Unite 12

A vocabulary

Соmplete each sentence with a word from the box.

Managers, entrepreneurs, proprietorship, corporation, partnership, funds, stockholder, taxes, capital, liabilities, business, ability.

1. There are numerous reasons that make people think about owning a ___________ of their own.

2. About 50 percent of_________________start their businesses in industries in which they have some experience.

3. In a large business the tasks of organizing and operating are done by many hired ___________ .

4. The source of ___________for a proprietorship is usually the owner's own savings and loans from banks.

5. Of the three basic forms, the _____________ is the simplest and the most common form in many western countries.

6. A _______________ is a business organization that is owned by two or more persons to carry on a business for profit.

7. A limited partnership has one or more general partners who put up some capital, run the business and bear the ___________of the business.

8. Partners bring additional ____________ to a proprietorship.

9. A ______________ is a business organization created under a government charter.

10. A person who owns a stock certificate is called a._____________.

11. They have minimal legal restrictions and do not how to pay the special __________placed on corporations.

12. There are several advantages of the corporate form of ownership. The first is the __________ to attract financial resources.

Reading

Forms of business organization

There are numerous reasons that make people think about owning a business of their own. Personal independence, unlimited profit potential, the opportunity to work at something that they really love and at hours they choose are some of the reasons people have given for trying entrepreneurship. Many Colleges now offer programs that teach students how to start and operate a business. These programs help potential entrepreneurs decide whether their own ideas are good and how to follow through with them. About 50 percent of entrepreneurs start their businesses in industries in which they have some experience. Evidence shows that people who come from families whose members were in business themselves are more likely to start their own companies.

Small businesses face many problems. In January, 1985 the National Federation of Independent Business reported that the four top problems facing small business at that time were taxes, slow sales, the high cost of borrowing money and competition from other businesses. In a large business the tasks of organizing and operating are done by many hired managers.

A business may be privately owned in three different forms. These forms are a sole proprietorship, a partnership and a corporation. Proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations have certain advantages and disadvantages.

Of the three basic forms, the proprietorship is the simplest and the most common form in many western countries. The legal procedures for starting a proprietorship are limited to registering the company's name. The source of capital for a proprietorship is usually the owner's own savings and loans from banks. Sole proprietors own all the profits of their enterprises, and they are their «own bosses», free to make whatever changes they please. They have minimal legal restrictions and do not how to pay the special taxes placed on corporations. Sole proprietors also have opportunity to achieve success and recognition, through their individual efforts.

There are also disadvantages. A very serious one is the unlimited liability that each proprietor faces. All debts and all problems associated with the business belong to the owner. A second disadvantage of the sole proprietorship is that it has limited capital. The money that a proprietor can raise is limited by the amount of his or her savings and ability to borrow. Also, when the owner dies, the business dies. Other disadvantages may include lack of opportunities for employees, limitations of size and lack of management resources.

To avoid the problem of unlimited liability a special form of or­ganization known as the limited partnership is used. A partnership is a business organization that is owned by two or more persons to carry on a business for profit. A limited partnership has one or more general partners who put up some capital, run the business and bear the liabilities of the business. The limited partners are in much the same position as stockholders in a corporation. There may be a silent partner as well - a person who is known to the public as a member of the firm but with­out authority in management. Limited partnerships are a common form of ownership in real es­tate, oil prospecting, quarrying industries, etc.

Partnerships offer certain advantages over sole proprietorships:

- Partners bring additional funds to a proprietorship.

- Partners can bring fresh ideas and talents to business organizations.

- Like the sole proprietorship, partnerships are relatively easy to form and are not subject to special taxation.

Partnerships have the following disadvantages:

- In many cases, each of the partners is subject to unlimited liability. Partners are individually responsible for all the debts of the business. In other words, if the business were to fail, its creditors would have the right to recover their money from any, or all, of the partners.

More capital can be raised by bringing in partners or by incorpo­rating. A corporation is a business organization created under a government charter. Ownership of a corporation is represented by shares of stock . Their shares of ownership are represented by stock certificates. A person who owns a stock certificate is called a stockholder. One feature of the corporation is that the courts-treat it as a legal «person». It can, for example, sue or be sued and enter into contracts, and it must pay taxes.

There are several advantages of the corporate form of ownership. The first is the ability to attract financial resources. The next advan­tage is that the corporation attracts a large amount of capital and it can invest it in plants, equipment and research. And the third advantage is that a corporation can offer higher salaries and thus attract talented managers and specialists.

The privately owned business corporation is one type of corpora­tion. There are some other types too. Educational, religious, charitable institutions can also incorporate. In some western countries, cities, states federal government and special agen­cies can establish governmental corporations. There are some other types of business organizations. They are: the corporation for small business, not-for-profit corporation, government-owned corporations, cooperatives and franchises

B Comprehension

Now read the text again and decide whether these statements are true or false.

1. Nowadays people don't think about owning a business of their own. T□ / F□

2. Taxes, slow sales, the high cost of borrowing money and competition from other businesses are the main problems of small business. T□ / F□

3. The owner's own savings is the only source of capital for a proprietorship. T□ / F□

4. A stockholder is a person who owns a stock certificate. T□ / F□

5. Stockholders and the limited partners have the same position in their business organisations. T□ / F□

6. Sole proprietors have minimal legal restrictions and do not how to pay the special taxes placed on corporations. T□ / F□

7. The courts treat all business organizations as the legal forms of business. T□ / F□

Grammar: Past Simple or Present Perfect

What has happened in these situations?

1. Jack had a beard. Now he hasn't got a beard. ...He has shaved off his beard,..

2. Linda was here five minutes ago. Now she's in bed. She....................................

3. The temperature was 25 degrees. Now it is only 17. The temperature......................

4. The light was off. Now it is on. Somebody...................................................

5. The tree was only three metres high. Now it is four. The tree...................................

6. The plane was on the runway a few minutes ago. Now it is in the air. The plane....................

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form, present perfect or past simple.

1. 'Where's your key?' 'I don't know. I 've it.' (lose)

2. I ... was very tired, so I lay down on the bed and went to sleep. (be)

3. Mary........................................to Australia for a while but she's back again now. (go)

4. 'Where's Ken?' 'He.....................................out. He'll be back in about an hour.' (go)

5. I did German at school but I...................................................most of it. (forget)

6. I meant to phone Diane last night but I....................................................(forget)

7. I...................................................a headache earlier but I feel fine now. (have)

8. Look! There's an ambulance over there. There.................................an accident, (be)

9. They're still building the new road. They................................................it. (not/finish)

10. 'Is Helen still here?' 'No, she...................................................out.' (just/go)

11. The police..........................................three people but later they let them go. (arrest)

12. Ann...........................me her address but I'm afraid I.............................it. (give, lose)

13. Where's my bike? It........................outside the house. It...................(be, disappear)!

14. What do you think of my English? Do you think I.....................................? (improve)

Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

1. Do you know about Sue? She's given up her job. ………..RIGHT

2. The Chinese have invented printing. ………WRONG: The Chinese invented...

3. How many plays has Shakespeare written?.....................................................

4. Have you read any of Shakespeare's plays? ...........................................................

5. Aristotle has been a Greek philosopher......................................................................

6. Ow! I've cut my finger. It's bleeding.............................................................................

My grandparents have got married in London......................................................

8 Where have you been born? .....................................................................

9 Mary isn't at home. She's gone shopping.................................................

10 Albert Einstein has been the scientist who has developed the theory of relativity.....

Put the verb into the most suitable form, present perfect or past simple.

1 A: Look! Somebody ...has split... (spill) coffee on the carpet.

B: Well, it ...wasn't... (not/be) me. I ...didn't do... (not/do) it.

2 A: Ben...................................................(break) his leg.

B: Really? How...................................................(that/happen)?

A: He...................................................(fall) off a ladder.

3 A: Your hair looks nice....................................................(you/have) a haircut?

B: Yes.

A: Who.............................. (cut) it? ......................... (you/go) to the hairdresser?

B: No, a friend of mine...................................................(do) it for me.

Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

1. I've lost my key. I can't find it anywhere.....RIGHT..

2. Have you seen the news on television last night?... WRONG:. Did you see..

3. I've bought a new car. Do you want to see it? ............................................................

4. I've bought a new car last week..............................................................................

5. Where have you been yesterday evening?................................................................

6. Jenny has left school in 1991.........................................................................

7. I'm looking for Mike. Have you seen him? ..................................

8. I'm very hungry. I haven't eaten anything today....................................................

9. Diane hasn't been at work yesterday.........................................................................

10. When has this book been published?...................................................................

Make sentences from the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or past simple.

1. (it / not / rain / this week) ....It hasn't rained this week....

2. (the weather / be / cold / recently) The weather...................................................

3. (it / cold / last week) It..................................................................................

4. (1/ not / read / a newspaper yesterday) I.....................................................

5. (I / not / read / a newspaper today) ................................................................

6. (Ann / earn / a lot of money / this year) ..........................................................

7. (she / not/ earn/ so much / last year) ...............................................................

8. (you / have / a holiday recently?) .........................................................................

Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple.

1. I don't know where Amy is.....Have you. seen (you/see) her?

2. When I.......(get) home last night, I......(be) very tired and I.........(go) straight to bed.

3. Your car looks very clean....................................................(you/wash) it?

4. George...................................................(not/be) very well last week.

5. Mr Clark.................................(work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.

6. Molly lives in Dublin. She............................................(live) there all her life.

7. .......(you/go) to the cinema last night?' 'Yes, but it ........(be) a mistake. The film.........(be) awful.'

8. My grandfather............(die) 30 years ago. I..........................(never/meet) him.

9. I don't know Carol's husband. I...........................(never/meet/him).

10. A: Where do you live? B: In Boston.

A: How long.............................................(you/live) there? B: Five years.

A: Where................................................ (you/live) before that? B: In Chicago.

A: And how long......................................(you/live) in Chicago? B: Two years.

Write sentences about yourself using the ideas in brackets.

1. (something you haven't done today) ...l haven't eaten any fruit today...

2. (something you haven't done today) .....................................................

3. (something you didn't do yesterday).......................................................................

4. (something you did yesterday evening) ...............................................................

5. (something you haven't done recently) ...........................................................

Grammar: the Past Perfect Tense

I/YOU/WE/HE/SHE/IT/THEY HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE

We use Past Perfect if we want to talk about the things that happened before another action happened.

He showed me the car he had bought in Kiev.

I didn’t know who she was. I had never seen her before.

Exercises

Read the situations and write sentences from the words in brackets.

1. You went to Jill's house but she wasn't there, (she / go / out) ...She had gone out.... You went back to your home town after many years. It wasn't the same as before.

(it / change / a lot) .......................................................

2. I invited Rachel to the party but she couldn't come.

she / arrange / to do something else)..........................................................

3. You went to the cinema last night. You arrived at the cinema late.

(the film / already / begin)..................................................................

4. I was very pleased to see Tim again after such a long time.

(I / not/see /him for five years)..................................................................

5. I offered Sue something to eat but she wasn't hungry.

(she /just/have / breakfast) .......................................................

Read the situations and write sentences ending with before. Use the verb given in brackets.

The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. It was his first flight, (fly) ... He had never flown, before or He hadn't flown before,.

1. A woman walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me.

I (see).............................'.....................................................before.

2. Simon played tennis yesterday. He wasn't very good at it because it was his first game.

He (play)..........................................................................................

3. Last year we went to Denmark. It was our first time there.

We (be).....................................................................................

Put the verb into the correct form, past perfect (I had done etc.) or past simple (I did etc.).

1. "Was Tom at the party when you arrived?' 'No, he ...had gone... (go) home.'

2. I felt very tired when I got home, so I..............................(go) straight to bed.

3. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody......................... (go) to bed.

4. Sorry I'm late. The car...................................................(break) down on my way here.

5. We were driving along the road when we................................ (see) a car which (break) down, so we........................................ (stop) to see if we could help.