2. List these events in order of their occurrence. Then use them as a plan to speak on:

a) Henry Ford’s industrial accomplishments;

b) his political and charitable activities.

• __He had a job of an engineer at an electric company.

• __The model A was put into production.

• __The Ford Motor Company started the production of its own parts.

• __He built his first automobile.

• __The wages were raised and the working hours were reduced.

• __The company produced expensive cars.

• __A Ford’s grandson took over the company.

• __The company’s production costs decreased.

• __He became interested in automobiles.

• __Ford travelled to Europe with a peace-making mission.

• __He organised the Ford Motor Company.

• __The Ford Motor Company revolutionised the automobile industry with its assembly line method of production.

3. If you could have asked Mr. Ford only three questions, what would you have asked?

ADDITIONAL READING

CURIOUS FACTS & FIGURES

Wall Street

Wall Street, the financial keystone of the country, takes its name from the wooden wall built by the Dutch burghers in 1653 to protect their colony against “the wilderness” to the north. The Street is sometimes compared with a canyon. On a nice day you can see blue sky in between the tall buildings, but you’ll notice that most of the dark-suited men and women hurrying by have no interest in admiring the scenery, unless it includes a stock quota.

World Financial Center

Four handsome granite and glass towers of World Financial Center designed by architect Cesar Pelli are located in Lower Manhattan, New York. This business and commercial center houses the corporate headquarters for many international financial firms and employ nearly 30,000. It also provides over 200,000 square feet of specialty shops, restaurants, and cafes. The highlight is the Winter Garden, a magnificent glass structure complete with towering palm trees.

The Bank of England

In Threadneedle Street in London there is a large building with a massive front and blocked windows – The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. The Old lady is the nickname given by Londoners to the Bank of England. But the Bank of England is not a bank in the ordinary sense of the word because it does not transact business. It’s the place where orders for bank – notes and coins are issued and also part of the Ministry of Finance. It regulates the amount of gold for import and export.

The center of the financial world is Throgmorton Street with the Stock Exchange (Фондова Біржа) and all the main banks.

Surprising Money

Have you ever heard of “coins” so heavy that it takes several men to carry them? It’s too surprising but you’ll find such coins on the East Pacific Islands. They are made of stones with the hole in the center. The natives still use them as money.

These coins are probably the heaviest and the biggest known. The lightest and the smallest were the gold coins used in Southern India at the beginning of the last century. They were pinhead size (розміром з шпильковою головки).

Switzerland

As everybody knows, the Swiss want everything in Switzerland to be sportlessly clean – the dollhouse towns, the snowy mountains, and the sparkling lakes.

And the money. All the bank notes seem to have that crackling, crisp, justprinted look and feel. How do the Swiss keep their money from getting tired looking? Bills are yanked from circulation before a tear can besmirch them. As many as one third of Swiss bank notes are replaced each year, at a cost of more than 20 million francs, or $18 million.

Why bother? Image is one reason. “The first thing you see when you arrive in a country is the money,” says Roland Tirnare, chief cashier of the Swiss national Bank. “It’s like a national identity.”

Fooling the experts

Britain has the longest usual working week in the European Union – 43.4 hours, figures from Eurostat. The usual working time during a week is defined as all hours normally worked by an employee including overtime whether paid or not.

British men work longest of all by far – 45.1 hours a week – 2.3 hours ahead of the Portuguese who are second. British women are the only ones who do more than 40 hours.

Listening comprehension