UNIT 7: PEOPLE

1
Vocabulary Business English

Quotation about people

.
 Vocabulary Business English

Describing A What sort of person are you?

people For each question choose one answer.
Compare your answers with a partner.
B
Then find people with the same answers with you.

1. I like to work
a) alone b) in a team c) with a partner
2. For appointments I like to be
a) early b) on time c) five minutes late
3. I prefer to work
a) at home b) in an office c) outside
4. I like to travel
a) to new places b) to places I know well c) only when I need to
5. In meetings I prefer
a) not to speak much b) to speak a lot c) to be the chairperson
6. I work best
a) in the morning b) in the afternoon c) in the evening / at night
7. I think a lot about
a) the future b) the past c) the present
8. I like my friends or colleagues to be
a) intelligent b) good-looking c) funny
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Describing
People
PERSONALITIES
 Height

Build Eye
Physical
Characteristics

Face Appearance

Nose
 Height
tall
of medium
height

short
 Build

skinny slim of normal muscular fat

build
 Face

Oval Round Square Triangular

 Nose
• Straight
• Crooked /´krukid/
• Flat
• Big
• Small
• Turned-up
• Pointed
Brown Green

EYE

Black Blue

Big Small
black brown red blonde grey

HAIR

straight crew-cut (n) curly pony tail (n)

 FOREHEAD

Broad )( narrow High )( low

beautiful pretty handsome

Appearance
plain good-looking

Appearance
 • EXAMPLE
• She is about 20 years
old.
• She is slim.
• She has long straight
black hair.
• She has an oval face
with big eyes, a
straight nose and
heart-shaped lips.
• She’s very beautiful
 Personalities
• Caring: chu đáo • Friendly: thân thiện
• Hospitable: hiếu khách • Humorous: hài hước
• Modest: khiêm tốn • Quick-witted: nhanh trí
• Sincere: chân thành • Good-natured: tốt bụng
• Generous: hào phóng • Studious: chăm chỉ
• Honest: trung thực • Intelligent: thông minh
• Helpful: tốt bụng • Patient: kiên nhẫn
• Understanding: thông cảm
• Calm: điềm tĩnh
• Pleasant: dễ chịu
• Eager to learn: ham học hỏi
 Business English

A
Match the statements 1 to 10 to the adjectives a)
to j)
They …

1. like to spend time with other people a) ambitious

2. want to reach the top in their career b) creative
3. have a lot of new ideas c) hard-working
4. do what they promise to do d) motivating
5. are usually calm e) helpful
6. spend a lot of time doing a good job f) punctual
7. like to be on time g) relaxed
8. encourage other people to work well h) sociable
9. are good at making things work i) practical
10. like to do things for other people j) reliable
 Business English

B Use adjectives from Exercise A to complete

this Human Resources report.

MARIA KARLSSON

Marie is good in a team, and she

gets on well with her colleagues. She
is extremely __________.
sociable She is
never late for meetings-she is always
punctual . She is very
___________
___________
reliable , she always meets
deadlines. She is in the office at 8:00
a.m. every day and often stays late-
hard-working
she is very ___________.
creative person
She is also a very ________
with a lot of ideas for the future of the
company.
 Business English

Look again at the adjectives in Exercise A.

which types of colleague do you like to work with?
Discuss your answers with a partner.

I like to work with ambitious people.

They get things done.
 Business English
Listening
John Burnham is a property developer. He
is talking about a colleague he worked
with. Listen to the first part of the
conversation. Mark each statement true or
false.
1.John’s colleague was easy to work with. false
2.He is very rude to customers. true
3.He was good at managing people. false
4.He blamed other people for problems. true
 Business English

Listening
Listen to the second part of the
conversation. Then answer these questions.

1.How long did John work with this colleague?

Five years
2.What were two good things about John’s colleague?
He was punctual and practical.
3.John says, “The company fired him.” why did they fire
him?
He shouted at a customer in the office.
 Business English

Language
Focus 2

Past simple: negatives and questions

For negatives and question in the past simple.

We use the auxiliary did (didn’t) and the infinitive form
of the verb.
You didn’t like your colleague.
Did he leave the company?
Why did he leave the company?

Note the form with the verb to be

Was he a good colleague? No, he wasn’t.

Page 124
 Business English

Listening A
Put the words in the right order to make
sentences from the conversation on page 63.
Negatives Listen and Check your answer
1. You / like / didn’t / colleague /.
You didn’t like your colleague.
2. how to / people / manage / He / know / didn’t / .
He didn’t know how to manage people.
3. at all / his staff / support / didn’t / He / .
He didn’t support his staff at all.
Question
4. Why / he / was / to work with / so difficult / ?
Why was he so difficult to work with?
5. his staff /How did / manage / he /?
How did he manage his staff?
6. at the company / long / was he / How / ?
How long was he at the company?
7. he / was /good at / What / ?
What was he good at?
8. did / leave /the company / he / Why / ?
Why did he leave the company?
 Business English

Task
C Correct one mistake in each line
of this message.

Maris, I’m sorry. I’m having a bad day. I didn’t sent the report
1.send

out, and I not check the figures. I didn’t get to the bank 2.didn’t

on time, and I didn’t phoned the suppliers. I tried to call you 3.phone

this morning, but you not answer. I think I need to go home. 4.didn’t
 Business English

Task
D Read the extract. Then write questions with each of the
following words.

Why How long What When Where

Monica grew up in France. She studied Italian at university in

Paris. Then she worked in Italy for four years from 1999 until
2003. She left Italy because she wanted to study English. She
went to London in 2003.
Where did Monica grow up?

What did she study?

How long did she work in Italy?

Why did she leave Italy?

When did she go to London?

 Business English

Speaking
Work in pairs.
E Ask your partner questions about their past
studies and/ or jobs.

Where did you study ...?

What subjects did you take?

Which ones were your favourite subjects?

Who was your favourite teacher?

What did (didn’t) you like about your studies?

 Sir Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney MBE (Born: 18 June

1942) is a Grammy Award-winning English singer,
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first
gained worldwide fame as one of the founding
members of The Beatles.
 Business English

Reading Stella McCartney is Paul McCartney’s daughter.

A
Work in pairs. Answer this question. Is she:

a) an actress? b) a musician? c) a fashion designer?

B Now read the article and check your answer.

Stella qualities
By Adrian Michaels
Stella McCartney opened her first shop on West
14th Street in New York’s meatpacking district.
She loves the area although she is a vegetarian.
The fashion designer is the daughter of Sir Paul
and Linda McCartney who was also a famous
vegetarian. But Stella feels that the place suits her
style more than New York’s fashion area such as
SoHo or Madison Avenue.
McCartney founded her own company after a
successful time at the houses of Chloe in Pairs.
Her new business is a fifty-fifty partnership with
Gucci.
 Business English

Reading Her friends include actors and musicians such as

Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting and Brian Eno, ‘I do have
famous friends,’ she says. ‘But I also have friends
that work in a bakery, in property. I wanted to be a
fashion designer when I was young. In those days it
wasn’t all Versace. I think these days anyone’s a
celebrity. Anyone can have a zoom lens on them. I
just happen to work as a fashion designer. I’ve got a
job and I work hard.’
McCartney spent her childhood summers on Long
Island. And she has both British and American
nationality. That explains why she is comfortable
with opening her first shop in New York.
She did not do any research to see what Americans
like. ‘ I have no idea if New Yorkers will like my
style. I hope so. The research I do is from the heart.
I try to create something that I would like and which
reflects my personality.’

From the Financial Times

FINANCIAL TIMES
world business newspaper.
 Business English

Task
C Read the article carefully. Are these statements true
or false?

1. Stella does not eat meat. true

2. Her mother did not eat meat. true

3. Stella’s company is a partnership with Chloe. false

4. All Stella’s friends are famous. false

5. Stella can have British and US passports. true

6. Stella studied US style before she opened the shop. false

 Business English

Task
D Match the verbs and nouns to make word
partnerships. Check your answers in the article.

Verbs Nouns
a) time
1. open
b) research
2. do
c) a job
3. found
d) a company
4. have got
e) a shop
5. spend
 Business English

Task
VOCABULARY

District (n)
Vegetarian (n)
Design (v); designer (n)
Suit (v)
Found (v); foundation (n)
 Business English

Task
VOCABULARY

Partnership (n)
Bakery (n)
Property (n)
Celebrity (n) /səˈlɛbrəti/
Reflect (v)
Personality (n)
 Business English

Speaking
D Discuss the following questions.

1. What sort of business would you like to start?

2. Where would you start it?

3. What sort of person would you start a business

with?
 Business English

Language
Focus 2 We form questions which can be answered with
yes or no in two ways.
With be or a modal Be / modal subject
verb verb
He is ambitious. Is he ambitious?
She can see us now. Can she see us now?

With all other verb Form of do Subject

Stella loves the area. Does Stella love the area

We begin other types of questions with a question word such as why,

where, when or how.

Question Form of subject

word do
She works hard. Why does she work hard?

Page 124
 Business English

Language
Focus 2 A Make yes / no questions from these
statements.

1.He likes efficient people.

Does he like efficient people?
2.He caught the plane.
Did he catch the plane?
3.She can meet Simon on Wednesday.
Can she meet Simon on Wednesday?
4.She was at the meeting.
Was she at the meeting?
5.They went to the conference.
Did they go to the conference?
6.You met the deadline.
Did you meet the deadline?
 Business English

Task Make questions from these statements. Use

B question words from the box. The answer to each
question is underlined.

1.I bought five. How many did you buy?

2.They go there twice a week. How often do they go there?
3.I live in New York. Where do you live?
4.She wants the report When does she want the report?
tomorrow.
5.We work with Susan? Who do you work with?
6.They came because they wanted to see me. Why did they come?
7.He is always late because he lives a long way away.
Why is he always late?

8.I interviewed Pierre. Who did you interview?

 Business English

Task
C Last week Amina went on a training course.
Complete the questions on a questionnaire about the course.

BUSINESS TRAINING SOLUTIONS

COURSE EVALUATION

1. Why did you choose this training course?

a) location b) price c) reputation
2. How did you get to the course?
a) by train b) by car c) by bus
3. Where did you start your journey?

a) in London b) outside London c) outside the UK

4. Did you like the main presentation?
a) Yes, very much b) Yes, it was OK. c) No
 Business English

5. How did you feel about the course?

a) very satisfied b) satisfied c) not satisfied
6. Were the tutors helpful?
a) Yes, very helpful b) Yes, quite helpful c) No, not helpful

7.Which part did you find the most useful?

a) presentation skills b) meeting skills c) negotiation skills

8. When did you receive the pre-course information?

a) more than 3 weeks before the course
b) 2—3 weeks before the course
c) less than 2 weeks before the course

D Listen and tick Amina’s answers

 Business English
Skills
Negotiating
Sophie Bond is a warehouse manager. She is
Dealing with
people A talking to Jacques Martin, a director of the
company. Listen and answer the questions.

1.What time do Sophie’s staff leave work?

7 or 8 o’clock.
2.What does Sophie suggest?
Hire some part-time staff.
3.When will Jacques get back to Sophie?
By the end of the week.
 Business English

Task B Listen again and complete the extracts below.

Jacques I understand what you’re saying, Sophie, but it’s

can’t fire any more staff
just not possible. We _____
at the moment.
Sophie I can’t accept that. I told you months ago that my
staff work _____
too hard.
Jacques easy to get the right kind
I don’t know. It’s not _____
of staff.
can train them. Even ____
I ____ one part-time worker
Sophie
would make life easier.

Work in pairs. Role play this situation. Student A is a sales

C representative for a computer company. You ask the sales manager
for a new company car:turn to page 141. Student B is the sales
manager: turn to page 146.

Sales manager I understand you want a different car.

Sales representative That’s right. Last year…
 Business English

Useful language

EMPLOYEE MANAGER
Describing the problem Responding
There’s too much… I’m sorry but …
There isn’t enough… I understand but…
Emphasising the problem Explaining the reasons
It’s really important… The problem is …
We need to … The reason is …
Making suggestions Responding
Why don’t you …? Ok, I’ll think about it.
We could … All right. I’ll get back to you.
 Business English

Case Study
A people problem
Background
The problem

Buffet Inc., a US food Lincoln is ambitious and hard-working, and

company, opened a he speaks four languages. But he is not get
restaurant chain in on with Sam or the office staff in Stuttgart.
• Lincoln often wants the staff to stop their to
Germany last year. Sam
Benetti is the head of the help him.
Stuttgart office, and
• He entertains customers a lot and spends
Lincoln Davis is its
business manager. too much money.

• Lincoln seldom attends meetings. He says,

‘I was with a customer.’

Lincoln is unhappy and is thinking of leaving the company.

Last week , he had a meeting with Sam. After the meeting,
he wrote an e-mail to Sam.
 Business English

Case Study
As I said in our meeting, I work long hours every day and
most weekends. Our customers say l do a excellent job, but
you and the staff are not helpful.
Yesterday morning, for example, I was late. But the night
before, I work until 2 in the morning. You criticised me in
front of the office staff.
I need more help to do my job.

Task
Work in pairs. You are directors from head office, visiting Stuttgart.
Director A: turn to page 136.
Director B: turn to page 140
Read your role cards and discuss the problem.
Agree on ine of the following solutions.
 Try to get Sam and Lincoln to work together successfully.
 Move Sam and Lincoln to another part of the company.
 Ask Lincoln to leave the company.
 Business English
Unit 7 People Summary Sheet
slender
Describing people! yellowish-brown (complexion)
shapely
Choose someone that you know very well to describe to the with light-colored or blonde hair
class (mother, boy/girlfriend, best friend etc.)
voluptuous short, strong, and solid in appearance
Now describe their attributes.
fair quite tall and thin
having an attractive shape; well formed (especially a woman’s body)
stocky
skin made brown by exposure to the sun
physical spiritual emotional tanned
having a full and sexually desirable figure (of a woman)
olive
What does he/she What does How does he/she
look like? he/she feel about 1.like to spend time with other people a)ambitious
believe in? things?
Now describe yourself in the same way ... 2.want to reach the top in their career b)creative
www.englishfirst.com.c
n 3.have a lot of new ideas c)hard-working

Height/Weight Body Type 4.do what they promise to do d)motivating

short stocky
tall lanky 5.are usually calm e)helpful
chubby athletic
thin/skinny/slender 6.Spend a lot of time doing a good job f)punctual
fat
Clothes/Style
7.like to be on time g)relaxed
trendy
Hair
fashionable
thick conservative
8.encourage other people to work well h)sociable
curly nerdy
thin 9.are good at making things work i)practical
long/short
Eyes 10.like to do things for other people j)reliable
blond
coarse big/small
bald brown/blue/hazel

www.englishfirst.com.cn
Past simple: negatives and questions
For negatives and question in the past simple.
We use the auxiliary did ( didn’t) and the infinitive form of the verb.
You didn’t like your colleague.
“Nature” refers to the genetic and various Did he leave the company?
inborn biological factors affecting our Why did he leave the company?
overall development.
Note the form with the verb to be?
Was he a good colleague? No, he wasn’t.