BUSSINESS ENGLISH

A. BIZ COMMUNICATION. Choose the sentence or phrase that would be most appropriate in each
situation.(10 MCQs A - J)
1. You are writing a letter to the headteacher of a school or college, but you don't know their
name. How do you begin your letter?
A. Dear headteacher
B. Dear Sir/Madam
C. Dear Sir
2. You have received a letter from the manager of a company which buys computer components
from your company, and you are now replying. What do you say?
A. Thank you for your letter.
B. Thanks a lot for your letter.
C. It was great to hear from you.
3. You recently stayed in a hotel and were very unhappy with the service you received. You are
now writing to the manager. What do you say?
A. I had a horrible time at your hotel recently.
B. I would like to say that I am unhappy about your hotel.
C. I would like to complain about the service I received at your hotel recently.
4. You have sent a letter of application to a college, together with your curriculum vitae which
the college requested. What do you say in the letter to explain that your curriculum vitae is
attached?
A. You asked for my curriculum vitae, so here it is.
B. As you can see, I've enclosed my curriculum vitae.
C. As you requested, I enclose my curriculum vitae.
5. You have applied for a job, but you would like the company to send you more information.
What do you say?
A. I would be grateful if you would send me more information.
C. Send me some more information, if you don't mind.
B. I want you to send me more information.
6. In a letter you have written to a company, you tell them that you expect them to reply. What do you
say?
A. Write back to me soon, please.
B. Please drop me a line soon.
C. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
7. In a letter you have written, you want the recipient to do something and are thanking them in
advance of their action. What do you say?
A. Thank you for your attention in this matter.
B. Thanks for doing something about it.
C. I am gratified that you will take appropriate action.
8. The company you work for has received an order from another company and you are writing to them
to acknowledge the order and let them know when you can deliver. What do you say?
A. About the order you sent on 12 January for....
B. I would like to remind you of the order you sent on 12 January for...
C. I refer to your order of 12 January
9. In a letter, you explain that the recipient can contact you if they want more information. What do you
say?
A. Give me a call if you want some more information.
B. If you would like any more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
C. If you would like any more information, why not get in touch?
10. You began a letter with the recipient's name (e.g., Dear Mr. Perrin). How do you end the letter?
A. Yours faithfully
B. Yours sincerely
C. Best wishes
11. You did not begin the letter with the recipient's name (Dear Sir/Madam). How do you end the letter?
A. Yours faithfully
B. Yours sincerely
C. Best wishes

B.VOCABULARY. Choose the correct answer (10 MCQs - 4 options ea)

Unit 18
1. I think one industry that definitely has a bright future is …
2. Recent developments in ... open up all kinds of exciting opportunities
3. All the indication are that we're going to see…
4. I think we're about to enter an era of …
5. As far as I can see , …is still a very long of way
6. As far as …is concerned, we can't exclude the possibility that…
7. I think the long-term prospects for…are…
8. I think the…facing the bleakest future is …
9. I believe we may be on the verge of discovering …
10. The outlook for anyone involved in the... business is uncertain.
11. There seems to be political change on the horizon in…
12. It's difficult to tell what lies in store for …
13. B2B: Business to business
14. B2C: Business to consumer
15. B2E: Business to employee
16. C2C: Customer to customer
17. People who think like you: like-minded people
18. Based on styles of the past: retro fashion
19. Mentally and emotionally stable: being “grounded”
20. Contributing to society in some way: giving back
21. Take a less well-paid but less pressured job: downshifting to simpler lives
22. When customers get angry with companies: consumer backlash
23. Customers refusing to buy a product in protest: boycotts
24. A secure place: a safe haven
25. Employees are able to change when they work: flexitime schedules
Unit 15
1. Mentor: tutor, coach
2. Mountain of work: a large amount of work
3. Around the clock: all day and all night without stopping
4. Recharge your batteries: take a break
5. Multitasking: do more than one thing at a time
6. Putting in longer hours: working more than the usual amount of hours
7. Impact: have a strong effect on s.o/sth
8. Exhaustive research: very thorough and complete
9. Turn things around fast: change in a positive direction
10. Back on track: to correct the problems and return to the plan.
11. Has any bearing: have an effect or influence on s.o/sth
12. Bond: union, alliance
13. Bonus: prize, reward
14. Throw a blowout bash: hold an cost/faboulous party
15. Sponsor: provide funds for
16. Paternalistic: tính gia trưởng
17. Consensus: tính nhất trí
18. Autocratic: chuyên quyền, độc đoán
19. Meritocratic: chế độ nhân tài
Unit 11
1. Game plan: strategy
2. The major players: the most important companies
3. A level playing field: a fair situation
4. Play hardball: get tough
5. Hit our targets: achieved our objectives
6. Call the shots: have the power
7. Kick off: to start, begin
8. Touch base: briefly make or renew contact with someone
9. Take it on the chin: accept trouble calmly
10. The ball’s in their court: it's someone else's turn to make a move
11. Score an own goal: make mistake that help the opposite of what you intended
12. Metaphor: ẩn dụ
13. On target: make good progress and likely to achieve what you planned.
14. Fall behind…: lose ground to…
15. Match…: catch up with…
16. (Stay) ahead of…: leave…behind
17. Overtake…: pass…
18. Product innovation: come up with /produce new products
19. Benchmarking: compare with/measure up to…
20. Customer service: look after/take care of our cilents
21. Niche marketing: smaller, specialist markets >< Mass marketing
22. Lead times: speed up/ accelerate our delivery processing
23. Diversification: bring out/launch a much wider range of products.
24. Cost-cutting: bring down/reduce our overheads
25. Differentiation: stand out from/be different from…
26. Brand-stretching: use our name on the other products
27. Look into…: investigate
28. Break into…: penetrate
Unit 7
1. Procrastination: the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks
2. Team spirit: a feeling of friendship and loyalty between members of a group
3. Conflict resolution: a number of methods for settling disputes between people
4. In-fighting: disagreements between members of the same group or team
5. Can-do attitude: a willingness to try new things and make them successful
6. Hotshots: extremely successful, ambitious, usually young business people
7. The right chemistry: good compatibility between group members
8. Technical expertise: know-how; knowledge of one's job
9. Intellectual capital: the combined knowledge and skills of employees
10. Buy-in: support for an idea from other people e.g. bosses, customers
11. Group effort: the effect of working together as a team
12. Strong in adversity: nghịch cảnh
13. Slow to take initiative: sáng kiến
14. Verbose: dài dòng, lắm lời
15. A crisis: cơn khủng hoảng
16. Articulate: diễn đạt rõ ràng
17. Argumentative: thích tranh cãi
18. Sceptical: hoài nghi, đa nghi
19. Confrontational: chống đối
20. Courteous: polite, respectful
21. No sense of urgency: không có vẻ gấp rút
22. Hot on the details: theo sát các chi tiết
23. Persuasive: có sức thuyết phục
24. Vague about details: chưa nắm vững các chi tiết
25. Diplomatic: có tính cách ngoại giao
26. Averse to conflict: không thích sự xung đột
27. Doers: người hành động
28. Blunt: lỗ mãng
29. Cohesive unit: a an efficient tightly formed group
30. Constrains: limits or controls
31. Tune into: aware of
32. Synergy: the combined effectiveness of teams
33. Blured: unclear
34. Friction: disagreement or bad feeling between people
35. Maintain momentum: the speed you've built up
36. Command-and-control method: leader who makes decisions and gives instructions
37. Status: problems with and arguments about seniority
38. Feedback: information that tells you how well you're doing
39. In touch with: in contact with
40. Trial and error method: trying different methods until you succeed
41. Stroke of genius: sudden inspiration or good idea
42. Conectivity: being in contact with others via the Internet
Unit 3
1. CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
2. Accountability: describe a company's acceptance of its responsibilities.
3. A stakeholder: anyone who affects or is affected by a company's operations.
4. Renewable: generated from natural resources which can be replaced
5. Carbon footprint: the impact on the environment by the emission of CO, gases.
6. Fair trade: supports small producers in developing countries by offering favourable terms.
7. Diversity: the visible and non-visible differences between people, especially employees.
8. Green tech: more energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly technological appliances.
9. Compliance: the act of adhering to a prescribed legal code of conduct.
10. Social capital: a measure of the ability of people to work together for a common purpose in groups and
organisations.
11. Triple bottom line: the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity.
12. Transparency: describe a company's openness about its business practices and accounts
13. Shareholder: an individual or organisation that owns stock in a company
14. Recyclable: used goods that can be processed for reuse
15. Carbon neutrality: achieving a net zero carbon footprint by offsetting the effect of CO2 emissions (eg. by
paying into a tree planting fund)
16. Ethical trade: commercial trade in compliance with non-financial, as well as financial, standards eg. labour
conditions
17. Biodiversity: the number and variety of plant and animal species in their natural environment
18. Green tech: technological innovations with the objective of reducing our impact on the environment
19. Governance: the activity of leading and administering a company
20. Social entrepreneurship: change agents who use entrepreneurial skills and approaches to address social
problems
21. Bottom line: the amount of profit or loss after all the accounts have been calculated
22. Underscore: emphasise
23. Foremost: main
24. Inexorable: inescapable
25. Margins narrowing: profits getting smaller
26. Rampant: widespread
27. Frugality: economising, reduce one's expenses
28. Doling out: distributing
29. Drained: empty
30. Downturn: recession, suy thoái
31. Upturn: recovery
32. Followed through: continued
33. Troubled: politically / economically unstable
34. Sustain: support
35. Thrive: do well
36. Tackle: deal with
37. Hand all the accountability: give all the responsibility
38. Ngos: non-governmental organisations
39. Absolve yourself of responsibility: claim it's not your responsibility

C.WRITING. Write a piece of biz correspondence (e.g. an email)

Inquiry
1. How you got the contact: We met last Thursday on your stand at the Munich Trade Fair.
2. Something about your company, and why you are writing: We are a distributor of kitchen products in Hungary.
We are interested in …
3. General request for information: Please send us information about your product range, including a price list.
4. Other specific/unusual questions: Could you also provide details of your delivery times, and whether there is
any minimum order.
5. Close, perhaps including a reference to future business: I look forward to an early reply, and am sure that there
is a market for your products here in Hungary.
Reply
1. Thanks, referring to the date: Thank you for your email of 4 June inquiring about our products./Thank you for
your letter of April 5.
2. Say what you are attaching: I am attaching our current catalogue and price list as a pdf file./Please find enclosed
a cheque for…/I have pleasure in enclosing…
3. Highlight one or two key points: You will note that our line of MagicMix food processors is on special offer.
4. Answer any specific questions: We dispatch the goods within 24 hours of a firm order, and for first-time
customers our minimum order is €5,000.
5. Close, saying you are ready to answer any other questions: If you need any further information, please do not
hesitate to contact me/Do not hesitate to contact us if you need any assistance.

Reply to a complaint:
6. Opening: With reference to your letter of 23 March,.../Thank you for (your) .../Further to your complaint
about…
7. Explaining: I am afraid there was a mix-up over your order.
8. Promising action: The goods will be sent by special delivery.
9. Apologising: We would like to apologise for the problem you have./Once again our apologies for the
inconvenience you have had.
10. Closing: We very much hope that you will continue to do business with us.

Layout:
1. Sender’s address: Lindcom UK 30 Burrard Street Brentford TW9 2AK
2. Reciever’s address: Mr Donald Strachan The Morningside College 13 Buccleuch Avenue Edinburgh EH4 7BG
3. Date: 23 March

4. Salutation: Dear Mr Strachan

5. Inquiry/Reply
6. Ask for response: We look forward to hearing from you./We would be grateful for a reply as soon as
possible./We hope to hear from you soon.
7. Close: Yours sincerely
8. Signature: S Lowles
9. Full name, jobtitle: Sue Lowles, Deputy Manager Lindcom UK

Sample of email:
1. Inquiry
Dear Sir/Madam
I would like, if possible, to reserve for the nights of 7 and 8 December for two more delegates attending our Sales
Conference. Their names are Charles Bickford and Claire Ramal. Preferably, the reservations should be for
executive-grade rooms.
I would be grateful if you could let me know by return if you can accomodate them.
My apologize for the short notice.
Lynn Paul
PA to Diane Taylor
2. Invitation
Dear Mr. Boldt
We would like to invite you to our annual dinner on 15 February, and wonder if you would consider being one of
our guest speakers.
Our theme this year is 'The effects of the euro', and we would appreciate a contribution from your field of
manufacturing on how this is affecting you and your colleagues enterprises.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are able to speak.
Enclosed you will find a formal Invitation for yourself and a guest.
Yours sincerely
Peter House
Chairman

3. Reply
Dear Mr. House
Thank you for your letter inviting me to speak on 15 February at your annual dinner.
I am honoured to accept your kind invitation.
I would like to focus on the effects that the euro is having on the cost of raw materials in my talk
I will send you a transcript next week and would welcome any comments or suggestions you care to make .
I look forward very much to meeting you on February 15.
Yours sincerely
Gunther Boldt
Chairman