share power with other political institutions to varying
degrees. Saudi Arabia represents one of a few absolute monarchies
remaining, where power (5) resides primarily in the King and the royal
family and political competition is outlawed. In other monarchies such as
Jordan, Morocco and Swaziland, the King has ultimate authority but power
increasingly lies in other elected institutions, such as parliament. The
royal family (6) derives its legitimacy from the religion of Islam, and
the state and religion are intertwined, with the Koran considered to be
the country’s constitution. In 1992, King Fahd issued (7) decrees that
were collectively entitled "A Basic System of Government," creating a
"(8) quasi-constitution". The new laws changed the process used to select
the (9) heir to the throne, established a right to privacy, prohibited
(10) infringements of human rights (11) without cause, and set a
framework for a national consultative council (a quasi-legislature) that
is appointed by the King. The council has the formal power to initiate
and review laws and to approve or reject treaties and budgets. However,
it is ultimately subordinated to the Council of Ministers and the King in
(12) practice.
(1) Give derivatives.
(1) If something is hereditary, it is ____ (verb form that starts with

the letter a-).
(2) Fill in the blank: Please give me the ____ of the case (derivative
from essence = basics).
(3) Give a synonym.
(3) What’s a vested interest?
(4) Can this adjective be used as a noun?
(5) Give two synonyms in this context.
(5) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing rest.
1. They smoked for a while, contented and ____ rest.

2. I think we’d better ____ their minds at rest.
3. I think you ought to ____ football a rest for some time.
142
4. She was hoping that they would ____ the topic rest.
5. Hopes rested ____ the new lightweight aircraft.
6. The responsibility for this action rests solely ____ you.
7. Rest ____ that everything is under control.
8. He succeeded in ____ to rest those allegations (= disprove).
9. Now that I’ve given you all the evidence, I’ll rest my ____.
(6) What else can you derive from something?
(7) What’s the verb from this noun and how is it used?
(8) What’s the meaning of this prefix?
(9) Give examples of other nouns followed by the dependent preposition

to.
(10) What’s the difference between infringe and impeach? How are the
verbs used?
(11) Is it possible to say without a cause?
(12) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing practice /

practise.
1. We’d better ____ all this theory into practice.

2. It ____ practice to achieve that.
3. As they say, practice ____ perfect.
4. He was accused of conducting business ____ normal practice.
5. Skating is just a ____ of practice.
6. I felt I hadn’t had enough practice ____ this kind of activity.
7. Preferring to work privately, he’s a doctor with a ____ practice.
8. ____ practice, he exerted little influence over the others.
9. Being ____ of practice, his performance was quite low.
10. A ____-practised musician, there’s no wonder that he got the award.
11. Your accent will improve ____ practice.
12. This will be ____ practice for when you have to make public
speeches.
13. There’s a ____ of practice which has to be known by every
professional new to the business.
14. He has been suspended ____ practice, pending legal investigations.
15. He decided to ____ a new practice in town.
0004
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
A constitutional monarchy is a parliamentary governing system whereby a

hereditary monarch of (1) sovereign shares power with the parliament and
executive. Modern democratic (2) examples include the UK, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, Nepal, The Netherlands, Thailand and
New Zealand. While enjoying formal powers, in these countries, the
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monarchy has (3) evolved over time into almost (4) solely a ceremonial
position and the monarchy does not act without the (5) advice and (6)
consent of the Prime Minister and cabinet (7) advisors. Examples of
formal powers of a monarchy (based on the British model) include:
 (8) Summoning and (9) dissolving Parliament;

 Formally appointing the prime minister;
 (10) Declaring war; and
 Giving royal assent to (11) bills.
(1) Give derivatives.
(2) Give two synonyms for example.
(2) Fill in the blank: This behaviour is illustrative ____ the way in
which the war machine works.
(3) Give the noun from evolve.
(4) Give collocations with sole (= the only one).

sole survivor
(5) Give a formal meaning of the verb to advise.
(6) Give derivatives from consent.
(6) What’s the difference between consenting and consensual?
(6) Give a synonym for consent.
(7) What’s the difference between advisor and adviser?
(8) What is a summons?
(9) Give the noun from dissolve.
(10) Fill in the blank: The U.S. declared war ____ Iraq.
(11) What are bills in this context?
0005
PLUTOCRACY
Government by the wealthy, or by a government primarily influenced by the

wealthy. This system is as open to the social engineers as any other, and
is against any principle of individual liberty. One of the (1) criticisms
of the US political system is that some wealthy people and organizations
exert enormous influence over political power. This is not to be mistaken
for a criticism of the free market or of wealth but as a criticism of
unlimited political power.
144
THEOCRACY
A state or government which is (2) run by priests or (3) clergy. A recent

example of a theocracy is Iran immediately after the overthrow of the
Shah in 1979, when the Ayotollah Khomeini (4) gained power. Theocracies
are becoming more common as Islamic fundamentalism grows in strength, but
its influence is almost (5) non-existent in the West, with the exception
of the USA where the 'religious right' have some influence. The social
engineering is derived from the mythical content of the state religion
and could include any number of (6) atrocities against the individual.
(1) What’s the difference between criticism and critique?
(2) Give collocations / expressions with run.
(3) What’s a clerical job?
(3) What’s a cleric?
(4) Give collocations with gain.
(5) Can you say inexistent as well?
(6) Give derivatives from atrocity.
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0006
The (1) relations between a country’s governing institutions differ

depending on (2) if a country has a presidential, parliamentary or hybrid
political system. Although each country has (3) its own variance about
these political typologies, some conclusions have been drawn about the
(4) characteristics of every of these systems and their relationship to
political conflict and executive and legislative power. These (5)
generalizations are used for helping to determine characteristics of
political systems of other nations, but actual practice varies between
nations within each type.
0007
The United States (US) has a presidential system, (1) as are countries it
has influenced regionally, culturally or militarily, including Latin
American countries and the Philippines. (2) With exception of the US,
presidential systems in the past have (3) often been associated to
politically unstable and authoritative regimes. Countries that have
adopted a (4) form of parliamentary include the United Kingdom (UK), much
of continental Europe, Israel, Japan, (5) much of the former British
colonies in Africa and Asia, and most Caribbean countries.
0008
In a presidential system, political and administrative powers are divided

between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Officials in
these branches (1) serve for different terms of office and different (2)
constituents. In a parliamentary system, Parliament is sovereign and
executive authority (exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet) is
derived from the legislature. In a hybrid system, executive power is (3)
shared with a separately elected President and a Prime Minister.
0009
In a presidential system, the President (who is (1) the chief executive

as well as also the symbolic head of government) is (2) choosen by a
separate election from that of the legislature. The President (3) then
elects his or her cabinet of ministers (or "secretaries" in US parlance).
Ministers/Secretaries are not usually simultaneously members of the
legislature, although their (4) appointment may request the advice and
consent of the legislative branch. Because the senior officials of the
executive branch are separately elected or appointed, the presidential
political system is characterized by a separation of powers, (5)
wherefrom the executive and legislative branches are independent of one
another. Presidents have great control (6) over their cabinet
appointments who serve at the President’s pleasure, and who are usually
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selected for (7) reasons other that the extent of their congressional
support (as in parliamentary systems). In general, the British Prime
Minister (8) is more constraint to represent his/her parliamentary party
in the Cabinet.
0010
The term hybrid (1) generally referring to a system with a separately

elected President who shares executive power with the Prime Minister. The
President usually has the constitutional (2) power to opt the Prime
Minister. If the constitution and / or political circumstances tend to
(3) place the emphasize on the powers of the President, it is sometimes
termed a semi-presidential system. If, (4) on another hand, the Prime
Minister and the legislative leaders enjoy more power (5) than the
President is, it may be referred to as a semi-parliamentary system. For
political reasons, Presidents generally (6) appoint leaders of the ruling
coalition in the post of Prime Minister, although they are not required
to do so constitutionally. The Prime Minister may or may not be a member
of the President’s political party, (7) depending if what party or
coalition of parties maintains the majority in the legislature.
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PRACTICE TESTS
1 Types of anarchism ____ from pacifism to violent revolution.
2 Without an organized objective system of law an anarchic society

might be ____ the mercy of the criminal and the powerful, with only
personal and communal self-defence to rely on.
3 Liberalism supported freedom of the press, religious toleration,

self-determination for nations and ____ was liberalism that established
parliamentary democracy.
4 Liberal 19th century Britain became an industrial power, and a

source for much of the worlds' technological innovation, ____ the
prevalent class structure, due to the freedom and property rights enjoyed
by the people.
5 The current Conservative party (in its current leader) retains some
classical Liberal ideology, ____ without the apparent philosophical
courage to challenge opposing doctrines.
6 In the twentieth century, liberal parties were caught in ____

conservatives and socialists, despite being fundamentally different, and
their influence declined.
7 Now liberalism tends to mean more government rather than ____ and is
characterized by a diluted socialism and / or populism.
8 It can be argued that America has become ____ of a typical European

nation (economically and politically) and has greater freedom simply
because it has yet to decline to European standards.
9 Capitalism is the consequence of individual liberty and

corresponding property rights (the right to own that which you create, or
____ born owning).
10 Capitalism is what happens when people are free ____ the force of
other people.
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1 ANARCHISM / NIHILISM is a doctrine that ____ the abolition of

organized authority.
A organizes
B advocates
C deals
D confronts
2 The ____ problem with anarchism is in maintaining the freedom of the

individual.
A great
B grand
C chief
D lead
3 The Founding Fathers of the USA might be ____ liberals.
A coined
B termed
C classified
D regarded
4 The problem that libertarians need to ____ (and many do) is that of
crime.
A address
B grapple
C struggle
D apply
5 A national system of Law requires a national government/police,

which can ____ problems for Libertarians.
149
A put
B pose
C place
D give
6 Those better ____ do have more opportunities (not more freedom), but
that in no way gives one person (or group) the right to rob them of these
opportunities and give them to another.
A still
B off
C up
D ones
7 A republic is quite a strictly limited system where the people

essentially delegate (note - delegate, not ____) the protection of their
individual rights to a government of their choosing.
A preclude
B prevent
C forfeit
D foil
8 An autocrat requires a massive amount of force (in an army for

instance) to ____ control over an unwilling people.
A exert
B make
C derive
D conduct
9 A well-meaning leader would seek to ____ the social engineering and

return the society toward the sovereignty of the individual.
A undo
B untie
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C unpack
D unrest
10 CONSERVATISM is a political philosophy that tends to support the

status quo and ____ change only in moderation.
A presses
B forwards
C advocates
D pushes
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C or D.
1 (A) Objectivism supports individualism (B) with reference to the

nature of reality and this (C) differentiates it from being just another
political opinion. It is not an easy philosophy (D) to understand, or for
many, to accept it.
2 If some men (A) are entitled by right to the (B) products of the
work of others, it means that (C) those others are deprived of rights and
(D) condemned to slavery labour.
3 All material is centralized and distributed by legislators, (A) the

intention of which being to (B) achieve equal utility (of material) by
all. Freedom of expression tends also to be (C) mediated by state for the
same reasons and to (D) maintain the 'integrity' of the collective.
4 Irishman (A) Edmund Burke in his Reflections on the Revolution in

France (1790), (B) compared society to a living organism that has taken
time to grow (C) and mature, so it should not be suddenly (D) uprooted.
5 Innovation, when necessary, (A) should be grafted onto the strong

(B) stem of traditional institutions and ways of doing things: (C) it is
with infinite caution (D) when any man ought to venture upon pulling down
an edifice which has answered in any tolerable degree for ages the common
purposes of society.
6 In many ways this is reflected in the British Conservative Party,

which (A) broadly supports the industrial Britain's free market
enterprise and a degree of individual autonomy, but also the
expropriation (B) of the property to feed (C) both an aristocratic and a
(D) welfare status quo.
7 It is a philosophy (A) against radicalism of any sort, (B)

irregardless of merit - a 'pleasant' system (C) in an already free
country, it could be (D) a dangerously rigid one in a less free country.
8 There are two major (A) modes of democracy. 1. Government by the

people; a form of government in which the supreme power is (B) retained
and directly exercised by the people. 2. Government (C) by popular
representation; a form of government in which the supreme power is
retained by the people, but is (D) indirectly exercised through a system
of representation and delegation authority periodically renewed.
9 Democracy can rapidly decline to a (A) series of adversarial groups

(B) seeking to have the government favour them, at the necessary (C)
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expense of another. (D) Because we have young v old, healthy v ill,
employed v unemployed, road user v non-road user, county v county, race v
race and so forth.
10 (A) Advocates of pluralism claim that it (B) best serves the

democratic ideal in a complex modern society, (C) in which individual
participation (D) to every act of decision-making is impractical.
153
1 ____ believe that all government is corrupt and evil. ANARCHY
2 In the nineteenth century in Europe, CLASSICAL LIBERALISM stood for

freedom from church and state authority and the reduction of the power of
____ and aristocracy, free enterprise economics, and the free development
of the individual. ROYAL
3 LIBERTARIANISM is a philosophy of freedom, particularly from any

unnecessary ____ imposed (or indeed any restraints) by governmental
authority. RESTRAIN
4 Liberty is one of the ____ rights described in the constitution

("life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"), and it has always been
what America sees itself as standing for. ALIEN
5 Capitalism is readily blamed for various ____ despite having never

been practised in fact, with the closest examples being 19th century USA
and to a lesser extent 19th century Britain. EQUAL
6 Life can be very hard for an ____ man in a desert compared to a rich
man in a European landowners’ family. POOR
7 The purpose of the government is to protect the rights of the people

and in ____ that purpose it derives its just power from the consent of
the people. CHARGE
8 There can be no such thing as the right to ____ someone else. SLAVE
9 A ____ autocrat is a contradiction in terms. VOLITION
10 Strictly speaking, communism means a scheme of ____ the social

conditions of life. EQUAL
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UNIT 7: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE
SPEAKING: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Discussion points
1 What is corporate culture?
2 Which of the following situations is not a warning sign for a

company’s management that their corporate culture may be in trouble? Can
you explain why the others are?
 increased turnover
 difficulty in hiring "A" players
 a full parking lot
 lack of clarity about the company mission
 an "us-them" mentality
 low attendance at company events
 lack of honest communication.
3 How can a manager renew a company culture that is in trouble?
4 "Until we come into contact with another culture, we are probably

blissfully unaware of our own cultural identity - wherever we come from."
How far do you agree with the above statement? Explain.
5 How would you define the concept of ‘culture’?
A. a shared pattern of being, thinking, and behaving.

B. something learned from childhood through socialization.
C. something deeply rooted in tradition that permeates all aspects of any
given society.
D. all of the above
6 Cultural opacity takes place when a cultural concept is unique to a

culture. Can you give examples of such unique concepts and the way they
might affect mutual understanding?
7 Do you think that cultural interaction produces ‘hybrid identities’?

Is this an advantage? Why (not)?
155
8 Which of the following preconceptions usually apply to the Chinese
and which to the American national character? Match them into pairs of
opposites. To what extent does this comparison hold true?
intuitive impatient
self-restrained explicit
dependent rational
group reference criteria eager to change
synthetic aggressive
aesthetic proactive
patient scientific
implicit extroverted
procrastinators individualistic
introverted analytical
desire for eternity independent
9 Take the following example. The chief executive of a US

multinational arrives in Paris to meet the managers of the French company
it has just bought. His address to the audience of expectant French
employees is couched in the language of transatlantic 'direct
management'. He says: "There are two types of people in this room: those
who will stay with us and those who will leave." What do you think the
French employees’ reaction would be? How would the same message be
interpreted in the US?
10 Read the following jokes. What do they tell you about culture
differences?
 There are only three things wrong with the Americans : "They're
overpaid, oversexed and over here."
 The Spanish ambassador said to his Irish counterpart: "Tell me, do the
Irish understand the Spanish concept of ‘manana’? His Irish
counterpart replied doubtfully, "Yes, but nothing so precise."
11 What are global companies and what are their long-term advantages?
How about disadvantages?
12 What is, in your opinion, the meaning of these terms?
156
 24/7 work culture
 e-learning
 Generation Y employees
 face-management skills
 global virtual teams
13 What are the differences and the similarities between male and
female management styles?
14 Is a manager the same as a leader? Can you mention some

qualities of each? Can a manager become a leader? How?
15 Decide whether the following traits are those of a manager (M) or those of a leader (L).
a. Uses personal power to influence the thoughts and actions

of others.
b. Rationally analyzes a situation, developing systematic

selection of goals and purposes (what is to be done).
c. Directs energy toward guiding people toward practical

solutions.
d. Works best when things are somewhat disorderly or chaotic.
e. Uses their accumulation of collective experience to get

where they are going.
f. Sees the world as full of color, and constantly blending

into new colors and shapes.
g. Views work as an enabling process, involving a combination

of ideas, skills, timing and people.
h. Views work as something challenging and exciting.
i. Has an instinct for survival; seeks to minimize risks and

tolerate the mundane.
j. Focuses on what needs to be done, leaving decisions to

people involved.
k. Focuses attention on procedure.
l. Twiceborn; their lives have not always been easy, often

marked by some struggle to attain a sense of order; does
not take things for granted.
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m. Develop themselves through socialization, seeking to
maintain the balance of social relations.
n. Find self-esteem through self-reliance and personal

expression.
o. Able to tolerate aggressive interchanges, encouraging

emotional involvement with others.
16 What is teamwork? Can anyone work alone? What are the qualities of a
good team worker? What about those of a good team leader?
17 Members of a team need to feel valued for who they are, not just
what they do. Do you agree? Explain.
18 The typical corporation spends huge sums of money training its

managers in interpersonal skills, but pays lip service to the critical
issue of trust. What is the paradox here? What is the value of trust in
the world of business?
158
READING: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
TEXT 1
Read the article and then choose the paragraphs A-F that fit into the
any of the gaps.
Requiring people to behave like enemies can stir up mutual enmity that
remains long after a case has been settled or tried, and the lawyers have
moved on. Because our legal system is based on the model of ritual
battle, the object -- like the object of all fights -- is to win, and
that can interfere with the goal of resolving disputes.
1 …
The idea that all public figures should expect to be criticized

ruthlessly testifies to the ritualized nature of such attack: It is not
sparked by specific wrongdoing but is triggered automatically.
2 …
It is easy to find examples throughout history of journalistic attacks

that make today's rhetoric seem tame. But in the past, such vituperation
was motivated by true political passion, in contrast with today's
automatic, ritualized attacks -- which seem to grow out of a belief that
conflict is high-minded and good, a required and superior form of
discourse.
3 …
But look again, cautions Patricia Rosof, a high school history teacher
who admits to having experienced just such a wave of satisfaction. On
closer inspection, you notice that only a few students are participating
in the debate; the majority of the class is sitting silently. And the
students who are arguing are not addressing subtleties, nuances or
complexities of the points they are making or disputing. They don't have
that luxury because they want to win the argument -- so they must go for
the most dramatic statements they can muster. They will not concede an
opponent's point -- even if they see its validity -- because that would
weaken their position.
4 …
I caught a glimpse of this when I put the question to someone who I felt
had misrepresented my own work: "Why do you need to make others wrong for
you to be right?" Her response: "It's an argument!" Aha, I thought, that
explains it. If you're having an argument, you use every tactic you can
159
think of -- including distorting what your opponent just said -- in order
to win.
5 …
But perhaps the most dangerous harvest of the ethic of aggression and
ritual fighting is -- as with the audience response to the screaming man
on the television talk show -- an atmosphere of animosity that spreads
like a fever. In extreme forms, it rears its head in road rage and
workplace shooting sprees. In more common forms, it leads to what is
being decried everywhere as a lack of civility. It erodes our sense of
human connection to those in public life -- and to the strangers who
cross our paths and people our private lives.
A I once asked a reporter about the common journalistic practice of

challenging interviewees by repeating criticism to them. She told me it
was the hardest part of her job. "It makes me uncomfortable," she said.
"I tell myself I'm someone else and force myself to do it." But, she said
she had no trouble being combative if she felt someone was guilty of
behavior she considered wrong. And that is the crucial difference between
ritual fighting and literal fighting: opposition of the heart.
B Staging everything in terms of polarized opposition limits the

information we get rather than broadening it. For one thing, when a
certain kind of interaction is the norm, those who feel comfortable with
that type of interaction are drawn to participate, and those who do not
feel comfortable with it recoil and go elsewhere. If public discourse
included a broad range of types, we would be making room for individuals
with different temperaments. But when opposition and fights
overwhelmingly predominate, only those who enjoy verbal sparring are
likely to take part. Those who cannot comfortably take part in
oppositional discourse -- or choose not to -- are likely to opt out.
C This aggressive intellectual style is cultivated and rewarded in our

colleges and universities. The standard way to write an academic paper is
to position your work in opposition to someone else's. This creates a
need to prove others wrong, which is quite different from reading
something with an open mind and discovering that you disagree with it.
Graduate students learn that they must disprove others' arguments in
order to be original, make a contribution and demonstrate intellectual
ability. The temptation is great to oversimplify at best, and at worst to
distort or even misrepresent other positions, the better to refute them.
D Smashing heads does not open minds. In this as in so many things,

results are also causes, looping back and entrapping us. The
pervasiveness of warlike formats and language grows out of, but also
gives rise to, an ethic of aggression: We come to value aggressive
tactics for their own sake -- for the sake of argument. Compromise
becomes a dirty word, and we often feel guilty if we are conciliatory
rather than confrontational -- even if we achieve the result we're
seeking.
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E The roots of our love for ritualized opposition lie in the
educational system that we all pass through. Here's a typical scene: The
teacher sits at the head of the classroom, pleased with herself and her
class. The students are engaged in a heated debate. The very noise level
reassures the teacher that the students are participating. Learning is
going on. The class is a success.
F The same spirit drives the public discourse of politics and the
press, which are increasingly being given over to ritual attacks. On Jan.
18, 1994, retired admiral Bobby Ray Inman withdrew as nominee for
secretary of defense after several news stories raised questions about
his business dealings and his finances. Inman, who had held high public
office in both Democratic and Republican administrations, explained that
he did not wish to serve again because of changes in the political
climate -- changes that resulted in public figures being subjected to
relentless attack. Inman said he was told by one editor, "Bobby, you've
just got to get thicker skin. We have to write a bad story about you
every day. That's our job."
TEXT 2
Read the article about differences in business styles and answer the
questions below it, by choosing the best alternative (A, B, C or D).
Underline the parts of the text that justify your answer.
It was breakfast time in Tokyo; a sublime autumnal day. In the distance,

the snowy crevices on Mount Fuji appeared to be ruffled white feathers
adorning the graceful neck of a proud grey bird. A perfect day, but one
that would soon turn into a comedy of errors for one sales executive.
Directly opposite my breakfast table were four businessmen engaged in

what I will loosely describe as a sales meeting. One was a Western
executive - I'll call him Mr. X - and the other three were Japanese. Mr.
X is the seller. I overheard him making references to Ghana, Congo, South
Africa and aluminum. Of the three Japanese, one is a senior gentleman -
let me call him Y-san. He is accompanied by two young associates who do
most of the talking while he listens - a typical scene in Japanese
business.
Let me jump ahead to the end of the sales meeting - the Japanese
apologize profusely, but say they have to leave. Mr. X's head and
shoulders slump down, and he sighs a heavy sigh as he gathers up his
spreadsheets. He has given his all, but he is defeated. He leaves the
meeting empty handed, frustrated, and confused. What went wrong? There
were too many mistakes to detail here, but let me highlight four.
Mr. X appears to know little about Japanese culture except for the fact
that gifts are sometimes exchanged. He probably picked up this
information from a simplistic list of do's and taboos, or from a friend
who heard it from a friend of a friend or a friend's uncle's nephew.
About three quarters of the way through the meeting, X is getting
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desperate because the Japanese are giving him no positive signals. As a
last resort, he pulls three crushed and unwrapped gifts out of his bag
and says, "I hear you people like to receive presents." The words chosen
and his tone are insulting, and he has obviously given very little
thought to the gifts. They could have been hurriedly picked up at the
airport for his children. Or he could have been carrying around a bag of
trinkets for anyone he might meet. The whole exchange feels like a clumsy
bribe. Y- san and the other Japanese are polite, but hardly impressed
with such a crude gesture.
When I first saw X in action, his sales pitch was in full flow. He was
speaking English so fast that I could barely understand what he was
saying. One of the young Japanese was trying to translate, but his
inability to keep up was obvious to everyone, except X. X had learned his
sales pitch by heart, and nothing - not even a language difference - was
going to stand in his way. He obviously couldn't relate to the
communication challenges faced by the Japanese.
Not only was the sale's pitch too fast, it was a direct, 'in your face,'
and take no prisoners, hard sell. "Look, I'm leaving Tokyo for Korea this
afternoon. If you don't take this opportunity now it'll be gone. If you
lose this, I'll feel sorry for you Y-san because this is so obviously in
your best interests. You can't lose. Look at the spreadsheet again, and
see if you don't agree with me that this is right for you." X was in
Tokyo to do a deal, make his numbers, complete a transaction. No effort
was being made to build a relationship, to patiently develop trust. He
only knew one way to sell. He wasn't making it easy for his customer to
buy from him; he was only making it easy for himself by sticking to his
habitual, familiar way of working.
I had been talking with a Japanese taxi driver the night before about the
importance of relationships in doing business in Japan. "Yes, you need
ninjo - human relationship," he said. Actually, I thought he had said
ninja and so I replied, "My children used to dress up like them for
Halloween." He looked at me very puzzled and said slowly - "How you dress
your children as human relationship?" One of those classic lost in
translation moments. We both had a long and hearty laugh at my
misunderstanding. When X found he was misunderstanding the Japanese or
being misunderstood he became defensive and hostile. "I know what I said.
You're putting words into my mouth. That's absolutely not what I said."
And so it went on. Rude, crude and utterly ineffective. If we are going
to send some of our sales people into unfamiliar cultural territory, we
should:
 Select those who fully understand that selling is a relationship

 Provide them with self-awareness tools so that they can appreciate how
their personality and background can foster or inhibit a cross-
cultural relationship
162
 Provide them with training and coaching to develop cross-cultural
communication, presentation, and negotiation skills - in general, and
targeted to specific cultures
 Provide informational resources for just-in-time and ongoing learning
If we don't do these things for our sales people, we are wasting their
time, our customer's time, and our resources. In an age when reputation
is so important, we must groom them to be brand ambassadors and not just
frequent flyers.
1 The article describes a business meeting between
A. three business people from Japan

B. two salespersons in Western Europe
C. two junior associates and two senior managers
D. business people from different countries
2 Which of the following was not necessarily a mistake made by Mr. X?
A. learning his speech by heart

B. buying gifts for the Japanese partners
C. being direct and familiar
D. using his American sense of humour
3 Why did Mr. X decide to take out the gifts?
A. he had heard that exchanging gifts is a must in Japan

B. he was trying to obtain some reaction of approval
C. he thought the gifts would help him close the deal
D. he took his partners’ silence for a positive answer
4 Why didn’t the Japanese partners understand Mr. X?
A. he was speaking English

B. he was speaking in figures
C. he did not stop to translate
D. he was too rapid and impatient
5 What do we learn about the Japanese business style?
A. it relies on hard bargaining

B. it is very rigid and formal
C. it builds on personal trust
D. it demands a lot of effort to learn
6 According to the article, ‘lost in translation’ probably means
A. being unable to adapt to another culture

B. confusion caused by people’s seemingly irrational actions
C. becoming aware that some words are not translatable
163
D. miscommunication because of insufficient knowledge of a foreign
language
7 In the author’s opinion,
A. not everyone can be a salesman

B. business people who do not understand cultural differences should not
travel abroad
C. understanding how cross-cultural relationships work can be learnt
D. salespersons should fly abroad frequently in order to learn about
different business styles
164
WRITING: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
WRITING A MEMO
TASK 1:
Put the lines A-G in order to reconstruct a company memo about a problem
with the cost of phone calls. Pay attention to the memo layout.
MEMO
To: All staff

From: Office Manager
Date: 26th January
Re: Cost of phone calls
The company telephone bill for the last quarter is …
A. calls were made to Australia and other

B. be personal calls. Any member of staff found
C. numbers given in the detailed statement shows that several
D. up by 75% over the previous quarter. An analysis of the
E. making personal calls on company phones, other
F. countries with which we do not do business. Clearly, these can only
G. than emergency calls, will be asked to cover the cost of the calls.
Points to remember
The language used in ‘business-type’ messages like memos is usually more

polite and formal than that used in messages to friends.
The style must always be clear and unambiguous.
TASK 2: HOME ASSIGNMENT
As College Principal, you have received complaints about some students’

inappropriate use of the computer room. Write a memo for the attention of
the Student Welfare Officer about this subject:
 telling him/her what kind of complaints have been made

 reminding him/her of the real purpose of the computer room
 giving instructions or warnings
Write 100 words.
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0001
Is your international team (1) dysfunctional? You've been going through a

culture clash which is now (2) crippling your team activities and (3)
jeopardizing the entire project? Is your company (4) headed for trouble?
Long before a business fails, you can count on warning signs to start
flashing. "If you have your eyes open and know what to look for, you can
anticipate and avoid big problems," says Fran Lipson, a vice president
and managing director (5) with Boston-based Burke Strategic Consulting
Group who specializes in turning around businesses that have hit a wall
and are nearing collapse. Although (6) there's no disputing the role of
shaky finances in small-business failures, there are other issues that
may be equally important. "Human issues--problems in the corporate
culture--can play a big part, too," says Lipson.
(1) Is this form correct? Does the form disfunctional exist?
(1) Give more derivatives with the prefix dis-.
(2) Give collocations with cripple / crippled / crippling.
(3) What’s the noun from this verb?
(3) Give synonyms.
(3) What’s the difference between hazard and haphazard?
(3) Give collocations / expressions with hazard.
(3) Give derivatives from danger and peril.
(4) Give examples of other verbs or verbal expressions with the dependent
preposition for.
(5) Fill in the blank with more alternatives: He works ____ the BBC. He’s
____ the BBC.
(6) Give another example of the structure there’s no… (verb).
0002
When a company's culture--its internal (1) belief system, values and

methods--turns sour, productivity tumbles. "The culture in trouble is one
that's turned away from the common, collective good and focused on
egocentric (2) concerns," says John Nirenberg, Ph.D., business consultant
and executive director/chair for the department of doctoral studies in
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business at the University of Phoenix. Put more (3) plainly, in a company
that's going bad, workers stop putting out any effort on behalf of the
business as a whole; they do what's required to get by in their jobs and
nothing more. "That's not an attitude that (4) spawns business growth,"
says Nirenberg. Even so, discovering this before the disease turns
terminal may be difficult for an entrepreneur because the (5) desire to
(6) succeed can be so powerful, it overwhelms the ability to (7) perceive
trouble spots. "Entrepreneurs just don't pay enough attention to their
company's developing culture. By the time they notice what's occurred,
the culture has fully formed and it can be very (8) hard to change," says
Ron Riggio, director of the Kravis Leadership Institute, a leadership
research organization at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont,
California.
(1) The verb from belief is believe. Give other examples of letter
changes in transition from a noun to a verb.
(2) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences containing concern.
1. The exodus of people was ____ great concern ____ the government.
2. She shows a true concern ____ others.
3. It would have been lunacy to fight for a cause that was ____ of their
concern.
4. She’s a difficult woman to please as ____ as men are concerned.
5. She’s a difficult woman to please ____ men are concerned.
6. The film is concerned ____ a naturalistic depiction of sexual mores.
(3) Give derivatives from plain.
(3) Give collocations with plain (adjective).
(5) Give derivatives from desire.
(6) Give derivatives from succeed.
(6) Give sample sentences to illustrate verb patterns with succeed,

insist, recommend, suggest, object.
(7) Give derivatives from perceive.
(8) Discriminate among collocations with hard / hardly, heavy / heavily,

powerful / powerfully and strong / strongly in the following blanks.
Sometimes, more answers are correct.
SET 1
1. These are the ____ facts.

2. They were presented with ____ evidence.
3. This is ____ proof of abuse in the police forces.
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4. Please send me a ____ copy of the letter.
5. As opposed to soft drinks, ____ drinks are prohibited.
SET 2
1. ____ liquor is not sold on the premises.

2. His ____ ambition is to become the best of lawyers.
3. ____ winds swept through the country.
4. It’s been raining ____.
5. This ____ emphasizes the features of the portrait.
SET 3
1. ____ smokers and drinkers risk a lot.

2. I would ____ advise that you should see a doctor about that rash.
3. He’s quite a ____ politician.
4. He’s so ____ that he can lift a small-sized car.
5. There’s a ____ indication that things are getting better.
SET 4
1. His speech was ____ laden with irony.

2. His speech was ____ suggestive of bravado.
3. Her ____ determination to succeed is well-known.
4. The patient was bleeding ____ on the operating table.
5. He feels very ____ about abortion.
SET 5
1. They were affected by her ____ influence.

2. The ____ realities of the war left him severely depressed.
3. ____ currencies are used in many emerging economies.
4. I ____ know what to do next.
5. The ____ impact created a 40-kilometre-wide crater.
SET 6
1. She’s a ____-minded person.

2. He’s a ____-hearted man.
3. He was in short supply of ____ cash.
4. When he looked ____, he could see how many stars there were.
5. Think ____!
SET 7
1. I hurried upstairs with my sister ____ behind me.

2. The economic crisis followed ____ upon / behind the war.
3. He had that ____, ironic smile.
4. Don’t be so ____ on her! She’s just made a slip, that’s all.
5. Those were ____ times for the country.
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SET 8
1. Cocaine and heroine are ____ drugs.

2. This is a financially ____ company.
3. The director suggested a ____ cast of actors.
4. His ____ points are many.
5. Maths was always his ____ subject.
SET 9
1. They were ____ supporters of that team.

2. There’s a ____ argument in favour of what I’ve just said.
3. She was a very ____ candidate in the elections.
4. He has a ____ Scottish accent.
5. There’s a ____ chance / possibility / likelihood they’ll succeed.
SET 10
1. I like ____ tea and coffee.

2. This pill is ____ enough to alleviate your pain.
3. I can’t stand ____ light.
4. He has a ____ voice.
5. I don’t like ____ colours.
SET 11
1. A ____-willed man, he always had his own way.

2. ____ rainfalls have led to the dyke bursting at the seams.
3. The dying man was breathing ____.
4. I fell so full after that ____ meal!
5. He was walking ____ through the snow.
SET 12
1. You’ve been a bit ____ on the mascara, haven’t you?

2. He’s given to ____ humour, lacking so much in subtlety.
3. Sometimes I don’t understand these ____ philosophical texts.
4. You’ll have to use ____-duty batteries in that machine.
5. He claims to be an all-____ party member.
SET 13
1. That was a ____ blow!

2. That light bulb is very ____.
3. She was a ____ swimmer.
4. The party adopted a ____ line.
5. After a ____ collision, both cars were badly damaged.
0003
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Fighting the (1) tendency to ignore problems and seeing problems when
they're still small enough to be quickly and easily (2) remedied is
crucial. So how do you monitor the business on an (3) ongoing basis?
"Stay in synch with your employees," says Lipson. "Get out among your
employees and listen," agrees John Peterson, managing director of the Los
Angeles executive search firm Greger / Peterson. "A CEO told me, `Every
good decision I made, I was out in the (4) field; every bad decision I
made, I was sitting at my desk in my office.' Talk to people at every
level in your organization. And listen hard to what they're telling
you."
(1) Give synonyms for tendency.
(1) Fill in the blank with as many alternatives as you can to the meaning
“likely to be affected by”: He is ____ colds.
(3) What’s the meaning of this word?
(4) Give collocations and expressions with field.
0004
"The worst mistake a leader can make is to avoid (1) addressing the
problems," says Dess. When management shuts their eyes to the warning
signs, they're rushing the business down the path toward collapse. How do
you (2) renew a culture that's in trouble? A first step is to reaffirm
the company's missions and goals--to get back in touch with why the
business exists and what its ultimate (3) purpose is. Next, become more
open with employees. "Gather them together and listen to what's (4) on
their minds," says Dess. "Admit you don't know everything and that you
need their help in finding out what the problems are and how to (5) fix
them. That's the main step." You probably won't be able to fix all their
concerns in a single meeting--or even two or three--but when a channel
for direct communication is reestablished, it's a big step toward healing
what (6) ails your business and putting it firmly (7) on the track to
good health.
(1) Give synonyms for address as used in this context.
(2) What’s the noun from renew?
(3) Give synonyms for purpose.
(4) What’s the difference between on one’s mind and in one’s mind?
(5) What’s the difference between fixture and fixation?
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(7) If you were to replace course for track, what changes would you have
to make to the structure in the text?
0005
At the humorous level cultural differences provide very funny stories.

However, when shock becomes clash, levels of efficiency are hit and
companies and individuals can suffer. There are only three things wrong
with the Americans: "They're overpaid, oversexed and (1) over here" is
the epigram which immortalizes the culture clash between the English and
the Americans during World War II. The war is over but in the eyes of
many English and American businesspeople the clash between them goes on.
Although culture clashes are not (2) exclusive to UK/US relations,
tensions manifest themselves whenever an expatriate from one culture goes
to live and work in another. These tensions and clashes can translate
into a considerable (3) drop in efficiency to the expatriate employee -
as much as 50 per cent in the first few months, say Paris-based
consultants Inter Cultural Management Associates. ICM has (4) consulted
with multinationals across the globe and advised expatriates for 18
years. Their clients say bad clashes between cultures can affect not only
expatriate workers but also international (5) businesses.
(1) What’s the purpose of the word over?
(2) Give a synonymous expression or a paraphrase.
(3) What’s a dropout?
(4) What’s the difference between consult and consult with?
(5) What’s the difference between business and businesses?
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0006
Acquiring new information in conflict negotiation (1) means both the

parties have to learn to listen mindfully to each other (2) even when
they were disagreeing. In an intercultural conflict situation,
disagreeing parties have to learn to (3) listen attentive to the cultural
assumptions that are being expressed in the interaction. They have to
learn to listen responsively or ting (the Chinese word for "listening"
means attending closely with our "ears, eyes, and a focused heart") to
the sounds, (4) tones, gestures, moves, nonverbal nuances, pauses, and
silence in a given situation. They parties have to learn to mindfully
notice the verbal, nonverbal, and meta-nonverbal contexts that are being
conveyed in the conflict negotiation process. It is also important to
create new categories or contexts in "minding" our listening process.
Creating new categories in conflicts means learning to create or apply
culturally-sensitive concepts such as low or high-context communication
styles in making sense of conflict variation behaviors. Finally, being
aware that multiple perspectives exist means individuals can apply
different frameworks (such as both (5) individualistic and collectivistic
perspects) in analyzing and interpreting a conflict (6) situation and
come up for with a creative, synergistic solution.
0007
Mindful reframing means that both individualists and (1) collectivists

need learning how to "translate" the other's verbal and nonverbal
messages from the context of the other's (2) cultural viewspoint.
Reframing also means conflict parties need to reprioritize their goals
(3) after they mindfully observing and listening to the viewpoints and
expectations of their conflict opponents. For example, after listening to
the complaint from a collectivist, (4) an individualist may realize it
that the friction lies not in content goal issues but in identity respect
/ disrespect issues. (5) Converse, after understanding the complaint from
an individualist, a collectivist may realize that an individualist really
wants solution closure (6) and is in neither way trying to "slight" the
face-image of the collectivist. Both parties should also remember that
many of these conflicts are based on out-of-awareness cultural habits and
scripts.
0008
Intercultural conflict parties should (1) learn to cultivate in face-

management skills in dealing with intergroup negotiations competently.
Face-management skills (2) basically addresses the fundamental core issue
of social self-esteem. All human beings like to be (3) respected and be
approved in their daily interactions. However, how they behaviorally show
such self-respect needs and concerns as well (4) as how others accord to
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them respect and dignity very likely differs from one culture to the
next. Individualists may want to learn to "give face" to the
collectivists in the conflict negotiation process. Giving face (5) means
not humiliate others, especially one’s opponents, in public. It also
means acknowledging collectivists' ingroup concerns and obligations.
Collectivists, on the other hand, may want to reorient facework concerns
and learn to pay more attention to the (6) substantive issues at the
stake. Collectivists may also want to recognize that individualists often
separate substantive issues from socioemotional issues in conflict.
Conversely, individualists may want to pay more attention to the
interlink between substantive issues and facework / relational issues
when negotiating disagreements with collectivists. Thus, although the
concern for face maintenance is universal, how we manage face issues (6)
is a cultural-specific phenomena.
0009
Another skill that is critical in (1) intercultural conflict competently

is that of trust-building. If conflict parties (2) do not trust each
other they tend to move away (cognitively, affectively, and physically)
from each other (3) rather than struggled side by side with each other in
the negotiations. Trust is (4) often view as the single most important
element of a good working relationship. When we do not trust someone's
(5) words or their actions, we also tend to automatically (6) turn off
our listening devises. We may hear the words, but we are not taking them
in. Trust-building is (7) both a mindset and a communication skill
either.
0010
Difficulties are often exacerbated (1) when cultures appear closely or

not too dissimilar. The (2) impact of efficiency may not be as severe but
the difficulties can be more insidious. Elizabeth Jardine, Senior
Consultant (3) with ICM alikens it to an invitation to dance. Imagine,
she says, (4) to be asked to dance the tango by an Argentine. "You'd
probably (5) refuse to do in public until you'd had some lessons first.
However, you wouldn't have the (6) same inhibitions if were asked to
waltz by an American - only to find yourself (7) tripping against your
partner's feet and feeling embarrassed in public because the Americans
(8) dance waltz differently from the English." The problem is that where,
for example, American expatriates going off to Moscow may be given (9)
all the sorts of help, those going to an apparently similar culture, such
as the UK, are far less likely to (10) get any help how to cope.
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PRACTICE TESTS
1 The war is over but ____ the eyes of many English and American
businesspeople the clash between them goes on.
2 Although culture clashes are not exclusive to UK/US relations,

tensions manifest themselves whenever an expatriate from one culture goes
to live and work in ____.
3 Tensions and clashes can translate into a considerable drop in

efficiency to the expatriate employee - as ____ as 50 per cent in the
first few months.
4 ICM has consulted with multinationals ____ the globe and advised
expatriates for 18 years.
5 The impact on efficiency may not be as severe but the difficulties

can be ____ insidious.
6 Clashes come ____ to subtleties like the level of individualism in

English and American cultures.
7 The English and Europeans tend to emphasize the team ____ the
individual - at least in rhetoric and often in practice.
8 English humour may delight in some quarters and in ____, may at best
irritate and at worst offend.
9 Surveys consistently show that the single biggest factor in failed

expatriations is unhappiness of spouses whose problems tend to be much
greater than ____ of their working partners.
10 Veteran expatriates insist that the real factor which decides

culture shock is not ____ much cultural difference as how much
preparation the expatriate has done before leaving - including
educational, cultural and psychological preparation.
174
1 There is danger in applying national stereotypes, whether it's the

so-called English stiff upper ____ or the French predilection for long
lunches.
A tongue
B lip
C sleeve
D side
2 It is fundamental to understand that one's way of doing things may

not be the most acceptable in a ____ culture.
A host
B hostess
C hosting
D hostage
3 An expatriate is not a messiah figure, eagerly ____ by the local

population, and what he or she says will not automatically be taken as
the gospel truth.
A waited
B awaited
C searched
D looked
4 The danger lies between being inflexible by trying to duplicate the

way you live at home and trying to live like a local and ____ the risk of
being labelled an impostor.
A run
B have
C get
D commit
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5 Learn as much as possible about the culture before you go so as to
fit in as ____ you can upon arrival.
A best
B better
C much
D more
6 Competitive transnational activity continues to profoundly ____

project management.
A impact
B effect
C hit
D strike
7 First and ____, it is necessary to eliminate distrust among ethnic

groups.
A foremost
B utmost
C innermost
D outermost
8 Such a visionary leader should also be ____ conflict management,

empowerment, inclusiveness and collaborative negotiating skills.
A an adept of
B an adept at
C adept of
D adept at
9 Respect is important, and the successful leader will suspend hasty

judgment, especially if at the ____ an unfamiliar view may not appear to
make sense or contribute to the issue at hand.
A onset
B outset
176
C set-up
D upset
10 The unique characteristics of these car ____ are the result of

differences in the approaches, values and preferences of both engineers
and consumers.
A brands
B marks
C models
D types
177
C or D.
1 (A) While working with geographically dispersed teams, project

professionals must (B) deal with many new challenges: language barriers,
time differences, (C) socio-economic, political and religious diversity
and (D) even unfamiliar eating habitats.
2 It is (A) of utmost importance for (B) all project personals to be

aware of these cultural differences and to (C) take most care to
minimize, and perhaps avoid, the potential (D) attendant risks.
3 (A) The project manager must articulate, in verbal and (B) non-
verbal ways, a sense of (C) pride in multiethnic team members and
enthusiasm about their potential, given their diverse backgrounds, (D)
skills and tacit knowledges.
4 Project success (A) is dependant on effective communication and

sharing of knowledge among members. Explicit knowledge (B) is that which
is objective, available and (C) largely impersonal. This is knowledge
that can be codified (D) as intelligible visual and audible information.
5 Codification of knowledge (A) greatly improves the likelihood of its

transfer and (B) diffusion throughout the project. It makes it easy to
access and share among project participants. (C) Knowledge thus
reinforces its role as the key resource of an (D) increasing information-
driven, globalized world.
6 (A) Differences in approaches, values and expectations (B) between

customers, suppliers and team members (C) from different cultural
backgrounds have resulted (D) to many project failures.
7 By understanding the impact of (A) cross-cultural differences,

engineers can (B) increase in probability of an international (C)
venture’s success — from (D) setting up a new plant abroad to selling
advanced equipment, products or services to non-Canadian clients.
8 The rapid globalization of (A) the world’s economics has had a

significant (B) impact on the way Canadian engineers work, (C) bringing
them more frequently in contact with non-Canadian clients, suppliers and
peers. While offering opportunities, globalization (D) also poses
significant challenges for Canadian engineers.
9 Engineers are trained to (A) focus on technical data, scientific

evidence and hard facts. Because the laws of physics are universal, (B)
and tend to expect that nationality and cultural differences will not
178
play a significant role (C) in the practice of engineering. After all, a
car is a car and it performs the same transportation function (D) the
world over.
10 (A) Yet car designs differ significantly from country to country.

For example, the models sold by General Motors and Ford in Europe (B) are
quite different except their North American counterparts. Few people (C)
mistake cars designed by such Italian manufacturers as Ferrari and
Lamborghini (D) for cars designed by such Swedish manufacturers as Volvo
and Saab.
179
1 Is your international team ____? You've been going through a culture

clash which is now crippling your team activities and jeopardizing the
entire project? FUNCTION
2 Some ____ just don't pay enough attention to their company's

developing culture. ENTERPRISE
3 Difficulties are often exacerbated when cultures appear too ____.

SIMILAR
4 Until we come into contact with another culture, we are probably

____ unaware of our own cultural identity. BLISS
5 Studies on the image of businesspeople abroad show that, as far as

top management is concerned, the image of the French executive is not
____ positive. NECESSARY
6 This attitude, ____ common among some French executives, may explain
why the French image abroad can leave a lot to be desired. EMBARRASS
7 Some consider the most important quality of an expatriate is

adaptability, second is technical brilliance and third is ____ of the
language. MASTER
8 Being 'on duty' can be exhausting. So, take regular 'time-outs' to

____. JUVENILE
9 This means recognizing the impact of cultural factors on

communications, being aware of verbal and nonverbal differences and
recognizing cultural differences that could precipitate ____. UNDERSTAND
10 Because of ____ international boundaries and trans-border flows of

capital, multi-cultural projects are becoming the norm. PORE
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UNIT 8: MEETINGS
MEETINGS QUIZ
How much do you know about meeting procedures? Decide whether the
following statements are true or false. Discuss your answers with your
colleagues.
1 Voting and motions are the most important elements in a meeting.
2 A quorum is the minimum number of people required to make decisions

on behalf of the group.
3 All items of business that require a decision must be presented to

the meeting as motions.
4 It is only the carried motions that must be minuted.
5 If the motion is passed it becomes a resolution.
6 It is the chairperson who decides on the most appropriate way of

voting.
7 Throughout the meeting, the chairperson should also get involved in

the discussion and express their opinion.
8 When chairing formal meetings the chairperson should ensure that

apologies are called for and read out, and a record of those present is
kept.
9 When chairing informal meetings or discussions the chairperson

should examine each option individually and objectively and reach a
conclusion for that option.
10 When recording the minutes of the meeting, the secretary must make a
note of each motion carried.
11 During discussions, the group should not evade disagreement.
12 At all times there should be a leader to express the opinion of the

majority.
13 In the case of weak groups, individuals prefer not to express their

disagreement until after the meeting.
14 It is important that the members of the group are aware of their

effectiveness as a team.
15 Meetings are about power struggles and point scoring.

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THE FORMAT OF A MEETING AGENDA
The following are suggested elements that should make up a meeting

agenda. Put them in the correct order, from 1 (the beginning) to 12 (the
end of the meeting).
a. Welcome
b. Matters arising not on the agenda
c. Inward and outward correspondence
d. President or Chairperson’s report
e. Title: Meeting of _____________ Club Committee at place, on date, at
time.
f. Confirmation of previous minutes (or minutes of the last meeting).
Minutes are signed as a true and correct record
g. Financial report accounts for payment, income received
h. Special projects
i. Committee reports in order of need for discussion
j. General Business
k. Closure and date of next meeting
l. Apologies
182
UNIT 9: PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS QUIZ
Read the following statements about presentation skills and techniques

and decide whether, in your opinion, they are true or false. Mark them T
or F and then check your answers with your colleagues.
1 Oral communication cannot be taught.
2 If there are things you cannot easily express, it is better to leave

them unsaid.
3 It is advisable to have your speech written out in detail as a

prompt sheet, lest you should forget something important.
4 2 minutes is enough to talk about any general overhead transparency

or PowerPoint slide.
5 Never switch the display off during the presentation.
6 If at the end of your presentation the audience are slow to ask

questions, prepare to ask them a question yourself.
7 When you notice that the audience are getting bored with facts and
figures, stop and make a joke.
8 You should never use hand gestures – they will distract the audience
and you may look funny.
9 Stand in one place, so that the audience can hear you and focus
their attention on what you say.
10 Slides and OHPs should contain the minimum information necessary.
11 What your audience wants to hear about your topic is more important
than what you want to say about it.
12 Your presentation should cover the same amount of content as a

written report.
13 If you have prepared printed handouts, it is better to give them to

the audience at the beginning of your presentation.
14 No less than 1 hour should be spent in preparation for 5 minutes of

talking.
15 If you can’t win the audience over in the first minute, you won’t be
able to keep them focused at all.
183
16 During the presentation you should establish eye contact with each
and every member of the audience as often as possible.
17 Do not repeat your point again and again – your audience will get
bored.
18 Do not illustrate your point with personal anecdotes – no one is

interested in your personal life.
Handout – “You and your audience”
 Did you attract your audience’s attention? For example, ‘May I have
your attention please?’
 Did you make a reference to the audience themselves? For example,
‘It’s so nice to have the delegation from Finland with us today.’
 Did you ask if everyone could hear you clearly and speak up if they
could not?
 Did you keep good eye-contact and remember to look at everyone, or did
you bury your head in your paper?
 Did you use some gestures or body movement to keep their attention?
 Did you use a visual aid or write something on the board?
 Did you ask them a question and involve your audience? For example,
‘Could someone tell me the places we are going to visit?’
 Did you use signposts to help the audience follow your presentation?
For example, ‘First, we will visit …’ or ‘After that, we will go to
the …’
184
UNIT 10: REPORTS
SPEAKING: REPORTS
Discussion points
1 What is the purpose of a report?
2 What is the difference between essays and reports?
TASK 1
Read the following extracts and decide which of them comes from an essay
and which from a report?
A. Income and status

The majority of students thought that income and status were
inseparable. Interestingly enough, however, only about 40% of those
present expressed a wish to become doctors or lawyers – careers
which offer both a high income and high social status. Money was
thought to be important, but not the most important factor in
choosing a career.
Job satisfaction
Most students regarded job satisfaction as the most important factor
in their future careers. The opinion was expressed by a number of
participants that since work comprised a large part of most people’s
lives, it was essential that this area should bring fulfilment. Job
satisfaction was seen to include other factors such as prospects of
promotion and …
B. It is interesting that large numbers of people nowadays have become

disillusioned with the system whereby career status and income are seen
as the most important aspects of a person’s life. There has even been a
tendency among young people in recent years to reject the values of
materialism altogether and to embrace alternative lifestyles. The fact
that the 1960s are viewed with nostalgia by many today, and that the
songs of the Beatles and Bob Dylan are once more in vogue, shows that
young people have not lost their idealism. In fact they are probably just
as idealistic as their fathers and mothers were when they were young. How
exactly does this idealism express itself today however?
What is certain is that students and young people have grown just as
tired of politics as they have with the values of materialism. They find
politicians difficult to take seriously and prefer to become involved in
ecological or ‘green’ issues, such as campaigning against the destruction
of the rainforests or modern farming methods, or even …
TASK 2
185
Tick the items in the following list that you would be unlikely to find
in a report:
a) direct speech
b) phrases like ‘it is interesting that …’, ‘significantly, …’
c) rhetorical questions
d) examples to support ideas
e) a general or abstract discussion of a topic
f) use of the passive voice
TASK 3
What do you think was the purpose of the report in Task 1? Decide which
conclusion, A or B or C, is most appropriate for this report.
A In conclusion, it is clear that young people demand much more from a

job than just money or status. Even though there is little job security
these days, the youth of today is looking for something more than just
‘landing a better job’ or buying a bigger house. Should we not consider
changing the education system to bring it more in line with these hopes
and aspirations? A system which encouraged creativity and social
awareness would be more valuable than the one we have at present, which
appears to actively encourage only selfishness and greed.
B The conference was extremely worthwhile and gave young people an

opportunity to express their feelings about a number of issues relevant
to the world of work. It is particularly significant that income is no
longer considered to be the most important factor in a career. This seems
to suggest that young people today are less materialistic than the
previous generation. It is also significant that most young people do not
see their social life as being a priority – something which would
indicate that older people have seriously misunderstood the younger
generation.
C The conference was a great success. Those who participated benefited

enormously from the opportunity it presented to exchange opinions and to
discuss issues of importance to young people today. I would recommend
that further conferences be held in the future on subjects such as the
attitude of European countries towards poverty, the problem of
environmental pollution or the place of music and art in a modern
society.
186
WRITING: REPORTS
WRITING A REPORT
Points to remember
Whenever you write a report, make sure you:
 are clear about the purpose of the report. A report usually involves
an account of something which has happened (a meeting, a visit, a
conference, a survey of opinion) and the presentation and
interpretation of information deriving from this
 organize your report carefully. Use headings for each section, and
group your ideas clearly and logically. A standard organization of a
report is:
a. introduction/background information
b. main body of the report in headed sections
c. comments/recommendations
 use an impersonal style and register
 only include details which are strictly relevant
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
You attended a meeting of the local Green Action Group recently, in which
the main environmental problems facing your city were discussed as well
as suggestions for making the urban environment ‘greener’. As an
assistant to the city mayor, you have been asked to write a report in
which you summarize the problems faced by your city, the measures
suggested at the meeting and making any appropriate recommendations or
comments. (250 words)
Suggested strategy:
 Read the task carefully and think about what points you want to
include.
 Write an outline of what each paragraph should contain, and its
heading. You may find it appropriate to organize your report as
follows:
background information
environmental problems
possible measures/solutions
comments/recommendations
 Think about appropriate language to connect measures and consequences:

e.g. more trees =healthier atmosphere, city more attractive to
tourists: If more trees were planted, the atmosphere would … and the
city …)
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 When you make your comments or recommendations, you can mention
anything which was not mentioned at the meeting, or any other problems
you foresee in implementing the proposals.
 Check that your outline answers the task fully, and relevantly, before
you start writing.
 Don’t forget to give your report an appropriate title: e.g. REPORT:
MAKING THE CITY ENVIRONMENT ‘GREENER’
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WRITING REVISION
1 ESSAY TASK 1:
You have read the following quotation from the French Liberal philosopher
Frederick Bastiat in a book of political philosophy. You have decided to
write an essay for your tutor discussing the points raised and expressing
your own views. (250 words)
"If the legislators left persons free to follow their own inclinations,
they would arrive at atheism instead of religion, ignorance instead of
knowledge, poverty instead of production and exchange. According to these
writers, it is indeed fortunate that Heaven has bestowed upon certain men
-- governors and legislators -- the exact opposite inclinations, not only
for their own sake but also for the sake of the rest of the world! While
mankind tends toward evil, the legislators yearn for good; while mankind
advances toward darkness, the legislators aspire for enlightenment; while
mankind is drawn toward vice, the legislators are attracted toward
virtue. Since they have decided that this is the true state of affairs,
they then demand the use of force in order to substitute their own
inclinations for those of the human race."
2 ESSAY TASK 2:
You have read the following quotation from the philosopher Ayn Rand in a
book about contemporary philosophical ideas. It has prompted you to write
an essay for your tutor discussing the points raised and expressing your
own views. (250 words)
"If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others,
it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave
labour. Any alleged "right" of one man, which necessitates the violation
of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right. No man can have a
right to impose an unchosen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an
involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as "the
right to enslave.""
3 FORMAL LETTER TASK - SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION:
A student interested in doing an MBA (Master of Business Administration)

at a British university has found an advertisement in a newspaper and
answered it by sending her letter of application. Unfortunately, the
letter contains a number of spelling, vocabulary and grammar errors. Find
and correct these errors.
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Miss Lucia Rubio Sanchez
20 Penny Lane
Liverpool
August 17, 2004

Ms Sandra Henning
Department of Business
University of Harlow
Harlow, Essex CM55 2UH
Dear Ms Henning,
I am writting to apply for MBA course at University of Harlow.
It had been my intention for some times to continue my studies in field

of business administration and because of my employee, Rambler Cars, is
now willing to allowed me take study leave, I have decide to apply to
begin your curse in September.
Despite I do not hold a degree from a British university, I have a

Diploma from Banking and Finance from the Institute of European Business
Studies and a Certificate in Direct Marketting from the same institution.
I have enclosed copies of both the diploma or certificate.
In adition, I am working for just over nine months with Rambler as

trainee manager. Prior to taking up this post, I had been an Assistant
Manager at English Court, a mayor clothing manufacturer.
I feel sertain that your programme would be suit my needs particularly

well as my main interests lay in investment, marketing and corporate
finance. Your flexy-study programme and the study visits also called my
attention. I would probable choose to study part-time.
I look forward to hear of you.
Your sincerely,
Lucia Rubio Sanchez
4 INFORMAL LETTER TASK:
Years ago you met and traveled with a person from another country.
Suddenly you receive a letter from this friend, telling you that he or
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she is coming to live in Romania. You write a letter back and include
some advice for your friend’s first days in the country. (250 words)
5 MEMO TASK:
You work for a British company. Your boss is out when someone calls to
make an appointment for the secretarial job advertised in the paper.
Write a memo for your boss, telling him what arrangements you have made.
(100 words)
6 REPORT TASK:
An international conservation organization is compiling information on

environmental problems around the globe. You have been asked to
contribute a report on three major environmental issues affecting your
country or region and to make recommendations about what action you
believe should be taken. (250 words)
7 ARTICLE TASK:
A monthly travel magazine has invited readers to contribute an article to

a special edition entitled Awful Journeys. Write an article describing a
journey where everything seemed to go wrong and your reactions to the
problems you encountered. (250 words)
8 PROPOSAL TASK:
You are a junior manager in a company where the staff are expected to
work hard and produce results. Recently, it has been observed that many
employees are falling sick as a result of the stressful working
environment. The senior managers of the company are obviously very
concerned about this situation. As part of your job, you send them a
formal proposal in which you outline measures which could be taken to
reduce stress at work, explaining how these measures would be effective.
(250 words)
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APPENDIX A: TEST BUSTERS: ENGLISH IN USE
The following test busters will tell you how examiners construct and
assess tasks in English in use. While they can provide useful insight
into the examiners’ “intentions”, they will also show you how to approach
each task in the most efficient way, including ways in which to “evade”
certain questions or even how to guess the right answer. The exam
strategies discussed below are the same required of students when they
sit international tests of English as a foreign language. It would be
advisable to read these test busters first, before approaching course
tasks and, obviously, for revision purposes before exams.
ENGLISH IN USE SKILLS: OPEN CLOZE (STRUCTURAL / GRAMMAR CLOZE)
WHAT IS AN OPEN CLOZE?

 A text that may vary in length from one sentence to one or more
paragraphs, with blank spaces that have to be filled with one word
that best fits.
WHAT DOES AN OPEN CLOZE TEST?

 It primarily tests grammar structures but then, it may also check
vocabulary (each element of one expression may be tested; e.g. in the
following phrase, any of the three elements may be tested: in addition
to).
ARE THERE MORE THAN ONE POSSIBILITY?

 Not usually. Nevertheless, in the case of some words, more variants
may be equally possible, e.g.: This is the office that / which was
assigned to me. In this example either of the two variants is equally
correct.
 Even if sometimes there are two or even three possible variants,
students are advised to give one word only. Insufficient knowledge of
certain structures may result in the annulment of the answer if two
variants are given out of which only one is correct, e.g. This house,
that / which dates back to the 18th century, is for sale. In this
example the variant that is incorrect because that never introduces a
non-defining relative clause – an indication in this sense could be
the comma used before that. In the event in which students give both
variants, given that one of them is incorrect, the whole answer is
annulled.
HOW SHOULD THE TASK BE APPROACHED?

 First, the whole sentence / passage should be read for gist (main
idea). This may orientate students towards a more focused attention
regarding the specific problems involved in a less general context.
 Next, by examining the immediate and distant context of the blank,
students should decide on the part of speech needed, along with its
correct form.
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 Afterwards, by checking overall and specific meaning, students should
think of the specific word that fits.
 Finally, the whole text should be read once again, including the
solutions given, to ensure that the solved task makes sense – both
grammatically and from the point of view of meaning.
WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON ERROR IN APPROACHING THE TASK?

 Not being relevant to the specific / general meaning of the text. In
order to find a solution quickly, many students wrongly underestimate
the importance of meaning in favour of grammatical structure.
Consequently, they may be pleased filling in with a word that fits
grammatically, but the meaning is entirely overlooked. In so doing,
students usually create their own scenario in their minds, forgetting
that the only common denominator between themselves and the examiners
is the one given in the task itself.
 Regarding the above remark, students are advised to avoid and always
suspect quite loosely based and more or less subjective words (usually
adjectives and adverbs). For example, if one thinks one should give
DILIGENT as a solution, so would go INDUSTRIOUS / GOOD / INTELLIGENT /
SMART / CLEVER, etc. Students should always remember that the range of
choices, if it does exist, is much tighter than that.
ARE THERE ANY USEFUL TIPS?

 Yes. Students should know right from the start that their choice of
word is based on two sequential decisions alone. One regards the
immediate left / right context, and the other, the distant left /
right context. Example of the immediate right context: They acted ____
to the plan agreed upon. The solution here is ACCORDING, this word
being immediately left to the word to it depends on. Example of the
immediate left context: They acted according ____ the plan agreed
upon. The solution is TO, this word being immediately right to the
word according it depends on. Example of distant contexts: The teacher
came into the classroom. ____ started teaching his course. The
solution is HE, depending on the distant left context (The teacher)
and also on the distant right context (his).
 Obviously, in order to decide on the relevant context, especially
distant, students will have to read a few lines above or / and a few
lines below the blank space.
 During their general / professional readings in English, students
should also focus on practical examples of structure usage and try to
perceive structures as a unit made up of distinct obligatory elements
that hardly change, e.g. the report should have long been drafted.
 Students should remember that at an advanced level, the structures
seem more or less self-evident when present in any kind of text. For
example, anyone at an advanced level may be aware of the expression
instead of in the sentence Instead of driving she chose to walk, but
when one of its elements is tested in a blank space, things may get
slightly more complex and confusing: ____ of driving she chose to
walk.
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 The best of practice may be derived from solving specifically designed
open cloze tasks. Consultation of a teacher is advisable for this
purpose.
STRUCTURES TESTED
Here is a comprehensive list of structures tested in open clozes:
 PREPOSITIONS DEPENDENT ON NOUNS, e.g. an accusation of robbery.

 PREPOSITIONS DEPENDENT ON VERBS, e.g. charged with robbery.
 PREPOSITIONS DEPENDENT ON ADJECTIVES, e.g. capable of crime.
 FREE PREPOSITIONS – these are prepositions which depend on specific
meaning, e.g. they ran up / down / along, etc. the street.
 CONJUNCTIONS and LOGICAL CONNECTORS, e.g. and, but, or, yet, etc.,
however, since, though, etc.
 AUXILIARY VERBS, e.g. is, am, are, was, were, be, been, have, has, do,
does, did.
 AUXILIARY MODAL VERBS (which depend on modality implications involved
specifically by meaning), e.g. must, should, have / has [to], may,
might, etc.
 ARTICLES, e.g. the, a, an.
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS, e.g. I, he, me, him, etc.
 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS and ADJECTIVES, e.g. my, mine.
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS, e.g. that, which, who, whoever, whose, whom, etc.
 RELATIVE ADVERBS, e.g. where, why, when, whenever, etc.
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, e.g. anyone / anybody, everyone / everybody,
other, another, etc.
 NEGATIVE PRONOUNS, e.g. nothing, none, etc.
 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, e.g. this, that, these, those.
 ADVERBIAL PARTICLES, e.g. [give] up [smoking], etc.
 VERBS – only if they are part of a fixed expression (e.g. phrasal /
prepositional verbs) like give [up] [smoking], accused [of] a crime,
etc.
 NOUNS – only if they are part of a fixed expression, e.g. [with] [a]
view [to], etc.
 ADJECTIVES – only if they are part of a fixed expression, e.g. [he]
[is] susceptible / sensitive / prone [to] [ill] [health], etc.
 ADVERBS – only if they are part of a fixed expression, e.g. [a] [very]
well-[known] [lawyer], etc.
SPECIAL NOTE:
 Students should remember that in the case of pronouns, reference is
tested, given that pronouns are used to replace nouns. Reference may
be to one word only (e.g. he may refer to teacher) or to a whole
sentence / fact / situation (e.g. this may refer to the fact that the
situation in the provinces has been worsened by subsequent events).
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GUIDED CLOZE (MULTIPLE CHOICE CLOZE)
WHAT IS A GUIDED CLOZE?

 A gap in a text or a sentence which has to be filled in with one of
the four options provided, A, B, C or D.
VOCABULARY:
— discrimination of synonyms
— collocation
— elements of fixed phrases, including phrasal verbs
GRAMMAR:
— correct usage of most grammar structures.

 Never. There is always only one correct choice, A, B, C or D.

 First, the whole sentence / passage should be read for gist (main
idea). Then students should read the four options to see if the
problem concerns grammar or vocabulary.
 Next, the right choice should be identified, either by pinpointing the
correct one from the start, or by excluding the others, or by
combining these two skills.

 Thinking that there may be more than one correct answer, given that in
order to distract students’ attention, very close structures are
sometimes offered for discrimination.

 Yes. Students should know right from the start that their decision
will be based on just one choice out of four, their selection range
being of a standardized tightness.
 After selecting one answer, students should read the smaller and
larger contexts again to make sure that their choice is the right one.
 Guessing may work. After all, students have ¼ chances that their guess
is right. For this reason, it would be unwise to leave a question
unanswered, even by resorting to hazard if that should be the case.
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STRUCTURES TESTED
Here is a comprehensive list of structures tested in guided clozes:
VOCABULARY:
 collocations
 synonyms
 specific vocabulary
 fixed phrases (including dependent prepositions)
GRAMMAR:
 CONJUNCTIONS and LOGICAL CONNECTORS
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 AUXILIARY MODAL VERBS
 PRONOUNS AND THEIR ADJECTIVES
 RELATIVE ADVERBS
 ADVERBS
 ADJECTIVES
 VERB TENSES AND ASPECTS
 GERUNDS, INFINITIVES AND PARTICIPLES
 THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES
 NOUNS
 DETERMINERS (ARTICLES, PRONOUN ADJECTIVES, etc.)
 REDUNDANCY, e.g. “… they may have be wrong…” – here the word “be”
should be removed because the structure, as it stands, is incorrect
through redundancy.
 EMPHATIC FORMS (including INVERSION)
 SUBORDINATION
 COORDINATION
 REDUCED ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB CLAUSES
 WORD ORDER
 REFERENCE
ENGLISH IN USE SKILLS: ERROR IDENTIFICATION
WHAT IS ERROR IDENTIFICATION?

 Separate sentences or paragraphs, each containing four underlined
parts. One of the underlined sentence parts may be incorrect in itself
(because of structure, vocabulary or spelling) or it may make the
whole sentence or paragraph incorrect. That specific underlined part
has to be identified.

 It may test grammar structures, vocabulary, spelling, redundancy
(extra words or phrases that are not needed because they repeat
concepts) and discourse (the way in which larger chunks of text are
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linked through the so-called logical connectors, conjunctions,
relative pronouns and adverbs, etc.).

 Never. It is always inherently clear which one underlined structure
makes the whole incorrect.

 First, the whole sentence / paragraph should be read for gist (main
idea). This may orientate students towards a more focused attention
regarding the specific problems involved in a less general context.
 Next, students will have to identify the one underlined part that is
incorrect in itself or the one that makes the whole sentence or
paragraph incorrect.
 Attention should be centred on commonsensical structures, given the
presence of distracters. A distracter is a language item (like
vocabulary or grammar) that is made to look complex and thus distract
students’ attention from the real problem. No matter if unfamiliar
words or more complex grammatical structures appear. In most cases
these are distracters and students should make sure that they
comprehend the sentence as a whole, so that they may not let their
attention diverted by these distracters. The main approach to this
kind of exercise lies in the capacity to exclude irrelevant grammar or
vocabulary information. In this sense, students’ task is more or less
that of editing or “pruning” chunks of text towards the identification
of language relevance.

 Being diverted by distracters. Once again, students should remember
that if, for example, a word like “pugnacious” appears, this is quite
likely to be an unknown word. Nevertheless, they should remember that
by studying context, they will be able to make it out that it is an
adjective and that they have to operate with the category and not the
meaning and see if that adjective is used in the right way and if so,
they should proceed to the other parts of the sentence underlined
until they find the relevant error. Again, if an example like “… and
also, as well as…” appears, students should remember that these simple
words may pose a question of redundancy, given that “also” is the same
as “as well as” and the whole string is incorrect because it contains
a repetition.

 Yes. Students should know that this, like other types of task, is a
holistic one, meaning that they should expect to find any possible
mistake in grammar or vocabulary. For this reason, general language
ability is recommended in that students should have a sound language
input derived from extensive practice and reading. It should be
remembered that people usually read for content / message. However,
with language correctness in mind, students should also try to develop
active reading from the point of view of language awareness. In this
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sense, they might find it helpful to return to different texts they
have previously read just for meaning in order to become aware also of
the structures, their positions and relevance in one given sentence.
Admittedly, given the range of problems involved, this could be one of
the most difficult tasks in English in use.
ERRORS TESTED
Here is a comprehensive list of errors tested in error identification

tasks:
GRAMMAR – ERRORS BASESD ON THE USAGE OF:

 DEPENDENT AND FREE PREPOSITIONS
 CONJUNCTIONS and LOGICAL CONNECTORS
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 AUXILIARY MODAL VERBS
 PRONOUNS AND THEIR ADJECTIVES
 RELATIVE ADVERBS
 ADVERBS
 ADJECTIVES
 VERB TENSES AND ASPECTS
 GERUNDS, INFINITIVES AND PARTICIPLES
 THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES
 NOUNS
 DETERMINERS (ARTICLES, PRONOUN ADJECTIVES, etc.)
 REDUNDANCY, e.g. “… they may have be wrong…” – here the word “be”
should be removed because the structure, as it stands, is incorrect
through redundancy.
 EMPHATIC FORMS (including INVERSION)
 SUBORDINATION
 COORDINATION
 REDUCED ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB CLAUSES
 WORD ORDER
 REFERENCE
VOCABULARY – ERRORS BASESD ON THE USAGE OF:

 REDUNDANCY
 SPECIFIC VOCABULARY ACCURACY
 SPELLING
 WORD DERIVATION
 PHRASAL VERBS
 FIXED PHRASES
 IDIOMS
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ENGLISH IN USE SKILLS: WORD BUILDING (DERIVATION)
WHAT IS WORD BUILDING?

 Forming one word from a certain word given by adding affixes (prefixes
and suffixes).
 Forming one word from a certain word given by creating a compound
(e.g. BLACK + OUT → BLACKOUT).
WHAT IS PROGRESSIVE DERIVATION AND REGRESSIVE DERIVATION?

 In simple terms, progressive derivation is when a longer word is
created from a shorter word, e.g. DECENT → INDECENCY.
 Regressive derivation is the other way round, namely, when a shorter
word is required as a derivative of a longer word, e.g. ADVERTISEMENT
→ ADVERTISE.
HOW DIFFICULT IS WORD BUILDING?

 Depending on the level examiners want to test, word building
difficulty may differ in terms of familiarity with a certain word or
family of words (e.g. it is easier to derive DECISION from DECIDE than
to build GRIEVOUS from GRIEF).
 It is usually harder to derive by regression (maybe simply because
many students would expect the derived word to be longer than the
input word given).
 Difficulty also differs according to the “leaps” involved in word
building. For example, it is easier to derive DECENTLY from DECENT
(because only one step is involved in the process, i.e. adding –LY to
DECENT); it is harder to derive INDECENCY from DECENT because several
steps are involved: DECENT – DECENCY – INDECENCY. In this last
example, students have to “leap” from DECENT to INDECENCY, meaning
that DECENCY is already assumed as known.
HOW DOES WORD BUILDING TEST THE LEVEL OF ENGLISH A STUDENT HAS?
 By providing tasks of various difficulty levels (see above).
 By testing word building in real-life contexts, more or less familiar
to students (familiarity is also indicative of level).
 By testing more or less familiar words.
 By testing discriminating capacities to use different negative
prefixes, for example, with the same root word (e.g. COMFORT,
DISCOMFORT, UNCOMFORTABLE).
IS SPELLING IMPORTANT?
 Spelling is very important. For example, if one derives the required
ADVERTISMENT from ADVERTISE s/he will not get a mark because of a
misspelling; the correct form required is ADVERTISEMENT.
HOW SHOULD WORD BUILDING BE TACKLED?

 First, the given text should be read as such so that students get a
rough idea about the context and possible difficulty level; during
this scanning of the text, a quick glance at the input words (words
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from which other words have to be derived) could help, in that
students may find them familiar or less familiar.
 A two-step process follows: (1) a decision must be made, based on the
context, as to what part of speech is needed (students should remember
that they will have to opt from nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs)
and its right grammatical form (singular / plural; -ing / -ed). (2)
meaning should be checked against the given context regarding positive
/ negative derivatives as well as, once again, singular / plural
forms.
 After solving the tasks, students should return to it to check for
overall meaning, as well as for possible spelling errors.
ARE THERE ANY “FAVOURITE” WORDS WHICH ARE TESTED MORE FREQUENTLY?
 No such rule can be specifically laid out, but yes, certain words may
be tasted more frequently than others; usually, the more frequently
tested a word is, the more frequently it is likely to appear in
different (con)texts. After all, frequency of one word depends on its
importance in everyday communication or in a given professional field.
 Level differentiation is always a difficult procedure, which explains
the need for tested items to be pre-tested as pilot tasks. In
addition, in order to more or less clearly establish a student’s level
of proficiency in word building tasks, certain level interferences may
be necessary. For example, if students are tested at an advanced
level, they usually get 80% of the task at that level, around 10% at
the previous (upper-intermediate) level and the remaining 10% at the
next (post-advanced / proficient) level.
HOW CAN STUDENTS PREPARE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY IN WORD BUILDING?

 They should read a lot. They should go back to certain texts to do
some active reading as well, meaning that, if for example they
encounter a word like DECIDE, they should try to think about some
possible derivatives, like DECIDED, UNDECIDED, INDECISIVE, INDECISION,
etc., maybe also turning to a dictionary or a teacher for help.
 It’s always a good think to try to remember derivatives in clusters /
word families. For example, if one encounters the word MANAGE, one
might find it helpful to also think about MANAGER, MANAGEABLE,
UNMANAGEABLE. MANAGEABLY, UNMANAGEABLY, MANAGING, MANAGEMENT, etc.
This may (re)activate different items of passive vocabulary and
photographic memory does help. Again, dictionaries should not be
entirely discarded.
 In no way should students learn derivatives by heart. On the one hand,
this would be an extremely tiring process and on the other hand, no
one has ever come up with an exhaustive list, let alone commit it to
memory. Nevertheless, lists of derivatives may be helpful, but these
lists should contain derivatives already used by students. For
revision purposes, a quick glance at such lists should suffice – it
may act as a reminder of possibilities.
 Knowledge of derivation means (prefixes, suffixes and ways of word
composition) should be mastered properly.
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 Employment of diverse complex vocabulary items should be made in
drafting different texts and in solving different other language
tasks.
 Practice is essential. No word lists can really help unless students
have already worked with these words in task-specific situations. For
this purpose, a lot of preparation materials are available and
students may also find of great assistance consultation of their
teacher.
INDEX OF WORD FORMATION DEVICES
VERB FORMATION
- ize / - ise legal legalize / legalise

- fy electric electrify
enlarge enlarge
etc.
Remember that there are certain words which have the usual form of a noun
but the same form may also be used as a verb, e.g. A CONDITION of
something (noun) and TO CONDITION something (verb).
ADVERB FORMATION
- ly beautiful beautifully
etc.
Remember the following:

 Not all - ly words are adverbs. If – ly is added to an adjective, an
adverb is formed. If – ly is added to a noun, an adjective is formed.
The following are adjectives, and not adverbs: COSTLY, LOVELY,
FRIENDLY, COWARDLY, LEISURELY, etc.
 An adverb is needed to qualify a verb form, adjective, another adverb
or a whole sentence (Honestly, you should really take this into
account.). When qualifying a whole sentence, the adverb is always
separated by a comma.
 Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives: He made an early start.
(adjective); He woke up early. (adverb).
 There are also adverbs with two forms: The ship sank deep into the
ocean. They were deeply moved by the events described.
 Some adverb forms may be fully interchangeable with adjective forms:
The moon is shining bright / brightly (no difference).
 There are some expressions which are standard and use adjectives
instead of adverbs. For example, TAKE IT EASY. Nevertheless, this
exception is confined to idiomatic expressions.
 Beware of informal / non-standard constructions like “Come quick!” Say
“Come quickly!”
NOUN FORMATION
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- er teach teacher
- or act actor
- ment invest investment
- ation associate association
- ty cruel cruelty
- ity odd oddity
- ness happy happiness
- ance assist assistance
- ence independent independence
- ent deter deterrent
- ant assist assistant
- ing build building
- ed age (the) aged (need help)
- age break breakage
- ion organize organization
-ful hand handful
etc.
ADJECTIVE FORMATION
- y shine shiny
- ic history historic
- ical history historical*
- ful hand handful
- less brain brainless
- able debate debatable
- ish yellow yellowish
- ous grief grievous
- ed interest interested
-ing disappoint disappointing
etc.
*Students should be aware that there is a difference between adjectives

ending in – ic and – ical; in the given example, HISTORICAL refers to
history and chronology; HISTORIC means “very important”. E.g. a
historical approach (one that involves dealing with history); a historic
summit talk (a very important one). Other such examples of differences:
ECONOMIC / ECONOMICAL; TRAGIC / TRAGICAL; COMIC / COMICAL; CLASSIC /
CLASSICAL.
Students should also remember the following pattern:

SCIENTIFIC (adjective) → SCIENTIFICALLY (adverb) (most cases); but
PUBLIC (adjective) → PUBLICLY (adverb) (exception). PUBLICALLY is
incorrect.
OPPOSITES
In order to derive an opposite, various negative prefixes can be used.

Remember that there are no clear-cut rules according to which one class
202
of words requires one specific negative prefix. Even variations within
the same word family are possible, e.g. DISCOMFORT, UNCOMFORTABLE;
UNSOLVED, INSOLUBLE, DISSOLUTION. At best, such derivatives should be
learnt individually.
unfortunate unfortunate

ineffective ineffective
impractical impractical
illiterate illiterate
irregular irregular
dishonest dishonest
de- increase decrease
nonpayment nonpayment*
etc.
*Some such derivatives are usually spelt with a hyphen, e.g. NON-SMOKING.
OTHER PREFIXES
restart restart*

antiwar antiwar
antechamber antechamber
under- staff understaffed
overexposed overexposed
counterattack counterattack
preorder preorder
beforehand beforehand
outnumber outnumber
etc.
SPECIAL NOTES:
 Sometimes examiners will test degrees of comparison to make sure of

correct spelling, e.g. HAPPY, HAPPIER.
 Examiners may also test ordinal numbers, also to check spelling:
TWELVE, TWLFTH.
 Foreign plurals may also be tested for the same reason: one STIMULUS,
two STIMULI.
 Remember that nouns may also qualify, like adjectives, another noun.
Consequently, in connection with the word TRAIN, one might have to
derive from the word GOOD the word GOODS in order to get a GOODS
TRAIN.
203
APPENDIX B: LANGUAGE STRUCTURES COVERED
Following is a comprehensive list of the language structures tested in

semester and final examinations. N.B. Refer to the description of the
LANGUAGE IN USE section of LINGUA Centre certificates for examples of
items tested regarding grammar. This list also comprises the structure
range assessed in the WRITING and SPEAKING sections.
MORPHOLOGY
THE VERB
 transitive / intransitive
 tenses: past, present

 ways of expressing the future
 aspects: simple, continuous, perfect
 sequence of tenses
 infinitives: simple, continuous, perfect

 infinitives: short, long
 present participle
 past participle
 gerund
 irregular verb forms

 confusable irregular verb forms
 main auxiliaries
 modal auxiliaries
 voice: passive / active

 causative constructions
 present subjunctive
 past subjunctive
 mandative subjunctive (synthetic / analytical)

 formulaic subjunctive
 spelling
THE NOUN
 proper / common
 countable / uncountable
 regular / irregular plurals
 foreign plurals
204
 collective nouns
 invariable singular nouns
 invariable plural nouns
 partitives
 gender
 case
 confusable nouns / noun forms
 verbal nouns
 nominalization of adjectives
 spelling
DETERMINERS
 the definite article
 the indefinite article
 zero article
 demonstrative adjectives
 possessive adjectives
 interrogative adjectives
 indefinite adjectives
PREDETERMINERS
 all, both, half, the whole
 multiplicative numerals
 fractional numerals
POSTDETERMINERS
 ordinal numbers
 quantifiers: cardinal numbers, many, much, (a) few, (a) little,
several, some
THE ARTICLE
 the definite article: usage
 the indefinite article: forms and usage
 the zero article: usage
THE NUMERAL
 cardinal numerals: forms and usage
 ordinal numerals: forms and usage
 fractional numerals: forms and usage
 collective numerals: forms and usage
 multiplicative numerals: forms and usage
 distributive numerals
 adverbial numerals
THE PRONOUN
 reference / substitution
205
 person, number, case
 personal pronouns: forms, person, gender, number, case, functions

 reflexive pronouns: forms, usage
 emphatic pronouns: forms, usage
 possessive pronouns: forms, usage
 interrogative pronouns: forms, usage
 relative pronouns: forms, usage, word order
 indefinite pronouns: forms, usage
 negative pronouns: forms, usage
THE ADJECTIVE
 regular comparison and spelling
 irregular comparison and spelling
 adjective / adverb usage
 attributive / predicative adjectives
 order of adjectives
THE ADVERB
 regular comparison and spelling
 irregular comparison and spelling
 adjective / adverb usage
 order of adjectives
 adverb phrases
 manner, place and time adverbs
 special cases: enough, far, first, at first, hardly, barely, scarcely,
in here, out there, just now, long, much, only, presently, still, yet,
already, very
 adverbs with two forms
THE PREPOSITION
 simple / compound
 prepositions dependent on verbs
 prepositions dependent on nouns
 prepositions dependent on adjectives
 confusable prepositions
 position of prepositions
THE CONJUNCTION
 subordinating / coordinating conjunctions
SIMPLE SENTENCE SYNTAX
THE SUBJECT
 noun phrases, infinitives, gerunds as subjects
 sentences as subjects
206
 generic, impersonal, introductory subjects
 omitted subjects
 place of subjects
THE PREDICATE
 vebal predicates
 nominal predicates
AGREEMENT
 according to person and number
 compound subjects
 interrogative pronouns
 coordinated subjects
OBJECTS
 direct / indirect objects ; word order
 prepositional objects
COMPLEMENTS
 subject complements
 object complements
ADVERBIALS
 place
 time
 manner
 cause
 purpose
 condition
 result
 exception
 relation
 word order
THE ATTRIBUTE
 by adjective
 by noun
 by numeral
 by infinitive
 by participle (present and past)
 by adverb
 by phrase
 by word-group
 by subordinate clause
207
 in pre-position
 in post-position
THE APPOSITION
 by noun
 by pronoun
WORD ORDER
STATEMENTS
NEGATIONS
QUESTIONS
 yes / no questions
 wh- questions
 either / or questions
 disjunctive / tag questions
EXCLAMATIONS
COMPOUND SENTENCE SYNTAX
COORDINATION
 copulative
 disjunctive
 adversative
COMPLEX SENTENCE SYNTAX
THE NOMINAL SENTENCE

 as subject
 as object (direct, indirect, prepositional)
 as complement (subject, object)
RELATIVE CLAUSES
 defining
 non-defining
 sentential
 relative word usage
 reductions
APPOSITIVE CLAUSES
ADVERB CLAUSES
 time
208
 place
 manner
 comparison
 cause
 condition
 purpose
 result
 concession
 sentence order
 reductions
 sequence of tenses
 logical connectors
DIRECT / INDIRECT SPEECH

 backshift of tenses
 pronoun changes
 adverb changes
 main verb changes
 modal verb changes
 subjunctive mood changes
 indirect questions
 exclamatory sentences
 imperative sentences
EMPHASIS
 pronouns
 repetition
 inversion
 fronting
209
APPENDIX C: VOCABULARY STRUCTURES COVERED
Following is a comprehensive list of the vocabulary structures tested in

semester and final examinations. N.B. Refer to the description of the
LANGUAGE IN USE section of LINGUA Centre certificates for examples of
items tested regarding vocabulary. This list is also a guide to the
vocabulary range assessed in the WRITING and SPEAKING sections.
SPECIFIC VOCABULARY
 business vocabulary (according to type of test and curriculum topics)
 general-professional vocabulary (according to type of test and
curriculum topics)
VERBAL EXPRESSIONS
 phrasal verbs
 prepositional verbs
 phrasal-prepositional verbs
PREPOSITIONAL EXPRESSIONS
 prepositions dependent on nouns
 prepositions dependent on verbs
 prepositions dependent on adjectives
FIXED EXPRESSIONS
 phrases
 idioms
COLLOCATIONS
 strong collocations
 weak collocations
 adjective + noun collocations

 verb + noun collocations
 noun + verb collocations
 adverb + adjective collocations
 verb + adverb collocations
 adverb + verb collocations
WORD BUILDING
 progressive derivation
 regressive derivation
 verb formation by suffixes

 verb formation by prefixes
 adverb formation by suffixes
 adjective formation by suffixes
210
 noun formation by suffixes
 prefixes used to form opposites

 other prefixes
 composition
211
APPENDIX D: TEST BUSTERS: READING
READING – OVERVIEW AND STRATEGIES
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
a. You are given several short themed texts with two four-option
multiple-choice questions on each text.
b. You are given a single long text with five to seven four-option
multiple-choice questions.
c. You are given a single long text with ten True/False-option questions.
FOCUS: content or detail, the main ideas, opinion, attitude, tone and
purpose of text, implication and text organization features such as
referents and comparison.
STRATEGIES
Recognising the author’s style, tone and reason for writing
You should be able to make intelligent guesses about:
 where the text came from

 who the text has been written for
 why it has been written
You must learn when to take a statement literally and when to read
between the lines in order to understand the real meaning of the text.
TIP: Read quickly through the text once before you try to answer the
questions to check where the text comes from, who the text has been
written for and why it has been written.
Dealing with unfamiliar words
Sometimes it is possible to ignore unfamiliar words and still understand

the text. However, if an unknown word is crucial for comprehension, you
can often work out what it means:
 from the general context of the text

 from words before or after the unknown word
 from phrases which explain or expand the meaning of the unknown word
TIP: Study the context in order to work out the meaning of unknown words.
Recognising irony, exaggeration and figurative language
212
Sometimes the writer does not want to be taken literally. She/He may use:
 irony – say one thing, but mean quite the opposite: “You managed to
break another plate. I’d say you’re quite good at it.”
 exaggeration – deliberately exaggerate a situation in order to amuse

the reader or to put a point across more clearly: “Her handwriting is
totally illegible – she must be writing with her feet.”
 figurative language (comparisons, metaphors) – draw a picture in the

reader’s mind to make a description more vivid.
Reading between the lines
Sometimes an author implies meaning, rather than stating it explicitly.

You need to use your intelligence to look beyond the words and infer
meaning.
Paying careful attention to detail
Sometimes just one word can subtly alter the meaning of a sentence. When
you are reading the text and the questions, look out for:
 qualifiers – words like rarely, invariably, etc.

 modal verbs like can, should, might, etc.
 verbs like tend to, be inclined to, etc.
Being aware of distractors which
 appear correct at first because they are partly accurate. When you
read them carefully, you will find that they are not wholly correct.
 contain an element of truth but are too narrow in their scope to be
correct
 contain statements that are correct in themselves but do not answer
the question.
TIP: When you choose an option, remember to make sure it fits the stem of
the question in total, not just in part. Beware of options that repeat
the words of the original text.
STRATEGIES REVIEW
1. Read through the text once quickly for gist, ignoring unfamiliar
words. If a word is essential to your understanding of the text, try
to deduce its meaning from the context.
2. Think about the author’s tone, who the author is writing for and and
what his/her purpose was in writing.
213
3. Pay careful attention to the language used – does the writer use irony
or figurative language? Remember that you will need to read between
the lines.
4. Remember that the questions are in the same order as the information
in the text. Don’t be distracted by your own opinions or knowledge of
the subject: the questions can all be answered from information given
in the text.
5. Read the question or stem – not the four options - and find and
underline relevant parts of the text. Look at the options A-D. When
choosing your answer, always check that the option you choose is as
general or as specific as the relevant passage in the text. For
example, if the stem begins with the words, “Local sources say…”, it
would obviously be wrong to choose an answer based on a part of the
text which says, “Most sources say…”. Pay attention to words which
subtly alter the meaning of a sentence (qualifiers, modal verbs,
adverbs of frequency, etc.).
6. Look at the options again and with reference to the parts you have
underlined, eliminate those which are only partly true, inaccurate or
do not answer the question fully.
7. Read the text again and check all your answers.
GAPPED TEXT
a. You are given a single long text from which paragraphs have been
removed. These are given in jumbled order for you to replace in their
correct place in the base text. There will always be one paragraph
that does not belong to the text. There are either six or seven
questions.
b. You are given several short texts from which six to eight phrases or
sentences have been removed. These are given in jumbled order for you
to replace in their correct place in the base text. You choose from
ten to twelve options to complete the text.
FOCUS: text organization, cohesion (linking devices) and coherence

(connection between ideas, arguments, statements), underlying ideas, the
structure of the text and the overall meaning.
COMMON STRATEGIES
Reading for gist (the main ideas or meaning)
When tackling a text which presents difficult new vocabulary:
 focus on key words

 ignore unfamiliar words wherever possible
214
Recognising reference words and other text links
To avoid repeating the same words or phrases, writers often use
 synonyms – different words or phrases that actually mean the same

thing
 reference words – it, this, them, etc.
 paraphrases – different language to describe the same idea
By matching these words or phrases with the original parts of the text
they refer to, you will often be able to see where a missing paragraph or
phrase/sentence should be located in the text.
Identifying topic links and associated words and phrases
Read the text carefully before you look at the missing paragraphs or
phrases/sentences. Consider the way the writer develops his/her ideas and
try to predict what sort of topic he/she might cover in the missing
paragraphs or phrases/sentences.
Read the missing paragraphs or phrases/sentences and look for

ideas/topics that might link the paragraphs to the main text. Identifying
a topic link will help you to place the missing paragraph or
phrase/sentence correctly.
Look for words and phrases that are repeated or ‘echoed’ in the main text
or the missing paragraphs or sentences. Pay attention to paraphrases and
synonyms.
Pay attention to language links. Look for linking words, including those
that:
 show addition ( In addition to, Furthermore, Another)

 introduce contrast ( But, However, Nevertheless, On the other hand)
 introduce an example ( One instance of this is, We can see this in,
Take, for example)
STRATEGIES for missing paragraphs
1. Read through the gapped text quickly to get a general idea of its
subject-matter and style. Don’t read the jumbled paragraphs at this
stage.
2. Read through the missing paragraphs and try to identify topic links or
language links that might help you make a first choice. Don’t worry if
you seem to find several possibilities at this stage.
3. Read through the text again carefully. When you get to a gap, look
again through the jumbled paragraphs and choose the one that seems
best. Remember to look both backwards and forwards.
215
4. Check that you have not used the same paragraph in two different
places.
5. Read trough to check that the text as a whole makes sense.
STRATEGIES for missing phrases or sentences
1. Read the text all the way through to get the general idea.
2. Read the text again and think of ways of filling each gap by reading
what comes before and after.
3. Look at the alternatives and choose the most appropriate.
4. Read the text all the way through with the alternatives in place and
make sure that it makes sense.
216
APPENDIX E CONCORDANCE TABLES
The following tables guide you through the international exams in English
recognized by the BBU for entrance and exit purposes.
ENTRANCE / ADMISSION EXAMINATIONS
PASS LEVELS
EUROPEAN LANGUAGE LEVEL LINGUA CAMBRIDGE CAMBRIDGE TOEFL IELTS
COUNCIL CERTIFICATE GENERAL BUSINESS
LEVEL SCORE
C2 proficient 26-30 CPE (A, B,C) ____ 631-677 (PBT) 9-10
281-300 (CBT)
C1 advanced 20-25 CAE (A, B,C) BEC HIGHER 601-630 (PBT) 7-8
(A, B, C) 250-280 (CBT)
B2 upper-intermediate 15-19 FCE (A, B,C) BEC VANTAGE 550-600 (PBT) 5-6
(A, B, C) 210-249 (CBT)
FAIL LEVELS
B1 intermediate 10-14
A2 elementary / pre- 6-10

intermediate
A1 beginner / elementary 0-5
EXIT / FINAL EXAMINATIONS
PASS LEVELS
EUROPEAN LANGUAGE LEVEL LINGUA CAMBRIDGE CAMBRIDGE TOEFL IELTS
COUNCIL CERTIFICATE GENERAL BUSINESS
LEVEL SCORE
C2 proficient 26-30 CPE (A, B,C) ____ 631-677 (PBT) 9-10
281-300 (CBT)
C1 advanced 20-25* CAE (A, B,C) BEC HIGHER 601-630 (PBT) 7-8
(A, B, C) 250-280 (CBT)
B2 upper-intermediate 17-19* FCE (A, B,C) BEC VANTAGE 550-600 (PBT) 5-6
(A, B, C) 210-249 (CBT)
FAIL LEVELS
B1 intermediate 10-16
A2 elementary / pre- 6-10

intermediate
A1 beginner / elementary 0-5
*In accordance with the agreement between the LINGUA Centre and specific
faculties which require / recognize LINGUA Centre certificates, pass
scores are subject to change, varying between a minimum of 17 up to 20
marks out of the total 30 marks. Due to this fluctuation, candidates for
exit / final examinations are advised to refer to the LINGUA Centre
information desk (secretary’s office) or to their specific faculty
217
secretaries for exact updates available at the beginning of each academic
year and valid for that specific year.
218
RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES
SPEAKING SKILLS
Irigoin, Judy, BUSINESS ENGLISH RECIPES, LONGMAN GROUP LIMITED, 1995

Ur, Penny, DISCUSSIONS THAT WORK, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1996
READING SKILLS
Burgess, Sally et al., ADVANCED GOLD EXAM MAXIMISER, PEARSON EDUCATION,

2001
Mann, Richard et al., NEW PROFICIENCY GOLD EXAM MAXIMISER, PEARSON
EDUCATION LIMITED, 2002
Newbrook, Jacky et al., NEW PROFICIENCY GOLD COURSEBOOK, PEARSON
Stephens, Mary, NEW PROFICIENCY: READING, PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED, 2002
WRITING SKILLS
Brown, Kristine et al., WRITING MATTERS, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1989

Burgess, Sally et al., ADVANCED GOLD EXAM MAXIMISER, PEARSON EDUCATION,
2001
Mann, Richard et al., NEW PROFICIENCY GOLD EXAM MAXIMISER, PEARSON
Newbrook, Jacky et al., NEW PROFICIENCY GOLD COURSEBOOK, PEARSON
Prodromou, Luke, FIRST CERTIFICATE STAR. STUDENT’S BOOK, MACMILLAN
HEINEMANN, 1998
Stephens, Mary, PRACTISE ADVANCED WRITING, PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED,
1992
ENGLISH IN USE
Aspinall Tricia, ADVANCED MASTERCLASS CAE, OXFORD UP, 2002

Aspinall, Tricia, TEST YOUR BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE, CAMBRIDGE UP,
2003
Carter, Roland, EXPLORING GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT, CAMBRIDGE UP, 2002
Gude, Kathy, PROFICIENCY MASTERCLASS WORKBOOK, OXFORD UP, 2002
Haines, Simon, NEW FIRST CERTIFICATE MASTERCLASS WORKBOOK, OXFORD UP,
2002
Hewings, Martin, ADVANCED GRAMMAR IN USE, CAMBRIDGE UP, 2003
Manton, Kevin, FIRST INSIGHTS INTO BUSINESS WORKBOOK, LONGMAN, 2002
Mascull, Bill, BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE, CAMBRIDGE UP, 2003
McCarthy, Michael, ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE – ADVANCED, CAMBRIDGE UP,
2003
Prodromou, Luke, GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY FOR FIRST CERTIFICATE, MACMILLAN,
2002
Side, Richard, GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY FOR CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED AND
PROFICIENCY, LONGMAN, new edition, 2003
219
Tullis, Graham, NEW INSIGHTS INTO BUSINESS WORKBOOK, LONGMAN, 2002
Vince, Michael, ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE, MACMILLAN, 2003
Vince, Michael, FIRST CERTIFICATE LANGUAGE PRACTICE, MACMILLAN 2003
REFERENCE
CAMBRIDGE ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY, CAMBRIDGE UP, 2003
COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH LANGUAGE DICTIONARY, London, COLLINS, 2002COLLINS
DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ENGLISH, ed. Givi Zviadadze, Tbilisi,
TBILISI UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1981
HARBRAGE COLLEGE HANDBOOK, ed. John C. Hodges, New York, HBJ, 1990
LONGMAN IDIOMS DICTIONARY, Essex, LONGMAN, 2000
LONGMAN PHRASAL VERBS DICTIONARY, Essex, LONGMAN, 2000
LTP DICTIONARY OF SELECTED COLLOCATIONS, ed. Jimmie Hill, LTP, 1997
MODERN GUIDE TO SYNONYMS AND RELATED WORDS, ed. S.I. Hayakawa, London,
PENGUIN, 1987
OXFORD COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARY FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH, OXFORD UP, 2003
POCKET DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH USAGE, London, COLLINS, 1992
THE OXFORD PAPERBACK THESAURUS, OXFORD UP, 1995
PREPARATION COURSES AT THE LINGUA CENTRE, BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY
For information on these services ask your teacher or call the LINGUA
Centre secretary’s office (418663) Monday through Thursday between 11.00
and 15.00 and Fridays between 11.00 and 14.00.
Self-study courses:
LINGUA CALL** – PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH (Computer Assisted Language

Learning)
Teacher-guided courses:
CAMBRIDGE CPE / CAE
CAMBRIDGE BEC HIGHER
TOEFL
GENERAL ENGLISH UPPER-INTERMEDIATE and higher
BUSINESS ENGLISH UPPER-INTERMEDIATE and higher
220
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The raw texts processed / interpreted in the making of this course have
been taken from the sites below. The authors wish to express their thanks
as well as apologies for any accidental non-inclusion of sources.
http://www.tmaworld.com/solutions/ps.cfm?psid=7
http://www.icmassociates.com/html/book/intro.html
http://wlc.csumb.edu/support/career/Cct&p9.htm
Different branches of the following institutions’ sites have also been

used: THE BBC, THE GUARDIAN, THE OBSERVER, THE EUROPEAN UNION.
221

Course: Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Economics Department of Modern Languages Applied To Economics

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BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS

Department of Modern Languages Applied to Economics

ABOUT THE COURSE 3

UNIT 1: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION 8

UNIT 2: NATIONALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 32

UNIT 4: THE EUROPEAN UNION: HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS 87

UNIT 5: STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION 115

UNIT 6: POLITICAL SYSTEMS 132

UNIT 7: MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE 155

UNIT 8: MEETINGS 181

UNIT 9: PRESENTATIONS 183

UNIT 10: REPORTS 185

WRITING REVISION 189

RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY 219

This is a course of English as a foreign language containing a

The course combines class tasks with self-study. While class-related

Given the commitments that the Babes-Bolyai University has made to a

Regarding format, all tasks are adapted to the most relevant

By laying a special emphasis on content wedded to form(at), the authors

It should be borne in mind that all Babes-Bolyai exams in English as a

CAMBRIDGE CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English): advanced /

CAMBRIDGE CAE (Certificate in Advanced English): advanced level test for

CAMBRIDGE FCE (First Certificate in English): upper-intermediate level

CAMBRIDGE BEC HIGHER (Business English Certificate): advanced level test

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): upper-intermediate –

THE SPEAKING TASKS

THE READING TASKS

The reading tasks are based on the following types:

 Multiple choice, c.f. TOEFL, CAMBRIDGE: students read a text and

These are intended to test reading comprehension of specialized texts

THE ENGLISH IN USE TASKS

The English in use tasks are based on the following types:

The concept behind these tasks is an original, unique breakthrough in

These contain supplementary information relevant to the course and exams.

This is a concise list of publications which the authors strongly

The acknowledgements section includes the sources used in the selection

ORAL / WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

A meeting invitation or offer made by Jane to Bina:

J: Had any lunch?

Richard is standing up reading a document behind his desk when his

Maureen pops her head over the wall of Bina's cubicle:

1.  I appreciate job security

2.  I like watching TV every evening

4.  I had a great skiing holiday in Canada last year

5.  I gained experience in dealing with telephone enquiries

6.  I am keen to acquire new skills to apply to the job

7.  I got pretty average grades most of the time

8.  I have used a variety of computer applications

9.  My term project was rather difficult and boring

10.  I am easily bored by office routine

11.  I want a lot of money

12.  My university career demanded independence and high academic

13.  I am quite slow but I get there in the end

14.  I ‘m keen to start making a contribution to society as soon as I

15.  My friends think I’m really weird

16.  I prefer to keep my options open for the time being

17.  I expect to work as an office cleaner

19.  I enjoy a leadership role

20.  My last job was collecting and posting letters

21.  I’m sociable and approachable

22.  I prefer independent work

23.  My present job is really boring