Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020
Set 35 - none could talk him out of this plan
Tutor: Well James; I’ve had a look over your case study and for a first draft, it looks promising. It’s going to be a transition - it’s a family-run business aiming to build a global brand.
James: Yes. I made that clear in my writing.
Tutor: One thing, though, that I think you’ve overlooked is the reason for setting up the furniture company.
James: Well; the owner, Luca Rossi, had got an arts degree. And people were trying to talk him into an academic profession, but he set his sight on a practical job - something more satisfying in the long run. His grandfather was a craftsman and passed the this skill to him. Luca thought he would carry on the tradition. And none could talk him out of this plan.
Tutor: And what do you think that gave his company a competitive edge over others?
James: I wouldn’t think it was the high-end products. But, what put them strongly on the map is that they really focused on customer service.
Tutor: So. I’d like to see your opinion, a bit more critical thinking, rather than the bare facts.
Vocabulary;
case study: a detailed account giving information about the development of a person, group, or thing, especially in order to show general principles.
a family-run business: a company owned and operated by a family.
aim to: to strive or plan to do something.
set up a company: to formally establish a new company, organization, system, etc.
talk someone into something: to convince someone to do something.
set one's sights on: to have as an ambition; hope strongly to achieve or reach.
carry on the tradition: to continue doing something that has been done by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc. , for a long time.
talk someone out of something: to persuade someone not to do something.
have/give the edge over: to have or give advantage over.
high-end: (adjective) of very good quality and usually expensive.
put (sb, sth, or some place) on the map: o make some place or thing very famous or renowned.
critical thinking: the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.
bare facts: the facts without any opinions, explanations, or extra details.
Exercise;
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;
1. Her first film put her on the .......... Her next three movies made her a legend.
2. Improvements to low-cost, commodity products really threaten ..........-end manufacturers.
3. In a highly competitive market, this is a preemptive strike, giving you an .......... over anyone else in the area.
4. Effective citizens utilize critical .......... when analyzing political candidates and issues.
5. I talked Jessie .......... of moving to the countryside, but she wouldn’t listen to me.
6. Despite the hostile environment that has affected operating companies in recent years, a fair number have thrived and grown, and some of these have been ..........-run businesses.
7. From my Irish forebears I carry on the .......... of savory and hearty breads that sustain life even in tough times.
8. If a biographer could write the bare .........., his would be a most uninteresting and unprofitable book, and it would not be a biography; it becomes biography only when it becomes interpretative, creative.
9. Financial services companies must .......... up a system of self regulation.
10. They talked me .......... going to the meeting, even though I didn't really have the time.
11. I'm .......... to win Holly's heart—she is just the prettiest girl in the whole town.
12. Every since she was a little girl, Janet has set her .......... on being a fighter pilot.
13. This is an interesting psychiatric case .......... of a child with extreme behavioral difficulties.
1. map 2. high 3. edge 4. thinking 5. out 6. family 7. tradition 8. facts 9. set 10. into 11. aiming 12. sights 13. study