1. Complete the passage below using the appropriate words from the box.

audiences print media channels or stations data media

networks multimedia broadcasts press news

The business community relies on various ¹ to provide information, ² and ³ to its members. The ⁴ , which include newspapers, books and magazines, supply this in written form through the ⁵ and publishing companies. Radio and television ⁶ produce and distribute audio and audio-visual programmes or ⁷ which cover the main events and developments in business. Recently there has been considerable expansion of ⁸ businesses which now provide integrated media services containing sound, pictures and text to ⁹ around the world which can be accessed through ¹⁰ such as the Internet.

2. Read the text “a Man and his Information Machine” on page 145 of nIiB sb and answer the questions.

1. What are the evidences of Bloomberg’s ubiquity? 2. When and how was this multimedia empire founded? 3. What was Bloomberg network supposed to deliver to brokers? 4. How much do the subscribers pay a month today? 5. How does Bloomberg differ from Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner? 6. What is the attitude of the employees to their Big Boss? 7. What perks are there for the staff members? 8. What do calculators mask? 9. What is the problem with charging for services on the internet? 10. What kind of value does the company add to the data freely available on the web? 11. How does Bloomberg define the further direction for his company to grow? 12. What separates winners from the losers?

3. Read the text about Noah Samara on page 147 of nIiB sb and frame questions to which the following words and phrases provide the answers.

1. A new media concept. 2. To millions of people. 3. In Washington DC. 4. To use satelites. 5. That more than three hundred million listeners could soon be tuning in. 6. $50. 7. To get his business off the ground. 8. $850 m. 9. Most of the programming. 10. For subscribers. 11. A deal. 12. With Michael Bloomberg.

4. Listen to the dialogue “Making a Sales Call” and commentaries coming after it. Give English definitions to the words and expressions in bold print. Learn the dialogue by heart and dramatise it with a classmate.

Making a Sales Call

Last week, I was at a business luncheon and I met a woman named Dana Okri who was heading a new start up. I have been a sales rep for Eureka Corp. for three years now and our bread and butter is data management software . I told her briefly about our products over lunch and she had given me her card.

I decided to follow up with a call. I dialed her direct line and fortunately, I got a hold of her on the first try.

Dana: Hello, Dana Okri.

Kevin: Hello, Dana, this is Kevin Abrahams from Eureka Corp. I don't know if you'll remember me but we met last week at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Dana: Oh, yes. Hi, how are you?

Kevin: Great. Do you have a few minutes right now for me to tell you a little bit more about the data management tools our company has to offer? It won't take long .

Dana: Actually, I'm really swamped right now and I'll be going into a meeting in a few minutes. Is there any literature you can send me?

Kevin: Oh, sure, I understand. I'd be happy to send you a promotional packet about the programs that I think might best suit a company your size. Would it be okay if I called again to see if you have any questions?

Dana: Let's do this . Since I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to read the material, why don't I give you a call if I have any questions. Now, I'm really sorry, but I have to get going to this meeting.

Kevin: No problem at all. I won't keep you any longer. I'll put a package to you in the mail and we'll go from there .

Dana: Sounds good.

Kevin: Thanks for your time.

Dana: No problem. Bye, bye.

(From ESL Podcast 103.)

5. Listen to the dialogue “Corporate Spying”. Find synonyms to words and phrases in the dialogue (1-16) from words and expressions given below (a-p). Listen to the commentaries coming after the dialogue and check your answers.

Corporate Spying

Joachim: I'm really having second thoughts¹ about hiring a firm to do corporate spying² for us. I don't want to do anything that's ethically questionable³.

Dawn: We have no choice but to do it. All of our competitors conduct corporate espionage.

Joachim: I can understand spying on our competitors, but I draw the line at⁴ having us snoop on⁵ our own employees.

Dawn: We wouldn't unless our backs were against the wall⁶. I know you're thinking about Hewer Placket hiring investigators to find a leak⁷ in their company. I'm sure it was a hard decision for them, but they couldn't allow anyone in their own company to leak trade secrets⁸.

Joachim: True, it was necessary, but I don't like being deceptive⁹ with our own employees. I won't allow wiretaps¹⁰ or any invasion of privacy¹¹.

Dawn: Our first priority¹² would be damage control¹³, not privacy. In any case, we're not making a decision to spy within the company right now. We're only after our rival's¹⁴ information. The investigators we're hiring know the difference between legal and illegal spying. They'll schmooze¹⁵ at trade shows, scour¹⁶ legal records, and do other things like that. They'll know where to draw the line.

Joachim: I hope you're right. I don't want to end up on the front page of the Times!

(From ESL Podcast 412.)

Synonyms:

a. a competitor, a person or a company;

b. desire to reconsider a decision already taken;

c. first and most important thing we need to do;

d. listening secretly to your telephone conversations and recording them;

f. secret information about how you conduct business;

g. someone who is giving secret information to an outsider;

h. to be desperate, to have no other choice;

i. to have a casual informal conversation with other people in order to find information;

j. to lie;

k. to look through many things trying to find a very specific piece of information;

l. to regard smth as the last and extreme thing you are willing to do;

m. to spy on someone informally and not very seriously;

n. trying to find out as much as you can about another company including information that may not be publicly available;

o. violating your right to keep your personal information secret;

p. when you try to make a bad situation look better than it is.