J: Oh, thank you. They are beautiful. You‘re very kind. L: How was your flight, Ms. Jones?
J: Very nice. The service on board was superb. And I managed a few hours‘ sleep, so I feel fine now. L: I‘m glad to hear that. Oh, let me help you with your luggage. J: Thank you.
L: Is this your first visit to China?
J: No, it‘s my first to Guangzhou. I hope it won‘t be my last. L: I hope you will have a pleasant stay here. J: Oh, I‘m sure I will.
L: Our car is out in the parking lot. Shall we drive to your hotel now? J: Yes, thank you. Let‘s go. W: This way, please.
W: Here we are, Ms. Jones. This is the White Swan Hotel.
We‘ve reserved a room for you on the 6th floor with a balcony overlooking the park.
J: Thank you very much. It‘s very considerate of you. W: Will, that‘s the least we could do. L: This is your room, Ms. Jones. Is it OK?
J: Oh, yes, it‘s lovely, very cozy and well-decorated. It‘s very thoughtful of you to have arranged it for me. L: Not at all.
W: You must be very tired after your long trip. Is there anything else we can do for you? J: No, thanks. Not at the moment.
L: Then we will be leaving now so that you can settle in.
After all we will have enough time for business during the next three days. J: Thank you.
L: You‘re welcome. We‘ll contact you tomorrow morning. L&W: See you then. J: See you!
Unit 6
Task 1
I‘d like to welcome all of you here today. First, I‘m going to tell you about our company, Business Consultant Services, and the positions we are hiring for. After that, we‘ll have some time for questions. OK?
Business Consultant Services provides business software and consulting services. We started out in 1997. our head office is in Seattle, U.S., but we have offices all over the world, and we have approximately 4, 000 employees. We have 1,800 clients worldwide. Many of our clients are large corporations, but we also work with small and medium-sized businesses. Our annual income in 2003 was about 90 million dollars.
We‘re growing pretty fast right now, and a lot of our growth is in southeast Asia. We came to Thailand in 2000, and we now manage about 29 accounts here. We‘re opening another office in the south of Thailand this month. In addition to Thailand, we have a very busy office in China. We‘re working for an oil company in Singapore, and we‘re starting a large project for a bank in Malaysia.
So, this is why we are looking for new employees and why I am here. In fact, this is why we‘re all here. We have openings for…
Task 2
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I am very honored to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished audience. My name is Monica Li and I am in charge of the PR department of oracle China. What I‘d like to do today is provide you with some general information about Oracle Corporation and its latest development in China. Hopefully, this introduction can help you gain a better understanding of our company.
My presentation will be divided into two parts: Oracle and Oracle China. The presentation will last about five minutes. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me at the end of my presentation.
I will start with Oracle, out parent company. Oracle Corporation, the world‘s largest enterprise software company, was founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Oracle employs over 42,000 individuals around the globe and has an annual revenue of 11 billion dollars.
In 1989, Oracle formally entered China‘s market and became the first global software giant to open offices in China. In July 1991, after nearly two years‘ hard work, Oracle established a wholly-owned company in Beijing – Beijing Oracle Software Systems Co., Ltd. – to better exploit and serve the rapidly growing market here. On August 8th, 2000, Oracle China formally opened its new office in the China World Trade Center in Beijing.
This prestigious opening showed the development of Oracle‘s long-term involvement and commitment in the Chinese market. At present, Oracle China has set up branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, providing Oracle‘s 9i E-business platform and Oracle E-Business Suite, as well as related consulting, education and support services for the Chinese market. By speeding up the localization of products, applications, channels and services, Oracle has realized a continuing and healthy development of its business in China.
This is all I want to say about Oracle and Oracle China and I hope this brief introduction has helped shed some light on our company. So, are there any questions you‘d like to ask before we move on?
Video 1
Hello, and welcome to Standard Electronics. I‘m Geoff Bolton, the Factory Manager in charge of the plant you‘ll be seeing today. I know you have come a long way today, so we aim to make your tour both interesting and worthwhile. Before we start the tour, I‘d like to give you a brief presentation about the company. It will last about 15 minutes and I will be using flip chart. Since there‘s quite a lot to cover, I‘d be grateful if you‘d hold any questions until the end of my talk.
As you can see, I‘ve divided up my presentation into 3 main parts. First of all, we‘ll run briefly through the history of the company. Secondly, I‘ll tell you something about our main markets – this is important in understanding the production process. And finally, I‘ll come to the people – our most important asset.
OK! Let‘s start with the history. Standard Electronics started out as a private limited company when it was first established in 1985…
Video 2
I‘m sorry, I‘m a bit late.
Um…I‘m not exactly sure how to start this …
Um…I suppose I should start by telling you something about the Brewery… It‘s old of course, very cold, and … it was founded in 17…1778, yes, I think that‘s right.
So it`s a very old brewery and…um…we use traditional production methods and our products are very, very old…very traditional.
Um…oh, we also do European type beer and, well, sale have increase a lot over the last year.
Of course, we were a family firm. Well, in fact, we still are a family firm. As you know the present owner is Ralph Barrald.
Um…we continue to run as a family firm and this is important to the corporate image.
Well, in fact, this is why we‘re here today to discuss the corporate image and decide if we…well，if it needs to change.
We also have horses…you may have seen them delivery the beer to the local pubs, yes?
Yes, yes…um, production has actually dropped a little over the last few years, although profits have actually gone up and that`s something we need to discuss…
I mean, can we continue as a small，independent brewery? Anyway, that‘s about it, so…um…that‘s the main question today. So I don`t know whether that helps at all，but it`s all I can think of really, so, I, I‘ll
leave…I‘ll leave…
I think that‘s that, So I‘ll leave it there, OK? Right.
Case Analysis
Good afternoon and thank you for coming here today. As you know, we‘ve been working on our Great Ideas Directory – the Great ID – for almost a year, and now, it‘s finally ready to launch it online, if the investment plan goes ahead. We‘d like to talk to you about the ideas we‘ve come up with and the part we hope you will play I supporting us.
There are a lot of people out there inventing new products and new services. How can they get finance? Where can they find advice? The Great ID, that‘s where. The Great ID website is the place where inventors meet investors. Throughout the world there are many sources of funding…
First I‘m going to talk about the research we did, who we talked to and what they told us. Then we‘ll look at the solutions we found and what the website has to offer. Then I‘ll say something about development costs…
So, to conclude, this website brings invention and investment together in one place, and I hope you‘ll agree that the Great ID is itself a great idea. Thank you for listening. Do you have any questions?
Unit 7
Task 1
On November 20, 2000, from Honda Motor Company comes a small, lightweight humanoid robot named ASIMO stands for ―Advanced Stop in Innovative Mobility‖. It is an amazing product which can be helpful to humans as well as be of practical use in society.
Compared to Honda‘s previous walking robot P3 made in 1997, ASIMO is smaller, lighter and more people-friendly designed. P3 is 160cm tall and weighs 130kg while ASIMO‘s height is only 120cm and its weight is reduced to a mere 43kg. ASIMO‘s special features include more advanced walking technology, simple operation and an expanded range of arm movement.
In December 2005, Honda debuted its new ASIMO model. This model is 10cm taller and 11kg heavier than the first ASIMO. It can walk alongside is controller, and is able to move carts and other objects around at will. And, with a newly developed total control system, it can act as a receptionist, or even deliver drinks on a tray. The new ASIMO is also more agile than its predecessor, as it is able to run at 6km/h, and even turn while running.
Task 2
Do you have friends or family members you would like to see more often? When you phone colleagues, would you like to see their face? The Via TV Desktop videophone means that you can!
As you can see, it‘s small, elegant and ideal for the office or home, even for
business trips. It‘s very easy to set up: all you need is a touch-tone phone. You don‘t need a computer or any special software. It‘s also very easy to use, as easy as making a normal telephone call.
The Via TV Desktop videophone has many features. First, it has full-color motion video which means you can see the other person‘s gestures and changes of expression. The picture setting that enables you to change the mode to get an ideal image even for viewing designs or document. Third, it‘s audio quality is exactly the same as a normal telephone call.
In addition, the Via TV Desktop videophone has a preview mode so that you can check what you look like before the other person sees you! And finally, the privacy mode is an important feature. You can use it to block the image but keep the voice connection.
Now, of course, just as any means of communication, it‘s worthwhile to have a set. We have a special offer on at the moment, so now is the time to buy the Via TV Desktop videophone. Put yourself in the picture!
Video 1
H: Helen White D: David Brown D: Good morning!
H: good morning. Have you got the canon iR2270 Photocopier. D: Yes madam. It‘s right here. H: Great! How much it is?
D: Let me see…iR2270, hmm, $2450. H: Ooh, it‘s not cheap.
D: Yes, the price is a bit high, but it makes the best copies in the shortest time. It‘s the best-seller for 3 months.
H: I know it‘s good. We have one in our office. But I‘m afraid my boss won‘t like the price. Can you give discounts for bulk? We want to buy 4 of them. D: In that case, we can cut the price to $2330. H: $2330…That‘s about a 5% discounts, right? D: Yes, that‘s the lowest price we can offer. H: Ok. How long is the warranty? One year? D: Three years from the date of purchase.
H: Good. How about its after-sales service? You know photocopiers have jamming all the time. It‘s a real nuisance.
D: I can assure you that you won‘t have such problems with this model. Besides we offer free on-site service for the length of the warranty, and then $150 a year after that. If there something wrong with the machine, just contact us. We will send a technician over as soon as possible. H: Good, and what about the guarantees?
D: Well, there‘s a 7-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the machine. Or if you have any problems, just bring it in and you can have a refund.
H: Fine. Oh, one more thing. How soon can you deliver them to our office?