II. Vocabulary in context text: new coke

1985 was not a good year for Coca-Cola. It marked one of the greatest marketing failures in history: the replacement of the original Coke formula with a new one, usually called "New Coke." The reaction of American consumers was so strong that the mighty company was almost brought to its knees.

The change was no small decision by Coca-Cola. For 99 years, the Coke formula had stayed the same. Yet, beginning in the 1970s, the company started losing market share to its biggest rival, Pepsi. By 1984, sales of Coke and Pepsi were almost even.

In response to these disturbing trends, Coca-Cola developed a new, sweeter formula. It held almost 200,000 taste tests, with mostly positive results. On April 23, 1985, the new formula hit the market. Many people liked the taste, but a growing number of consumers were upset that "their" Coca-Cola had been changed. Thousands of people wrote angry letters and telephoned the company, demanding that the original for­mula be brought back. In songs, TV shows, newspapers, and magazines, people expressed their unhappiness with New Coke. In the meantime, Pepsi took over as the top soft drink in the country. What happened? In blind taste tests, people preferred the new formula. What Coca-Cola did not consider was how strongly people were attached to the original taste and brand. Millions of consumers grew up drinking Coke, and they had fond memories of sharing the drink with friends and family members. In short, the original Coke was an important part of their lives, and people had an emotional attachment to the drink.

On July 10, less than three months after the release of New Coke, Coca-Cola admitted defeat and started selling the original formula (now called "Coca-Cola Classic") once again. Consumers were thrilled that such a large company had bowed to their wishes. They were also excited to have the old Coke back. Coca-Cola Classic quickly rose to the top spot in the "cola wars" of the 1980s. And so, even though New Coke was a terrible disaster, it actually strengthened people's loyalty to the Coca-Cola brand. This was one case where admitting a mistake was clearly the best thing to do.

Key words

Nouns: consumer disaster failure fond memories in the meantime market share rival Verbs: to admit to attach to be thrilled to bow to bring smb. to his knees to express to hit to release to take over

EXERCISE 9. MATCH THE WORD WITH THE DEFINITION

1. disaster 2. consumer 3. failure 4. rival 5. share

a) a person who buys goods b) one of two or more trying to get what only one can have c) something that causes much loss d) a portion belonging to one person e) lack of success

EXERCISE 10. FILL IN THE CHART WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORD FORMS FOR EACH VOCABULARY ITEM. (AN X IS BEEN PLACED IN THE BOX IF THERE IS NO RELATED FORM). USE A DICTIONARY TO HELP YOU IF YOU ARE NOT SURE. WRITE YOUR OWN SENTENCE WITH EACH WORD

NOUNS	VERBS	ADJECTIVES	ADVERBS
mark
	admit
		thrilling
			expressively
	attach
knee
	bow
		hitting
	release
disaster

EXERCISE 11. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE WORDS FROM THE TEXT

mistake	failure	express	market	prefer
decision	release	bow	company	defeat
drink	knees	thrill	attach	disturb

1. She made a ……… in counting on their help.

2. I wish to be ……… from my contract.

3. The handle is not very well ……… .

4. He ……… himself easily in French.

5. That is what ……… me, Mr Dermott.

6. Most glad of your ……… .

7. I always ……… tea from a glass.

8. We made the ……… to accept their offer.

9. What if you elect me and I'll turn out a ……… ?

10. There's no ……… for these goods.

11. At this time of day, I ……… tea to coffee.

12. Going to a party and being rowdy, dancing to very loud music, being driven in a very fast car, are all great ……… .

13. I have to ……… to a hatred of modern music.

14. He brought him to his ……… and then kicked him.

15. Take a tree and ……… it.

EXERCISE 12. TRANSLATE

1. Перше правило торгівлі – споживач завжди правий. 2. З нею сталося лихо, а ніхто навіть про це не знав. 3. Припускаю, що це правильно. 4. Вона приєдналася до щойно прибулих. 4. У кожному бізнесі неможливо обійтися без конкурентів. 5. П'єса провалилася, хоча в ній були задіяні великі актори. 6. Цей юнак взяв керування бізнесом на себе. 7. Велика частина ринку належала цій маленькій дівчинці. 8. Він повністю підкорив цю дівчину, вона нічого вже не могла із цим зробити. 9. Щось трапилось у нього на фірмі, поки він відпочивав на морі. 10. Ти не повинна коритися цьому чоловікові, ти маєш щось робити! 11. Дитина висловила невдоволення: їй дали кислу малину. 12. Британці дуже непокоїлися з приводу появи нової «Кока-Коли». 13. У багатьох із нас збереглися найтепліші спогади про дитинство. 14. Нарешті ми знайшли правильний шлях. 15. Його звільнили через його ж обіцянки. 16. Лихо трапилось, коли діти залишились вдома самі. 17. Кожен споживач обов’язково повинен знати свої права. 18. Ця красуня – поза конкуренцією. 19. ЇЇ батьки живуть в одній кімнаті з бабусею. 20. Припускаю, що всі куплені фрукти надто кислі.

EXERCISE 13. THE CONCEPT “THRILLING” CAN BE GRADED. SUGGEST YOUR GRADING IN VOCABULARY STEPS. EXPLAIN YOUR CHOICE

Thrilling: exciting, gripping, hair-raising, stirring, moving, stimulating

(Answers on page 138)

EXERCISE 14. FORM A SMALL GROUP. TALK ABOUT FOOD AND MEALS

REMEMBER
meal	an amount of food eaten at one time she cooks a hot meal in the evening
food	something solid for eating they gave us plenty of food, but there weren’t enough to drink
dish	cooked food of one kind baked apples are his favorite dish
course	any of the several parts of a meal he had a three-course dinner. The first course was soup

At what time do you have breakfast/dinner/supper? Where do you usually have breakfast/dinner/supper? What is your favourite meal (food, dish)?

EXERCISE 15. WORK WITH A PARTNER.TAKE TURNS DESCRIBING A DISH YOU LIKE TO EAT OR COOK, OR BOTH. USE THE INFORMATION FROM THE TABLE BELOW

Some cooking terms	Some ingredients
It’s cooked in a large pan. It’s baked in the oven. It’s fried in oil (bacon, eggs, potatoes, fish) It’s boiled (meat, potatoes, cabbage, eggs, milk) It’s roasted (meat, fowl, potatoes). It’s seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. It’s served with rice/pasta/vegetables. It’s stewed. We peel (slice, chop, grate, mince, layer)	fish beef chicken garlic hot peppers mustard vinegar onion cheese

EXERCISE 16. THIS RECIPE IS GOOD FOR THE LARGEST MEAL OF THE DAY. TRANSLATE IT INTO UKRAINIAN. DISCUSS YOUR FAVOURITE MAIN COURSE WITH A PARTNER. SHARE YOUR RECIPES