TEXT 5A

The words that are used in formal business and documentary vocabulary are not always specialized enough to become terms. At the same time, they cannot be confined to General English, pure and simple. They display more formal properties than their General English counterparts and recur in numerous business-related contexts and situations. For example formal verbs acquire and purchase will coexist with a neutral General English word buy. Formal words function in business discourse against the background of their less formal (or neutral) associates, for example:

to advise- to inform

to assist- to help

to modify- to change

to clarify- to make clear

to confine, to restrict- to limit

to establish- to find out

to establish- to open

to cancel- to stop

alternative- choice

objective- task, goal, aim

confidence-trust

astute- clever

actual- real

cooperative- helpful.

There is objectively existing association and interactive relationship between the more formal specimens of English vocabulary and their less formal (neutral or informal) General English counterparts, besides its functional and stylistic relevance comes to the fore requiring practice in terms of acquisition and effective use.

Knowledge of General Business English terms like assets, acquisition, agent, balance sheet, bankruptcy, benefit, capital, cash flow, company, firm, merger, corporation, conglomerate, etc. is essential for one’s understanding of the world of business. Every term of this kind denotes an important concept, a current trend or an indispensable connection that is part and parcel of business life.

Exercise 2. Translate and memorize compact substitutes for long descriptive explanations of business concepts:

1. money owed which is never likely to be paid- bad debts

2. a build-up of undelivered goods, orders- backlog

3. a company which is in the same market- competitor

4. producing a good profit for the expense/cost- cost-effective

5. transport of ordered goods to customer- delivery.

Exercise 3. Choose the correct definition:

1. acquisition a)a formal written agreement between two

or more parties

2. affiliate b)any article or commodity that is the

subject of manufacture and trade

3. goods c)a company which is party or wholly

owned by another company

4. contract d)one company taking over controlling

interests in another company

Exercise 4. Give the neutral equivalents of the following words or explain their significance:

assets, acquisition, agent, balance sheet, bankruptcy, benefit, capital, cash flow, company, firm, merger, corporation, conglomerate.

Exercise 5. Read and translate the text: