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2016-2017 ACADEMIC YEAR SPRING SEMESTER
MDB3032/3042 BUSINESS ENGLISH
FINAL REVISION
VOCABULARY
Part 1: Choose the most suitable word from the box to fill in the blanks. There are TWO EXTRAS.
vacancy (n)
objective (adj)
schedule (n)
embrace (v)
articulate (adj)
supplier (n)
interest (n)
assess (v)
extension (n)
graduate (n)
dialling tone (n)
stock (n)
1. There is huge vacancy in many reputed insurance companies in managerial role. You can easily fill in
one of those empty positions.
2. Job objectives can help clarify goals between supervisors and employees. They can also help you see
how you can fit in with larger organizational goals.
3. The supplier that we made a contract is not only providing the merchandise, but also packaging and
shipping it to the buyer.
4. Every company should continually monitor and assess their employees. Evaluating employee
performance should be carried out on an on-going basis.
5. We're looking for a university graduate with a minimum three years' experience within a luxury goods
wholesale team.
6. The academic schedule contains a chart of all major deadlines such as when classes start and end.
You should plan yourself accordingly.
7. To be global as an organization requires that executives embrace diverse learning at the
personal/interpersonal level and at the business level. This includes learning to welcome differences
with personal curiosity and empathy.
8. It's a bit of a pain when you're trying to dial a company and have to wait to enter the extension
number each time for the department.
9. Dialling tone is a telephony signal, usually in the form of a sound, used to indicate that the telephone
exchange is working, has recognized an off-hook, and is ready to accept a call.
10. If your size is not showing up, it is unfortunately out of stock. If the item is a sale item we are not able
to re-order it.
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Part 4: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the box below.
articulate
punctual
motivated ruthless
independent
creative
ambitious
easy-going
generous
enthusiastic
1) Women have to be more ambitious than men if they want to get anywhere in the business world. In
other words, they have to be determined to be successful.
2) I suddenly realized that my precious son was a full-grown man, quite independent of his father and
me. He is more confident and able to do things by himself in your his way, without needing help or
advice from his father and me.
3) You should be careful of Ian - he can be pretty ruthless if anyone gets in his way. I mean he is
extremely determined to do whatever he wants, even if it is wrong.
4) Several enthusiastic young teachers have just started working at the school. They are showing a lot of
interest and excitement about working here.
5) They're always punctual, because one of their men works there and has been put in funds in advance.
6) Our parents are pretty relaxed and easy-going, and they don't mind if we stay out late. They never
worry about the places that we go.
7) Roy was always cheerful and outgoing and generous to everyone. He is always sympathetic to
people, and tends to see the good qualities in someone or something.
8) You have to be articulate to be good at debating. I mean you have to express your ideas clearly and
well if you want to beat your opponents.
9) The students were all highly motivated when they were conducting a research on the side-effects of
the new medicine. Because they wanted to be successful in their assignments and they were really
excited about what they have found.
10) I move confidently among the technicians, the ideas-men and creative consultants, the engineers. All
of them were good at producing new ideas.
Part 2: Fill in the blanks with one of the words in the box.
application letter
interview
job description
apply
job vacancies
applicant
curriculum vitae or CV (GB) or resume (US)
short-listed
employment
agencies
reference
application form
candidate
Many people looking for work read job vacancies advertised in newspapers by companies and
employment agencies. To reply to an advertisement is to apply for a job. You become a candidate or an
applicant. You write an application letter, or fill in the company’s application form, and send it, along
with your CV and a cover letter. You often have to give the names of two people who are prepared to give a
reference to you. If your qualifications and abilities match the job description, you might be short-listed
(short list: a list of the most suitable people for a job or a prize, chosen from all the people who were first considered)
, i.e. selected to attend an
interview.
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Part3: Complete the letter with an appropriate word from the box.
position
salary
attached
look forward
confirm
pleased
proposed
application
queries
hesitate
acceptance
FAİRER TRADE LTD
Denzell house, Cheshire
Mr. Andrew Harris
77 Dunham Road
Bolton
Lancashire BL3 2FK
14 March
Dear Mr. Harris,
Further to your application for the post we advertised, I am pleased to confirm that the Selection Board
which met on 11th March recommended that you will be appointed to the position, subject to medical
clearance.
Your salary will be paid at the rate of £25,000 per annum. Other benefits are set out in the particular of
post attached. I should be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you wish to take up the post by
Wednesday 20th March so that we can be sure when you will be able to start.
The proposed start date is on 8th April and your contract, which is for a period of one year, will be issued
after we receive written confirmation of your acceptance.
If you have any queries regarding the terms and conditions of service of the appointment in the meantime,
please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number. I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Yours sincerely,
Karen Poulson, Recruitment Officer
Part 4: Complete the letter with an appropriate word from the box.
grateful
free any morning
convenient
faithfully
customers
confirm
shortly staying
look forward
Dear Sir or Madam,
We have heard from one of our mutual customers that your company is involved in a number of interesting
design projects.
As I am shortly staying in your city on business, I am writing to enquire whether it would be convenient to
visit your office. I shall be in town from 14th to 18th November. I would be free any morning from 11.30
onwards and in the afternoon of 15th November.
I would be extremely grateful if you could confirm whether a brief visit could be arranged on one of the
days and at times suggested. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Anita Trosborg
Design Director
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Part 5: Fill in the blanks in the following extract from a speech with the appropriate signposts from
the list.
so far
let me begin with
today I’m going to discuss
at this point of my speech
let me get back to
this brings me to
which I will take up
now I will move onto
I will round off by
I will leave out
Good morning ladies and gentlemen! I am Nicholas Nigel. I am sure most of you know me as the
guy who has divorced three women and also as one rumor tells me, the notorious conference womaniser.
Please, don’t feel guilty about the gossips you have been making about me or anybody for that matter. We
all enjoy the guilty pleasures of talking behind the backs of other people. As a matter of fact, gossip is more
than just idle chitchat; it is also how we arrange our world as social animals. Yes ladies and gentleman, as
you may have guessed, (1) _____ today I’m going to discuss ______ the three very essential functions
of gossip rather than accusing anybody of gossiping.
(2) _____ Let me begin with _______ networking. As social animals we are status-conscious.
Navigating the social pathways of the tribe requires a good understanding of its complexity. Among human
beings, as in other primate species, being of high rank confers an important array of benefits: health,
wealth, and happiness. But attaining these benefits and avoiding failure is difficult. One reason is that social
hierarchy is multidimensional. People deploy a wide repertoire of talents to compare themselves with
others. Moreover, social structure is dynamic; it changes all the time. O.K. (3) ____ I will leave out
________ these difficulties for the time being as they are out of our scope.
Now (4) ____ let me get back to _______ why people need to gossip. (5) ____ So far _____, I
have been talking about the importance of gossip as it tells us about our location within the hierarchy of
relationships. (6) ___ Now I will move onto _________ the other function: influence. Even when our social
position is apparently immobile, we retain an active interest in making sure we do not lose it. When we find
an opportunity, we try to advance a good opinion about ourselves to those who can help us. However, it is
not enough to do good; you need a reputation for doing good for it to count in your favour. Like it or not, we
all are confronted with the task of selling ourselves and making sure other people have a positive
impression of us.
This is all I want to say about influence. To continue, we often use gossip for the sake of what
seems to be pure one-one pleasure. (7) ____ This brings me to ________ the third function of gossip:
alliances, (8) ____ which I will take up ________ as the last point today. Human gossip follows the same
asymmetries as a monkey picking lice from another’s fur; the weak groom the strong more than vice versa.
People supply information to whom that are attracted and with whom they wish to align themselves. When I
give you a titbit of gossip- “remember it is a secret”- I am also telling you that you are valuable to be a
recipient.
(9) _____ At this point of my speech __________, I would like to highlight that when we gossip, of
course, all three functions are being served at the same time. Go to any professional conference –which
are huge circuses devoted almost exclusively to official and unofficial gossip- and see how people, move
among their networks seeking both influence and alliances. To experience a sense of powerlessness and
exclusion, go to one as a complete outsider.
Well, having completed what I wanted to share with you about gossip, (10) ___ I will round off by
summarizing very briefly the essential functions of gossip…
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Part 6: Complete the following presentation excerpts with suitable words from the boxes.
1-14
after that
finally
to start with
specifically
outline
purpose
then
thank
sum up
describe
bring you up
to date
tell you
illustrate
concluding
15-28
indicated
talked
options
priority
you will draw
your interrupt
notice
attention
referring
in
on balance
conclusion
expand
move on
recommend pointed out
“Good afternoon, everybody. I’d like to 1) thank you all for being here. My 2) purpose today is to 3) tell
you about our corporate strategy for the next decade, and, more 4) specifically to 5) bring you up to date
with our plans for Europe.
6) To start with I’d like to 7) describe briefly our current marketing policy in the UK. 8) Then I’ll 9) illustrate
some of the problems we’re having over market share. 10) After that I’ll 11) outline the opportunities we
see for further progress in the 21st century. 12) Finally I’ll quickly 13) sum up before 14) concluding with
some recommendations.
Please feel free to 15) interrupt me if you have any questions at any time. Now I’d like to 16) draw your
attention to Chart B showing our sales revenue and pre-tax profits over the last ten years. 17) You will
notice that although turnover has risen, our profits have not increased at the same rate. I’ve 18) talked
about our current position in the UK and I’ve 19) pointed out some of the problems we are facing. Well,
what 20) options are open to us now? Where do we go from here?
As I have already 21) indicated, I think our first 22) priority must be to build on the excellent results we
have achieved in certain European markets. I’m 23) referring, of course, to Italy and Spain. Let me quickly
24) expand on those successes before we 25) move on. We should not forget the French market.
Admittedly our results there have been poor so far, but there are signs the market is changing and we can
learn a lot from our mistakes. 26) On balance, though, I think we stand to gain most from concentrating on
southern Europe and I strongly 27) recommend we put all our efforts into further expansion in Italy, Spain
and possibly Greece.
28) In conclusion, may I thank you for all being such an attentive and responsive audience? Thank you
also for your pertinent questions. Are there any final questions?”
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READING
Exercise 1: Read the article. For each question below, mark the letter a, b, c or d.
What is a Manager?
1 The characteristics required by a good manager are well-documented and clearly definable. The
person has to be, among other things, responsible, communicative, supportive and approachable. These
adjectives are not gender-based, and focus attention on interpersonal skills, but a fierce debate still rages
as to who make the best managers — men or women. The implication is that, providing an individual has all
the right traits, he or she will automatically become a successful manager.
2 Surveys have been carried out to find out why certain individuals become national leaders. After all,
if a person occupies the leading position in a country, there ought to be some common identifiable qualities
which have universal appeal. The facts discovered are bizarre. For example, some leaders have been
above average height or were well below it. They have been intelligent, but not geniuses and have had
great enthusiasm, courage, determination, energy and faith. But possession of all these traits would be
unusual in any one person. So these are necessary, but not sufficient conditions; good leaders have these
qualities, but their possession alone does not make a good leader.
3 In his book, Understanding Organizations, Professor Charles Handy claims there is no right style of
leadership. He says that leadership will be most effective when the requirements of the leader, the
subordinates and the task fit together. This would seem to rather exclude personality from the equation.
And yet, we can all recall managers whom we have liked or disliked, so there has to be more to the magic
formula for a successful manager. Handy adds that managers need value systems which would
acknowledge the desire for personal success and the planning and control of the actions of the people
below them in the company hierarchy.
4 In his later theories, he defines managers as people who are responsible for making things happen.
These are professionals who are accountable to the people who pay them and to the people working with
and for them. Managers take responsibility for the actions of others. This is a popular modern definition of a
manager, and while Handy accepts that personal characteristics like assertiveness, patience, loyalty and
consistency are very important, he has added further vital statistics which he calls the four Ps: Projects (in
which teams are involved), Professionalism, Passion and Pride.
1) In the first paragraph the writer says that managers _________.
a) can only be men
b) need a balance of people skills
c) are successful if they have strong, dominant personalities
d) change depending on a gender
2) What does the writer believe makes a successful national leader?
a) People who are tall.
b) research has been of little help
c) People who are intelligent and determined.
d) It varies according to one’s physical and personal qualifications.
3) Charles Handy thinks ___________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
the tendency to be subordinate is vital for a manager
managers should dominate the people below them
there is no single form of good managership
Personality must cover the position he is holding
4) The modern definition of a manager is _____________.
a)
b)
c)
d)
someone who is answerable to shareholders.
a person who is ambitious.
someone who has a duty to both his or her subordinates and superiors.
a person who participates projects prepared by the subordinates.
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5) What does’’ these’’ in the second paragraph refer to?
a) conditions
c) people
c) possession of traits
d) possession
6) What does ‘’acknowledge’’ in paragraph 3 mean?
a) recognize
c) agree
c) reject
d) ignore
7) What does ‘’appeal’’ in paragraph 1 mean?
a) issue
c) acceptance
c) mystery
d) nature
Exercise 2: You are going to read an article which gives advice about how to answer questions in job
interviews. Choose from the list A-H the question which is dealt with in each part (1-6) of the article.
There is one extra question which you do not need to use.
A
Why are you changing careers?
B
How old are you? How is your health? Are you married? Any children?
C
What exactly do you want from us? Describe your ideal job.
D
Where do you want to be five years from now?
E
What about a time you have failed?
F
What is your greatest achievement?
G
Why did you leave your last job?
H
What are your weaknesses?
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What to say in a JOB INTERVIEW
There’s no guaranteed way to succeed at interviews but you can increase your chances by knowing what
to expect. Here, tough interviewers reveal their most frequent questions - and suggest how you might
handle them.
1C
Many people avoid these types of questions by giving a safe, general answer. To make a better
impression, prepare by writing an ‘employment ad’ that describes your dream job. Include a headline and
several adjectives describing the company, the job and yourself. This forces you to focus on exactly what
you want and what you have to offer.
2G
You may have hated your boss but few employers will want to hear that. Many interviewers suggest that
people concentrate on the business reasons for joining a new company. For example: ‘After two years in
the marketing department, I’ve learnt a lot about X. Now I want to learn about Y.’ If you were fired because
of a disagreement with your boss, however, you may be better off telling the interviewers yourself, rather
than letting them find out.
3A
In this question interviewers are looking for careful self-analysis. ‘Don’t say “I wanted to try something
new,”’ advises Howard Nitschke, an American recruiter. ‘That makes me think: This person doesn’t know
where he’s going.’ Instead, explain how your skills, personality and goals are more suited to this new
career.
4H
Many candidates try to concentrate on vague faults that could also be seen as virtues. They say ‘I’m
impatient’, hoping the interviewer will see them as quick-thinking and dynamic. Don’t try it. Interviewers are
sick of hearing these answers. Instead, be honest about faults but emphasise what you’ve done to deal
with them.
5D
The best way to make a mess of this question is not to have an answer. But you can also alarm the
interviewer by giving the impression that the job is just a brief step in your career. An organization may fear
that you would spend more time looking for promotion than working. A good answer would be: ‘eventually
I’d like to be a managing director, but I realize I’ve got other things to learn in the next few years.’
6E
Millington McCoy, managing director of a New York firm, says the best answer has this theme: ‘I fell off my
horse. I learned what I’d done wrong. I got back up and rode better.’ The worst answer is ‘I suppose I’ve
been lucky. I’ve always been successful so far.’ When candidates say this ‘either they’re not telling the truth
or they’re not trying hard enough’, says Ronald Davenport, chairman of a television company in Pittsburgh.
7B
If an interviewer asks any of these questions, don’t refuse to answer unless you don’t want the job. ‘Try to
see it from their point of view,’ says Susan Gauff, a senior director. The chances are the interviewer is
really asking how much time you’re willing to travel or work overtime. During an interview Ms Gauff was
once asked whether her husband let her travel. She recalls, ‘I smiled and said “If you’re asking whether I’m
able to travel on this job, the answer is yes.’” She got the job.
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Exercise 3: Complete the telephone conversation with appropriate phrases from the list.
A: Hello. You probably don’t know me but I’m Harriet Ford. 1. ----C------by Doug Barlow We used to work together in the logistics department at Zenith.
B: Oh yes!
A: I’m looking for a speaker for a conference we’re planning and Doug 2. ----A-----B: I see.
A: 3. -----B----- or shall I call you back later?
B: Well, I’m expecting a client to arrive at any moment. But perhaps 4. -------F--Briefly what the conference is about and when it is.
A: OK. Well it’s a conference on supply-chain management which will be held in Miami. And we’re looking
for a well-known speaker to open the event on October 14th.
B: Well, it’s 5. ---D------- to invite me, but unfortunately I’m not free on October 14th.
A: Oh that’s a pity. Well, maybe we could schedule your talk for the second day of the conference. Would
you be free on 15th?
B: The problem is I’ll be in San Francisco on 14th and it will be quite a rush to get across to Miami for the
next day.
A: Yes, 6. -------E--B: But let me think about it and get back to you. Meanwhile, 7. -----G----- about the conference?
A: Yes, of course. I’ll e-mail all the details to you.
B: Great. See you then.
A: Thank you for taking your valuable time. See you.
mentioned you might be able to help
me
Is this a convenient time
I was given your name
very kind of you
I quite understand
you could explain
a
could you let me have more information
g
b
c
d
e
f
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