TEXT 7 The Power of Branding
1
Let's say your company has been making athletic shoes for 50 or 60 years. They are good shoes.
Nevertheless, other companies have passed you in the race for fame and the revenue that goes with
it. Products with the logos of the other companies are status symbols. Products with your logo
make people think of basketball stars from the 1970s. To turn things around, you have to change
your product's old-fashioned image into something new and make sure consumers get the message.
They must equate your product with some larger idea that has nothing to do with shoes—beauty,
prosperity or even world peace. In other words, you have to build a brand.
2
The term brand comes from the practice of using a hot iron to burn a distinctive mark into the skin
of a cow or a horse. For example, the owner of the Double Jay Ranch might brand a "JJ" mark on
his stock. This helps the rancher distinguish his/her animals from others. The brand is a kind of
device for creating recognition.
3
People relate the name Rolls Royce, for example, with classic luxury. This brand is known all around
the world. It even registers with people who have never seen one of the company's cars. When the
German company BMW bought the Rolls Company in 1998, they were careful to change nothing.
They continued to build cars in England because Rolls Royce is thought of as British. Rolls Royce
turned 100 years old in 2004, and the brand continues to use the themes of integrity, dependability,
and even Britishness in its advertising.
4
As the story of Rolls Royce shows, an extremely successful brand may become an enduring part
of a culture. When that happens to a brand with a worldwide presence, the company may get
contradictory results. In its home culture, the brand may gain from being a sort of national value;
however, it may suffer overseas from being a symbol of foreignness. The McDonald's restaurant
franchise offers just one prominent example of a corporation fighting to guide its brand through
these difficult waters.
5
Subcultures can form around a certain brand. NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car
Auto Racing) is in business to organize auto races and sell related products, but its brand is about
much more than that. NASCAR was founded in the late 1940s and originally built its image around
beachside racing in Daytona, Florida. It revised its brand through the 1980s and 1990s to appeal to
a broader audience. Nearly 75 million Americans now consider themselves part of a NASCAR
subculture. As NASCAR has a connection to such a large part of the population, it is a medium in
itself. It finances many of its operations by, for instance, allowing its name to appear on products
and selling advertising space alongside its racetracks.
6
Among some strong brands, the line between promotional and personal image is unclear. Some
customers may adopt a brand's image as their own image. The ads for Nike shoes show successful
athletes. A customer might buy Nike shoes because she thinks she is a successful athlete and she
wants others to believe this, too.
7
Biker subculture in the United States owes a great deal to the branding success of the HarleyDavidson motorcycle company. Its motorbikes are promoted as a symbol of patriotism. Harley has
also managed to turn its motorcycles into symbols of opposition to common cultural values. In a
radio interview, Harley-Davidson's CEO, Jim Ziemer, has mentioned that a brand is made when a
person really feels a connection with that brand, and has pointed out one way how his brand has
become very personal. He says they have taken it to the ultimate, where a lot of their customers
have a Harley-Davidson tattoo on their body so they really feel very special and connected with the
brand.
A. What does the following refer to?
this (para. 6)
: ___________________________________________________________
B. Choose the best alternative.
1. The word “revenue” in para. 1 probably means ________.
a) epidemic
b) income
c) invasion
d) vulnerability
2. The word “equate” in para. 1 probably means ________.
a) associate
b) consume
c) detect
d) pursue
3. The phrase “registers with” in para. 3 probably means ________.
a) is accompanied by
b) is recognized by
c) arises from
d) contributes to
4. The word “enduring” in para. 4 probably means ________.
a) cautious
b) irrational
c) mutual
d) permanent
C. Answer the questions according to the information in the text.
1. Why does a rancher burn a distinctive mark on his/her animals?
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
2. Write two of the qualities that make Rolls Royce a famous classic luxury car.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
3. Write the negative effect of having a brand with a worldwide presence like McDonald’s.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
4. What was the aim of NASCAR in undergoing a revision in the 1980s and 1990s?
______________________________________________________________________________
5. How does NASCAR support its operations financially?
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
6. Write one thing that Harley Davidson motorbikes symbolize.
______________________________________________________________________________
7. Which example supports Jim Ziemer’s idea that Harley Davidson has become very personal?
______________________________________________________________________________
COLLOCATIONAL VOCABULARY
 revenue (n.): the income that a government or
company receives regularly
 consumer (n.): a person who buys goods or services
for their own use
 consumer rights / consumer society
 to consume (v.)
 consumption (n.)
 distinctive (adj.): easy to recognize because it is
different from other things
 a distinctive feature
 distinctively (adv.)
 to distinguish (v.): to notice or understand the
difference between two things, or to make one
person or thing seem different from another
 distinguished (adj.): successful and respected by
many people
 a distinguished writer /politician/director /career
 Integrity
(n.):
the quality of
being
in
a good condition, without any damage or mistakes
 enduring (adj.): existing for a long time
 enduringly (adv.)
 contradictory (adj.): If two or more facts, pieces of
advice, etc. are contradictory, they are very different
from each other:
 contradiction (n.)
 contradict (v.)
 prominent (adj.): very well known and important
 to found (v.) to bring something into existence
 foundation (n.)
 to appeal (v.): to interest or attract someone
 appealling (adj.)
 adopt




* The new rates will affect all consumers, including
businesses.
* Our high living standards cause our current
population to consume 25 percent of the world's oil.
* We need to cut down on on our fuel consumption by
having fewer cars on the road.
* She's got a very distinctive voice.
* Good visuals and the diagrams are the magazine’s
most distinctive features.
* It was a distinctively shaped building.
* He's colour-blind and can't distinguish between
red and green easily.
*She has a distinguished career in the diplomatic
service.
* The accuracy of the analysis depends on the integrity
of the data supplied.
* People were amazed at his enduring popularity.
* It remains one of the longest running and most
enduringly popular program ever created.
* I keep getting contradictory advice - some people
tell me to keep it warm and some tell me to put ice on it.
*You say you're good friends and yet you don't
trust him. Isn't that a contradiction?
* Recent evidence has contradicted established
theories on this subject.
* The government should be playing a more prominent
role in promoting human rights.
* Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan
colonists from England.
* Values are a very large part of the culture and
foundation of any organization.
* It's a programme designed to appeal mainly to 16 to
25-year-olds.
* He had a nice smile and an appealing personality.
(v.) * He decided to adopt a more radical approach to the
problem.
* Several suggestions have been offered for adoption
by the panel.
to decide to start using a particular idea, plan,
or method
adoption (n.)
patriotism (n.): strong feelings of love, respect and
duty towards your country
patriot (n.)
patriotic (adj.)
 opposition (n.): strong disagreement
 opposed (adj.)
* Taxes provide most of the government's revenue.
* How can you prove your patriotism and support for
your country?
* He is a true patriot.
* Today’s game will be played before a fiercely
patriotic crowd.
* There is a lot of opposition to the proposed changes.
* She's opposed to any changes to the current
legislation.
TEXT 8
1
One of the modern world’s most fascinating sources of mystery has been airplanes disappearing in
mid-flight. One of the more famous of these was the disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937, a
pioneer woman aviator who attempted a round-the-world flight for the first time. On the last stage of
her flight, she radioed her location as she and her navigator searched desperately for their destination,
a tiny island in the Pacific. The plane never arrived on Howland Island. She had taken off from New
Guinea and had been flying for almost 24 hours when the plane vanished into thin air. Did it crash
and sink after running out of fuel? Did Earhart have enough fuel to set down on some other island on
her radioed course? Or did she end up somewhere else altogether? One fanciful theory was that she
had been captured by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands and later executed as an American spy;
another was that she had lived out her days under an assumed name as a housewife in New Jersey.
2
The aircraft industry had developed rapidly after World War I, and there was an aeronautical recordsetting madness in the 1920s and 1930s. Conquest of the air had become a global obsession. While
Earhart was making headlines with her solo flights, other aviators like high-altitude pioneer Wiley
Post and industrialist Howard Hughes were grabbing some glory of their own. However, only Earhart
still holds the public imagination. 70 years after Earhart’s intriguing disappearance, ‘myth busters’
continue to search for her. Her disappearance has been the subject of at least fifty books, countless
magazine and newspaper articles, and TV documentaries. It is seen by journalists as the last great
American mystery.
3
There are currently two main theories about Amelia Earhart’s fate. There were reports of distress
calls from the Phoenix Islands made on Earhart’s radio frequency for days after she vanished. Some
say the plane could have broadcast only if it were on land, not in the water. The Coast Guard and
later the Navy, believing the distress calls were real, adjusted their searches, and newspapers at the
time reported that Earhart and her navigator were stranded on an island. No-one was able to trace the
calls at the time, so whether Earhart was on land in the Phoenix Islands or there was a hoaxer in the
Phoenix Islands using her radio remains a mystery. Others regard the radio calls as fake and insist
Earhart and her navigator ditched in the water. An Earhart researcher, Elgen Long, claims that
Earhart’s airplane ran out of gas within 52 miles of the island and it is sitting somewhere in a 6,000square-mile area, at a depth of 17,000 feet. At that depth, the body of the plane would still be in good
condition if ever anyone were able to locate it. It would not even be covered in a layer of sand. The
proponents of this theory claim that fuel calculations, radio calls and other considerations all show
that the plane fell into the sea somewhere off Howland Island.
4
Whatever the explanation, the prospect of finding the remains disturbs many. To recover skeletal
remains would be an awful experience. They want to know where Amelia Earhart is, but that’s as far
as they would like to go. As one investigator has put it, “I’m convinced that the mystery is part of
what keeps us interested. In part, we remember her because she’s our favorite missing person.”
Mark the best choice.
1.
Amelia Earhart _________.
a. was at the beginning of her flight when she disappeared
b. was unable to announce her location before she disappeared
c. was the first woman pilot to try a round-the-world flight
d. landed on Howland island when contact was lost
2. Which of the following is NOT a theory about Amelia Earhart’s fate?
a. She crashed somewhere on Howland Island.
b. Her plane ran out of fuel and crashed in the sea.
c. She was captured and killed by the Japanese.
d. She survived and lived under a false name.
3. “intriguing” in para. 2 most probably means _________.
a. diverse
b. habitable
c. finite
d. fascinating
4. Which of the following is FALSE?
a. In the 1920s, pilots were highly interested in setting records.
b. Amelia had never flown solo before her round-the-world flight.
c. Wiley Post and Howard Hughes were not as popular as Amelia.
d. Many books have been written on Amelia’s disappearance.
5. The Coast Guard and the Navy started to search for Amelia _________.
a. despite the fact that they had no clue
b. as they believed the distress calls were real
c. because they assumed that her plane ran out of fuel
d. although they thought the distress calls had been sent by a hoaxer
6. “proponents” in para. 3 most probably means _________.
a. supporters
b. residents
c. rivals
d. dealers
7. “this theory” in para. 3 refers to the idea that _________.
a. Amelia actually was going to Howland Island
b. Amelia sent a fake message
c. Amelia’s plane crashed in water
d. Amelia and her navigator landed on an island
8. Elgen Long claims that Amelia’s plane _________.
a. had enough fuel
b. has been located
c. is covered in sand
d. is at a depth of 17,000 feet
COLLOCATIONAL VOCABULARY
 mystery (n.): something strange or not known that has
not yet been explained or understood
 mysterious (adj.)
 mysteriously (adv.)
* The mystery was solved when the police
discovered the murder weapon.
* She's an actress whose inner life has
remained mysterious.
* Mysteriously, the light came on, although no
one was near the switch.
 pioneer (n.): a person who is one of the first people to do * The firm has been a pioneer in
something
the pharmaceutical field since 1953.
 to pioneer (v.)
* It was universities that pioneered these new
industries.
 desperately (adv.): in a very worried way
 desperate (adj.)

 to vanish (v.): to disappear or stop being present or
existing, especially in a sudden, surprising way
 vanish into thin air (idiom)
* She tried desperately to push him away.
* The situation is desperate - we have no food,
very little water and no medical supplies.
* The child vanished while on her way
home from school.
* The ship simply vanished into thin air.
* He has some fanciful notion about
 fanciful (adj.): not serious or sensible
converting one room of his apartment into a
gallery.
 to capture (v.): to take someone as a prisoner, or to take * Two of the soldiers were killed and the
something into your possession, especially by force
rest were captured.
* They witnessed the capture of the city by
 capture (n.)
rebel troops.
* He was executed for murder.
 to execute (v.): to kill someone as a legal punishment
* Execution is still the penalty in some states for
 execution (n.)
murder.
 glory (n.): admiration and praise that you get because * He is at the height of his fame and glory.
you have done something impressive
* Ireland has won a glorious victory over
England.
 glorious (adj.)
 intriguing (adj.) very interesting, especially because of
* She has a really intriguing personality.
being strange or mysterious
* Throughout history, people have been
 to intrigue (v.)
intrigued by the question of whether there is
intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
 distress (n): a situation in which you are suffering or are * It's a programme designed to appeal
in great dangerand therefore in urgent need of help
mainly to 16 to 25-year-olds.
* He had a nice smile and an appealing
 distress calls
personality.
 stranded (adj.) : unable to leave somewhere because of a * He left me stranded in town with no car and
problem such as not having any transport or money
no money for a bus.
 to trace (v.): to find someone or something that was lost
* The police are trying to trace the mother of a
newborn baby foundabandoned outside a
hospital.
KEY
TEXT 7
A.
1. (the fact) that she is a successful athlete
B. 1. b
2. a
3. b
4. d
C.
1. (This / It helps the rancher) to distinguish his/her animals / them from others / other animals /
stock
(Because) the brand / it is a kind of device for (creating) / to create recognition
2. Any two of the following
 integrity
 dependability
 Britishness
3. The brand / It may suffer (overseas) from being a symbol of foreignness
4. (Its aim was) to appeal to a broader / larger audience
5. (NASCAR / It finances many of its operations) by allowing its name to appear on products AND /
OR selling advertising space alongside its racetracks
6. Any one of the following
 patriotism
 opposition to common cultural values
7. (A lot of) (their) customers have a Harley Davidson tattoo (on their body) (so they really feel very
special and connected with the brand)
TEXT 8
1. c
2. a
3. d
4. b
5. b
6. a
7. c
8. d