Tag Archive: business news – intermediate

Pre-reading questions: What are the common things that you can buy online? Do you buy products that your friends recommend? Please explain your answer. Vocabulary: preceding /pri-SEE-ding/ [adjective] existing or happening before someone or something This year’s party is way better than the preceding events. purchase /PUR-chuhs/ [noun] the act of buying something The purchase of unneeded materials made the accountant mad. respondent /ri-SPON-duhnt/ [noun] a person who answers a request for information The researchers did not use the respondent’s answers because she was lying. opt /opt/ [verb] to make a choice She opted for a fruit shake instead of a cola. factor /FAK-ter/ [noun] a fact or situation that…
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By Stribrohorak (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Pre-reading questions: What are some common reasons for firing employees? Why do employees quit their job? Vocabulary: lay off [ley awf] (phrasal verb) to end someone’s employment The firm had to lay off some of their workers. stiff competition [stif kom-pi-TISH-uhn] (noun) strong competition from rivals You’ll be facing a lot of stiff competition at the games. worldwide [WURLD-WAHYD] (adjective) happening all over the world Our company has 2,000 employees worldwide. birthrate [BURTH-reyt] (noun) the number of births in a year or place Low birthrate is a big problem for some countries. budget cut [BUHJ-it kuht] (noun) the act of…
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Pre-reading questions: Why is recycling important? Does recycling help the environment? Vocabulary: cosmetics– products that enhance beauty such as make-up Women love to go shop for cosmetics. packaging– material used to pack something Most companies use plastic packaging for their products. pollute– contaminate Materials such as plastic can pollute our surroundings. pilot– first I missed the pilot episode of my favorite show. effectivity– producing a desired effect My team has to test the effectivity of the product before releasing it to the market. Most products today such as food and cosmetics are packed in plastic so people tend to throw the packaging away upon consuming the product. Eventually, plastic packages…
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Pre-reading questions: Do you think it is useful to know a bit about the economic status of other countries? Why do you think some people find it difficult to discuss the economy? Vocabulary: exporter – someone who sells goods to another country India is a major exporter of rice. drastic – something that has a very big effect on another Our budget has been drastically reduced. impose – to force something to be accepted or to be done The chairman of the board imposed his decision on his team. adhere – to believe in and follow the practices of something It is our duty to adhere to the law. revoke – to…
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  Pre-reading questions: How do you feel about taking tests? What do you think about millennials nowadays?   The Silent Partner Marketing released a so-called “snowflake test” to job applicants, with snowflakes being defined as easily offended individuals. Kyle Reyes, CEO of the Silent Partner Marketing, stated that the snowflake test is designed to eliminate applicants who will surely be unsuitable to his company’s culture. Questions include the applicant’s opinion on America, police, and guns. Mr. Reyes also stated that his snowflake test is effective as it successfully eliminated 60% of snowflake job candidates. Because of the test’s popularity and effectivity, other companies would also want to use the snowflake…
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  Pre-reading questions: Do you watch television news like CNN? Do you believe in fake news? Please explain your answer. Do you often use your smartphone?   The Time Warner Company and AT&T will merge after the approval of $85.4 billion proposal. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN, HBO, TNT, and others. According to Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, 78% of their shareholders voted in the favor of the merger and 99% of the voters were in favor of the proposal. Although approval from the shareholders are expected; getting the government’s approval would be more challenging. It is stated that the US federal government will review the…
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  Pre-reading questions: Would you be interested in working abroad? Please explain your answer. What are the challenges of working away from your family/home country?   Around 600 young Vietnamese students are studying Japanese language and culture to brace themselves as technical interns in Japan. Most of the students hail from rural areas of Vietnam. The majority of foreign workers in Japan are Vietnamese since Vietnam promotes export of labor to provide employment to its citizens. Workers also learn Japanese language and customs from government-approved organizations. Despite the multiple benefits of this project, many foreign interns suddenly disappear upon dispatch. Some companies committed labor violations such as non-payment of wages…
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  Pre-reading questions: What kind of activities do you enjoy doing with your friends? What comes to your mind when you hear “team building”?   Team building activities such as grinding in a seminar about effectivity at work or spending time doing potentially embarrassing activities are the usual ways to run through company away days. However, a new type of team building activity emerged in Europe. London-based Food@Work and Brussels-based Waffle Workshop offer team building cooking classes. SIG, a hardware company, was a client of Food@Work. SIG staff say that the cooking class was fun because of the different atmosphere from work. Meanwhile, attendees at Waffle Workshop say that they…
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  Pre-reading questions: Do you prefer living in a city or in the countryside? Please explain your answer. Do you think your hometown is overpopulated? Please explain your answer. What do you like most about your city?   World Bank data states that nations such as Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, and the Philippines have a high number of informal settlers in key cities. Cities such as Manila and Jakarta offer illegal housing for migrants. A World Bank senior specialist said that the rise of migrants is an indicator of a growing economy. However, governments are unable to provide quality housing to increasing settlers. World Bank offers two solutions for improvement. One…
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Pre-reading questions: When you were a child, did you dream of having your own business? What do you think makes business exciting or interesting? Do you think it is difficult to be a bank manager? Discuss. Three international banks were fined by European Union officials for maneuvering the price of financial products. The banks were said to have been involved in a cartel from 2005 to 2008. Authorities found that the banks used various instant messaging services to share information on their trading and pricing strategies. E.U. penalized the banks totaling to $520 million, with JPMorgan Chase worth 337 million euros, France’s Credit Agricole with 114 million euros and London-based HSBC…
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