III. Speech practice exercises

1. Translate into English: 

 

1. Владелец частного предприятия сохраняет за собой всю прибыль, которая облагается налогом по индивидуальной ставке.

2. Примерно две трети предприятий частной собственности в США зарабатывают менее двадцати пяти тысяч долларов в год.

3. Во многих странах, адвокатам, врачам и бухгалтерам не разрешается создавать частные компании, только партнерства с неограниченной ответственностью.

4. Товарищество не является юридическим лицом, отделённым от своих владельцев.

5. Договор о товариществе излагает права и обязанности каждого партнёра.

6. В отличие от частного предприятия и товарищества, корпорация является отдельным юридическим лицом.

7. Акционеры, или владельцы корпорации, пользуются преимуществом ограниченной ответственности. Они не несут персональной ответственности за долги корпоративной единицы.

8. Частное предприятие может перестать существовать, когда владелец умирает, в то время как корпорация имеет неограниченную продолжительность жизни.

9. Помимо ограниченной ответственности, корпорации обладают преимуществом ликвидности, которая означает, что инвесторы могут легко превращать свои акции в наличность.

10. Акционеры должны платить подоходный налог на свою долю прибылей корпорации, получаемую в виде дивидендов.

11. 500 крупных корпораций США являются частными корпорациями, находящимися во владении частных лиц или компаний.

12. Такие корпорации, как General Motors, IBM, Coca-Cola представляют собой холдинговые компании, владеющие рядом дочерних компаний.        

  

2. Read the dialogues, reproduce them and make up your own ones.

A)

Mike – Hi, Jim! Haven’t seen you for ages. I’ve heard you left for Europe

some years ago. How’s everything?

Jim       – Not bad. Glad to meet you, Mike. Well, I’ve been living in France

for two years already. I’m on business here. How are you?

M     – Pretty good, thanks. I’ve recently inherited a small business – a

restaurant – and I’m going to operate it.

J      – That’s great! But isn’t it a little risky? I’ve just read an article about

private companies and think it is a dangerous and difficult business.

M    – Sure, but I’ve always wanted my own place. I’m eager to become a

sole proprietor. In order to succeed in business, one needs to take

a few risks – calculated risks, of course.

J      – But as a sole proprietor you are entirely responsible for your

success or failure, aren’t you? If your losses prove to be greater

than the investment, you’re responsible for paying them If you

fail, you will lose everything you own, even your family’s home!

M        – I hope, I won’t. I’ve been taking lessons in business school for a

year already – to learn about business. And you know, I’ve been

taught much!

J        – It’s a good idea! Well, what about taxes?

M  – Here I gain an advantage. I will pay fewer taxes and at a lower

rate than a corporation does. And one more thing! As a proprietor,

I can make my own decisions without having to consult others.

Nobody can poke their nose into my business.

J     – That sounds optimistic. But you have to do a lot to succeed in this

town. What are you going to start with?

M    – I’ve been thinking it over ever since I became a proprietor. I have

grandiose plans – well, to reconstruct the hall, to paint the walls

pink and white, to buy new furniture and cooking equipment, to…

J     – To get a talented chef! That’s the first thing you should do, I

suppose. By the way, I’m not bad at cooking.

M    – Really?

 J    – Do you know what I’ve been doing in France for the last two

years? I’ve been practising French cuisine in a fashionable Paris

restaurant and I’ve been named a “blue ribbon” chef recently.

Well, now I’m thinking of coming back soon.

M    – Sounds fantastic!

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

 

inherit – наследовать

fail   – терпеть неудачу, становиться банкротом

chef – шеф-повар

“Blue ribbon” – “голубая лента” – почётный титул,

 присуждаемый мастеру высшей                        

 квалификации, чаще всего в поварском искусстве

 

B)

Liza – Hi, Nancy! You’re looking pretty fit! Do you exercise very much?

Nancy – Glad to see you, Liz. To tell the truth, I have no time for exercises.

I’ve been working too much for the last few weeks, so I’ve lost a

good couple of kilograms. You know, it’s uneasy business to run a

company.

L   – I know that quite well, Nancy. I’ve been running my beauty shop

for three years already, and I’ve got a lot of problems. Yes, I work

for myself and I make my own decisions, but I work day and night!

I need experienced managers and specialists but I’m short of           

finance to offer them higher salaries. As a proprietor, I have to pay

much for credit! Banks are likely to charge higher interest rates to

small companies than to large ones.

N   – Proprietorships have too many disadvantages, haven’t they? My

perfumery shop is doing quite well and I’m thinking to expand the

business but my financial resources are limited.

L   – Look Nancy! What about working as a team? I mean we could

form a partnership. Combining our capital and skills we’ll expand

our business for larger profits. Just imagine! Your perfumery will

be sold in my beauty shop. Furthermore, your cosmetics will be used in the beauty shop and it will be recommended to our clients.

N  – It sounds interesting. We’ve known each other for many years, Liz

and I think we’ll get along well. Your idea is really great. As

partners, we can start a more ambitious enterprise. One day it

might grow from a small firm into a beauty empire.

L   – That would be great! But first we should get a lawyer’s advice on

the partnership agreement. We’ll have time to discuss everything

in detail.

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

 

fit – в хорошей форме

interest rate – ставка (норма) процента

get along – ладить (с кем-либо)

empire – империя

 

C)

Ron – Look, Harry! What about going into business together? We are

both doctors with a large practice and we could start a small private clinic – a kind of a partnership. It will bring us a handsome profit.

Harry – Oh Ron, I’m not much of a businessman. I’m too lazy for it. I’ve

been curing my patients for many years and I don’t feel like having adventures. My aunt says that adventure is a romantic name for trouble.

R  – Your aunt is too pessimistic, isn’t she? Pessimism never won any

battle.

H  – Maybe you’re right, Ron. You see, my aunt is an old lonely woman

and she always takes care of me. I’m the only nephew of hers. She is good at finance and she advised me to invest in a flourishing corporation.

R – Did you follow her advice?

H    – Oh, yes and I’m a stockholder now.

R – What’s the name of the corporation?

H – “Clair Lu Cliff Incorporated”. It has been producing jeans since

1955 and it is really big and successful. As I know, it employs

about 200,000 people and it is still being expanded. 

R – Sounds impressive! Well, how do you like to be a stockholder?

H – It’s great! I’ve got rid of making financial decisions – I took it out

on the management of the corporation. And it seems to be competent and qualified, otherwise I wouldn’t receive such high dividends.

R – Are they really high?

H – They are. They’ve been growing constantly ever since I became a

shareholder. My aunt is very pleased with it. She is sure I’ll

receive dividends twice as much next year. You know, my aunt

makes no mistakes as a rule.

R –   Your aunt is a fantastic woman! What’s her name by the way?

H –   Haven’t I told you yet? She is Clair Lu Cliff.

 

VOCABULARY NOTES

 

adventure – 1) приключение;

2) рискованное коммерческое дело, рискованное

предприятие

flourishing – процветающий

get rid of smth – избавляться от чего-либо

take smth out on smb -переложить что-либо на кого-то

 

3. Imagine that:

 

1.You are a sole proprietor. You have started a business of your own. Speak up about your company, its organization, performance, owner’s liability, tax treatment, etc. Which aspects of your business activity seem the most attractive to you and what problems do you have to face as a individual owner?

 

2.You and some of your friends have gone into business together. Make up a story about your mutual business enterprise. What type of partnership did you organize? How do you share rights and responsibilities? What key elements does your partnership agreement include? Have you any interpersonal problems? Why did you choose this form of business enterprise and does it suit you completely?

 

3.You are a shareholder of some corporation. Advertise a corporate form of proprietorship. Do you agree that corporations are not without some disadvantages? Give your reasons.