Unit 1 Shopping and Banking Oline
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys:
1: drop 2: shopping 3: mouse 4: feet 5: retailing 6: street 7: get 8: down 9: third-party 10: online 11:30% 12: malls 13: Britain 14: gift-buying 15:50% 16: net 17: peroid
C. Keys:
1 : the site2 : merchant, addresses/phone numbers/call up 3 : strict safety measures
Part II Net shopping under fire
A. Keys:
1 : delivery, delivery 2 : delivery charges3 : personal information, 87% 4 : returning goods, 47% 5 : order, 35%, dispatch, 87%6 : money back, two
B. Keys:
1 : convenience 2 : choice 3 : obstacles 4 : complete trust 5 : build consummers' trust 6 : mature 7 : payment 8 : service
Part III Banking at home
A. Keys:
1 : limited opening hours 2 : Online banking services3 : getting current information on products 4 : e-mailing questions to the bank 5 : competing for customers 6 : having no computers at home
B. Keys:
1 : It is banking through the Internet. 2 : 'Online banking' offers convenience which appeals to the kind of customer banks want to keep. 3 : Banks most want to keep people who are young, well-educated, and have good incomes.
Part IV More about the topic: Secret of Good Customer Service
B. Keys:
English Good Customer Service(Harrods)
1 : in a pleasant environment 2 : Second to none 3 : different customers, take a look at everything, alternatives, come to sales assistants 4 : first contact with the customer
American Good Customer Service(Saks)
1 : human side, family, occasions in life, a partnership 2 : repeat business, sales
Part V Do you know…
Keys:
1 : c 2 : a、b、c 3 : a、b、c 4 : c 5 : c 6 : b
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
C.
Consumers who want to shop online are suggested to bear the following things in mind:Evaluate the site. Always buy goods from well-known and trustworthy companies. Deal with companies which offer customer service, a complaints procedure and have a refund to merchant. E-mail and wait for reponses. Take down the addresses and phone numbers of those companies and make sure they are real by calling them up before buying any products and secure connection. Since buyers must submit personal information like number and expiry date of the card there are fears over security. Deal with sites that apply strict safety measures that require shoppers to give specific data known only to card holders before making the extra careful at a cybercafe or other public
connection.
Part II Net shopping under fire
There is an urgent need for e-commerce rules to boost confidence in buying online. Consumers International, a federation of 245 consumer organizations — including the UK's Consumers Association — said its survey showed that there were still obatacles to shopping online with complete trust.
The study, funded by the European Union, involved buying more than 150 items from 17 countries. Each consumer organization taking part tried to find one site in its own country and one abroad to buy a selection of items. These included a dictionary, a doll, jeans, a hairdryer, computer software and hardware, chocolates and champagne.
The key findings were:
Eight of the items ordered took more than a month to reach their destination and at least 11 (eight percent) never arrived.
Many sites did not give clear information about delivery charges.
Only 13% of the sites promised that they would not sell customers' personal information on to a third party.
Only 53% of the companies had a policy on returning goods.
Only 65% of the sites provided confirmation of the order and only 13% told customers when their goods had been dispatched.
In two cases,customers are still waiting for their money back more than four months after returning their goods.
Louis Sylvan, vice-president of Consumers International, said, \"This study shows that, although buying items over the Internet can benefit the consumer by offering convenience and choice, there are still many obstacles that need to be overcome before consumers can shop in cyberspace with complete trust.\"
Chris Philips, Marketing Manager at a London based e-commerce security company commented, \"This study confirms the difficulties of establishing consumers' trust in the Internet as a shopping experience. With statistics like these and Visa claiming 47% of disputes and fraud cases were Internet-related, it is little wonder that Internet commerce is not producing the profits predicted two or three years ago. Trust takes time to build, and the Internet will not mature as a retail channel until trusted brands, like the banks for example, start to offer ways of supporting trust relationships with guarantees payment and service.\"
In September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will hold a meeting to discuss a set of international guidelines for electronic commerce.
Part III Banking at home
Many people dislike walking to the bank, standing in long lines, and running out of checks. They are dissatisfied with their bank's limited hours, too. They want to do some banking at night, and on weekends. For such people, their problems may soon be over. Before long, they may be able to do their banking from the comfort of their own home, any hour of the day, any day of the week.
Many banks are preparing \"online branches,\" or Internet offices, which means that people will be able to take care of much of their banking business through their home computers. This process is called interactive banking. At these online branches, customers will be able to view all their accounts, move money between their accounts, apply for a loan, and get current information on products such as credit cards. Customers will also be able to pay their bills electronically, and even e-mail questions to the bank.
Banks are creating online services for several reasons. One reason is that banks must compete for customers, who will switch to another bank if they are dissatisfied with the service they receive. The convenience of online banking appeals to the kind of customer banks most want to keep —people who are young, well-educated, and have good incomes. Banks also want to take advantage of modern technology as they move into the twenty-first century.
Online banking may not be appropriate for everyone. For instance, many people do not have computers at home. Other people prefer to go to the bank and handle their accounts the traditional way. Even though online banking may never completely replace a walk-in bank, it is a service that many customers are going to
want to use.
Part IV More about the topic: Secret of Good Customer Service
In Britain they ask you, \"Are you being served\" Whilst in America they tell you to \"Have a nice day.\" But what is the secret of good customer service From Harrods in London and Saks New York, we're going to find out the dos and don'ts of selling protocol.
The reason that Harrods has been so successful over a hundred and fifty years is two fold. First of all they've offered their customers the products they want to buy in a pleasant environment. But secondly and more importantly, the level of customer service that they've given their customers, before sale, during sale and after sale, has been second to none. I think it's fair to say that if you compare the British with our cousins elsewhere in the world that we are actually quite a reserved lot. To a certain extent there are a lot of shrinking violets in this country who would rather just do their own thing. They'd rather wander around and browse and if they do need any help eventually, ask for it. So I think the way that we approach our own . based customers is actually slightly different to the way we know we need to approach. For example, an American customer, or indeed a Japanese customer, or a Middle Eastern customer, who all have different ways of doing things.
Well in serving different, I guess, nationalities, you do take very different approaches. With Europeans, for example, you do kind of let them take a look at
everything. See what's being on offer and then ask them if they need any help. I think they'd probably much more prefer to come to you, rather than you so much to go to them. The American customer very much expects you to go to them, approach them, show them alternatives. Well I think maybe the more European or British customer can be almost turned off by that if someone is seen to be too aggressive, maybe too anxious to make a sale.
It's most important that the first contact, the first initial meeting with the customer is a good and successful one because on that basis, the customer will make up their mind what they want to do next.
I quite like the English sales assistants because they definitely have better thing to do than talk to you, which I like. It's very terrifying when you go to America. \"Can I help you\" they're like licking you. You're just like, \"No, I'm fine. I just want to look.\" That puts me off. I love the English sales assistant.
So where have you experienced the very best in customer service
Umm, probably America. In terms of best as in, they give you so much attention it's almost embarrassing. They treat you, you know, the \"have a nice day\" thing. They' want to help you. They want you to buy, 'cause they often work on a commission basis. That's if you like best. But I prefer the ... like, being ignored.
Tamara:
I think England's still way behind in terms of, like America for example. I can call in America from London and they'll track the item down. It's not like, \"Sorry madam we don't have that in your size.\" I just got the Gucci boots, which mine had actually broken. And in England they said, \"Sorry\" you know, that's it. So this woman in Los Angeles tracked them down and, in fact got them for me. That's because they work on commission. And the sooner we learn that, the better the service will get.
So what do the Americans have to say They may speak with a different accent. But is the sales pitch a foreign language to the rest of the world
I think part of the reason Americans are known as experts is that we tend to focus a lot more in the human side of selling, not the mechanical side, which is the register and knowing about the product. We really want to know about your lifestyle. We want to know about your family. We want to know about your income. We want to know about your occasions in your life. And that's very different outside of the United States. Our consumer actually is comfortable with forming a partnership with a sales associate and giving up that information, very personal information, very personal information. I think that best part about Saks sales associate training that we actually develop customers, five different types of customers and we videotape them and put them up in front of every new sales associate and say, \"This is our customers.\" They're very different. Each one of them is a top customer at Saks but they shop in a very different way. A lot of stores in this industry really measure selling effectiveness by sales and quite frankly that's not what Saks is about. I think the way you measure good quality staff is by repeat
business. Obviously if you have someone on your selling floor that has a clientele, that is the measure of a good sales associate.
Part V Do you know…
\"Everybody loves a bargain, \"this is a common American saying. A bargain is something you buy for less than its true vale. It is something you might not buy if it costs person's useless ugly object can be another person's bargain. So many Americans put it outside with a \"for sale\" sign on it and they have a yard sale.
Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale: clothing, cooking equipment, old toys, tools, books and chairs, even objects you think are extremely ugly or useless. You may have an electric light shaped like a fish. You may greatly dislike its looks, but it may be beautiful to someone else. Usually the seller puts a price on each object. But the price can almost always be negotiated. The price of a table, for example, might be marked $10. But the seller may accept 8. If the table has not been sold by the end of the day, the seller probably will take much less.
Some people go to yard sales because it is part of their job. They earn their livings by buying old things at low prices then selling them at higher prices. Many others, however, go to yard sales just to have fun. They say it is like going on a treasure hunt. Sometimes they really do find the treasure.
Ned Jaudere did. The Boston Globe newspaper says Mr. Jaudere has been collecting native American Indian objects since he was a young man. Last year, he
stopped at a yard sale in the northeastern city of Worcester, Massachusertts. He paid $125 for what everyone thought was an old wooden club. Mr. Jaudere thought it was something else. Two days later, he confirmed that the club had been used by the Wampanoag Indian leader known as King Philip. King Philip used it during his war with the white settlers at eastern Massachusetts in 1675. The historic weapon had been stolen from a museum in 1970 and had been missing ever since. Mr. Jardere learnt the war club was valued at about $150 000 but he did not sell it or keep it. Mr. Jaudere returned the club to the museum near Boston Massachusetts from which it was stolen.
Questions:
1. Which of the following is a common American saying
2. What can be sold at a yard sale
3. Why do people go to a yard sale
4. When was the old wooden club stolen
5. What was the real value of the club
6. Why was the club at a great value
Unit 2 Hotel or B&B
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys:
1 : 35%, 60% 2 : 45%, 20% 3 : 60%, 80%4 : 30%, 15% 5 : 50%, 70% 6 : 30%, 20%
C. Keys:
(1)1 : ￡30/single; ￡60/double, children under 12 2 : ￡29/full board3 : ￡28/double+bath, excluded
(2) 1 : hot food, fried egg 2 : coffee, tea, jam, cooked 3 : dinner, bed and breakfast 4 : the room plus all meals 5 : Value Added Tax
Part II A touch of home
Outline I : bed and breakfast, 15 000, advantages over big hotels II : meeting different people III : features, 1883, guests IV : B&Bs not suitable for some people
Part III Renting a car
A. Keys: 1 : three 2 : Mon. July 10th 3 : station wagon 4 : $ 5 : $ 6 : 4 . 7 : 10 . 8 : ' free 9 : 12 cents 10 : $10 11 : 8% 12 : '$100
B. Keys: a compact car/a station wagon/ automatic transmission/ current models/ pick up/return the car/special weekend rate/regular rate/ unlimited
mileage/ insurance/ sales tax/ a full tank of gas/ deposit/ lowest rates.
Part IV More about the topic: What Type of Room Do You Want
A. Keys: 1: 5 2: 2 3: 6 4: 4 5: 3 6: 1
B. Keys: 1 : ￡40, all grades 2 : ￡55, Sales 3 : ￡150, Managerial, entertaining private guest, the lake 4: ￡220, privacy, country-side, kitchen
Part V Do you know…
A. Keys: (France)Italy, (2)3, (3)2, (4)8 (Loudon,UK)Paris,France, (8)4 B. Keys: 1 : F 2 : T 3 : F 4 : F 5 : T
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
B.
A: Good morning. I'd like some information about tourist figures, please. First, about accommodation. What proportion of tourists stay in hotels B: Well, in an average year 60% of tourists stay in hotels, but this year 35% are staying in hotels.
A: What proportion of tourists stay in holiday camps B: Well, in an average
year 20% of tourists stay in holiday camps, but this year 45% are staying in holiday camps. A: Now, about places visited. What proportion of tourists visit Europe
B: Well, in an average year 80% of tourists visit Europe, but this year 60% are
A: And what proportion of tourists visit the B: Well, in
visiting Europe.
an average year 15% of tourists visit the but this year 30% are visiting the A: Now, about methods of transport. What proportion of tourists go by plane B: Well,in an average year about 70% of tourists go by plane, but this year about 50% are going by plane. A: What proportion of tourists take their own car B: Well, in an average year about 20% of tourists take their own car, but this year about 30% are taking their own car. A: Thank you very much for your help.
C.
C:… so here's a brochure with the hotels in Midford. It gives you all the rates …
T:I'm sorry, my English isn't so good. Can you explain this to me
C:Yes, of course. First of all we have the Castle Inn … here … it's the cheapest. It will cost you only ￡12 for a single room and ￡15 for a double. The price includes continental breakfast. If you want a full English breakfast you'll have to pay extra …
T:What is this \"English breakfast\"
C:Oh, you know, hot food: fried egg, fried bacon, porridge … whereas the continental breakfast is coffee, tea, rolls, jam and honey — nothing cooked, you
see.
T:I think I would prefer the continental breakfast.
C:Well, yes, that's included. And then we have the Dalton Hotel, more expensive, but very nice, a bathroom attached to every room. The Dalton charges ￡30 for a single room and ￡60 for a double. But there is no charge for children under 12 who stay in the same room as their parents.
T:I won't have my children with me. But maybe my husband will come a little later …
C:Well, the Park Hotel is very reasonably priced. ￡16 per person. Every room has a bath. There's a special rate of ￡25 which includes dinner, bed and breakfast — what we call half board. Or you can have full board, that's the room plus all meals for ￡29 per person per night.
T:We would only want breakfast.
C:I see. Mm … you could try the fourth hotel here, the Phoenix. It will cost you ￡28 for a double room with bath. Breakfast is ￡5 per person.
T:Yes. But what about the extra money, what do you call it in English, the service...
C:All these rates include a service charge of 10%. They also include VAT - that's
Value Added Tax.
T:If we come later in the year will it be cheaper
C:Yes. These are the rates for June to September. You would pay less at other times of the year.
T:I'll talk about it with my husband. Thank you for explaining everything to me.
C:You're very welcome.
Part II A touch of home
Bev Rose is a very good hostess. She tells the guests in her home there are sodas in the refrigerator, snacks in the kitchen, and videos next to the TV.
But Rose's guests aren't out-of-town family or friends. Her guests are from all over the world. Rose's house is like a small hotel. It is called a bed and breakfast or B&B for short. The name of Rose's B&B is Suits Us.
Rose and her husband have joined a growing number of people who are operating B&Bs in their homes. B&Bs offer the charm, comfort, and hospitality that is often missing in big hotels. That's why there are many people who would rather stay at a B&B than a hotel when they travel.
There are about 15 000 B&Bs across the . Each year they welcome millions of visitors. And the number is increasing. \"I think guests are looking for the personal touch,\" said Pat Hardy, the director of the American Bed and Breakfast Association. \"In a B&B, you don't have a room number. The owner knows who you are and helps you enjoy your trip,\" Hardy said. Travelers often want more than just a place to sleep. They like B&Bs because the owner takes a personal interest in them.
Rose said one of the best things about owning a B&B is meeting all the different people. She loves watching the guests meet each other for the first time at breakfast. \"It's really fun to stand in the kitchen and talk with my guests. Even though most of them have just met for the first time, the conversations at the breakfast table are really interesting and lively.\"
Many B&Bs are older homes with interesting histories. Suits Us was built in 1883. The rooms are filled with antiques and 19th-century decorations. The Roses rent three of the upstairs bedrooms to guests. Every room at Suits Us has its own personality. The Roses have named several of the rooms for previous guests. For example, one of the rooms is named the Woodrow Wilson Room because the former . President stayed there. Another room is called the Annie Oakley Room because the famous cowgirl was once a guest there.
Bed and breakfasts aren't for everyone. Some people aren't comfortable staying in someone else's home. And other people don't care for the personal interaction. But for a quiet, romantic place to stay, many people are checking into bed and breakfasts instead of hotels. Once people have stayed in a B&B, they
often find it hard to go back to hotels.
Part III Renting a car
A:Good afternoon. U-Drive-It rentals. May I help you
C:Hi, yeah. I'm interested in, uh, renting a car for the weekend, and I'm wondering if you have a special weekend rate
A:Yes, we do. [Mm-hmm.] Uh … what sort of car were you interested in
C:Well, we're a family of three and we have camping equipment. Now, I'm used to driving a small car, but I might need something a little larger because of the family and, uh … all the equipment that we have. A:Well, um … I could suggest a compact car for/to you. [Mm-hmm.] Some of our compacts have … have large trunks, [OK.] or, uh … Oh, better yet, why not a small station wagon [Oh, good.] Um … all our cars are current models and, uh, have automatic transmission.
C:Oh, well, I'm used to driving a standard, but I guess there's no problem with automatic transmission.
A:No, no. If you can drive a standard you can drive an automatic. [Mh-hmm.] Uh, now, listen, when were you … uh … interested in … in renting this
C:Uh, well, we'll be leaving on a Friday, that's the … let's see, that's Friday, July 7th, and then returning on the Monday. That would be the tenth.
A:Mm-hmm. Well, let's see … uh … we have … uh … Oh! We have a Pinto station wagon for those dates. [Mm-hmm. Good.] Um … yeah, I think … I think that's your best bet.
C:OK. Uh … well, then when would we have to pick up the car and when would we have to return the car to get that special weekend rate
A:Well, for the weekend rate you have to pick up the car after four o'clock on Friday afternoon [Uh-huh.] and then return it by ten o'clock on Monday morning.
C:After four on Friday and returning by ten o'clock on Monday morning. [Mm-hmm.] OK. What … uh … uh, what would be the price for that
A:OK, now, our … our regular rate is seventy-nine ninety-five. [Ooh!] but the special weekend rate w… you can get that for fifty-nine ninety-five. [Oh, Great.] Um … now the first three hundred miles are free, [Mm-hmm…] after that it's twelve cents per mile.
C:Oh, so it's twelve cents a mile extra after the first three hundred miles
A:That's right.
C:OK. Uh … do you have any … um … rentals with unlimited mileage
A:Well, we do, but you can't get that special weekend rate.
C:Uh-huh. OK. Well, then does the fifty-nine ninety-five - that was the rate, right [Mm-hmm.] — does that include insurance
A:No … um … the insurance is ten dollars more, but I really recommend it.
C:Yeah.
A:OK, now there's a … there's a sales tax of eight percent, [Mm-hmm…] and … um … you have to return the car with a full tank of gas. [Uh-huh.] Also, we require a deposit of a hundred dollars.
C:Oh boy. It sure adds up!
A:Well, our rates are still the lowest in town.
C:Uh-huh. OK. Well, I tell you what. I'd like to think about it, if that's right, and then I'll call you back…uh…
A:Sure, that's fine. Uh, listen, when you … when you do call back, ask for Doug. That's me.
C:OK. Well, thanks a lot. Doug. Goodbye.
A:Take care.
Part IV More about the topic: What Type of Room Do You Want
S: If the terms are favorable, we could come to an arrangement for regular accommodation. Now, I wanted to discuss the types of room with you, and rates for their use.
M:Certainly. The rates I’ll quote to you first of all are what we call \"rack rates\" , that is the normal rates quoted to the public. But obviously we would discuss a discount rate for you. Now, as regards the rooms, they are all of a very high standard. All our rooms have central heating. Most of them are with bathroom, and they all have a washbasin and a toilet.
S:That sounds fine. Can you tell me about your single rooms
M:Yes. Our single rooms are very comfortable, and the rates are very reasonable. I think you'd find them suitable for visiting staff of all grades. The rack rate is ￡40 a night.
S: ￡40 a night …
M:Yes. Or for real economy, let's suppose you have a sales conference. You could double up your sales staff and put them into twin rooms. That would work out very cheaply. The normal rate is ￡55 per twin or double room per night.
S: Well, we might consider that possibility. But we also have some quite important visitors sometimes. Have you any really special accommodation we can offer them
M: Well, suppose you have visiting managerial staff. For something more luxurious, we can offer our Delphos Suite. It's delightful, and convenient for entertaining private guests. It has its own private terrace where guests can sit outside and enjoy the view over the lake …
S: That sounds most attractive …
M: The normal rate is ￡150 per night …
S: ￡150.
M: … but for total luxury, the finest accommodation of any hotel in this area, I can recommend our Bella Vista Penthouse. From the balcony, there's a magnificent view over the whole countryside.
S: Oh, lovely.
M: It has a bedroom connecting to a large sitting room, with a separate study, a bathroom, and a fully-fitted kitchen. It combines total luxury with total privacy. For example, if your Company Director and his wife wanted to stay for a few days it would be ideal.
S: And the rate
M: The normal rate would be ￡220 a night.
Part V Do you know…
Five . hotels were voted among the world's top ten, with the Halekulani in Honolulu ranking first, a survey of Gourmet magazine readers released last Friday said.
Coming in second was the Oriental, in Bangkok, Thailand, followed by Villa d'Este, Cernobbio, Italy; The Regent , and Hotel Ritz, Paris.
The Greenbriar, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia ranked No. 8. The 10th-ranked hotel was the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, in Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies.
More than 150 hotels, resorts and inns in 27 countries and regions were ranked in general and specific categories that rated such things as dining, bars, pools, workout centers and romantic atmosphere. This is the third year that Gourmet, which has more than 5 million readers, has conducted the survey.
Another . hotel, the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, topped the list for restaurant dining, beating out the Connaught in London, Italy's Villa d'Este and Bangkok's the Oriental. The Four Seasons in Philadelphia was No. 5.
In the specific category of best business hotels, the Regent ranked first as it has for the past three years. In other categories, Paris' Hotel Ritz with its Roman thermal baths was voted to have the best pools and The Green- briar in
West Virginia was found to have the best workout center, golf and tennis.
Unit 3 “Planting” Money
Part I Getting ready
C. Keys:1 : Sincere; Y 2 : Doubtful; N 3 : Sarcastic; N 4 : Doubtful; N 5 : Sincere; Y 6 : Skeptical; N 7 : Surprised; Y 8 : Sincere; Y 9 : Emphatic; Y 10 : Sarcastic; N
Part II National teach children to save day
A. Keys: 1 : Thursday, April 17 2 : teaching children how to save money 3 : 2 500 4 : 5 000 presentations
B. Keys:1: 4; 2: 3; 3: 2; 4: 1
Part III Credit cards
Keys: 1 : importance 2 : later 3 : The potential disadvantages 4 : lots of purchases 5 : interest 6 : The benefits 7 : emergencies 8 : travel
Part IV More about the topic: Gulf Between the Rich and Poor
A. Keys: 1 : 3 2 : 1 3 : 2 4 : so much of their income 5 : ever larger houses and cars 6 : social programs or infrastructure repairs 7 : happier 8 : fewer disputes of work 9 : lower levels of stress hormones 10 : less often 11 : at an older age
B. Keys: 1 : vice president 2 : Myths of Rich and Poor 3 : positive side 4 : increased prosperity 5 : better off 6 : 30 years ago 7 : hundreds of gadgets 8 : easier 9 : more pleasurable 10 : cellular and cordless phones 11 : computers 12 : answering machines 13 : microwave ovens 14 : 3/4 15 : washing machines 16 : half 17 : clothes dryers 18 : 97% 19 : color televisions 20 : 3/4 21 : VCRs 22 : 2/3 23 : microwaves and air conditioners 24 : 3/4 25 : automobile 26 : 40% 27: home 28 : half 29 : stereo systems
Part V Do you know…
A. Keys: 1 : Tokyo 2 : Osaka 3 : Oslo 4 : Zurich 5 : 6 : Copenhagen 7 : Geneva 8 :Paris 9 : Reykjavik 10 : London
B. Keys: 1 : The Euro has appreciated against the US dollar. 2 : Persistent economic turmoil. 3 : Tehran. 4 : The economist team checks prices of a wide range of items from bread and milk cars and utilities to compile this report. 5 : Business clients use it to calculate the amount of allowances granted to overseas executives and their families.
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
B.
Narrator: What would you reply to these people Man: Well, as I see it,
millions of people in the world are worse off than us, but there's nothing we can do about it. Woman:I'd say that if you do have plenty of money, there's no point in spending it on private education for your children. Man:It seems to me that the only way to help the poor in the world is to find ways of helping them to help themselves. … er … not … by … er … giving them free food. Women:If you ask me, taxes for rich people should be really high — 95% or something - so that everyone is at the same economic level. Man:Er … in my view it … it's worth making a lot of money … er … so that you can leave it to your children when you die. Man:Don't you agree that if people are starving or have nowhere to live, it's the duty of better-off people to give them food and shelter
Woman:Look, let's face it, there's only one reason why people work and that's to make as much money as possible. Man:Surely, as long as you've got enough to live on, there's no point in making more and more money. Woman:If you're earning a good salary, surely you should save as much as you can for a rainy day. Man:I must say that one thing is certain: money doesn't buy happiness.
C.
Narrator: You'll hear some people reacting to various opinions — decide if they are agreeing or disagreeing with the opinions expressed. Pay attention to the tone of voice they use.
: Aren't you glad you're not a millionaire
Man:Sure!
:Don't you wish you could afford to spend our holidays in the Caribbean
Woman:Mm, ye-es.
: It's not worth saving your money, it's better to spend it.
Man:Oh, sure!
:It's better to be happy than rich.
Woman: Hmm.
: Well, basically, in a job the most important thing is how much you earn.
Man:Oh, yes!
:It's really important to save a little money every month — you never know when you might need it.
Woman:I don't know about that!
:The only way to survive on a tight budget is to keep a record of all your expenses.
Man:I don't know about that!
:Children these days get far too much pocket money.
Woman:Mmm!
:In a family it should be the mother that controls the budget.
Woman:Yes!
:If I inherited a lot of money it wouldn't change my life at all.
Man:Oh, yes!
Part II National teach children to save day
On Thursday, April 17, \"National Teach Children to Save Day,\" 2 500 bankers will make 5 000 presentations in elementary school classrooms across the country to teach children how to save money.
\"Bankers are committed to investing in the future of children because we want them to be able to make smart financial decisions throughout their lifetime,\" said American Bankers Association Executive Vice-president Donald G. Ogilvie. \"Education and money management skills are keys to a better life.\"
The ABA Education Foundation declared \"National Teach Children to Save
Day\" as a way to show banking industry support for teaching children money management skills and encouraging them to save money for the future. In 1996, Americans saved only % of their disposable incomes, compared to 1970 when they saved 8%.
The Foundation coordinated a great effort with state bankers associations to encourage bankers to participate in \"National Teach Children to Save Day.\" It also prepared a resource kit with tools to help bankers make presentations in classrooms. More than 125 000 students will be part of this national initiative.
The ABA Education Foundation also offers tips for parents to foster the savings habit in their children:
Give them an allowance with the understanding that part of it goes into their own savings — a first step towards learning to budget.
To make their savings visible and real, have them build up savings in a piggy bank. Then help them open their own bank savings account, and have them make deposits each month.
Use their monthly statements, or the record in their savings passbooks, to show them how their money is multiplying.
For every dollar your children earn, encourage them to spend 25 cents on what they want or need now, put 25 cents away for a bigger-item purchase later
and save or invest the rest. (That's a 50% savings rate!)
Make savings and investing fun. Give your children play money to \"invest\" in stocks they can track in local newspapers. If the stocks go up, pay them in more play money; if the stocks decline, they pay you.
Part III Credit cards
Credit cards are an important part of American life. Whether we have a positive or negative image of credit cards, they are an inescapable part of our finances, either now or in the future.
Without a credit card, it's just about impossible to rent a car, make a hotel or airline reservation, or even get a membership at a video store.
Since credit cards are so important, yet so many people are in financial trouble because of them, we feel education is extremely important. We want to show our customers that credit cards are not toys; they are an important responsibility.
A credit card can be used to \"charge\" things like clothes, tapes or CDs, dinner at a restaurant, or maybe a hotel room while you're on vacation. When you charge something, you are agreeing to pay for your purchase at a later date. Basically, you are buying something now and paying for it later.
Credit cards come with a \"limit.\" Let's say your credit card has a limit of $100.
That means you can charge up to $ worth of items on your card. You will get a statement in the mail each month that lists the charges you have made. You will also have to make a payment every month that you have a balance owing.
Since we're about educating our customers on the realities of credit and credit cards, we're going to be perfectly honest. First, using a credit card can be very expensive. Banks don't offer credit cards just because they like you. They offer them because they make money when customers use credit cards.
How do they make money When you charge something on a credit card, you not only will have to pay for what you bought, but you will also have to pay interest, or a finance charge, if you don't pay your bill in full by the due date. The finance charge is your extra cost for having something now and paying for it later. The interest rate on a credit card can be 15% or even higher. If, however, you pay your bill in full every month by the due date, you do not have to pay interest. And of course, we highly recommend you do that!
It's very easy to make lots of purchases on your card and then be surprised at how quickly they add up when your bill arrives! If you're not careful when you use a credit card, you could find yourself in a lot of debt. And it always takes much longer to pay it off than to spend it.
You will also want to be careful about buying things with credit card you wouldn't normally be able to afford. Again, you can get in over your head and end up paying a tremendous amount of interest.
However, when used correctly, credit cards can be very helpful. It's sometimes hard to do certain things without a credit card. Credit cards are also helpful for emergencies and are good for travel. Some credit cards even insure your purchase, meaning if something is lost, stolen, or broken, it can be replaced.
We believe the best way to become responsible with credit is to learn through hands-on experience. If you begin at a young age with a low limit, you won't be likely to blow it and get in financial trouble later on.
Part IV More about the topic: Gulf Between the Rich and Poor
A. Woman: In 1998, the United Nation's Human Development Report contains some interesting statistical comparisons about global wealth. For example the report notes that the world's three richest people own assets which exceed the combined growth domestic products of the world's poorest 48 countries. In another amazing comparison the report says the statistics show that installing water and sanitation for all the world's poor would cost roughly the same amount of money as is spent annually on ice-cream in Europe. It also notes that basic education for everyone would cost slightly less than is spent annually for cosmetics in the United States. What's wrong with this picture The author of a new book entitled Luxury Fever says the answer is \"spending priorities\". Robert Frank, a professor of economics at Cornell University in Ithyca, New York has written a book which says Americans are spending so much of their income on ever larger houses and cars that they can't afford to spend on social programs or infrastructure repairs.
Frank: It's a strange position really when you look back on it. Over the last 25 years, we've been spending much more on building larger houses, we've been spending vastly more on automobiles. People in the middle of the income distribution don't have any more money in terms of real purchasing power than they did 25 years ago. People near the bottom of the income distribution have even less than they had. People at the top of course have done spectacularly well. There's been about a doubling in the real purchasing power that has been experienced by the top 1% of earners. So naturally, people at the top find it a perfectly reasonable thing to do to buy bigger houses or more expensive cars. But that's of the chain of imitative spending all the way down the income ladder, and many of the people in the middle who feel they desperately need larger houses because others have them really could be spending their money in other ways if we look back.
Woman: The time required as you put it to earn enough money to pay for a
larger house could be used and could be freed up to use for family and friends.
Frank: Well that's true. There is always a cost of buying more things. Instead of building a bigger house or buying a more expensive car, I can work fewer hours and spend time with family and friends. And what the behavioral studies show very clearly is that if everyone did that, people would be happier. They'd have fewer disputes of work. They'd have lower levels of stress hormones in their blood. They get sick less often. They die at an older age. (To) sum it up, there is no free lunch. If we spend more on one thing, that always means spending less on another. And the best evidence we have such as that rich and poor life would be both
healthier and happier if we rearranged our spending patterns in these ways.
B. Woman 1: Another economist and author, however, see the positive side to the increased prosperity of Americans. W. Michael Cox is the vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas. And his book is entitled Myths of Rich and Poor. Mr. Cox disputes the widely held notion that there's a huge gap between the rich and poor in America. He says all Americans are better off than they were 30 years ago.
Woman 2: Technological advances have created hundreds of gadgets that did not exit 30 years ago. Mr. Cox contains in his new book, appliances like cellular and cordless phones, computers, answering machines, microwave ovens. He says these new inventions make life today both easier and more pleasurable. And he says these conveniences are available to a broader cross-section of the general public in the United States than in any other country in the world. That's because improvements in productivity and the openness of the . market has made them affordable for just about anybody.
Cox: Today of all the people in poverty in America, almost 3/4 have washing machines, half have clothes dryers, 97% have color televisions, 3/4 have VCRs, 2/3 have microwaves and air conditioners, 3/4 own their own automobile, 40% own their own home, half have stereo systems.
Part V Do you know…
Europe ranks as the most expensive region in the world in the latest survey by a prestigious London research group, the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Seven of the world's 10 most expensive cities are in Europe, according to the report released Monday.
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Oslo as the third most expensive city in the world. Other European cities in the top 10 include Zurich, Copenhagen, Geneva, Paris, Reykjavik and London.
Tokyo and Osaka remain on top of the list, as they have for a decade. ranked fifth.
The editor of the report, Bill Ridgers, says strong European currencies, led by the euro, account for the continent's high cost of living.
\"We've seen an increase in the relative cost of living in the euro-zone countries as the euro has appreciated against the . dollar, the prices have become relatively more expensive. And the flip side to that is that we've seen . cities actually slipping down in the list because they are becoming relatively cheaper as the dollar becomes slightly weaker,\" Mr. Ridgers said.
New York City has dropped out of the top 10, and now ranks as the 13th costliest city. Latin American cities also have slipped down the ranks amid persistent economic turmoil in the region. Mexico City is in 56th place and Sao
Paulo is 120th, just fourth from the bottom of the list.
Tehran remains the world's cheapest city, with a cost of living less than one-quarter that of Tokyo.
The Economist team checks prices of a wide range of items, from bread and milk to cars and utilities, to compile the semi-annual cost of living report.
Business clients use the service to calculate the amount of allowances granted to overseas executives and their families.
Unit 4 Loans for the Dream
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys:
Items Items
Charities Theatre and other arts events
Eating out √ Stocks and shares
Hobbies (DIY, sailing, etc.) √ Antiques √
Food and groceries √ Cars
Items Same Up Down Figures
Entertainment √ 2566
Depreciation √ 300
Secretarial expenses √ ——
...
Motor expenses √ 2612
Audit & accountancy costs √ ——
Telephone & postage √ Half as much as last year
Part II Raising money for buying a car
A. Keys: 1 ： college 2 ： repairing 3 ： a hundred pounds 4 ： three hundred fifty to four hundred 5 ： interest rates 6 ： an Ordinary Loan 7 ： 24 months
B. Keys: 1 ： X 2 ： √ 3 ： 7% 4 ： A day-to-day basis
1 ： overdraft 2 ： repay 3 ： lenders in the short term 4 ： pay interest on
5 ： collateral 6 ： life policy 7 ： deeds of the house 8 ： Government Securities 9 ： certificate 10 ： on a day-to-day basis
Part III Housing in the Keys: 1 ： cost of housing 2 ： 1/4-1/3 3 ： size and location 4 ： mortgage 5 ： easy to get things repaired 6 ： mortgage 7 ： condominium
B. Keys: 1 ：borrows, mortgages, shares, mortgage-based securities 2 ：They control about half the home loans in America. 3 ：Hiding the changes in the value; Poor supervision; Not carefully reporting its ：The price of Fannie Mae has dropped.
Part IV More about the topic: Consumer Rights
A. Keys: 1: a. merchantable quality b. fitting for particular purpose /seller c. as described 2: no/ retailer's responsibility/take to shop 3: item/ too large/ fragile 4: evidence of purchase/ date of purchase 5: go to court/ sue the seller
B. Keys: 1 : F 2 : T 3 : F 4 : F
Part V Do you know…
Keys: 1：any federal tax 2：tax on whiskey and other alcoholic drink; farmers refused 3：George Washington;13000 troops; defeated the Whiskey Rebellion. 4：personal income 5：rejected 6：The 16th Amendment 7：income
8: taxed at 35%;highest rate 9： 10：no income tax 11：7%: income tax on business 12：over 40%: personal income tax 13: 35%: retirement programs 14: below 18%: customs
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
Dialogue one
A:You asked me where all the money goes. It's difficult to say exactly, but obviously we spend a lot of money on groceries. I enjoy cooking, and as we have a large family — four children — our food bill is quite big. We also like eating out — my wife and I probably go out to a restaurant about once a week. Unfortunately, there are no theatres round here, so we don't go to the theatre as much as we'd like. But we do spend money on our hobbies. I like doing jobs around the house — I'm one of the local DIY center's best customers — and I'm very keen on sailing — that's a very expensive hobby. I'm also very interested in antiques, especially clocks. You must let me show you my collection one day ...
B: I'd like that. I wanted to ask you about holidays. Do you usually go abroad or stay in this coutry
A:We usually stay here. In fact, we spend very little on holidays. We have a small house near the sea and we usually go there. That's where I do my sailing. We
did go away for a week last year, but that was exceptional.
Dialogue two
A:So how much did we spend on entertainment this year B: 2566. A:That's down a little on last year. And what's the figure for depreciation
B:300, the same as last year. A:Hm, expenditure on secretarial expenses is up. B: Yes, there's a big increase there. A:What's the figure of 2612 for B:
Where's that A: Six figures down.
B: That's motor expenses. A: And
what does this figure represent B: Audit and accountancy costs. A: They're both up a lot.
B:Yes, but expenditure on telephone and postage is 's half as
much as last year.
Part II Raising money for buying a car
B:Well, good afternoon, Mr. Jackson. J:Good afternoon. I've come to see you to see whether it's possible to ... get an overdraft. I'm ... I want some money. [Yes] I'll tell you quite frankly what it is. I'm wanting to buy a new car. [Yes] I don't know whether it's possible to raise any money from the bank in this way. B:Er, I see no reason why not. J:I've got an old car ... B:What's your proposition J:Well, I've got this old car which is an eight-year-old Morris 1000, and I don't think there's any point in having it repaired any more because it just isn't worth it. I feel that I could probably get about a hundred pounds for it and then that means that I would need about another four hundred-odd, three hundred and fifty ... [Mhm] er, on top of that, to buy a, a, not a new car exactly, but a newer one. [Mhm] Um, ...
B:Do you use the car for your business, for your work J:Er; yes I do, up to a point. That is to say, sometimes I take it to work and sometimes I don't, because I'm almost within walking distance of the College. [Mhm] Does this have some bearing on the, on the question of whether I can get an overdraft
B:No,
I
don't think so. I, er, it was just a matter of interest that I asked you, really. You think three hundred and fifty J:I would say about three hundred and fifty to four hundred. With the other, with the other [Yes] hundred pounds then it would be about, er, five hundred pounds; well, one can get quite a decent car for five hundred pounds [Quite] — second hand, of course. B:Quite. And what sort of period of time could you repay us J:Well, erm, this rather depends on you. Um, I would like to ... I, er, what is the normal procedure for such a sum of money B:Well, for such a sum of money we could expect repayment within twenty-four months.
J:Two years. B:Two years. J:I see. B:We are lenders in the short term, remember, not long term. J:Yes. Er, is there ... Do you, do I pay interest on this B:You will pay interest on — well, the type of loan I have in mind is a Personal Loan, as I assume you've got no form of collateral to offer. J:What is — what is collateral B:Well, have you any shares in any companies or life policies, deeds of houses, or anything like that
J:I have some Government Securities, is ... would this be ... sufficient B:You have some Government Securities, and what is their value J:Er,
it's
about ... B:Have you got the certificates J:... eight hundred pounds or so. B:About eight hundred pounds J:Yes, but I don't want to ...
B:You
don't
want ... J:... cash them. B:No. No, well you wouldn't ... that wouldn't
involve you in cashing them. I could grant you an Ordinary Loan where the interest to you would be less than on a Personal Loan, if you were willing to charge that Share Certificate to us. J:Yes. I see, um, er, is it, is it possible to er ... what's ... that, that would be the only security which you would need, in fact B:I
shouldn't
need any other security, other than that ... [I see] not on a loan, not on a loan of that size. Or if you would agree to do it on a Personal Loan basis which [cough] I would not require any security whatever, as on a Personal Loan we have death cover and you are in regular employment, er, in, er, good-salaried employment, with a with a good, with a good salary, therefore I would not ask you for erm, any security. [Yes. Yes.] But the interest rate would be higher than on an Ordinary Loan. [Yes] I should charge you seven percent on a Personal Loan and that's on the original amount taken, whereas on an Ordinary Loan it would be at one and a half percent over Bank Rate, minimum six percent, and that would be calculated on a, on a day-to-day basis, so it does in fact work out cheaper.
J:I see. Yes.
Part III Housing in the In the . today, the cost of housing is very high. It is common to pay one fourth to one third of a family's income on the place to live. The price of a house depends on its size and location. Big houses are more expensive than smaller ones. And houses closer to the center of big cities are more expensive than ones in the suburbs or in small towns. Regardless of the cost, it's usual for people to buy their houses over a period of time. When a family buys a house, it is necessary to borrow money from a bank to pay for it. Then they repay the bank in regular payments. This kind of bank loan is called a mortgage. Families can take 30 years to pay off the mortgage. Without a mortgage, it would be
impossible for most people to own their houses. Many Americans don't own their own homes. They pay landlords to live in their homes. The money they pay for this is called rent. Usually it is cheaper to rent than it is to buy and to pay a mortgage. Also when something needs to be repaired, it is easy for the renter to ask the landlord to fix it. Some people rent houses, but most renters live in apartments. Apartment buildings are located in cities where it is too costly to build houses. Recently, it has become common for renters to buy their apartments. When this happens, the cost usually increases, but the money goes to pay off the mortgage. Apartments bought this way are called condominiums.
B. Americans say owning a home is part of the American dream. But many people may not recognize the part that a company called Fannie Mae plays in the home loan industry. Now government financial investigators have found serious problems at the company. Fannie Mae began as the Federal National Mortgage Association. Congress established it in nineteen thirty-eight. It became a private corporation in nineteen seventy, and later changed its name to Fannie Mae.
A mortgage is a loan secured by property. A person goes to a lender, usually a bank, to borrow money for a home. The person pays the loan back, with interest, over a period of long as thirty years. The bank must wait a long time to get its money back. So Fannie Mae buys mortgages from lenders. This supplies them with money to use for other loans.
Investors buy shares in Fannie Mae so the company has money to pay for
mortgages. Fannie Mae also sells and trades what are called mortgage-backed securities. Bonds based on mortgages are considered low-risk investments. However, these are not guaranteed by the government.
Fannie Mae and a similar company, Freddie Mac, control about half the home loans in America. Experts say the market is worth almost eight million million dollars.
Last year, investigators found problems with financial record-keeping at Freddie Mac. But they say the problems at Fannie Mae are a lot more serious.
An agency called the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight accused Fannie Mae of hiding changes in its value. The agency criticized the company for poor supervision and not carefully reporting its finances. Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are also investigating Fannie Mae.
Franklin Raines, the chief executive officer, defends the actions of the company. Mister Raines says Fannie Mae did not falsely represent its financial condition.
Industry experts say the work of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helps keep mortgage rates lower, so more Americans can own homes. But the price of Fannie Mae stock has dropped after news of the investigations.
Experts say the company could have to pay more when it needs to borrow
money. They say the situation could also lead to higher mortgage rates for home buyers in the future.
Part IV More about the topic: Consumer Rights
P:Many consumers are unaware of their rights in buying goods from shops and stores. Dave Watts of the Office of Fair Trading is here to explain exactly what your rights are under English law. Dave, first of all, what are the Acts that give the buyer rights D:Well, Sandy, there are two Acts: there's the Sale of Goods Act and the Trades Descriptions Act and both cover the rights of a buyer in contracts that he or she enters into with traders. P:And ... um ... who are the \"traders\" exactly
D:Well, \"traders\" means any shop, doorstep salesman, street market
stall or mail order firm. P:And so what is a \"contract\" then in ... in this respect
D:Well, if you buy anything from a trader, you have in fact entered into a
contract with him. P:And do traders have obligations D:Yes, they have three main obligations. The first one is that the goods are \"of merchantable quality\" ...
P:Er ... hang on, what does \"merchantable\" mean D:Well,
that
means \"fit for the purpose\nature of the goods and how they're described. For example, a pair of shoes which fall apart after two weeks' normal wear are not of merchantable quality. Very cheap or secondhand goods needn't be top quality but they must still fulfill this obligation. And the second obligation is that the goods are \"fit for any particular purpose made known to the seller\". And the third one is that the goods are \"as described\". P:\"As described\"
D:Yes, on the package or as illustrated or
described on a display sign, or verbally by the seller himself. P:And ... um ... if
you think you have cause for complaint, what should you do
D:Well, you must take the item back to the shop, unless it's too large or fragile to move, in which case the trader must collect it from you. And you'll be entitled to all or part of your money back, a cash refund, plus compensation for any loss or personal injury. P:Instead of taking it back to the shop, would it be a good idea to send it to the manufacturer D:No, definitely not. It's the retailer's responsibility. But you could sue the manufacturer if you've suffered personal injury, say. P:Oh, and what about receipts — should you keep them or doesn't it matter if you throw them away
D:Well, the purpose of keeping receipts is
so that you have some evidence of your purchase and also of the date of the purchase, which sometimes is very important. But the retailer's not within his rights to say \"No refunds without a receipt\". P:Suppose a retailer refuses to give a refund for faulty goods, even when he legally has to
D:Well, in that
case you should go to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or to the Trading Standards Office, sometimes called the \"Consumer Advice Center\". P:Oh, I see. And if the worst comes to the worst
D:Well, you may have to go to court
and sue the seller for your money or for compensation. But that's very rare, I'm glad to say, as it's more costly for the retailer to defend themselves in court than it is to give you your money back. P:Dave, thank you very much. D:Thank you.
Part V Do you know…
April fifteenth is a special date for Americans. But it is no holiday. It is tax day. It is the last day to pay any federal taxes owed on earnings from the year before.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to establish federal taxes. State and local governments can also tax. But the idea of national taxes took time to develop. Not everyone liked the idea. In seventeen-ninety-one Congress approved a tax on whiskey and other alcoholic drink. Farmers in western Pennsylvania who produced alcohol refused to pay. They attacked officials and burned the home of a tax collector. America's first president, George Washington, gathered almost thirteen-thousand troops. The soldiers defeated the so-called Whiskey Rebellion of seventeen-ninety-four. It was one of the first times that the government used its powers to enforce a federal law within a state. At first the United States government collected most of its money through tariffs. These are taxes on trade. In the late eighteen-hundreds, Congress began to tax people's pay. The Supreme Court rejected the personal income tax. But, in nineteen-thirteen, the states passed the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This gave Congress the right to tax income. Today, personal income tax provides the government with more than forty percent of its money. Taxes collected to pay for retirement programs and other services provide thirty -five percent. Income taxes on businesses provided seven percent of federal money in two-thousand-two. And the government collects other taxes, including customs. The Internal Revenue Service collects federal taxes. The is part of the Treasury Department. Most taxpayers do not owe the agency any money on April fifteenth. Their employers have taken income taxes from their pay all year and already given it to In fact, most people get some money back. But tax laws are often criticized as too complex. The United States has what is called a progressive tax system. Tax rates increase as earnings increase. This year people who earn more than three-hundred-twelve-thousand dollars are taxed at thirty-five percent. That is the
highest rate. Individuals who earn less than seven thousand dollars pay no income tax, but they do pay other taxes.
Unit 5 Briefing on Taxation and Insurance Policies
Part I Getting ready
A.
B. Keys:
a. 1 : 8000/half 2 : 4000
b. 3 : 2000/twice 4 : 4000
c. 5 : 2000/double 6 : 4000.
d. 7 : 8000/a quarter 8 : 2000
e. 9 : 4000/similiar 10 : 4000
C. Keys:
Dialogue one:
1 : $30000 2 : 24%
3 : overdraft 4 : sailing
Dialogue two:
1 : A brand new video was stolen.
2 : speaker paid the premium last week.
Dialogue three:
1 : mortgage 2 : income 3 : saving money
4 : entertaining 5 : pension schemes 6 : insurance
Part II Briefing on personal taxation
A. Keys:
1 : Structure 2 : rates 3 : 25% 4 : 40%
5 : ￡3295 6 : ￡5015 7 : pension 8 : 40% 9 : 7%
10 : collection 11 : PAYE 12 : Insurance 13 : 9% 14 : 10%
B. Keys:
1 : 10%
2 : simple and relatively low
3 : separate taxation
4 : 40%, Pay As You Earn, the employer
5 : the employee
Part III Should I buy an insurance policy (I)
A. Keys:
1 : insurance policy
2 : save money
3 : buying a house
B. Keys:
1 : a fixed objective in mind/how much to pay each month; a fixed objective each month in mind/how much to produce over some years
3 : No; regular & systematic/short term/bank/Building Society
Part IV More about the topic: Should I buy an insurance policy (II)
A. Keys:
1 : unmarried 2 : dependents 3 : no need
4 : acumulate capital/expand business/end of term
5 : saving to produce a pension
Part V Do you know…
A. Keys:
1 : T 2 : F 3 : F 4 : T 5 : T
B.
expected about eight thousand, but it was half of that.
estimated about two thousand, but it's twice as much as that.
salary is about two thousand, and his is about double that.
thought about eight thousand, but it's not more than a quarter of that.
thouht about four thousand, and it's similiar to that.
C. Dialogue one: A:About 24% of my income goes in tax, which is quite low — I don't know how they manage in places where tax rates are higher. I have a good job — I suppose I earn about thirty grand with bonuses, but I wouldn't say that we were well-off. We can't afford to run two cars. The cost of living is very high here.
B：Does your wife work
A：She does at the moment. We're trying to clear our overdraft, and there isn't a lot left over. We do spend a lot on food, but then we are a big family — it's difficult to economize. We spend very little on holidays, we usually go camping, which the children prefer anyway. We did go abroad for a week last year but that was exceptional. I don't know where the money goes. We don't often go out.
B：What about hobbies
A：I'm keen on sailing, but it's an expensive pastime. We do spend a bit on the children, Angela loves riding, but we're careful, we have to be.
Dialogue two： A：We were broken into yesterday. They took the video.
It was brand new. B：oh no,what was it worth A:About ￡300.
B:I hope you're insured.
A：Yes, luckily I paid the premium last week. But I'll have to make a claim. It's a real nuisance.
B：Are you covered for electrical goods
A：I assume so. I'll check — I have to call them to get a claim form.
Dialogue three:
A:His commitments are very similiar to mine. We both have a family to support and a mortgage to pay. My guess is that his income is about the same as mine. I don't understand how he can afford a cottage in the country.
B:He probaly borrowed the money. Your basic situation may be similiar to his but he's very different from you. He never saves a penny. I bet you invest far more than he does in pension schemes, and so on. For example, how much do you spend on insurance per year
A:That's my business.
B:OK, let's say it's three thousand, including life insurance.
A:It isn't nearly as much as that!
B:Maybe not, but the point is that he probably spends twice as much as that just on entertaining.
.Part II Briefing on personal taxation
Good afternoon, ladies abd gentlemen. What I'd like to do essentially is to answer two questions. Firstly, how is personal taxation structured in the UK And secondly, how is it levied So, if you take a look at this transparency, you'll see that, contrary to popular opinion, UK personal taxation is both simple and relatively low. There are two rates: 25% on taxable income up to ￡23700, and 40% on income above this figure. You'll notice I say taxable income, as, like most countries, there are a series of deductions and allowances which can be taken into account before arriving at your net taxable income figure. The major one relates to the status of the individual: a single person's allowance at present stands at ￡3295, while a married person's allowance is currently ￡5015.
At this point I should mention that the goverment has recently introduced legislation which allows married couples to opt for separate allowances or deductions which are common are, firstly, tax relief on private pensions. At the moment this allowable up to % of totle income, to the age of 35, rising to 40% at above 60 years old. Also the tax relief on mortgages or loans or buy a house—here there is currently 7% tax relief on the interest payable to the bank or Building Society. Right, that covers the first part of my presentation, I'd now like to move on to how personal tax is Inland Revenue obliges employers to operate a PAYE(Pay As You Earn)scheme, which means the tax is deductible at source. In other words, by the employer before making out the monthly salary check or bank transfer to the employee. The tax is then collected direct from the employer. At the same time I should mention that the employer is obliged to deduct National Insurance from
the employee's salary-the employee's contribution being roughly 9% of income, the employer's ranging from 5 to 10%. These are approximate figures as it is also income-related. Right, ladies and gentleman, that covers the broad picture. I'm sure you'd like to ask me for some specific details.
Part III Should I buy an insurance policy (I)
J:Good morning. Er, my name is Jackson. Er, I'm interested in taking out an insurance policy. I've been told that, that this is quite a good way to save money. Is it a good way to save money [Yes…] Is this true
I:...it's one of the, one of the ways of saving money.
J:Erm... I haven't got very much money, erm, I don't earn very much. What... how much would I have to pay for this, if I, if I (take)...
I:As little or as much as you like to pay. How much had you in mind, in fact
J:Well, erm… er, I don't really know anything about it. What's… how much does one pay I:Well, you can work it in two ways. You either sort of aim at a fixed objective, say, a straight thousand pounds policy. In other words, you have your object in mind and you want to know how much it's going to cost you. Alternatively, you can work the reverse way, where you say \"I would like to save two five pounds a month, over so many years. What would this produce for me
J:I see. And this thousand pounds, I get it... when I die... or else at a certain age, is that right
I:Well, this would depend entirely upon your needs. Now, are you in fact a single man or married
J:No, I'm unmarried.
I:You are unmarried. Erm, have you any dependents at all
J:Well...
I:F, for example, you have an … dependent mother, or dependent sisters or brothers
J:Not dependent, no. Mm. But I suppose as time goes on, they may become more dependent, er [Mm] J:It's difficult to say. I:There's always a possibility, I presume, that you may get married at some stage in the future.
J:Quite. Yes. Yes.
I:Uh-huh, erm... so I take it that your main interest in life insurance is, in fact, as you say, in saving money Is this right
J:Yes, that's, that's the main thing. [Now…] One doesn't think about death so very much. I:What sort of object in saving would you have I mean, why do you
feel that you want to save money
J:Well, I think that at a certain age, erm, I haven't decided what age it would be, it would be nice to have a, a lump sum. I suppose for example, when I retire, it would be nice to have a lump sum for moving away or, erm, buying a house or doing something like that. [Yes] Erm... I suppose sixty, sixty-five, I, I don't really know. Or is it possible to have it earlier than that
I:Yes, indeed, you can take any sort of saving scheme, erm, over a period of years, ranging from ten upwards. A life insurance is absolutely no good for short-term savings. When I say short-term, I mean any period up to ten years. [Yes] If you're interested in saving, say for two or three years then, in fact, you want to use something like a Bank or a Buildig Society. Erm [Oh,I see]... Life Insurance works more as a system of saving over long term...ten plus years... [Yes]... erm...because it is regular and it is systematic.
Part IV More about the topic: Should I buy an insurance policy (II)
J:Erm. From your experience, can you say what, what age it is that people normally ... like to have a, a lump sum
J:Fifty or something like that
I:Varies entirely according to their needs, I mean, if you take someone in er, a self-employed position, say a shop-keeper ... [Yes] Erm ...
J:He would want to develop his business, perhaps, at a certain (time).
I:Yes, I mean he, he, he may, he may well have two needs. One, he may be ... he will want to accumulate money over a fairly short term, say fifteen years, [Mm] so that at the end of fifteen years he has the capital, and by that stage, he will have the experience from working in a business to expand it, [Yes] Alternatively, his second need may be something in (th) need of... a pension. [Yes] He, unlike employees, hasn't got a compulsory pension scheme, and he may want a system of saving which is going to produce for him a pension when he feels he would like to retire.
J:Yes. So, er, I suppose in my case, I'm not, not self-employed, perhaps it might be something like … er … the needs of the children at a certain age. I mean, children who are coming into adolescence, for example…
I:Yes. Mm…
J:They, they have a lot of needs then. Clothing, perhaps education, er, [Yes. Ind ...] this sort of thing.
I:Indeed. When you get married you will find that, you know, a number of needs come up to do with life insurance, erm, on what we call the life cover side. [Yes] Erm, in other words, the amount ... that ... your wife and children would receive from an insurance company in the event of your dying. [Yes] But, at the moment, as a single man, you have no need for this type of policy, you see; and
any ... savings scheme ...
Part V Do you know…
A:How do prices in Iceland compare with those in the UK I've heard that it's an expensive country.
B:Yes, it always has been, but at the moment the pound is quite strong against the krona, so things like eating out in restaurant and staying in hotels are cheaper than they used to be. But eating out is still quite expensive, and drinks cost about twice as much as they do in the UK — a bottle of wine in a restaurant is extremely expensive. But I don't mind paying the prices — the fish is fantastic as you would expect and the lamb is wonderful. Food in the shops is still expensive, probably on average about one and half times more expensive than in the UK.
A:Do you manage to get out much, or do you spend all of your time working when you're there
B:I try to get out and see as much of the country as possible, yes. I like to go fishing when I have the chance — Iceland is a great place for fishing. Last time I was there I did actually manage to find time to drive up to the fishing port at Akrances, I'm not sure how you pronounce it, from Reykjavik. I went out on a boat and caught quite a lot of fish, for once — mainly cod and haddock. To get to Akrances you have to drive past some fantastic mountain scenery. You really should go to Iceland if you have the chance. I don't know anywhere else like it.
Unit 6 Visions of Business
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys: Scale. 1: Individual proprietorship 2: Two or more people 3: the complex Ownership. 1: property owners 2: all the property 3: Two or more people 4: go into business 5: Investors 6: stock 7: share 8: ownership
Responsibility. 1: proprietor 2: Limited partners 3: full partners 4: A board of directors 5: corporate policies 6: top officers Lifetime. 1: Limited 2: Limited 3: Unlimited
Part II Michael Dell vs. Frederick Smith (I)
A. Keys: Michael Dell: 1: Chairman 2: CEO 3: Dell 4: tenured CEO 5: computer industry 6: direct-to-consumer 7: build-to-order 8: Dell Computer 9: middle-man
Frederick Smith: 1: Chairman 2: President 3: CEO 4: FedEx 5: transportation 6: overnight delivery 7: just-in-time delivery 8: FedEx 9: FedEx 10: ground delivery
B. Keys: 1: the quality of service 2: the breadth of the network 3: the unique services needed 4: the cost
Part III Michael Dell vs. Frederick Smith (II)
A. Keys: Efficient information system can 1: all the unnecessary; costs; more
applicable 2: the distance between
A great part of economy will work on \"supply chain\" because 1: a fast cycle basis; a world of choice 2: on a computer; customize 3: have it delivered very rapidly
B. Keys: Michael:
Motivation: The opportunity in the industry, in the business
Ambitions 1. a leader not only in client computing, but also in the enterprise and servers and storage. 2. business not just in the United States but all over the world 3. a lot of services that go along with the products
Frederick: Positive attitude towards future: company’s future Positive attitude towards work: going to work every day; compete; innovate; wonderful people; a lot of very exciting business trends.
Part IV More about the topic: The Business Plan
A. Keys: 1: the most fundamental 2: business plan 3: large 4: small 5: having a business plan 6: a reality 7: essential 8: a map 9: where you’re going to go 10: get started 11: go from “A” to “Z” 12: how much money 13: how many people 14: prediction where the business may go 15: position yourself 16: use the least amount of money 17: more critical 18: budding entrepreneurs 19: use
the limited resources
Part V Do you know…
A. Keys: 1: 80 2:100 3: oldest 4: largest 5: fastest 6: growing 7:1919 8: school 9: hours 10: organized 11: operated 12: forming 13: Local 14: developed 15: shares 16: materials 17: produced 18: profits 19: owned 20: business 21:operate 22: 1974 23: classrooms 24: programs 25:5 26: 18 27: 2700000 28: 85 000 29: 5 30: 11 31: Volunteer 32: main 33: rules
34: organized 35: made 36: sold 37: economy38: money39: industry 40: trade 41: families 42: communities
43:12 44:14 45: business 46: expert 47: Project 48: economic 49: theories 50: supply demand 51: corporations 52: world trade 53: 12 : 14 55: Economics 56: leaving 57: completing 58: continuing 59: game 60: jobs 61: education 62: money 63: get : earn 65: need 66: want 67: high 68:school
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
B. Businesses are structured to meet different needs. One basic difference involves who is responsible for the business. Another involves how long the organization can stay in business. The simplest form of business is called an
individual proprietorship. The word proprietor comes from French and Latin words for property owner. The proprietor owns all the property of the business and is responsible for it. The law recognizes no difference between the owner and the business. Most small businesses in the United States are individual proprietorships. Another kind of business is the partnership. Two or more people go into business together. An agreement is usually needed to state how much of the partnership each person controls. They can end the partnership at any time. But partnerships and individual proprietorships have a limited life. They exist only as long as the owners are alive. Some states permit what are called limited liability partnerships. These have full partners and limited partners. Limited partners may not share as much in the profits. But their responsibilities to the organization are also limited. The most complex is the corporation. This kind of business organization is designed to have an unlimited lifetime. Investors in a corporation own stock. This is a share of the ownership. Investors can trade their shares or keep them as long as the company is in business. Investors may get paid dividends, a small amount of money for each share they own. A board of directors controls the corporate policies. The directors appoint top company officers. The directors might or might not hold any shares in the corporation. Not all corporations are traditional businesses that sell stock. The American Red Cross, for example, is organized as a non-profit corporation.
Part II Michael Dell vs. Frederick Smith (I)
Thank you. OK look, it’s not all that unusually to dream up a business idea while you’re in college. You know, you book the bands for the parties, you deliver
pizzas to the dorm. OK, dreaming up a new multi- billion dollar industry from the ground up, this is a little less usual. But it is something both of our guests accomplished even if not everyone realized it at the time. When Fred Smith wrote a term paper outlining his idea for an overnight delivery service, his teacher gave him a C minus. He off and went on to create Federal Express. We'll be talking about that and other matters with Fred Smith, the Chairman, President and CEO ofFedEx Corporation, a little later in the program. But first Michael Dell, who dropped out of college after a year to start the business, he still heads. As Chairman and CEO of Dell Computer, Michael Dell happens to be the longest tenured CEO in the entire computer industry. He's also the man solely responsible for creating the direct-to-consumer model that sparked the whole build-to-order revolution. Michael Dell's aim is to elimnate the middle-man, a home-grown philosophy that carries over into his hands-on management style. Before we get into the specific conversations, I want to know something because the two of you have a relationship that customers-like. Could you exist without a company like Fred Smith's to supply your stuff Could it work if you didn't have ajust-in-time delivery system to get you your parts for your computers
Michael Dell: In our case, no. I mean, you know, we couldn't exist without FedEx, and I don't think FedEx could exist without our distributing. We are sort of mutually co-dependent here.
Frederick Smith: That's absolutely right. Michael understands that his efficacy with his customers depends on delivering exactly as he's told his customer that he's gong to deliver plus his production is just in time, so all those parts and pieces
from all over the world gotta to come together at the same time. Now he may have to for his own reasons use brand X, but clearly the best choice is FedEx.
Greenfield: Now you go out, you're making a big push into the ground delivery business as well. Right
Smith: Sure.
Greenfield: Michael, what would you want from him as a CEO and founder of Dell, to make it more tempting for you
Dell: Well, it's pretty straight forward. I mean, you know, you gotta be competitive, you've got to deliver on the things that are important to us, which means the quality of service, the breadth of the network, the...you know, unique services that we need. For example, we have a lot of things going on with airlift out of Asia, coming in the US, and their network is particularly well suited for this. And of course, they gotta be cost competitive. You put all that together and that's the sort of discussion we have, there's not a lot of real science to it, I mean. it's pretty basic nuts and bolts. Here's what we need, you know, and here we need to stay competitive.
Greenfield: Do you have a shot
Smith: No, I'll tell you I've been listening to the whole lot of it, and usually I'm doing everything he wants us to do. I can tell you that much.
Part III Michael Dell vs. Frederick Smith (II)
Greenfield: Let me turn now to the first theme we want to talk about, and that is this build-to-order revolution. Does it change everything
Dell: You know, I think first of all, you gotta look at the supply chain. Basically, what efficient information flows do is they, you know, they sort of take out all these costs of transaction and processing that sort of, you know, add to the ultimate cost of buying something. And if you view information as this kind of like vacuum that sucks out that unnecessary cost, there are certain products or services where this is far more applicable. You know things that have very high mark ups, things that depreciate in value at an incredible rate.
Greenfield: What's an example
Dell: Take the car industry for example. Ok Not necessarily fit in small packages yet, but you know when you go to buy a car, you typically go to a place where there's lots of cars and somebody guessed what kind of car, you know, you were going to buy. And, you know that's, there's tens of billions of dollars in assets tied up in those guesses and what usually happens is you end up buying, not the car exactly that you wanted but the car they happened to have. And then the signal back to the factory that that car that you just bought, you know, is selling really well, so let's build some more. And the person who sold it to you gets a commission for selling you something that you didn't quite exactly want to buy. And so you got capital tied up, you got costs tied up, and what information
systems can do is essentially shrink the distance between the source of demand and the source of supply.
Smith: There's a lot of work that's been done in the academic realm about this issue supply chain that you're just talking about. The latest figure that I've seen which was done by one of the schools in the Midwest that has a good transportation and logistics practices. And about 40 percent of businesses today are operated on a fast cycle basis that Michael and Wal-Mart and so forth pioneered. Now there's certain types of items that are very low in terms of unit costs like groceries or gasoline you put in your car, or commodities of one sort or another or where form and fit may meet make the customers wanna go look at it personally like putting on a coat or something. But I think other than that, almost everything will be presented to you on a computer and you'll have a world of choice and you can customize it and have it there very rapidly. For a car, it might be four days; for a Dell computer, it might be overnight, or if you want to shorten the delivery, three days or whatever. But I think a great part of the economy will work that way.
Greenfield: It's now time for the next generation of business leaders, we hope, to ask their questions of our guests. Please be sure to tell us your name and then your questions. Sir.
Munan: Ok, good afternoon. My name is Munan. I'm just curious what keeps you guys going and personally what you guys have left to
Dell: You know, what keeps me going again is the opportunity that I see in our industry in our business. You know, this is a business that continues to grow, the IT industry is right at the fulcrum of the economy. The industry is expanding around the world. We want to be a leader not only in client computing, but also in the enterprise and servers and storage. And we want to do it not just in the United States, but all over the world. And we want to add a lot of the services that go along with those products, so we have, we think a great start, but we think there is tremendous opportunity going forward.
Smith: Well, I'm truly excited about my company's future. I love going to work every day, it's great fun. I love to compete, I love to try to innovate, come up with a new idea. Work with a lot of wonderful people and sit right in the middle of a lot of very, very exciting business trends, and I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
Part IV More about the topic: The Business Plan
A woman has a great idea for a business. She's joined a women's business association and talked with several entrepreneurs. She wants to get started. What's the next step In today's \"women in business\" report, Sarah Long tells us that one of the most fundamental steps toward a successful business is the business plan. The idea for a business may be large or small. A manufacturing plant with lots of employees or a one-employee company based in the home. It's not the size of the business that matters. What does matter according to experts is having a business plan to make the idea a reality. \"I only have myself and my full-time office manager and I'm hiring a third person. I do a business plan every year.” Betty
Stehman has her own accounting firm. Along with a full range of accounting and tax services, her company helps entrepreneurs develop business plans. She believes a plan is essential for any business including, of course, her own. \"I review where my plan was last year. I measure myself against it. Then I look at where I want to go. That gives me direction for the full year. If I don't have that direction, it's like going on a trip without a map and you're not sure where you're going. So the business plan to me is essentially a map for your business as to where you're going to go.\" Entrepreneur T. W. Fitzgerald agrees that a business plan is the very best way to get started. \"When you do a business plan it's almost your guarantee that your business will succeed because you go from \"A\" to \"Z\" in figuring out every aspect: how much money you need; how many people you'll need; whether you'll need people. It gives you a way of predicting where the business may go so you can position yourself to respond intelligently and use the least amount of money.” Ms. Fitzgerald says that if a budding entrepreneur doesn't have much money, a business plan becomes even more critical by helping to use the limited resources in the very best way. She points out that about 46 percent of businesses in the United States operate without a business plan. These, she says, are the companies at greatest risk of failing. And in an increasingly global marketplace, she says one person's great idea today maybe ten other people's great idea tomorrow. Those using business plans are most likely to beat out their competitors.
Part V Do you know…
An organization in the United States has been teaching young people about
the American business system for almost 80 years. Now we operate in more than 100 other countries. Junior Achievement is the world's oldest, largest, and fastest growing economic educational organization. It began in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The group's first program was for high school students after school hours. Its goal was to show young people how businesses are organized and operated. The students learned by forming their own companies. Local business people advised them. First, the students developed a product. Then they sold shares in their company. They used this money to buy the materials needed to make the product. They produced the product and sold it. Finally they returned the profits to the people who owned shares in the company. The Junior Achievement \"Company Program\" was very successful. It continues to teach young people about American business by helping them operate their own companies. In 1974. Junior Achievement began teaching students in their classrooms about business. Today, there are programs for students of all ages from 5 to 18. More than2 700 000 American students are involved in Junior Achievement. They are taught by more than 85 000 business advisors-who are not paid. Junior Achievement has programs for young school children ages 5 through 11. Volunteer business advisors teach the main rules of successful businesses. They teach how businesses are organized. They teach how products are made and sold. They also teach about the American economy, the system of money, industry and trade. And they teach students how the economy affects their families and their communities.
Junior Achievement has programs for middle school students ages 12 to 14. A volunteer business expert teaches the students once a week. One program is called \"Project Business\". It is about economic theories. Students learn about
supply and demand. They learn about corporations. And they learn about world trade.
Another Junior Achievement program for 12 to 14-year-old students is called . \"the Economics of Staying in School\". It is for students who may be thinking about . leaving before completing high school. These students learn the importance of continuing their education. First they play a game. The game shows what kinds of jobs
people have. It shows how much education is needed for each job. And it shows how much money each job pays. The students learn that workers with more education get better jobs and earn more money. Then the students learn how much money they need to buy the things they want. They realize that they probably will not earn enough money if they do not finish high school.
Unit 7 Fame and Fortune
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys: 1： magazine 2： newspaper 3： Microsoft Company 4： successful 5： richest 6： 3rd 7： 1955 8： Washington 9： computers 10： 13 11： baseball 12： football 13： computer programs 14： perform 15： high
16： computer language 17： Basic 18： valuable 19： office 20： home 21： established 22： 1975 23： three 24： computer software 25： established 26：
nternational 27： usiness 28： achines 29： 1981 30： personal computer 31： operating system 32 ： 129 33： computer companies 34： Windows 35： easier 36： officials 37：
38： thousands of millions of dollars 39： 16 000 40： 48 41： 30 42： 100
Part II Bill Gates’ new rules
A. Keys: 1: quailty 2: re-engineering 3: velocity
B. Keys: 1: communication 2: e-mail 3: sales data online 4: insights 5: knowledge workers 6: high-level thinking 7: create virtual teams 8: paper process 9: digital process 10: eliminate single-task jobs 11: digital feedback loop 12: route customer complaints 13: redefine the boundarie 14: business process 15: just-in-time delivery 16: eliminate the middle man 17: help customers solve problems
Part III Great business deals
A. Keys: 1: NATIONAL STEAMSHIP 2: 20 000 3: Aristotle Onassis 4: 6 000 5: American 6: Big Ben 7: 1 000 8: tourist
9: Buckingham Palace 10: 2 000 11: The White House 12: 100 000 13: The Statue of Liberty 14: 100 000 15: Australian
B. Keys: 1: boom 2: world depression 3: millionaire 4: identified 5: fraud 6:
five 7: California 8: luxury
Part IV More about the topic: Walt Disney
1: correspondence course 2: Oswald the Rabbit 3: talking cartoon film 4: Walt Disney himself 5: storyteller
6: Ub Iwerks 7: 35; feature-length cartoon film; 2 000 000; three 8: potential 9: 55; 17 000 000 27: taste; vulgarity; children of all ages
Part V Do you know…
1: $24 worth of kettles, axes and cloth. 2: $80 000 000. 3: $27 000 000. 4: About 12 cents. 5: About 800 000 square miles. 6: About 1 600 000 square miles. 7: $7 200 000. 8: About 5 cents. 9: $750 000 000 worth. 10: An estimated 100 000 000 000 tons.
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
B. In the past few years, hundreds of magazine and newspaper stories have been written about Bill Gates and his company, the reason the Microsoft Company is extremely successful. It has made Bill Gate one of the richest men in the world. William Gates the 3rd was born in 1955, in a western city of Seattle, Washington. He became interested in computers when he was 13 years old. When most young
boys his age were playing baseball or football, young Bill Gates was learning to write computer programs. These programs tell computers how to perform useful tasks. Bill Gate attended Harvard University after high school. At Harvard, he began developing the computer language called Basic. He began to think that the computer would someday become a valuable tool that could be used in every office and home. Bill Gate returned to Seattle where he established the Microsoft Company in 1975. It employed only three workers. Microsoft developed computer software for established American companies, like General Electric and Citibank. Soon Microsoft was working with the International Business Machines Company known as IBM. In 1981,IBM began selling a personal computer that used Microsoft products as part of its operating system. By then, Microsoft had 129 workers. Today IBM still uses Microsoft's computer operating system. So do many other computer companies. One of the most famous Microsoft products is a program called Windows. Windows makes it much easier to use a computer. Company officials say Microsoft has sold about 40 000 000 copies of the Windows program around the world. Microsoft does thousands of millions of dollars in business each year. It now has more than 16 000 workers in more than 48 countries. Microsoft today produces computer programs in 30 languages and sells them in more than 100 countries.
Part II Bill Gates’ new rules
If the 1980s were about quality and the 1990s were about re-engineering, then the 2000s will be about velocity. About how quickly business itself will be transacted. About how information access will alter the life-style of consumers and
their expectations of business. Quality improvements and business-process improvements will occur far faster. When the increase in velocity is great enough, the very nature of business changes.
To function in the digital age, we have developed a new digital infrastructure. It's like the human nervous system. Companies need to have that same kind of nervous system — the ability to run smoothly and efficiently, to respond quickly to emergencies and opportunities to quickly get valuable information to the people in the company who need it, the ability to quickly make decisions and interact with customers.
The successful companies of the next decade will be the ones that use digital tools to reinvent the way they work. To make digital information flow an intrinsic part of your company, here are 12 key steps.
1. Insist that communication flow through e-mail. 2. Study sales data online to share insights easily.
3. Shift knowledge workers into high-level
thinking. 4. Use digital tools to create virtual teams. 5. Convert every paper process to a digital process. 6. Use digital tools to eliminate single-task jobs. 7. Create a digital feedback loop.
8. Use digital systems to route customer
complaints immediately. 9. Use digital communication to redefine the boundaries. 10. Transform every business process into just-in-time delivery. 11. Use digital delivery to eliminate the middle man.
12. Use digital tools to
help customers solve problems for themselves. As I said in The Road Ahead, we always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and
underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.
You know you have built an excellent digital nervous system when information flows through your organization as quickly and naturally as thought in a human being and when you can use technology to marshal and coordinate teams of people as quickly as you can focus an individual on an issue. It's business at the speed of thought.
Part III Great business deals
1. In the … er … late 1920s, early 1930s, there was a … a young Greek businessman who … er … made quite a lot of money … er … by importing tobacco into Argentina. Um … he then moved up to North America … er … this was in about … er … 1933, when of course the world was in the middle of a … a trade slump. Er … he … er … decided he wanted to get into shipping, and to get into shipping he needed ships so he … he started looking around for some ships to buy with his tobacco fortune and he found ten vessels … er … which belonged to the Canadian National Steamship Company … er … the problem being that they were frozen into the ice in the St Lawrence River in Canada. They'd been rusting away there for two years and were now completely filled up with snow and ice. Er … in fact the story goes that when he went aboard to … er … inspect one of the ships, he fell into a snowdrift and … er … ended up on the deck below. Well, the ships had cost $2 million to build … er … about ten years before, and the owners were prepared to let them go just for a … a scrap price of … er … $30 000 each. He
offered $20,000 and the owners accepted.
He left them there, stuck in the ice, there was nothing more he could do. Er … but a few years later, the … the world depression … er … came to an end and … er … world war seemed to be looming in Europe and, of course, that led in its turn to a … bit of a shipping boom. So the young man, there he was with his ships and … er … he became one of the richest men in the world. His name was … Aristotle Onassis.
upon a time there was an enterprising Scottish actor, called Arthur Furguson, who discovered that he could make a very good living selling things that didn't actually belong to him, in other words he was a con man. He first got the idea when he was sitting in the middle of Trafalgar Square (in London that is). Um … this was in 1923, and he saw an American tourist admiring the stone lions and the fountains and Nelson's Column. He introduced himself as the \"official guide\" to the Square and started to explain the history of the place. And while he was doing this he also slipped in a little mention that as Britain was heavily in debt, the British government was looking for the right kind of person to buy the Square. He said that he was the official government salesman and that the asking price was around ￡6 000. The American said that this was a good price and offered to pay by cheque right away, so Mr. Furguson went off to okay this with his superiors — in other words he went off for an hour and a half and kept the American waiting. Well, he then came back and said, yes, they were willing to sell to the American at that price. The American wrote a check and Furguson gave him a receipt and the address of a company who would dismantle the Square and get it ready for
shipping it to the States. Then he went off to cash the check.
Soon after that he sold Big Ben for ￡1 000 and took a down payment on Buckingham Palace of ￡2 000. Two years later he went to the United States and leased the White House to a Texas cattleman for 99 years for $100 000 per annum. Later he arranged to sell the Statue of Liberty to an Australian for $100 000, but unfortunately Furguson allowed the buyer to take a photograph of him and the Australian, feeling slightly suspicious, showed the photograph to the police. Furguson was identified and sent to prison for fraud for five years. When he came out he retired to California, where he lived in luxury until he died in 1938.
Part IV More about the topic: alt Disney
Presenter:Walt Disney is well known as the creator of Mickey Mouse and the inventor of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but his creations are better known than his life. Peter Spencer is the author of a new book about Disney. What was Walt Disney's background
Peter:Walter Elias Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago but actually he was brought up in a small town in the Mid-West near Kansas City, Missouri, which incidentally was later used as the model for Main Street in Disneyland. Um ... he first studies cartooning, you know, by doing a correspondence course. During the First World War he worked as a … a driver for the American Red Cross but after the war he returned to Kansas City where he met a guy called Ub Iwerks. Now they … er … started to work together on a series of experimental-type films ... um … and
after a while they set off to California to join Walt's elder brother Roy who was living there in Los Angeles.
Presenter: When did Mickey Mouse first appear
Peter:Ah, well, Disney and Iwerks first invented a character called Oswald the Rabbit but then in 1928 a new character was born: cheerful, sometimes rather naughty, energetic mouse with large funny ears. Yes, it was Mickey and he appeared for the first time in the first talking cartoon film, called Steamboat Willie. Er … not many people know this but Walt Disney actually provided the voice for Mickey. By the way, he was almost called \"Mortimer Mousehe same kind of ring to it, or does it Well, Roy and Walt gathered a team of artists … er … illustrators together … um … by this time Ub Iwerks had left them and started his own company, this was in 1930, and Disney Studios, as they called themselves, starting … started to produce the famous short cartoons with … starring Mickey and Minnie and Donald Duck and Pluto and Goofy. Er … Roy was the business manager and driving force behind the company … er … making it very profitable and Walt was more the … er … imaginative, creative part of the partnership.
Presenter: What kind of man was Walt Disney
Peter:Well, according to the artists who worked for him Walt actually couldn't draw very well … er … most of the characters were actually drawn by Iwerks, but apparently he was an amazing storyteller. He would act out the stories of films
doing all the voices and actions to show the illustrators what he wanted them to do and then they had to go off and try to recreate his visualizations.
Presenter: The most famous cartoon of all was Snow White — and the best I still think.
Peter:Mm, yeah, it was the first feature-length cartoon and it was released in … er … 1935. Now, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs required two million drawings and took three years' work to make. Um … obviously it was … er … very expensive, particularly for those times. By the way, the British film censor gave it an Adult certificate because he thought that it would be too frightening for little children to see on their own. Er … that was followed by Pinocchio and Fantasia in 1940, Dumbo in 1941. And … er … the Disney Studios also started making … um … some rather low-budget live action feature films for children … er … something which the other studios didn't dare risk doing. Er … some of his films mixed live action with cartoons — er … I'm thinking about Mary Poppins, which I think we've probably all seen, made in 19, where cartoon characters and … and the real life actors appeared together on screen and talked and danced and sang together. Disney was one of the first to see the potential of television, all the other studios were afraid of this medium. Um … so he started to produce films directly for television and … and now of course there's a Disney Channel showing only Disney films.
Presenter: And then he dreamt up Disneyland, didn't he
Peter:Ah, \"dreamt\" is the right word. Disneyland was a creation of the land of his dreams: safe, happy, clean, fairy-tale world with its own Magic Kingdom. The original Disneyland was opened in Los Angeles in 1955 and it cost $17 million. Walt died in 1966 but he was already working on plans for the Disney World in Orlando, Florida, which opened in 1971, and the EPCOT Center near Walt Disney World — that's the \"Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow\And there's also a … a Tokyo Disneyland, which was opened in … um … 1983.
Presenter: And … and now there's even an Euro Disneyland near Paris, I think.
Peter:Yes, that's right. Um … and the Disney Studios still continue to produce films in the … the house style, the Walt Disney style and presumably it always will. Disney's films appealed … um … and still do appeal to children of all ages, but people often criticize them for their lack of taste and they say they're vulgar, but Disney said, \"I've never called this art. It's show business and I'm a showman.\" Well, can you imagine a world without Mickey Mouse
Presenter: Peter Spencer, thank you.
Part V Do you know…
1. The best real estate deal in history
Even in the days when America was known as the New World, it was a country
with a reputation for its spirit of enterprise and the ability of its people to make a good deal.
When the settlers started negotiating, the natives hardly knew what had hit them — and in the summer of 1626, probably the most spectacular real estate coup in history took place.
Governor Peter Minuit of the Dutch West India Company had the job of buying Manhattan Island from the Indians.
After some haggling with Chief Manhasset, the price was agreed at 24 dollars' worth of kettles, axes and cloth.
Today, $24 would not buy one square foot of office space in New York City, and an office block in central Manhattan changes hands for around $80 million. Even allowing for inflation, Minuit got himself a real bargain.
2. Not again, Josephine!
You would think that the Manhattan deal would remain a one-off for ever. But less than two centuries later the loser was Napoleon, Emperor of France and (in his early years, at least) a brilliant military tactician.
In 1803, Napoleon had his mind on European affairs (in particular, an invasion of Britain), so he decided to dispense with France's American possessions.
He sold the entire Mississippi valley, an area of 828 000 square miles extending from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico and westwards to the Rockies, for just over 27 million dollars.
Through this deal, known as the Louisiana purchase, President Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States for only around 5 cents per acre.
3. Nice ice at a reasonable price
Napoleon did just manage to reach Moscow in his ill-fated invasion of 1812 — but it would seem that news of his poor American deal did not.
For, astonishingly, the Russians went on to become the third victims of major land deals with America.
On March 30th 1867, the . Secretary of State, William Seward, bought Alaska from Tsar Alexander II for a mere $ million — thereby acquiring another 586 000 square miles of territory for less than 2 cents per acre.
The Tsar presumably thought that this remote, frozen and virtually uninhabited piece of land had nothing at all to commend it — and at first, the American people agreed with him, for Alaska was known as \"Seward's folly\" and \"Seward's ice box\" for years.
In 16, however, gold was struck at Klondike in the Yukon, and since then,
over 750 million dollars' worth has been mined.
In 1968, black gold was discovered — and an estimated 100 billion tons of coal are also lying underground, just waiting to be dug up.
Unit 8 Business Success
Part I Getting ready
B. Keys: 1: 90-149 pounds 2: 465 pounds 3: 240 pounds 4: 46 pounds 5: 835 pounds
Part II Witty Ways to Success
A. Keys: B. Keys: Dos: 1: about 3 2: 1 or 2 pumps 3: be firm but not crushing 4: at waist level 5: down 6: business format 7: e-mail buttons 8: carbon copy 9: praise 10: criticize 11: mind reading 12: return your phone call 13: cop to
Don’ts: 1: the limp handshake 2: the bone-crusher 3: the two-handed handshake 4: up 5: sensitive 6: conflict 7: casual 8: smiley face 9: winking 10: capitalizing 11: carbon copy the boss
Part III Technology in doing business
A. Keys: 1: technologies; efficiency and sales 2: in the digital world 3: computer internet 4: electronic commerce; consumers 5: embrace; die
B. Keys: 1: F 2: T 3: F 4: F 5: T
Part IV More about the topic: How to Improve Your Executive Image
A. Keys: 1: d 2: c 3: a 4: b 5: a
Part V Do you know…
A. Keys: 1: Ten percent of American workers. 2: Construction, agriculture, communication, retail, manufacturing, engineering and real estate. 3: Her customers' good will and the friendships she has made at her store.
4: Because women business owners tend to place more emphasis on nurturing the individual employee's needs.
Tape script
Part I Getting ready
B. Hubert:Good morning.
Usugi:Good morning. Hubert:Can I help you Usugi:Er, thank you but I'm just looking at the moment. Hubert:Yes, please do. Have you come across our product before Usugi:I think I have heard of them, yes. Hubert:We
are
relatively new but Golf Pro is acquiring a reputation very quickly. We have become world leaders in metal woods. Usugi:Really Well, actually I am quite
interested in metal woods. Could you tell me what the prices are in this range Hubert:Of course. The prices start at 90 pounds and they go up to 149 pounds. Usugi:Did you say 149 pounds Hubert:Yes, that's right. I wonder if you would be interested in our new range of ladies' clubs as well Usugi:Well, possibly. Do you think you could give me the prices
Hubert:Yes. The range is
called Golf Pro Lady and the full set of nine irons comes to 465 pounds. Woods, the set of three is 240 pounds and putters are 46 pounds each. was 46 pounds each, wasn't it
Usugi:So, that
Hubert:Yes, 46 pounds each.
Usugi:Right, thank you, do you have some information about your top of the range full set of clubs as well Hubert: Of course. That is our Golf Pro X. This is real state-of-the-art when it comes to professional clubs. The set of nine irons comes to 835 pounds. Very reasonable I think you'll agree. Usugi:Mmm, not bad. Hubert:Would you like to try one out in the practice area
Usugi:Er, no thank you. I'm afraid I don't have time at the moment. But I would like to read some more about your products. Hubert:Of course. Here are some of our latest brochures with up-to-date information on the full ranges. And also my card.
Usugi:Thank you. Hubert:Please contact me if you need
any more information. Part II Witty Ways to Success
Part III Technology in doing business
Many analysts say the revolution in technology will cause a revolution in the way companies do business. Among those experts is Bill Gates, founder of the Microsoft Company and widely regarded as one of the most influential men in the
computer industry. The Microsoft founder recently discussed his ideas in New York.
Bill Gates says most businesses are still not taking advantage of existing technologies to increase efficiency and sales. He believes the majority of companies are receiving only about 20% of the advantages they could gain through technology.
\"If you just have the PCs in a company, and mainly what you're doing is sharing some files, and creating documents with them and not running the fundamental information flow through those PCs, then the value you are losing is greater than the value you are receiving. It's still probably a worthwhile investment.\"
Mr. Gates says many business leaders have sought his ideas on the effective use of technology and he responded with a new book titled Business at the Speed of Thought. He believes all businesses must learn to operate in the digital world.
\"I think that, in most industries, if you keep trying to do business the way you've done it… in the past, that's going to create a real problem because you won't be as responsive, you won't be as efficient, as the people who are embracing the new approaches. We're seeing an incredible number of new start-ups coming into businesses, taking the interest as given, assuming that the information is there and they can reach out to their customers in this new way.\"
Bill Gates discussed his ideas at a recent entertainment industry conference sponsored by a Variety Magazine and the Schroeder Investment Company. He told the meeting the computer internet is actually redefining what a market is. He gave an example of a highly specialized business which has used the internet to expand its market.
\"There's a small company up in Wisconsin, that refurbishes old phones, or sells really old phones. Now that's a business that they couldn't have been in the old world because in any city they put a store in, they just wouldn't find enough customers. Because on the internet, they have a whole world, who happens to want this able to find them, their business is growing, they are hiring new people, and you know, it's kind of a… a specialized business. So that's a really profound thing because it wouldn't have been possible without the Internet there to form the new marketplace.\"
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates believes electronic commerce will grow rapidly in the next decade. That, he says, will give new power to consumers.
\"I have no doubt that in terms of the consumer benefits here, it's unquestioningly going to be dramatic. You'll be a more informed buyer even when you don't go and do the purchase itself on the Internet.\"
Mr. Gates says technology is making and will continue to make fundamental changes in the way business is conducted. As he sees it, companies can embrace those changes with enthusiasm, or ignore them and die.
Statements:
1. Bill Gates believes most companies receive only 12% of the advantages they could gain through technology.
2. If a company uses PCs only for files and documents, it will make far less money than it could otherwise.
3. Bill Gates' new book is entitled Business at the Speed of Technology.
4. The entertainment industry conference was sponsored by a variety of magazines.
5. As technology continues to develop, the consumer will become a more and more informed buyer.
Part IV More about the topic: How to Improve Your Executive Image
To close the credibility gap, Knapp showed us the right way to stand when speaking to groups. Jacket buttoned, feet fairly closed but angled open so that you seem alert and in control. He also demonstrated various ways that people hold their hands. At the sides, too rigid. The bishops clasped, at the waist, acceptable. The fig leaf position, too low, a sign of weakness. Arms crossed, very bad, defensive and combative. Knapp recommended using hand gestures every 15 to 30 seconds for emphasis. He had us stand up and practice a few together.
Gesturing in unison to 4 to 5 phrases like “The point is this …”, and “I said, we need more production.” To prove the correctness or inadequacies of certain positions, Knapp kept citing his own experience in corporate board rooms or evidence from behavioral science, “Don’t let the fingers point down”, he instructed, “because that has negative psychological implications.” Having looked at some typical research on body language myself, I do not think that the field has yet achieved the level of scientific precision that would justify such firm conclusions. During the afternoon section, we learned the proper way to sit at a desk. Don’t lean back, don’t slouch, don’t cross the legs, don’t put your feet on the desk. It communicates strength, but in a crude sort of way. The message seemed to be, if it feels comfortable, don’t do it. One participant asked whether it is really necessary to be so rigid about how one behaves in the office. “Not necessarily,” Knapp replied, “but what I’m giving you is what people in authority do.” Discussing the importance of eye contact when talking with other people, Knapp claimed that it creates an image of sincerity, credibility and trust. He made us stand up and greet the person sitting next to us, being sure to give a firm handshake and make strong eye contact, so we did, staring each other in the eyes, sincerely.
Part V Do you know…
Business Week reports that small business is now one of the most dynamic parts of the United States' economy. Currently, one in every ten American workers is employed by businesses owned by women. While service businesses dominate the women owned and operated enterprises. American women are exercising their
business talents in many fields. That includes construction, agriculture, communication, retail, manufacturing, engineering and real estate. The National Association of Women Business Owners says its membership has increased 38% since 1991, according to Business Week. In addition to their search for a better synthesis between family and work, women have also been motivated to start their own businesses by layoffs and job barriers that have prevented women from advancing in their careers. But while women have shown success in beginning their own endeavors, their companies tend to be smaller than men's and slower growing. Business Week writer Wendy Zellner says our research leads her to believe that unlike men, women have other priorities than just profit when they start their own businesses.
\"It's not so much that… that they don't find, you know, profits and fields growth important. But they tend to rank it, perhaps, you know third or fourth, as opposed to No. 1.\"
Rochelle Tzbarkas has been the owner for 3 years of a specialty food and spice store in New York City. She says her customers' good will and the friendships she has made at her store are highest on her list of triumphs. It was these friends, she recalls, who offered financial help when she was struggling after her first year to find over $9 000 to pay her monthly rent.
\"They come in. They sense the power here and… the grit and the hard work and they see something really beautiful and something worth saving.\"
While women's small businesses may struggle more financially than men's during the company's early years, Business week says, women owned businesses are probably more stable and safer companies for which to work. The National Foundations for Women Business Owners found that 15% of women owned businesses showed job losses as opposed to 23% of all businesses. Female proprietors, Business week reports, tend to place more emphasis on nurturing the individual employee's needs. If those needs are satisfied, they reason, the company should benefit in the long run. Women owned businesses are considered more likely to offer their employees education reimbursement, flexible schedules, profit sharing at an earlier stage of the company's life and help with child care costs.
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