Unit 5, Reading, pp. 41, 42
A
1) False. They are both base din the US.
2) True.
3) False. Wal-mart is described as Target's «rival».
Wal-mart
Target
Wal-mart
Target
4th quarter
4th quarter
Full year
Full year
Total profits
$2.7bn
$832m
$8.9bn
$1.84bn
% increase in
11%
21.1%
13.3%
11.4%
63 cents
91 cents
$2.03
$2.01
$74.5bn
$15.57bn
$256.3bn
$48.16bn
profits/earnings
Earnings per
share
Sales revenues
You may find out more on the companies’ websites:
www.walmart.com
and
www.target.com
Language review, p. 43
Describing trends
soar
if the value, amount or level of sth soars, it rises very quickly:
Unemployment has soared to 18%. Share prices soared. Smaller companies are
unable to pay soaring insurance premiums. The price of a barrel of crude oil soared
to$30.
to be expected/continue to soar soaring costs/prices/profits/sales
plummet
to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level or position:
Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. SYN PLUNGE
1
plummet noun [C, usually sing.]:
a plummet in pre-tax profits
A
1) decline, decrease, fall, drop
2) double
3) fluctuate
4) gain, improve (unless you’re talking about something bad like unemployment),
increase, rise
5) halve
6) level off
7) peak
8) plummet
9) recover
10) rocket, jump
11) triple
RISE is an intransitive verb (it isn’t followed by an object) e.g. Unemployment
rose.
RAISE is a transitive verb e.g. The Finance Minister raised taxes.
B
1) a decline
2) a doubling
3) a decrease
4) a gain
5) a fall
6) a fluctuation
7) a drop
8) a halving
9) an improvement
10) an increase
11) a levelling off
2
12) a peak
13) a tripling
14) a rise
15) a plummet
16) a recovery (rae, but does exist as a noun)
17) a jump
C
1) from, to
2) by
3) of
4) at
5) of
6) of
Sample answers:
Sales rose to around seven million this year compared to four point seven five million
last year.
Sales jumped to seven million this year.
Sales rose in the first three months, but plummeted in April.
There was a tripling of sales in May compared to April.
CASE STUDY, pp. 44, 45
ink-jet printer
noun [C] an electronic printer which blows ink onto paper using
very small jets (= small openings which push out liquid)
exceed
verb [T]
to be greater than a number or amount, or to go beyond a permitted limit:
The final cost should not exceed $5000.
The success of our campaign has exceeded our wildest expectations.
She was found guilty on three charges of exceeding the speed limit.
3
threaten
verb
1 [T] to tell someone that you will kill or hurt them, or cause problems for them if
they do not do what you want:
They threatened the shopkeeper with a gun.
[+ to infinitive] They threatened to kill him unless he did as they asked.
2 [I] If something bad threatens to happen, it is likely to happen:
Look at those clouds! There's a storm threatening.
3 [T] to be likely to cause harm or damage to something or someone:
Changing patterns of agriculture are threatening the countryside.
pre-tax (also spelled pretax, especially in AmE) adjective [only before noun]
(Accounting)
before tax has been taken away:
The company reported pre-tax profits of €182 million last year. At the pre-tax level,
the group suffered losses of $450 million. The results included a $5 million pre-tax
charge related to workforce reductions.
pre-tax earnings/income/losses/profits
turnover noun [C, usually sing., U]
1 (Accounting)
the total value of goods or services sold by a company during a particular period of
time:
The firm has an annual turnover of $75 million. SYN SALES REVENUE
annual/daily/first-half/full-year/yearly turnover an overall/a
total/worldwide turnover a high/low/strong turnover
4 (Stock Exchange)
the total value of the business done on a stock exchange during a particular period
of time; the total number of shares bought and sold:
4
Market turnover was 2.6 billion shares.
light/heavy turnover
conscious (AWAKE)
clothing
accessory (EXTRA)
noun [C usually plural]
something added to a machine or to clothing, which has a useful or decorative
purpose:
She wore a green wool suit with matching accessories (= shoes, hat, bag, etc.).
Sunglasses are much more than a fashion accessory.
Accessories for the top-of-the-range car include leather upholstery, a CD player,
electric windows and a sunroof.

A company that finances new businesses is looking for profitable companies to
invest in. Look at various projects, analyse each one and decide how to
allocate your investment money.
Background
Company
Angel Investments (AI)
Based in
Warsaw, Poland
Activity
Investing money in companies – start-up
or small companies and larger
established companies with growth
prospects
Money available for investment
€10 million
Companies for potential investment
Unibrand, Technoprint, On-line Fashions,
Amazon Ventures

In pairs prepare a presentation of one of the companies. For example:
5
Unibrand
“Turnover was €283 million three years ago and has risen steadily to €370 million
last year. Profits have also risen from about €28 million to nearly €53 million…”

Be prepared to talk about the information in the analyst’s report in your own
words.

Write an e-mail of 200 or 300 words to the CEO, outlining a list of your
recommendations. Give reasons for your recommendations.
6