Verb Tenses, Business, Movies, and Travel Encounters
Verb Tenses and Grammar
FUTURE:
- Will + base
- Going to: be (am, are, is) + going to + base
- Present Continuous: be + -ing (tonight)
- Be + to (official)
- Present Simple
- Would + base (prediction)
- Future Continuous: will be + -ing
MODAL VERBS:
- Must/Have to (affirmative): obligation
- Would: preference/asking politely
- May: possibilities
PASSIVE VOICE:
Be + past participle
REPORTED SPEECH:
- Statement: (She) said (that) she (liked).
- Question: She asked me where I lived.
- Request: Could you close [the door], please?
- Offer: She told me to sit down.
Advantages of Going Green
Hello and welcome. I’m Christoffer Jonsson from 1Carbon Reductions, and I’m here today to tell you about the advantages of going green. If you take action now, you’ll be ready for the government’s new green laws. I’ll talk about the new regulations later.
First of all, we’re going to look at the benefits of a clear green policy. Well, the most important advantage of becoming more environmentally friendly is an increase in your company profits. Just by turning off machines when you’re not using them and turning the heating down in warm weather, you can reduce your electricity bill. If you pay 20% less for energy, your business will get a 5% increase in profits.
Let’s move on to the question of your company image. An increasing number of consumers and business customers today will only buy from or invest in companies who help protect the planet. By showing you are trying to reduce carbon emissions, you will increase your appeal in the market and attract more customers.
My next point is about your reputation as an employer. If you make a commitment to the environment, you will encourage more people to come and work for you. People don’t just want to buy from responsible businesses; they also want to work for them.
There is one more important result for your business if you start adopting environmental policies now. In the near future, governments are planning to bring in new regulations for dealing with climate change. Being prepared for these will save you time and money when the new rules are introduced. And, as I said before, you’ll make bigger profits if you start saving energy right now.
That brings me to the end of my talk. Thanks very much for listening. Now, are there any questions?
Review of the Movie *jOBS*
jOBS is a 2013 biographical drama film based on the career of the late American businessman and global icon Steve Jobs. It follows his life from 1971 until his death in 2011. The title role is played by Ashton Kutcher, with Josh Gad playing the role of Apple Computer’s co-founder Steve Wozniak. Filming began in June 2012, with over three days of filming on location at Jobs’ childhood home in California, followed by 28 days of filming in Los Angeles. The official movie site said: “jOBS is the incredibly powerful and true story of the visionary who set out to change the world, and did…[it] plunges into the depths of his character, creating an intense dialogue-driven story [and an] immensely personal portrait of Steve Jobs’ life.”
The moviemakers decided to write the movie title in a special way, to mirror the small “j” with the small “i” that is part of so many Apple products. The film was met with very mixed initial reviews and got just a 43% approval rating on the review site rottentomatoes.com. Many critics focused on Kutcher, suggesting better actors should have played the part. Britain’s Guardian newspaper wrote: “This is far from the bomb some would have envisaged, but neither is it the character illumination one would wish for. Jobs appears so consumed by his work here that little else mattered in his life. That may be true, but we’re left none the wiser as to what made the man tick, beyond what we already know.”
Podpads at the Summerhouse Festival
I’m here to report on our experiment with Podpads at the Summerhouse Festival last month. The purpose of our research was to find the most comfortable place for visitors to stay during outdoor festivals. We wanted to find out which accommodation would keep people dry in bad weather.
Why did we choose Podpads? Because they are much stronger than tents. The makers also have an installation team who put up the Podpads before the event and take them down again afterwards.
First, we contacted Podpads.com and ordered 50 Podpads for the Summerhouse Festival. Then, on our website, we offered free accommodation to 50 visitors if they took part in our research.
We spoke to our Podpad residents after one night and then again after a second night. All of them said they would consider hiring a Podpad at the next festival they went to, depending on the price.
Finally, we visited the farmers who let us use their land. We asked them for their opinion of the company. They commented on the efficiency of the team who put up the Podpads and then took them down as soon as the festival was over. I think we can say that the Podpads were a huge success. We found that they were popular with both visitors and farmers and, more importantly, they will protect the people using them from bad weather.
Wired 2 Play Entertainment Ltd. Conference
Good morning and welcome to the annual conference of Wired 2 Play Entertainment Ltd. My name is Thorsten Richter, and I’m Head of the European Division.
I’ve been with the company for fifteen years, and last year I was promoted to this position. In my previous role, I ran the Creative Department in Bonn, where we developed the best-selling games ‘Riders in the Storm’ and ‘Kingdom Come’.
Over the last year, I’ve met with all the country managers to discuss our falling sales figures. At the moment, we’re working together with a consultant, Amy Chang, to analyze our main problems. In the future, we may have to target a different market to increase sales. I’d be grateful for any ideas you might have here.
So, that’s enough about me. Let me tell you about those sales figures I mentioned…
Right then, before I start, I’ll tell you a bit about myself. My name’s Amy Chang, and I’m a freelance consultant. I studied economics and business at Beijing University from 2002 to 2005, and after doing my MBA, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers. I left PwC when I had the opportunity to go freelance. Recently, I have worked on several successful cases with clients of yours, which is how I came into contact with your company. Up to now, I’ve managed to find solutions for all the companies I have worked with.
In my current role as consultant to your company, I’m looking to improve your sales figures and reduce your costs. Over the next year, I’ll spend two weeks in each department before I sit down and write my recommendations report. I’m looking forward to working with all of you.
A Trip to the Bahamas
We flew to the Bahamas in the summer of 1975, from Madrid to Paris and then Paris to the Bahamas, on a McDonnell Douglas 10 airplane.
Upon arrival, we went to a hotel in a crazy taxi.
The next day, we went to meet a pilot friend named Gergo, who took us for a ride on a small plane. We took off from runway 36 with calm wind, good visibility, and no clouds, but after takeoff, suddenly, a big, dark supercell cloud generated above the island.
The flight was very turbulent, and the pilots started sweating.
The radio traffic control said to the pilot: “Wind 325 degrees, 40 knots, with gusts of 66 knots. Please orbit while the storm rises.” After that, lightning started from all sides.
The plane window was open, and a lightning ball got inside. The whole set of alarms started to sound: “Bank Angle, Bank Angle,” “Pull up,” “Terrain ahead,” “Don’t sink.” The motor started to fail; we needed to land ASAP (As Soon As Possible). The radio controller called a supervisor who assisted us. We said: “Cleared ILS approach runway 36, report on final. Frequency is 112.0. Expect microbursts, turn immediately heading 110 and descend 1000 feet.”
The motor stopped, and the pilot started to ignite it by pumping fuel from the tank to the carburetor via the prime injector. The fuel pump worked, and the motor was back. The runway was in sight, and we started the final approach.
The landing was very bumpy, and the weather was intense. When I exited the plane, lightning struck right next to me, and my ear exploded.
The next day, we found a tunnel, entered it, and suddenly heard a sheep. We ran out of this tunnel because the ghostly presence was intense. After that, we called Paloma Navarrete to come here and bring a pendulum to look for anomalies.
In the afternoon, a dark cloud started to populate the sky. We heard a very intense “HUMM” sound. This was a very strange feeling because we looked everywhere and found nothing. This day was the scariest of my entire life. We went to the hotel quickly and waited for the next day. The last day, we won a raffle of two tickets to Madrid on a trans-Atlantic cruise, so we went aboard and arrived in Madrid three weeks later.