Lesson 7
A. Read and learn the phrasal verbs and collocations
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to break |
to burn |
B. Fill in the correct preposition in the following sentences.
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1. Sure we'll break through the Championship. 2. I shouldn't break him in. It looks impolite and rude. 3. Of course, the police sometimes break into houses when it is really necessary. 4. The forester's house was burnt down and nobody could help him. 5. Please break back as soon as possible. I need you. 6. Germany broke out the party? 7. We watched the hero's car burning over in the square. |
C. Read the paragraph below. Try to guess the meaning of the underlined expressions.
In Britain there is a new company called Time Energy Network, which specializes in lifestyle management. The company aims to help busy working people who suffer from "time famine." Now read the first 5 paragraphs of the article to see if your ideas were correct.
Paying people to have the time of your life
In a central London office a small group of people are engaged in some serious phone-bashing. In half an hour they have booked a helicopter flight, picked up dry cleaning, negotiated with umpteen builders, reserved an apartment for six in a funky part of Amsterdam, arranged a millennium party and a parachute jump, and ensured a heater gets moved exactly 1m to the left, so that new kitchen units will fit.
This is the office of Ten UK, otherwise known as Time Energy Network, the first company to bring American-style concierge service to Britain. Offering what it calls the ultimate in lifestyle management, Ten UK claims to sell something its customers find increasingly at a premium: time.
"This will be the definite business of the first 10 years of the next century," insists 29-year-old managing director Alex Cheatle. "With globalization and better technology, life has become more complex; so many possessions, so many options. But people don't have the ability or time to manage them all, so they want an expert to do it."
Concierge services are one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States economy - and now interest is being shown in Britain. Though Ten UK has just 150 members, demand for its services has spread from the south coast to Scotland. The new year will see offices opening in Manchester, Bath and Edinburgh; by the end of 2000 the company aims to cover 75% of Britain, with 5,000 members.
Britons have the longest working hours and the highest proportion of working women in Europe. This combined with a rise in dual incomes and single-person households, may explain why the "time famine" is so pronounced in London and is spreading.
According to Ten UK, there is another reason for the rise of lifestyle management. "The standard of service people get in Britain is appalling," Cheatle says. "If they want their house refloored, they will probably be conned. If they want to install a shower, they'll get conned on that, too. Britain has a whole service sector trained to go for the short-term profit rather than deliver good service over a long time. We make it sensible for builders and plumbers to take a long-term view because we can give them a lot of long-term business."
D. Write out the brief notes and answer the questions.
1. What does Ten UK claim to sell to its customers?
2. According to Alex Cheatle, why is lifestyle management becoming more important?
3. Why is there "time famine" in Britain?
4. What are the problems with the service sector in Britain?
E. Look at these verbs from the text.
If they want their house refloored, they will probably be conned.
It lacks the personal touch, especially if you're redoing your home.
The prefix re- is often added to verbs to show the repetition of an action or process.
Use an appropriate form of these verbs to complete the sentences below.
Use each verbs only once.
| readjust | reconstruct | refuel | reissue | rejoin | reopen | retake | reunite | revisit |
a. The plane stopped in Singapore in order to refuel.
b. After many weeks alone in a refugee camp, the children were reunited with their parents.
c. Some less well-known John Lennon songs have been reissued on CD.
d. After new evidence was found, the police decided to reopen the murder inquiry.
e. When I revisited my old school, I was surprised that the teachers remembered me.
f. Six month after the drugs scandal, the footballer was allowed to rejoin his former club and continue playing.
g. The city was so badly bombed in the war that the government had to reconstruct many areas.
h. After weeks of fierce fighting the army retook control of the city.
i. He decided to readjust his television because the picture was unclear.