VS PPNJ, 2005/6

ANSWER

  1. What can you write under’ MAIDEN NAME’?
  2. Which school are you attending at the moment?
  3. What sort of certificate will you get after you have passed all the exams here?
  4. What is BSc and where can you obtain it?
  5. What can you say to someone whose relative has passed away?
  6. Explain what ‘agenda’is.
  7. And ‘minutes’ ?.
  8. You want to leave the restaurant, so you call the waiter to give you the …………
  9. When you have paid for something, you ‘ll get a …………..
  10. If you buy wholesale, you can get ………………..
  11. When you change the currency, you usually have to pay …………………..
  12. Lovrenc Kosir was …………………………………………………
  1. What can you write under ’marital status’?
  2. What does BA stand for?
  3. If you pay COD, it means ………
  4. What do you answer when someone says, ‘How do you do?’
  5. Your English friend has just passed the exam. What do you say?
  6. You didn’t hear something. What can you say?
  7. What is small talk?
  8. You don’t have money to phone home from London. How can you call home?
  9. If you were not happy with the hotel, you can write a letter of …………….
  10. You want to leave the restaurant, so you call the waiter to give you the …………
  11. If you buy 30 bottles of oil, you can get a ………………..
  12. People put money in the bank to get …………………..
  13. At the age of 6 shildren start ……………………….school and after 9 years most of them go to …………………………..
  14. Which visual aids can you use at a presentation? (3)
  15. Who invented the first adhesive stamp?
  16. Who was the father of the Black Penny in 1840, Sir R. Hill or J.Chalmers?
  17. When do you say: Excuse me?
  18. What do you talk about when you talk shop?
  19. What is spam?
  20. What is ATM?
  21. Is email a sort of formal writing which can be used at court as evidence?
  22. Do people go to the cyber cafe to drink coffee only?
  23. What is a letter of inquiry for?
  24. What does HQ stand for?
  25. Which are the main departments in a company?
  26. What responsibilities does a HR Manager usually have?
  27. Explain the abbreviations IT and R&D.
  28. What does a marketing mix consist of?
  29. Explain what is: headhunting, shortlist, interview, CV.
  30. What is ©?
  31. What is wholesale and what is retail business in Slovene?
  32. How many words do you know for Slovene word: račun?
  33. What are freebies?
  34. What does KISS stand for in presentation?
  35. Describe: bar charrt, pie chart, line graph, flow chart.
  36. Who usually runs a meeting? Who writes the minutes?
  37. Who are the people who take part in a meeting?
  38. What is AOB on the agenda?

Key to Answer:1.A woman's surname before marriage, 2.Vocational College of Postal Services,3.A diploma,4. Bachelor of Science, after graduating from university in technical fields,5.My deepest sympathies /condolences.,6.The list of items discussed at a meeting,7.The notes of a meeting,8.Bill/check(Am),9.Receipt,10. Discount,11.Commission, 12.The father of the first adhesive stamp, 13.arried/single,14.Bachelor of Art,15.You 'll pay to the postman when he brings you the goods.,16.How do you do. Or Pleased to meet you. 17. congratulations.18.I beg your pardon. Or Sorry,I didn't hear that. 19.Some casual talk , a warming up before a more serious conversation.20. Collect. 21. complaint, 22.bill.,23. discount/10% off/reduction of price,24.interests,25. primary/secondary school(high school,Am),26.OHP,PowerPoint,video...27.Lovrenc Košir,28.Sir R.Hill, 29.to get attentionor to appoligize for leaving,30.about your work,31 unwanted email,,32.cash dispenser,33.No.34.No, to use the internet,35.to ask for something,,36Headquaters-the main offices,37-41 (Look at Company structure in the coursebook), 42 Copyright protection of intellectual property,43-trgovina na debelo/ na drobno, 44.account,billcheck,,invoice,receipt,voucher, 45.small gifts given as promotion material,46 Keep it short and simple,47 (Look at graphs), 48.Chair person, secretary, 49.Participants, 50. Any other Business (sl. Razno)


Fill in the most appropriate words (one or two):

Before the meeting it should be completely clear what the main 1...... are.

Everybody should be acquainted with the main issues on the 2...... before the meeting in order to prepare comments on the problems involved.

Success or failure of the meeting usually depends on the 3...... He must try to encourage timid speakers and maybe tactfully stop those who want to dominate all the time. After each point he should summarize the main idea, and state what 4...... has been made and move to the next point.

After a good meeting all the 5...... have the feeling they said what they wanted in connection with the issues discussed. Everybody will feel bored and humiliated for being just a number necessary for 6 ......

A 7...... has to take down the most important suggestions and action points with names of the people responsible to carry them out, and deadlines for their completion. As soon as possible after the meeting, the 8...... should be distributed to all the participants.

Key to Meetings - 1. objectives, 2.agenda, 3.chair person, 4. decision, 5. participants, 6. voting,7.secretary,8..minutes

Translating is EU's new boom industry

By Angus Roxburgh
BBC News Online, Brussels

When 10 new countries join the European Union on 1 May, they bring with them an extra nine languages to add to the EU's existing 11.

How will it cope? Even with 20, Europe's tower of Babel is creaking. Twenty languages gives a total of 190 possible combinations (English-German, French-Czech, Finnish-Portuguese, etc), and finding any human being who speaks, for example, both Greek and Estonian or Slovene and Lithuanian is well-nigh impossible.

To get round this problem, the parliament will use much more "relay translation", where a speech is interpreted first into one language and then into another - and perhaps into a fourth or fifth.

Clearly the scope for mistakes in this game of Chinese whispers is huge. "If I'm first in the chain, and make a mistake, then everyone else down the relay makes the same mistake - or worse," Jana Jalvi, one of the new Estonian recruits says. The need for translation already takes away the cut and thrust of a normal parliamentary debate.

When the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, last year likened a German MEP to a Nazi camp guard, it took several seconds before the German realised he was being insulted and pulled off his headphones in disgust.

Before and after

The European Commisson already has 1,300 translators, who process 1.5 million pages a year in the EU's 11 languages. In two years that is expected to rise to almost 2.5 million pages - and the staff will almost double in size to cope with the output. The cost will rise from roughly 550 million euros today to over 800 million euros after enlargement.

MEPs nonetheless last week debated whether it might not make sense to have just one official language for the EU. An Italian MEP, Gianfranco Dell'Alba, wondered if all MEPs should have to learn a neutral language like Esperanto. The obvious choice, in fact, would be English, which is more widely spoken as a second language than any other. But the French - who have the parliament on their soil and who, after all, were founder-members of the EU - were outraged by the very suggestion.

Comprehension questions:

  1. How many languages will be used in the EU after May 1st?
  2. How do they intend to overcome the problem of the lack of people able to translate into all different languages?
  3. Is relay translation direct from one language into all other languages?
  4. Do you know the name of the childeren’s game Chinese whisper in Slovene?
  5. Does translation help or make discussions difficult?
  6. What is your opinion of translation costs?
  1. Is there a solution to the problem of translation?

BIRTH OF THE POSTAGE STAMP

The introduction of postal services created a problem that lasted several centuries: who should pay the postage - the sender or the receiver?

Although methods varied from country to country, it long remained the custom for recipients to pay for receiving mail. But what if the receiver refused? Many attempts were made to find a solution that would guarantee that postal service providers would receive the tax that was their due. In France, a certain De Velayer, owner of a small post office began in 1653 to offer customers small pieces of paper mentioning "receipt for the payment of transport".

In 1814 the Sardinian postal service took up De Velayer's idea, but again it was used only for a short time. It was not until 6 May 1840 that the pre-payment of postage in the form of an adhesive receipt took off.

The postage stamp was born when English post offices initiated the sale of the first stamps, the Penny Black stamp and two Penny Blue stamps with the portrait of Queen Victoria, as well as two prepaid envelopes. It took some months to reconcile the public to this new procedure. But it worked, and 72 million Penny Blacks were issued between May 1840 and January 1841. Other countries rapidly adopted the method and the postage stamp became a receipt for services to be rendered. The appearance of stamps also gave rise to a new passion - philately.

READING COMPREHENSION - Underline the most appropriate answer

  1. What is the text about? A. Modern postal systems B. The first stamp C. Postage rates
  2. Who usually paid postal charges in history? A. The sender B. The recepient C. Nobody
  3. Where was the first postal stamp issued? A. On Sardinia B. In England C. In Austria
  4. Prepaid envelope means A. You do not have to pay for the stamp B. You do not have to write the address on it C. Envelope for collectors
  5. Adhesive receipt means A. Penny Black stamp B. Sticking label of certain value C. Decoration
  6. The first stamp cost A. $ 1 B. £1 C. 1p
  7. Philately means A. Paying postal services B. Collecting stamps Collecting coins
  8. Who was the real author of the first adhesive stamp? (It is not in the text)
  9. De Velayer B. Lovrenc Kosir C. Sir Rowland Hill
Explain the following abbreviations in Slovene
CV / PhD
POB / BC
R&D / MBA
IT / PO
COD / cc
BA / p.a.
BSc / Encl.
PC / Ext.
VAT / ATM
p.m. / EU
CEO / FAQ
AD / ATM

FAX

Read this part of a fax from David Parkinson, a company director who will be arriving from the UK to visit your company next week.

Write a fax to David:

  • Saying who will meet him at the airport, and where
  • Giving him the name and location of the hotel
  • Explaining the arrangements for dinner after he arrives
  • Confirming the time and venue of the meeting the next day.

To: From:
RE: Date

Look at the first customs form and answer:

CUSTOMS
May be opened officially
Detailed description of contents / Value (Customs)
Specify the currency
3 cotton T-shirts,large,blue
1 small red / 32,50 €
7,50 €
Net Weight
1.25 kg / Total value
40 €

Gift X Merchandise
I certify that this item does not contain any dangerous article prohibited by postal regulations.
J. Whitebell
Signature ......
  1. How much does the parcel weigh?
  2. What is the contents?
  3. How much is it worth?
  4. Is it a gift?

Now you choose a gift for a friend in another country.

Work in pairs. Ask your partner questions to fill in the form.

CUSTOMS
May be opened officially
Detailed description of contents / Value (Customs)
Specify the currency
Net Weight / Total value

Gift Merchandise
I certify that this item does not contain any dangerous article prohibited by postal regulations.
Signature ......

READING COMPREHENSION

Milton Order Form

Answer:

  1. What do you think the MILTONs sell?
  1. How do they sell their goods?
  1. If you have problems, who can help you and when?
  1. How can you pay?
  1. Is the delivery free of charge?

Vocabulary- Translate into Slovene

Postage, packing, insurance
Size, waist and hips
Cheque payable to
Charge this to my credit card
Do not hesitate to…

GIVING DIRECTIONS

Draw a simple map of where you live and write a note to give your English friend directions on how to come to this school from the railway station.

A SIMPLE MAPDIRECTIONS

LETTER OF COMPLAINT

Think of a situation when you were not satisfied with the service or a product and write a letter of complaint.It is not an easy task to do, so use the framework below to help you. ……………………………

…………………………….

………………………………………..

Re: [Account number, service provided etc]

Dear [Contact Person or Customer Service Manager],

On [date], I [bought, rented, was provided with etc.] a [service performed etc.] at [location and other details of the transaction].

I am disappointed because [the service you provided, your service etc.] was [unsatisfactory, unfinished, defective etc.] because [state the problem as you understand it giving as much detail as possible]. This is in breach of our contract as laid down by the law.

To resolve the problem I require you to [state the action you require e.g. refund, service performed again, rectified etc.] whilst reserving my right to claim against you. Enclosed is a copy/are copies of the [receipt, contract etc].

I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem. I will wait for [set a time limit] before arranging for the matter to be corrected by a third party at your cost or seeking help from [Trading Standards, consumer group, solicitor etc]. Please contact me at the above address or by phone [give numbers].

Yours sincerely

[Sign]

[Print Your Name]

Enclosures: [state documents you have enclosed , if any]
Cc: [Include Name, Company if you want to send a copy of this letter to someone]

General Tips

Try to make sure your letter is sent to the right person or department
Try and keep your letter short
Be polite as sarcasm or rudeness will not help your cause!
Say what you want for your complaint to be resolved
Give a reasonable timetable for action to be taken before you will consider other options
Keep a copy of letters you write