III. Complete the text with verbs from I.

 

Henry Ford, the son of farmer, was born in Greenfield, Michigan on July 30th, 1863. He (a)______school at 15 to work on his father’s farm, but in 1879 he moved to Detroit where he (b) ______ an apprentice in a machine shop. He returned to Greenfield after his father (c) ______ him 40 acres to start his own farm. He hated farming and returned to Detroit to work as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company.

He (d) ______ his spare time trying to build a petrol-driven motor car. In 1896 he (e) ______ his first car in the garden. He named the car Thin Lizzie, and it (f) ______ no reverse gear or brakes. Ford started two companies that ended in failure. Finally, in June, 1903 he (g) ______ 12 people ready to invest $28,000 in a new company. He (h)______ production of the Model A car. The car (i) ______ well, and by 1907 the profits reached $1,100,000.

In 1909 Ford decided to manufacture only one type of car, the Model T. At first it (j)______14 hours to assemble a Model T car. Ford reduced this to 1 hour 33 minutes. This (k)______the overall cost of each car and between 1908 and 1916 the selling price of the Model T (l)______from $1,000 to $360. In the 1920s the Ford Motor Company (m)______rapidly, and in 1925 Ford produced 60 per cent of America's total output of cars. Henry Ford died on April 7th, 1947.

IV. Find the words close in their meaning.

1. return 2. reduce 3. price 4. produce 5. production

a. manufacture b. output c. cut d. come back e. cost

 

V. Find the words opposite in their meaning.

1. rapid 2. leave 3. love 4. failure

a. hate b. slow c. success d. return

 

VI. Find the words as they occur together in the text.

1. machine 2. motor 3. reverse 4. invest 5. overall 6. selling 7. total 8. end in

a. price b. cost c. car d. money e. output f. shop g. failure h. gear

 

VII. Find the English equivalents in the text.

1. вкладывать (деньги) 2. производство, изготовление 3. доход 4. достигать 5. производить, выпускать 6. собирать

7. снижать 8. общие затраты 9. отпускная (продажная) цена 10. общий объем производства

 

VIII. Use the key words to speak about H. Ford.

30.07.1863      born, Greenfield, Michigan

15                      school → work

1879                 → Detroit, apprentice; engineer, petrol-driven motor car

1896                 first car “thin Lizzie”, no reverse gear, brakes

                      2 Coº → failure

06.1903           $ 28,000 → new Coº, Model A

1907                 only Model T

                          14 hours → 1 hour 33 min, $ 1,000 → $ 360

                          Coº grew

1925                 60% America’s total output

7.04.1947        died

 

The Mystery Man

 

Amancio Ortega is famous in business schools around the world and is one of the richest men in the world. At the same time, the founder and boss of Zara and Inditex, is almost unknown to the general public. Every 48 hours, somewhere in the world, the Inditex group opens a new store, but its boss has never appeared on television or given a newspaper interview. Amancio Ortega was born on 28 March, 1936. He grew up in the north-west of Spain, and his family was from a working-class background. He started his business life as a sales assistant in a local clothes shop. Then, in 1963, he set up a small lingerie business with his wife. The company did well, and the experience made Ortega think that it was essential to control every stage of the process from production to sales. This idea is central to the success of Inditex. Clothes makers usually produce their collections months in advance. They have to anticipate fashion trends. However, Inditex can manufacture new designs and get them into the stores in less than two weeks.

Its headquarters is in daily contact with its stores and knows exactly what is selling well. The group manufactures most of its own clothes. Production is in small batches. If an item doesn't sell, they stop making it. The shops never have unsold stock. Ortega has done something else unique in the fashion business. His company has sold its clothes all over the world without using any advertising at all. As the group has grown, so has interest in its boss. The Spanish press has published many stories about his art collections and his country mansions, but most of them are just rumours. It's difficult to say what is true, because the richest man in Spain is very discreet. He is not a typical businessman and for the head of a fashion empire, he doesn't seem very interested in clothes. In fact, he has worn a tie on just two occasions: his second wedding and when he met Juan Carlos, the King of Spain. This is the man who has founded what Daniel Piette, fashion director of the French luxury goods group LVMH, has called 'possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world'.

 

Read the words.

appear, lingerie, experience, essential, process, advance, anticipate, store, contact, manufacture, unique, advertising, mansion, rumours, discreet, empire, occasion, luxury, innovative, devastating, retailer

I. Find the words close in their meaning.

1. boss 2. public 3. set up 4. essential 5. trend 6. produce 7. store 8. discreet

a) central b) shop c) vogue d) people e) careful f) found g) manufacture h) head

 

II. Find the words opposite in their meaning.

1. famous 2. assistant 3. more 4. success 5. unimportant

a) failure b) boss c) unknown d) essential e) less

 

III. Make up word combinations.

1. general 2. sales 3. clothes 4. fashion 5. small 6. unsold 7. luxury 8. to set up

a) stock b) trend c) goods d) shop e) batch f) public g) a business h) assistant

 

IV. Correct mistakes.

bach sails fassion stok produse sucsess

asistent retiler lukshery edvertisng hedqwoters manufakcher

V. Find the English equivalents in the text.

1. учредить торговое предприятие 2. преуспевать, процветать 3. заранее 4. главное управление 5. партия (товара) 6. отдельный предмет 7. запас 8. реклама

9. слухи 10. случай 11. основывать 12. предметы роскоши 13. розничный торговец 14. предвидеть, предугадывать 15. производство 16. продажа

 

VI. Answer the questions.

1. Who is A. Ortega?

2. When and where was he born?

3. How did his career start?

4. Why is he successful?

5. How does Inditex work?

6. Why is the company unique?

7. Is A. Ortega a typical businessman? Why?

 

VII. Use the words to speak about A. Ortega and his business.

famous, the richest, the founder and boss, unknown, no interviews

28.03.36, Spain, working-class background

salesman, small business, control – success

Inditex: daily contact, manufacture, small batches, no unsold stock, no advertising

stories – rumours. Not a typical businessman, not interested in clothes, tie, discreet

VIII. Do the crossword.

1. партия 2. отдельный предмет 3. продавец 4. реклама 5. уникальный 6. предметы роскоши 7. производить

8. розничный торговец 9. запас 10. успех 11. направление, тенденция 12. магазин, склад 13.?

 

DREAMS

WHEN MIKE CLARE left college at 18 with a basic business diploma, he started working for a furniture shop in the beds department. Eventually, he became a manager, but when he was 35 and after 12 years working for someone else, he decided it was time to start his own business. He got a small loan and sold his car to raise some money and found a small shop which was in a terrible state but was cheap. He started the Sofabed Company in 1985 and within two years, he had three stores. After a while, he decided to concentrate only on beds because they take up less space and you can store more of them. He also found that beds were easier to sell because people are less concerned about the look of a bed than a sofa. He changed the name of the company to Dreams and has not looked back since.

Dreams has built its business on four main selling points: Choice, Price, Delivery and Comfort. This simple formula and Mike's enthusiasm have taken the business to over 150 superstores. Distribution has been the company's biggest challenge, and they now have a fleet of over 100 vans. They have also given a lot of special attention to customer service. When a Dreams driver delivers a bed, he puts on a special pair of slippers to avoid making a mess. 'The slippers cost us virtually nothing, but after a delivery it's all the customers can talk about,' explains Clare.

Dreams has established a reputation for quality and service and has won the Retailer of the Year prize three times. In 2005, it launched an online store and has recently opened its own bed factory. The company is still growing and it has branched out into the international market through franchising. Clare is optimistic about the future. 'It's not easy, and a lot of businesses do fail' he admits. 'But it's not as complicated as a lot of people think either.'

 

I. Make up word combinations.

1. own 2. raise 3. start 4. take up 5. a fleet of 6. customer 7. make 8. establish 9. launch 10. international

a. space b. market c. vans d. a mess e. money f. a store g. a reputation h. business i. service j. a company

 

II. Synonyms or antonyms? Mark the pairs of synonyms with the letter “s” and the pairs of antonyms with the letter “a”.

 

1. loan, credit                      ___

2. sell, buy                           ___

3. launch, set up                 ___

4. business, company       ___

5. easy, complicated         ___

6. fail, succeed                   ___

7. delivery, distribution     ___

8. customer, shop assistant ___

9. cost, price                        ___

 

III. Find the English equivalents in the text.

1. отдел 2. выбор 3. цена 4. доставка 5. удобство

6. проблема, вызов 7. качество 8. расширяться, ветвиться 9. торговец в розницу 10. лицензия на продажу товара

 

IV. Answer the questions.

1. How did Mike Clare start his career?

2. Why did he concentrate only on beds?

3. What are his main selling points?

4. What was the company’s biggest challenge? How did they solve the problem?

5. Have they established a good reputation? Prove your answer.

6. Are they doing well now? Prove your answer.