Business English Topics for Discussion  1. What can you say about the present economic situation?

 2. Compare the economic situation of today with the situation 2 years ago.

 3. Do you think that unemployment will increase or decrease in the next few years?  4. What can we do with people who have been laid off and who have no real chance of      finding another job?  5. Has the computer created or killed jobs?  6. Describe the current business situation in your company.

 7. Has your company ever laid off employees?

 8. Do you have flexitime in your company? What are the advantages and      disadvantages?  9. Which business areas have a bright future, in your opinion? 10. Should every European country join the European Union? 

Useful Phrases : 

 Well, in my opinion, ....... 

There are two sides to this question, ....... 

On the one hand ......., on the other hand ........ 

Most people would agree that ........ 

I'm convinced that ........ 

I'm not really convinced that ...----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business Expressions 1

I thought this time things were going to be better. Losing the contract was ........ to swallow. a. bottom line b. blue collar c. a bitter pill 

d. back to the drawing board. e. blow-by-blow 

                1. We've lost the contract thanks to your incompetence. You really ........ , didn't you? 

a. back to the drawing board. b. bottlenecks c. bottom line d. blue collar e. blew it 

                2. I'd be better off stopping my legal job and doing jobs for cash. The ........ is the only way to make money these days. 

a. blow-by-blow b. back to the drawing board. c. bottlenecks d. black economy e. bottom line 

                

3. The product didn't work in the States. As they say there, it really ........ . a. back to the drawing board. b. bottlenecks c. bombed d. blow-by-blow e. bottom line 

                4. However, the same product sold really well in England. As they say there, it ........ . 

a. back to the drawing board. b. bottlenecks c. bottom line d. blue collar e. went like a bomb 

                5. He used to work on the factory floor. Yes, he really started out as a ........ worker. 

a. blue collar b. back to the drawing board. c. bottlenecks d. bottom line e. blow-by-blow 

                6. There are many reasons why this should be a success. However, the ........ is that it has been a big flop. 

a. bottom line b. back to the drawing board. c. bottlenecks d. blow-by-blow e. a bitter pill 

                7. Production has been unable to keep pace with demand. We are doing our best to eliminate the ........ . 

a. blow-by-blow b. back to the drawing board. c. blew it d. a bitter pill e. bottlenecks 

                8. We'll have to start again on this one -it's time to go ........ . 

a. blow-by-blow b. blew it c. black economy d. bombed e. back to the drawing board. 

                9. Don't leave out any details. I want a full ........ account of what happened in the meeting. 

a. blow-by-blow b. blew it c. black economy d. bombed e. went like a bomb 

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:

CEO MANAGING DIRECTOR

MORTGAGAE HOUSING LOAN

P.I.T. V.A.T.

TURNOVER OVERHEADS

SHOOT UP PLUMMET

BEAR MARKET BULL MARKET

DEBIT CARD CREDIT CARD?

ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE?

1. HUNGARY IS THE ONLY COUNTRY WHERE DOUBLE-ENTRY BOOK KEEPING IS USED.2. AUDITING IS A PROCESS WHEN THE EXACTNESS OF RECORDS OF A COMPANY ARE

CONTROLLED3. THIS MEANS THAT EVERY TRANSACTION IS A CREDIT- DEDUCTION IN AN ACCOUNT AND

DEBIT – ADDITION IN ANOTHER.4. BOOKKEEPERS RECORD THE COMPANY’S DAILY TRANSACTIONS5. AN EXTERNAL AUDIT IS PERFORMED BY A COMPANY’S OWN ACCOUNTANTS.6. WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF MONEY?7. WHAT SERVICES CAN YOU GET FROM A BANK?8. WHAT IS A BALANCE SHEET?

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1. When someone "brings something to the table", it means that they _____________________.

   have something to offer

   have nothing to offer

   buy everyone lunch

2. HP is one of Dell's main _____________________. 

   computers

   competitors

   controllers

3. It's pretty hard to _____________________ against big, established companies. 

   compete

   complete

   competition

4. James _____________________ last year.

   changed his jobs

   changed jobs

   made a change in jobs

5. It's not good to _____________________ yourself entirely to your career.

   denigrate

   detonate

   dedicate

6. Bill, I need your _____________________ on this. What do you think of this design?

   intake

   install

   input

7. I thought you _____________________ at the conference. 

   did a really good job

   really did a job

   did really a good job

8. We've got a meeting in 10 minutes. Do I have to _____________________? Yes, you do.

   atone

   attend

   attain

9. I'd like you to do a little _____________________ on investment strategies.

   present

   presenting

   presentation

10. He's away ______________________ at the moment, but he'll be back in a second

   from his desk

   from a desk

   from the desk

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1. Let's have lunch on Thursday = Let's _____________________ on Thursday

   do lunch

   lunch

   eat lunch

2. Generally speaking, a good manager ____________________ a smooth production process. 

   ensures

   makes sure

   is sure

3. Good time management skills are ____________________ ( = very important) to maintaining a smooth workflow. 

   critique

   criticized

   critical

4. I was ____________________ with my other tasks to finish the report.

   very busy

   too busy

   excessively busy

5. I'd like to have that by ____________________ Friday.

   end of the day

   ending

   end of day/ the end of

6. I'm happy to inform you that we've reached another ____________________ ( = significant completion point) with the successful completion of user testing.

   milestone

   mile

   marker

7. After you visualize, and plan a project, you have to ____________________ it. 

   implement

   imply

   implode

8. In the modern business world, "assigning multiple resources to a single activity" means:

   spending lots of money to do a task

   getting one person to do a task

   getting two or more people to do a task

9. We need someone who knows how to use offline advertising to ____________________ ( = increase) online sales. 

   gain

   drive

   get

10. These issues could ______________________ ( = endanger) the completion of this project.

   jeopardy

   jeopardize

   danger

BUSINESS ENGLISH TOPICS

1. WHAT TYPES OF COMPANIES DO YOU KNOW?2. WHAT TYPES OF COMPANIES ARE COMMON IS HUNGARY?3. WHAT TYPES OF TAXES DO YOU KNOW?4. WHAT BENEFITS DO YOU GET FROM YOUR COMPANY?5. WHAT TYPES OF MANAGERS ARE THERE IN YOUR COMPANY?6. WHAT ARE THE MAIN INDUSTRIES OF YOUR COMPANY?7. WHAT SERVICES DO YOU OFFER?8. WHICH COMPANIES DO YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH?9. WHICH COMPANIES ARE YOUR SUPPLIERS?10. WHICH COMPANIES ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?11. WHAT ARE THE TOP PRODUCTS?12. WHAT IS THE SITUATION OF THE MARKET IN HUNGARY?13. WHAT SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR YOUR POSITION?14. WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?15. HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY IN 10 YEARS?

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What word goes best with these verbs?

1.  book

   a) a factory

   b) a deal

   c) a room

   d) a business

2. set up

   a) a room

   b) a customer

   c) a book

   d) a meeting

3. make

   a) competition

   b) a book

   c) a room

   d) a deal

4. open

   a) a market

   b) a competitor

   c) a manager

   d) a new branch

5. break into

   a) a market

   b) a competition

   c) a deal

   d) a TV show

6. face

   a) a room

   b) competition

   c) a factory

   d) loveTOPIC: Talking about work (casual) 1 Choose the best (most logical) response to complete each of the following sentences:

1. This job is too   (stressed-out/stressful). 

2. There's a lot of work, but I can   (deal/handle) it. 

3. I was   (hired/heard) last month. 

4. They   (fired/failed) two of my co-workers, and I'm afraid I might be next. 

5. I work   (at/in) sales. 

6. My   (commute/communion) (= the time it takes me to get to work) isn't so bad. 

7. The company has a reputation for treating their  (employees/employed) well. 

8. I usually don't eat in the   (lunchroom/lunch-zone). I go out to eat. 

9. The dress   (code/cut) is casual. 

10. I'm thinking about   (quitting/stopping) my job. 

TOPIC: Talking about work (casual) 2 Choose the best (most logical) response to complete each of the following sentences:

1. I get along well with most of my  (colleagues/employees) (= co-workers). 

2. I got a   (premonition/promotion) last year. 

3. He's not very   (producing/productive). He just chats to his friends on Facebook all day. 

4. I'm pretty   (content/contained) (= happy) with the way things are going. 

5. Everyone seems to have gotten a   (raise/boost) ( = an increase in salary) except me. 

6. We don't have   (assess/access) to that information. 

7. The   (upper/up) management people are not very well liked by the rest of us. 

8. I'm taking a week   (off/of) to go on vacation. 

9. the work load isn't too   (dense/heavy). 

10. They provide us with a good benefits  (pack/package). 

Topic: General Business Terms 1 1. You always have to make ________ with prospective employers.

   eye contact

   eyes

   chat

2. What do you do? I work ________.

   by advertising

   in advertising

   advertising

3. "________" is a common way of saying "functions or features".

   Functionality

   Flavor

   Scope

4. A ________ is an outside company with whom your company has a business relationship.

   bender

   vendor

   lender

5. IBM provides a variety of networking ________ for its clients. 

   salutes

   solvents

   solutions

6. If you own a lot of stock in a company, you are considered one of its major ________.

   share keepers

   share takers

   shareholders

7. In business, ________ is either a period when some kind of machinery isn't working, or a slow period.

   downtime

   down period

   sleep time

8. One of our corporate objectives is to develop ________ relationships with key customers. 

   static

   strategic

   strategy

9. You have to be less competitive and more ________. 

   cooperating

   cooperation

   cooperative

10. Our goal is to provide customers with high-quality products at ________ prices.

   competitive

   complete

   competent

1. How good are you at ________? I'm great at it! I can do seven things at the same time.

   multiple task making

   multitasking

   multijobbing

2. If someone asks you about your "time ________ skills", they want to know how well you manage your time (at work).

   restraint

   advertising

   management

3. Did Robert leave you a message? I don't know, I haven't checked my ________.

   voice post

   voice mail

   vocal mail

4. David, Mr. Suzuki called. He would like you to ________ as soon as you can.

   call him back

   call back to him

   lender

5. I'd like to speak to Mr. Kim. This is ________ (= about) his credit card application.

   regarding

   regards

   guarding

6. We have to develop a ________ to get more clients.

   strategies

   strategic thinking

   strategy

7. Do you work in marketing? No, I'm in ________.

   sales

   selling

   salesperson

8. ________ (= building connections) is very important in business. 

   Networking

   Netting

   Net

9. A "team ________" likes working with other people and sharing ideas with them. Someone who doesn't like working with other people is not a team ________.

   play

   player

   person

10. To "reevaluate" something means ________.

   to complete one's work

   to judge something

   to revise one's assessment of something