Reading Comprehension

Good writers lead the reader along so that the reader will be convinced by their logical presentation. A good reader should think about what is coming next. He should be able to anticipate (guess) the information which a writer will present in his next sentence. If the reader is prepared for what the writer is about to say, then it will be easier for the reader to pay attention to the passage and remember what he has read. As in listening, certain words serve to indicate what is coming next. For example, if the first sentence in a paragraph says, "Entrepreneurship involves (includes) several important activities...," you should expect that the author will explain what those activities are in the next sentences.

F: Comprehension questions

Read the following questions and think about them as you read Paragraph 7. Try to anticipate what the author is about to say. Then answer the questions about entrepreneurship.

1. How does the entrepreneur initiate business?

2. How does he manage the business?

3. How many activities of entrepreneurship does the author mention?

4. What did you expect Paragraph 8 to explain?

G: Anticipating information

Anticipate what you would expect to find following these sentences and list this information after each one.

1. When a company goes bankrupt, it causes problems for many
people.

2. But the entrepreneur takes the biggest risk of all.

3. If he is skillful and lucky, he will make a good profit.

Vocabulary Review: Rephrasing

Rewrite the following sentences. Replace the words in italics with expressions from the text which have the same meaning.

H: Rephrasing expressions

1. Everyone connected with a business takes a chance.

2. When a company defaults on its debts, it causes problems for many people.

3. Workers may have to seek employment elsewhere.

4. The owner of the business takes the greatest risk.

5. People to whom the company owes money may lose.

Writing

I: Writing a paragraph

Write a paragraph about the four basic factors of business. Your first sentence should be a topic sentence. It should state what the four basic factors are. Then you should write two sentences about each of the factors. You should discuss the factors in the same order in which they were presented in the lesson. However, do not copy exactly from the lesson.

Oral Practice

Debate

Resolved: Business being essential for all economies, any society that does not put the needs of business first cannot be successful. (Present the argu­ments for and against this statement. These should be oral presentations which have been assigned, researched, and prepared in outline form in advance of the actual debate.)

Glossary for Lesson One

Basic Factors in Business

Accounting: a system of recording and summarizing business and financial transactions and analyzing, verifying, and reporting the results.

You did not receive the proper payment due to an accounting error.

Agriculture: farming, raising livestock, producing crops. Agriculture is an important industry in California.

Bankrupt: unable to pay one's debts and legally freed from the responsibility of paying them.

After suffering losses for years, the business finally went bankrupt.

Bond: an interest-bearing certificate of public or private indebtedness.

Both the government and utility companies borrow money by issuing bonds.

Capital: money or property and equipment used for production.

The company can raise capital by issuing new stock.

The company has made capital improvements by purchasing new machinery and equipment.

Creditor: one to whom the business owes money.

If the company has a successful year and good profits, they will be able to pay their creditors.

Debt: an amount of money which must be paid to someone.

By selling his business, he was able to pay off all his debts.

Distributing: refers to transportation, storage, and delivery of products from the point of production to the place where they can be sold.

The products are available in supermarkets across the country because of nationwide distributing methods.

Employee: a person who works for another person or a business, especially for money.

General Motors Corporation has several thousand employees.

Employer: a person or company that hires workers and provides work.

That drug company is one of the largest employers of chemists.

Boeing is one of the largest employers in Seattle.

The employer provides medical insurance and a retirement plan in addition to excellent wages.

Entrepreneur: a person who starts, manages, and takes the risks of running a business.

The tourist industry provides opportunities for many small entre­preneurs who operate shops and restaurants.

Extract: to separate part of something by physical or chemical process.

Salt is extracted from sea water.

The iron was extracted from the ore.

Finance: to provide money for the purchase of something or the opera­tion of a business.

The company can finance its expansion by issuing more stock.

I financed my new car with a loan from the bank.

Industrialized: refers to having industries, particularly modern factories which produce goods for sale.

The leaders of the industrialized countries met in Canada.

Initiate: to begin something new.

That bank will initiate a new type of savings account designed to attract small investors.

Innovative: new, particularly referring to a new idea, method or device.

They have an innovative method of management which has resulted in improved productivity.

Insurance policy: a contract whereby one party, the insurer, agrees to guarantee another, the policy holder, against certain losses.

An automobile insurance policy will pay for medical expenses and damage to the automobile in the event of an accident.

Loss: the amount by which the cost and expenses exceeds the income.

Our business suffered a loss last year because we were unable to raise prices enough to cover expenses.

Mental: refers to use of the mind, thinking.

Because of modern machines and technology more and more mental work, is required of employees who must be trained to operate the machines.

Merchandising: business activity related to buying and selling of goods.

Department stores and supermarkets are examples of merchandising enterprises.

Physical: related to the body and use of muscles to produce something which can be perceived by the senses.

Farming has always involved hard physical labor.

Policy: (see also insurance policy) a principle, method or rule which determines how an organization is operated.

It is the policy of this company that workers receive two weeks' paid vacation each year.

Product: something made or produced which is to be sold; goods, merchandise.

Paper and lumber are two of the products made from wood.

Production: the act of making goods for human wants; total output.

Petroleum is an important raw material for the production of plastics.

Profit: the amount by which income exceeds costs.

That company had a profit of $10,000,000 last year.

Provide: to make available to someone, to give, to sell.

This company provides work for ten thousand employees.

Raw materials: materials in their natural, unmanufactured condition.

Crude oil is the raw material from which gasoline is made.

Real estate: property in houses and land.

He borrowed money from the bank to purchase some real estate.

Risk: chance; in business, the possibility of failure.

Drilling for oil is an activity that involves considerable risk

Robot: a machine which takes the place of humans for production purposes.

In automobile production robots are used to weld sections of the body.

Secure: (in this context) to bring about.

Corporations can secure capital by issuing bonds.

Service: business activity related to providing help, repair or assistance as opposed to selling or producing.

Business is the activity of producing and distributing goods and services.

Stock: any of the equal parts that the ownership of a corporation is divided into.

The corporation issued more stock to finance the expansion.

Venture: a business activity or undertaking, especially one that involves some risk or danger of a loss.

This individual is seeking partners for a joint venture in gas exploration.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31