Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Fast Lane
through the Ranks
1
4.1 Anticipating the Issue
1. You will need the following words to speak about skills and
abilities necessary for certain jobs. Think which of them apply to you.
Bank clerk
University professor .
Entrepreneur
Broker
Manager .
Scholar.
Accountant
2
3. What would be the ideal job for you, and why?
Positive Negative
generous, unstinting extravagant, immoderate
resolute, dogged stubborn, mulish
thrifty, frugal stingy, parsimonious
diligent, industrious work-obsessed, workaholic
shrewd, astute cunning, sly
sober, serious morose, sullen
witty, pithy sharp-tongued, terse
tolerant, broad-minded unprincipled, unscrupulous
Word Meaning
defuse make a dangerous or tense situation calmer
placate stop someone feeling angry
conciliate end a disagreement between two people or groups by acting
in a friendly way towards both sides
appease end a disagreement by giving the other side an advantage
that they are demanding (normally used in a disapproving
way)
3
3. Although the enemy postponed the war for another year, it
did not prevent it from happening.
4. Hilda was very angry with her colleague and it took from the latter all
his charm to .. her.
4
What did you learn while you were studying that will help you in this
job?
Can you describe if and how you met deadlines while you were
studying?
Would you be willing to undertake training, even if takes place in your
free time?
What are your greatest professional achievements to date?
To what extent are you analytical or creative and could you give us an
example to demonstrate this ability?
Do you prefer to work on your own, or as part of a team?
What qualities do you think this job requires?
Why do you think we should employ you?
Where do you want to be in ten years time?
What are your strongest points?
What are your weak points?
5
2. Listen to the recording and tick only the advice and information
that the speakers actually give.
APPLICATION FORM
THE INTERVIEW
Be confident.
Avoid answering questions about your leisure interests.
Do some research into the company's competitors.
Ask the interviewer to explain what his or her company does.
Expect to be surprised.
Arrange to participate in some mock interviews beforehand.
Tell the interviewer that you are sensitive and clever.
You may have to have lunch with the interviewer.
The interviewer may insult you.
Remain calm whatever happens.
1. Imagine you are a career adviser. What advice would you give
to someone who is
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HORSE 1966, 1978, 1990 Diligent, independent, placid5,
friendly, can be selfish and
cunning
GOAT 1967, 1979, 1991 Elegant, artistic, always ready to
complain, plagued6 by worry
MONKEY 1968, 1980, 1992 Witty, magnetic personality, can
be self-seeking7 and distrustful
ROOSTER 1969, 1981, 1993 Industrious, shrewd, decisive,
very extravagant, a flashy8
dresser
DOG 1970, 1982, 1994 Down-to-earth, altruistic,
morose9, sharp-tongued, a fault-
finder
PIG 1971, 1983, 1995 Intellectual, tolerant, naive,
downfall could be desire for
material goods
What advice would you give to the holder of the Masters degree in
economics born in 1982?
Think about your friends and relatives. Do they fit the jobs they have
chosen?
Study your own characteristics. Do they correlate with your own
vision of yourself? Do your characteristics fit the career you have
chosen? If not, may be you should think better about your plans. If you
are still positive about them bear in mind ancient Chinese predictions.
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4.2 A. Words in Context
arduous (adj) It is not easy to find the very first job; its much
more arduous however to keep it.
Arduous means a. easy b. difficult c. pleasant
cursory (adj) Leah spent a full week studying for the exam,
whereas Joyce gave her textbook only a cursory
review, flipping through the pages an hour before
the test.
Cursory means a. thorough b. hurried c. wordy
maudlin (adj) The authors of maudlin soap operas must feel that
they havent done their job unless viewers are
reduced to tears by the end of each show.
Maudlin means a. short b. comical c. overly emotional
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platitude (n) Some conversations are made up entirely of
platitudes: Good to see you. Weve got to get
together sometime. Well, take care.
Platitude means a. good advice b. unoriginal remark c. lie
3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with
the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
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1. Kelvin has many good qualities that I would like to . . But
his abrasive manner is definitely a handicap; he estranges people
because he rejects any ideas that diverge from his own.
2. Ive been working at the daycare center only a week, so this
suggestion may be presumptuous, but I think the centers program
should . activities geared to shy people as well as ones for
gregarious kids.
3. The verses in greeting cards are often far too sentimental. I prefer
humor to such messages.
4. When I visited the art museum, my creative instinct
awakened. Now I have signed up for a course in sculpture.
5. No matter how often Kevin contends that he loves me, Timmy said,
it always sounds perfunctory and insincere because he uses s.
6. After traveling during his . in the Navy, Bob wanted a job that
would let him continue to see the world. He decided to become a long-
distance driver.
7. This morning the mechanic was short of time and gave my car only a
.. inspection. He said that hed check it thoroughly later and
then give me an estimate.
8. After serving a prison term for theft, Charlie is determined to start a
new life and eradicate all traces of his . past.
9. They were city folk and they were not accustomed to the
work on the farm.
4.2 B. Headhunters
What, if anything, do you know about the work of a 'head-hunter?
For most of us the summer holidays are now just a memory and a
collection of photos carelessly tossed into the back of a drawer or hastily
stuck into an album. But what of the big ideas dreamed up on the beach
and formulated over yet another glass of the local wine? What of your
conviction, so clear at the time, that when you got back you would
finally make the big career change and revolutionize your life?
10
Based on the article by J. Ashworth in The Times
11
Dont find escape in maudlin sessions about your dashed hopes.
Its time to put into practice dormant talents and turn fantasies into
reality.
But how to make yourself the hottest thing in town? How to turn
yourself into a prospect so irresistible that employers will be tripping
over themselves in their haste to win you over? The answer is to catch
the eye of that most influential and enigmatic of creatures; the head-
hunter.
This needless to say, is much easier said than done. The obvious
solution is to be so good at what you do that your name precedes you.
Become known as a good operator and your name will magically spirit
itself onto the headhunting databases.
Either way, it helps to know your enemy.
Even a cursory inspection shows that their existence is by no
means austere. They live in palatial homes, holiday in far-flung places,
and generally enjoy the most privileged of lifestyles, which many would
like to emulate though few have an opportunity to. Disarmingly, they are
often exceedingly nice. Interpersonal skills rate highly in this game.
Jonathan Evans of Sammons Associates hunts City scalps by day, and
spends his weekends stalking deer. A low profile goes with the territory.
Headhunters must be seen to be totally trustworthy, and naturally run
shy of journalists. This said, the jobs have much in common; digging
around and sounding out leads with friends and associates. The
difference is that a headhunter can pocket in minutes what a scribe might
earn in a year.
In many respects, headhunting is an enviable profession which
encompasses wining and dining, necessitating arduous stints in the
Savoy Grill and other fashionable haunts replete with ubiquitous
platitudes. Holidaying in Barbados or on the Riviera brings headhunters
into contact with still more top executives, generating further juicy
leads.
Stripped of its glamour, headhunting is just another sales job; no
different to selling timeshare or double-glazing. It relies heavily on cold-
calling and holds no guarantees that the money will come in. City
analysts and brokers, endlessly fielding calls, tend to regard headhunters
as a sort of Jurassic fungus. The full fee is paid over only once the
candidate has taken up the new post, and some of the money may be
clawed back if the company is not happy six months down the line. Still,
two or three 'hits' a year is all it takes.
12
The big guns of headhunting remain frustratingly out of range from
most eager job-seekers, but one can always play them at their own game.
Miles Broadbent says: 'Find someone who's been headhunted, got the
name of the headhunter, then write to them or ring them, mentioning the
connection. Headhunters react well to a familiar name. Putting your CV
around won't do any harm, but it's better not to write to them cold.'
Positions are more routinely filled via executive selection, which
relies purely on advertising, George Campbell-Johnson, chairman of
CJA, says advertising is far more upfront. CJA charges a flat fee of 27.5
per cent when the candidate accepts and keeps the whole process more
clear-cut. 'It's better to put the money into a good ad than to have a
headhunter go sniping'.
The headhunters disagree. 'An element of judgment is still needed
in deciding whether someone is suitable for the job. We are giving
advice, not just putting bums on seats.'
If you are in a dead-end job and a headhunter suddenly
materializes with an amazing job offer, think before you make a run for
the door. Some companies have taken to using a sordid practice of
employing headhunters to get rid of employees without having to pay
them off. This is known in the trade as reverse headhunting. Flattering it
may be, but the joke could well be on you.
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3. Find words or phrases in the text which match the definitions
below.
Why do we plunge into projecting about our future only during the
holidays?
15
The author states that to catch the eye of the headhunter is much
easier said than done. Why is it difficult to become the hottest thing in
town?
Is headhunting wide-spread in Russia? Specialists of what professions
are usually targeted by them?
The author claims that headhunting is an enviable profession. Would
you dream of joining the ranks of these recruitment officers?
What kind of personality do you need to be to win a success as a
headhunter? What qualities are absolutely essential for a prosperous
headhunter? Name at least five of them in order of precedence. What
traits of character are absolutely incompatible with this occupation?
Think of five of them, making the list of priorities starting from the least
desirable.
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Willingness to take risks
Reasonability
a. Listen to the first part of the interview and take notes about what
makes a successful business person.
b. Listen to the second part of the interview and make notes about
what makes a successful company.
Use your notes, and any other ideas of your own, to write a short
article for a business magazine entitled either a) Successful business
people or b) successful companies.
Lift a finger, have your hands full, burn the candle at both ends, on
my feet, at a loose end, twiddle my thumbs, up to my eyes, enough on
my plate
1. Youre late. Did you miss the train? Yes, I didnt leave the office till
six. Im in work at the moment.
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2. How was your first day at work? Really boring. I had nothing to do.
I just sat at my desk .. .
3. Bill wants to know if you can spend some time training the new
secretary. Im afraid I havent got a minute I cant. Ive already got
.
4. You look tired. Are you OK? Yes, I just need to get to bed earlier.
Ive been . recently late nights and early starts.
5. Come in. Sit down, make yourself at home. Thanks. I need a rest.
Ive been all day.
6. So, Im going to spend the whole weekend painting the outside of the
house. Do you want some help? My boyfriends away so Im
.. this weekend.
7. Do you and Paul share the cooking and cleaning? You must be
joking. He never .. !
8. My sisters three children are coming to stay with me this weekend.
You will . Rather you than me!
1. blue purity
2. green evil
3. yellow miserable
4. red inexperienced
5. white danger
6. black a coward
12
Connotations used in journalism may be quite short-lived. The phrase The
Iron Lady, used to refer to Mrs Thatcher when she was Prime Minister of Britain,
lost any strong associations for most people after she left office.
Sometimes connotations are not the same for different nations and even for
geographical variants of one language. Black cats, for example have associations
with good luck in Britain and bad luck in the USA.
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3. Aspects of employment
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct word.
You will not need all the words.
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Appoint sb to a post/situation/position; take sb on; take up a new
post; turn sb down for a job; show sb the ropes; get a foot on the
ladder; be a dogsbody; pass sb over for the promotion; give/ hand
in one's notice; give sb the sack; get the push/ ones marching
orders; make a (takeover)bid; tender for a contract; a breach of a
contract; enter into negotiations; drive a (hard) bargain; corner a
market (in sth); be within/outside ones field; be in the red/ in the
black; pull the rank
1. As it is your first day at work I will give you an idea of the basics.
2. We were making a loss but due to an increase in sales we have
money in the bank.
3. After a six-week strike, the workers have started talks to solve the
dispute with the management.
4. Bob is in a junior post but once he is in a position from which he can
progress upwards through the company he will reach the top.
5. I cannot comment on that issue as it is not connected with my area of
work.
6. John is going to start a new job in September.
7. Simon hates his job because he has to do all the jobs nobody else
wants to do.
8. Gemma expected to be promoted to manager but she was ignored
and not given the position.
9. The suppliers failed to deliver the parts on time and were accused of
not complying with what they had originally agreed.
10. When I disagreed with the supervisor she used her authority
unfairly to make me do as she wanted.
1. Case-Study
George and Karen Tompson are higher achievers in their early 30s.
Both have very good jobs, but in different companies. George, who is an
audit manager for an international firm of accountants, has just been
offered an expatriate posting in China for two years, which he feels is
essential for his career development. Karen, who is an investment
analyst in an American bank in London, is also career-minded. What are
their options? What would you do in their position?
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2. Project-Making
21
rising stars the worlds your oyster13
burning ambition going up in the world
up and coming hungry for success
the skys limit high flier
4. 3 A. Words in Context
13
Today oysters are expensive and few people eat them, but hundred years ago, they were eaten by everyone. They
were one of the commonest forms of seafood. The idiom the worlds your oyster is hundreds of years old. A
character in a Shakespeare play says: The worlds mine oyster, which I, with sword, will open. In other words, he will
conquer the world. If you remember what an oyster is, it might help you remember the idiom.
22
antithesis (n) Paulines idea of future is the antithesis of mine: I
aspire for vibrant eventful career in show business
whereas she dreams about accountancy.
Antithesis means a. the reverse b. superior c. imitation
contrite (adj) Judges are often more lenient with offenders who
truly regret their crimes. A criminal who seems
genuinely contrite may get a shorter sentence.
Contrite means a. angry b. confused c. sorry
fabricate (v) When she handed in her term paper late, Diane
fabricated a story that her computer had crashed.
The truth is that she doesnt even work on a
computer.
Fabricate means a. avoid b. prove c. invent
3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with
the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
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4.3 B. Inflated Qualifications
Its not easy to land a job. You should certainly present yourself to
the best advantage both in CV and at the interview. What can be done
if you dont have much experience? However, you should remember
the rules of ethics.
26
No job seeker however wants to be in the unhappy position of
explaining or defending misrepresentation. Avoiding the following
common problems can keep you off the hot seat.
Inflated education grades, or honors. Some job candidates claim
degrees from colleges and universities when in fact they merely attended
classes. Others increase their grade-point averages or claim fictitious
honors. Any such dishonest reporting is grounds for dismissal when
discovered.
Enhanced job titles. Not wishing to look just as mediocre and to
elevate their status, some applicants misrepresent their titles. For
example, one technician called himself a programmer when he had
actually programmed only one project for his boss. A mail clerk who
assumed added responsibilities conferred upon herself the title of
supervisor. Even when the description seems accurate, its unethical to
list any title not officially grated. If you feel that a job title inaccurately
describes your real duties, check with your supervisor to see if you could
use a better title.
Puffed-up accomplishments. Some job seekers inflate their
employment experience or achievements, the result may be the striking
antithesis to their expectations. One clerk, eager to make her
photocopying duties sound more important, said that she assisted the
vice president in communicating and distributing employee directives.
An Ivy League graduate who spent the better part of six months
watching rented videos on his VCR described the activity as
Independent Film Study. The latter statement helped win an interview,
but it lost him the job. In addition, guard against taking sole credit for
achievements that required many people.
Altered employment dates. Some candidates extend the dates of
employment to hide unimpressive jobs or to cover periods of
unemployment and illness. Lets say that several years ago Cindy was
unemployed for fourteen months between working for company A and
being hired by company B. To improve her employment history, she
adds seven months to her tenure with company A and seven months to
company B. Now her history has no gaps. But she has laid a potential
trap for herself.
Today more than ever, you want to be accurate in making
statements describing your qualifications. Thats because hiring
companies are no longer casual in checking candidates backgrounds.
Employers cant afford the costs of negligent-hiring lawsuits, rapid
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turnover, workplace violence, fraud, and lost productivity resulting from
bad hiring. It pays them to engage independent investigating firms who
thoroughly check facts with previous employers and your references.
Giving deceptive information to potential employers can endanger
your entire employment future. If your honest qualifications arent good
enough to get you a job you want, start working now to improve them.
elevate achievement
terminate difference
bolster gloomy
accomplishment raise
tenure deceptive
fraudulent do away with
discrepancy term of office
macabre force
5. Over to you.
Motivating Factors
How important is job satisfaction to you?
What might be the most satisfying job for you? Even in the most
suitable job there are certain things that are not pleasant. What do you
think they might be in your case? How are you going to mitigate
negative impressions?
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Before you listen. Which groups of workers below do you think
he will say are most satisfied and which are least satisfied?
Women
The highly paid
Those with promotion opportunities
The self-employed
Those who work long hours
Those in large workplaces
Those without job security
Those who commute long distances
The Swiss
Americans
Eastern Europeans
The Japanese
After you listen. Which three factors does he say are the most
motivating at work?
Which of the statements are true and which are false, according to
Andrew?
Have you changed your point of view after you have listened to the
report?
1. Quite often people think that they are .., so they have a good
excuse not to do their job properly. They reiterate that they would work
better if their workload were not so heavy. Though its only obvious that
they are just either unqualified or simply unfit for the job. Or do you
think they dont perform their duties on purpose?
2. Most organizations have a . or pyramidal structure, with one
person or a group of people at the top, and an increasing number of
people below them at each successive level.
15
Attempt to sell something by being very forceful
31
3. Last month we got a new boss, who quickly established a good
.. with everyone in the office.
4. Japanese firms usually have . for every promotion or
benefit.
5. Meg is an economist; however she doesnt think she is . She
asserts that there is a lot of variety in her job.
6. Phillip has the same responsibilities as I do. He is my in
our companys New York office.
7. John quitted his job in telemarketing 16 because notwithstanding
glamorous image it included cold-calling17, . and inertia
selling18.
8. Though the work of the ad-maker involves a lot of . quite
often even he is snowed down with admin and paperwork.
9. .. can be as rewarding and stimulating as working on your
own.
1. Case Study
a bus driver in a big city, who has to work irregular hours, including
early morning, evening, and night shifts;
a nurse who works with seriously ill children;
a sales representative for pharmaceutical company, who visits
hospitals and doctors;
a manual worker in the printing house;
a shepherd
2. Project-Making
16
Selling or marketing goods and services by phone
17
Phoning people who have not requested a call in order to try to sell them something
18
When a company behaves as if you agreed to buy something because you did not actually refuse it.
32
production operation in one of the following countries: Columbia,
Russia, Uzbekistan. Choose one and write a report.
bolster (v) When Lisa was in hospital, visits from her friends
bolstered her spirits.
Bolster means a. reach b. replace c. support
corroborate (v) You claim you were at a soccer game when the
crime was committed. Can anyone corroborate
your story?
Corroborate means a. question b. confirm c. understand
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juxtapose (v) In plays and movies, good and evil characters are
often juxtaposed This contrast makes the
good ones seem even better and the bad ones seem
even worse.
Juxtapose means a. cover up b. put side by side c. replace
turbulent (adj) The turbulent air made the plane rock so wildly
that passengers felt as if they were on a roller
coaster.
Turbulent means a. violent b. distant c. unusual
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. Marked by much sitting; requiring or taking little
exercise
Not able to be repaired or remedied
To work together on a project; cooperate in an effort
Full of wild disorder or wildly irregular motion,
violently disturbed
.. To hold up, strengthen, or reinforce; support with a rigid
object
. State of mind with respect to confidence and
enthusiasm; spirit
To return to an earlier, generally worse, condition or
behaviour
To place close together, especially in order to compare
or contrast
. To support, strengthen with further evidence, provide
proof of
3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with
the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
36
7. The woman wasnt permitted to visit her husband, a political prisoner,
so it gave her some solace to have a minister act as a between
them.
8. Dad was a constructive worker, but as soon as he reached 60 though
still robust as ever his company relegated him to a .. desk
job.
9. Many people call the years of perestroika referring to
their vigor, pace and eventfulness.
10. People in bombed-out, war-torn cities sometimes to
more primitive ways of life.
11. The employees quickly fell when they learned that
some of the companys earnings were put into a business that was not
legitimate and that was being investigated by the police.
19
Based on Anne Dwyer Skills for Business English: The Open-Collar Worker,
DELTA Publishing, Surrey, UK, 2001; David Cotton, David Falvey, Simon Kent,
Market Leader/Robert Dunbar, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of the
Language: Hard Sell around the Photocopier, Pearson Education Limited, Essex,
UK, 2001; The Eternal Coffee Break, the Economist.
37
employment and relaxed atmosphere of home office, have become
familiar: picture a house with a swimming pool; at a table by the pool
sits our teleworker with a laptop computer, cell phone and a case of files.
No more traffic jams; no more clocking in, this is a technological
revolution, this is a new way of life.
Sociologists however point out that the reality is often a far cry
from this blissful scene. The majority of teleworkers or telecommuters
(or open-collar workers as they are also called) do not spend their day
working in a relaxed manner by the pool. Indeed, the working conditions
of open-collar workers are frequently far from optimal. Many have their
office set up in a bedroom or in a specially designed cupboard which
opens out into a pseudo-office.
Open-collar workers are often more productive at the expense of
working long-hours. They can become workaholics, frequently putting
in 60 to 80 hours a week. Many do not take holidays for fear of missing
out on that big job.
Loneliness and a lack of self-pride are two other factors
psychologists say affect the open-collar worker. Sedentary style becomes
prevailing, while turbulent and vigorous pace of life loses its reality. The
absence of daily interaction with colleagues and face-to-face liaison with
the like-minded produces a feeling of isolation. The need to adhere to
office dress code is no longer there and whilst this seems liberating
initially, working in pyjamas all day long can be dangerous from the
psychological point of view.
The danger however can be mitigated by combining telework with
workshops. So quite often firms headquarters are now in smallish
offices used for meetings, get-togethers and customer demonstrations.
As a result, companies say, their overheads have fallen 30 per cent, staff
are more productive and morale is higher.
Many scientists studying the patterns of office work espouse the
idea that even if telework doesnt replace the conventional office
completely, technology, better communications, rising inner-city land
costs (once today's property bust is over) and the trials of commuting
will prompt more workers to split time between a central office, a
computer-equipped home office and perhaps a satellite office in a
suburban business park.
Even those few workers based at the central office will be more
mobile, moving between different work stations as their tasks change,
taking their mobile telephones with them. This will cut the amount of
38
wasted office space. It will also bolster communications between
employees, by pushing them out of the tight and unchanging circle of
people who sit nearby.
The central office will become mainly a place where workers from
satellite and home-based offices meet to discuss ideas and to reaffirm
their loyalty to fellow employees and the company. This will require
new thoughts about the layout of office buildings.
Now, spaces for copying machines, coffee rooms, meetings and
reception areas usually come second to the offices in which people
spend most of the day working. These common areas will be gradually
becoming the heart of an office. Many central offices will come to
resemble a hotel lobby or somebody's home - a disturbing thought, that,
for people who find in the calm of the office a refuge from the rigours of
family life.
Managers will also have to abandon their long-cherished notion
that a productive employee is an employee that can be seen. Appearing
on time and looking busy will soon become irrelevant. Technology and
new patterns of office use will make companies judge people by what
they do, not by where they spend their time.
That does not mean the end of the office, just its transformation
into a social centre. It was corroborated by Thomas Alien, a professor of
management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who studied
communication patterns between people, in the admittedly artificial
environment of research laboratories. His less-than-startling conclusion
is that people talk to each other more when they work in close proximity.
Quite often after moving into purpose-built accommodation
companies start to regress showing meager or no improve of the
quantitative or qualitative indices. It turned out that when the architects
were designing the new building, they decided that the coffee room
where everyone ate their sandwiches at lunch times was an unnecessary
luxury and so dispensed with it The logic seemed that if people were
encouraged to eat sandwiches at their desks, then they were more likely
to get on with their work and less likely to idle time away. And with that,
they inadvertently inflicted irreparable harm to the intimate social
networks that empowered the whole organization. As while people
gathered informally over their sandwiches in the coffee room useful
snippets of information were casually being exchanged. Difficult
problems were discussed and casual comments sparked the idea for a
solution. It stimulated collaboration.
39
The bottom line seems evident. If offices never disappear entirely
they may become like home. Though home should never completely
substitute the office.
Give rise to, rat race, a far cry from, at the expense of, for fear of,
vigorous, the like-minded, mitigate, overheads, to reaffirm their loyalty
to, to find a refuge from, less-than-startling, to idle time away, to spark
the idea, substitute.
5. Read the article and decide whether the statements below are
true or false.
40
The writer suggests that land prices in urban areas will tend to
decrease in the future.
Most present-day offices were designed with inter-staff communi-
cation in mind.
Common areas will be phased out in favour of more comfortable
offices.
Increased communication between different groups is expected to
result in a faster discovery rate.
7. For discussion.
Do you think that many of the ideas promoted by the writer are likely
to become commonplace in the future?
Which do you find the most appealing?
What do you dislike about your own working/studying environment?
How could you improve it?
20
Based on Ian MacKenzie. English for Business Studies. Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002.
41
Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel: A Short
History of Everybody for the last 13,000 Years, in which he
investigates why human history evolved differently on different
continents.
You will hear a short extract from a talk by Professor Diamond
called How to get rich, in which, drawing on the history of human
societies, he makes a suggestion concerning the best way to organize
business.
43
1. Imagine just putting letters in envelopes all day. What a
!
2. Its going to be a busy years for us. Weve got two major projects
to finish and an even bigger one . .
3. Marks and Spencers are opening in town next
summer.
4. I just had a really good job interview. Im on . of
five.
5. Where is there to go once youve reached ..?
6. A lot of people are happy with .. even if it is not
very interesting. The main thing is the security it offers.
Breathe down my neck, land a great job, find your feet, hold a job
down, standing in for him, take on staff, climb the career ladder, go
over his head
44
in the City.
5. Over to you.
45
How important are health and safety at work? Which jobs have the
highest risks? What do you know about the health and safety risks in the
jobs of your choice?
1. Case Study
D. You have an inside information that shoes in the shop where you are
a loyal patron are made by young children. Would you still buy shoes
there?
2. Project-Making
46
You may start like this:
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here today to describe the impact that a study by
a group of ergonomists has had on our company, its productivity, staff morale and
our future. We knew that there was an unusually high incidence of absenteeism
related to illness. What we didnt know was the effect preventive measures could
and would have.
hierarchy (n) Pam soon learned that all requests and suggestions
had to be passed up through the levels of the
company hierarchy. She could communicate
47
directly with her own boss, but not with the bosss
boss let alone the company president.
Hierarchy means a. a ranked system b. a training system
c. a large system
48
.. To give someone or something special attention or
treatment
The ability to know something without the conscious
use of reasoning
3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with
the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
Selection methods can vary not only through cultures but through
companies. Do you know about any of them?
What difficulties do you think might me implied in managing
multinationals?
49
Managing Multinationals 21
Culture
52
3. Explain the meaning of the following words and word
combinations from the text.
8. Understanding details.
The text states that different cultures look for different qualities
when selecting personnel. Match the cultures with the qualities or
attributes according to the text.
53
Anglo-Saxon (UK, USA, Australia etc.)
Germanic
Latin
Far Eastern
9. Word search.
What are the different methods a company can use to find new
employees? Which are you most familiar with? Which do you think
54
are most effective? Can you suggest some new ones which can be
exceptionally efficient for our country?
1. Before you listen, decide which points below you think Miguel
will make about Latin America and which ones Tong will make about
China. Tick the appropriate column on the right.
Collocation: words are used with each other in fairly fixes ways in
English.
55
1. Match the words that collocate.
1. to contemplate a. a worker
2. to dismiss b. a mistake
3. to do c. a good time
4. to dribble d. your future
5. to have e. a rope
6. to make f. a compliment
7. to pay g. innocence
8. to plead h. cards
9. to set i. some gardening
10. to shuffle j. an opportunity
11. to waste k. a ball
12. to wind l. an example
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct adjective
to make a common phrase.
1. The more we discuss the problem, the further we get from an answer:
it is a . circle.
2. Our designers have finally come up with a .. solution to the
teething problems weve been having.
3. Due to the latest outbreak of flu we have reduced to a . staff.
4. At a .. guess, I would say that half the company will be made
redundant.
5. I am not going to take a . decision; I need a lot of time to
think this out.
6. It was a . conclusion that the boss would make his own son
managing director.
7. The managing director is threatening to make a visit to our
factory to check that work is on schedule.
8. On his retirement he received a handshake of 10000.
9. Mr Smith is our .. this week; he has achieved sales figures
way ahead of anyone else on the team.
56
10. Asking us to keep the factory going with all the staff on strike is a
order!
11. Sally was a wonderful actress; what a pity she ended up in a
job like this!
12. Dont expect John to give you unbiased opinion; he has a .
interest in keeping the firm going.
1. Case Study
4. Project Making
58
1. Education for children who cannot learn in the normal way, because
they have some disability, is expensive because class sizes need to be
small or one teacher and one pupil, not a group.
2. The abilities to read and count are skills no one can afford to be
without.
3. Some people think we should return to an emphasis on the traditional
basic skills: reading, writing and arithmetic.
4. All parents want their children to achieve the best possible results at
school.
5. Nowadays, education for all ages is an issue, and creating
opportunities for adult students older than average students is important.
6. Education where everyone gets into the same type of school without
exams is a basic political ideal in many countries.
59
distraught (adj) As the snowstorm got worse and worse and my
wife still had not arrived home from work, I
became increasingly distraught.
Distraught means a. anxious b. busy c. forgetful
60
travesty (n) The trial was a travesty of justice because several
of the jurors had been bribed.
Travesty means a. disrespectful imitation b. exact copy
c. simple version
3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with
the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
62
The Safest Cut to Success: Education22
7. For discussion
- Is it worth making sacrifice to become successful?
- Are successful people usually neurotic?
- What are the ways to success?
- What is most essential for forging your way to success?
What kind of education offers the best route to top positions in our
country?
Many people study for major degrees part-time over several years,
or even by distance learning. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of this route compared to a full-time degree? Which
route do you prefer?
What is the most effective type of training program? Which
program would you prefer to attend very project orientated or more
traditional, involving lectures, case studies, etc?
Its better to know more about less than less about more.
Specialists are more dangerous to society that generalists.
Technology is not a friend to general education.
The generalist fox, or liberal arts major, is a jack-of-all-trades, master
of none.
Studying many subjects, such as in a liberal arts curriculum, broadens
ones view of the world and creates better citizens.
Educating society for tomorrow is more difficult than it was in the
past.
A generalists education should include an in depth view of history.
4. Over to you.
1. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below using the words given in
the correct form.
expel/suspend
68
a. The headmaster ---------- Paola , so she had to give up any
ideas of further education and get herself a job.
b. Shes been --------- for three weeks for being rude to a
teacher.
degree/diploma
a. I dont want to go to University but Im going to take evening
classes and get a ------- in Catering.
b. If I get a good ----------, Id like to stay on at university and
do a postgraduate course.
revise/cram
a. The College is --------- the students hard for the summer
examinations.
b. I cant come out as I have to --------- everything about the
Second World War.
competition/trial
a. It came down to a--------- of strength between the two men.
b.If you want to enter the --------- , you must comply with the rules.
themes/subject
a. The main --------- you need if you want to be a vet are
Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.
b. At last three --------- run through the plot of the novel.
interfere/intervene
a. I have always tried not to --------- in things that are not my
business.
b. The teacher --------- to stop the argument between the two
students.
continually/continuously
a. He was ------------ complaining about something or other.
b. You have to press the button ----------- until the red light
comes on. Dont take your finger off it, or it wont work.
avoid/evade
a. Im sorry I wasnt trying to ---------- you. I just didnt know
you were here.
b. He was fined 20 000$ for ------------ taxes and failing to
declare his income.
69
1. The machine began to emit/ eject a very strange noise.
2. Tom was discharged/ expelled from the school when he was arrested
for joyriding.
3. Mrs Smith has always tried to imbue/impart her students with a love
of literature.
4. The new headmaster tries to instil/ insert a sense of pride into all his
pupils.
5. Lara has so far rebuffed/ refuted all our helpful suggestions.
6. The headmaster gave a speech in which he extorted / extolled the
merits of sport.
7. Stop trying to evade/ evoke the issue, and answer the question youve
been asked.
8. The headmaster has decided to assert/ adopt a tough stance on
bullying.e headmaster has decided to assert/ adopt a tough stance on
bullying.
Word Description
composition could be just 50-100 words, often used to refer to
childrens work
essay longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or
even thousands of words
assignment a long essay, often part of a course, usually thousands of
words
project like an assignment, but emphasis on students own
material and topic
portfolio a collection of individual pieces of work, nor necessarily
written
dissertation a long, research-based work, perhaps 10-15,000 words,
for a degree
thesis a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80-
100,000 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD)
Fill in the blanks with suitable words and expressions from the
box.
70
Plagiarism, mind-map, feedback, deadline,
first draft, submitted, assessed, writing up
71
computer, what we used to call the generalist. The day of the
generalist is just over the horizon and we had better be ready for it.
3. Project Making
Human race seems to have never been satisfied with the education
system. Design an education reform. Be ready to present it at the
conference on the problems of education.
Your multinational corporation has just established a new department
for training personnel. However there is no clear policy about training
and support for expatriates (specialists who are supposed to work
abroad). Each person has been dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Propose a company policy about expatriation, covering training,
preparation and support both before departure and while they are abroad.
There are an increasing number of training courses on cross-cultural
awareness to try to minimize the impact of culture shock. But the
problems of re-entry and reintegration are often overlooked. Make list of
these problems. Try to work out some policies or actions that a company
could take to reduce these problems.
72
4.7 Reading Selection
Look through the articles and choose one for presentation.
Find at least one more article on the same topic and make a synthetic
review. 24
The articles in this section reflect the position of their writers and do not
24
74
Culture
Vocabulary
75
1. Find a word or phrase from the article which has a similar
meaning
a. command a profile
b. be an evaluation
c. have a middle-of-the road approach
d. raise respect
e. undertake the edge
f. establish a career
g. take a reputation
h. develop on the look out
76
b. Several top business schools are mentioned in the text - which
ones are they? Do you agree with this list? Would you add others?
c. According to the article, do most MBA students pay for
themselves?
d. In which country are MBAs very highly regarded by employers,
according to the article?
5. Understanding details.
The article has four main parts, each one describing the attitude of
one company to MBAs. Each part has a clear introductory sentence that
indicates whether the company is in favour of MBAs or not. Find the
introductory sentences and decide if the sentence indicates a positive or
negative attitude to MBAs.
Vocabulary
by Marianne Talbot
The young woman was distraught. For the first time ever she had
been given a C rather than an A. She was also angry. She had attended
all the lectures, done all the reading, written all her essays: she deserved
an A. Her tutor, however, was adamant. She was a pleasure to teach,
willing, cheerful, polite and hard-working, but she simply wasn't up to it.
Her essays were badly argued and uninspiring, she failed to engage with
her subject matter; her work could not be given more than C.
I was the arbitrator in this dispute in my part-time role as
academic adviser to the Oxford programme of an American university. It
highlighted for me a tightrope that every teacher must walk in rewarding
effort: how can we do this effectively without causing young people to
confuse effort with achievement? How can we do this without ourselves
falling into the trap of rewarding effort over achievement?
My anecdote concerns a US student, but we can't take comfort in
thinking this is an American problem. A friend who teaches at a
university that has recently introduced a Students' Charter tells me that,
having been given the right to insist that tutors justify their grades,
students are lining up outside tutors' rooms every term to argue for a
higher grade on the basis of their effort. Tutors, my friend says, are
giving in from weariness, sympathy with worthy students and it must be
said fear of litigation. The problem is likely to be exacerbated by the
introduction of tuition fees. One can just imagine students arguing that
they have not paid all that money, and put in all that work, simply to fail!
There are those who argue that we shouldn't reward effort at all,
only achievement itself. In the older schools and universities, effort has
82
traditionally been derided in academic subjects (though not on the
playing field). Students used to boast about the lack of effort they put
into work and revision. Tutors could be sarcastic about students who
needed to work to achieve, believing they would never be high-fliers
(one tutor I know still calls such pupils "honest donkeys"). One of the
explanations put forward for the under-representation of girls in first-
class degrees is that they put in so much effort they cannot be creative.
Effort, seen in this way, is inconsistent with real achievement.
Such a view is no longer tenable. Employers now are rightly
wary of those high-fliers who achieve without apparent effort. What will
happen, they wonder, when effort is an essential part of getting
something done? Do these people know how to make an effort? Will
they make an effort? Can they? And schools are more concerned about
pupils' self-respect than before, recognising that it underpins many of the
qualities and skills needed for adult life. One of the most effective ways
to raise self-respect is to praise pupils for their efforts as well as their
achievements, recognising that in making an effort, they exhibit tenacity,
determination and willingness, all highly desirable qualities of which
young people can be proud.
But problems do arise when, in pursuit of our pupils' self-
respect, we start to praise even those efforts that do not result in
achievement. I recently watched a teacher ask a pupil to read a sentence;
then, when the child remained mute, she read the sentence herself,
praising the pupil for repeating the words as she read. What did the child
learn from this? He certainly wasn't learning to read. (To be fair, the
teacher knew she was being observed, often very unnerving).
This incident nicely illustrates the trap: when we reward efforts
that have not resulted in achievement, we risk confusing effort with
achievement. In doing so, we may be raising pupils' self-respect in the
short term, but in the long term we are setting them up for serious
disappointments of just the sort experienced by my young American.
Outside school and the family, effort is valued only if it results in
achievement. We forget this at our pupils' peril.
But it is easy to do so. Effort, we should remember, holds a
particular attraction for teachers because it is by pupils', willingness to
make an effort that teachers measure their own success. When pupils do
make an effort, it is easy for teachers to convince themselves -
sometimes correctly - that this is their doing. We all know the glow that
is stimulated by a student's enthusiasm, whether or not that enthusiasm
83
results in actual achievement. When a pupil doesn't even try to succeed,
good teachers will always feel that they have failed. It is not surprising
that it becomes attractive to reward effort for its own sake.
The obvious answer is consciously to reward both effort and
achievement, perhaps giving separate grades for each. This has the twin
advantages of drawing attention to the fact that both are important, and
of enabling schools to write authoritatively on pupils' willingness and
ability to make an effort (as well as on their actual achievements). But, if
we do this, how do we maintain the self-respect of those pupils who
consistently make a determined effort, but never achieve their goal? And
how do we encourage effort in those young people who run off with all
the prizes without making any effort at all?
There isn't an easy answer. Indeed, I think it is in walking this
tightrope (and other similar ones) that good teachers win their
professional spurs. The job of teaching involves a constant need to
ensure that we live up to all our values, even in cases of conflict. We
must keep expectations high and foster pupils' self-respect, expect pupils
to keep rules and encourage their independence and creativity, and
similarly, we must reward effort without letting go of the need to
achieve. It is, in the final analysis, the teacher who succeeds in balancing
all these values who will never be forgotten.
Vocabulary
84
glow a glow of pleasure/ satisfaction/ happiness a strong feeling of
pleasure etc; soft steady light without flames; brightness of colour; glow
(v) with; glowing report/ account/ description full of praise; in
glowing terms using a lot of praise
peril great danger of being harmed or killed: in peril; the perils of;
do sth at your peril; perilous (adj)
foster to help a skill, feeling idea develop over a period of time ; to
take someone elses child into your family for a period of time but
without becoming a legal parent: foster mother/ father/ parents/ child/
home
distraught frighten sb
underpin ability to invent
unnerve lacking interesting ideas
uninspiring unable to think clearly because of worry
highlight lay foundation
reward unable to speak
boast stress the importance of the idea
inconsistent speak about your achievements seeking admiration
mute unacceptable because of different approach
creativity acknowledge sbs success by giving a prize
to be up to sth
to walk a tightrope
to take comfort in
in the short termin the long term
to set sb up
to win the spurs
to live up to sth
85
4. Answer the following questions.
5. For discussion
by Sue Shellenbarger
86
NEW YORKA broad new survey of American workers
depicts a work force that has little loyalty to employers and is deeply
divided by race and gender.
The study, the most comprehensive look so far at employees'
lives, also reflects broader-than-expected conflict between work and
family life. It suggests that workers place high value on flexible
scheduling, attention to personal needs and management recognition for
work well doneand that they are willing to make tradeoffs, including
changing jobs, to get them.
The privately funded National Study of the Changing Workforce
by the Families and Work Institute, the first installment of a planned
quadrennial survey of U.S. workers' attitudes about their work and
personal lives, dwarfs similar efforts since a 1977 federally funded
Quality of Employment Survey. The institute, a nonprofit New York
research and consulting concern, held hour-long telephone interviews
with a nationally representative sample of 2,958 wage and salaried
workers on issues ranging from relationships with their bosses to
household chores.
LESS LOYAL TO EMPLOYERS
The results paint a picture of American workers less loyal to
employers than in the past. That isn't surprising: 42 % of those surveyed
had been through downsizing, 28% had seen management cutbacks at
their companies, and nearly 20% said they fear being fired.
The study was financed by 15 companies and foundations: Salt
River Project, a Phoenix utility; Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s Allstate Insur-
ance unit; American Express Co.; American Telephone & Telegraph
Co.; Commonwealth Fund; Dupont Co.; General Mills Foundation;
International Business Machines Corp.; John-son &Johnson; Levi
Strauss & Co.; Merck & Co., Mobil Corp.; Motorola Inc.; the Rocke-
feller Foundation; and Xerox Corp.
The study challenges the notion that younger workers are better
equipped to cope with a more diverse workplace. Instead, employees
under 25 show no greater preference than older employees for working
with people of other races, ages or ethnic groups. Just over half of
surveyed workers of all ages said they prefer working with people of the
same race, sex, gender and education.
Employees who had greater experience living or working with
people of other races, ethnic groups and ages showed a stronger prefer-
ence for diversity in the workplace. But few employees have such
87
experience. The study shows that even workers under 25 had little
contact in the neighborhoods where they grew up with people of
different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
"The workplace is the main social arena" for racial and ethnic
interaction, the study says. "Perhaps even more than school, it is the
front line in our nation's efforts" to assimilate diverse workers, "and it's
unlikely we will succeed unless employers assume strong leadership."
The study also reflects widespread perceptions of racial and
sexual discrimination in the workplace. Asked to rate their own chances
for advancement against those of members of other racial and ethnic
groups, employees of all kinds agreed that minority workers' chances
were poorer than those of non-minority workers. (White men and white
women rated minorities' chances of advancement higher than minority
workers did.) Minority men and women and white women also rated
white men's chances of advancement higher than white men did them-
selves.
Perceptions of discrimination take a heavy toll on job
performance, the study suggests. More than one-fifth of minority
workers reported that they had been discriminated against by their
current employers. Those beliefs correlated with a higher tendency to
feel "burned out," a reduced willingness to take initiative on the job and
a greater likelihood of planning to change jobs, the study showed.
And despite a 20-year flood of women into the work force,
women managers surveyed were more than twice as likely as men to rate
their career-advancement opportunities as "poor" or "fair," with 39%
choosing those labels, compared with 16% of men. In contrast, 84% of
men rated their promotion chances "good" or "excellent," compared with
60% of women.
Women who said they saw little opportunity for career
advancement also tended to be less loyal, less committed and less
satisfied on the job, the survey showed.
EXPLODES GENDER STEREOTYPES
The study explodes some popular stereotypes about gender roles,
however. Most workers surveyed didn't see much difference in the way
men and women manage, for instancethough women managers were
viewed as a little more sympathetic to family or personal problems. On
other criteria, including keeping workers informed, offering recognition
and support and being fair, men and women managers were rated the
same.
88
"Despite myths to the contrary, there is no difference, as judged
by workers, between men and women supervisors," says Chip U'Ren,
associate general manager of Salt River Project, one of the sponsors of
the study. The finding should help companies "find ways to ... break
through the glass ceiling," he says.
The survey also disputes the notion that an emerging generation
of 20-something males will help out their employed partners by doing
more chores at home. Men under 25 aren't any more likely to help with
cooking, cleaning, shopping or bill-paying than their older counterparts,
the study shows. The only area in which younger men surpassed older
men was in doing repairs around the house.
Not unexpectedly, surveyed employees expressed greater
commitment to their jobs than to their employers. While 57% strongly
agreed with the statement, "I always try to do my job well, no matter
what it takes," only 28% strongly agreed that they were "willing to work
harder than I have to help my [employer] succeed."
WORK ENVIRONMENT
But employees also said they placed high value on the quality of
their work environment, suggesting that efforts to improve communica-
tion, reduce work-family conflict and create a more supportive
environment might rekindle flagging loyalty. Surveyed employees who
had changed jobs in the past five years, for instance, said they rated such
workplace characteristics as open communications, management quality
and impact on family life even higher than pay in choosing an employer.
Employees also assigned great importance to benefits they
thought would help them achieve a better balance between job and per-
sonal life. About one-quarter of employees without flexible scheduling
or the right to work at home said they would change jobs to gain those
opportunities; 47% of those who lacked the right to time off to care for
sick family members said they would take a cut in pay or benefits to get
it.
Such nontraditional benefits also correlate with greater feelings
of loyalty and commitment to helping the employer succeed, the study
showsthough traditional benefits, such as health insurance, don't have
the same impact.
JOB-FAMILY CONFLICTS
The survey reflects surprisingly broad conflict between workers'
job and family responsibilities. Nearly half of those surveyed have re-
sponsibility for caring for dependents, whether elderly or disabled
89
relatives or young children. And 87% reported having at least some day-
to-day family responsibilities at home, suggesting that work-family
policies such as flexible scheduling and dependent-care help "shouldn't
be viewed as special assistance for a small group of workers, but as
general assistance for virtually all employees," the study says.
The results "make you catch your breath," says Faith Wohl,
director of human resource initiatives for DuPont, another sponsor of the
study. The results suggest work-family programs should be broadened
and integrated with quality-improvement efforts, she says. "Ultimately,
what makes your company family-friendly is to be worker-friendly," she
says.
When work and family clash, a worker's family is more than
three times more likely to suffer than his or her job performance, the
study shows. When problems erupt at work, employees reported that
they were far more likely to give up time with their families, leave
housework undone or experience bad moods than to refuse overtime or
business travel, cut their output or quarrel with their bosses.
Two-thirds of surveyed employees with children said they lack
adequate time with them. "Especially for workers with children, the pic-
ture is of individuals in gridlock," says Dana Friedman, co-president of
the institute. "People feel strongly about doing a good job at work. They
also yearn to spend more time with their families but arrive home
exhausted."
Sue Shellenbarger, "Work Force Study Finds Loyalty Is Weak,
Divisions of Race and Gender Are Deep," Wall Street Journal,
September 3, 1993
Vocabulary
dwarf (v) (usually passive) to be so big that other things are made to
seem very small ( The cathedral is dwarfed by surrounding
skyscrapers.); dwarf (n)
chore a job that you have to do regularly, which is monotonous and
boring
perception the way you regard sth and your beliefs about what it is
like; perceptible (adj) noticeable though very small
90
toll money you pay for using the road; a number of people killed or
injured in an accident: death toll; take its toll on to have a very bad
effect on sth over a long period of time
erupt - start suddenly: a volcano erupts; erupt into a laughter/
shouting; eruption (n)
yearn to have a strong desire for sth, especially sth that is difficult or
impossible to get: yearn for sth/ to do sth; yearning (n)
B. The title is
long, and a good summary of the contents / short, but followed by a
long, useful lead
A. Which subhead was not in the article? Or were they all present?
a. Job-Family Conflicts
91
b. Explodes Gender Stereotypes
c. Less Loyal to Employers
d. All were present
6. For discussion
by David G. Savage
94
willing to spend countless hours shuttling them to and from piano,
tennis, or swimming lessons.
"Even in homes where money was tight, no sacrifice was too
great in order that the child have whatever he needed to learn to become
a musician. 'My parents didn't have nickels to rub together,' Bloom
quoted one pianist as saying. '"Those were the bad old days. But there
was always money for music.'"
Several of the families reported moving to new homes just to get
their children in better academic environments or to be closer to a coach
or instructor.
Bloom's study also found that these extraordinary achievers, all
of whom were younger than 40 when interviewed, appeared to have
gone through three distinct stages of development, regardless of their
field.
At first, the parents exposed the children to playing a piano,
tinkering with scientific games or hitting a tennis ball, but it was just
fun. They played tennis with their families, for example, and developed
the habit of regular practice. Usually, the children also had some outside
instructionperhaps a neighbor who gave piano lessons or an uncle
who was a good tennis player.
Then, at some point, they began to gain recognition for their
ability. A 7-year-old would play the piano for a school performance. An
8-year-old would beat all the other children at his local tennis or
swimming club.
95
stressed the refining of the child's technique, whether it be their fingers
on the keyboard or their strokes in the water or on the tennis court.
In the middle years, these young people first tasted extraordinary
success. Some set national swimming records as adolescents. The pi-
anists got opportunities to perform with symphony orchestras. The
future mathematicians and neurologists were already doing independent
research projects and winning science fairs. The tennis players were
winning state championships.
GREATER COMMITMENT
At this point, their commitment to their field escalated one step
further. The subjects said they began "living" for swimming, or tennis or
the piano and devoted hours each day to practice. They also sought out
the nation's best coaches or teachers, those who were recognized masters
at training the best.
Sixteen of the world-class pianists reported having studied at
some time with one of five master teachers. The mathematicians and
scientists, who often had become attached to a special teacher or gained
the attention of a local university professor, gravitated to the nation's top
universities in math and science.
At this final stage of development, the focus was less on
technique than on developing a personal style. The swimmers and tennis
players said their master teachers helped them with strategy and
psychology. The pianists said they learned about expressing their own
interpretation of the music.
"During these years the student was completely committed to
the talent field. Now most of the motivation was internal and related to
their larger goals," Bloom wrote.
Few of the talented individuals expressed any regret about
devoting so much of their time to pursuing a single goal.
"I loved tennis. To me, it was productive," said one former
player. "To sit in a (fast-food) parking lot in a car with four or five 16-
year-olds didn't interest me a bit. I never felt I missed that."
A few swimmers reported a great feeling of letdown after the
Olympics ended and their swimming careers were over. Most of the top
achievers, even those who had left their field, said they had retained a
feeling of pride in their accomplishments.
Bloom said the study convinced him that talent must be
carefully nurtured over many years.
96
"The old saw that 'genius will win out' in spite of the
circumstances just doesn't hold up," he said.
Because natural talent seemed to play such a minor role in the
development of these performers, Bloom said he was also convinced
that a large number of individuals could achieve at extraordinary levels
if given the right encouragement and training.
The research "points to the enormous human potential available
in each society and the likelihood that only a very small amount of this
human potential is ever fully developed," he concluded. "We believe that
each society could vastly increase the amount and kinds of talent it
develops."
David G. Savage, "The Key to Success? It's Drive, Not Talent,"
Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1985
Vocabulary
a. dedication outstanding
b. eminent give away without feeling sorry
c. appreciate value high
d. have no inkling single-mindedness
e. sacrifice disappointment
f. refine attract each other
g. escalate have no idea
h. gravitate become worse
i. letdown purify
97
My parents didnt have nickels to rub together.
1. The study took five years, analyzed 120 people in six fields,
and was directed by the University of Chicago.
a. true b. false
6. For discussion
- This study and its published results are several years old. Does
this invalidate the findings, in your opinion? Why or why not?
98
Rapacious? Sure. But 19th century titans Carnegie, Rockefeller
and Morgan set the stage for the empire builders of the 20th
by RON CHERNOW
99
granite discipline on the industry, he bought up rivals, modernized plants
and organized the oil industry on an enduring basis.
Never the curmudgeon of myth, Rockefeller had a droll,
genial personality that masked supreme cunning and formidable self-
control. It is certainly true that he was not the least bit squeamish about
tough tactics. He colluded with railroads to gain preferential freight
rates, secretly owned rivals, bribed state legislators and engaged in
industrial espionage. From Cleveland, he rolled up one refining center
after another until his control was absolute. He was still in his 30s, the
boy wonder of American business. At the same time, he was a devout
Baptist with a ministerial air, who professed to have no less a business
expert than the Lord on his side.
Rockefeller believed in a new economic order that he dubbed
"cooperation." President Theodore Roosevelt and his trustbusters had
another word for itmonopolyand the Lord proved no help to Rocke-
feller against T.R. Rockefeller's tough tactics forced America to define
the limits of corporate behavior. Since Rockefeller managed to figure
out every conceivable anticompetitive practice, the authors of the
Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 simply had to study his career to draw up
a reform agenda.
In the end, Rockefeller amassed a fortune that beggared
description. When his net worth peaked at $900 million in 1913, it was
equivalent to more than 2% of the gross national product; such a share
today would be worth $190 billion, or nearly three times as much as Bill
Gates' wealth.
Carnegie (1835-1919), the son of a master weaver in Dunfermline,
Scotland, saw his boyhood paradise torn asunder when his father's skills
were rendered obsolete by the power loom. The Carnegies had to
emigrate to the foul Pittsburgh, Pa., slums when Andrew was 12. Quick-
witted, shrewd and resilient, he survived a Dickensian adolescence that
included working as a bobbin boy in a textile mill.
His first breakthrough came when he landed a job as secretary and
telegrapher to
Tom Scott, a powerful overlord of the Pennsylvania Railroad. At
23 Carnegie headed Pennsy's Pittsburgh division and began to rake in a
small fortune from outside investments ranging from oil to iron bridges.
When he was 33, the rich young man privately lectured himself that his
continued pursuit of wealth "must degrade me beyond hope of
permanent recovery." Yet he couldn't abandon the money chase. "Put all
100
your eggs into one basket," Carnegie once advised, "and then watch that
basket." For him that basket brimmed with steel. Fiercely competitive,
obsessed with innovation and efficiency - he would unhesitatingly scrap
a relatively new plant to erect a more modern oneCarnegie imported
the Bessemer forced-air steel process to America. Such innovation per-
mitted him to reduce the price of railsthe product that initially drove
the industryfrom $160 a ton in 1875 to $17 by 1900. His steel
furnished the sinews of America's burgeoning towns and factories.
A prolific writer and autodidact who authored eight books and 70
magazine articles, Carnegie was a voluble, if sometimes naive, adherent
of the Victorian faith in mankind's progress. His quixotic ideals often
clashed, however, with the brute realities of his steel mills, where men
toiled 12-hour days, seven days a week. If Carnegie fancied himself the
friend of the workingman, he had to face the ultimate comeuppance in
1892 when his associate Henry Clay Frick brutally suppressed striking
workers in Homestead, Pa., in the bloodiest clash in U.S. labor history.
After selling his empire to J.P. Morgan in 1901 to form the
centerpiece of the new behemoth, U.S. Steel, Carnegie devoted himself
to good deeds. A prodigious philanthropist, he created 2,800 free
libraries worldwide. "The man who dies rich dies disgraced," he de-
clared bluntly. Like Rockefeller, Carnegie endowed large corporate
foundations with elastic charters that took on an autonomous existence.
At his death he had disbursed almost his entire $350 million fortune.
If Rockefeller and Carnegie built the industrial age, then Morgan
(1837-1913) financed it. The most imposing personage ever to bestride
Wall Streethis nickname was JupiterMorgan had a thunderclap
voice, a ferocious glare and a grotesquely disfigured red nose that, he
once ruefully joked, had become "part of the American business
structure." Where Rockefeller and Carnegie endured hardscrabble
boyhoods, Morgan came from a well-to-do Hartford, Conn., family, and
his appetite for bosomy women, enormous yachts (his 300-ft. Corsair
lent him a piratical image) and exquisite art was legendary.
After studying in Switzerland and Germany, the cosmopolitan
young Morgan arrived on Wall Street in 1857, serving as agent for his
father Junius Spencer Morgan, who had taken over a London merchant
bank. Though Pierpont participated in refinancing the Civil War debt in
the 1870s, he acquired true imperial status in underwriting America's
railroads.
101
Morgan issued stocks and bonds for railroads (think of them as you
would software companies today), brokered deals among them and
dominated their boards. He recapitalized so many bankrupt railroads
Morganized them, as wits said-that by the 1890s he controlled one-sixth
of America's railway system.
Like Rockefeller, Morgan scorned competition as wasteful and ran
afoul of federal trustbusters who broke up his railroad holding company,
Northern Securities, in the early 1900s. The apex of Morgan's power
came in 1901 with the creation of U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar
corporation. This was followed by International Harvester, the farm-
equipment trust, and the International Mercantile Marine, the North
Atlantic shipping cartel. In fact, Morgan presided over so many large-
scale industrial consolidations that he recast the banker's role from that
of handmaiden to master of industry.
Between 1836 and 1914, the U.S. lacked a central bank; Morgan
stepped boldly, sometimes magnificently, into that breach. When gold
reserves backing the country's legal tender dipped perilously low in
1895, he masterminded a bond issue in New York and London that
replenished the gold stockone of many acts he performed that
preserved America's credit abroad and evinced a new financial maturity
that won the confidence of foreign investors.
During the 1907 Panic on Wall Street, an aging Morgan mobilized
the city's bankers in his solemnly ornate library and got them to commit
money to a rescue fund that ended the bank runs convulsing the city. It
was the last hurrah for a self-regulated financial system: Morgan's
dazzling improvisation proved the urgent need for a central bank, setting
the stage for the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.
Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan were not the only robber
barons, of course. Edward H. Harriman fought Morgan for control of the
railroads. Andrew and Richard Mellon founded four major companies,
including Alcoa. But the scale on which Rockefeller, Carnegie and
Morgan operated was unprecedented, paving the way for a world of
global companies and capital flows. And their money built a platform for
philanthropy that has grown every bit as much as their corporations.
Culture
102
T.R. President Theodore Roosevelt
Vocabulary
curb an influence which helps to control or limit sth (+on); the edge of
the part of a road where people can walk; curb (v) to control or limit sth
in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect
imbue sb with (usually passive) to make someone feel an emotion
very strongly
freight goods carried by ship, train etc; freight (v); freight liner,
freight train
loom - to appear as a large , unclear shape, especially in a threatening
way; if a problem looms , it is likely to happen very soon: loom large
to seem important, worrying, and difficult to avoid
endow to give a college, hospital etc a large sum of money that will
provide it with an income; be endowed with to naturally have a
good feature or quality; endowment (n)
replenish to fill sth again or put new supplies into sth
evince to show a feeling or quality very clearly in what you say or do
To enjoy life though it may be hard for the rest; to state publicly
that you do not approve of sth, poor small village, excessive supply, an
old person who is often angry or annoyed, to work with sb secretly, the
lord ruling over other lords, means of strength, a person supporting a
particular idea, a person who is able to say clever and funny things, to
plan and organize a large, important, and difficult operation, to cause
problems by doing sth that is against the conventional rules.
7. What clusters the three titans together? What are the main
differences?
9. For discussion
104
- Can our time bear such people? Can you think of an example?
What are the necessary prerequisites for the appearance of such
personalities? Do you believe that nowadays a person from badly-off
family can rise from the ranks and become master of the world?
by LEE IACOCCA
107
In a sense Henry Ford became a prisoner of his own success. He
turned on some of his best and brightest when they launched design
changes or plans he had not approved. On one level you have to admire
his paternalism. He was so worried that his workers would go crazy with
their five bucks a day that he set up a "Sociological Department" to
make sure that they didn't blow the money on booze and vice. He
banned smoking because he thought, correctly as it turned out, that
tobacco was unhealthy . "I want the whole organization dominated by a
just, generous and humane policy," he said.
Naturally, Ford, and only Ford, determined that policy. He was
violently opposed to labor organizers, whom he saw as "the worst thing
that ever struck the earth," and entirely unnecessarywho, after all,
knew more about taking care of his people than he? Only when he was
faced with a general strike in 1941 did he finally agree to let the United
Auto Workers organize a plant.
By then Alfred P. Sloan had combined various car companies into a
powerful General Motors, with a variety of models and prices to suit all
tastes. He had also made labor peace. That left Ford in the dust, its
management in turmoil. And if World War II hadn't turned the
company's manufacturing prowess to the business of making B-24
bombers and jeeps, it is entirely possible that the 1932 V-8 engine might
have been Ford's last innovation.
In the prewar years there was no intelligent management at
Ford. When I arrived at the end of the war, the company was a
monolithic dictatorship. Its balance sheet was still being kept on the
back of an envelope, and the guys in purchasing had to weigh the in-
voices to count them. College kids, managers, anyone with book
learning was viewed with some land of suspicion. Ford had done so
many screwy thingsfrom terrorizing his own lieutenants to canonizing
Adolf Hitler-that the company's image was as low as it could go.
It was Henry Ford II who rescued the legacy. He played down his
grandfather's antics, and he made amends with the Jewish business
community that Henry Ford had alienated so much with the racist
attacks that are now a matter of historical record. Henry II encouraged
the "whiz kids" like Robert McNamara and Arjay Miller to modernize
management, which put the company back on track. Ford was the first
company to get a car out after the war, and it was the only company that
had a real base overseas. In fact, one of the reasons that Ford is so
competitive today is that from the very beginning, Henry Ford went
108
anywhere there was a roadand usually a river. He took the company to
33 countries at his peak. These days the automobile business is going
more global every day, and in that, as he was about so many things. Ford
was prescient.
Henry Ford died in his bed at his Fair Lane mansion seven months
after I met him, during a blackout caused by a storm in the spring of
1947. He was 83. The fact is, there probably couldn't be a Henry Ford in
today's world. Business is too collegial. One hundred years ago, business
was done by virtual dictators-men laden with riches and so much power
they could take over a country if they wanted to. That's not acceptable
anymore. But if it hadn't been for Henry Ford's drive to create a mass
market for cars, America wouldn't have a middle class today.
Lee Lacocca was president of Ford, later chairman of Chrysler
and last year founded EV Global Motors
Culture
s.o.b (s-o-b) son of a bitch
clutch the pedal you press when driving to change gear
crusade one of series a series of wars fought in the 11 th, 12th, and 13th
centuries by Christian armies trying to take Palestine from the Muslims;
a determined attempt to change sth because you think you are morally
right
tunnel vision the tendency to only think about one part of sth such as
a problem or plan, instead of considering all the parts of it
Vocabulary
to be big on sth
to go for a spin
to throw into overdrive
a sprawling city of a place
to blow the money on booze and vice
110
b. Its balance sheet was still being kept on the back of an
envelope, and the guys in purchasing had to weigh the invoices to count
them.
c. it was Henry Ford II who rescued the legacy.
d. He played down his grandfathers antics, and he made
amends with the Jewish business community
6. For discussion
112
Key individuals are also seen to have put their names behind that
particular course of action. The decision can therefore proceed with the
full weight of the organization behind it, even if it actually went through
"on the nod". At the same time, the burden of responsibility is spread, so
that no individual takes the blame should disaster strike.
Thus, the public nature of formal meetings confers a degree of
legitimacy on what happens in them. Having a view pass unchallenged
at a meeting can be taken to indicate consensus.
However, meetings also serve as an alibi for inaction, as demon-
strated by one manager who explained to his subordinates: "I did what I
could to prevent it - I had our objections minuted in two meetings." The
proof of conspicuous effort was there in black and white.
By merely attending meetings, managers buttress their status,
while non-attendance can carry with it a certain stigma. Whether
individual managers intend to make a contribution or not, it is satisfying
to be considered one of those whose views matter. Ostracism, for
senior managers, is not being invited to meetings.
As one cynic observed, meetings are comfortingly tangible: "Who
on the shop floor really believes that managers are working when they
tour the works? But assemble them behind closed doors and call it a
meeting and everyone will take it for granted that they are hard at work."
Managers are being seen to earn their corn.
Meetings provide managers with another form of comfort too - that
of familiarity. Meetings follow a set format: exchanges are ritualized, the
participants are probably known in advance, there is often a written
agenda, and there is a chance to prepare. Little wonder then, that they
come as welcome relief from the upheaval and uncertainty of life
outside the meeting room.
Managers can draw further comfort from the realization that their
peers are every bit as bemused and fallible as themselves. Meetings
provide constant reminders that they share the same problems,
preoccupations and anxieties, that they are all in the same boat. And for
those who may be slightly adrift, meetings are ideal occasions for gently
pulling them round.
As Steve Styles, the process control manager (life services) at
Legal & General, puts it: "The mere presence of others in meetings adds
weight to teasing or censure and helps you to 'round up the strays'." Such
gatherings therefore provide solace and direction for the management
team - a security blanket for managers.
113
Meetings do serve a multitude of means as well as ends. They
relieve managerial stress and facilitate consensus. For the organization,
they have a safety-net-cum-rubber-stamping function without which
decisions could not progress, much less gather momentum. In short,
meetings are fundamental to the well-being of managers and
organizations alike.
Culture
Vocabulary
115
1 'battle grounds'
2 'in black and white'
3 'the shop floor'
4 'a security blanket'
5 'safety-net-cum-rubber-stamping function'
117
If he has a holiday home, or stays in a plush hotel, he will be on
the telephone six times a day, doing what he does best. Relaxing is for
wimps.
So what can a "leisure adviser" do for him - or, increasingly,
her?
The basic task is to change attitudes, and gradually to introduce
him to various leisure activities.
Some experts believe in playing what is known as the "fear
card". The executive is warned of the risk of "burnout" and told that, if
he doesn't take care of his health, the business will suffer.
Does he realize what it would cost if he had to go into hospital?
More, much more than a holiday. That is the bottom line.
But I believe in a more positive approach. A good start is to
persuade him that holidays are a "psychological investment", and that it
is perfectly feasible to combine business with pleasure.
This has to be done step by step: the cold turkey treatment is
rarely effective.
They can take work with them. (A recent survey by the Hyatt
Corporation showed that nearly half of the executives questioned do so.)
For a captain of industry, holidays are ideal for strategic planning.
They can call the office, though the aim must be to reduce the
number of calls as the holiday progresses.
They can have faxes sent to them, though the staff should try to
cut down on the rolls of fax paper: one should be sufficient after a while.
They can be persuaded to take up golf. It is not only a pleasant
(and healthy) way of going for a leisurely walk, but it can also be good
for business.
Some of the biggest deals of the past decade have begun with a
casual remark on the golf course, and bankers have acquired some of
their most lucrative clients while blasting their way out of a bunker. It no
doubt helps to explain why golf has become the favourite sport of senior
executives throughout the world. If he needs that little extra push, show
him the formula developed by a British leisure expert:
RP = T/2 + (Z - 4) = CD = CA
The RP stands for rest period, and you needn't bother with the
other stuff. The formula proves convincingly that a few days on the
golf course are absolutely vital.
There are plenty of courses in the sun. Executives should be
reminded that this is the time of the year when it becomes imperative
118
to embark on inspection tours of overseas subsidiaries in places like
Florida, Australia and Jamaica.
Once the initial leisure training period has been completed you can
try to hook him on other activities which are every bit as challenging as
a take-over bid. He can climb mountains, ride river rapids, go scuba
diving. He may well end up making a happy discovery: leisure can be
fun.
Culture
cold turkey (go cold turkey)- to suddenly stop taking a drug you are
addicted to and to experience a sort of illness because of it.
wimp sb who has a weak character and is afraid to do sth difficult or
unpleasant; wimpish, wimpy (adj).
bottom line a situation or fact that exists and that you must accept,
even if you may not like it.
Vocabulary
119
embark to get onto a ship or put or take sth onto a ship; embark
on/upon to start sth, especially sth new and difficult that will take a
long time; embarkation (n)
1. Find ten words and phrases in the text associated with each of
the following:
2. For many executives the worst thing about going away on holiday is
A having to stay in a hotel or holiday home.
B having to lie on a beach in the sun.
C being out of touch with the office.
D being unable to escape the telephone.
3. For discussion
121
What are the difficulties of having to earn your living and raising a
child?
What are the benefits and shortcomings of working as a woman in
a mans world and as a man in a womans world?
What are the best ways of coping with being unemployed?
What personal and professional skills do you need for a successful
business career in our country (specialist training, knowledge of
foreign languages, outgoing personality)?
If you wanted to find out about job opportunities or vacancies at a
large international organization, how would you do it?
What kind of education offers the best route to top management
positions in our country?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working abroad for
several years?
Students tend to blame all the defects of their education on their
teachers. What is your opinion of that?
What do you think about conventional and progressive schools?
Should they coexist?
What are your views on progressive versus traditional training
methods? What progressive methods must be incorporated into work
of mainstream schools?
What are your views on comprehensive versus selective schools?
What do you think about the state of education in Russia?
122
1. Fill in the blanks with the words from the box.
The Child Poverty Action Group does all it can for the .. of poverty
among children in the United Kingdom.
Its not unknown for an artist, seeking recognition, to live in ..
and to become famous only after death.
The charitys main aim is to improve healthcare in . areas of the
world.
The amount of money earned by someone suffering from .
Poverty will be greater in rich area than in a poor area, whereas
poverty does not take account of a persons immediate environment.
In countries where food is scarce, .is inevitably a major
problem.
The worlds 225 richest people have combined wealth only 4 per cent of
which would be enough for basic education and healthcare, adequate
food, and safe water and for all the worlds people.
Using overseas aid for debt does not directly help any people
who are suffering through poverty.
Everywhere in the world even in the cities of the richest country you
will see people living in shop doorways or under bridge.
25
Based on Ian MacKenzie. English for Business Studies. Cambridge University Press, UK, 2002.
123
1. A flexible labour market is one in which a) workers are able to
do a variety of jobs; b) it is easy for companies to hire non-permanent
staff; c) workers are free to choose the hours they work.
2. What is the advantage of a flexible labour market for
employers?
3. What does the more flexible labour market is considered to
have encouraged inward investment mean?
4. What are the three things to rethink and reconsider if the British
labour force is to remain more flexible?
2. Listen to the second part of the interview and choose the best
answer.
3. After you listen to the third part of the interview answer the
following questions.
124
1. What are the two measures that Kate Barker suggests
governments can take to help the long-term unemployed?
2. What, according to Kate Barker, is a common attitude among
employers towards long-term unemployed people?
125
1. Write a 350-word essay supporting one of the following theses.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement.
Support your views with reasons and examples from your own
experience, observations, or reading.
126
1. What education fails to teach us is to see the human
community as one. Rather than focus on the unique differences that
separate one nation from another, education should focus on the
similarities among all people and places on Earth.
2. Education has become the main provider of individual
opportunity in our society. Just as property and money once were the
keys to success, education has now become the element that most
ensures success in life.
3. It makes no sense for people with strong technological skills
to go to college if they know that they can earn a good salary without a
college degree.
4. Schools should not teach specialized information and
techniques, which might soon become outdated. Instead, schools should
encourage a more general approach to learning.
5. Formal education should not come to an end when people
graduate from college. Instead people should frequently enroll in courses
throughout their lives.
6. If a nation is to ensure its own economic success, it must
maintain a highly competitive educational system in which students
compete among themselves and against students from other countries.
2. Project Making
128
Active Vocabulary List
accelerate (v), 3.2 A doom (n), 3.2 A insinuate (v), 2.2 A
accord (v), 4.5 A dormant (adj), 4.2 A instigate (v), 1.3 A
admonish (v), 4.6 A embellish (v), 4.6 A integral (adj), 3.3 B
adroit (adj), 4. 3 A emulate (v), 4.2 A interrogate (v), 2.2 A
advent (n), 3.2 A encompass (v), 4.2 A intuition (n), 4.5 A
ambiguous (adj), 4.6 A eradicate (v), 2.4 A inundate (v), 2.4 A
annihilation (n), 3.2 A equivocate (v), 1.4 A irreparable (adj), 4.4 A
antithesis (n), 4. 3 A espouse (v), 4.4 A juxtapose (v), 4.4 A
arduous (adj), 4.2 A estrange (v), 4.6 A liability (n), 1.5 A
ascertain (v), 4.5 A euphoric (adj), 1.3 A liaison (n), 4.4 A.
attrition (n), 2.4 A excel (v), 1.2 A lucid (adj), 3.5 A
auspicious (adj), 2.3 A exhilaration (n), 3.4 A macabre (adj), 3.4 A
belligerent (adj), 3.3 B exhort (v), 2.4 A mandatory (adj), 2.4 A
berate (v), 1.2 A exoneration (n), 1.5 A maudlin (adj), 4.2 A
bolster (v), 4.4 A exorbitant (adj), 3.4 A mediocre (adj), 4. 3 A
chide (v), 3.5 A expedite (v), 2.3 A mesmerize (v), 4.6 A
circumvent (v), 1.4 A extenuating (adj), 2.3 A meticulous (adj), 3.5 A
clandestine (adj), 1.4 A extinct (adj), 3.2 A mitigate (v), 3.3 B
collaborate (v), 4.4 A extricate (v), 3.4 A morale (n), 4.4 A
command (v), 4.5 A fabricate (v), 4. 3 A nonchalant (adj), 3.3 B
commensurate (adj), 3.3 B facilitate (v), 4.6 A noxious (adj), 3.3 B
complacency (n), 1.2 A fastidious (adj), 2.3 A oblivious (adj), 1.3 A
complement (v), 2.3 A flout (v), 2.3 A obsequious (adj), 2.2 A
confer (v) 4. 3 A foible (n), 3.5 A obtrusive (adj), 2.3 A
contend (v), 2.4 A forestall (v), 2.2 A omnipotent (adj) 2.2 A
contingency (n), 3.5 A fortuitous (adj), 1.4 A opportune (adj), 2.2 A
contrite (adj), 4. 3 A fraudulent (adj), 2.3 A optimum (adj), 1.2 A
corroborate (v), 4.4 germane (adj), 2.4 A ostentation (n), 1.3 A
cursory (adj), 4.2 A grievous (adj), 4.6 A ostracize (v), 1.5 A
decorum (n), 4. 3 A havoc (n), 3.2 A panacea (n), 2.4 A
demise (n) 3.2 A heinous (adj), 2.3 A perfunctory (adj), 2.4 A
denunciation (n), 3.4 A hierarchy (n), 4.5 A permeate (v), 2.2A
depreciate (verb), 1.4 A impede (v), 2.4 A pinnacle (n), 4. 3 A
deride (v), 4.6 A impending (adj), 3.2 A platitude (n), 3.4 A
derive (v), 3.2 A imperative (adj), 3.3 B plight (n), 4. 3 A
derogatory (adj), 3.4 A impetuous (adj), 1.3 A portend (v), 3.2 A
despondent (adj), 4.5 A implicit (adj), 2.3 A precarious (adj), 4.6 A
detriment (n), 1.2 A inadvertent (adj), 1.4 A precipitate (v), 1.4 A
discreet (adj), 2.3 A inane (adj), 1.3 A predisposed (adj), 1.2 A,
discretion (n), 1.2 A incapacitate(v), 3.5 A preponderance (n), 1.2 A
disparage (v), 1.5 A incongruous (adj), 4. 3 A preposterous (adj), 3.5 A
disparity (n), 2.2 A inflate (v), 4. 3 A presumptuous (adj), 3.5 A
disseminate (v), 1.4 A innocuous (adj), 3.5 A proliferation (n), 1.5 A
dissipate (v), 3.3 B indigenous (adj), 1.5 A propensity (n), 1.2 A
distraught (adj), 4.6 A insidious (adj), 2.2 A quandary (n), 3.4 A
129
redeem (v), 2.3 A sedentary (adj), 4.4 A tenuous (adj), 4,3 A
regress (v), 4.4 A somber (adj), 3.2 A transgress (v), 2.3 A
reiterate (v), 4.6 A sordid (adj), 4.2 A travesty (n), 4.6 A
rejuvenate(v), 3.4 A staunch (adj), 3.4 A turbulent (adj), 4.4 A
relinquish (v), 1.3 A stigma (n), 3.4 A ubiquitous (adj),1.5 A
replete (adj), 1.3 A stint (n), 4.2 A unprecedented (adj), 3.3 B
reprehensible (adj), 1.2 A stringent (adj), 2.4 A utilitarian (adj), 3.3 B
repudiate (v), 3.5 A sensory (adj), 1.3 A validate (v), 3.4 A
repugnant (adj), 3.5 A sham (n), 1.4 A vehement (adj), 2.3 A
resilience (n), 1.2 A solace (n), 1.3.A veneration (n), 1.3.A
resist (v), 4.5 A squander (v), 1.3 A vindicate (v), 3.3 B
resort (v), 4.5 A squelch (v), 1.5 A vociferous (adj), 1.5 A
reticent (adj), 1.4 A subordinate (adj), 4.5 A yen (n), 3.3 B
retribution (n), 2.2 A subversive (adj), 3.3 B
rudimentary (adj), 1.5 A tantamount (adj), 1.3 A
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