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Exercises
1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following words and
phrases and use them in the sentences of your own:
торжественно открывать; отделяться; годовой оборот;
ассортимент продукции; значительно расширять; запланированные
для производства; производственное оборудование; подделка;
помещение; скидки; возместить затраты.
2. Find the opposites:
casual
considerable
fake
genuine
impeccable
innovative
invariable
permanent
separate
sophisticated
artificial
changeable
conservative
exquisite
insignificant
instantaneous
joint
original
shady
simple
3. Answer the questions
What does this group of companies consist of?
What is their structure?
What is it specialised in?
What was their response to the August crisis?
How often do they design a new collection?
What does a full-cycle company mean?
In what way do they advertise themselves?
In what countries do they have their shops?
What are the advantages of a franchising contract?
What are Tom Klaim’s prospects?
THE MAN WHO BROKE THE POUND
When George Soros was a child he thought he was God. Today he is a
legend: the Man who Broke the Pound, the ultimate gambler who bet $10
billion on Black Wednesday and won. Soros has also made his name as
the billionaire benefactor of the eastern bloc.
3. What are your initial feelings about George Soros? Do you
admire/dislike /or not feel strongly about him either way?
IBM
1890-1938: The early years
IBM was incorporated in the state of New York on June 15, 1911
as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. But its origins can be
traced back to 1890, during the height of the Industrial Revolution, when
the United States was experiencing waves of immigration. The U.S.
Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be
adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a
more efficient means of tabulating census data.
The winner was Herman Hollerith, a German immigrant and
Census Bureau statistician, whose Punch Card Tabulating Machine used
an electric current to sense holes in punch cards and keep a running total
of data. Capitalising on his success, Hollerith formed the Tabulating
Machine Co. in 1896.
In 1911, Charles R. Flint, a noted trust organiser, engineered the
merger of Hollerith's company with two others. The combined
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., or C-T-R, manufactured and sold
machinery ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorders
to meat and cheese slices and, of course, tabulators and punch cards.
Based in New York City, the company had 1, 300 employees and offices
and plants in 6 cities in the US and Canada.
When the diversified businesses of C-T-R proved difficult to
manage, Flint turned for help to the former No. 2 executive Thomas J.
Watson. In 1914, Watson, joined the company as general manager.
Watson adopted very effective business tactics: generous sales incentives,
an insistence on well-groomed, dark-suited salesmen and an evangelical
fervour for instilling company pride and loyalty in every worker. Watson
boosted company spirit with employee sports teams, family outings and a
company band. He preached a positive outlook, and his favourite slogan,
"THINK," became a mantra for C-T-R's employees. Watson also stressed
the importance of the customer, a lasting IBM tenet. He understood that
the success of the client translated into the success of his company, a
belief that, years later manifested itself in the popular adage, "Nobody
was ever fired for buying from IBM."
Within 11 months of joining C-T-R, Watson became its
president. The company focused on providing large-scale, custom-built
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