Vocabulary

Part II

to employ employer to attend to to train to identify relevant product matter to add file leaflet intelligent irate to complain defective to expect doubt knowledgeable

to give work to someone for payment. one who employs a worker. to give care and thought to. to give teaching and practice to somebody to do something. to say what something is. connected with what is being talked about. something produced by nature or by man. something to which attention is given. to increase. cover for keeping papers properly arranged. printed sheets of information for distribution. smart. angry. to state one’s dissatisfaction. having faults. to think that something will happen. uncertainty of mind. well-informed.

Explanations

Part III

1. An object has value (n) if it is useful.

This book is of great value to me.

Valuable (adj) means of great value, worth or use.

Shakespeare made a valuable contribution to English literature.

Valuation (n) is the process of deciding the value of something or somebody.

The Customs officer’s valuation of the car was below its market

value.

Valuables (usually plural) are things of great value, e.g. jewellery.

Hotel guests are required to deposit their valuables with the

hotel manager.

2. The public is the people as a whole. In public means openly – not in private. Public address system, often abbreviated to PA system, is a system of loudspeakers for making announcements in public places, e.g. in parks. Public assistance is help given to the poor by the government. A public nuisance is something that is injurious to the people, e.g. excessive noise. The term may also be applied to a person who makes a nuisance of himself. A public enemy is one thought to be a danger to the whole community.

3. To deal is to behave in a specified way toward another person. It also means to trade.

Deal courteously with your customers.

He wishes to deal in diamonds.

A dealer is a person engaged in buying and selling, e.g. a used-car dealer. In card games the person who distributes cards is also called a dealer. Dealings (usually in plural form) refer to business transactions.

He has a reputation for honest dealings.

4. Matter is something that is the subject of concern. It also means trouble or difficulty

What is the matter with Jane?

5. Literature is the word for writings in prose or verse. It also refers to any printed material for advertising or political purposes.

English literature is taught at the university.

Send me your literature on this machine.

Exercises

1. Answer the following questions.

1. What kind of organisations employ receptionists?

2. Why are their services valuable?

3. What information do enquirers seek from receptionists?

4. Where do receptionists get their information?

5. What are the qualities of a good receptionist?

2. Give the meanings of the following words.

1. Valuable. 2. Literature. 3. Product. 4. To complain. 5. Matter.

3. Give the word that fits the description.

1. To think that something will happen.

2. A person engaged in buying and selling.

3. To give care and thought to.

4. Having faults.

5. Uncertainty of mind.

4. Fill in the blanks with the derivatives of the word value.

1. This is a piece of jewellery of great ______ .

2. ______ things must be safely stored.

3. I want a ______ report on these goods.

4. The thief stole all their ______ .

5. Fill in the blanks with word combinations containing the word public.

1. When something is done openly, it is done ______ .

2. A system of loudspeakers for making public announcements is called a ______ .

3. A person who causes injury to the public may be called a ______.

4. If a person is poor he may approach the government for ______.

5. A person who is considered to be a danger to the people is a ______ .

Lesson 9

Accounts and business

Part I

Accounts have to be kept by every trading company. This requires the recording of sales, purchases, income and expenses of every description. It is an important aspect of the work as only the accounts will reveal the profit or loss of the business. Simple accounting records can be written up by a bookkeeper.

Accounting records include a sales book, a purchases book, a cash book, a ledger and a journal. An accountant can prepare the annual trading account, profit and loss account and the balance sheet from these books.

As large companies have many business transactions, their Accounts Department will attend to these matters. It will be under the charge of an accountant and he will be assisted by bookkeepers, clerks and typists.

The trading account will show the value of stocks on hand at the beginning and end of the year. It will also reveal the net purchases and sales. The cost of goods sold and gross profit can be calculated from this information.

The gross profit will be transferred to the right hand side of the profit and loss account. Other earnings such as commissions will be added to it. The expenses of managing the business will appear on the left hand side. The difference between the totals of the two sides is the net profit or net loss, depending on whichever is greater. In the illustration below the earnings are greater, hence there is a net profit.

Profit and loss account

for the year ended December 31, 1990

Salaries Rent Discount Allowed Printing and Stationery General Expenses Fire Insurance Net Profit

£ 360 150 55 45 68 12 670 £1360

Gross Profit Commission

£ 1340 20 £ 1360

The balance sheet is divided into two sides too. The assets are grouped on the right and the liabilities are on the left. This is a simple balance sheet of a sole proprietor. His assets comprise petty cash, cash at bank, debtors, stock on hand and office furniture. The amounts owing by the company to creditors and the proprietor are shown on the left hand side. The net profit will be added to this capital. If there is a loss, it will be deducted from it. Drawings are amounts taken by the proprietor for his living expenses.

Balance sheet as at December 31, 1990

Liabilities		Assets
Creditors Capital, B. Brown – Balance, 1 Jan. £ 900 Plus Profit 670 1570 Less Drawings 400	£ 330 1170 £ 1500	Petty Cash Cash at Bank Debtors Stock on Hand Office Furniture	£ 10 350 635 420 85 £ 1500