Season's hit - Kiwifruit
This marvelous, energy - enhancing and health - giving product can be your for only 1,99 PLN per kilo. Last time look at your lazy kids, who have never got A notes in their school and always been last in a sport competition. If you give them our fruit, they will be full of energy. Make your family happier than it has never been before. Buy them our kiwifruits.
Remember - health your children is worth more than your money.
Short introduction...
For as long I can remember I've loved computers. When I was a child my brother bought first one and I started learning computer programming. For many years I've written a few useful applications. Some of them I sold for relative much money.
Previous year I had some free time so I decided to write an application for dentist's office. Goal of this application was improving management of the patients' data. I was going to write a thin client which could comunicating with database server. It was one of the large applications with very simple construction, so designing, programming and testing took me about one month. When it has been finished I rang to my client up and I arranged meeting. As usual in these situations I've installed my application on laptop the day before and I tested it. Next day I packed my computer and I went to the city where my client lived. When I was going I realized that I've forgotten add "Exit" option to the main menu of application (it is common knowledge that user should be able to close computer application by pressing "Exit" from main menu), unpacked the computer and I've corrected this mistake. When I arrived to destination place I started preparing my computer hardware to present my software to the client. About 2 minutes after I've started my presentation I realized that power led in my laptop had started blinking. I stopped talking and wanted to [podlaczyc zasilanie sieciowe]. I took out one part of my power supply adapter and wanted to take out the second one, but I couldn't do it. There wasn't it. I looked for it twice or tree times. "I've forgotten it" I thought. "Sorry, but I had bad news for you.." - I started talking to my client. His face was getting red. "Give me a ring when everything will be done" - he only said at the end.
On the next meeting I had my and my girlfriend's laptop...
What did this situation learn me? hmmm.. I think I've learned me that I must check everything several times and ...... always give a spare laptop:)
I’ve had many favorite things in my life. Some of them I've put in my wardrobes and they still are there, other I've lost or I've given them to my son of my sister. But one of them I've remember best. It was my first personal computer.
The early 80's were years when more people can afford to buy personal computers, because the world's biggest companies (like Motorola or Hitachi) started mass production of the 8-bits microprocessors. One day my brother bought this kind of computer. It was a small microcomputer called Commodore-C64. This computer had 64kB RAM memory and it had tape recorder instead of CD-ROM. In this time it used to be one of the best personal computers on the world and everyone wanted to have it.
Since that time my life was changed. I spent all of my money on books about computer's architecture and peripheral devices and I didn't have any free time, because all of them I spent on my computer. My parents often shouted at me because I bought a new book instead of a new pair of jeans. I haven't got many friends, because I didn't have time to meet with them. I lived in my own virtual reality. I liked so much it, because I could be like God – I could create something, I could destroy it, I could do everything I wanted. Of course, I didn't have any time to do my homework and I had to do it nights, when other people were sleeping.
In secondary school I sat alone in the computer's room for many hours and I learned how to write good computer programs. My friends laughed at me but I didn't think about it. I wanted to be a programmer like Bill Gates or Linus Towards. I wanted to spend all of my free time with my favorite things – computers. These machines were the most important things in my life – they were my life...
The world has changed and computers have changed, so I must buy a new one. And I bought a new computer two years ago (so I've had it for two years or I've had it since 2005 :) ). And it is a thing I like best. But sometimes it is a cause of an argument between me and my girlfriend. She always accuses me of spending much more time with my favorite thing. I explain her that I love her and I love my computer too. But I don't know what I'll do when she make me choose between her and my computer. But it doesn't matter. There are so many girls on the world..... :)
Now I'm working as computer programmer in a big international company (<-this is a joke, of course) and I'm still loving computers. They've given me a work, they've given me some money. They are still some of the most important things in my life.
Second of my favorite things is my mobile phone, I think. I take it everywhere I go and I use it not only for make phone call, but also as a personal organizer, a camera or GPS receiver.
I've used a mobile phone for 6 years (or I've used it since my brother came back from France and he's given me his old one). It is a very important thing for me because it helps me in many situations. For example when I was finishing high school, I had a very difficult exam. The teacher required a lot of us, but some of us didn't have much time to learn (I was one of them). When exam was started, the teacher gave question's forms to everybody. I looked on this form and I realized I didn't know anything. I didn't know what to do. After half an hour I took out my mobile phone, because I wanted to know what time it was. I had one new message in it. I opened it and smiled. My best friend sent me the answers. And in this way I passed the most difficult exam, I've ever had.
The second story shows that the mobile phone is one of the most important thing for every employee. Long time ago (:)), when I started work in SS, I worked on new pathology module. One day I wrote a piece of code and I went to my home. Code, I've written, was a very important for my team. When I was sitting in my house, my phone rang. It was my team leader. He asked me to go to work because nobody knows how the new module works.
These stories show that in everybody's (and in my as well) life can be many favorite things, which make our life funnier and can helps up in many life's situations. But what is the most important thing for me? In today's world there are more and more things which are necessary for me, so I can't have one favorite thing. But if somebody makes me choose one of them, it will probably be my lovely computer...
My favourite product and its five positive features.
My favourite product (and one of the most important things in my life) is my computer. It gave me a good job and a lot of possibilities to spend my free time. I think there are a lot of positive features of computers. One of them is that computers help you to get a good job, because nowadays computer skills make people attractive to companies. Next positive feature is that computers can help you to solve more problems (e.g. mathematical), because their processing – power is higher that people's one. This is a cause of technological progress. Main positive feature (especially for school children) is that computers provide entertainment. They can spend their free time killing virtual people or earning virtual money. Next computers’ feature is that they provide possibility to text-based and voice conversation via the Internet. You can make pay – free talking to people who there are in other country. The last (of listed in this point) feature is that computers can help you to get information about everything. It doesn't depend on place where you are (it depends only on wireless network accessibility).
Describe the usual lifecycle of a new product (at least 8 phases).
a) invent a new product – when you have only a good idea for new one or you want to make some improvements for already existing product (or if your client wants you to enhance existing product);
b) design – when you make a plan of your product (for computer software you make UML diagrams). The final result of this phase is product specification.
c) prototype production – when you produce prototype for testing;
d) prototype testing – when you look for prototype's defects (for example lack of product features written in its specification);
e) manufacture product – when your factory produces your product;
f) promote product – when you show your product to the World;
g) launch product – when you introduce your product to the market;
h) marketing research – you do research, because you want to know what is customers' opinion of your product. It can be a cause of modification your product.
i) distribute – you provide your product to the shops;
j) discontinue – when you stop making your product (probably because of your competitor has a better one);
Three examples of companies promoting new food products.
One of companies promoting new food products is Knorr – producer of powdered soups. It launches a new line of its key products and you can watch its adverts on TV.
Other company promotes its new food products is McDonald's. Mentioned new product is in this case an Egg McMuffin and we can see its adverts on the Internet sites.
Tesco is an example of company which promotes its new food products all the time. We can see them on billboard or when we are watching TV.
Five examples of business sectors.
We have many of business sectors. For example:
a) telecommunications sector – provides all telecommunication services for individual customers and companies;
b) engineering sector – in charge of invent the new technology and up-to-date old one;
c) tourism sector – provides touristic services;
d) banking and finance sector - responsibles for financial matters of individual customers or others companies;
e) vehicle manufacturing sector - responsibles for vehicle production;
f) IT sector – provides services attached with all information technology aspects of the human's life;
g) food and drink sector – produces and provides food and drink;
h) pharmaceutical sector –it's in charge of medicaments production;
Advantages of a family-owned company.
a) You can promote yourself as many times as you want (so finally you can be a director or manager etc. and you can be proud of your position)
b) You can work flextime. In normal (regular 8-to-4 work) you usually have to be in work about 8 am and you mustn't go out before 4 pm. But if you work for your family business, you can go out and go back whenever you want.
c) Company's owner is your family, so you know and trust them more than other people. Cooperation with people who you know is better for you, because it provides you for example work security. This could be a cause of better results of your work.
Translation.
a) Nie spłaciliśmy jeszcze hipoteki.
b) Oni nie wypłacają nam wynagrodzenia w naszej walucie narodowej.
c) Nowa filia została otworzona przez dostawcę usług podróżniczych i finansowych.
d) Rotacja pracowników jest wysoka, więc roczny obrót jest niski.
e) Znajomość angielskiego jest moim największym atutem.
f) Nie zarabiam dużo w mojej regularnej pracy (w której pracuję notabene od 9 do 17), więc robię nadgodziny.
True or false (according to Colin Barrow (CB))
a) It is not possible for small companies to grow during economics downturns.
It's false, because CB said that “...expansion in an economic downturn is possible for smaller business”.
b) Small companies are in a worse situation than big companies during downturns.
I think, it's false, because he said that “...small and medium – sized enterprises can still grow (...) and some of them may be better placed than bigger businesses.”;
c) Small companies should look especially at their customers and their finances.
It's true, because CB said “...owner-managers should focus on customers and finance”.
d) If small companies were paid more quickly, they would have fewer financial problems.
It's true, because reducing payment time would greatly reduce the cost of capital.
e) Overdrafts are a good source of finance in case of difficulty.
It's false. According to CB it's the worst source of money. Companies should build links to other source of finance instead of it.
Words completing.
| noun | verb |
| growth | grow |
| development | develop |
| challenge | challenge |
| research | research |
| control | control |
| collection | collect |
| reduction | reduce |
| cost | cost |
| finance | finance |
