Start up your business (Unit 23)

Nice to meet you. My name is Jackie and I’m a businesswoman. We started a sandwich bar because we were bored with the fact that so much food is pre-packed in plastic bags and we wanted to do something really fresh made. That's what people like. I like having this business because what we do is very people oriented, it's a service really, more than just a shop. The biggest problem is staff. If you can't get them you have to do everything like a one-man-band. So, managing a business is a hard work. At the beginning we went to the bank with a business plan and they offered us to lend money. Then a member of our family offered us the money - interest free - and we borrowed it.We earned enough to pay it back in the first year, as our business is getting stronger and stronger. Turnover is increasing all the time and last year profits doubled. But we plan to do lunches for companies soon and want to invest some money in new equipment. It's interesting because the margin is a lot higher and we like making money. Unfortunately, we have to increase our prices by 3 % because we'll pay more taxes next year.

I know that some organizations are in big trouble. It's difficult to run business for them because every year they have less customers. These organizations have to keep control of costs and plan the budget. Their turnover is getting down.To improve the situation they have to decrease the advertising budget, increase prices, borrow money from the bank at high interest and invest less in training. Some companies even pay all staff 10 % less salary to save some money, but I don't agree. I think high salary is important for motivation.

 

1. Translate from Russian into English:

предлагать, зарабатывать, беда, покупатель, важный, контролировать, еда, магазин, к сожалению, платить, тяжелая работа, скучно, планировать, улучшать.

 

2. Translate the words from English into Russian:

profit, turnover, budget, margin, costs, to borrow, to lend, to increase, to invest, prices, salary, to decrease, advertising, interest, staff, salary, training, to run business, equipment, to save money.

 

3. Answer the questions:

1) What business did Jackie start and why?

2) What is the biggest problem for Jackie and why?

3) Who offered money to Jackie?

4) When did she pay the money back?

5) What facts prove that her business is getting stronger?

6) What does she plan to do?

7) Why are some organisations in big trouble?

8) What do these organisations have to do to improve the situation?

9) What is a great motivation for the staff?

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? What business would you like to have and why?

What are the first steps to run your own business?

 

 

Money and finance (Units 23, 24).

Money is important in everyone’s working life. There are different forms of money: credit cards, coins, cash, bank cards, stocks and shares. We use them for shopping and travelling. When you want to pay for things, you can write a cheque or use your bank card or get money from a cash machine when the banks are closed.

A lot of people nowadays are really bad with money. They spend money on new cars, buy much bigger houses, expensive clothes and jewelry or invest in risky stocks and shares. How can we manage our money best? First of all, you should be careful with money. Every year you should reduce the costs, because the prices are increasing. It’s better to shop for low prices and not to pay for everything by credit card. Don’t borrow or lend money to your friends and relatives if you have a low income.

You should pay all your credit card bills immediately; try to invest 20% in a pension and save money in the bank for future. You can open a bank account when you want. Every month the bank sends you a bank statement which tells you how much money there is in the account. This money can earn interest of 2 or 3 per cent, depending on the current rates.

It’s reasonable to decide the budget at the beginning of every year, cut the size of electricity and telecoms bills, and keep all your receipts. As people say: "Money makes the world go round".

 

1.Translate from Russian into English:

деньги, наличные, тратить деньги на, путешествие, дорогая одежда и украшения, низкие цены, платить, одолжить, брать в займы, цена, увеличиваться, чек, бюджет, родственники.

 

2.Translate from English into Russian:

working life, bills, coins, to save money, to be bad/good with money, to invest in risky stocks and shares, to manage, a bank account, to earn interest, current rate, to reduce costs, electricity and telecoms bills.

 

3. Answer the questions:

1) What forms of money do you know?

2) What do people spend money on?

3) What should people do to be good with money?

4) How can you save your money?

5) How can we manage our money best?

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Are you good or bad with money and why? What do you usually spend money on? What would you buy if you have 1 million dollars?

Out of order (Unit 26).

Hello. My name is Jane. I'm a manager in the USA and had some problems on my last trip. I planned to fly to London last month for business but the flight was cancelled 24 hours before I travelled. I was really stressed, but I telephoned a travel agent friend who was really helpful and very quick. He solved the problem by finding another flight just one hour later. Unfortunately, the hotel staff didn't meet me at the airport.

I had a reservation in a terrible three-star hotel. I booked a single room. The room was cold and the lift was out of order. The hotel restaurant was always busy and the food was overcooked and cold. There was a problem with the shower - there was no hot water and no clean towels in the room. The coffee machine was broken. I wanted something from the minibar, but it was empty. I asked the receptionist to send somebody up and solve the problem but the staff were rude. Besides, the people in the next room were so noisy, that I couldn't sleep. I wanted to change the room and told the manager about all these problems. She said she would investigate, but she didn't.

Moreover, I had a major technical problem with the computer network. It was very slow. My computer crashed for no reason every 20 minutes. I had to find a solution quickly and called technical staff. They solved the problem and even upgraded my computer with more memory. But I'll never stay in that hotel again.

I had one really embarrassing moment. During the exhibition, I bought a new mobile phone. When I tried it at the hotel it didn't work so I took it back. I complained but the assistant was very patient. In fact, he dealt with the problem very quickly - he switched it on! He was very polite but I felt really stupid.

I ordered some products from a supplier at the exhibition I waited for three weeks but nothing arrived. Finally, I telephoned and explained the problem to a customer care manager. She said my order was sent to the wrong address because of a computer problem but she was very customer friendly: she listened, apologized and then offered me a 25% discount. Great customer service.

 

1. TranslatefromRussiantoEnglish:

путешествие, путешествовать, полет, шумный, комната, медленный, ломаться, жаловаться, терпеливый, включать, глупый, объяснять, поставщик, заказывать, неправильный, скидка.

 

2. Translate from English to Russian:

hotel staff, to meet, to be out of order, to investigate, to have a reservation, to book, major, to find a solution, to upgrade with memory, overcooked, customer-friendly, to apologize, unfortunately.

 

3. Answer the questions:

1) Where did Jane travel last month?

2) What problem did she have at the airport?

3) How did her travel agent friend help her?

4) Where did Jane live?

5) Was the room comfortable? Why not?

6) Did Jane like the restaurant? Why?

7) Did she have good neighbors?

8) Did Jane enjoy the service?

9) What problem did she have with the computer?

10) Does Jane plan to stay in that hotel again?

11) What embarrassing moment did Jane have?

12) Was she pleased with the customer care manager?

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? What problems did you have during your trip? How did you solve them? Was the manager customer friendly

 

Health (Unit 27).

Nice to meet you. I am Lewis. Let’s speak about health. Health is an essential part of our life. I can give you some advice that can improve your life. If you’ve put on weight and want to lose it, you should think carefully about what food you buy. You shouldn’t eat junk food, you have to exercise regularly and drink 2 liters of water every day. For example, if I’m overweight I try to be on a diet. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Since I cut down on eating fast food and chocolate, my weight has gone down by several kilos. I wish I did more exercises to be slim, but I haven’t got time. I want to relax more bur my job is very stressful. I would like to reduce working hours but I have too much to do. So, staying healthy can be difficult when you sit at work all day.

It is also important to give up all your bad habits. For example, my father wants to stop smoking because smoking is very bad for the lungs. But he is on 40 a day, because he always gets stressed. As for my mother, she is a very relaxed person. She is a vegetarian and doesn’t eat meat. My mother doesn’t spend all her time working and has a good work-life balance. So, she never gets tense. Besides, she doesn’t go to bed too late and gets a good night’s rest. I would like to be as laid back as my mom.

 

1. Translate from Russian into English:

жизнь, давать совет, овощи, фрукты, вес, работа, делать упражнения, здоровье, здоровый, привычка, курение, мясо, отдых, легкие.

 

2. Translate from English into Russian:

an essential part, junk food, to cut down on eating, to go down, stressful, to be slim, to put on weight, to lose weight, to reduce, to give up, to get tense, to be laid back.

3. Answer the questions:

1) What should a person do to lose weight?

2) Does Lewis have a good work-life balance?

3) What bad habit does his father have?

4) How many cigarettes a day does he smoke?

5) How does Lewis's mother keep fit?

6) Does she work a lot?

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? How do you support your health? What should a person do to stop stress?