For advanced learners:
Rising to the challenge
Wortschatz, Grammatik, Wendungen, sprachliche Strukturen, nicht zuletzt das Gespür
für die Sprache selbst – auf all das bezieht sich „advanced“, wenn es um eine Fremdsprache geht. Testen Sie in diesen Übungen, inwieweit Sie ein „advanced learner“sind.
1. The same but different (8 points)
Tom Barnes, who is coordinating the takeover for My Home Ltd, informs his colleagues about an email that arrived from Interior Design. Fill in the missing letters to form words that have the same meaning as those in brackets.
“Hi, all. Today, I’d like to inform you about an email I( A )( got) rid from Interior Design. I had asked them to (B) (give) sb t their latest financial figures and details about everything they (C) (make)
mf cue in their factories.
Now, they are asking us to (D) (put off)
pspe the meeting until the end of May and then( E )( take up again) r se negotiations.
Ihave(F)(sent)f add the email and the attached figures to the finance department so that they can (G) (check) r iw the figures. They have promised to (H) (give back) run everything tome with their comments by Friday.”
2. Ups and downs (4 points)
Jackie Myers from the finance department provides some comments on the competitor’s latest figures. Which word from the box next to each paragraph does not have the same meaning as the words in bold?
Jackie: Let’s now have a look at the development of Interior Design’s sales volume, their profit figures, the number of employees and their brand image.
3. Have I got that right? (10 points)
Liz Jones from marketing is asked by her German colleague Martin to read through a letter he wants to send to his counterpart at Interior Design. Find and correct the mistakes.
Martin: Liz, could you do me a favour? Could you have a look at this letter and correct the mistakes in it?
Liz: Yes, of course. If there are any…
Martin: Well, here it is.
4. Sounds better (6 points)
My Home’s heads of department are discussing various aspects of the takeover. Choose the correct meaning of each euphemism in bold.
A. “I’ve had a look at their staff’s qualification. Most of them are partially proficient.”
1. highly qualified and an essential part of the company
2. unqualified for their job
B. “Do you mean that most of them have to be decruited?”
1. be dismissed
2. get special training
C. “We’ll have to rightsize personnel to make production more efficient.”
1. reduce the number of employees 2. employ more people
D. “In view of the takeover, the predicted five per cent increase in our profit will have to be adjusted.”
1. reduced
2. increased
E. “What we’ll need to do in future is to become leaner.”
1. reduce costs
2. increase revenues
F. “I think the auditor’s report is a bit economical with the truth in places.” 1. vague
2. untruthful
5. Juggling the jargon (8 points)
Tom Barnes is asked by a colleague, Paul, about how to proceed. Fill in the gaps with the correct buzzwords from the box.
buy into | contingency plan | customer- centric
going forward | milestones reach out | rebranding | roadmap
Paul: Tom, what’s your (A) for the takeover?
Tom: I suggest meeting every week on Friday to check whether the respective
(B) have been met. And if any questions come up during the week, just (C) to me.
Paul: And what if something goes wrong? Tom: There’s a (D) that will get activated in that case. Another big issue is Interior Design’s reputation, which is quite poor.
Paul: Do you mean that they need some
(E) ?
Tom: Yes. But we’ll need to make sure that the customers (F) the changes.
Paul: That’s why, (G) , everything we do has to be more
(H) .
Tom: Absolutely!
6. The right idiom (7 points)
Claire, from the design team, informs her colleagues about her meeting with the lead designer at Interior Design Ltd. The words in bold are in the wrong place. Put them where they belong.
As you know, our latest collection of home textiles ran way over budget. And I doubt that management will give us another cash injection to make (A) ballpark meet. So the meeting I had with Interior Design’s head of design gave me some food for
(B) ends . They are a real
(C) dog team, thinking out of the (D) base , and it would be a shame if their creativeness were lost after the takeover. I’d also like to know whether their marketing budgets are in the same
(E) box as ours. I suggest that I touch (F) thought with them to discuss the opportunities for constructive collaboration. And don’t forget, if this takeover goes through, their products will be our products. So let’s eat our own (G) tiger food to find out more about them.
7. A final discussion (7 points)
Tom, the coordinator, Liz from sales, Jackie from finance and Claire from design are having a final discussion about the takeover. Choose the correct options.
Jackie: I’m sure if we (A) hadn’t decided / didn’t decide to take them over, they would have folded within the next few years. What do you think?
Liz: Yes, I think this was a good decision. Not least because (B) while/during we were negotiating with them, some of their key accounts got in touch with us and asked us for a (C) five-year/ five-years contract.
Tom: However, we shouldn’t be too hasty. Time’s on our side and we (D) don’t have to / mustn’t finish this venture before the end of this year.
Claire: What will happen to the two design teams? They said that nobody (E) will/ would be laid off. At the same time, they agreed to (F) arrange/arranging for severance packages with the works council. So what counts in the end will not be (G) creativeness/ the creativeness but profits.