=r:

l.
UNIT 5
Discussion:
1. Answer the question below, then compare your answers with a partner:
l. What is your philosophy on credit?
a) never borrow money b) use credit in moderation
c) get as much credit as you can
2. If you have to ask someone to repay money they owe you, how do you feel?
a) embarrassed b) angry c) nothing, it's only money
3. What would you write to remind someone they owe you money? Why?
a) a text message b) an email c) a letter
Reading and analysis
2. Read the emails below. Which email is:
a request n a reminder n a refusal n a final demand I
According to our records, our invoice number 061704 for 15,789 is now
overdue. If however, this invoice has already been settled, please disregard this
email.
In answer to your enquiry of 2 September about trading on open account, we
regret to inform you that we are unable to agree to your request due to our
insufficient credit rating. We hope you will understand the reasons for this
decision, and we trust that we can continue to do business together as in the past.
Further to our email of 23 Muy, we have still not received payment for the
outstanding sum of I 5,789. We regret to inform you that we are suspending
all shipments until this outstanding balance has been settled.
As we now intend to place regular orders with your company, we would
appreciate being able to trade on open account. We are confident this arrangement
will be to our mutual benefit, and we look forward to an early reply.
2.
3.
4.
-
rl
L
2.I am afraid grouP
Poli
3. We are pleased to
.
3. Make complete sentences by using one phrase from each column'
1. I am writing to enquire
1
,-r-
}1. u\t!i$c\t\
agree to
which is still outstanding
to extend credit terms of 60
days
the sum of 21, 5
whether You would be able of this outstanding balance.
4. May I remind
You
that r early settlement
the terms you propose
5. We wrote to
You
on 4 Nov not allow us
our legal department
6. Would
you let us
regarding the balance of 12, s still outstanding?
7. We would appreciate
b* kpass
the matter on soon as possible?
8. We shall have no
w vour decision
o give more than 30 daYs'
alternative
credit
Which of these sentences are used in :
a request @ @
a reminderQ
H
an agreement$
4. Which is the most polite form, a) or b)?
1.
tr$
In view of the increase in our volume of busineSS,. . .
5) Considering
how much more business we're giving
You,..
.
a refusalEL
a final demandB fr
2. a) About the longer credit you asked for,"
'
.@
Wittr regard to your request for improved credit terms,...
3. a) Re: your letter dated 3111,...
Q)
Further to your letter of 31 January
4.
@,
We look forward to receiving your order'
6'; W" expect
You
to order quicklY.
5.
' a) We're giving you a week to pay,"
'
@
Unless we receive
payment within seven days,
' ' '
6.
d"t.
would like to apologize for the delay in sending the enclosed cheque.
U) W. are sorry we took so long to send the enclosed cheque'
7 ."
@)This
was an unfortunate
oversight due to circumstances
beyond our control'
b) We forgot, but it wasn't our fault.
8.,
d
We can assure you that it will not recur.
b) Don't worry, it will never happen again.
5. Use each preposition once to complete the schedule.
preliminary
studies will be carried out
gT\ January to June of next year.
\
\\!}\\jT\c\
this period, the exact scope of the work will be evaluated, and a definitive
T \ _ . .,,.1 1
quotation will be submitted
15 June the latest. The customer will then have
mid-September to stuily the proposal. After signature of the contract, work will
begin ErfL
I October and is expected to continue
{'eC
18 months. A
J
deposit of 20Yo will be payable at signature
rsft
Sentember:-thereafter,
invoices will
ept )
during within at from in until by for aftet on
be issued
dha"
one week of completion of each stage of the project, for payment
\.,
----f- I t;ff
rrr\*
90 diys. The fnal l5% will not be invoiced until
"l
a'NQ,
reception of
the completed building.
EMAILS
Email abbreviations
TLAs (three-letter acronYms)
In order to keep email messages short, people sometimes use abbreviations for common
expressions,
just
as they do in text messaging. These are known as TLAs (three-letter acronyms),
although some of them are more than three letters long. Here is a list of some of the most
commonly used TLAs:
AF'AIK
BFN
BTW
COB
FYI
IOW
NRN
OTOH
Mergers and Acquisitions
1. Match the words from the box to their definition (and extra information) below.
climb
ry
deteJ:iorate
h
neak
'
,,r.
D
slide
'10
:l
L,
fluctuate
'b
soar
R
IJ
JUr^np
stabilize
l
1. become higher (literally: to move up using your hands and feet)
2. become less (literally: to put something into a liquid and quickly lift it out again)
3. change frequently, especially from a high level to a low one and back again
4. stop changing and become steady
5. get worse (opposite: improve)
6. get worse gradually (literally: to move smoothly and quickly across a surface)
7. increase (opposite: fall)
8. increase quickly to a high level (to fly high in the sky)
f . increase suddenly and by alarge amount (literally: push your body off the ground using
your legs)
10. reach the highest point before becoming lower (the noun means 'the top of a mountain'.)
below, match a verb on the left with a noun on the right to make phrases
2 proactive with local distributors.
I
a firm commitment to export.
f
outside the box.
I
on price rather than quality.
6
an exclusive deal.
ftime,
effort and money.
fion
open account.
ito
modify product specifications.
lD
payments can be done by the credit agency.
$
a credit agency about a customer's creditworthiness.
lZthat
what works in your domestic market will also work abroad.
li one market, rather than trying to sell all over the world.
3. Find one word in the previous exercise that means:
the ability of a company to repay debts:.....r\!Ah$ffiSu$\5u\l.
I
tS-JSek)
4. The collocations below are used in international business transactions. Cross out the one verb
in bold in each group that does not collocate with the noun
l. issue l-rg#h / settle / query an invoice
2. assylfe / provide / load / ship goods
,/
2. In each set of four
about export sales:
1. Don't sell
2. Be
3. Make
4. Think
5. Trade
6. Sign
7.Be prepared
8. Invest
9. Ask
10. Chasing
1 1. Focus on
12. Don't assume
3.
4.
5.
6.
,/
ff6se
/ comply with / state / meet conditions
negotiate / reach / sign / sFfta deal
che;ffi / check out / check up on a customer,s_lxeditworthiness
fafl behind with I ge! behind with / move
Ue*ffidwith
payments.
L s,o6onGqv- un wr+,t.,) ,/
6. The words in bold below are all in the wrong places. Put them in the correct places.
5
After the exporter and foreign customer finally
ft"n""k
up on a deal, the exporter will (2)
comply with the goods and glI"u"nan
invoice. The exporter must
lafiiru"
all the conditions in
the
gontract, and if they do they can expect to be paid on time. It is a waste of time if they have to
b
t\-
ff
ship customers who
@,chase
payments. If there is a problem with payment, the exporter can
use a credit agency to
f,ett
behind with a customer's creditworthiness.
7. Complete the text with these time prepositions at, during,.fro*, in, until, within.
\r\"(r..f
the 90s we worked with a series of different local agents.
1f,-
2002*. ,fu\a.d using APL, and they have been our exclusive agent
,ft{rn that time
J
ttSj[
now. They are very good at collecting payment from local customers, and we
give them the discretion to ask for payments
tld\urn either 60 or 90 days. They
forward to us all payments they have collected, after taking their commission, and we receive
money from them
o\, the end of every month.