Univalle - English 3

Name:
Date:
a. Match the vocabulary with the definitions
VOCABULARY DEFINITIONS Answe
r
1 SALE A a useful or valuable thing or person. It is a resource with economic value 4
that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the
expectation that it will provide a future benefit.
2 BALANCE B the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, 6
including market research and advertising. refers to activities a company
undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service.
3 FINANCE C appoint (someone) to a specified office or post. to officially choose 7
(someone or something) to do or be something: to officially give
(someone or something) a particular role or purpose.
4 ASSET D be in charge of (a business, organization, or undertaking); run. 8
5 STOCKHOLDER E an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain 2
upright and steady. A situation in which different elements are equal or
in the correct proportions.
6 MARKETING F the degree to which a business or activity yields profit or financial gain. 9
It is a measurement of efficiency – and ultimately its success or failure.
7 DESIGNATE G the state or quality of being efficient.  Able to accomplish something 10
with the least waste of time and effort; competency in performance.
8 MANAGE H Arranged according to people's or things' level of importance, or relating 14
to such a system.
9 PROFITABILITY I a period during which a shop or dealer sells goods at reduced prices. Is a 1
transaction between two parties where the buyer receives tangible or
intangible goods, services, and/or assets in exchange for…..
1 EFFICIENCY J Is the study of individuals, households and firms' behavior in decision 3
0 making and allocation of resources? It generally applies to markets of
goods and services and deals with individual and economic issues.
1 MICROECONOMI K (of two or more people) fully in agreement. 13
1 C
1 OPTIMIZE L the management of large amounts of money, especially by governments 11
2 or large companies. is a broad term that describes activities associated
with banking, leverage or debt, credit, capital markets, money, and
investments?
1 UNANIMOUS M A system of voting secretly and in writing on a particular issue. is a 15
3 device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of
paper or a small ball used in secret voting?
1 HIERARCHICAL N is someone who has shares in a company. 5
4
1 BALLOT O make the best or most effective use of (a situation or resource). To make 12
5 something as good or effective as possible
 b. Reading comprehension. Read the text and mark the correct option
Business Cycles
It might seem somewhat random when the economy encounters a downturn, companies
struggle, and prices rise, but the process is actually the direct result of a number of specific
factors, including business cycles. Business cycles refer to the periods of various success,
struggle, and medium-quality profits encountered by companies in the normal course of the
economy; these periods affect every individual. In other words, businesses may offer a
service at an affordable price at one point in time and fail to become profitable, but may
then see this same service bring in tons of cash at a later point; the difference isn't the
business, but rather, is the economy. When the economy is "'good” - something that's
characterized by low unemployment, low inflation, rising wages, and more - most
businesses experience a boom, or an increase in profits and success. There are once again a
variety of factors that contribute to booms (some of which are uncontrollable), but the short
explanation of the occurrences is that when people have more money to spend, businesses
have more money to make. Similarly, businesses experience a bust, or a decrease in profits
and success, when the economy falters. For most people, a sagging economy means it
might be hard to find work and pay bills; for businesses, a sagging economy means it might
be difficult to stay in operation. Business contractions, or normal periods of reduction in
business after prolonged growth, occur regularly and vary in severity. Eventually,
employers will require a smaller amount of help because consumers are purchasing less
(after all, almost nobody buys new and expensive things all the time), unemployment will
accordingly increase, wages will fall, and so on and so forth. Recessions, or multi-month-
long declines in wages, general economic activity, and most importantly, GDP, are more
serious than business contractions. Recessions last longer than business contractions, can be
more severe, and can signal larger problems in the economy.

1) What are business cycles?

a. The periods of various success, struggle, and medium-quality profits encountered by
companies in the normal course of the economy
b. Times when businesses have record profits in an economy with full employment
and stable growth rate
c. Times when businesses are recording record losses
d. The periods wherein businesses neither lose nor make money

2) What is the difference between a boom and a bust?

a. Booms feature economic growth; busts feature economic downturn
b. Booms help businesses and consumers financially; busts harm them
c. Booms and busts are basically the same
d. 1 and 2

3) What are business contractions?

a. Periods during which the economy shrinks by 50-60%
b. Periods during which entire states' economies and completely destroyed
c. Normal periods of reduction in business after prolonged growth
d. Normal periods of rapid economic growth after a long period of increasing
wages

4) How are recessions different than business contractions?

a. They last longer - usually at least a few months
b. They are characterized by GDP decreases
c. They can indicate larger problems with the economy
d. All of the above

5) Which of the following are affected by boom and bust cycles?

a. Only businesses are affected
b. Only consumers are affected
c. Both businesses and consumers are affected
d. Neither businesses nor consumers are affected

c. LISTENING. You will hear an interview with a university student.

1. Today´s edition of Study Talk is about an unusual
a. University
b. Course
c. Hobby

2. What is the subject that Ellis Graham is studying for his degree?
a. Surfing
b. Mathematics
c. Computing

3. What does Jed suggest about most people who enjoy surfing?
a. They waste time when they should be studying
b. They know a lot of unimportant information
c. They are not very intelligent

4. Ellis says the course he is doing at university

a. Is extremely popular
b. Accepts people who failed on other courses
c. Attracts applications from other universities
 5. What does Ellis make Jed understand?
a. Jed needs to practice seriously to be a good surfer
b. Jed had the wrong idea about Ellis´s studies
c. Jed does not have to work as hard as the students

6. What plans does Ellis say he has for the future?

a. To travel to other countries
b. To join a research project
c. To start a business

7. Ellis has problems with Jed´s last question because

a. It involves discussing something secret
b. He is unsure of the facts
c. It´s hard to find uncrowded beaches

d. ORAL Questions before starting a business.

Use your imagination to answer all these questions. Suppose you are one of the best
business man Buenaventura who was invited to a conference to share your knowledge
and experience in the business industry.
These are the questions you are going to be asked during the interview. Answer them.
You can ask a partner or classmate to help you out with the questions.
1. How much cash will be at risk? – how much cash to invest?
The money to be invested must be in accordance with the technical study, which is where it
is explicitly detailed what is needed to invest in the project.
2. How much time will your business take up?
The life cycle of companies is uncertain when it depends on many factors due to
different changes in the market and the economy.
3. How much energy will it take?
The desire and the positive that we must be when starting a business is very important, in
addition to the perseverance that must be had.
4. How will a business fit in with the rest of my life?
It is very important that the type of company that is chosen is the one we want, the one that
we are willing to fight to sustain it
5. Will there be a much better time to start a business?
I think that not every moment is a good time to undertake the most important thing
is to start accommodating ourselves to the environment
6. What are my chances of success?
 Innovation
Letting go of expectations
Respectful to all people
Celebrate all the triumphs both big and small
Leave the past behind
7. Am I looking at a business from a position of relative strength or weakness?
I would say that both strengths and weaknesses and threats should be done from both sides
that allows me to know both the external and internal environment of the business
8. Can I start a business before quitting my job or after that?
If you can start a business, then it takes a lot of perseverance and dedication from the
owners
9. How much risk are you willing to personally take on?
All that are required to get the company ahead
10. How long do I stick with the business if it underperforms?
That has no loss, I would say that you should continue and enter a process of analysis to
make changes and improvements