Computers

As dependence on computers increases,so does the need for technicalsupport. From installation of software to detection of viruses,computers require constant vigilance.Most larger companies find it most expeditious to maintain in-house computer staff.

Many smaller companies,however,canit fund their own full-time,in-house technical help.

Instead,many ofthem assign the task of computer maintenance to a current employee who may not have any formal training.

Rather,these computer buffs have derived their skills through practice and self-training.

These self-appointed tech specialists,however,often cannot solve bigger problems.

What is more,they may see their office relations corrode when they are swamped with basic user questions that they simply donit have time to address.

For these reasons, many small companies choose to employ a freelance technical assistant who circulatesamong clients on an as-needed basis.

With their professional training,these consultants may propose
innovative solutions to users' unique needs,which could vary from tracking inventory to simulating mechanized processes.

They can implement new programs,train personnel,and escape the workplace before being asked,iHow can I cut this file and paste it somewhere else?


Questions:

1. Which sentence best expresses the essential information of this passage?

a. Larger companies are better off using freelance technical consultants.
b. Computer maintenance and troubleshooting cuts into employee productivity.
c. Self-trained technical support personnel are often as effective as trained professionals.
d. Smaller companies may benefit from hiring occasional technical support

2. The article implies that the question How do I cut and paste a file? is

a. too basic to require professional attention
b. a good question to give to in-house tech support
c. appropriate for a freelancer to address
d. a good topic for a training program

International Trade (Answers Key)

Passage:International Trade
1. c 2. b

Homework 1.
1. c 2. a 3. d 4. e 5. b

Homework 2.
1. distilled 2. shuttle 3. merchants 4. prototype 5. proportionately

Interesting Vocab (International Trade)

Explanation of the interesting vocabs in the International Trade article.
1. distill
v. to remove one liquid from a mixture of liquids by boiling;toget something valuable from a confusing mix of ideas

2. entrepreneurial
adj. Able to create business opportunities from a wide variety of circumstances

3. extract
v. To take out

4. haggle
v. To argue back and forth about a price

5. intrepid
adj. Fearless

6. merchant
n. A person who makes a living by selling things

7. proportionately
adv. In an amount appropriate to each of several recipients

8. prototype
n. The first one made of a machine or system

9. reward
n. Something one gets for having done well

10. shuttle
v. To move back and forth often between two places

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HOMEWORK 1 : Find the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to each word in the left-hand column.Write the letter in the blank.

1. haggle
2. intrepid
3. extract
4. entrepreneurial
5. proportionately

(a)brave
(b)in appropriate amounts
(c)argue about price
(d)take out
(e)business-oriented

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HOMEWORK 2 :Circle the word that best completes each sentence.

1.To avoid disease,many people drink only (distilled / extracted) water,which has been boiled to evaporation and then recondensed on a coldsurface.

2. Most business travelers do not find it exciting to (haggle / shuttle) between one location and another.

3. According to the laws in this state,tobacco can be sold only by certain licensed (merchants / entrepreneurs) at special tobacco stores.

4. One early (reward / prototype) of the computer was called ENIAC and was as big as an average-sized laboratory.

5. The children were punished (intrepidly / proportionately),with the leader getting a longer sentence than the followers.

International Trade

Tomatoes, potatoes, and hot peppers, all originally from South or Central America, are among several plants that have disproportionately influenced cooking around the world. This happened only after a few intrepid eaters got beyond common fears about potatoes, tomatoes, and other products.

Entrepreneurial hunters for new food products hardly knew what they were haggling for when they tried to extract from foreign markets goods that would sell well at home. Shuttling between Europe and exotic lands, Italians, Spaniards, and Britons in particular brought back food prototypes that were not obviously good things to eat cinnamon bark, cousins of the dreaded nightshade (tomatoes), and even the pollen from a crocus flower (saffron).

As a glance at international cookbooks will show, many creative merchants were well rewarded not just with financial success, but with culture-changing influence.


Please answer the QUESTIONS, and send the answers to hanayolaw@gmail.com

1. According to this reading, why did merchants have iculture-changing influencei?
a. They found new ways to get from one country to another.
b. Many of the plants they sold were poisonous and killed off some populations.
c. They made it possible for cultures to develop new dishes.
d. They spread European cooking habits around the world.

2. Cinnamon,tomatoes,and saffron are mentioned to make the point that__________.
a. many of the new plants merchants introduced were from Asia
b. some strange-looking foods from odd sources were eventually accepted
c. nightshade was unfairly dreaded by Europeans
d. nearly every part of a plant can be turned into a kind of food

Employment (Answers Key)

Passage:Employment
1. c 2. b

Homework 1.
1. e 2. c 3. a 4. b 5. d

Homework 2.
1. exploit 2. marginal 3. merit 4. incentive 5. resign

Interesting Vocab (Employment)

Explanation of the interesting vocabs in the EMPLOYMENT article.

1. compensate
v. To give an employee money or other things in exchange for the work he or she does

2. dynamic
adj. Full of energy

3. enterprising
adj. Creative in thinking of ways to make money

4. exploit
v. To take advantage of; to treat inconsiderately in order to profit

5. incentive
n. A possible benefit that motivates a person to do a certain thing

6. industrious
adj. Willing to work hard

7. marginal
adj. Not very significant or effective

8. merit
n. Value; success based on one is work, not on luck

9. promote
v. To move someone to a higher position in a company

10. resign
v. To quit a job


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HOMEWORK 1.

Find the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to each word in the left-hand column.Write the letter in the blank.
1. compensate
2. dynamic
3. enterprising
4. industrious
5. promote

(a)good at finding business opportunities
(b)hard-working
(c)energetic
(d)move up
(e)pay

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HOMEWORK 2.

Circle the word that best completes each sentence.

1.Some companies move their factories to poor countries in order to(exploit / compensate) the desperation of people who are willing towork for very low wages.

2. For the last five years,weive seen only (dynamic / marginal) improvements in our productivity.

3. Judging by actual money-generating (promotion / merit),Williams is the companyis most valuable employee.

4. I had a lot of (compensation / incentive) to move to our new facility in Minnesota,because two of my brothers live there.

5. Unless my employer stops polluting local rivers,Iim going to (resign/exploit).

Employment

In the 1960s and 1970s, America was reaching the end of its role as a manufacturing power. Old-style systems of compensation, especially company pension plans, were impoverishing many companies. Much to the disadvantage of less-industrious workers, companies started demanding merit, not just seniority, before someone could be promoted. Many managers who were only marginally effective were encouraged to resign. These changes were painful, but unavoidable, symptoms of a growth spurt in the U.S. economy. Economies grow and change just as people do.

A truly enterprising businessperson knows how to exploit these large changes and become involved in tomorrow is dynamic businesses, not yesterday is. There is still plenty of money to be made in America, a very effective incentive for workers to adapt to new conditions.


Direction: Answer the questions and send your answers to hanayolaw@gmail.com

1. Which sentence best expresses the essential information of this passage?

a. Most companies cannot afford to compensate their employees like they used to.
b. Anyone interested in making a lot of money should move to the United States.
c. The 1960s and 1970s were times of great change for the American economy.
d. Just as retailers adapt to economic change, so must manufacturers.

2. The author of this article expresses a negative opinion about __________.

a. business persons
b. workers who depended on seniority for promotion
c. companies that exploit changes in the economy
d. the American economy as a whole