2007/02/24Saturday
1.Basic business Know-how (15 mins)Overseas telephone call (3)
² Will you ask him to call me back later?
² I was cut off. Will you connect me again?
² We'll call you back in a few minutes. Will you hang up and wait, please?
² I want to place an overseas call to New York.
² Could you tell me the time and charges after the call?
² Sorry, I can't wait. Please cancel the call.
² This is the Singapore operator. Would you connect me with Mr. Lee in the International Department?
² This is the overseas operator in the United States. You have an overseas collect call from Mr. Smith in San Francisco. Will you accept the charges?
2.Extensive reading (20 mins)
Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-koo faces jail time for embezzlementCNN's Eunice Yoon reports
Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor, has been handed a three-year jail sentence in what many here believe is a compromise in a raging debate between those who believe that South Korea should improve its international, its corporate governance standards to those at international levels, and those who are worried that any type of guilty verdict could have a negative impact on South Korea's carmaker as well as the South Korean economy. Now the prosecutors here had been hoping to see a 6-year jail term. They had said that the Hyundai chairman had embezzled money to the tune of about 100 million dollars and ah, many of them had been hoping for that a harsher sentence. Now the defense attorneys, though on the other hand, had been hoping to see a suspended sentence for the chairman. Er, they've said that he should not serve any jail time, and in fact, they were concerned that any negative impact it would have on the, count on the company itself would actually hinder the growth of Korea's economy as well.
Now at this point, a lot of people are saying that the decision could have a negative, will have a negative impact on Hyundai's operations and this comes at a very difficult time for the carmaker when it was hoping to double its sales of this year. However, that seemed as a, a problem for it going forward just because of the, a labor problem that they had been facing, they had been facing severe labor issues which have resulted in production losses. Ah, they've also been hurt by the strength of the Korean won which has made a lot of their cars even more expensive compared to their Japanese counterparts.
And the company itself, though, has said that they intend to appeal this decision. They say that the operations of the company will not be affected. However, a lot of people here aren't sure how that would, how that would actually take place just because this is a man who has been credited with turning around the company. He is the one who has been focused on, very much on quality and turned a South Korea's Hyundai Motor from a laughing stock in the industries in the 1990s to the sixth largest carmaker in the world today.
Eunice Yoon, CNN, Seoul.
3.Passport to success (20 mins)Over lunch (1)
Key words:
Business lunch, nasty, skyscraper, promissory note, disignate
About pollution
F: Such a nice view from here. Almost unbelievable that you have smog in this city.
C: It's not so bad after a long weekend., but we have pretty dense smog in the winter. The white smog in summer is nasty, too.
About city changes
F: This is my first visit since 1976. This area was almost all flat in those days. Now it's all skyscrapers.
C: If you come back in five years, you probably won't recognize this either. They are going to tear down that whole neighborhood down there as part of an urban renewal.
About a dink after lunch
F: Do you want a drink?
C: Are you having one?
F: I think I'll have a Bloody Mary.
C: Then I'll go for a Campari soda. Let me get a waiter.
About stocks
F: I didn't quite understand some of the conversation you were having earlier in the office. What was the thing about the promissory notes?
C: It's typical of some large companies to pay their suppliers in promissory notes. One of our new clients offered to pay us half in promissory notes, and half in barter tickets and we are trying to fight them off.
F: How does a promissory note work?
C: It is a written promise to pay a designated amount at a certain future time - in their case, in six months.
F: Six months! At no interest?
C: No interest. But some notes are payable in nine to twelve months.
F: We can't afford to work like that. It'll have a terrible effect on our cash flow. We're not a bank. Won't they agree to pay in cash?
C: Don't know yet.
4.Hint Bank (5 mins) Excuses of lateness
² The traffic was completely jammed this morning.
² I forgot to set my alarm last night.
² When I was about to leave, one of my customers deopped in on me.
² I had trouble finding your meeting hall.
5.Supplements (15 mins)How To Make A Bloody Mary Cocktail
Bloody Mary Cocktail. A step by step guide to creating the Sunday morning classic Bloody Mary. Just the right kick to get you into shape after a night on the tiles. Drink our Bloody Mary Cocktail.
Step 1 You will need:
50 ml vodka/10 ml port/100 ml tomato juice/5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce/3 dashes of Tabasco sauce/½ tsp horseradish sauce/half lemon/pinch salt & pepper/
some ice/1 celery stick/1 slice of lime/1 highball glass/1 25 ml (1 fl oz) single shot measure150 ml (2 fl oz) double shot measure/1 cocktail shaker/1 cocktail strainer
Step 2 Alcohol: Put 50ml of vodka and 10ml of port to the mixing glass.
Step 3 Spices: Add about a half a teaspoon of horseradish sauce to the mixing glass. Then add 5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce and 2 to 3 dashes of Tabasco sauce.
Step 4 Lemon: Squeeze half a lemon and add the juice.
Step 5 Salt and Pepper: Add a pinch of pepper and salt to season.
To decorate the glass run a wedge of lemon or lime around the edge the lip to moisten and turn the glass around in some pepper
Step 6 Tomato Juice: Add 100 ml of tomato juice to the mixing glass
Step 7 Ice: Fill the high ball glass and the mixing glass with ice.
Step 8 Shake: Put the top half of the cocktail shaker on pressing down firmly to seal. Hold the top and bottom and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds.
HANDY HINT
When there is condensation on the outside of the shaker and it feels very cold, it's ready.
Step 9 Release: Tap the side of the shaker and release the top by rocking it back and forth.
Step 10 Pour: Put the cocktail strainer over the shaker, and strain the drink over the ice into the high ball glass.
Step 11 Garnish: Add a thin stick of celery and a slice of fresh lemon to garnish.
And Serve
[ 本帖最后由 gsm0002 于 2007-2-20 19:56 编辑 ] |
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