Просмотрите интервью с Кристофом Визентал, партнером венчурной фирмы «Коперника» и выберите правильный ответ.

1. When you consider new projects or new ideas, what do you look for?

A a product that will bring a return on investment in a short time

B a product that will have a large market

2. How long do you usually have to wait to get a return on investment?

A 1-3 years B 5-8 years C 12-15 years

3. What percentage of investments won’t make any return?

A 90 per cent B 50 per cent C 10 per cent

Questioner: What kinds of new technology does your firm usually invest in?

Christoph: Mostly we invest in IT – Information Technology. But about a third of our capital is invested in medical technologies.

Questioner: Is it better to support start-up companies or older companies?

Christoph: Obviously there’s a lot more risk with a start-up than with a company that is already running. With an older company, you can see if they have a strong management team and a good record of success.

Questioner: When you consider new projects or new ideas, what do you look for?

Christoph: We look for new products and new technology that will have a market. If it’s something people need to have, then lots of people will buy it. Take a medical product, for example. We ask what kind of disease it will treat. If it can treat a disease that is common, obviously,

the product will have a much larger market.

Questioner: Many people who look for venture capital are scientists or engineers. How much do they understand about business?

Christoph: Nowadays, top scientists know a lot about business. They are very aware of the importance of economic factors.

Questioner: How long do you usually have to wait to get a return on investment?

Christoph: The payback period is usually between five and eight years. But in the biotech sector, 15 years is quite normal.

Questioner: And – if I can ask you this – what percentage of your investments don’t give you any return on your investment?

Christoph: Venture capitalists expect that nine out of ten ventures won’t make any return. If all goes well, the tenth investment will make enough money to give us a profit overall.

2.2. Переведите диалог и ответьте, верны или неверны следующие утверждения:

1. Copernica invests most of its capital in Information Technology.

2. Christoph Wiesenthal says it is more risky to invest in older companies than in start-ups.

3. Top scientists do not usually have a good understanding of business.

III Modals of possibility

3.1. Посмотрите на примеры и заполните правила:

- Michael Laine hopes that he will complete a space elevator by 2018.

- Things will not be easy.

- Laine thinks the construction will cost between $7 and $10 billion.

- Nine out of ten ventures won’t make any return.

- In future, you may be able to take an elevator to space.

- The elevator could deliver one million kilos of material per year.

- Some people might beinterested in the new product – but not many.

- They may not finish the construction on time.

1. We use will / may to make predictions that we feel certain about.

2. We usually use will / may after think, hope and expect.

3. We use the modal verbs _________, __________ and __________ to make predictions that we are uncertain about and to express possibility.

4. The contraction he’ll is the same as _________ __________.

5. The contraction won’t is the same as _________ ___________.

3. 2. Образуйте предположения, используя положительную или отрицательную форму модальных глаголов: will, may, might или could.

1. In 2020, most people work from home (certain). 2. Most meetings take place via video (uncertain). 3. That means there is much less traffic on the road (certain). 4. Electric cars are common (uncertain). 5. People have more free time. (uncertain). 6. You carry your medical details on a chip under your skin (certain). 7. There isn’t enough oil to meet world demand (uncertain).

Заполните текст, используя модальные глаголы will, may, might или could.

Ted Foster hopes that he ¹_______be the first person to provide a private shuttle service to the moon. He’s currently working on the designs and expects that the first model ²__________ be ready to fly by 2020. He has already raised $50 million, so building a prototype ³_________ (not) be a problem. But he can’t be sure of raising enough money to complete the project: that ⁴___________ be much more difficult. Ted thinks the price of a ticket ⁵____________ be around $150 000 per trip. However, the price ⁶________ be as much as $250 000 per trip. At this price, it seems that there ⁷ __________ (not) be much demand for the service. Investors are worried that they ⁸___________(not) see a big return on their investment.