2 Complete the conversation below with the words from the box.
C One proposal is that we bring out a new product under the Topalino brand. So, what are your ________
on this?
N In my ________ , this is the best solution if we want to regain market share.
I ________ dont we focus on our pricing policy first? Isnt that the key issue?
J Im ________ I cant agree. What we need to do to begin with is reposition our market leader.
R ________ about doing both, Jasmina? We can certainly bring out a new product, and reposition another
at the same time.
J I ________ what you mean, but weve got to start somewhere, and thinking about our best-selling product
is whats most important at this stage.
C I think ________ too ________ we could agree to bring out a new product later this year.
A: Have you planned the weekend excursion for our visitors from China?
B: Yes, Tom ________ show them round the old town and the harbour.
1
past simple vs present perfect
1 Complete the two conversations with the words in brackets. Use the past simple or present perfect as
appropiate.
market share: the percentage of the market for a product or service that a company supplies (participacin en el mercado)
make someone redundant: to fire (despedir)
pride ourselves on something: be proud (enorgullecerse)
2
Reading
1 Read the text and answer the following questions.
English 2.0
English is to international communication what Google is to search engines, Microsoft to software and Intel to the
microchip. It is, for better or worse, the 'industry standard'. And those who don't speak at least a little risk losing
business to the increasing number who do. Around a quarter of the Planet currently speaks some English.
That's more than one and a half billion people. In a recent survey by Euro barometer, 69% of Europeans said
they thought everyone should speak English. More than half of Citizens already do. For most, it's not a question of
choice but of necessity, as English has rapidly become the first language of business, science and popular culture.
As Professor David Crystal, Author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, puts it, wave dollar bills in front of
someone, and they will learn complicated spellings and grammar.'
Not everyone, however, is so tempted by the dollar bills. A few years ago, the French Ministry of Finance decided to
ban English terms like e-mail, Internet and start-up, replacing them with French equivalents. And, even in Germany,
where phrases such as Joint venture and Power partner are considered cool and modern, politicians have expressed
concern about the growing threat of English in their national culture.
But whose English are they talking about? UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, has said: 'By 2050 the number of
English-speaking Chinese is likely to exceed the number of native English speakers'. But already non-native speakers
of English outnumber native speakers 4 to 1. The English they speak is certainly not the English of Shakespeare and
the Queen or even of Robbie Williams and David Beckham! It's Global English, International English, what we might
even call English 2.0. The grammar is a little more restricted and the vocabulary rather more basic. But it does the job.
And culture has nothing to do with it.
Some say English 2.0 can be even more effective than the original, citing the case of the South Korean airline that
bought its flight simulators from a French supplier rather than a British one because they understood their English
better! Indeed, English needs to evolve in this way if it is to remain the world's number one language. Spanish is
growing almost as fast as it gains popularity in Asia and Africa. And, where in 1996 85% of the Internet was in
English, that figure is now down to 60% and falling.
So, with increasing competition, is it still worth making the investment in learning English? The answer, for the
time being at least, is emphatically yes According to one commentator, a global market value can even be given
to speaking English. Currently, it's worth $5.4 trillion, which amounts to a tenth of the world economy!
3
Grammar plural nouns; demonstrative adjectives
Ability talk about personal objects
Speaking
1 Which of these factors produce the most stress? Add your own ideas.
2 In your opinion, what are the three most stressful jobs? Use the list below
to help you.
4
Speed of life
Speaking
1 Are we all working harder than we used to? Does it seem like your working week is getting longer and longer?
How pressured do you feel at work? Read the text below. Which statistics surpreise you most?
- delegate more
- plan ahead
Do you do any of these things? Add your own ideas to the list.
5
Stressed to the
limit
output: production
uptime: the time during which an employee is actually working
6
Grammar have to; should
have to 1 Make sentences with has to/have doesnt have to/
dont have to.
I
air traffic controller factory worker take decisions
You have to be creative
We dont have to An air trafic controller has to take decisions very
They
work at night. quickly (Its necessary)
A factory worker doesnt have to be creative.
He has to (Its not necessary)
She doesnt have to a lawyer secretary wear suit type letters
middle manager chief executives solve day-to-day
problem take strategic decisions
Do I/you/we/they have to work at night? shop assistant computer programmer deal with
Does he/she public know computer languages
lorry driver taxi driver drive long distances
memorize maps
nurse factory worker wear special clothes work
should at night
accountant telephonist use a computer be honest
I teacher engineer tell people what to do wear a tie
You
He
She
should 2 Make sentences that are true for you using
shouldnt should/shouldnt.
We
They
work well/have a certain amount of pressure
do the job for free.
To work well, you should have a certain amount
of pressure.
companies/try/reduce the level of stress
Should I/you/he/she workers/work very long hours
we/they managers/communicate/ideas
companies/learn/motivate workers
workers/have time/rest
When you want to show that it isnt necessary to do a Stress is always a bad thing.
something you can use doesnt have to/dont have to. b Work-related stress can cause health problems.
He doesnt have to travel much in this job. c Bad management is the main cause of stress.
We dont have to dress formally for work. d Reducing stress costs companies money.
e Its easy for companies to reduce stress.
You use should or shouldnt to show that it is a good or
bad idea to do something.
2 Read the article about stress.
You should use the Internet for getting new ideas.
You shouldnt work so hard if you want to live to an
old age.