Section с

Social Contacts

1. Work

QUESTION	RESPONSE	COMMENT QUESTION
What do you do?	I work as a branch manager. (title)	Not a bad job. What about you?
	I work for a bank. I am in banking. (sector)	That's interesting. And you?
Who do you work for?	I work for FMA. (name of employer)
	Actually I am self-employed.
Where are you based?		We are based in New-York.
And what exactly do you do?		I am responsible for economic analysis.
How many people do you employ?		Oh, I suppose about seven hundred in Russia.
How long have you been there?		Seven years now.
Do you think you will stay?		Well, it's a difficult question. It all depends.

2. Home

QUESTION	RESPONSE
So, where do you live?	Just outside Murmansk.
Whereabouts is that?	That's in the northwest of Russia.
Do you live in a house or a flat?	In a house.
What's it like?	Fairly modern, with four bedrooms.

3. Origins and family

QUESTION	RESPONSE
And are you from here originally?	No, actually I was born in Omsk. I moved here about ten years ago.
Do you have any family?	Yes, I am married with two children, a boy and a girl.
How old are they?	The boy's fourteen, the girl's ten.
And does your wife work?	Not at the moment. She is at home with our children.

4. Here and there

QUESTION	RESPONSE
Is this your first visit to Russia?	No, I come here quite often. Yes, it is.
Have you been to Moscow before?	No, actually this is my first visit. But hopefully not the last.
Business or pleasure?	Business, I am afraid. My bank is setting up an office here in Moscow.
Are you staying long?	Till Monday. Unfortunately only a couple of days.
Where are you staying?	At the Metropol hotel.
Is it comfortable?	Yes, very.
What's the food like?	Fine.
So, what do you think of Moscow?	Lovely, it's really old and interesting.
So, what are you doing this evening?	I was thinking of having a quiet evening.

5. Weather

QUESTION	RESPONSE
So, how is the weather in London?	Oh, much the same as here.
What was the weather like in Paris?	Much warmer than here.
Isn't this weather terrible/ wonderful?	Absolutely awful/fabulous.
Is the weather always like this?	No, this is exceptional.

6. Interests

QUESTION	RESPONSE
What do you do in your spare time?	Oh, I play a little tennis.
Is ... popular in your country?	Quite popular.
Is it expensive?	Not, if you join a club.
Do you play tennis?	I used to.

■ Ex. 1. Build conversations like this from the prompts below.

1. A: Hello, I'm Mr Newton.

B: Pleased to meet you Mr Newton. I'm Mr Wilson. I haven't seen you around before. A: No, I've just started. I am in the Accounts Department.

A: No, I’ve just started. I am in the Accounts Department.

Prompts

Private Banking Division

Administrative Division

Corporate Division

2. A: Do you work here Mr Brown?

B: Yes, I work as a branch manager.

A: Not a bad job. Where are you based?

B: We are based in Bristol.

A: Whereabouts is that?

B: That's sort of southwest of the country. What about you?

Prompts

Retail Sales Manager	Glasgow	northwest
Deputy General Manager	Edinburgh	northeast
Director of International Banking Operations	Plymouth	southwest

3. A: Nice to meet you Mr Jackson. What do you do?

B: Nice to meet you, too. I am in marketing.

A: That's interesting. And what exactly do you do?

B: I am responsible for market research.

A: Is that one of your collegues over there?

B: Yes, that's Mr Smith. He works in the Marketing Department, too.

Let me introduce you.

Prompts

computers	software development
banking	foreign exchange operations
management	personnel selection

4. A: Is this your first trip to Russia?

B: Yes, but hopefully not my last.

A: Business or pleasure?

B: Business, I am afraid. My company is setting up an office here in Moscow. A: Really, where is your company based?

B: In Manchester, sort of southwest of the UK.

Prompts

the US	Boston	Berlin
France	Paris	Sofia
Italy	Naples	Minsk

5. A: Is this your first trip to Moscow? Do you like it here?

B: Yes. Lovely, it's really old and interesting.

A: Have you found time to see much?

B: Well, I visited the Museum of Fine Arts.

A: Are you interested in arts?

B: Actually yes, it's my hobby.

Prompts

London	the British Museum Library	books
the Hague	a flower show	flowers
Tokyo	the China Museum	china

6. A: How do you find the weather here?

B: A bit warmer than back home.

A: Oh, where do you come from?

B: Wales. This time of year it's pretty cold.

Prompts

much colder	South Africa	pretty hot
more rainy	the Middle East	pretty dry
less snowy	Russia	it snows a lot

■ Ex. 2. a) Imagine that you are at a cocktail party with the rest of the class. At a cocktail party everyone stands up with a drink, chats for a few minutes to one guest and then moves on to another guest. Introduce yourself first, and then find out as much as you can about your partner. Talk to as many people as possible. Each conversation ends with the following phrases:

Well, it's been nice talking to you. But really I must be going now. Sorry to rush off.

I really enjoyed talking to you. But I must be off now. See you later, perhaps.

Look at communication activities below.

Your name is Pamela Green. You come from Boston. You work for the local police force. You are in the Investigating Department. You are an investigator. It's your first fact-finding trip to Moscow. You stay at "Minsk" Hotel. You have already visited Petrovka, 38.

Your name is Chris White. You come from the US, Boston, sort of North of the country. You work for the IBM company. You company is setting up an office here in Moscow. You are in the Market Research Department. You have already visited the Botanical Gardens. Flowers is your hobby.

Your name is Eve Manning. You come from London. You work for the BBC. You are in the Russian Department. You are an editor. It's your second business trip to Moscow. You stay at Moskva Hotel. You have already visited the Tretyakov Picture Callery.

Your name is Charles Black. You come from Oxford, Great Britain. You are a Chemistry teacher. You teach organic chemistry at Oxford University. It's not your first business trip to Moscow. You stay at "Metropole". You have already visited Moscow University and the Bolshoy Theatre. You like ballet very much.

Your name is Jessi Tutwiller. You come from Los Angelos. You work for an advertizing company. You are a professional model. It's your first business trip to Moscow at the invitation of the Mosfilm Studios. You have already visited the Moscow House of Fashion.

You name is Ann Nixon. You come from Canada. You are in computers. You are on the production side. Your company is based in Toronto, sort of West of the country. It's your first business trip. You plan to stay a week. You have already visited the History Museum and the Kremlin Museums. You are interested in history in general and in Russian history in particular.

Your name is Estelle Winters. You come from Dublin. You work for the local computer centre. You are a software expert. It's your first business trip to Moscow for setting up a joint venture. You stay at "Rossia". You have already visited the Politechnical Museum.

b) Tell your group-mates whom you got acquainted with at the party, what you came to know about them.

Unit III

Topic: Money

Grammar: Past Simple

Communication Skills: Social Contacts (Part II)

SECTION A

VOCABULARY LIST

		to have a (personal) stake in smth — быть (лично) заинтересованным в чем-либо syn. to be interested in smth
		to buy smth with money — покупать что-либо за деньги
		to exchange smth for smth — обменивать что-либо на что-либо
		to pay a charge (fee) — оплачивать услуги
		to maintain a banking account — иметь счет в банке
		trade bу barter — меновая торговля to trade by barter — заниматься меновой торговлей
		to offer smth in exchange for smth — предлагать что-либо в обмен на что-либо
		to swap smth for smth — обменивать что-либо на что-либо
		to involve difficulties — повлечь за собой сложности
		to be worth — зд. равняться по стоимости
		to measure the value of smth against the value of smth — измерять стоимость чего-либо через стоимость чего-либо
		to depreciate — зд. терять в стоимости, цене
		to accept smth in exchange for smth — принимать что-либо в обмен на что-либо
		to measure smth in terms of smth (money, per cent, figures, etc.) — измерять, мерить что-либо в чем-либо (деньгах, процентах, цифрах и т.д.)
		a medium of exchange — средство обмена
		a store of wealth (value) — средство "сохранения стоимости"
		a measure of value — мера стоимости
		coin — монета
		banknote — банкнота
		cash — наличные деньги
		cash in the bank account — безналичные деньги
		to be legal tender — быть законным платежным средством

■ Ex. 1. Choose a suitable title for the passage from the list below. Support your point of view.

1. Money concerns all.

2. What is money?

3. Money is a part of any civilized society.

4. Barter — the earliest form of trade.

Make use of the following helpful phrases:

As 1 see it...

In my opinion...

My point of view is...

There is one subject over which everybody has complete mastery, that is, money.

Moreover we learn it at a very early age. Why is this? Surely it is because the subject of money is one which concerns us all very closely. We have a personal stake m the subject, so we are interested. Because we are interested, we learn.

But what exactly is money? To answer that question, we go back in time.

Today we buy cigarettes, bread, clothes with money in a shop. These are goods; we exchange our money for goods which others sell to us. Today we travel on a train or bus, or maintain a banking account, and we pay the charge or fee. There are services; we exchange our money for the services which others provide for us.

In a primitive community people obtain goods and services by barter. Trade by barter is the earliest form of trade, when people offer goods in exchange for what they want, that is they swap goods for other goods. However barter involves many difficulties. The man with tomatoes to swap wants a blanket. But the man with a blanket to swap does not want tomatoes, he wants a pot; and the man with a pot to swap wants a hen. So there is the problem of "double coincidence of wants". Then there is the problem of the "rate of exchange". How many tomatoes is the blanket worth or a hen? Still another problem is that some goods are more perishable than others. Tomatoes become mushy, for example, and the owner has nothing to swap.

As primitive communities develop into more advanced societies people realize they need some commodity they can use in exchange for anything, some commodity that does not decay and remains valuable, some commodity with the help of which people can measure the value or one thing against the value of another thing. Such commodity is money. It does not depreciate, people accept money in exchange for anything, they measure all goods in terms of money.

Thus money is a necessary part of any civilized society, It serves as:

1. a medium of exchange

2. a store of wealth

3. a measure of value

Money means coins, banknotes and cash in the bank account. We use it to make payments.

Nowdays we know that the units of money must have certain qualities to be successful. They must be:

1. Standard. They must all be of the same kind, look the same, weigh the same, all be of the same type, shape, size and quality.

2. Durable. They must be strong and long-lasting, so that they are a store of value and do not wear out easily.

3. Scarce. They must be difficult to come by to keep their value.

4. Acceptable. They must be accepted as a medium of exchange in a society or country for buying and selling, that is they must be legal tender.

5. Portable. They must be easy to carry.

6. Divisible. It must be possible to divide the units of money of large value into smaller values.

■ Ex. 2. Answer the following comprehension questions based on the text.

1. What role does money play in our everyday life?

2. How did people obtain goods and services in a primitive community?

3. What difficulties did trade by barter involve?

4. What did people realize as primitive communities developed into more advanced societies?

5. What functions does money exercise?

6. What does money mean?

7. What requirements must money meet to be successful?

■ Ex. 3. Say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE according to the text.

1. Money is part and parcel of our everyday life.

2. In a primitive community people obtained goods and services with commodity money.

3. Trade by barter is one of the first forms of trade.

4. Trade of barter was not a very suitable way of obtaining goods and services.

5. Money exercises the function of a measure of value because people accept money in exchange for anything.

6. Money means coins, banknotes and e-money.

7. Units of money must be difficult to come by to keep their value.

■ Ex. 4. Put the following sentences in the right order.

A We use money to make payments.

B Money does not depreciate, people accept money in exchange for anything.

C We exchange our money for the services which others provide for us.

D Units of money must have certain qualities to be successful.

E The subject of money is one which concerns us all very closely.

F Units of money must be accepted as a medium of exchange, that is they must be legal tender.

G Trade by barter is the earliest form of trade.

H Money is a necessary part of any civilized society.

■ Ex. 5. Be ready to render the passage in the form of a presentation. Structure your presentation according to the classical model.

SECTION В

Прошедшее неопределенное время

(Simple Past)

Глагол ТО BE

Утвердительная форма

I	was	a bank teller a cash drawer
You	were
Не She It	was
We You They	were	bank tellers

Отрицательная форма

I	was not	a bank teller a cash drawer
You	were not
Не She It	was not
We You They	were not	bank tellers

Вопросительная форма

Was	I	a bank teller a cash drawer
Were	you
Was	he she it
Were	we you they	bank tellers

Сокращения: wasn't=was not

weren't=were not

Другие глаголы

Утвердительная форма

I You He, she, it	worked	in the main office
We You They	paid

Отрицательная форма

I You He, she, it	did not	work	in the main office
We You They		pay

Вопросительная форма

Did	I you he, she, it	work	in the main office?
	we you they	pay

Сокращения: didn't=did not

VOCABULARY LIST

		to launch a bank card system — ввести систему расчета по кредитным карточкам syn. to pioneer a bank card system
		to operate a bank card system — вести систему расчета по кредитным карточкам
		to rank (first, second) — занимать (первое, второе) место
		to have an over-all responsibility for smth — нести полную ответственность за что-либо
		to bring a query — приносить запрос
		to feed information to a computer — ввести информацию в компьютер
		to accept smth — принимать что-либо
		to decline smth — отклонять что-либо
		a cardholder — владелец кредитной карточки
		to be in arrears — иметь задолженность
		to present a card in payment — расплачиваться кредитной карточкой

		to be below (above) the agreed floor limit — быть ниже (выше) согласованного уровня
		to require authorization for smth — требовать разрешения на что-либо
		a purchase — покупка
		to face a problem — столкнуться с проблемой
		to report stolen (lost, missing) cards — сообщать об украденных (потерянных) кредитных карточках
		counterfeit credit cards — фальшивые, поддельные кредитные карточки
		to be fraudulent — быть фальшивым, поддельным
		20 thousand dollars worth of fraudulent purchasing — покупки по поддельным кредитным карточкам на сумму в 20 тысяч долларов
		to be made from authentic plastic blanks — быть изготовленным из подлинных бланков

1. A few years ago FMA launched a bank card system. It did not launch Master-Charge. It did not launch Bank Americard, either. It pioneered the Keycharge bank card system. At present FMA operates the Keycharge bank card system with a group of other banks in the US, Canada, and overseas. In size, Keycharge ranks immediately after Bank Americard and Master-Charge. Alex Vandervoort, within FMA, has an over-all responsibility for the division. The bank houses the Keycharge credit card division along with the Keycharge authorization centre in the Headquarters Tower.

1. What did FMA launch a few years ago?

2. FMA pioneered Master-Charge, didn't it?

3. Who has an over-all responsibility for the credit card division within FMA?

4. Does the Keycharge bank card system rank first?

2. Calls pour into the authorization centre twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. They poured in yesterday and the day before yesterday. Calls come from every US state and Canadian province. Telex machines bring queries from thirty foreign countries. Last week a Telex machine brought a query from Germany. A free operator in the Keycharge authorization centre took the call. His first words were: "What is your card number?" When he received the answer, the operator fed the information to a computer. The computer instantly signalled "Accepted". It did not signal "Declined". The first meant that the credit card was good, the second that the cardholder was in arrears. On a normal day fifteen thousand calls come in.

1. How often do calls come into the authorization centre?

2. What query did the telex machine bring last week?

3. Who took the call?

4. Did the computer signal "Declined"?

5. The signal "Accepted" meant that the cardholder was in arrears, didn't it?

3. When a Keycharge cardholder presents a Keycharge card in payment for goods or services, the place of business accepts the card without question if the amount is below the agreed floor limit. For a large purchase the bank requires authorization which takes minutes to obtain. Yesterday a storekeeper phoned the authorization centre. He suspected that the card presented to him was stolen. "When did the shopper visit your store?" the operator wanted to know.

1. When does the place of business accept a Keycharge card without question?

2. Does the bank require authorization for a large purchase?

3. Who phoned the authorization centre yesterday?

4. The storekeeper suspected that the card presented to him was stolen, didn't he?

4. Not everything goes well with the Keycharge credit card system. The bank faces two problems: stolen or lost credit cards and counterfeit credit cards. Last Monday Alex Vandervoort met Nolan Wainwright to discuss the problems.

"Did cardholders report many missing cards last week?" Alex wanted to know.

"No, they didn't" was the answer.

"How did you know some cards were fraudulent?" was Alex's next question.

"We got a warning of excessive purchasing. Ten purchases in a day and the computer alerts us" said Wainwright. Both Wainwright and Vandervoort looked concerned. A stolen or lost Keycharge card was good for twenty thousand dollars worth of fraudulent purchasing in the week or so during which most stolen cards stayed unreported.

1. What problems does FMA face?

2. Last Monday Alex Vandervoort met Nolan Wainwright to discuss the missing six thousand dollars didn't he?

3. What warning did the security division get last week?

4. Did Alex Vandervoort and Nolan Wainwright look concerned?

5. What was a lost or stolen credit card good for in a week or so?

5. During the meeting in the Keycharge security office Wainwright placed on the desk eight plastic Keycharge credit cards. Four of those credit cards were counterfeit, but he did not separate the bad ones from the good. Vandervoort failed to recognize the counterfeits. They looked the same as real ones even under ultraviolet.

"How do you explain it?" Alex wanted to know.

"They are made from authentic plastic blanks that are stolen. Four months ago one of our suppliers had a break-in. The thieves got into the strong room and stole three hundred finished plastic sheets." Vandervoort whistled softly. A single plastic sheet produced sixty-six Keycharge credit cards. That meant, potentially, almost twenty thousand fraudulent cards.

1. Did Nolan Wainwright place ten Keycharge plastic cards on the desk?

2. How many cards were counterfeit?

3. Nolan Wainwright didn't separate the good cards from the bad ones, did he?

4. Was the quality of the counterfeit credit cards good?

5. How did Nolan Wainwright explain it?