Smart Business English - Business English Today
Transcription
Smart Business English - Business English Today
f l e s r u o Y Smart Business English t s Te Übungsausgabe Mai 2014 Erfolgreiche internationale Geschäfte, Projekte und Meetings für Fach- und Führungskräfte Exercise 1 How to always make your business partners and customers feel welcome Punkten Sie mit Höflichkeit, wenn Sie ein Geschäftspartner oder Kunde aus dem Ausland besucht. When the first questions you ask a visiting business partner or important customer are professional and polite, they are the openers to a friendly conversation. So a warm welcome is the first step to a successful business meeting. Check and see how professional you are when you welcome international visitors. Look at the visitor’s replies and then match them with your opening words. You will find the answers on page 6. Opening words Visitor’s answer 1 Can I offer you something to eat? a Yes, thank you. 2 Can I take your coat? 3 Would you care to take a seat? 4 Hello. I’m Jane Surrey. I’m pleased to finally meet you face to face. 5 Can I get you a drink? b How do you do? c No, thank you. I’ve been sitting all day. d Thank you, but no. I’m not hungry. e Yes please, a coffee would be most welcome. Once you have your visitor comfortably settled you can get down to business. The exercise continues on page 2, where you can practise answering more questions you might hear from an English-speaking guest. Continued on page 2 Exercise 2 The two rules you need to know when you separate words in English Dear Reader As a typical Smart Business English reader, you can say and understand practically everything in English. And because you’re smart, you like to keep your business English up-to-date. But you probably don’t have a lot of time for learning. That’s why I have written Test Yourself, this special edition, for you. It comprises seven exercises created especially for you, busy professionals. From making visitors feel at home, to giving polite instructions, from punctuation and time prepositions to perfecting your business writing – there’s something for everyone. You can even learn how to impress international visitors with some fun musical idioms. Each exercise will take you no longer than between four and 10 minutes – that’s not a lot of time, but it’s time that is very wisely invested. So start right now! Best regards Auch im Englischen ist die Silbentrennung am Ende einer Zeile nicht immer ganz leicht. Zum Glück gibt es zwei Regeln, an die Sie sich halten können. To separate words at the end of lines, you use a hyphen. Depending on what computer software you are working with, you might have to separate words manually when you use PowerPoint or other programs. That’s why you need know to these two ruless. Jean Lennox Rule Number 1 1. Praxisrelevantes Fachwissen 2. Sofort anwendbares Englischwissen 3. Kostenloser Übersetzungsservice Never separate words that only have one syllable: for example, each, through, thought, found, fought, truth. Rule Number 2 Always hyphenate words before these end syllables: –ING fall-ing, breath-ing, winn-ing, los-ing www.business-english-today.de Continued on page 3 Business English Coach IHRE VORTEILE AE = American English – BE = British English Mai 2014 2 Smart Business English Today continued from page 1 – How to always make your business partners and customers feel welcome Find the right answers to these more general questions you might hear from an international guest who visits your company. Visitor’s questions Your answers 1 I’m sorry but I seem to have lost the details of the hotel. a His office is in the second floor. Let me show you the way. 2 We needs these results today. b If you like, I can find someone to go to the bank for you. 3 Where can I charge my mobile phone? c We’ll fax them for you if you give us the number. 4 I’m afraid I can’t find my way out of this building. d My assistant will write down the name and address for you. 5 I need to mail my office. Could I sit down somewhere and use my e You can plug it in here. 6 Where can I get some local currency? f Certainly. Let me show you on this map. 7 It looks as if I’m going to be late for my next appointment. g Don’t worry. We’ll call them and tell them you’ve been held up. 8 I need to confirm my return flight. h Yes, it is rather complicated. I’ll show you to the lift. 9 Can you tell me how to get to the town centre? i If you’d like you can use the computer in the lobby to do that. j Yes, of course. There’s a free desk over here. laptop? 10 I’ve come to see Jonas Meinzer. We’ve got an appointment. Exercise 3 Paraphrase your instructions in a clear and friendly manner to get positive results quicker Die englische Sprache eignet sich sehr gut für klare, ausdrucksstarke Anweisungen. Schnell vergessen viele Leute dadurch, dass Muttersprachler trotzdem immer auch einen sehr freundschaftlichen Ton miteinander pflegen. Hier finden Sie Anregungen, wie Sie klare, aber freundliche Arbeitsanweisungen schreiben. When you are giving instructions, make sure they are clear and also friendly. Many German-speakers tend to be good at writing clear instructions, but my Smart Business English readers also know that the culture is a little different in most English speaking countries, and that is very important to be very polite when using English. Modern international companies especially take great care to give friendly instructions to their employees. One way to make your instructions friendly is to give a reason for them. If punctuality is requested, say that it is so that meetings can start on time. Another way is to offer some alternatives. For instance if parking is not allowed in front of a building, say where people can park their vehicles. Here are some useful phrases: We kindly request you to … We need to remind you that … We would like to request you to … As an alternative we suggest … employees. You think rightly that it is too direct and unfriendly. Rephrase it so it is friendly and polite but still clear. Then compare your answers with my suggestions, given on page 6. 1 All participants must arrive punctually for meetings. ____________________________________________ 2 Smoking is strictly prohibited on the entire premises. ____________________________________________ 3 Absolutely no eating in the break room except between 1 and 3 pm. ____________________________________________ 4 Turn off all lights when leaving your office. ____________________________________________ 5 Don’t put teabags and used coffee filters in the sink. ____________________________________________ And don’t forget the magic word ‘please’. For this exercise, imagine that one of your colleagues has written the following instruction list for his fellow Mai 2014 6 It is absolutely forbidden to park cars in front of the building. ____________________________________________ www.business-english-today.de Smart Business English Today continued from page 1 – The two rules you need to use when you separate words in English – EN fall-en, for-gott-en, fast-en (but: o-pen, bro-ken) – ED lim-it-ed, fol-low-ed – TION sep-a-ra-tion (but: sep-a-rate) – ES touch-es, wish-es, de-vic-es Can you hypenate these words? advertised foreign obligation product ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ document international often winning ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Exercise 4 All you need to know about English punctuation Die Zeichensetzung im Englischen ist weniger streng als im Deutschen. Das heißt aber nicht, dass es hier nichts zu beachten gäbe. Schauen Sie hier, wann Sie welches Satzzeichen verwenden. Full stop (BE) / period (AE) Use a full stop to end a complete sentence: He was in the office yesterday. He will be here tomorrow. I love my job for the following reasons: it is interesting, well paid, and I have a lot of responsibility. Apostrophe Comma Question mark The apostrophe has many uses, it indicates a possessive: The children’s new clothes have arrived. The boy’s father is tall. (note the apostrophe’s position for a singular boy) The boys’ hats are green. (apostrophe after the s when the s indicates a plural) indicates time or quantity: I have to give two weeks’ notice in my job. indicates omission of figures in dates or letters in words such as it’s, they’re, I’ll: The summer of ‘12 It’s your turn to clean the office kitchen. indicates the plural of letters: There are four i’s in Mississippi. in American English, it is used in the plural of abbreviations and in plural dates: MP’s, the 1990’s (AE); MPs, the 1990s (BE) As the name suggests, the question mark is used at the end of a question: When are you leaving? Spot the mistakes! Exclamation mark (BE) /exclamation point (AE) There are two punctuation mistakes in each number (1 - 6). You can check your answers on page 6. Use commas: to separate a list of items. In American English, there is a comma before ‘and’ but there isn’t in British English, unless it’s needed to make things clear: He tests, installs, and evaluates technology. (AE) I have worked in Spain, France and Germany. (BE) to separate phrases: Although I wanted to go to the conference, I couldn’t get time off work. to introduce a direct quote: Mr Barnes said, “I will be away on a business trip all week.” in non-defining clauses: Harry Mills, the new marketing manager, used to work for IBM. Usually, you do not put a comma before that: It was nice talking to you and I hope that we will meet again. Use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence to indicate great surprise or when you want to emphasise a point: My new boss is great! Semicolon A semicolon can be used in two ways: to separate two independent clauses which express similar ideas: I went to Goa; I found it exciting. to separate groups of words that are separated by commas: I have been to Paris, which was exciting; Rome, which was romantic and Greece, which was hot. Colon Use a colon to give additional details and explanation: www.business-english-today.de 1 The girl’s dresses that you sent us were the wrong size. Were sorry but we’ll have to return them to you. 2 Are there any questions, that are difficult to answer, in this test. 3 It was a great pleasure meeting you’re Vice President last week and we hope, that this business relationship will continue over the coming years. 4 Its not always easy to know where to use apostrophe’s. 5 I have tidied my desk, it was a lot of work 6 The use of mnemonics which is really nothing more than making ‘Eselsbrücken’ is a very useful skill. Mai 2014 3 4 Smart Business English Today Exercise 5 Tricky time prepositions – here is how you use them Englische Präpositionen machen vielen Nicht-Muttersprachlern Probleme, da man sie nicht 1:1 übersetzen kann. Es gibt leider auch keine Regeln dafür, wann welche Präpositionen verwendet werden. Als regelmäßiger Leser von Smart Business English kennen Sie aber sicherlich bereits die meisten! Most non-native speakers have trouble finding the right preposition when using English phrases related to time. So here is a guide, and an exercise, to help you get them right every time. German speakers often have difficulties with by and until, both of which mean bis in German. For example, in German you say: Ich werde heute bis 19 Uhr im Büro sein, denn der Vertrag muss bis morgen fertig werden. The preposition bis is used twice in this sentence, but if you translate it into English, you have to use two different prepositions: I will be in the office until 7 today because the contract has to be ready by tomorrow. The difference between on time and in time. Many German speakers have difficulty using on time and in time correctly. on time means pünktlich in time means rechtzeitig So you would say: If the meeting starts on time we will be finished in time for lunch. And finally, in the end and at the end In the end and at the end is another area that poses problems for German speakers. Both mean am Ende, schließlich and zum Schluss, but they are used in different contexts. At the end By is also used in fixed expressions – by the time, by then, by that time. These expressions all suggest a lengthy period of time. They could be translated as bis schließlich/endlich, als es endlich so weit war, etc. In the end the time when something ends finally My presentation is at the end of the meeting. We had some problems but we got here in the end. At the beginning and at first Look at these sentences: Hurry up! By the time we get to the conference centre, the meeting will have started. It took us four hours to get to the conference centre. By then / By that time, the meeting was well under way. To describe a period of time, we use from … until / till. In American English, you can also say from … through, or simply through. I will be at Munich from Monday until Wednesday. I will be at Munich Monday through Wednesday. (AE) The festival begins October 1 and continues through October 21. (AE) We use throughout to describe a period of time when the beginning and end aren’t specifically stated: I worked on the contract throughout the night. Throughout his life he never stopped working on new projects. We use in, on and at to talk about days or parts of days: in the morning / afternoon, but at night on Monday, Tuesday, etc. but at the weekend (BE) on Christmas Day / Easter Sunday, but at Christmas / Easter on my boss’s birthday / our company’s anniversary, but at the party / celebrations on vacation / holiday Mai 2014 At the beginning is the opposite of at the end. At first is the opposite of in the end. Sales were low at the beginning of January, but at the end of the year, they were very good. At first, we were going to organise the sales conference in New York, but in the end we decided on Berlin. Now it’s over to you Test your time prepositions by inserting these words or phrases into the sentences. at – at – at – at – at – at – at – by – by the time – by then – in – in – in – in – on – on – on – on – until – until – throughout 1 The new computers will be arriving ______________ Friday morning _______________ 8 o’clock. 2 Will you be in the office __________ the morning? 3 I’m sorry I couldn’t get you a room at the Savoy, but they’re fully booked _______________ the end of the month. 4 I worked for Matthew and Son for 12 years, up until 2011._______________ they had grown from a small copy shop into a big international printing specialist. www.business-english-today.de Smart Business English Today 5 If you phone them _______________ Wednesday they will be able to deliver the paper ______________ the end of the week. 6 I wanted to write a press release this morning but _______________ I’d finished opening my emails, it was lunchtime. 7 The show starts _______________ 8pm. If you want to be _______________ time you’ll have to leave the hotel right _______________the end of dinner. 8 We had a big party _______________ the weekend to celebrate our company’s 100th anniversary. It went on _______________ 5 o’clock ______________ the morning. 9 I didn’t see you _______________ the party? Were you _______________ vacation? 10 Our company was very successful _______________ the whole business year. 11 If James talks much longer, we won’t finish _______________ time to have a proper lunch break. 12 We never thought we’d make it, but we got here _______________ the end. 13 Our offices will be closed ____________ Christmas. 14 The view from my hotel in New York was magnificent, especially _______________ night. Exercise 6 Liven up your English with musical idioms Die englische Sprache hat viele Redensarten, die mit Musik zu tun haben. Hier können Sie Ihr Vokabular um einige bereichern und damit Ihre Ausdrucksweise interessanter machen. Verblüffen Sie außerdem Ihre internationalen Geschäftspartner, wenn Sie zeigen, dass Sie wissen, wo diese Redensarten herkommen! Music is an important part of English culture and tradition, and there are a surprising number of idioms that refer to musical instruments, types of music, or musical performance. See how many you already know. Put the phrases into the correct spaces in these sentences to form musical idioms. You will find the right answers, and explanations on page 7. a c e g i the fat lady hymn sheet bells and whistles all-singing, all-dancing toot my own horn b d f h j play it by ear fine-tuning on the fiddle face the music pull out all the stops It’s not a / an (1) ________________ device, but Samsung’s new smartphone is very successful. Instead of all the (2) _______________ it is straightforward and easy to operate. Markus made a really stupid mistake and it’s understandable that he’s not showing his face. But he’s going Impressum to have to (3) ________________ sooner or later. The most important thing now is to get all the heads of department singing from the same (4) _______________. I don’t like to (5) ________________ but I’m proud of what my department has achieved. We’ve made all the arrangements and now everything just needs (6) _______________ Don’t worry about taking on too many assignments. If anything goes wrong, we’ll (7) ________________ to help you. The negotiations seem to be going well, but something could still go wrong. It’s not over until (8) ____________ sings. I really don’t see how Mike can afford to drive a Porsche on his wages. He must be (9) _______________. I’ve no idea what they’re going to ask me in the interview. I’ll have to (10) ________________. ISSN: 1864-6522 Erscheinungsweise 12-16 Mal im Jahr • VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG, Theodor-Heuss-Str. 2-4, 53095 Bonn, Leserservice: 0228 9550160 • Vorstand: Helmut Graf, Guido Ems, Bonn; Chefredakteurin: Jean Lennox, Bonn (V.i.S.d.P.); Produktmanagement: Eva Schneckenburger, Bonn; Satz: Reinhard Kruse, Wallenhorst; Druck: ADN Offsetdruck, Battenberg (Eder) • Fragen an Jean Lennox: [email protected] • Alle Angaben in „Smart Business English” wurden mit äußerster Sorgfalt ermittelt und überprüft. Eine Gewähr kann jedoch nicht übernommen werden. • © 2014 by VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG, Bonn, Warschau, Bukarest, Moskau, London, Manchester, Madrid, Johannesburg, Paris • Dieses monothematische Supplement „Test Yourself ” liegt der Ausgabe 5/2014 von „Smart Business English Today” bei. www.business-english-today.de Mai 2014 5 6 Smart Business English Today Answers Exercise 1: How to welcome your business partners and customers Exercise 6: Liven up your English with musical idioms Answers A (p1): 1 – d 2 – a 3 – c Answers B (p2): 1 – d 2 – c 3 – e 6–b 7–g 8–i 1 All singing, all dancing (g) This phrase dates back to the 1929 film Broadway Melody, the first musical film, which was advertised on posters as All talking, All singing, All dancing. Today the term is often applied to high-tech equipment like computers or cars to emphasise all the extra features they have. It is very similar to the next answer, bells and whistles. 2 bells and whistles (e) This phrase is very similar to all-singing, all-dancing and it refers to old fairground organs that had lots of bells and whistles. It was first used in the 1960s to describe the fancy features computer manufacturers invented to make their products stand out from the rest. 3 face the music (h) To face the music means to take responsibility for the consequences of your bad actions. The origin of this phrase is unknown. 4 hymn sheet (c) The expression to sing from the same hymn sheet is used to describe people who agree to follow the same agenda and agree on important matters. In German, you say In dasselbe Horn blasen. 5 toot my own horn (i) This means to talk loudly about your achievements. It has a German equivalent: herausposaunen. 6 fine-tuning (d) Violins and other string instruments have fine-tuners attached to the strings which you can turn very slightly to make sure the instrument is exactly in tune. You fine-tune an instrument just before going on stage to play. So if you fine-tune arrangements or a contract, it means you put the finishing touches to them. 7 pull out all the stops (j) The stops referred to here are organ stops. The more stops you pull out, the louder the organ gets. The German phrase is alle Register ziehen. 8 the fat lady sings (a) It’s not over until the fat lady sings means you can never tell the outcome of something until it is truly finished. The origin is the opera, where usually the diva (in this case a fat woman) has to sing an aria to finish the show. 9 on the fiddle (f) To be on the fiddle means to obtain money through illegal means. 10 play it by ear (b) In music, to play something by ear means to hear a tune and then play it without having any written notes. So if you play something by ear in an interview, it means you have not prepared what you are going to say in advance and have to improvise. 4–b 5–e 4–h 5–j 9 – f 10 – a Exercise 2: The two rules you need to use when you separate words in English ad-vert-ised doc-u-ment for-eign in-ter-na-tion-al ob-li-ga-tion of-ten prod-uct winn-ing Exercise 3: Paraphrase your instructions – here are some suggested answers. 1 Please arrive in good time for your meetings so that we can start on time. 2 Smoking is only allowed in the designated area at the rear of the building, where ashtrays are provided. 3 To avoid disturbance to your colleagues, it won’t be possible to have lunch in the break room except between 1pm and3 pm, 4 Please remember to switch off the lights when you leave your office. 5 Used teabags and coffee filters may be disposed of in the bin beneath the kitchen sink. 6 Parking in front of the building is strictly forbidden but limited space is available behind the music school or you may use the multi-storey car park behind the town hall. Exercise 4: All you need to know about English punctuation 1 The girls’ dresses …. (the dresses of more than one girl) We’re sorry … 2 questions that (no comma)... in this test? 3 … meeting your Vice President …. we hope that (no comma) … 4 It’s … apostrophes. 5 desk; it ... it was a lot of work. 6 The use of mnemonics, which... ‘Eselsbrücken’, is... Exercise 5: Tricky time prepositions – here is how you use them 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 on / at in until by then on / by by the time at / on / at Mai 2014 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 at / until / in at / on throughout in in at at Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) Leader of Indian independence movement www.business-english-today.de Smart Business English Today 7 Download the vocabulary lists Nouns English fairground organ fine-tuners hymn sheet hyphen mnemonic nicety sink German Drehorgel Feinabstimmer Kirchenliedtext Trennstrich Eselsbrücke nette Geste Spülbecken ➦ Here is a list of all the underlined vocabulary in this edition of Smart Business English Today. You can download the list as an Excel document from our website www.business-english-today.de/kundenlogin, using the current password: leadership. Download Adjectives and adverbs Verbs English prohibited throughout English to hyphenate something to play it by ear German verboten während, auch: durchgehend German etw. mit Bindestrich schreiben improvisieren Exercise 7: The great business writing test 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dear Sir or Madam Yours sincerely of / enclosed in response to with regard to to visiting in visiting to attend 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 working Despite payment utmost pleased further information appointment postpone 17 18 19 20 21 22 regret view to hearing whom RSVP On the left you will see my corrections of Pascal’s out-of-office email with my comments. Dear Sir or Madam, ➀ ➀ Dear Sir or Madam is too formal for an email. Hello and thank you for your email.➁ ➁ It would be friendlier if Pascal thanked the person I am away on vacation for three weeks ➂ out of the office from until 25 May ➃. the 10th to the 17th. I am sorry that ➄ I will not be able to answer your enquiries personally during this period. Your mail will be automatically forwarded to colleague Clara Keller. In urgent cases you can contact her directly under ➅ on +49 711 2352-123. Kind regards for their message. ➂ Telling people that you are away on vacation for three weeks is likely to make them feel envious. Also, they don’t need to know when you left, just when you will be back. ➃ The date was written incorrectly. ➄ Pascal forgot to apologise for his absence. ➅ ‘under’ is the wrong preposition. It is a translation of the German unter. Pascal Mach Email signature ➆ ➆ Pascal omitted the friendly salutation at the end of the email and forgot to add his email signature. worse: 9.2% Business confidence barometer The latest Economist/Financial Times survey of over 1,500 executives from around the world shows that over 50% believe conditions for global business will improve in the next six months. www.business-english-today.de better: 50.7%] no change: 40.1% Mai 2014 8 Smart Business English Today Exercise 7 The great big business writing test Für gut verfasste englische Korrespondenz bleibt im Alltag häufig nicht sehr viel Zeit. Allerdings machen E-Mails und Briefe einen großen Teil des Geschäftslebens aus und bestimmen unser Auftreten entscheidend mit. Sorgen Sie dafür, dass Geschäftspartner und Kunden schnell von Ihnen beeindruckt sind. As you know so well, good business writing is not a nicety. It’s a skill that helps you to win people over and achieve more in your work-life. Now’s your chance to check the skills you already have with this test. You will find the answers on page 7. 11 We must insist on immediate paying / pay / payment. 12 Any information you give us will be treated with the upper / full / utmost confidence. 13 I am pleased / pleasing / delightful to write this letter of recommendation for Jane Smith. 1 Which greeting do you use in a letter to an unknown recipient? Dear Sir / Dear Sir or Madam / Dear Ladies, Dear Gentlemen 14 Should you require further information / more informations, please contact me. 2 And which complimentary close do you use, in formal letters, when you do use the recipient’s name? Yours very truly / Best regards / Yours sincerely 15 I’m sorry to say that I don’t have the numbers available, yet. The conference went on for so long I was late for my date / appointment / meet with the finance department. 3 Thank you for your letter of / from / date 26 September with the attached / enclosed / forwarded picture of your company logo. 16 Mr Brown has had an accident so we will have to postpone / cancel / adjourn the meeting until next week. 4 I am writing about / replying on / in response to your advertisement. 17 I regret / regard / regress to have to inform you that the goods you sent us were damaged. 5 I am writing concerning / with regard to / respecting your offer for mobile phones. 18 In regard / consideration / view of the seriousness of the situation, we are sure you will agree to a refund. 6 We are looking forward to visit / for visit / to visiting you next month. 19 I look forward to hearing / to hear / for hearing from you soon. 7 In return, we would like to ask you if you are interested in visiting / to visit / on visiting the trade fair in Frankfurt. 20 Complete this phrase from a letter of recommendation: To _____________ it may concern. 8 I’m sure you would enjoy the opportunity to attend / for attending / for attend the conference next week. 21 If you want people to reply to an invitation, what do you write on it? PLRP / RSVP / VSOP. 9 I enjoy working / to work / the working in an international environment. 22 Your co-worker Pascal has asked you to check his out-of-office email. Do you think it is good? What could you do to make it better? 10 Despite / Although / Instead of our two reminders, payment has still not been received. Haben Sie Fragen? Für Fragen zur Lieferung und Bestellung, rufen Sie bitte den Leserservice an: 0228 9550160. Haben Sie Fragen oder Vorschläge zum Inhalt? Sie erreichen mich montags von 10 bis 12:30 Uhr unter 0228 1806863. Oder schreiben Sie mir: [email protected] Mai 2014 Dear Sir or Madam, I am away on vacation for three weeks from May the 4th to the 25th. I will not be able to answer your enquiries during this period. Your mail will be automatically forwarded to my colleague Clara Keller. In urgent cases you can contact her directly under +49 711 2352-123. Pascal Mach www.business-english-today.de