2023-2024

CERPAMAD

Dr Wôkoudo Marcel
MASSIMBO

[ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS]

Master’s 2
Text 1: Trade war.
The world is waiting to see if a trade war breaks out between the USA and China.
Stock markets in Asia did badly in Friday's trading because investors are worried about U.S.
President Donald Trump's plans to hit Chinese companies with trade tariffs. A tariff is a tax a
country puts on goods and services coming in from other countries. President Trump has
warned China he will issue tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports.
China said it would issue its own tariffs in reply to Mr. Trump. Tokyo’s Nikkei share
index fell by more than 4 per cent on Friday, Shanghai's market was down more than 3 per
cent, and stocks and shares in Seoul fell by 3 per cent. There was also a fall on New York's
Wall Street stock exchange.
Experts on world trade are worried that the import tariffs could be the start of a global
trade war. Trade researcher Robert Carnell said: "If the tariffs go ahead as planned, then we
believe China will retaliate. It is impossible to imagine that they cannot. And then we expect
the U.S. to retaliate further. This can turn ugly on a global scale very quickly."
President Trump says he wants to protect U.S. workers and companies. Mr Trump is
not happy with the trade imbalance between the USA and China. Experts believe that the
USA buys $385 billion more goods from China than China buys from the USA. Trump wants
to try and reduce this imbalance by at least $100 billion with his tariffs.
Source: BBC, 2018.

Activity 1: NO WINNERS: Students group A strongly believe there are no winners in a

trade war; Students group B strongly believe there are. Each group should firmly defend its
position.

Activity 2: WARS: Why are countries fighting over these things? How can we stop them?
Complete this table with your partner(s).
Why? How can we stop them?
1)Information
2)Trade
3)Religion
4)Water
5)Land
6)Drugs

Activity 3: MARKET: Spend one minute writing down 3 different words you associate
with the word "market". Explain your choices.

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Activity 3: VOCABULARY MATCHING

Paragraph 1
1. breaks a. A tax on a particular class of imports.
2. trading b. Starts (especially a fight, war, etc.).
3. investors c. People or companies who put money intofinancial schemes,
property, etc. to try and make a profit (more
money).
4. tariffs d. Give out.
5. goods e. The shares of a particular company, type of company, or industry.
6. issue f. The action of buying and selling goods andservices.

7. stocks g. Things that are sold.

Paragraph 2
8. expert h. Think will happen.
9. import i. When two things are not equal.
10. retaliate j. Keep safe from harm or danger.
11. expect k. Hit back in return for an attack on you.
12. further l. Additional to what already exists or has already taken place, been done.
13. protect m. A person who has a lot of knowledge of orskill in a particular area.
14. imbalance n. Things, goods and services brought into a country from another
country.
Activity 4: Complete the following sentences

1) The world is waiting to see if a trade war ______

a. break shout
b. breaks in
c. breaks out
d. breaks up
2) A tariff is a tax a country puts on goods ______
a. end services
b. in services
c. sand services
d. and services
3) China said it would issue its own tariffs ______ Mr Trump
a. on reply to
b. in reply to
c. up reply to
d. non-reply to
4) Tokyo's Nikkei share index fell by more than ______ on Friday
a. 4.4 per cent
b. 4 per cent
c. 0.4 per cent
d. 0.44 per cent
5) There was also a fall on New York's Wall Street ______
a. stock exchange
b. stock in change
c. stock exchanged
d. stock ex-changer

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6) Experts on world trade are worried that the import tariffs could ______
a. been the starting
b. be the start
c. being the start
d. be the starts
7) If the tariffs go ahead as planned, then we believe China ______
a. will repatriate
b. will retaliation
c. will retaliate
d. will retaliates
8) And then we expect the U.S. to retaliate further. This ______
a. can turns ugly
b. can turned ugly
c. can turn ugly
d. can turning ugly
9) Mr Trump is not happy with the ______
a. trade in balance
b. trading balance
c. trading in balance
d. trade imbalance
10) Trump wants to try and reduce this imbalance ______ $100 billion
a. by at lost
b. by at least
c. by at lest
d. by at last

Activity 5 : Answer the following questions according to the text

1. How did stock markets do in Asia on Friday?

2. What is the name of a tax put on imports?
3. What is the value of Chinese goods Mr Trump wants to put tariffs on?
4. By how much did the Nikkei fall on Friday?
5. In which non-Asian stock market was there a fall in share prices?
6. What does Robert Carnell believe China will do if the US uses tariffs?
7. How did a researcher say things could turn?
8. Who does President Trump want to protect?
9. What is the value of the trade imbalance between the USA and China?
10. By how much does President Trump want to reduce the trade imbalance?

Activity 6: Individual work.

Topic: What may be the consequences of trade war on a developing country such as Burkina
Faso?
Give your opinion in a well-structured paragraph, no more than 100 words.

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Text 2

Read a blog post about doing business in different cultures to practice and improve your
reading skills.

Before reading: Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
Vocabulary Definitions
1. …… stark a. subtle differences in meaning
2. …… to be conceived as b. to be useful to someone in the future
3. …… to break the ice c. arrogant and self-important
4. …… nuances d. extreme and obvious, often used with ‘difference’ or
‘contrast’
5. …… to stand someone in good stead e. to be thought of as
6. …… pompous f. boring, uninteresting or ordinary
7. …… to pigeonhole someone g. to do something that helps relieve the tension and get
conversation going, especially between people
meeting for the first time
8. …… mundane h. to label someone and put them in a restrictive category

Reading text: Cultural behavior in business

Much of today’s business is conducted across international borders, and while the majority of the
global business community might share the use of English as a common language, the nuances and
expectations of business communication might differ greatly from culture to culture. A lack of
understanding of the cultural norms and practices of our business acquaintances can result in unfair
judgements, misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication. Here are three basic areas of
differences in the business etiquette around the world that could help stand you in good stead when
you next find yourself working with someone from a different culture.
Addressing someone
When discussing this topic in a training course, a German trainee and a British trainee got into a hot
debate about whether it was appropriate for someone with a doctorate to use the corresponding
title on their business card. The British trainee maintained that anyone who wasn’t a medical
doctor expecting to be addressed as ‘Dr’ was disgustingly pompous and full of themselves. The
German trainee, however, argued that the hard work and years of education put into earning that
PhD should give them full rights to expect to be addressed as ‘Dr’.
This stark difference in opinion over something that could be conceived as minor and thus easily
overlooked goes to show that we often attach meaning to even the most mundane practices.
When things that we are used to are done differently, it could spark the strongest reactions in us.
While many Continental Europeans and Latin Americans prefer to be addressed with a title, for
example Mr or Ms and their surname when meeting someone in a business context for the first
time, Americans, and increasingly the British, now tend to prefer using their first names. The
best thing to do is to listen and observe how your conversation partner addresses you and, if you
are still unsure, do not be afraid to ask them how they would like to be addressed.

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 Smiling
A famous Russian proverb states that ‘a smile without reason is a sign of idiocy’ and a so-called
‘smile of respect’ is seen as insincere and often regarded with suspicion in Russia. Yet in
countries like the United States, Australia and Britain, smiling is often interpreted as a sign of
openness, friendship and respect, and is frequently used to break the ice.. In a piece of research
done on smiles across cultures, the researchers found that smiling individuals were considered
more intelligent than non-smiling people in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, China and
Malaysia. However, in countries like Russia, Japan, South Korea and Iran, pictures of smiling
faces were rated as less intelligent than the non-smiling ones. Meanwhile, in countries like
India, Argentina and the Maldives, smiling was associated with dishonesty.
Eye contact
An American or British person might be looking their client in the eye to show that they are paying
full attention to what is being said, but if that client is from Japan or Korea, they might find the
direct eye contact awkward or even disrespectful. In parts of South America and Africa,
prolonged eye contact could also be seen as challenging authority. In the Middle East, eye
contact across genders is considered inappropriate, although eye contact within a gender could
signify honesty and truthfulness.
Having an increased awareness of the possible differences in expectations and behaviour can help
us avoid cases of miscommunication, but it is vital that we also remember that cultural stereotypes
can be detrimental to building good business relationships. Although national cultures could play a
part in shaping the way we behave and think, we are also largely influenced by the region we come
from, the communities we associate with, our age and gender, our corporate culture and our
individual experiences of the world. The knowledge of the potential differences should therefore be
something we keep at the back of our minds, rather than something that we use to pigeonhole the
individuals of an entire nation.
Task 1
Choose the correct answer.

1. The British trainee felt that people who want to be addressed as ‘Dr’ must be …
a. hard-working.
b. conceited and self-important.
c. doing a medical degree.
d. from Germany.
2. If you are not sure how to address someone, you should …
a. use the title you see on their business card.
b. make your decision based on cultural stereotypes about their country.
c. address them the way you’d like to be addressed.
d. ask them what they would like you to call them.
3. There might be a misunderstanding if an American smiles at a Russian business
associate because the Russian might think that the American is …
a. being fake.
b. challenging their authority.
c. trying to break the ice.
d. disrespectful.

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4. The Japanese, South Koreans and Iranians might interpret a smiling face as being
a. friendlier.
b. less open.
c. not as intelligent.
d. dishonest.
5. Americans and British people sometimes use eye contact to show that they …
a. like the speaker.
b. are really listening to what is being said.
c. are honest and truthful.
d. are attending to every need of the speaker.
6. The last paragraph warns the reader not to …
a. engage in international business.
b. let national cultures shape the way we behave and think.
c. let miscommunication damage our business relationships.
d. overgeneralize using our knowledge of cultural stereotypes.
Task 2 Are the sentences true or false?
1. When doing business internationally, there is a possibility that we might misinterpret what
each other is saying even though we are speaking the same language.
2. To the German trainee, having a PhD is equivalent to being a medical doctor.
3. Sometimes, the smallest things can trigger a huge emotional response in us, especially
when they are things we are not used to.
4. In the research done to the perceptions of smiles, people from different countries were
asked to rate photos of smiling faces and non-smiling faces.
5. Making eye contact can be interpreted in different ways in different cultures but is almost
always a positive thing.
6. The writer recommends keeping possible cultural differences in the forefront of our minds
when doing business with people with different cultures.

Task 3: scan the text and find a synonym to the following words
1. An attitude
2. A frontier
3. A shortage of
4. Honesty
5. A physician
6. Embarrassing
Task 4: Scan the text and find an antonym to the following words
1. Understanding
2. Communication
3. Respectful
4. Appropriate
5. Fair

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 Discussion
What practices have you encountered that seemed strange or even inappropriate to you? How
did you manage?

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 TEXT 3: Bank of England
Workers at the United Kingdom's central bank, the Bank of England, have voted to
stage a four-day strike in support of a pay claim. It will be the first walkout by staff from the
bank in over five decades. Over 95 per cent of bankers who voted opted for strike action over
what they deem to be an unacceptable pay rise offer. The Bank offered its workers a
collective one per cent pay rise for its staff. The deal means that a third of staff could get no
pay increase at all. The union that represents the Bank's workers said: "The result of the
Bank's unwillingness to negotiate fair pay will be that the Bank's sites, including the iconic
Threadneedle Street [premises] in the City of London, will effectively be inoperable."

The Bank of England was established in 1694. It is the second oldest central bank in
operation today. Workers at the bank are suffering along with millions more public sector
staff in the UK who have had their annual salary increase capped at one per cent. This is
below the level of inflation, which currently stands at 2.9 per cent. A union spokeswoman
said workers would be taking action, "because of the bank's total refusal to accept that its
workforce is struggling to meet their costs of living". She added: "It is nothing short of
shameful that the iconic symbol of financial services in the UK is choosing to ride roughshod
over the concerns of its dedicated and hardworking staff and impose this derisory pay deal."

Activity 1: STRIKE: Students A strongly believe strikes should be made illegal;

Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your
conversations.
Activity 2: BANK WORKERS: What do you think it's like to be a bank worker?
Complete this table with your partner(s).

Good things Bad things

Pay
Hours
Boss(es)
Stress
Colleagues
Customers

Activity 3: PAY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you
associate with the word "pay". Put the words into different categories.

Activity 4: WORKER: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important things
at the top.

good pay
good boss
chances for promotion
interesting work
great colleagues
long holidays
job satisfaction
good place of work

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Activity 5: TRUE / FALSE: Read and SAY if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. Bank of England staff will strike for four days. T / F
b. It will be the first ever time for Bank of England staff to go on strike. T / F
c. The Bank offered its staff a one per cent pay rise. T / F
d. The workers' union said the bank will be inoperable during the strike. T / F
e. The Bank of England was set up in 1649. T / F
f. Millions of UK workers have had their pay rises capped. T / F
g. The union said the Bank accepted its workers were struggling financially. T / F
h. A union spokeswoman called the pay deal deserving. T / F

Activity 6: SYNONYM MATCH:

Match the following synonyms. The words in bold are from the news article.
1. stage a. unworkable
2. walkout b. talk
3. collective c. limited
4. negotiate d. pitiful
5. inoperable e. industrial action
6. established f. staff
7. capped g. join in
8. workforce h. disgraceful
9. shameful i. set up
10. derisory j. combined

Activity 7: PHRASE MATCH:

1. voted to stage a. symbol

2. in support b. opted for strike action
3. bankers who voted c. their costs of living
4. a third of staff could get no d. to negotiate fair pay
5. the Bank's unwillingness e. public sector staff
6. Workers at the bank are f. a four-day strike
7. millions more g. pay increase at all
8. its workforce is struggling to meet h. hardworking staff
9. the iconic i. of a pay claim
10. dedicated and j. suffering

Activity 8: Choose the best answer and fill in the gaps.

1) It will be the first walkout by staff from the bank in ______

a. overly five decades
b. over five decades
c. over five decade
d. over five decadence
2) The Bank offered its workers a collective one per cent pay ______
a. risen for its staff
b. arise for its staff
c. rise for its staff
d. riser for its staff

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3) The deal means that a third of staff could get no pay ______
a. increase at all
b. increase a tall
c. increase at tall
d. increase atoll
4) The result of the Bank's unwillingness to ______
a. negotiates flair pay
b. negotiate fair pay
c. negotiated fair pay
d. negotiate flair pay
5) Threadneedle Street premises in the City of London will effectively ______
a. be in operable
b. being operable
c. been operable
d. be inoperable
6) It is the second oldest central bank ______
a. in operation today
b. in operating today
c. in operations today
d. in operational today
7) millions more public sector staff in the UK who have had their annual
a. salary ink crease capped
b. salary on crease capped
c. salary in crease capped
d. salary increase capped
8) A union spokeswoman said workers would ______
a. be taking action
b. be take in action
c. be taking in action
d. be take inaction
9) accept that its workforce is struggling to meet their ______
a. costs off living
b. cost of living
c. costs of living
d. cost off living
10) the concerns of its dedicated and hardworking staff and impose this ______
a. desired pay deal
b. designed pay deal
c. derisorypay deal
d. decidespay deal

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 Activity 9: COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. How long do the Bank's workers want to go on strike for?
2. What percentage of workers who voted chose strike action?
3. How much of a pay offer did the Bank offer its staff?
4. Who or what is representing the Bank's workers?
5. Where is Threadneedle Street?
6. When was the Bank of England established?
7. Which other sector of society is suffering?
8. What did the article say the level of inflation is in the UK?
9. What are the Bank's workers struggling to meet?
10. What did a union spokeswoman call the pay deal?

Activity 10: Reorder the underlined words

1. in over five ddecase

2. teodp for strike action
3. a tvcolcilee one per cent
4. The union that erpsnreets the Bank's workers
5. gnieotate fair pay
6. …will viefcfetlye be inoperable
Paragraph 2
7. ebslseidtha in 1694
8. public oesrtc staff
9. It is nothing short of uelfahms
10. the occiin symbol
11. cdetiedad and hardworking staff
12. impose this soerdriy pay deal

Individual writing: Imagine you are a company’s manager and your workers announce you

their intention to go on strike. What will be the actions you will take?

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 Text 4

Before reading
Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
Vocabulary Definitions
1. …… overconsumption a. to hit someone with a lot of something, without pausing
2. …… disposable b. designed to be thrown away after use
3. …… consumerism c. a place where rubbish is buried under the ground
4. …… to bombard d. to appear
5. …… to spring up e. the practice of buying and owning lots of products
6. …… a landfill site f. the act of spending more money than you should
7. …… overspending g. using too much of something
8. …… an influencer h. someone who uses social media to advertise products to their
followers

Reading text: The Buy Nothing movement

Social media, magazines and shop windows bombard people daily with things to buy, and
British consumers are buying more clothes and shoes than ever before. Online shopping
means it is easy for customers to buy without thinking, while major brands offer such cheap
clothes that they can be treated like disposable items – worn two or three times and then
thrown away.
In Britain, the average person spends more than £1,000 on new clothes a year, which is
around four per cent of their income. That might not sound like much, but that figure hides two
far more worrying trends for society and for the environment. First, a lot of that consumer
spending is via credit cards. British people currently owe approximately £670 per adult to credit
card companies. That’s 66 per cent of the average wardrobe budget. Also, not only are people
spending money they don’t have, they’re using it to buy things they don’t need. Britain throws
away 300,000 tons of clothing a year, most of which goes into landfill sites.
People might not realize they are part of the disposable clothing problem because they donate
their unwanted clothes to charities. But charity shops can’t sell all those unwanted clothes.
‘Fast fashion’ goes out of fashion as quickly as it came in and is often too poor quality to
recycle; people don’t want to buy it second-hand. Huge quantities end up being thrown
away, and a lot of clothes that charities can’t sell are sent abroad, causing even more
economic and environmental problems.
However, a different trend is springing up in opposition to consumerism – the ‘buy nothing’
trend. The idea originated in Canada in the early 1990s and then moved to the US, where it
became a rejection of the overspending and overconsumption of Black Friday and Cyber
Monday during Thanksgiving weekend. On Buy Nothing Day people organize various types
of protests and cut up their credit cards. Throughout the year, Buy Nothing groups organize
the exchange and repair of items they already own.
The trend has now reached influencers on social media who usually share posts of clothing
and make-up that they recommend for people to buy. Some YouTube stars now encourage
their viewers not to buy anything at all for periods as long as a year. Two friends in Canada
spent a year working towards buying only food. For the first three months they learned how
to live without buying electrical goods, clothes or things for the house. For the next stage,
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 they gave up services, for example haircuts, eating out at restaurants or buying petrol for
their cars. In one year, they’d saved $55,000.
The changes they made meant two fewer cars on the roads, a reduction in plastic and paper
packaging and a positive impact on the environment from all the energy saved. If everyone
followed a similar plan, the results would be impressive. But even if you can’t manage a full
year without going shopping, you can participate in the anti-consumerist movement by refusing
to buy things you don’t need. Buy Nothing groups send a clear message to companies that
people are no longer willing to accept the environmental and human cost of overconsumption.

Task 1 Are the sentences true or false?

1. People buy clothes because they want to throw them away

2. The writer thinks it is worrying that people spend money on things they do not need.
3. The amount the average Briton owes on credit cards is one third of the amount they
spend on clothes each year.
4. Only a very small proportion of unwanted clothes are thrown away.
5. Charities can find ways to use clothes even if they are not very good quality
6. Buy Nothing Day is a protest against credit cards.
7. The two friends who did the ‘buy nothing’ experiment only bought food for 12 months.
8. If everyone followed the Buy Nothing idea, the environment would benefit.

Task 2
Complete the sentences with words from the box.
Sites hand spending shops fashion away

1. Fast ……………………………… is made quickly and cheaply.

2. Some clothing is so cheap that people can afford to wear it a couple of times and
throw it ……………………………… .
3. There is a worrying trend for more consumers ……………………………… on credit
cards.
4. Giving clothes to charity ……………………………… does not completely solve the
problem.
5. Make sure you only donate clothes that people will want to buy second-
……………………………… .
6. A lot of clothes donated to charity cannot be reused and end up in landfill
……………………………… .
Discussion
What do you think about the buy nothing trend?

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Text 5:
The airplane maker Airbus has announced plans to cease production of its A380
aircraft. The iconic A380 is the world's largest passenger airplane and has been in service for
12 years. When it was launched, it was heralded as the future of aviation. However, changes
in the demands of passengers mean the days of giant, four-engine passenger planes are over.
Airbus decided to call a halt to production of the 544-seat A380 due to weaker than expected
sales. The nail in the coffin was when the Dubai based Emirates Airline cut its A380 order by
39 planes. Airbus said it would stop building the A380 in 2021. This will result in significant
job losses at companies linked to the plane's manufacture.
The A380 embarked on its inaugural flight in April 2005 to great fanfare. Then British
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the giant jet a "symbol of economic strength". His Spanish
counterpart called the plane "the realization of a dream". The plane was designed to combat
congestion at airports by reducing the number of planes needed in the skies. However,
booming air travel has generated a higher demand for twin-engine planes that can fly non-stop
to where people want to travel. Giant, four-engine jets usually require passengers to transit at
hub airports. An Emirates spokesperson said the A380 was a "passenger magnet" that was
misunderstood and badly marketed by other airlines.

Activity 1: TRAVEL: Rank these with your partner. Put the best ways of traveling
at the top.
airplane
bicycle
car
horse
motorbike
helicopter
train
Segway

Activity 2: AIR TRAVEL: Students A strongly believe air travel is the best way to
travel;
Students B strongly believe it isn't. Strongly defend your point of views.

Activity 3: AIRPLANES: How can we make them better? Are there any problems
with these ideas? Complete this table with your partner(s).

Problems Improvements
Environment
Fuel
Airports
Routes
Food

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 Activity 4: PRODUCTION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different
words you associate with the word "production". Share your words with us. Together, put the
words into different categories of your choice.

Activity 5: VOCABULARY MATCHING

Paragraph 1
1. announced a. Was a sign that (something) is about to happen.
2. cease b. A person or thing regarded as being a symbol of something
(usually something great).
3. iconic c. Bring or come to an end; stop.
4. launched d. An action or event regarded as likely to have a very bad or
destructive effect on a situation.
5. heralded e. Made a public and typically formal declaration about a fact.
6. aviation f. Started a business, product, campaign ,etc. for the first time.
7. nail in the coffin g. Anything about the science or practice of flight and flying.
Paragraph 2
8. inaugural h. Take action to reduce, destroy, or prevent something.
9. fanfare i. The effective center of an activity, region, or network.
10. counterpart j. So crowded with traffic or people as to hinder freedom of
movement.
11. combat k. Great media attention or elaborate ceremony.
12. congestion l. A person or thing that has a powerful attraction.
13. hub m. Marking the beginning of an institution, activity, or period of
office.
14. magnet n. A person or thing holding a position or performing a function that
corresponds to that of another person or thing in
another place.

Activity 6: TRUE / FALSE: Read and guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. The A380 airplane is the world's biggest passenger airplane. T / F
b. The Airbus A380 has been flying for over 20 years. T / F
c. Production of A380s is stopping because of falling demand. T / F
d. Airbus will stop making the A380 in 2021. T / F
e. There was a funfair next to the A380 when it first launched. T / F
f. A Spanish leader suggested the A380 was like a dream come true. T / F
g. There is a higher demand for 4-engine planes then twin-engine planes. T / F
h. Airbus said ending the A380 will not result in job losses. T / F

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Activity 7: SYNONYM MATCH: (The words in bold are from the news article.)
1. announced a. flight
2. cease b. strong
3. aviation c. serious
4. expected d. peer
5. significant e. stop
6. inaugural f. overcrowding
7. counterpart g. made public
8. congestion h. change
9. booming i. hoped for
10. transit j. first
3. PHRASE MATCH:
1. plans to cease production a. aviation
2. in service b. stop
3. heralded as the future of c. expected sales
4. due to weaker than d. congestion at airports
5. This will result in significant e. of its A380 aircraft
6. The A380 embarked on its f. strength
7. a symbol of economic g. at hub airports
8. The plane was designed to combat h. job losses
9. twin-engine planes that can fly non- i. inaugural flight
10. require passengers to transit j. for 12 years

Activity 8: Choose the right answer.

1) The airplane maker Airbus has announced plans to ______

a. cease production
b. crease production
c. seize production
d. seas production
2) When it was launched, it was heralded as the future ______
a. of aviation
b. off aviation
c. of aviators
d. off aviating
3) call a halt to production of the 544-seat A380 due to weaker than ______
a. expectant sails
b. expecting sells
c. expected sales
d. expect it cells
4) The nail in the coffin was when the Dubai-based Emirates Airline cut ______
a. its A380 folder
b. its A380 border
c. its A380 hoarder
d. its A380 order

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 5) This will result in significant job losses at companies linked ______
manufacture
a. to a plane's
b. to their plane's
c. to this plane's
d. to the plane's

6) The A380 embarked on its inaugural flight in April 2005 ______

a. to greet fun fair
b. too great fan fair
c. to great fanfare
d. twograte fun fare
7) Prime Minister Tony Blair called the giant jet a "symbol of ______"
a. economically strength
b. economist strength
c. economics strength
d. economic strength
8) combat congestion at airports by reducing the number of planes needed
______
a. in them skies
b. in the skies
c. in their skies
d. in then skies
9) Giant, four-engine jets usually require passengers to ______ airports
a. transit at hub
b. transit at rub
c. transit at pub
d. transit at dub
10) the A380 was a "passenger magnet" that was misunderstood and ______
a. badly market it
b. badly mark it
c. badly mar kitted
d. badly marketed

Activity 10: COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. How long has the A380 been in service?
2. What was the A380 believed to be the future of?
3. What days did the article say was over?
4. How many planes did Emirates cut its order by?
5. What will be lost because of the ending of the production of the A380?
6. When was the A380's inaugural flight?
7. What did Britain's former Prime Minister say the A380 was a symbol of?
8. What did the article say there was a higher demand for?
9. Where did the article say passengers were required to transit?
10. What did an Emirates spokesperson call the A380?

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 Text 6: Anti-natalism
A man in India is unhappy that he was born. He did not want to be born. He is suing
his parents because they did not ask him if he wanted to be born. The man lives in the city of
Mumbai. His name is Raphael Samuel and he is 27 years old. He is suing his parents for
giving birth to him without his consent. Mr Samuel calls himself an anti-natalist. This is
someone who believes in a philosophy called anti-natalism. This philosophy puts a negative
value on birth. Anti-natalists believe that people should try not to have children. They believe
that having children is morally wrong. They believe that the world is a better place with fewer
children in it. China's one-child policy was a result of anti-natalism.
Raphael Samuel has posted a video on YouTube explaining why he wants to sue his
parents. The video has gone viral. In the video, Mr Samuel answers questions from his
followers and from reporters. He said: "I want everyone in India and the world to realize one
thing - that they are born without their consent. I want them to understand that they do not
owe their parents anything. If we are born without our consent, we should be maintained for
our life. We should be paid by our parents to live." He added: "I love my parents...but they
had me for their joy and their pleasure." Samuel's mother said she would accept fault if her
son could explain how she could have asked for his consent to be born.

Activity 1: FEWER CHILDREN: Students A strongly believe people should have

fewer children; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Defend your positions.
Activity 2: COST: How much do children cost? How could we reduce this cost?
Complete this table with your partner(s).

Cost How can we

reduce this
Education
Toys
Clothes
Birthdays
Outings

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 Activity 3: VOCABULARY MATCHING
Paragraph 1
1. angry a. Agreeing to do something or agreeing for
something to happen.
2. consent b. Think that something is true.
3. philosophy c. Having a very strong feeling of unhappiness.
4. believe d. The arrival of a new baby from the body of its mother.
5. negative e. Bad; not good or positive.
6. birth f. A course of action followed by a
government, party, business, or person.
7. policy g. The ideas, beliefs and study of knowledge, reality, and life.
Paragraph 2
8. sue h. A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
9. follower i. The blame or responsibility for an accident or misfortune.
10. realize j. Have to pay or repay (something, especially money) in return for
something you got before.
11. consent k. Take someone (or something) to court toget money from them
because they did something wrong.
12. owe l. Someone who follows the ideas, website or plans of another
person.
13. maintained m. Given money and other things needed to live.
14. pleasure n. Become to understand something clearly.

Activity 5: TRUE / FALSE: Read and Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. A man in India did not want to be born. T / F
b. The man is 72 years old. T / F
c. The man is an anti-naturist. T / F
d. Anti-natalists believe people should have lots of children. T / F
e. A video the man posted has gone viral online. T / F
f. The man answered questions from reporters in his YouTube video. T / F
g. The man said we should help to pay for our parents to live. T / F
h. The man's mother said she would accept fault for her son's birth. T / F

Activity 6: SYNONYM MATCH: (The words in bold are from the news article.)
1. unhappy a. bad
2. suing b. blame
3. consent c. uploaded
4. negative d. permission
5. believe e. be in debt to
6. posted f. sad
7. reporters g. looked after
8. owe h. think
9. maintained i. taking legal action
10. fault j. journalists

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Activity 7: PHRASE MATCH:
1. A man in India is unhappy that he a. and their pleasure
2. giving birth to him without b. fewer children in it
3. This philosophy puts a negative c. gone viral
4. the world is a better place with d. maintained for our life
5. China's one- e. his consent
6. The video has f. could explain how
7. they do not owe their g. was born
8. we should be h. parents anything
9. they had me for their joy i. child policy
10. she would accept fault if her son j. value on birth

Activity 8: Guess the answers.

1) A man in India is unhappy that he was born. He did not want ______
a. to be burn
b. to be bourn
c. to be born
d. to be birth
2) He is suing his parents for giving birth to him without ______
a. his consensus
b. his consensual
c. his consent
d. his consents
3) This is someone who believes in a philosophy called ______
a. ant in-natalism
b. auntie-natalism
c. untie-natalism
d. anti-natalism

4) This philosophy puts a negative ______

a. value in birth
b. value at birth
c. value to birth
d. value on birth
5) They believe that the world is a better place with ______
a. fewer children
b. less children
c. smaller children
d. infrequent children
6) YouTube explaining why he wants to sue his parents. The video has ______
a. gone viral
b. gone vital
c. gone virus
d. gone rival
7) I want them to understand that they do not ______ parents
a. owe there
b. owe they're
c. owe their
d. owe them

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8) If we are born without our consent, we should be maintained ______
a. for your life
b. for our life
c. for our live
d. for your live
9) He added: "I love my parents...but they had me for their joy and ______."
a. their pleasured
b. their pleasurable
c. their pressure
d. their pleasure
10) Samuel's mother said she would ______
a. accept faulty
b. accept fault
c. accept faulted
d. accept default

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. In which city does Raphael Samuel live?
2. How old is Raphael Samuel?
3. What value do anti-natalists put on birth?
4. What do anti-natalists think it is better to have fewer of in the world?
5. What Chinese policy was a result of anti-natalism?
6. Where did Mr Samuel post a video?
7. Who did Samuel answer questions from?
8. What did Samuel say people owed their parents?
9. What feeling does Samuel have for his parents?
10. What did Samuel's mother say she could accept?

Discussion: Are you happy to be born and to live where you’re currently?

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