BUSINESS ENGLISH

How the Fittest Survived

1. Before you read – study the vocabulary.

to fetch принести, достать

low-key неброский, сдержанный, не производящий впечатления

cutting edge качество, свойство чего-либо, дающее преимущество

demise прекращение деятельности, спад деловой активности, потеря занимаемого положения

dotcom (= dot-com) дотком, интернет-компания (бизнес и источники прибыли которой сосредоточены в сети Интернет; название образовано от английского прочтения окончания “.com” электронных адресов таких компаний)

retailing розничная торговля (любая деятельность по продаже продукции непосредственно конечным потребителям для их личного некоммерческого пользования, не только продажа товаров в магазине, но и предоставление услуг, прямые продажи через консультантов, продажа по каталогам и т. п.)

thrive благоденствовать, преуспевать, процветать

Статья опубликована при поддержке крупнейшей европейской сети магазинов и гипермаркетов электроники и бытовой техники Media Markt. В онлайн-каталоге на сайте mediamarkt.ru представлены более 150 тысяч товаров, среди которых каждый сможет найти что-то себе по вкусу и кошельку. Выбрать и купить понравившийся товар можно не только в одном из маназинов сети, но и не покидая свой дом. Квалифицированные менеджеры Media Markt ответят на все Ваши вопросы, проконсультируют, помогут подобрать технику, наилучшим образом соответствующую Вашим потребностям и финансовым возможностям. Выбранный товар можно забрать самостоятельно в одном из гипермаркетов Media Markt, или же его доставят по указанному Вами адресу в удобное время. Кроме того, при необходимости опытные монтажники установят приобретенную Вами технику и электронное оборудование и произведут его настройку. Добавьте к этому возможность покупки в кредит на выгодных условиях, в том числе кредитование онлайн без скрытых комиссий и платежей, и Вы поймете, что лучшего места для покупки электроники и бытовой техники, чем интернет-магазин на сайте mediamarkt.ru или гипермаркеты Media Markt Вам не найти.

2. Read the text.

In the back room of a Tesco store outside London, a woman looks over the bag of items for an online order to be delivered later that afternoon. “We need a box of peaches,” she tells a young man she is training. He fetches some from the shop floor. The operation is low-key: it has no big warehouses, no cutting-edge computer systems.
In spite of the demise of thousands of dotcoms, Internet retailing is not dead. Even more remarkable, several online operations are now turning a profit. Aside from Tesco, the Internet arms of the office supply group Staples and the women’s lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret are both in the black.
Their success proves that businesses can thrive online. And the key to profitability is something very ordinary: cost control. Profitable Internet operations tend to have modest ambitions. They are not out to revolutionize how people shop; they are simply looking to increase sales.
“The profitable groups don’t try to be all things to all people,” says Joel Kurtzman, author of Radical E, a recently published book about Internet strategy. “Delta Airlines is not trying to be the only site for all air travel in the entire world. They just try to sell more tickets.”

Victoria Griffith, The Financial Times

3. Provocative Thinking

1. Can you explain why most early online sales operations failed?

2. Was it possible, from your viewpoint, to avoid these failures? If yes – how; if not – why not?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying things over the Internet?

4. Are you a consumer of Internet shopping facilities? If yes – what do you usually purchase; if not – why not?

5. Do you think that shopping over the Internet has a bright future ahead?

4. Each paragraph in this article has a heading. Your task is to choose the best heading from the list below and number them in the correct order. Mind that two of the headings are not used.

a. The history of online sales

b. Online sales of cars

c. Examples of successful online operations

d. Controlling costs is the secret of successful online sales

e. An example of successful online sales in air travel

f. An example of low-technology online sales

5. a) Word-matching

b) Translate these combinations in Russian and make your own sentences using at least 3 of the combinations above in each.

6. Explain the meaning of these words in English.

1. success – … 5. profitability – …

2. to train – … 6. in spite of – …

3. ordinary – … 7. author – …

4. computer system – … 8. store – …

7. Find the words and expressions from the article that mean nearly the same as the word(s) in italics.

a. The operation does not use a lot of expensive equipment.

b. There are now very advanced computers.

c. In spite of the disappearance of many dotcom companies, selling over the Internet is not dead.

d. There are two companies apart from Tesco that are making profit and making money.

e. It is possible for companies to do well online.

f. The important thing is to have reasonable objectives.

g. Successful online sales operations do not want to change completely the way the people buy things.

h. Profitable online sales companies do not try to please everybody.

8. Find synonyms to these words in the text.

1. bring, carry, deliver, get

2. storeroom, stockroom, depot, depository

3. gain, benefit, earning, income

4. aspiration, desire, dreams, goal

5. notable, outstanding, striking, unusual

6. humble, unpretentious, shy, reserved

7. vend, exchange, barter, trade

8. end, collapse, downfall, failure

9. immature, adolescent, juvenile, inexperienced

10. enlarge, expand, grow, raise

9.

a) Find all the irregular verbs in the text.

b) Give the three forms of them.

c) Make your own sentences incorporating two or more of the verbs you have found.

10. Fill in the prepositions if necessary.

1. … spite of good conditions, Mr. Clark didn’t sign … the contract.

2. Will you look … the list to see if we missed anything.

3. Mr. Johnson guaranteed that “Smoll” was one … the most reliable partners … this region.

4. After signing a really good contract the company was turning … a profit.

5. Our partners were looking … increase the sales … their revolutionary product.

KEY:

Ex. 4. a. 2; b. – (not used); c. – (not used); d. 3; e. 4; f. 1

Ex. 5. 1. h; 2. o; 3. a; 4. b; 5. m; 6. k; 7. g; 8. d; 9. f; 10. l; 11. n; 12. c; 13. i; 14. j; 15. e

Ex. 7. a. the operation is low-key; b. cutting-edge;
c. demise; d. turning profit, in the black; e. to thrive;
f. modest ambitions; g. revolutionize; h. to be all things to all people

Ex. 8. 1. to fetch; 2. warehouse; 3. profit; 4. ambition; 5. remarkable; 6. modest; 7. to sell; 8. demise; 9. young; 10. increase

Ex. 10. 1. in, –; 2. over; 3. of, in; 4. –; 5. to, of

Compiled by Alena Pavlova