Akademija Oxford Kragujevac

Business English B1

READING COMPREHENSION

Look at this article about Michelin, the famous tyre manufacturing company. Fill in the gaps
using the words from the box below. The first letter of each verb is given.

was has live employes

owns sponsors manages invented

sellls advertises losing

publisihes have manufactures died

plans supplies is

Michelin is a famous old family company with a dynamic young chairman. Edouard Michelin i………………… the great –
grandson of the founder of this company, which is based in Clermont Ferrand in the centre of France.

       Michelin m………………… tyres and s………………… them all over the world. The company e………………… about
120,000 people and has annual sales of over €14 billion. Goodyear and Firestone are Michelin’s main competitors.
Edouard Michelin m………………… the company using modern methods. At the moment, Michelin s………………… tyres
to the BMW Williams team. The company h………………… two main markets, Europe and the USA, but it p…………………
to develop the Asian market. In the USA it o………………… the Uniroyal company. It a………………… a lot on TV and in
magazines and s………………… racing events. It also p………………… the famous Michelin guidebooks. Edouard Michelin
and his wife h………………… five children and l………………… just outside Clermont Ferrand.

*UPDATE: Edouard Michelin, who has drowned on a holiday fishing trip aged 42, w………………… one of France's
youngest business leaders. For the last seven years he had been chief executive officer of the family firm that
i………………… radial tyres and is known throughout the world for Bibendum - its roly-poly Michelin Man -its
restaurant and travel guides and for its maps.

Michelin's death is the latest tragedy in a family with a history of l………………… its firm's leaders young. His
grandfather d………………… in a plane crash, and his great uncle in a car accident in the 1930s.

POINT / 18
S

Choose the correct word to complete the sentences below.

1. Michelin is a tyre fabric / manufacturer / product.

2. There are over 120,000 employs / employees / employers.
3. It has profit / loss / turnover of over €14 billion.
4. The company / society / factory has a young chairman.
5. Michelin is BMW William’s tyre buyer / retailer / supplier.
6. Michelin gets / owes / owns Uniroyal.
7. Michelen’s head office / head hunter / head room is in Clermont Ferrand.
8. Its main competes / competitors / competitive are Goodyear and Firestone.

POINT /8
S
1
Akademija Oxford Kragujevac
Business English B1

THE CAREER LADDER

When Paul left school, he applied for a job in the accounting department of a local engineering company. They gave
him a job as a trainee. He didn’t earn very much but they gave him a lot of training and sent him on training courses.

Paul worked hard at the company and his prospects looked good. After his first year, he got a pay raise and after two
years he got a promotion and was promoted. After six years, he was in charge of the accounting department with
ten employees under his supervision.

By the time Paul was 30, he decided that he wanted a fresh challenge. He was really interested in working abroad so
he resigned from the company. He didn’t want to quit but he wanted something new. He started looking for a new
job with a bigger company. After a couple of weeks, he managed to find a job with an international company which
involved a lot of foreign travel. He was very excited about the new job and at first, he really enjoyed the traveling
but…

After about six months, Paul started to dislike the constant moving around and after a year, he hated it. He hated
living in hotels and he never really made any friends in the new company. Unfortunately, his work was not
satisfactory either and he was dismissed. After he was fired, Paul found things much more difficult. He was
unemployed for over a year. He had to sell his car and move out of his new house. Things were looking bad and in
the end, Paul had to accept a part-time job at a fruit and vegetable stall in a market.

To his surprise, Paul loved the market. He made lots of friends and enjoyed working out in the open air. After two
years, he took over the stall. Two years later, he opened a second stall and after ten years, he had fifteen stalls. Last
year, Paul retired at the age of 65.

Write a single word synonym for each of these words or phrases:

1. Given the sack ____________________ 5. Stopped working forever ___________________
2. Out of work_______________________ 6. Future possibilities ________________________
3. Left the company___________________ 7. Workers in a company _____________________
4. Given a better position ______________ 8. Working only some days/hours ______________

Find the logical answer on the right

1. Why did they fire him? ( ) A. Because he was nearly 65.
2. Why did they promote you? ( ) B. Because he was late for work every day.
3. Why did he apply for the job? ( ) C. Because he needed more training.
4. Why did he retire? ( ) D. Because he was unemployed.
5. Why did he resign? ( ) E. Because I was the best person in the department.
6. Why did he go on the course? ( ) F. Because he didn’t like his boss.

POINT / 14
S

READING POINTS / 40

2
Akademija Oxford Kragujevac
Business English B1

VOCABULARY

Choose the best response for each question:

1. When did you start your current ____________________ ( = job)?

position /place /work
2. We plan to ______________ this product in the spring of 2009.
lunch/ launch/ lynch
3. I've always been a team ____________________. ( = I've always worked well with other people)
play/ worker / player
4. Tell me a little about your ____________________ job ( = your last job).
past/ finished /previous
5. What does "rep" stand for?
representative / republican/ reprimand
6. You shouldn't discuss salary until the interviewer ____________________ ( = starts talking about it).
brings up / brings it / brings it up
7. An interviewer might ask you what your "salary ____________________" are. This is the formal way of
asking how much money you require.
needs / requirements / desires
8. John isn't a permanent employee; he's a ___________________.
temp / part-time / hired
9. He's got a really positive ___________________. He'll do well at this company.
look / sense / attitude
10. P1: Can we meet at 2:00 PM? P2: Let me check my ___________________.
requirement /schedule/ clock
11. I don't think I can take on any more projects right now. I have too much __________________________
already.
on my platter /on my plate / on my mind
12. What's "voice mail"?
A messaging service that allows you to leave messages when you call someone /A voice attachment on an
email/A package with a CD
13. Where can I get a pen?
in the supply room/In the lunch room/In the conference room
14. No, I'm sorry I'm not ___________________ with that service. ( = I haven't heard about that service)
Familiar/famous/famished
15. What are you _____________________? = What are you trying to say?
getting at/getting/making
16. We need to develop a new strategy. = We need a new _________________.
appraisal/approval/approach

POINT / 16
S

Match each definition with the letter of one of the following:

a - commercial (n.), b - billboard, c - complimentary, d - campaign, e - readership, f - slogan, g - press release,

3
Akademija Oxford Kragujevac
Business English B1

h - features, i - publicity, j - brand awareness

1. memorable motto or phrase ->

2. a large, square sign used to post advertisements -->
3. a statement (about a product) released to the news media -->
4. an advertisement on TV, the radio, etc. -->
5. the attempt to manage how a public sees a product -->
6. the number of people that read a particular newspaper, magazine, etc. -->
7. a plan of action (to promote a product) -->
8. a measure of how popular a brand is (how many people know it, etc.) -->
9. special characteristics, qualities -->
10. free -->

POINT / 10
S

VOCABULARY POINTS / 26

WRITING
Rewrite the email

Look at the formal email below. Imagine Paul Davies and Karen Steele have a very informal relationship. Rewrite it
using informal expressions.

Dear Mr Davies,
I apologize for the late reply. We have been renovating our office this week.
Anyway, I am delighted to inform you that your application for a grant has been approved. Please find attached the
agreement.
Would you please visit our office tomorrow so that we can sign the paperwork? I'm leaving the office at 5pm so
please try to get here before then. And I would like to remind you to bring with you all relevant company documents.
Kind Regards,
Karen Steele
Accounts manager
ABC Capital

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4
Akademija Oxford Kragujevac
Business English B1

WRITING POINTS / 10

GRAMMAR

1. If he doesn't come in the next 10 minutes, we __________________________ (start) without him.

2. He __________________________ (become) a manager when he was 25.
3. Let’s __________________________ (discuss) the details of the proposed merger.
4. Our distributor called while I __________________________ (talk) to Jim. (I'm no longer talking to Jim)
5. I thought about your proposal, and I think we __________________________ (accept) it.
6. How long _________________ you _________________ (work) in sales?
7. I have _________________ (review) your proposal, and I'm quite impressed.
8. The mayor failed __________________________ (persuade) the striking workers to return to contract
talks.
9. The union __________________________ (agree) on Tuesday to resume contract talks.
10. Negotiations __________________________ (passive - expect) to continue into the weekend.
11. Our employees __________________________ (to be) our strongest asset.
12. Who did you have in mind as a replacement when you heard that he wanted to leave? I
(plan) to split the responsibilities and take on two stock-control clerks.
13. So far their catalogues always (contain) precise information.
14. He ______________ (check) the invoices received by the suppliers all morning.
15. I (buy) the Financial Times yesterday, but I _________ (not buy) it today.

16. If you______________________ (not provide) sales literature without spelling mistakes, your customers
will not take your products seriously.
17. If we had been informed in time, we _________ (take) measures to protect ourselves from
potential losses.
18. If your machines _________ ___ (prove) satisfactory, we will install them in all our shops.
19. We would buy a new system, if the computer market _________ (not be) changing so
rapidly.
20. If we took the middle-aged candidate, it _______________ (be) a problem.
21. If he _____________________ (not increase) the pay offer, the union representatives will not accept it.
22. There would have been trouble if we ________________ (not renegotiate) the redundancy payments.
23. Distribution costs will be reduced if the new warehouse ________________ (be completed) on time.
24. If they _________________ (decide) to ignore our recommendations, it would be disastrous.
25. If our distribution _________________ (handle) by an agent, it would have been the wrong way to do
business in that particular country.

GRAMMAR / 25
POINTS

Test ∑ / 101