Ex 1.4. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

Office workers “admit being rude”

MOST office workers say they are rude or bad-mannered at work. Two out of three workers regularly arrive late for meetings, most ignore emails and three out of four use bad language. In a survey of 1,000 workers, two-thirds say that pressure of work is the reason for their bad manners.

Other common examples of bad office etiquette include ignoring colleagues and answering mobile phone calls during meetings. Using mobile phones in meetings is impolite, distracts others, research by the University of Survey shows. If you respond to a call when speaking to somebody, it means that the phone call is more important than the person, the survey said. If you answer a call during a meeting, it could mean that you think the meeting is not important.

Mr. Jacobs, a managing director of Office Angels, a recruitment firm, says it is easy for people to forget their manners in the working environment, which is often very informal and very busy. Workers can forget proper etiquette such as introducing people at meetings, and this is often bad for working relationships.

Psychologist Dr Colin Gill believes that people are not as polite as they were twenty years ago. He said: “Courtesy is no longer something that is so much respected in our society.” People think it is “stuffy to be polite or formal.”

Now some organizations are actually investing money in training their junior managers to be polite. Office Angels is encouraging people to arrive on time for meetings, turn off mobile phones and avoid bad language. “Avoiding bad manners at work is such a simple thing to do,” Mr. Jacobs says, “and it can have a dramatic impact on improving your working environment and your relationships with others.”

Vocabulary:

distract – отвлекать внимание

stuffy – нудный, скучный, старомодный

Ex 1.5. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What reason do office workers give for their bad manners?

2. Why is it impolite to answer a mobile phone during a meeting?

3. Are people today more polite than they were 20 years ago?

4. What are some organizations doing to improve workers’ manners?

5. What are the benefits of avoiding bad manners at work?

Ex 1.6. Заполните в тексте пропуски словами:

admit avoid ignore introduce invest improve respond

A recruitment firm gives this advice to new workers:

2. … are people very competitive?

3. … are things changing?

Ex 4.2. Прочитайте и переведите тексты.

Sydney

We in Sydney are very easy-going and relaxed about rules. But we work hard. We start work pretty early in the morning. Breakfast meetings are common, starting at 8 am. And we like to start meetings on time – so it’s important not to be late! We’re generally very informal. Men often wear a jacket and tie during office hours. But we prefer informal clothes when the weather’s hot. For lunch, we usually go out for a sandwich. What do we talk about? Well – it isn’t difficult to talk to Australians – we’re very friendly people. But it helps a lot if you can talk about sport.

London

Most people that I know don’t like to start work early. We hate breakfast meetings! People are always in a hurry – so being on time for meetings is important. People think the British are very formal. But thins are changing. I think we’re quite informal nowadays. Some men still wear formal business suits – but a lot of people come to work in casual clothes. Lunch is often a quick sandwich and a coffee. After work we like to go to the pub with colleagues. At the pub you can talk about anything you like!

New York

Life in New York is fast and dynamic. Some people say that we’re rude. I don’t mean to be rude – I just don’t have much time for being polite! Work starts early in the morning – breakfast meetings start at 7 am – don’t be late! Most people dress in suits for business – it’s important to look smart. A lot of people eat at their desk at lunchtime. But if we go to a restaurant, we talk business right through lunch. We don’t talk about the food. People are very competitive and work always comes first!

Ex 4.3. Заполните таблицу, пользуясь текстами:

	Sydney	London	New York
Breakfast meetings	Common – 8 am
Punctuality		important
Dress
Lunch
What do people talk about outside work?			business

Ex 4.4. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Are business people in your country easy-going or more formal?

2. What do they usually wear?

3. Do most business people in your country have a long lunch at a restaurant or do they eat a quick sandwich?

V. ПРЕДЛОЖЕНИЯ И ПРОСЬБЫ (offers and requests)

Ex 5.1. Изучите таблицу и ответьте на вопросы внизу:

Offers	Responses
Can Ihelp you? Let mecarry your bags for you. Would you likea coffee? Do you wantsome sugar? I couldmake a copy for you.	Yes, I’m looking for Mr Jones. Thanks – that’s very kind of you. Not just now, thanks. I don’t take sugar, thanks. Thanks, but I don’t really need one.
Requests	Responses
Can youphone me tomorrow? Could I havesome water, please? Would you pleasecheck the figures? Could yougive me some directions, please?	It’s a bit difficult. I’m very busy. Yes, of course.   Yes, no problem.   I’m sorry. I don’t know this place very well.

Обозначьте «галочкой» наиболее неформальные выражения в каждой группе таблицы.

2. Обозначьте «минусом» ответы, которые означают «нет». Какие слова в английском языке мы иногда используем, чтобы избежать ответа «нет»?