Interpretation File

interpretation Course description
Total number of weeks 30 (2 terms)
Total number of periods 90 (3 periods per week)
Student profile BBE fourth-year students, whose entry levels are upper-
intermediate to advanced
Number of classes 8
Total number of students 250
Course objective build/sharpen students’ interpretation skills to a point when they

can function effectively as interpreters in a working environment
with speakers of English
Course components Liaison interpretation

Consecutive interpretation
Simultaneous interpretation (optional)
Teaching Materials
Interpretation Files 1 & 2
Assessment
Interpreting presentations, 30% weight
Final tests (end-of-term), consecutive, 70% weight
Feedback
Questionnaire to teachers and students
1
interpretation file 1
For higher-intermediate learners
structure of file
For teachers only
Warm-up talk (30 min.)
2
Teacher (first three weeks) or student (following weeks) makes a presentation with an
interpreter. There’s a brief Q & A session afterwards.
Liaison interpretation practice (40 min.)

Teacher makes copies of the episodes from Interpretation File and distributes to students the
moment before they act out the conversations. To save money, teacher may collect the
handed-out scripts/role cards for use in his/her other classes.
Students are split up into groups of 3 - a Vietnamese speaker, an English speaker, and an
interpreter. The two speakers act out a conversation with the help of the interpreter, whose
performance is evaluated by the speakers afterwards. Teacher will move around groups and
give out his/her observations after the whole session. He/she should also make sure whether
students got the technical terms or any other difficult expressions right.
Episode 1. For all classes

Conversations are scripted. The two speakers scan through their scripts before acting. They
may repeat their sentences if the interpreter asks them to do so. Students switch roles when
finished.
Episode 2. Stand-bys for fast classes

Topics for conversations are given with some key points in the role cards which speakers can use as
prompts. Speakers scan through the key points before acting and are encouraged to add their own
ideas with examples and clarifications.
Consecutive interpretation practice (50 min.)

- Students listen to the whole talk without taking notes (with quick-minded classes) or
taking very brief notes (with slower classes).
- Students answer 3 comprehension questions by teacher.
- Students take turn to go to the front and translate the talk. Teacher pauses the tape as the
student goes along. Teacher rewinds the tape if student fails to translate or mistranslates.
- Teacher evaluates students’ task-fulfillment.
week 1
Session 1. warm-up talk
Hello everyone. Today I’m here to help you develop a new skill: oral translation, or
interpretation. In your future job, you’ll all sometimes have to translate for your boss in
an informal meeting with a foreign partner, or at a more formal seminar or international
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conference. So I hope by the time you graduate from FTU, you’ll all become good
interpreters, and earn a lot of money!
There are actually 3 basic kinds of interpretation: liaison, consecutive, and simultaneous.
A liaison interpreter is a person who translates at an informal talk between a small
number of local and foreign partners. This is the easiest kind because the language used in
the talk is simple and straight-forward, and the subject is normally familiar to the
interpreter. A consecutive interpreter has a harder job to do, because he or she has to
address a larger audience, translate longer sentences, and use more formal language to
talk about, perhaps, an unfamiliar topic. If he or she is not confident enough, he or she
may feel nervous in his or her “hot seat”. Simultaneous interpretation is supposed to be
the most difficult type of oral translation, ’cause you have to listen and peak at the same
time. You must possess not only excellent listening and speaking skills, but also the
ability to concentrate very hard on and respond almost instantly to what you hear.
(change interpreter)
So do you think you can do it? Yes or No? Anyway, interpretation is just a skill. And like
any other skill you want to master, it requires a lot of practice. So don’t worry, you’ll all
become good interpreters if you really want to. What you need is some energy, patience,
and love for the job - a highly demanding, but also a truly rewarding one!
Well, now we’ll begin with the easiest kind - liaison interpretation. What I’m gonna do
now is to split you up into groups of 3 people: an English speaker, a Vietnamese speaker,
and an interpreter. The 2 speakers will act out a short conversation with the help of the
interpreter, whose performance will be evaluated afterwards. I already have the scripts of
the conversation, so the speakers won’t have to think about what to say. But remember
one thing: if the interpreter can’t translate your sentence, don’t help her or him. Just
repeat what you’ve just said.
OK? Now before handing the scripts out to you, I want you to write down the 4 main
criteria we use to evaluate the interpreter’s performance.
First, pronunciation and intonation. You don’t have to speak BBC or VOA voice. But
your pronunciation must be accurate and easy to listen to. It should also be not too loud or
too small.
Second, fluency. This does not mean you have to speak at a breath-taking speed. It is
more important for you to avoid, to the greatest extent possible, any hesitation, pause,
unnecessary noises, and empty words.
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Third, structure and expression. Since this is oral translation, try to avoid unusually
formal language. You should remember this principle: KISS - keep it short and simple.
Make sure your listeners understand what you say.
Fourth, vocabulary. Again, don’t use formal words. However, your vocabulary should be
large and varied enough so that you can paraphrase a word or an idea the exact
equivalent of which you don’t know. You also need to equip yourself with some technical
terminology relevant to the topic you are dealing with.
Well, this is all I want to say today as an introduction to the skill of oral translation. Do
you have any questions before we go on?
(respond to questions if any)
Right. Thank you my 3 interpreters for your effort. I think you’ve done a very good job.
Now split yourselves up into groups as I pass the scripts out.
session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 1. BREAKING INTO OVERSEAS MARKETS
Second speaker
1. Fine, thanks. Anything new?

2. Good, tell me about it.
3. Could you explain why we need to look for overseas market?
4. Yes, I agree that the market is becoming very competitive.
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5. So, in your view, this is the right time to market our product overseas?
6. This might be a good idea. We might break into one of the European markets, such as
France or Germany.
7. Well, they have a lot of potential. The French and Germans use a lot of herbs and
spices in their cooking. I think our product would sell well there.
8. Yes, that could be useful. There would be no restrictions on trading, no import duties
or quotas.
9. Sorry, I have to go now. I have an important appointment at 4 o’clock. Let’s talk about
your idea at our management meeting tomorrow, OK?
episode 1. TH¢M NHËP THÞ TR¦êNG N¦íC NGOµI

First speaker
1. ¤ng Nigel, chµo «ng. ¤ng khoÎ chø?

2. Cã ®Êy. Khi «ng ®i c«ng t¸c ë Manchester, t«i ®· nãi chuyÖn víi Diana vÒ c«ng ty chóng ta.
3. V©ng, vÒ chiÕn lîc kinh doanh cña ta Êy mµ. T«i nghÜ ®· ®Õn lóc chóng ta cÇn chuyÓn sang
lÜnh vùc xuÊt khÈu. Chóng ta chØ cã thÓ më réng c«ng ty b»ng çch xuÊt khÈu ra níc ngoµi.
Chóng ta nªn thö th©m nhËp vµo thÞ trêng ch©u ¢u xem sao. TÊt nhiªn t«i biÕt sÏ cã rñi ro, v×
chóng ta cha cã tÝ kinh nghiÖm g× vÒ xuÊt khÈu c¶, nhng ta cø nªn thö xem.
4. Mét lý do quan träng nhÊt lµ thÞ trêng trong níc ®· b·o hoµ. ¤ng cø thö nh×n l¹i thÞ phÇn cña chóng
ta xem: mÊy n¨m nay nã cø ë m·i møc 2%.
5. V©ng. HiÖn nay c«ng ty chóng ta ph¶i tèn rÊt nhiÒu tiÒn cho qu¶ng ço vµ tiÕp thÞ.
Doanh thu cña chóng ta tuy vÉn t¨ng, nhng chi phÝ cßn t¨ng nhanh h¬n.
6. V©ng, ®óng thÕ.
7. T¹i sao «ng l¹i chän 2 níc ®ã?
8. Chóng t«i còng ®· nghÜ ®Õn Ph¸p vµ §øc, v× hä lµ mét thµnh viªn cña céng ®ång ch©u ¢u.
9. Vµ 2 níc ®ã ®Òu gÇn chóng ta. V× thÕ sÏ kh«ng cã khã kh¨n g× trong viÖc vËn chuyÓn hay giao
hµng ®óng h¹n.
10. §îc th«i. Nhng «ng ph¶i ®a vÊn ®Ò nµy ra th¶o luËn ®Çu tiªn ®Êy nhÐ.
EPISODE 2 no more nine to five
English Speaker: you’re an American experienced personnel officer and an advocate

of flexitime. You are visiting Vietnam and try to persuade your Vietnamese colleague
to adopt the scheme by explaining what it is and its benefits to staff and management.
- What it is: staff can choose what time to start and finish work, provided that
they work certain number of hours per week, and that they are at work at
certain core period, e.g. 10a.m - 2p.m.
- Benefits to staff: avoid rush hours, greater autonomy, better feeling
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- Benefits to management: better relation with staff, higher moral, improved
efficiency and productivity
EPISODE 2 no more nine to five
Vietnamese speaker: you’re a personnel officer asking your American colleague

about his/her experience with flexitime - a new concept for Vietnamese enterprises.
You find the idea new and interesting, but still quite skeptical and sees some problems
for management
- Difficult for work coordination
- Staff don’t see one another very often, worsened relationship
- Hard to develop corporate culture, encourage staff to function as individuals
and not as a team
session 3. consecutive interpretation
Garbage
(Introductory Topics)
week 2
session 1. warm-up talk
Good morning everybody. This is the second week of our interpretation course which I
hope you all enjoy. Today I want to make a comparison between 2 different but related
skills: translation and interpretation. You know, sometimes a good translator is not a good
interpreter, or vice versa. But I believe that if you understand correctly about these 2
skills, you can be good at both.
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There are 3 main ways in which the 2 skills are different, and I’m gonna use this table so
that it’s easier for you to follow my points. (teacher drawing a table on board and filling
in the main points as she/he goes along)
Skills Written Oral
Prominent
features
Ideal profile
Required
premises
Right. First, let’s talk about the prominent features of the 2 skills. In written translation,
the language is formal and academic, so you need to use more complex and varied
structures and vocabulary. On the other hand, the language in interpretation is informal
and sometimes even idiomatic, so you need to use simple and straight-forward structures
and expressions. In translation, you have time to think, but in interpretation you don’t.
That’s why in translation elegance is important whereas in interpretation fluency is more
important.
Now moving on to my second main point: the profile of a skilled translator or interpreter.
A good translator must displays consistent confidence and facility in manipulating both
languages. The original text must be not only accurately but also naturally and elegantly
translated. The translator must exhibit very strong sentence structures and expressions
(including idiomatic ones) and successful use of varied and sophisticated vocabulary
(including technical terms). Of course he/she may still make mistakes, but they are minor
and infrequent.
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What about a good interpreter? He must be fluent and confident, and must demonstrate
consistent facility in effectively conveying the speakers’ message. His structures and
expressions need not be very complex, but must be accurate and easy to listen to.
So, what are the required premises for you to become a good translator or interpreter?
That’s the third main point I want to talk about. To translate well, you must have a very
strong grammatical base, a wide range of vocabulary, and the ability to polish your own
first draft. These you could have by doing grammar exercises, reading extensively and
making notes of what you’ve read, and practising correcting your friend’s draft before
correcting your own.
To be a good interpreter, you also need to have a strong grammar base, an adequate but
active range of vocabulary, a good listening skill, good pronunciation and body language,
and finally, the ability to concentrate on and memorize the speakers’ points. Here I want
to stress that you have to remember the speakers’ points, not the exact words they say.
You know, it’s OK if you once or twice stop the speakers and ask them to repeat what
they say. But if you do it too often, it’s really annoying.
Well, in conclusion, if you have a look again at this table, you can agree with me that
becoming a good interpreter is difficult, and becoming a good translator is even more so.
The only way to success is practice. Work hard, and good luck! Thank you.

episode 1. gÆp gì kh¸ch hµng tiÒm n¨ng
First speaker
1. ¤ng Evan, rÊt çm ¬n «ng ®· ®a t«i ®i th¨m nhµ m¸y. T«i còng rÊt thÝch cuéc nãi chuyÖn víi «ng
trëng phßng s¶n xuÊt vµ anh em c«ng nh©n.
2. V©ng, ph¶i nãi lµ t«i cã Ên tîng rÊt tèt v× m¸y cña çc «ng ch¹y rÊt ªm vµ rÊt nhanh.
3. §óng thÕ. M¸y ch¹y nhanh lµ mét lîi thÕ lín trong c¹nh tranh. ¤ng cã thÓ cung cÊp cho t«i mét sè
th«ng tin vÒ çc lo¹i m¸y cña «ng ®îc kh«ng, cµng nhanh cµng tèt.
4. ThÕ cßn gi¸ b¸o cña çc «ng sÏ gi÷ nguyªn ®Õn cuèi n¨m ®Êy chø?
5. Tèt l¾m. VËy «ng cho t«i xin tÊt c¶ çc tµi liÖu vÒ b¸n hµng vµ çc tµi liÖu qu¶ng ço kh¸c.
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6. §îc th«i, t«i sÏ cung cÊp cho «ng çc tµi liÖu cña chóng t«i. T«i hi väng chóng ta sÏ cã thÓ hîp t¸c
kinh doanh trong t¬ng lai.
7. å kh«ng. T«i chØ t×nh cê ®îc xem m¸y cña çc «ng ho¹t ®éng khi ®i c«ng t¸c ë §«ng ¢u.
8. V©ng, mét nhµ m¸y ë Bungari cã sö dông mét sè m¸y cña «ng. ¤ng gi¸m ®èc nhµ m¸y khen mÊy çi
m¸y hÕt lêi, thÕ lµ t«i míi hái xem m¸y do h·ng nµo s¶n xuÊt.
9. T«i thÊy mÊy çi m¸y ®ã ch¹y rÊt hiÖu qu¶ mÆc dï ®· sö dông h¬n 10 n¨m.
10. T«i thÊy rÊt thÝch cung çch kinh doanh cña çc «ng.
episode 2. meeting a potential customer

Second speaker
1. Good, I’m glad that was useful. I hope you found the demonstrations interesting. We
wanted to give you an idea of our product range, and to show you the models in
operation.
2. Speed is very important these days. If you are going to sell in overseas markets, you
have to offer a product with high performance. No one can match us on performance,
on quality or price.
3. Alright. I’ll give you our brochures with the specifications of the machines.
I think you also need our price lists. They’ve been revised recently.
4. Yes, I guarantee that.
5. I’ll do that. I’d also like to see some of your sales catalogues. When we have a
potential customer, we like to know a bit about his company, if possible.
6. So do I. May be this could be the start of a long association between our firms.
Oh I forgot to ask you how you heard about us. Did you see our goods on display at
the New York exhibition?
7. Really? That’s interesting.
8. Ah, I see. We do a lot of business in Eastern Europe. Our sales technique is to install a
machine in a factory, then invite other people to see it working.
9. That’s because we offer a good after sales service.
10. Thanks, I’m glad to hear that.
episode 2. students taking part-time jobs
English speaker: you come from England and are now in your last year at university.
You are talking to your peer about whether you senior students should take a part time
job. You think this is a good idea because:
- you can earn money to meet your various and numerous needs and wants
- you can get useful experience for your future job
- you can develop some practical skills like persuading, negotiating, problem
solving, net-working and especially communicating.
- you can build helpful relations and contacts that can serve you in your
future career
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episode 2. students taking part-time jobs
Vietnamese speaker: you are now in your last year at university and you are talking to
your peer about whether you senior students should take a part time job. You don’t think
this is a good idea because:
- you would have less time for your study
- you would have to work harder and this may affect your health
- students are unlikely to get interesting jobs that will provide useful
experience. Usually they get such low-paid jobs as private tutor, shop
assistant, marketing visitor...
Sharks
week 3
session 1. warm-up talk
Good morning everybody. Although you still have one more year at university before you
enter the working world, I think that it not too early to talk about job-seeking experience.
One of the most common questions you have is how to succeed in job interviews,
especially when the interview is conducted in English. If you think that you will succeed
in the interview because you speak excellent English, you are completely wrong! So what
is the key to success? That is my topic for today.
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Interviewers want to learn about your job experience and education so that they can
evaluate who you are and predict how you might perform on the job. I will share with you
ten frequently asked interview questions as well as the strategies for answering them.
The first question is: Why do you want to work for us? Questions like this illustrate the
need for you to research an organization thoroughly before the interview. You should go
to the company’s web-site, read its annual report, ask friends, and read the company’s
advertisements and other printed materials to gather data. In the interview, you should
describe your desire to work for them not only from your perspective but also from their
point of view. Emphasize on what you’ve got to offer them.
The second question is: Why should we hire you? Here is an opportunity for you to sell
your strong points in relation to this specific position. Describe your skills, academic
preparation, and relevant experience. If you have little experience, don’t apologize.
Emphasize strengths as demonstrated in your education, such as initiative, ability to learn
quickly, and so on.
The third question is: What can you tell me about yourself? This seems to be a very
easy question, but applicants often tend to give lengthy answer with unnecessary pieces of
information. Actually, you should use this chance to promote yourself. Stick to
professional or business-related strengths; avoid personal or humorous references. Be
ready with some success stories illustrating characteristics important to this job.
Demonstrate responsibilities you have been given; describe how you have contributed as
a team player.
The next question likely asked is: What are your strongest (or weakest) personal
qualities? Stress your strengths, such as “I believe that I am conscientious, reliable,
patient and thorough.” You should add examples that illustrate these qualities. If you are
pressed for a weakness, give a strength disguised as a weakness: “Perhaps my greatest
fault is being too painstaking with details.” Or, “I am impatient when tasks are not
completed on time.” Don’t admit weaknesses. You’ll be hired for your strengths, not your
weaknesses.
The fifth question is: What do you expect to be doing ten years form now? If you don’t
get prepared, you’ll appear to be a either a poor planner or an over-ambitious type of
person. So you should formulate a realistic plan or career path with respect to your
present age and situation.
The sixth question is: Do you prefer working with others or by yourself? This question
can be tricky. You should provide a middle-of-the-road answer that not only suggests
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your interpersonal qualities but also reflects an ability to make independent decisions and
work without supervision.
The next question is: Have you ever changed your major during your education?
Why? Another tricky question. In explaining changes, you should suggest career
potential and new aspirations awakened by your expanding education, experience, or
maturity.
Then, you may also be asked: What have been your most rewarding or disappointing
work (or school) experiences? If possible, concentrate on positive experiences such as
technical and interpersonal skills you acquired. Avoid negative or unhappy topics. Never
criticize former employers/teachers. Say that you learned something from that experience,
and then move the conversation to the position you are applying for and what attracts you
to it.
The next question is: Have you established any new goals recently? You should watch
out here. If you reveal new goals, you may admit deficiencies. Instead of saying “I’ve
decided to improve my computer skill,” you should say, for example “Although I’m
familiar with simple computer programs like Word, Excel and Power points, I decided to
get serious about using the Internet. I want to master the information search engines and
the most powerful searching techniques.”
The tenth question is: What are your long-term and short-term goals? For this question,
you should suggest realistic and specific goals that you have consciously worked out
before the interview. You must indicate that you know what to do with your future. Never
say you are not sure what you want to do. It is a sign of immaturity, weakness, and
indecision.
Well, that’s all I want to say for today. But I think you have many questions and I will try
to answer them all. Thank you.

episode 1. tho¶ thuËn vÒ mét th¬ng vô
First speaker
1. ¤ng Evan nµy, tèi qua t«i ®· gäi ®iÖn cho sÕp t«i ë New York råi. ¤ng Êy cho t«i toµn quyÒn quyÕt
®Þnh, nªn h«m nay t«i muèn ®Æt hµng víi «ng.
2. T«i muèn mua 5 m¸y giao ngay, vµ 30 m¸y giao sau 2 th¸ng n÷a, tøc lµ cuèi th¸ng 6.
3. Kh«ng, cíc phÝ hµng kh«ng ®¾t l¾m, cø ®i ®êng biÓn lµ ®îc råi. Nhng nÕu «ng kh«ng phiÒn
th× t«i muèn çc «ng tÝnh gi¸ CIF New York hé cho.
4. Cßn 1 ®iÒu t«i muèn hái «ng. V× ®©y lµ mét ®¬n hµng lín, liÖu çc «ng cã thÓ gi¶m gi¸ cho chóng
t«i 5% ®îc kh«ng?
5. Cã 2% th«i ¹? Xin «ng nhí cho lµ ®¬n hµng nµy gi¸ trÞ tíi h¬n 150 ngµn b¶ng c¬ ®Êy. Ngoµi ra sau
nµy chóng t«i cßn cã thÓ tiÕp tôc mua hµng cña «ng.
6. Th«i còng ®îc.
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7. Tuú «ng th«i, chóng t«i thÕ nµo còng ®îc.
8. TÊt nhiªn lµ ®îc. Cã nghÜa lµ chóng t«i sÏ chuyÓn tiÒn tõ tµi kho¶n cña chóng t«i ë New York vµo
tµi kho¶n cña çc «ng ë ®©y.
9. Kh«ng cã vÊn ®Ò g×, t«i còng ®o¸n «ng sÏ yªu cÇu ®iÒu ®ã.
10. T«i còng mong nh vËy. Chóng t«i sÏ mua nhiÒu hµng cña «ng, v× thÕ t«i còng muèn chóng ta thiÕt
lËp mét quan hÖ lµm ¨n tèt ®Ñp.
11. å, rÊt çm ¬n «ng. T«i xin nhËn lêi mêi cña «ng.
episode 1. clinching a deal

Second speaker
1. Excellent. How many do you want to buy?

2. Well, you know the price of the machines - 5000 pounds. That’s without freight and
insurance. When we invoice customers, we usually quote FOB Southampton. Or do
you want the goods to go by air?
3. Alright, I can do that.
4. Oh, I don’t think we could go as high as that. We can only give you 2%.
5. Oh, I don’t want to bargain with you about this. How about 2.5%?
6. Now we have to decide our method of payment.
7. I’d like to do it this way. First, we would appreciate it if you could pay cash for the 5
machines for immediate delivery.
8. Good. Now about the other 30 machines. We’d like you to pay us by irrevocable LC.
Is that OK?
9. But I can assure you that when we get to know each other better, we will offer you
open account terms.
10. OK. We’ve covered everything now. I think we should celebrate this deal.
Would you be free to have dinner with me tonight?
11. Good, let’s go.
episode 2. Taking extra classes vs. self-study
English speaker: you come from England and you are discussing with your Vietnamese
peer about two options for you students: taking extra classes or study on your own. You
favor self-study because:
- Obvious savings in time, money and effort of traveling
- Gives you flexibility in terms of what, when and how to learn; this is
important because it’s you who knows best about your strengths and
weaknesses, so you can “tailor” the course to your own needs and interests.
- Helps you to develop skills like independent thinking or problem solving
which will be very important for the rest of your life.
- However, you need to be well-disciplined and self-motivated.
- Point out to your friend that English students spend most of their time in the
library learning on their own. Independent thinking and inventiveness is
highly valued in Western culture.
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episode 2. Taking extra classes vs. self-study
Vietnamese speaker: you are discussing with your peer about two options for you
students: taking extra classes or study on your own. You prefer extra classes because:
- Advantages from teacher: teacher provides guidance, corrections and even
motivation, so you can organize your study more systematically and
effectively.
- Advantages from peers: you have someone to exchange ideas, experience
and information; you also have to compete; this creates a learning
atmosphere and improves your communication skills.
Violence on TV
week 4
session 1. warm-up talk Student’s presentation.

episode 1. çc ph¬ng thøc thanh to¸n
First speaker
1. Dereck nµy, tèi nay t«i ph¶i bay ®i Madrid vµ sÏ ë ®ã ®Õn cuèi tuÇn. Cho nªn anh sÏ phô tr¸ch c«ng
viÖc ë ®©y vµi ngµy nhÐ.
2. T«i ch¾c anh sÏ xoay së ®îc th«i. Trong lóc t«i ®i v¾ng, t«i muèn nhê anh lo 2 viÖc.
3. Anh cã nhí tuÇn tríc anh ®· viÕt th cho «ng Johnston kh«ng?
4. §óng thÕ. Nã ph¶i lµ mét tÊm sÐc chuyÓn kho¶n trÞ gi¸ 3 200 b¶ng. Nhng theo t«i biÕt th× sè tiÒn
®ã cha ®îc chuyÓn vµo tµi kho¶n cña chóng ta.
5. T¬ng ®èi ch¾c. V× ng©n hµng lu«n th«ng b¸o ngay cho chóng ta mçi khi cã tiÒn chuyÓn ®Õn,
nhng t«i cha thÊy cã th«ng b¸o nµo cña ng©n hµng c¶.
6. §óng vËy. Anh gäi ®iÖn ®Õn ng©n hµng hé tèi nhÐ, xem tiÒn ®· chuyÓn ®Õn cha. NÕu cha th×
anh gäi hoÆc fax cho «ng Johnston xem t×nh h×nh thÕ nµo.
7. Cßn mét viÖc n÷a t«i muèn nhê anh. Ch¾c anh cßn nhí vô lµm ¨n cña chóng ta víi «ng Lopez chø?
8. §óng ®Êy. ¤ng ta ®· tho¶ thuËn sÏ thanh to¸n b»ng tÝn dông th kh«ng huû ngang. Nhng th ®ã chØ
cßn h¹n ®Õn ngµy 15 th¸ng 9 th«i.
9. §óng vËy. NÕu chóng ta muèn nhËn ®îc tiÒn th× ph¶i xuÊt tr×nh chøng tõ cho ng©n hµng ngay.
15
10. Chóng ta còng cÇn ph¶i lËp mét hèi phiÕu tr¶ ngay trÞ gi¸ 30 000 b¶ng n÷a.
11. Anh nhí kiÓm tra kü mäi thø nhÐ. TÊt c¶ çc chøng tõ ph¶i phï hîp víi çc ®iÒu kho¶n nªu trong tÝn
dông th.
12. ThÕ nhÐ. Çm ¬n anh rÊt nhiÒu.
episode 1. methods of payment

Second speaker
1. That’s rather sudden, but I can cope.
2. OK. What are they?
3. Of course I remember. It was about the kitchen units he ordered. We advised him of
shipment and asked to be paid by Banker’s Transfer.
4. Are you sure?
5. I suppose you want me to check it out with them?
6. OK, I’ll sort it out while you are away.
7. Lopez? Oh, the Brazilian importer. He bought some refrigerators and cookers from us.
It’s a big order of 30 000 pounds.
8. Oh my goodness, it expires in a few days’ time!
9. I’ll deal with that immediately. I’ll need a set of clean BL, 5 copies of the Commercial
Invoice, a Consular Invoice, and the Insurance Certificate.
10. Leave everything to me. I’ll make sure all the documents are in order.
11. I know. If the documents are not exactly as the LC requires, we don’t get our money.
episode 2. which quality is more important in our working life: competitive or cooperative?
English speaker: you come from the U.S. where belief in individual freedom and self-
reliance is very strong. That’s why you think that being competitive is more important
because:
- you believe in the Darwinian theory: only the fittest can survive
- in the modern world of today, production is capital and skill-intensive, not
labor-intensive, so you need to possess competitive skills
- company downsizing is happening everywhere and unemployment is
widespread, so you have to offer competitive skills if you don’t want to be
made redundant
episode 2. which quality is more important in our working life: competitive or cooperative?
Vietnamese speaker: you come from Vietnam and you think that being cooperative is
more important in the Asian culture because:
- nobody is good enough to solve all problems, and today’s problems are
usually very complex
- there’s a proven formula by the Japanese and Chinese that 1+1= 3, which
means people are stronger working together than working alone
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- working with others not only helps solve problem but also gives you
pleasure
Happiness
week 5

episode 1. lùa chän ph¬ng thøc thanh to¸n
First speaker
1. C« Ann nµy, t«i muèn hái ý kiÕn c« vÒ «ng Laurier, mét trong nh÷ng kh¸ch hµng cña chóng ta. C«
thÊy «ng ta tin cËy chø?
2. ChÝnh x¸c nh÷ng tin ®ån Êy lµ g×?
3. Cã ph¶i ý c« muèn nãi lµ «ng Laurier ®ang gÆp khã kh¨n vÒ tiÒn mÆt kh«ng?
4. ThÕ tõ xa ®Õn nay «ng ta thanh to¸n cho chóng ta nh thÕ nµo?
5. Sau ®ã chóng ta ®· thay ®æi ph¬ng thøc thanh to¸n ®óng kh«ng?
6. Vµ «ng ta lu«n thanh to¸n ®óng h¹n chø?
7. å, viÖc nµy qu¶ lµ thó vÞ. S¸ng nay «ng Laurier võa gäi cho t«i. ¤ng Êy hái xem liÖu chóng ta cã thÓ
cho «ng ta thanh to¸n theo kiÓu ghi sæ ®îc kh«ng, víi thêi h¹n tÝn dông 180 ngµy.
8. §óng thÕ. C« nghÜ thÕ nµo?
9. T«i còng nhÊt trÝ víi c«. Vµo thêi ®iÓm nµy chóng ta nªn thËn träng mét chót.
10. §óng vËy. VÊn ®Ò lµ t«i kh«ng biÕt tr¶ lêi «ng ta thÕ nµo cho khÐo.
11. Ph¶i ®Êy. Çm ¬n c« ®· gîi ý cho t«i.
episode 1. choosing the right method of payment

Second Speaker
1. He’s very reliable. We’ve been dealing with him for five years now. We’ve never had
any trouble getting payment from him. But recently I’ve heard one or two things about
him.
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2. Well, nothing official. One of his biggest customers has gone bankrupt. They owe his
company a lot of money.
3. It’s certainly possible.
4. In the beginning, it was documents against payment. We drew on him at sight. That
means all the shipping documents were handed over to him as soon as he paid for the
goods.
5. Yes. Later, we gave him more time to pay. We draw on him at 60 days. That means
our time draft is accepted by his Belgian bank on his behalf.
6. Yes, he always paid promptly.
7. Ah, so he wants to settle with us every 6 months?
8. Well, he’s never let us down before, but I don’t like the idea. It could be risky.
If I were you, I would put him off for a while.
9. Yes. When a company loses a major customer, it can get into financial difficulties. I’m
not saying it will happen with Laurier, but you never know.
10. Well, just say our accounts receivables are already excessively large, and we ourselves
are having cash flow problems.
episode 2. management style: authoritarian vs. participative
English speaker: you are talking with your class-mate about two different management
style: authoritarian (the one that makes all decision on his own without being influenced
by anyone) and participative (the one who often consults and discusses with colleagues
and subordinates before making decisions). You believe that a senior manager should be
authoritarian because:
- After all, it’s the manager’s job to make decisions.
- Meetings and discussions just slow things down.
- In many cases you can’t achieve a consensus.
- Workers don’t care and don’t bother to participate.
episode 2. management style: authoritarian vs. participative
Vietnamese speaker: you are talking with your class-mate about two different
management style: authoritarian (the one that makes all decision on his own without
being influenced by anyone) and participative (the one who often consults and discusses
with colleagues and subordinates before making decisions). You believe that a senior
manager should be participative because:
- There’s a proverb: two heads are better than one
- Staff feel more involved and more responsible = better performance
- Shows that the manager cares about what his staffs think = improves
relation
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Life on other planets

week 6

episode 1. b¶o hiÓm
First speaker
1. C« Scott nµy, t«i lµ nh©n viªn phßng VËt t cña c«ng ty Import Agency. T«i muèn nãi chuyÖn víi c«
vÒ l« hµng m¸y ch÷ mµ c«ng ty c« võa göi cho chóng t«i.
2. µ v©ng, sè PT 260. L« hµng ®îc göi cho chóng t«i tuÇn tríc Êy mµ.
3. Hµng bÞ háng nÆng l¾m, kh«ng thÓ sö dông ®îc n÷a.
4. T«i còng kh«ng biÕt ch¾c l¾m. Khi hµng ®Õn tay chóng t«i th× çc kiÖn ®Òu bÞ bÑp róm, kh«ng
thÓ cøu v·n ®îc.
5. Chóng t«i ®· mêi gi¸m ®Þnh råi. T×nh tr¹ng m¸y rÊt xÊu, çc m¶nh vì v¨ng ra kh¾p n¬i.
6. V©ng ®îc, t«i sÏ göi ngay. §©y sÏ lµ mét khiÕu n¹i lín ®Êy. T«i hi väng lµ c«ng ty b¶o hiÓm sÏ båi
thêng toµn bé thiÖt h¹i cho chóng t«i.
7. Çm ¬n c«. Nhng chóng t«i vÉn cÇn ph¶i cã m¸y thay thÕ ngay. Chóng t«i ®· cã hÑn ngµy giao
hµng víi çc ®¹i lý råi. NÕu giao chËm th× sÏ ¶nh hëng ®Õn uy tÝn cña chóng t«i. Cã khi l¹i cßn
mÊt kh¸ch n÷a.
8. C« ®Þnh göi hµng b»ng ®êng biÓn µ? T«i sî r»ng thÕ th× kh«ng kÞp. Ph¶i mÊt Ýt nhÊt 3 tuÇn
hµng míi ®Õn chç chóng t«i ®îc.
9. ChËm nhÊt lµ cuèi tuÇn sau. T«i nghÜ r»ng ph¶i ®i m¸y bay míi kÞp.
10. Tèt l¾m. Hi väng lµ l« hµng nµy sÏ ®îc ch¨m sãc cÈn thËn h¬n.
11. Chµo c«.
episode 1. insurance
Second Speaker
1. Before you go into details, could you tell me the order number please?
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2. Thank you. I have to note that down. Now, what’s the problem?
3. Really? What happened?
4. Oh, it sounds as if something heavy fell on it. Maybe it was another consignment. You
should get the surveyor to inspect the case right away.
5. That is too bad. Would you mind giving me the surveyor’s report together with your
claim, please? I will take the matter up with our insurers.
6. I know. I assure you we will try to speed things up for you. You must be compensated
without delay.
7. Yes, certainly. We will dispatch another fifty machines to you by the end of this week.
I will give you a call as soon as I have the shipping details.
8. When do you want the machines to arrive then?
9. O.K. We’ll send the goods by air.
10. Sure. Sorry for all the trouble. Good bye.
episode 2. pursuing overseas graduate study - a wise investment?
English speaker: You are in your final stage of university study and you think it’s
necessary to hold a master degree in order to find a good job. There are two options:
obtaining the degree from a Vietnamese university or going abroad for an internationally-
recognized qualification. You favor the second option because:
- Education abroad is of higher quality
- Your qualifications are of international standard and it will be highly
appreciated by domestic organizations
- You will have the opportunity to learn many things other than your major of
study: English, traditions and customs, ways of independent life-long
learning, new people and places...
- Living far from home, you will become more self-reliant, confident and
better-organized
- Returning from a different culture will help you have a new perspective of
the world and a more appreciative view of your own culture. This will
enable you to function better in a working environment with speakers of
English.
episode 2. pursuing overseas graduate study - a wise investment?
Vietnamese speaker: You are in your final stage of university study and you think it’s
necessary to hold a master degree in order to find a good job. There are two options:
obtaining the degree from a Vietnamese university or going abroad for an internationally-
recognized qualification. You favor the first choice because:
- You can save a great deal of money
- You can work and study at the same time. This saves time and more
importantly, provides experience and real life situations where you can
apply what you are learning
20
- You don’t think finding a good job depends on where your degree comes
from but on your real capabilities. Many people you know are having good
jobs without going anywhere outside Vietnam
Insect Robots
week 7
session 1. Warm-up talk Student’s presentation

episode 1. Marketing
First Speaker
1. Anh Mike, xin chóc mõng anh. N¨m võa råi hµng cña c«ng ty anh b¸n rÊt ch¹y ë Thuþ §iÓn. Ch¾c
anh hµi lßng chø?
2. §óng lµ chóng t«i cã mua nhiÒu hµng cña anh. Nhng ph¶i c«ng nhËn r»ng anh cã lîi thÕ lín so víi
çc ®èi thñ c¹nh tranh. Çc dông cô lµm vên cña anh lµ lo¹i tèt nhÊt trªn thÞ trêng.
3. §óng thÕ, ph¬ng ch©m ®ã tá ra rÊt cã hiÖu qu¶ ®èi víi thÞ trêng Thuþ §iÓn. Nhng t«i nghÜ anh
cßn cã thÓ b¸n ®îc nhiÒu h¬n nÕu anh sö dông mét çch thøc b¸n hµng kh¸c.
4. §óng thÕ, nhng anh míi chØ sö dông 2 ph¬ng thøc lµ b¸n th«ng qua mét v¨n phßng giao dÞch hoÆc
b¸n trùc tiÕp cho çc cöa hµng b¸n lÎ ë Stèc-kh«m. Nh thÕ th× anh cha thÓ tiÕp cËn ®îc hÕt víi
çc kh¸ch hµng tiÒm n¨ng. H¬n n÷a hµng cña anh míi chØ ®îc b¸n ë 1 thµnh phè cña Thuþ §iÓn
th«i.
5. ¤ kh«ng, nh thÕ th× tèn kÐm qu¸. T«i muèn nãi lµ anh nªn thµnh lËp mét m¹ng líi b¸n hµng, hoÆc
sö dông mét ®¹i lý ®Ó ph©n phèi hµng cho çc anh.
6. §óng vËy. T«i cã anh b¹n tªn lµ Johansen rÊt cã kinh nghiÖm trong viÖc nµy. Anh nªn gÆp vµ bµn
vÒ chuyÖn nµy víi anh Êy.
7. TÊt nhiªn. §©y lµ danh thiÕp cña anh Êy. KÕt qu¶ thÕ nµo anh cho t«i biÕt nhÐ.
episode 1. mARKETING
Second Speaker
1. Yes, we are satisfied on the whole. Our sales volume has been quite high, thanks to
you.
21
2. Thank you about your praise. We believe quality is important. If we’ve got a good
product, the customers will not worry too much about the price.
3. Why do we have to change anything? We are doing alright at the moment.
4. Are you suggesting we should set up a marketing section in Sweden? But we don’t
have the capital...
5. You mean an agent or a dealer network?
6. That’s very useful. Could you introduce me to him?
7. Sure. See you later! Bye!
episode 2. IS telecommuting an exciting prospect?
English speaker: telecommuting refers to office workers spending much of their time
working from home and using electronic technologies to communicate with their
employers and colleagues. You think this is an exciting prospect because:
- People will spend most of their time at home = many empty desks in the
offices = people will share desks with absent colleagues = offices will grow
smaller = leave more space for housing or public areas
- Telecommuters would be able to work the hours they wish
- Save time and effort of traveling = allow more free time for recreation =
better health
- A parent with children will find this idea interesting because he/she can
work and keep an eye on their kids
- Fewer cars and motorbikes on the roads = less air pollution, traffic jams and
traffic accidents
episode 2. IS telecommuting an exciting prospect?
Vietnamese speaker: telecommuting refers to office workers spending much of their

time working from home and using electronic technologies to communicate with their
employers and colleagues. You don’t think this is an exciting prospect because:
- You will have less social contacts with colleagues = could harm morale and
loyalty
- Less social contacts may make you forget how to communicate – an
important skill
- Socializing is fun
- Some problems require team work, meetings and discussions
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Sleeps and Dreams

week 8
session 1. warm-up talk Student’s presentation
Session 2. liaison interpretation
episode 1. t×m ®¹i lý thÝch hîp
First speaker
1. ¤ng Ralph nµy, t«i võa ®i Thuþ ®iÓn ®Ó t×m mét ®¹i lý ph©n phèi s¶n phÈm cña chóng ta ë ®ã.
VÊn ®Ò lµ chóng t«i vÉn chua quyÕt ®Þnh ®îc. Cã mét ngêi cã vÎ rÊt cã kh¶ n¨ng, nhng t«i còng
cha hoµn toµn ch¾c anh ta cã ph¶i lµ ngêi thÝch hîp cho c«ng ty chóng ta hay kh«ng.
2. V©ng. Anh ta tªn lµ Johansen. Thùc ra mét c« b¹n cña t«i ®· giíi thiÖu t«i víi anh Êy. C« Êy nãi r»ng
Johansen lµ mét ®¹i lý lý tëng cho c«ng ty chóng ta.
3. V©ng, hä lµ b¹n th©n nhiÒu n¨m nay.
4. Anh ta qu¶n lý mét cöa hµng b¸n dông cô lµm vên ë trung t©m Stockolm ®· ®îc 15 n¨m nay. Cöa
hµng nµy b¸n rÊt ch¹y. Ai còng nãi r»ng anh ta lµ mét qu¶n lý thîng h¹ng, mét nhµ kinh doanh cã tµi
bÈm sinh.
5. §óng v©y. Anh ta nãi muèn thay ®æi mét chót, t×m mét c«ng viÖc khã khh¨n h¬n ®Ó cã thÓ ph¸t huy
n¨ng lùc.
6. TÊt nhiªn lµ kh«ng cã g× sai c¶. Nhng anh ta ®Ò nghÞ chóng ta cho anh ta ®îc lµm nhµ ph©n phèi
®éc quyÒn ë c¶ Thuþ ®iÓn vµ Nauy. Anh ta sÏ nhËp khÈu hµng cña chóng ta víi sè lîng lín, lu ë
kho cña anh ta vµ sau ®ã ph©n phèi ë 2 níc nµy.
7. Tr¸i l¹i, anh ta muèn mua ®øt b¸n ®o¹n b»ng tiÒn riªng cña anh ta. Anh ta muèn chóng ta b¸n cho anh
ta víi gi¸ thÊp h¬n gi¸ niªm yÕt 20%. Ph¶i c«ng nhËn r»ng ®©y lµ mét ®Ò nghÞ thó vÞ, ®óng
kh«ng?
8. Ch¼ng h¹n nh÷ng vÊn ®Ò g×?
9. §óng lµ t«i ®· kh«ng nghÜ ®Õn nh÷ng ®iÒu nµy. RÊt çm ¬n «ng. Cã lÏ khi nµo ®µm ph¸n víi anh ta
t«i sÏ mêi «ng cïng tham dù. T«i nghÜ «ng cã rÊt nhiÒu kinh nghiÖm trong viÖc nµy.
episode 1. Looking for a suitable agent

Second speaker
1. Tell me about him. Maybe I can help you decide.

2. Interesting. She knows about him, does she?
3. Aha. What about the background of this man?
4. Why does he want to get out of his current business? Is he getting bored?
5. Obviously the ambitious type. I see nothing wrong with that.
6. What about payment? The usual thing, commission on sales?
7. Well, there’s no reason why we couldn’t make that kind of arrangement with him. But
I need to know a lot more about this proposal before giving an opinion.
23
8. Well, what about after-sales service? Who will handle that? And then there’s the
advertising and the sales promotion. Will he pay for that? And what about the rest of
Scandinavia?
9. Well, not much. But I’m pleased if I could be of any help to you. Just give me a shout
when you have the negotiation.
EPISODE 2. working for a foreign-owned vs. a state-owned enterprise
English speaker: you are going to graduate very soon and you’re talking to your class
mate about the type of organization you wish to work for. You prefer working in a
foreign-owned enterprise because:
- The salary is often higher, and the working condition is usually more
pleasant
- You will become more dynamic and sensitive because you will have to deal
with speakers of English from different cultures
- You will have more opportunities to practice your English. This is an
advantage because now many documents are printed in English, many TV
stations broadcast in English, and the Internet also uses English. You will be
able to get a lot more information than a person whose English is poor.
EPISODE 2. working for a foreign-owned vs. a state-owned enterprise
Vietnamese speaker: you are going to graduate very soon and you’re talking to your
class mate about the type of organization you wish to work for. You prefer working in a
state-owned enterprise because:
- You are familiar with the home culture and will feel more confident in
communication with people of the same nationality
- You don’t have to speak English very often. Of course, speaking a foreign
language is not so easy as speaking your mother tounge
- You feel safer – it’s unlikely that you will be sacked
- The working atmosphere is less competitive and the job is usually less
stressful = you will have less headaches
SESSION 3. CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETATION
A good manager
( Introductorytopics)
24
week 9
episode 1. Problems with a sales agent
First speaker
1. I’m sorry, there’s no way I can break this news to you gently. I’m afraid we’ve decided to
terminate our agency contract with you.
2. I know. But we hope you will cooperate with us.
3. Can’t you guess?
4. Come on now, Mark, admit it. Sales were well below target. We agreed on a market performance
last January, your sales objective was a minimum of 500,000 dollars. Actually, 700,000 dollars
was a more realistic target.
5. Alright. It’s not easy, I know. Look, it’s not just that you failed to reach your sales target. Let’s be
honest, your after-sales service has been lousy. We’ve had dozens of complaints from customers.
6. Really? We wrote to you about it. People are saying they waited for weeks for your sub-agent to
make a service call. What do you say to that?
7. Why did you take it on then? After-sales service is vital to our success, you know that.
8. What are you driving at?
9. Mm... Perhaps we should have set up some kind of visit. I admit there’ve been mistakes on both
sides.
10. Sorry, it’s just not possible to do that. We can’t keep you as our agent, no way!
11. We’ll look after you, don’t worry. Actually, we are considering opening up our own sales office
here in Australia.
12. Yes, a more committed sales force will do a much better job, I hope.
episode 1. Problems with a sales agent

Second speaker
1. Çc anh kh«ng thÓ lµm nh vËy ®îc. T«i vÉn cßn mét n¨m n÷a theo hîp ®ång c¬ mµ?
2. Xin phÐp cho t«i hái v× sao anh l¹i ph¸ vì hîp ®ång nh vËy?
3. T«i c«ng nhËn doanh thu ®· kh«ng ®¹t ®îc nh mong muèn. Tuy nhiªn chóng t«i ho¹t ®éng ®©u
®Õn nçi tåi, ®¹t 300,000®«la vµo n¨m ngo¸i råi cßn g× n÷a, hoÆc lµ gÇn nh vËy.
4. õ, ®èi víi anh nãi th× dÔ. Chø thùc ra ë ®©y chóng t«i ph¶i c¹nh tranh vÊt v¶ l¾am. Chóng t«i
ph¶i cËt lùc kiÕm tõng ®ång mét.
5. H¶? B©y giê t«i míi biÕt tin nµy ®©y.
6. Cã thÓ chóng t«i ®· m¾c sai lÇm ë ®©y. §¸ng lÏ ra chóng t«i kh«ng nªn nhËn b¶o tr× cho çc
anh. Chç chóng t«i kh«ng phï hîp cho c«ng viÖc nµy l¾m.
7. Khoan ®·. Kh«ng ph¶i tÊt c¶ ®Òu lµ lçi cña chóng t«i, ®óng kh«ng? Çc anh còng cã hç trî cho
t«i ®©u? T«i ®©u cã ®éng c¬ thùc sù nµo ®Ó b¸n hµng cho çc anh?
8. Anh chØ ®Õn th¨m chóng t«i cã 2 lÇn trong n¨m ngo¸i. Cßn t«i th× ch¼ng bao giê ®îc mêi ®Õn
th¨m nhµ m¸y cña çc anh. Tõ tõ ®·, h·y ®Ó cho t«i nãi. Anh høa sÏ cïng chóng t«i tæ chøc ho¹t
®éng hç trî b¸n s¶n phÈm cña çc anh, nhng l¹i ch¼ng lµm g× c¶. Nªn còng ch¼ng cã g× ®¸ng
ng¹c nhiªn khi doanh thu l¹i tÖ nh vËy.
25
9. §iÒu t«i muèn nãi lµ ch¼ng nhÏ anh l¹i kh«ng thÓ cho t«i mét c¬ héi n÷a µ? Doanh thu s¾p tíi
ch¾c ch¾n sÏ kh¸ ®Êy. Suy tho¸i kh«ng thÓ kÐo dµi m·i ®îc.
10. NÕu vËy th× t«i sÏ ®îc hëng tiÒn båi thêng hËu hÜnh chø?
11. ThËt µ? B»ng çch nµy t«i ch¾c anh sÏ qu¶n lý tèt h¬n vÒ viÖc b¸n hµng cña m×nh ®Êy.
12. Th«i ®îc. Chóc anh thµnh c«ng h¬n trong lÇn nµy. RÊt tiÕc lµ chóng ta l¹i kh«ng thÓ lµm ¨n
l©u dµi víi nhau ®îc.
EPISODE 2. what is an ideal job?
English speaker: You are graduating in a year’s time and it’s not too early to think about
what kind of job you want to get. For you, the following aspects are the most important:
- Attractive salary
- Pleasant working condition and facilities
- Stable
EPISODE 2. what is an ideal job?
Vietnamese speaker: You are graduating in a year’s time and it’s not too early to think
about what kind of job you want to get. For you, the following aspects are the most
important:
- career potential: you will be able to take more responsibilities or advance to
a more challenging but rewarding position
- supportive, stimulating and vibrant working environment
- high salary not essential, but should offer attractive remuneration package:
salary + bonus + allowances(lunch, overtime, travel...) + training +
opportunities to go abroad...
Computers and how we talk

( Introductory topics)
26
week 10

episode 1. AN INTERVIEW WITH A HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
First speaker
1. First of all, Mr.Binh, thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview. As I said last week, what
I’m planning to do is to write an article for Human Resources International about present issues and
future concerns.
2. And so the purpose of my interview today is to collect some information from which I can then use in
my article.
3. I plan to interview 10 people, so that I can get a good range of ideas from professionals around the
world. So I hope you can tell me about the situation here in Vietnam.
4. Indeed! What I see is really striking. But what is the change that has the greatest impact on you – a
company director?
5. So, what exactly does that mean for you?
6. I see. What difference does the change bring about in terms of human resource?
7. Right. I agree that planning is very impotant. Do you have problems with redundant workers?
8. I see. But it would seem that slimming down your workforce will present you with some problems.
9. Well, Mr. Binh, you certainly have a lot of work to do. Thank you very much for your time and I wish
you success with everything you do.
episode 1. AN INTERVIEW WITH A HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
Second speaker
1. T«i biÕt. T«i còng rÊt vui ®îc anh mêi pháng vÊn.
2. T«i hiÓu. ThÕ anh dù ®Þnh sÏ pháng vÊn bao nhiªu ngêi?
3. å, t¹i ViÖt Nam b©y giê, mäi thø ®Òu ®ang biÕn ®æi rÊt nhanh. Anh còng cã thÓ thÊy ®iÒu nµy
khi so s¸nh víi chuyÕn th¨m lÇn tríc cña m×nh.
4. µ, ®èi víi t«i th× ®ã lµ nh÷ng ch¬ng tr×nh t nh©n ho¸ ®ang t¹o nªn mét søc Ðp rÊt lín ®èi víi qu¸
tr×nh vËn hµnh cña çc c«ng ty míi thµnh lËp trong mét c¬ chÕ kinh tÕ thay ®æi.
5. §èi víi t«i, ®iÒu ®ã cã nghÜa lµ viÖc chØnh ®èn nguån nh©n lùc.
6. §· nhiÒu n¨m råi, chóng t«i ®· ho¹t ®éng mµ kh«ng cã bÊt kú kÕ ho¹ch nµo cho nh÷ng nhu cÇu vÒ
nh©n lùc. Bëi vËy nhiÖm vô ®Çu tiªn cña t«i lµ lªn kÕ kÕ ho¹ch cho nh÷ng nhu cÇu ®ã ®Ó lµm sao
chóng t«i cã thÓ ®¹t ®îc çc môc tiªu s¶n xuÊt.
7. Cã chø. C¾t gi¶m biªn chÕ còng rÊt quan träng. Chóng t«i ph¶i lµm viÖc nµy ®Ó ®¶m b¶o cho c«ng
ty cã thÓ tån t¹i ®îc. NhiÖm vô kÕ theo lµ tuyÓn chän ®îc nh÷ng øng cö viªn phï hîp cho nh÷ng
c«ng viÖc cßn l¹i. Nh×n chung trong hÇu hÕt çc trêng hîp, c«ng ty chóng t«i kh«ng ph¶i ®Æt vÊn
®Ò tuyÓn dông tõ bªn ngoµi, bëi v× chóng t«i cã thÓ tho¶ m·n nhu cÇu cña m×nh tõ nguån nh©n sù
trong néi bé c«ng ty.
27
8. §óng, nh÷ng khã kh¨n rÊt lín. Nhng anh biÕt råi ®Êy, ngêi ViÖt Nam chóng t«i rÊt l¹c quan. Nãi tãm
l¹i, c«ng viÖc chÝnh cña chóng t«i cho t¬ng lai lµ: thiÕt lËp nh÷ng chÝnh s¸ch ®Ó gi¶i quyÕt vÊn
®Ò sa th¶i nh©n c«ng vµ sè nh©n c«ng d thõa, v× viÖc nµy lµ cÇn thiÕt nÕu nh chóng t«i muèn
lµm cho c«ng ty cã kh¶ n¨ng c¹nh tranh.
EPISODE 2. a good student is more important than a good teacher
English speaker: you are talking to your peer about the roles of students and teachers in
achieving good academic results. You think that a good student is more important than a
good teacher because:
- good teacher can’t help if student doesn’t want to learn
- teacher only meets students once or twice a week for 2 or three hours, and
most of the time is spent on lecturing = no time to work with students
individually
- Teacher has so many classes to teach and can’t remember the students’
names, not to mention their individual needs and wants
- Academic study means that students need to learn how to set goals and find
ways to achieve these goals independently. Relying too much on and
expecting too much from teachers is not a good thing to do
EPISODE 2. a good student is more important than a good teacher
English speaker: you are talking to your peer about the roles of students and teachers in
achieving good academic results. You think that a good teacher is more important than a
good student because:
- Good teacher can inspire/motivate poor-performing students
- Learning from a good teacher is much more exciting/effective than reading
from a book
- Good teacher has experience and can easily see the student’s strengths and
weaknesses and can recommend suitable learning strategies
Deserts – they keep expanding

( Introducory topics)
28
week 11
session 1 warm-up talk Student’s presentation

session 2 liaison interpretation
Business culture
First speaker
1. You are just back from Saudi Arabia. How does the management style there differ from, say,
here in the U.K or in the States?
2. What do you mean by “ power distance” ?
3. So which countries have the smallest power distance?
4. And in Saudi Arabia how much is this due to tradition?
5. What about the concept of time in Arab countries?
6. So how does this all affect negotiations?
7. Cronyism? This is the first time I hear the word. Can you explain a little bit ?
8. Well, at least it keeps our lawyers busy.
9. Whereas here we need to have things spelled out clearly and concisely. That’s quite a big
difference.
10. Exactly. Sometimes the success or failure of your business depends on whether you treat the
local partners the way they like, not on the nature of the business itself.
11. Yes, that’s very useful. Sometimes they can give you real life experience and perspectives
which can’t be found on the internet.
Second speaker
1. Cã lÏ ®iÒu ®Çu tiªn t«i nghÜ chóng ta cÇn lu ý lµ ë ®ã kho¶ng çch vÒ quyÒn lùc rÊt lín.
2. VÝ dô nh ë Anh hay MÜ th× çc gi¸m ®èc hái ý kiÕn cÊp díi vµ cïng víi thuéc cÊp ra
quyÕt ®Þnh. Nhng çc gi¸m ®èc ngêi A-rËp th× hoµn toµn chÞu tr¸ch nhiÖm trong viÖc
ra quyÕt ®Þnh vµ hä kh¸ ®éc ®o¸n trong viÖc nµy.
3. Nãi chung lµ çc níc B¾c ¢u. ë nh÷ng níc nµy th× ngêi ta coi viÖc tranh c·i lµ cã lîi cho
c«ng ty.
4. Ch¾c lµ rÊt nhiÒu. ë çc níc ¶ rËp hä kÝnh träng vµ trung thµnh víi «ng chñ hay cÊp trªn
cña m×nh. Hä coi träng chøc vô chø kh«ng ph¶i lµ kh¶ n¨ng nh ë ta.
5. Giê giÊc ë ®ã th× rÊt ‘cao su”. Hä kh«ng hÒ cã kh¸i niÖm ®óng giê, cho dï lµ trong çc
cuéc häp víi quan chøc cÊp cao.
6. ë Anh hay Mü th× chóng ta lµm ¨n cµng nhanh cµng tèt, nhng hä l¹i lµm viÖc rÊt chËm
ch¹p. C«ng viÖc lµm ¨n cña hä chñ yÕu dùa trªn t×nh b¹n bÌ vµ quan hÖ ç nh©n. Chóng ta
gäi ®ã lµ chñ nghÜa th©n h÷u.
7. NghÜa lµ hä u tiªn b¹n bÌ vµ ngêi quen khi t×m ®èi t¸c lµm ¨n. Cßn ë Mü th× chóng ta l¹i
cè g¾ng t×m mét ®èi t¸c cã lîi nhÊt trong thêi gian ng¾n nhÊt cho dï chóng ta cã quen biÕt
®èi t¸c ®ã hay kh«ng.
8. T«i nghÜ lµ luËt s ë ®ã l¹i rÊt nhµn v× hä chñ yÕu gi¶i quyÕt vÊn ®Ò trªn c¬ së th¬ng
lîng vµ hoµ gi¶i do hä ®Òu lµ b¹n bÌ cña nhau.
9. V©ng. T«i nghÜ hiÓu ®îc nÐt kh¸c biÖt nµy lµ rÊt quan träng.
29
10. §óng vËy. Cho nªn mçi khi ra níc ngoµi lµm ¨n hay ®µm ph¸n, t«i ®Òu ph¶i t×m hiÓu tríc
vÒ v¨n ho¸ kinh doanh cña níc ®ã. RÊt may lµ nh÷ng th«ng tin lo¹i nµy thêng cã s½n trªn
m¹ng. Ngoµi ra t«i cßn hái qua b¹n bÌ, ngêi quen n÷a.
session 3 consecutive interpretation
Photographs today: Do they tell the truth?

week 12
30
Export Financing
First speaker
1. Thank you for having me today. I thought you might give me some advice on how to finance
exports.
2. That’s what I thought. Now the first thing is my customer wants to deposit the full payment
for the goods in his bank. Will that work out all right?
3. That means I’ll be paid when I’ve fulfilled the terms of the sales contract and the letter of
credit.
4. This would show that the customer has received the goods.
5. My customer has agreed to give me an irrevocable L/C.
6. I sell to my domestic customers on open account. Would that work with my foreign
customers?
7. What about a sight draft ?
8. A time draft is different, I believe.
9. Oh, I see. Now, another matter. Can your bank give me a loan or credit to cover the cost of
the goods exported?
10. What type of loss does that protect you against?
11. That’s brilliant. Thank you very much.
Second speaker
1. V©ng t«i cã thÓ gióp ®îc «ng v× chóng t«i cã ng©n hµng ®¹i lý ë hÇu hÕt çc quèc gia
trªn toµn thÕ giíi.
2. TÊt nhiªn råi. Kh¸ch hµng cña «ng sÏ göi th tÝn dông cho chóng t«i.
3. §óng vËy. ¤ng sÏ ph¶i xuÊt tr×nh cho ng©n hµng ho¸ ®¬n th¬ng m¹i, b¶o hiÓm ®¬n vµ
mét bé vËn ®¬n s¹ch hµng ®· xÕp.
4. Tuy nhiªn ®«i khi th× ngêi ta còng yªu cÇu «ng xuÊt tr×nh giÊy chøng nhËn chÊt lîng
hµng ho¸ vµ phiÕu ®ãng gãi.
5. VËy th× tèt qu¸. TÝn dông th kh«ng huû ngang lµ mét ph¬ng thøc thanh to¸n rÊt cã lîi cho
c¶ hai bªn.
6. ¤ng chØ lµm ®îc ®iÒu ®ã khi «ng thùc sù tin tëng vµo kh¸ch hµng cña m×nh. Thêng th×
hai bªn ph¶i lµm ¨n víi nhau mét thêi gian ®Ó hiÓu nhau râ h¬n. T«i kh«ng muèn do¹ «ng
®©u, nhng trªn thùc tÕ ®· cã rÊt nhiÒu vô lõa ®¶o x¶y ra. TÊt nhiªn «ng cã thÓ ®i kiÖn,
nhng cÇn nhí r»ng ®iÒu nµy rÊt tèn kÐm vµ mÊt thêi gian.
7. §ã còng lµ mét ph¬ng thøc thanh to¸n th«ng dông. ¤ng cã thÓ ký ph¸t ®ßi tiÒn ngay sau khi
giao hµng.
8. Víi hèi phiÕu kú h¹n th× kh¸ch hµng cña «ng sÏ së h÷u l« hµng ngay khi chÊp nhËn hèi
phiÕu, nhng hä sÏ thanh to¸n cho «ng sau mét kho¶ng thêi gian 30, 60 hay 90 ngµy nh ®·
®îc ghi trªn hèi phiÕu.
9. Ch¾c ch¾n lµ ®îc. Chóng t«i cßn cã thÓ lo cho «ng c¶ b¶o hiÓm tÝn dông xuÊt khÈu n÷a
c¬.
10. Tæn thÊt do chiÕn tranh, b¹o lo¹n, tÞch thu hay do thay ®æi trong quy ®Þnh nhËp khÈu.
11. Kh«ng cã g×. Chóng t«i rÊt h©n h¹nh ®îc phôc vô «ng.
31
Allergies
week 13

politics
32
First speaker
1. C¬ chÕ bÇu cö bªn Mü cña cËu nh thÕ nµo?
2. ThÕ µ, hay nhØ. Cßn bÇu cö ë níc m×nh cø 5 n¨m mét lÇn. Tuy nhiªn bÇu cö còng cã thÓ
diÔn ra sím h¬n khi chÝnh phñ bÞ mÊt tÝn nhiÖm.
3. Ph¶i c«ng nhËn lµ håi cuèi thÕ kû 18 th× ý tëng vÒ mét vÞ tæng thèng víi nhiÖm kú h¹n
chÕ lµ rÊt “çch m¹ng”, v× thêi ®ã tÊt c¶ çc quèc gia lín ë ch©u ¢u ®Òu theo chÕ ®é
qu©n chñ cha truyÒn con nèi. B©y giê th× níc m×nh vÉn cßn n÷ hoµng, nhng thñ tíng
míi lµ ngêi ®øng ra ®iÒu hµnh ®Êt níc. Nhng Thñ tíng ë níc m×nh cã thÓ t¹i vÞ m·i,
miÔn lµ «ng ta ®îc §¶ng cÇm quyÒn bÇu lµm Chñ tÞch §¶ng.
4. Tí còng nghÜ thÕ. ThÕ níc cËu cã yªu cÇu cô thÓ g× ®èi víi mét ngêi muèn tranh cö tæng
thèng kh«ng?
5. Níc Mü cña cËu cã bao nhiªu §¶ng tÊt c¶ ?
6. §ã lµ nh÷ng §¶ng nµo ?
7. VËy th× §¶ng D©n chñ bªn cËu gièng nh C«ng ®¶ng bªn tí.
8. Bªn tí còng cã §¶ng B¶o thñ gièng nh §¶ng Céng hoµ cña cËu, ®Òu lµ §¶ng çnh h÷u. ThÕ
hai §¶ng ®ã kh¸c nhau nh thÕ nµo ?
9. Bªn m×nh th× C«ng ®¶ng vµ §¶ng B¶o thñ chñ yÕu kh¸c nhau vÒ chÝnh s¸ch ®èi néi, §¶ng
B¶o thñ ñng hé ngêi giµu, cßn C«ng ®¶ng ñng hé ngêi nghÌo vµ tÇng líp trung lu. Cßn
chÝnh s¸ch ®èi ngo¹i cña hai §¶ng th× ®Òu na n¸ nh nhau.
10. õ, th× m×nh còng thÕ.
Second speaker
1. Oh well, the elections happen every four years like absolute clockwork. You know exactly
when the next election is going to come. It happens on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November.
2. Oh, really? So you don’t know when an election is coming then. I always think one of the
strengths of our system is that we always know when the election is. And another strength is
that our President can only stay in for maximum of 2 terms, so he has only 8 years in office.
This is stated in the 22 nd amendment to the Constitution in 1951.
3. Oh, that’s incredible. It’s no good for your country. You should always have a new leader to
change your country.
4. Definitely! The Constitution requires the President to be a native-born American citizen at
least 35 years of age, and at least 14 years a resident of the United States.
5. Well, actually there are 2.
6. The Republicans and the Democrats. The latter are basically left wing.
7. Not quite, both parties are not really left or centre, although the Democrats span centre
andleft. But the Republicans are definitely right.
8. Well, the big difference between the two is that essentially the Republicans stand for keeping
the status quo going. The Democrats have a world outlook while the Republicans have a
national outlook.
9. Right, you know I think it’s just a game of the leaders. I really don’t care much.
World music
33
week 14

Pháng vÊn phã chñ tÞch phßng th¬ng m¹i mü
First speaker
1. Chµo «ng Blocker. Nh «ng ®· biÕt, HiÖp ®Þnh Th¬ng m¹i ViÖt Mü (H§TMVM) ®· b¾t
®Çu cã hiÖu lùc vµo ngµy 10 th¸ng 12 n¨m 2001. Víi t çch lµ Phã chñ tÞch phßng th¬ng
m¹i Mü, «ng cã c¶m nghÜ g× vÒ sù kiÖn quan träng nµy?
34
2. ¤ng cã thÓ cho biÕt vai trß cña Phßng th¬ng m¹i Mü lµ g× trong viÖc ph¸t triÓn mèi quan
hÖ nµy?
3. Theo t«i ®îc biÕt th× «ng ®ång thêi cßn lµ tæng gi¸m ®èc cña c«ng ty Gannon, mét c«ng ty
lín cña Mü. Víi con m¾t cña mét nhµ ®Çu t th× H§TMVM cã ý nghÜa nh thÕ nµo?
4. ¤ng cã nhËn xÐt g× vÒ m«i trêng ®Çu t ë ViÖt nam?
5. ¤ng cã thÓ gi¶i thÝch cô thÓ h¬n ®îc kh«ng?
6. Theo «ng th× ViÖt nam cã thÕ m¹nh g× cã thÓ ph¸t huy trong bèi c¶nh hiÖn nay?
7. Xin çm ¬n «ng rÊt nhiÒu v× ®· giµnh thêi gian tr¶ lêi pháng vÊn cña chóng t«i.
INTERVIEWING AMCHAM’S VICE CHAIRMAN

second speaker
1. Clearly this is a ground-breaking agreement. There are many Vietnamese and Americans who
are working hard to build bridges between our two countries./ Not only in the areas of trade
and investment, but also in cultural, educational, and information exchange. I feel very
positive about our developing relationship.
2. Amcham will continue to support this relationship. We will try to become more efficient in
building and adding value in the relationship and more importantly, adding value to Vietnam. /
We can do this by providing trade information, organizing delegations to explore the markets,
and holding exhibitions, trade fairs and workshops on trade and investment-related issues.
3. The BTA has put Vietnam in the same level as other countries when we make investment
decisions due to the reduction of US import duties for Vietnamese commodities./
We really appreciate the Ministry of Trade for their working very hard to get the BTA signed
and approved. It is a very difficult process.
4. Vietnam has made a lot of efforts to improve its business climate, but much remains to be
done to make it an attractive destination for foreign investors.
5. Yes. Vietnam is still a rather expensive place for investment. I think the government should
look at issues like personal income tax, telecommunication cost, dual pricing system ... These
are often taken into consideration for an investment decision./
Vietnam also need to be more transparent in its government actions and need to further train
government officials. Too many paperwork will create a bad impression on Vietnam among
foreign communities./ Effective enforcement of intellectual property rights is also important
for investors when they consider putting resources industries like IT and software. In my
opinion, the biggest advantage is a delicate labor force who are able to produce high quality
products./ I think it is interesting for Vietnam to pick out some industries or areas where it can
mobilize full resources to make them the best in the region, for example garment, textile, oil
refining, manufacturing, ect.
Preventing disasters
35
week 15

pháng vÊn gi¸m ®èc ®iÒu hµnh quü tiÒn tÖ qt
First speaker
8. Tha «ng Kohler, sau khi x¶y ra mét lo¹t çc cuéc khñng ho¶ng ë Mexic«, ¸chentina vµ ®Æc biÖt ë
ch©u ¸, uy tÝn cña Quü tiÒn tÖ quèc tÕ (QTTQT) ®· bÞ lung lay nghiªm träng. Theo «ng th× QTTQT
sÏ cã vai trß nh thÕ nµo trong thêi gian tíi?
9. Xin «ng cho biÕt QTTQT ®· rót ra ®îc nh÷ng bµi häc g× tõ cuéc khñng ho¶ng ch©u ¸?
10.T¹i sao ngêi ta l¹i cho r»ng çc níc ch©u ¸ kh«ng nªn thµnh lËp mét Quü tiÒn tÖ ch©u ¸, kh«ng phô
thuéc vµo QTTQT?
11.¤ng cã c¶m nhËn g× ®èi víi c«ng cuéc c¶i tæ hÖ thèng ng©n hµng ë khu vùc ch©u ¸ hiÖn nay?
12.NhiÒu ngêi ®ang tá ra lo ng¹i vÒ diÔn biÕn kinh tÕ ë NhËt b¶n hiÖn nay, v× ®©y vèn lµ mét ®éng
n¨ng t¨ng trëng quan träng cña ch©u ¸. Tuy thñ tíng Koizumi ®ang tiÕn hµnh c¶i tæ m¹nh mÏ, nhng
36
hµng ngµy chóng ta vÉn chøng kiÕn rÊt nhiÒu vô ph¸ s¶n vµ thu hÑp qui m« kinh doanh. LiÖu cã
ph¶i suy tho¸i lµ çi gi¸ ph¶i tr¶ cho c¶i tæ hay kh«ng?
13.RÊt çm ¬n «ng ®· tr¶ lêi pháng vÊn cña b¸o chóng t«i.
interviewing imf managing director

Second speaker
1. After these crises, it was clear that the IMF had to rethink its role. In the future, the fund
should refocus on macroeconomic stability, on financial, monetary and exchange-rate policies
and on financial stability./ Today we are living with more dynamic capital markets, but that
also means greater volatility. So the IMF needs to find the right balance: let the global capital
markets benefit people, but try to contain some of the downside risks.
2. One lesson is that we need to synchronize the opening of capital accounts very carefully with
the development of the financial sector, because capital inflows should be based on sound
internal structures which are able to absorb them./ Another lesson is that we need to rethink
our concept of conditionality. Conditions are the main principle of financing from the fund,
but in the past our conditions over-stretched our expertise. In the future we will focus only on
areas where we have expertise like macroeconomics and financial markets, not on
privatization or trade issues.
3. Well, if Asia has the political will, who can prevent it? But I want to say that Asia should
think very carefully about its interests. Asia is a major beneficiary of globalization, and an
Asian Monetary Fund may make you see things in a more limited context of the region./
Of course, to exploit the full potential of globalization, you need regionalization, because it
helps your economies become more competitive.
4. On the whole, the banking sector in Asia is now more resilient than it was 4 years ago, but I
can’t say I’m totally satisfied. / The current slowing of the global economy will be a test on
the financial sector and we will have to see the outcome. But I’m quite confident that Asia will
withstand this test.
5. No, it’s not a necessary price. Certainly restructuring will cause pains, but I don’t think it will
cause a deep recession./ The core problem in Japan now is the lack of confidence – consumer
confidence, and even investor confidence. But with a convincing reform program, people will
look to the future with new optimism.
Be careful: Phobias
37
interpretation file 2
For advanced learners
38
structure of file
For teachers only
Warm-up talk (30 min.)

Teacher (first week) or student (following weeks) makes a presentation with an interpreter.
There’s a brief Q & A session afterwards.
Liaison interpretation practice (40 min.)

Teacher makes copies of the episodes from Interpretation File and distributes to students the
moment before they act out the conversations. To save money, teacher may collect the
handed-out scripts for use in his/her other classes.
Students are split up into groups of 3 - a Vietnamese speaker, an English speaker, and an
interpreter. The two speakers act out a conversation with the help of the interpreter, whose
performance is evaluated by the speakers afterwards. Teacher will move around groups and
give out his/her observations after the whole session. He/she should also make sure whether
students got the technical terms or any other difficult expressions right.
Conversations are scripted. The two speakers scan through their scripts before acting. They
may repeat their sentences if the interpreter asks them to do so. Students switch roles when
finished.
39
Consecutive interpretation practice (70 min.)
- Students listen to the whole talk without taking notes (with quick-minded classes) or
taking very brief notes (with slower classes).
- Students answer 3 comprehension questions by teacher.
- Students take turn to go to the front and translate the talk. Teacher pauses the tape as the
student goes along. Teacher rewinds the tape if student fails to translate or mistranslates.
- Teacher evaluates students’ task-fulfillment.
Simultaneous interpretation practice (for fast classes only)
This can only be done in the language labolatory with headphones and microphones. Students
translate simultaneously and get their translation taped.
week 16
session 1 warm-up talk
Hello everyone. Welcome back to our interpretation course after your end-of-term
examinations. I do hope you’ve all done your exams very well. Anyway, I think you’re
now looking forward to the Tet Holiday and have no stomach for learning. But this is
your final term at the university, and I think it’s also the hardest. So try to enjoy your Tet
Holiday and save some energy for the hard time ahead!
Today, I’d just like to talk briefly about the London Stock Exchange. I will describe how
it works, who the participants are, and what financial instruments are traded. At the end of
my talk, I will also explain briefly about the types of services that stockbrokers provide.
The London Stock Exchange is one of the oldest and well established stock exchanges
in the world. In essence, it provides a marketplace where shares can be bought or sold.
Each share is a small stake in a company. You can buy large or small lots to match the
amount of money you want to invest. A company's share price can rise or fall as a result
of its own performance or market conditions.
Companies and investors both need stock exchanges, but for different reasons.
Companies can issue shares to raise money from investors to help them develop their
business and grow. Companies can issue different types of shares but the main one you
will come across is the ordinary share. As well as being a stake in the company, these
40
give shareholders a share in its profits in the form of dividends and a vote at annual
meetings. For investors, stock exchanges provide secure and reliable marketplaces in
which they can buy or sell shares. In the UK, over 12 million people own shares, and
millions more have pensions, life insurance or other savings which are invested in shares
traded in London. What happens on the London Stock Exchange affects almost everyone
in the UK in their daily lives. Shares in the supermarkets they shop in, the transport they
use and the utilities that supply heat and light to their homes, are traded on the London
Stock Exchange.
As well as being the UK's major stock exchange, the London Stock Exchange is the
world's leading marketplace for international shares - more international companies
choose to list in London than on any other exchange. Do you why? Well, there are several
reasons.
First, the London Stock Exchange is conveniently located between the world's two largest
financial markets, those of the US and Japan. So the trading day in London overlaps with
Tokyo in the morning and with New York in the afternoon. The second reason is that
trading regulations of the London Stock Exchange are of international standard. Trading
arrangements on the London Stock Exchange resemble those on NASDAQ. You know
what NASDAQ stands for? It’s National Association of Securities Dealers’ Automated
Quotation system. Competing dealers who wish to make a market in a stock enter bid and
ask prices into the Stock Exchange Automated Quotations (SEAQ) computer system.
Market orders can then be matched against those quotes. Have you ever come across the
term bid price and ask price? Well, the bid price is the price at which a dealer is willing to
purchase a security, and the ask price is the price at which he will sell a security. As in the
United States, security firms are allowed to act both as dealers and as brokerage firms,
that is, both making a market in securities and executing trades for their clients.
Another reason why the London Stock Exchange is attractive to some traders is that it
offers greater anonymity than US markets. Anonimity roughly means that your private
information is secured. Records of trades are not published for a period of time until after
they are completed. Therefore, it is harder for market participants to observe or infer a
trading program of another investor until after that investor has completed the program.
This anonymity can be quite attractive to institutional traders that wish to buy or sell large
quantities of stock over a period of time.
The London Stock Exchange offers two separate markets, each suited to a different type
of company. The first kind is the main market. The main market is home to most of the
best known British and international companies whose shares are bought and sold
41
publicly. When a company wants to trade its shares on the main market, it first has to
meet stringent criteria of the company’s size, its profitability, its financial standing, and so
on. Subsequently, it has to follow rules and guidelines, monitored by the Exchange, which
ensure that shareholders are kept informed of company activities and major
developments.
No matter where in the world a company is located, its shares can be traded in London as
long as they are also listed on another stock exchange recognized by the London Stock
Exchange. Many of the prices for these shares can be seen by people all around the world.
The second kind is called AIM (Alternative Investment Market), which was set up in
1995. This market is for smaller, young and growing companies. As the companies on
AIM are generally higher risk, it is suitable only for the more experienced investors.
Investors can choose whether to make their own share dealing decisions or take advice
from a professional. Some may prefer to discuss their ideas with an advisor first, others
are happier handling over the management of their money completely. Whatever the
preference, there is a service to meet it. Stockbrokers provide three services: execution-
only, advisory and discretionary. In the first type, you contact the stockbroker with
instructions to buy or sell, and can not ask the broker for advice or comment on your
decision. When offering the advisory service, the second type, the stockbroker
recommends you which shares to buy and sell having regard to what is suitable for you
and if you want, contact you from time to time with further suggestions about the shares
you hold. If you choose the third service, the discretionary service, after discussing your
investment needs, you give your stockbroker the authority to buy and sell shares on your
behalf within agreed guidelines. The stockbroker manages your investments and reports
to you regularly on their performance, as well as handles all dealing and administration
for you.
O.K. That covers the main points I want to talk about today. Thank you all for your
attention.
42
currency and other forms of exchange
First speaker
1. Anh ¬i, em lµ mét sinh viªn cña häc viÖn ng©n hµng. §©y lµ lÇn ®Çu tiªn em ®Õn ®©y
thùc tËp. Anh cã thÓ gi¶i thÝch cho em mét chót vÒ çc lo¹i tiÒn tÖ vµ hèi ®o¸i ®îc kh«ng
¹?
2. Ngµy nµo ng©n hµng anh còng ph¶i sö dông ®Õn tÊt c¶ çc lo¹i hèi ®o¸i ¹?
3. µ ph¶i råi. ë trêng em çc thÇy gäi ®ã lµ ®ång tiÒn ph¸p ®Þnh.
4. Nhng sÐc th× kh«ng ph¶i lµ ®ång tiÒn ph¸p ®Þnh ®óng kh«ng ¹?
5. ThÕ cßn sÐc du lÞch th× cã ®îc coi lµ tiÒn hay kh«ng?
6. Em biÕt råi. Ngêi cÇm sÐc chØ viÖc xuÊt tr×nh mét lo¹i giÊy tê tuú th©n thÝch hîp lµ
®îc.
7. ThÕ cßn ng©n phiÕu lµ g× ¹? Nã cã ®îc coi lµ tiÒn tÖ kh«ng?
8. Em còng ®o¸n thÕ. Nhng cã mét ®iÒu em vÉn cha hiÓu. T¹i sao ngêi ta l¹i thÝch dïng
ng©n phiÕu h¬n lµ dïng sÐc?
9. ThÕ cßn hèi phiÕu tr¶ ngay th× sao?
10. Phøc t¹p nhØ. Em nghÜ em cßn ph¶i häc hái nhiÒu.
currency and other forms of exchange

Second speaker
1. Yes, certainly.
2. Just about every form. Of course, the form of exchange we handle most often is coins
and bills of every denomination.
3. Yes, that’s right. Or you can call them currency. A nation’s currency is its legal
tender.
43
4. No, it isn’t. However, checks are a more common form of exchange. The Federal
Reserve defines checkable deposits as one of the most important sources of the
money supply.
5. Not in a strict sense. But they are immediately negotiable everywhere. For instance,
even businessmen will cash them under most circumstances.
6. That’s right. So you do know something about banking, don’t you?
7. Definitely yes. Bank notes are issued by the banks of the Federal Reserve System, so
they are legal tender.
8. Well, in case of a check, the person who signs it is the only one who guarantees
payment. But a bank draft is issued and guaranteed by a bank.
9. Oh, sight drafts are different. They are a form of request for payment through a bank.
In a foreign trade transaction, the exporter is the person who issues the draft. After
shipment of the goods, he presents the draft together with other shipping documents
to the importer’s bank. The bank will verify the documents, and if they comply with
the letter of credit, the bank will pay the exporter.
10. Don’t worry. That’s very easy once you get the hang of it.
An overview of financial institutions

(Banking and Finance – FTU)
Key terms
Deficit spending unit ®¬n vÞ thiÕu vèn

Surplus spending unit ®¬n vÞ thõa vèn
intermediation financing huy ®éng vèn qua trung gian
financial claims tµi s¶n tµi chÝnh
denomination mÖnh gi¸
broker m«i giíi
dealer ngêi bu«n chøng kho¸n
investment banker ng©n hµng ®Çu t
maturity thêi gian ®¸o h¹n
deposit-type institution tæ chøc theo kiÓu tiÒn göi
contractual saving institution tæ chøc theo kiÓu tiÕt kiÖm theo hîp ®ång
time deposit tiÒn göi cã kú h¹n
checking account tµi kho¶n sÐc (kh«ng kú h¹n)
savings and loans association héi tiÕt kiÖm vµ cho vay
mutual savings bank ng©n hµng tiÕt kiÖm t¬ng hç
credit union quü tÝn dông
life and non-life insurance b¶o hiÓm nh©n thä vµ phi nh©n thä
policyholder ngêi mua b¶o hiÓm
pension fund quü hu
44
Tapescript
Good morning everyone. Today we will begin our series of mini-lectures on finance. This is
a difficult topic, so I hope you pay attention.
The financial system consists of financial markets and financial institutions. In this lecture
I will present to you an overview of U.S. financial institutions, and in the next lecture I
will describe financial markets. My talk is divided into 3 main parts. First, I will begin by
defining surplus and deficit spending units. Then I explain how they are brought together
in financial markets, either directly or indirectly with the help of intermediaries. Finally, I
will identify different types of financial institutions and the benefits they provide to the
economy.
Now let me begin with the first part: definitions of SSUs and DSUs. All economic units can
be classified as one of the 3 groups: households, business firms, and governments. For any
budget period, any unit can have one of three possible budget positions:
(1) balanced position, that means income and expenditures are equal
(2) surplus position, where income exceeds expenditures
or (3) deficit position, where expenditures exceed receipts.
The financial system is concerned with channeling money from surplus spending units, or
SSUs for short, to deficit pending units, or DSUs. Taken as a group, business firms and
governments are typically DSUs and households are usually SSUs. Do you find this
somewhat surprising?
Now let’s move on to my second part: the transfer of funds from SSUs to DSUs. The purpose
of the financial system is to transfer funds from SSUs to DSUs in the most efficient way,
either for investment or for consumption. The job of bringing SSUs to DSUs together can be
done by direct financing or by indirect, or intermediation, financing. An efficient financial
system is important because it ensures adequate capital for economic growth. If the system
works properly, firms with the most promising investment opportunities will receive funds.
And consumers who are willing and able to pay the current market rate of interest can buy
goods and services on credit when they want.
Is it clear so far? Now we will take a closer look at how direct and indirect financing work in
practice. In direct financing, DSUs and SSUs exchange money and financial claims directly.
DSUs issue financial claims and sell them in direct credit markets to SSUs for money.
Now I want you to pause for a moment and think about the advantages and disadvantages of
direct financing. Any idea? Well, direct financing gives SSUs an outlet for their savings,
which provides an expected return. For DSUs, they no longer need to postpone current
consumption or miss the good investment opportunities for the lack of fund. So the advantage
45
of direct financing is that it increases the efficiency of the financial system. However, there
are some problems with direct financing. First, because direct credit markets are wholesale
markets, the value, or denomination, of the securities are very large (usually 1 million USD
or more), so few consumers can transact in these markets. Another problem is that SSUs
must find the DSUs with securities that exactly match their demand. Because this is very
difficult and time-consuming, there are some participants to help bring buyers and sellers
together. They are brokers, dealers, and investment bankers.
Alright. Let’s leave direct financing there and turn to the other channel of transferring funds –
that is, financial intermediation. Financial intermediaries emerged because of the
inefficiencies with direct financing. There are three reasons why they can transfer funds more
efficiently. First, they can achieve economies of scale because of specialization. Second, they
can reduce transaction costs in searching for credit information. And finally, they can obtain
important and sensitive information about the borrowers’ financial condition, and so they can
avoid some of the risks when lending to unreliable borrowers.
In addition to lower costs, another advantage of financial intermediaries is that the

financial products they offer are very flexible and diverse. They produce a wide range of
denominations with a wide range of maturities. They also spread the risks and make the
products more liquid. For example, with a checking account, you can have money any
time you want at very low transaction cost.
I hope that my talk so far is not too complicated and you have no difficulties understanding it.
We are now going to the third part: the different types of financial intermediaries, or financial
institutions. Although different, they all have one function in common. They buy financial
claims from DSUs with 1 set of characteristics and sell financial claims with different
characteristics to SSUs. We can classify financial institutions into 3 major categories:
(1) deposit-type institutions
(2) contractual savings institutions
and (3) other types of financial institutions.
I will now briefly explain these groups one by one.
The first group, deposit-type institutions, issues a variety of checking accounts, savings
account, and time deposits and use the funds to make consumer loans, business loans, and
mortgage loans. This type of institutions include commercial banks, savings and loans
associations, mutual savings banks, and credit unions.
The second group, contractual savings institutions, obtains funds under long-term
arrangements and invest the funds in long-term markets, called capital markets. This group
include insurance companies, both life and non-life, and pension funds. Their inflows of
funds are steady because of the long-term commitment with their policyholders and pension
fund participants.
46
The third group is other types of financial institutions such as finance companies, mutual
funds, or maybe some government agencies.
Well, I think we have had enough for today. Thank you for your attention. Have you all next
week. Goodbye.
(931 words)
week 17

Time deposits, savings accounts, and now accounts
First Speaker
1. Brian nµy, m×nh ®ang cã mét Ýt tiÒn, kh«ng biÕt cã nªn göi tiÕt kiÖm kh«ng nhØ? CËu
lµm l©u n¨m trong ng©n hµng, cËu b¶o m×nh nªn thÕ nµo?
2. Nghe l¹ nhØ. Cô thÓ nã thÕ nµo?
3. ThÕ kú phiÕu víi tiÒn göi tiÕt kiÖm kh¸c nhau ë chç nµo?
4. VËy cËu tÝnh l·i ®èi víi tµi kho¶n tiÕt kiÖm nh thÕ nµo?
5. Tøc lµ céng vµo sè tiÒn gèc chø g×?
6. ThÕ m×nh cã thÓ chuyÓn kho¶n víi 2 lo¹i tµi kho¶n nµy ®îc kh«ng?
7. Nhng cËu b¶o m×nh nªn göi ë ng©n hµng nµo th× yªn t©m h¬n? Çc ng©n hµng cã b¶o
hiÓm tiÒn göi kh«ng?
8. ê, rÊt çm ¬n cËu. M×nh sÏ suy nghÜ thªm.
Time deposits, savings accounts, and now accounts

Second Speaker
1. Yeah, savings account is one possibility. It is fairly liquid, but you must give the bank 30
day notice if you want to withdraw your savings. But a more liquid investment is the
47
Negotiable Order of Withdrawal, called the NOW account. It has become very popular
lately.
2. It has an advantage over regular checking accounts in that it pays interest. It is also more
liquid than savings accounts because you can draw checks on it.
3. Well, a time deposit is for a specified period of time, for example 3 months. That means you
can’t withdraw your money before maturity. But you can makewithdrawals from a savings
account at any time, although you must give advance notice to the bank, as I said before.
You can guess that a time deposit offers a higher rate of interest than a savings deposit. This
is partially due to its fixed maturity.
4. It’s compounded and credited to the account quarterly.
5. Yes. And we issue you a passbook on your savings account. Every time you make a deposit
or withdrawal, it is entered into the passbook.
6. Only time certificates are transferable. Savings account can not be transfered to another
person.
7. Yes. Most banks are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This
corporation insures accounts up to 40,000 dollars. So if the bank goes bankrupt, you can still
get compensated.
8. You’re welcome. I’m pleased that I can help.
Fundamentals of financial markets

KEY TERMS
capital market thÞ trêng vèn

money market thÞ trêng tiÒn tÖ
common stock cæ phiÕu thêng
corporate bond tr¸i phiÕu c«ng ty
municipal bond tr¸i phiÕu ®« thÞ (®Þa ph¬ng)
mortgage kho¶n vay thÕ chÊp
capital asset tµi s¶n cè ®Þnh
yield lîi tøc
bid-ask spread møc chªnh lÖch gi÷a gi¸ mua vµ gi¸ b¸n
T-bill kú phiÕu kho b¹c
default risk rñi ro kh«ng thanh to¸n (tr¶ nî)
CDs chøng nhËn tiÒn göi
IOUs th¬ng phiÕu
federal funds tr¸i phiÕu liªn bang
primary market thÞ trêng s¬ cÊp
secondary market thÞ trêng thø cÊp
organized market thÞ trêng chøng kho¸n tËp trung
OTC market thÞ trêng chøng kho¸n phi tËp trung
tAPESCRIPT
48
Hello again. If you remember, last week I promised to describe the other component of the
financial system, that is financial markets. And I’m gonna do it today. I will divide my talk
into 2 main parts. First, I will explain the functions of financial markets. Then I will talk
about different types of financial markets that exist in the U.S. The reason why I choose the
U.S and not any other country is that America is the biggest economy in the world.
Understanding its well-developed financial markets can give you a broader idea of how the
system works.
Actually, there are two basic kinds of financial markets: capital markets and money markets.
I will explain the functions of these two in turn, but before that, we have to know about their
definitions.
So, what are capital markets? Capital markets are markets wherein funds are channeled
into long-term productive investments. These investments are particularly important to
the economy because they add to our nation’s capital stock, increasing productivity and
ultimately improving our standard of living. The major capital market instruments are
common stocks, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and mortgages.
You know, governments or corporations buy capital assets such as machines or factories to
use in their production activities. However, they may be unable or unwilling to spend a huge
amount of money to buy these capital assets. Instead, they want to pay for the assets in part,
out of future revenues generated by the production activities. If so, they must enter the capital
markets as borrowers. They issue financial claims such as stocks and bonds, and sell them to
the public or other corporations for funds.
Now that you’ve got an idea of the capital market, let us discuss its functions. Capital
markets help increase economic efficiency in various ways, but there are three main aspects.
The first one is allocational efficiency. That means funds will be allocated to their highest
valued use. In general, this means that business firms will invest in the projects which offer
the highest rates of return, and households will buy the financial claims which offer the
highest yields for a certain level of risk.
The second function of capital markets is informational efficiency. Through capital markets,
investors can obtain accurate information about the values of different securities. In mature
capital markets, securities prices are the best indicators of relative values because market
prices reflect all relevant information about the securities. When new information arrives,
market prices adjust quickly. Information is important because it helps households or
business firms make intelligent investment decisions.
The third function of capital markets is operational efficiency. That means the costs of
conducting transactions are low. Brokers search for information, bring sellers and buyers
together, and charge a commission for their services. In contrast, dealers buy and sell on their
own account. They make profit from the difference between the buying price and the selling
49
price. This difference is usually called “the bid-ask spread”. You see, this operational
efficiency is important because if transactions costs are high, few transactions will take place,
and many investment projects will be passed up. The forgone investment opportunities mean
that fewer people are employed, and economic output grow at slower rates, or even declines.
So the whole society will become worse off.
Well, that’s it for the functions of capital markets. Do you have any questions before I go on?
No? O.K, let’s now discuss the functions of the money markets.
The group of markets in which short-term, large denomination debt instruments are traded
is called the money market, in which economic units adjust liquidity and the Fed conducts
monetary policy. The most important money market instrument are U.S. Treasury Bills,
which are the most marketable and have the lowest default risk of any financial claim.
Other money market instruments include negotiable certificates of deposit (CDs),
commercial papers (IOUs), federal funds and eurodollars.
The most important function of the money markets is to provide an efficient means for
economic units to adjust their liquidity positions. You know, cash receipts and cash
expenditures rarely perfectly happen at the same time. But with money markets, economic
units can bridge the gap of receipts and expenditures and solve their liquidity problems.
Another important function of money markets is that they help to reduce risks. Money
market instruments have low default risk, low price risk, low liquidity risk, and low
transaction costs.
Alright, we will leave the first part here to turn to my second part – different types of
financial markets that exist in the U.S. There are many ways to classify financial markets.
We will examine them one by one.
First, primary and secondary markets. In primary markets, financial claims are first sold
by DSUs, whereas in secondary markets, initial buyers resell their securities before
maturity.
Then, we have organized and over the counter, or OTC markets. Organized markets
provide a physical meeting place and communication facilities for members to conduct
their transactions under a specific set of rules and regulations. Only securities listed on the
exchange can be traded. On the other hand, dealers and brokers can trade in OTC markets
through electronic telecommunication like telephones, faxes or the internet.
Finally, financial markets can be classified as either international or domestic, depending

on where they are located.
O.K I think we stop here today. I hope you now have a clear idea of the financial system.
See you all next week. Bye bye.
50
(907 words)
week 18

loans
First Speaker
1. Good morning. I would like to ask about my application for a loan from your bank. Has it
been approved yet?
2. O.K. Not at all.
3. Yes. We are making semi-annual payments on this obligation.
4. No, that’s just an open note.
5. We wouldn’t object to that. Part of this money will be used to retire present debts, and part to
expand our operations. Then we can immediately begin to liquidate this new liability.
6. Thank you. I guarantee that we will pay you back on time.
..... 1 year later
7. I received your notice that our note is due. I can pay it off now, but there’s apiece of land
right next to my property that I’d like to buy.
8. My real estate is clear. There’s also a mortgage on my equipment.
9. Yes. It belongs to an estate and was appraised by order of the court. They estimate its value
at 10,000 dollars.
10. I think so. I’m prepared to pay that price.
11. Yes, certainly. But I think my net worth is high enough that I could borrow the amount on
my open note.
12. Thank you.
Second Speaker
1. Uû ban xÐt vay cña chóng t«i vÉn ®ang xem xÐt ®¬n xin vay cña «ng. LiÖu «ng cã thÓ
cung cÊp thªm cho chóng t«i th«ng tin vÒ çc h¹ng môc mµ «ng ®· liÖt kª trong b¶ng c©n
®èi tµi s¶n ®îc kh«ng?
51
2. Çc «ng vÉn ®ang tr¶ dÇn kho¶n vay thÕ chÊp ®èi víi çc tµi s¶n cè ®Þnh cña çc «ng ®Êy
chø?
3. B¶ng c©n ®èi tµi s¶n cña «ng cßn cã mét sè kho¶n nî kh¸c. ThÕ cßn tµi s¶n cña «ng cã çi
nµo bÞ ®em ra lµm thÕ chÊp hay kh«ng?
4. VËy c«ng ty «ng cã ®ång ý thÕ chÊp mét phÇn tµi s¶n lu ®éng cho kho¶n vay nµy hay
kh«ng?
5. T«i nghÜ nh vËy lµ æn. Chóng t«i ®ång ý ®Ó «ng vay.
... 1 year later

14. T«i kh«ng nhí râ t×nh h×nh tµi s¶n cña «ng l¾m. Çc tµi s¶n cña «ng kh«ng cã çi nµo bÞ
®em ra thÕ chÊp ®Êy chø?
15. ThÕ miÕng ®Êt «ng ®Þnh mua ®· ®îc ®Þnh gi¸ cha?
16. Gi¸ ®Êy lµ hîp lý chø?
17. ThÕ th× «ng ph¶i lµm cho chóng t«i mét giÊy biªn nhËn nî ®Ó ®¶m b¶o kho¶n tiÒn «ng
vÉn ®ang nî chóng t«i, céng víi kho¶n tiÒn «ng muèn vay thªm.
18. Th«i ®îc. T«i thÊy gi¸ trÞ tµi s¶n cña «ng cao h¬n kho¶n vay nhiÒu nªn t«i cã thÓ cho «ng
vay tiÕp mµ kh«ng cÇn thÕ chÊp.
Note:
uû ban xÐt vay = discount committee
tr¶ dÇn kho¶n vay thÕ chÊp ®èi víi ... = to amortize the mortgage on ...
®em ... ra lµm thÕ chÊp = pledge sth as security/collateral
giÊy biªn nhËn nî = trust deed
cho vay kh«ng cÇn thÕ chÊp = make the loan on an open note
The core functions of banks

KEY TERMs
intermediary service dÞch vô trung gian

liquidity service dÞch vô thanh kho¶n
asset transformaion chuyÓn ®æi tµi s¶n
adverse selection lùa chän ngêi vay ®¸ng tin cËy
asymmetric information th«ng tin kh«ng c©n b»ng
interest margin chªnh lÖch l·i suÊt
insolvent mÊt kh¶ n¨ng thanh to¸n
tapescript
Good morning everyone. How are you? In our discussion today, we will look at the
meaning of banking. In the future, many of you may work for banks as accountant, credit
analysts, cashier, or even director. So I think we should know a bit about banks. I'll
52
present to you the core functions of banks. These functions are an intermediary service, a
liquidity service and asset transformation.
You know, banks are the most important part of the financial sector and it is their core
activities which distinguish them from other financial firms.
First, banks offer an intermediary service. Banks act as intermediaries. They offer
deposit products which pay out money on demand or after some notice. Taking deposits
creates liabilities for banks while making loans creates assets, both must be managed.
Thus the core activity is to act as intermediaries between depositors and borrowers. Other
financial institutions, such as stockbrokers, also act as intermediaries between buyers and
sellers of stock. But it is the taking of deposits and granting loans that singles out a bank,
though many banks offer other financial services.
Banks will offer more loans as interest rates rise. However, as interest rates rise, more
disproportionate number of risky borrowers are attracted to loans. So what the bank finds
is that as interest rates rise, more and more risky borrowers say that we'll borrow from
you and that's what banks don't like. To avoid this problem, banks simply refuse to lend,
this is known as 'adverse selection'. There is a difference between the information that
the borrower has and the information that the bank has. The borrower always knows the
situation better than the banker does. So there is an imbalance of information, and that's
known as asymmetric information, which creates the problem of adverse selection. Is it
too difficult to understand? I’m sorry that we have some technical terms, but I hope
you’ve got what I say.
There is an interest margin, i.e. the interest differential between the loan rate and the
deposit rate, which covers the intermediation costs of the bank. Those include the
verification cost, verifying that a borrower is genuine, monitoring an outstanding loan,
and taking necessary action if an individual or a firm say that they are unable to either
make the interest payment on time or in fact repay a loan. Provided a bank can offer the
intermediary service at lowest cost, there will be a demand for the service. The greater the
competition in banking, the lower would be that interest margin.
Unlike the individual lender, the bank enjoys information economies of scope in lending
decisions. The information economies of scope say this: banks pool a large number of
loans and in doing that, by the law of marginal numbers, they actually reduce the default
risk and therefore they get the same expected return as agents doing it individually but the
overall risk is lower because they're pooling this large group of loans together.
53
The second important function that banks offer is a liquidity service. If banks can not
offer their customers liquidity, they'll end up being insolvent very quickly. The problem is
this: when you and I make a deposit or take out a loan, we agree on the term for that
deposit, either we want instant access to the cash, in which case we take a very low
interest rates or zero interest rates or we even end up paying fees to the bank, if we were
in the United States, to run the account. Or in the case if you are a firm or an individual
borrower, you say: “Well, I can repay the money back within a certain period of time,”
and you reach an agreement with the bank. Or you can make a deposit and say “I don't
need that money for two years, I'd rather have a high interest rates on it”. But the problem
is that preferences change and depositors find that they need the money earlier than they
thought they did, and often firms and individuals find that it's gonna take a longer time to
repay than they thought initially, so what they do is renegotiate the loan or they take out
the deposit earlier with an interest penalty.
In both cases, what depositors expect is that the bank will provide them with the funds.
Depositors expect that even if they put in for three years but they come back after six
months, they are gonna get that money. If they don't get the money, they get worries. So
liquidity is a very important service in itself. We all want liquidity from our banks, we
want to be able to access our cash when we want it.
The final function, is asset transformation, i.e. banks transform the value of their assets
and liabilities. However, this activity is not unique to banks. By pooling assets and
liabilities and managing them, engaging in assets-liability management, they can actually
transform the maturity of the assets that they are holding and make a profit from doing so.
The only thing that is unique about it is that most of their asset transformation is taking on
deposits and lending loans. Borrowing short and lending long, as they say, is what is
unique.
Well, I think that we have enough for today. Next week we will continue our discussion
with different types of banks. Good bye till then.
(900 words)
54
week 19

types of banks
First Speaker
1. RÊt çm ¬n anh ®· ®a t«i ®Õn th¨m ng©n hµng cña anh. §©y lµ ng©n hµng lo¹i g× vËy?
2. Tøc lµ dÞch vô mµ çc anh cung cÊp sÏ bÞ giíi h¹n ph¶i kh«ng?
3. VÝ dô nh nh÷ng dÞch vô g×?
4. Ch¼ng h¹n b©y giê t«i muèn mua hoÆc b¸n mét sè chøng kho¸n. Th× ng©n hµng anh cã
thÓ gióp t«i thùc hiÖn nh÷ng giao dÞch lo¹i lo¹i nµy ®îc kh«ng?
5. ThÕ nh©n viªn m«i giíi cña çc anh cã ph¶i lµ thµnh viªn cña Së Giao dÞch Chøng kho¸n
hay kh«ng?
6. Ng©n hµng cña çc anh lµ ng©n hµng cña bang ®óng kh«ng?
7. ThÕ so víi ng©n hµng quèc gia th× çc anh cung cÊp Ýt dÞch vô h¬n ®óng kh«ng?
8. ThÕ cã ng©n hµng nµo kh«ng thêng xuyªn cung cÊp çc dÞch vô th¬ng m¹i kh«ng?
9. Nhng t«i tëng lµ nh÷ng héi tiÕt kiÖm vµ cho vay th× kh«ng ®îc gäi lµ ng©n hµng chø?
10. ThÕ cßn quü tÝn dông th× sao?
11. Qu¶ lµ rÊt thó vÞ. B©y giê th× t«i ®· hiÓu h¬n mét chót råi.
types of banks
Second Speaker
1. We are a commercial bank.

2. Yes, to some extent. For instance, we can’t offer the fiduciary services that a trust company
can.
3. Well, they have to do with the administration of trusts and estates.
55
4. Yes, you can do that through our brokerage house.
5. Yes. So he knows lots of information about different types of securities, and he can give you
good advice.
6. That’s right.
7. No. In general, the only difference is that a state bank gets its charter from the state where it
is located. And the national bank gets its charter from the federal government in Washington
D.C.
8. Oh, yes. For example, savings and loans associations and the federal land bank are only
lending institutions.
9. No, they are called financial institutions.
10. That’s not a bank either. In general, commercial banks differ from those financial
intermediaries in the degree and form of regulations they are subject to. With the decline in
regulation over the past 10 years, commercial banks are becoming more and more like other
financial intermediaries. For example, credit unions now can offer checkabe deposits.
11. Good. Just come back to me any time you have a question.
Different types of banks

KEY TERMs
specialist banking nghiÖp vô ng©n hµng chuyªn m«n ho¸

general banking nghiÑp vô ng©n hµng phæ th«ng
merchant bank ng©n hµng ®Çu t
universal banking nghiÖp vô ng©n hµng toµn diÖn
wholesale banking nghiÖp vô ng©n hµng b¸n bu«n
retail banking nghiÖp vô ng©n hµng b¸n lÎ
financial conglomerate tËp ®oµn tµi chÝnh
Glass Steagall Act LuËt Glass Steagall
global custody dÞch vô lu ký chøng kho¸n toµn cÇu
underwriting b¶o l·nh ph¸t hµnh chøng kho¸n
cross shareholding n¾m gi÷ cæ phiÕu lÉn cña nhau
cross directorship cã ch©n trong héi ®ång qu¶n trÞ cña nhau
tapescript
Good morning everybody. Last week, I promised to talk about different types of banks,
and I’ll do it now. First of all, there's the specialist banking versus general banking, so
you have investment and merchant banks vs. commercial banks. The investment and
merchant banks carry out quite different functions from the commercial banks. I'll come
back to those terms in detail in a moment.
56
The next distinction here is universal banking. And the universal banks are defined that
way because they carry out every types of banking activity you can imagine. The term
originated in Germany and what it means is that the bank can engage in what is known as
investment banking, wholesale banking, retail banking, they also have nonbanking
financial products such as insurance, they also have cross shareholding, and often
directorships with other company. The best example is in Germany, where the German
banks, such as Deutsche Bank, have a huge investment banking or they'll be offering
retail banking and wholesale banking services in your home country, and also insurance
services and so on. France is another country that has almost a full universal banking
model.
On the contrary, there is restricted universal banking which is fairly common. Normally
it is universal banking but without the link to the commercial sector by the cross
shareholding or directorships, so there is no link to the commercial firms. In the US and
Canada it's against the law for banks to hold anything but a tiny share of equity in non
financial commercial firms, whereas in Germany and Japan it's very common. So it is
restricted in that sense. There are also other forms of restricted universal banking in that
they may not be allowed to offer some non bank financial services such as insurance, and
that is another way of restricting the universal banking.
Then we have retail or wholesale banking. Banks that offer their intermediation and
liquidity service to a large number of small customers is a retail bank. On the contrary, if
it offers services to a small number of large customers, it's often wholesale banking. But
the point is that they are offering commercial loans or personal loans, and mortgages,
current accounts and checking services.
Another type is financial conglomerates, and that is any firm which undertakes at least
two traditional financial activities, for example, core banking and stock broking. There is
a very rapid increase in the number of financial conglomerates and most of them have
global operations.
The next point relates to the distinction is commercial banks and investment banks.
These terms are originated in the United States and the reason they are originated in the
United States is because they had a nature of piece of legislation passed in 1933, known
as the Glass Steagall Act. What the Glass Steagall Act said was that a financial firm could
engage, that is be licensed to be either a commercial bank, or an investment bank.
A commercial bank offers wholesale and retail core banking. An investment bank is quite
different as you can see. Originally, what investment banks did was raise capital for
corporations and governments, and also arrange mergers and acquisitions. The modern
57
investment banks also involve in trading, and they are trading equities, which is known as
fixed incomes, and proprietary, which is trading on their own account. The difference is
that trading equities is trading equities, bonds on behalf of customers, while proprietary
trading means what banks try to do is to make money by buying and selling bonds for the
bank itself. They also have expanded into fund management, consultancy and global
custody.
The reason this distinction came about is because of the U.S. regulation, passed in 1933,
which said that either you be a commercial bank or an investment bank, but you can't do
both, you can't offer both services. As you all remember, 1930 - 1933 was the period
when there was a huge number of bankruptcies among banks and the whole banking
system collapsed and that in turn caused the depression in that country. The view of the
time was the main reason for that was that the banks engaged in two types of banking and
this in turn had somehow increased the risks to the system.
However, because of the strong pressure and also the evidence that in fact, the separation
of the two banks is not necessarily gonna protect the system from collapse, the Supreme
Court ruled in 1981 that the commercial banks could engage in some underwriting
activity, provided that they were not principally engaged in that particular activity.
And in addition to the US investment banks, we have the UK merchant banks. Originally
they were different from the US investment banks, but now as you know, they are not.
The origin of the merchant bank was this: Francis Baring established Barings Bank,
which unfortunately collapsed in 1995, but it was established in 1762. It was called a
merchant bank, because basically what he did was guarantee bills of exchange for
merchants, that is commercial firms, and the reason for doing that was to facilitate the
import and export of goods. Since then the service has expanded into arranging loans,
underwriting, advising and so on, so now there is virtually no difference between an
investment bank and a merchant bank, they are basically the same thing.
Well, I'll stop here before we go on discussing different models in more detail. Bye bye!
(916 words)
58
week 20

government controls
First Speaker
1. T¹i sao l¹i cÇn ph¶i cã nhiÒu kiÓm so¸t tõ phÝa chÝnh phñ ®èi víi ho¹t ®éng ng©n hµng
nh vËy nhØ?
2. ThÕ cßn quyÒn lîi cña nh÷ng ngêi ®i vay th× ®îc b¶o ®¶m nh thÕ nµo th«ng qua qui
®Þnh cña chÝnh phñ?
3. µ, ®iÒu nµy cã thÓ ng¨n chÆn viÖc cho vay c¾t cæ ®óng kh«ng?
4. B»ng çch nµo? Cã ph¶i b»ng çch kiÓm to¸n çc sæ s¸ch kÕ to¸n kh«ng?
5. ThÕ nh÷ng qui ®Þnh nµy kh«ng ®Ò cËp g× ®Õn kh¶ n¨ng tµi chÝnh cña ng©n hµng µ?
6. T«i nhí råi. Cã ph¶i ®Êy lµ lóc ngêi ta chÊm døt viÖc lu th«ng vµng nh mét ph¬ng tiÖn
thanh to¸n ®óng kh«ng?
7. Cã ph¶i ph¶i cuéc §¹i Suy tho¸i lµ do cuéc sôp ®æ thÞ trêng n¨m 1929 kh«ng?
8. V©ng, håi ®ã ai còng ë trong t©m tr¹ng ho¶ng lo¹n, lo l¾ng.
9. H¼n ®Êy lµ mét thêi kú tåi tÖ.
10. Nhng mµ hiÖn nay t«i nhËn thÊy ngêi ta ®ang cã xu híng bá bít dÇn nh÷ng qui ®Þnh
®èi víi hÖ thèng ng©n hµng ®Êy chø.
government controls
Second Speaker
1. Well, of course. The major reason cited for all of these controls is to protect the depositors.
By limiting excessive risk taking of the banks, the regulations reduce the chance that the
banks will fail and be unable to meet their obligations to their depositors.
2. To the extent that the regulations prevent monopoly, they reduce the amount a bank may
charge on loans.
3. Yes, but in an indirect way. Thre are more direct controls that protect both the bank and the
customers from loss by embezzlement.
4. Yes, partly. But also by requiring that each employee must be bonded.
59
5. Oh yes. Some of them have to do with financial conditions. As a matter of fact, a large part
of existing regulatory controls grew out of the dissaster of the Great Dpression of the early
30s. After a history of repeated panic since the Great Dpression, it was easy to provide a
rationale for regulations and controls. These regulatory measures were designed to build up
people’s confidence in the economy.
6. Yes, we went off the gold standard in 1933.
7. Well, it contributed to it. We had gone through a stock market boom and a period of
prosperity, and the people were not prepared for the shock to the nation’s economy.
8. Yes, a very serious panic. There were dangerous runs on the banks, and banks had to
foreclose on many mortgages.
9. Yes, it was. The FDIC contributed greatly to the remedy of this situation. In fact, many
economists now argue that this protection is sufficient.
10. It looks that way. Congressional passage of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and
Monetary Control Act of 1980 marks the most important banking legislation since the 1930s.
Note:
FDIC Federal Deposit insurance Corporation

employees must be bonded
to foreclose on mortgages
Description of the payment systems

KEY TERMS
debit pull chuyÓn tiÒn ra khái tµi kho¶n

clearing account tµi kho¶n thanh to¸n
payment order lÖnh tr¶ tiÒn
irrevocable kh«ng huû ngang
net settlement system hÖ thèng thanh to¸n theo sè tiÒn chªnh lÖch
gross settlement system hÖ thèng thanh to¸n theo sè tiÒn thùc tÕ
real time gross settlement system hÖ thèng thanh to¸n ngay
deferred gross settlement system hÖ thèng thanh to¸n sau
clearing house trung t©m thanh to¸n
netting tÝnh to¸n sè tiÒn chªnh lÖch
credit risk rñi ro tÝn dông
systemic risk rñi ro hÖ thèng
fraud gian lËn
TAPESCRIPT
Hello again. During the last few weeks, we’ve talked about the financial system and
discussed quite a lot about banks. My topic for today will be the payment system. A
60
payment is a transfer of monetary value. First, I will give you a definition of the payment
systems. Then I will explain how payment systems operate.
A payment system is an arrangement which allows the users to transfer the monetary
value. To make a payment, the payer issues an instruction to the bank to transfer funds
from his account to the payee's account. But in a debit transfer, also known as 'debit pull',
the payee initiates the transfer by placing a debit order with his bank, nevertheless the
payment may be refused when it reaches the payee. Therefore payment systems consist of
the mechanisms that include the institutions, people, rules, and technologies that make the
exchange of payments possible.
A large value, or wholesale payment system, is a contractual and operational

arrangement that banks and other financial institutions use to transfer large value, time
critical funds for business to business transactions. A large proportion of the transactions
going through these systems are generated by securities markets. Large value payment
systems differ from the small value or retail payment systems in that the retail payment
systems are the systems used for payments between households and businesses.
Alright. Now you’ve got an idea of what a payment system is. But how does it work? A
large value payment system works as follows. If, for example, bank A wants to transfer
funds to bank B, it first sends a payment message regarding the impending transfer to the
payment system. Then, the actual settlement occurs either immediately or at some fixed
time after the payment information is processed, and the payment is transferred to the
receiving bank B. The conventional means of settlement of large value funds transfer
systems is central bank funds. So at the settlement stage, bank A's reserve or clearing
account at the central bank is debited and bank B's account is credited. A settlement is
final if the funds received by bank B are irrevocable.
There are two major types of interbank fund transfer systems: net and gross settlement
systems, distinguished according to their settlement method. Net settlement means that a
number of obligations or transfers between or among counterparties are collected together
and then settled on a net basis. Netting can be as simple as when it is bilateral or complex
in the multilateral context through a clearing house. Gross settlement means that every
payment or item that enters the system is settled individually and separately from all other
items, on a payment by payment basis. If the transaction is settled immediately when it
arises, the system is called real time gross settlement system.
Settlement can be real time or deferred. Net settlement must be deferred because it takes
time for 'netting', while gross settlement can be either real time or deferred. In practice,
large value payments are either real time gross settlement or deferred net settlement.
61
Netting for small payments is widely accepted as being a cost effective method for
settlement. That is, it can be cheaper to settle payments on a net versus a gross basis
when, for example, fewer actual transfers need to be processed and large clearing
balances may not be necessary. From an economic point of view, this potential efficiency
is one of its clearest benefits. Also, the credit risks of netting small values are much less.
However, there are potential risks in the deferred net settlement. Because of the feature of
settling the net positions at the end of the day, netting involves with the credit and
systemic risks. The delay between clearance and settlement increases the risk of
settlement failure. Net settlement increases probability of defaults, or 'abnormal
settlements,' thereby raising the costs associated with potential defaults.
A classic example is the failure of the German Herstatt Bank, a small bank active in the
foreign exchange market, due to fraud. On June 26, 1974, German banking regulators
withdrew the license of Herstatt, and ordered it into liquidation effective after the close of
business that day. Herstatt had entered into foreign exchange trades with a number of
American banks. Prior to the announcement of Herstatt's closure, the bank had already
taken in all its Deutsche Mark receipts, but had not yet made any U.S. dollar payments.
When regulators closed the bank down at the end of the German business day, it still had
a number of large outstanding payments both due to and due from American banks,
therefore the counterparties to Herstatt incurred substantial losses, and so had a credit
risk. Following the closure of the Herstatt bank, the foreign exchange markets
experienced severe systemic problems. The Herstatt crisis has thus also encouraged the
trend towards gross settlement of large value payments.
Is it clear so far? If you don’t have any questions or comments, let’s stop here and see you
again next week. Thank you for your attention.
(836 words)
62
week 21

structure of a bank
First Speaker
1. Ng©n hµng anh lín qu¸ nhØ. §©y lµ ng©n hµng quèc doanh µ?
2. ThËt µ. ThÕ ai lµ chñ së h÷u thùc sù cña ng©n hµng?
3. ThÕ çc thµnh viªn héi ®ång qu¶n trÞ cã ph¶i lµ cæ ®«ng kh«ng?
4. µ t«i hiÓu råi. Héi ®ång qu¶n trÞ sÏ thuª gi¸m ®èc vµ phã gi¸m ®èc ng©n hµng ®Ó hai «ng
nµy ®øng ra qu¶n lý.
5. T«i nghÜ r»ng hÇu hÕt c«ng viÖc cña çc anh lµ liªn quan ®Õn çc tµi kho¶n sÐc vµ tµi
kho¶n tiÕt kiÖm ®óng kh«ng? Vµ ngoµi ra cßn cho vay n÷a.
6. Thêng th× çc anh ®Çu t nh thÕ nµo? Mua cæ phiÕu µ?
7. ThÕ cßn lîi nhuËn th× çc anh xö lý thÕ nµo? Chia hÕt cho çc cæ ®«ng µ?
8. µ ®óng råi, ®iÒu ®ã còng cÇn thiÕt. ThÕ cßn çi m¸y kia lµ g×? M¸y rót tiÒn tù ®éng
®óng kh«ng?
9. Hay thËt. RÊt çm ¬n anh. NÕu cã th¾c m¾c g× t«i sÏ hái anh sau ®îc chø?
structure of a bank
Second Speaker
1. No, it’s private owned.

2. The stockholders own it. In the beginning, they put up the necessary capital and were granted
a charter from either a state or a local government.
3. Oh, yes. They are chosen by the other stockholders to operate the bank.
4. That’s right. Along with the cashier, the tellers, and the clerical workers.
5. Yes, but we invest money too. Planning the bank’s investments is also very important.
6. We do buy some stocks. But not all of our excess reserves. You know, the problem with
stocks is that they tend to be more speculative than bonds. So we mainly buy bonds of
reliable companies. We call them AA rating bonds, or blue chip bonds. They show less price
fluctuation. In general, we buy securities of various companies to keep our portfolio
diversified.
7. Not all of the profits. The stockholders receive regular dividends. But some of our earnings
are held in reserve accounts. We call that retained earnings. This money is used for
63
reinvestment. Here’s a copy of our last published statement. You see, the reserves are shown
here as surplus and undivided profits.
8. Yes. It’s very convenient for the depositors. We also have ATMs outside the bank and on the
main streets, so depoitors can withdraw their money any time they like, even at midnight.
Just insert your cash card, enter your PIN, and indicate how much and how you like the
money.
9. Of course. Sorry I’ve got to go now. See you later. Bye.
Introduction to corporate finance

KEY TERMs
CFO gi¸m ®èc tµi chÝnh

capital budgeting dù to¸n ng©n s¸ch ®Çu t dµi h¹n
capital structure c¬ cÊu vèn
working capital management qu¶n lý vèn lu ®éng
inventory hµng/nguyªn vËt liÖu lu kho
tapescript
Hello everyone. Over the past few weeks, we have talked about banking and finance from
the macro aspect. But today is a change because we’re gonna begin our study of modern
corporate finance. That means we are addressing the particular business firms, not the
system as a whole. In today’s lecture, I will try to answer two questions. First, what is
corporate finance, and what is the role of the financial manager in the corporation?
Second, what is the goal of financial management?
O.K. Let me start by defining corporate finance and the financial manager’s job. Imagine
you want to start your own business. No matter what type of company you want to set up,
you would have to answer the following 3 questions:
1. What long-term investments should you take on? That is, what lines of business
will you be in? What sorts of buildings, machinery, and equipment will you need?
2. Where will you get the long-term money to pay for your investment? Will you
bring in other owners, or will you borrow the money?
3. How will you manage your day-to-day financial activities such as collecting
money from customers and paying your suppliers?
These are among the most important questions. Broadly speaking, corporate finance is the
study of ways to answer these 3 questions. And I will look at each of them in the weeks
ahead.
64
So where does the financial manager fit in the corporation? A striking feature of large
corporations is that the owners (that is the stockholders) are usually not involved in
making business decisions. Instead, the corporation employs managers to represent the
owners’ interests and make decisions on their behalf. So the financial manager is in
charge of answering the 3 questions we raised above.
So you may ask: what kind of decisions do CFOs have to make? As our discussion above
suggests, the financial manager must answer 3 basic types of questions. Accordingly, he
must make 3 kinds of decisions: capital budgeting, capital structure, and working capital
management.
In capital budgeting, the financial manager tries to identify profitable investment

opportunities for the firm. He must evaluate not only how much cash the firm expects to
receive from the investments, but also when and how certain the firm is to receive it. We
can say that evaluating the size, timing and risk of future cash flows is the essence of
capital budgeting.
The second kind of decisions concerns how the firm obtains and manages the long-term
financing to support its long-term investments. We call it capital structure decisions. The
firm’s capital structure refers to the mixture of debt and equity the firm uses to finance its
operations. The financial manager must decide how much to borrow and find out the least
expensive sources of funds for the firm.
The third kind of decisions concerns working capital management. This refers to
managing short-term assets, such as inventory, and short-term liabilities, such as money
owed to suppliers. Working capital management is important because it ensures smooth
operations and avoid costly interruptions. Everyday, the financial manager has to decide:
how much cash and inventory should we keep on hand? Should we sell on credit, and to
whom, and for how long? If we need short-term financing, will we buy on credit, or will
we borrow short-term from the bank?
Actually, the 3 areas of corporate financial management we have described are very broad
categories. In the coming lectures, I will try to explain them in more details.
Is it clear so far? Good. Let’s turn now to our second part: the goal of financial
management. With profit-making firms, the goal of financial management is to make
money, or add value, for the owners. Of course, this goal is a little bit vague, so let’s try to
make it more specific. This is important because it leads to an objective basis for financial
65
managers to make decisions. It also gives us a better measure to evaluate financial
managers’ performance.
If we consider possible financial goals, we might come up with some ideas like the
following:
to survive
to avoid financial distress and bankruptcy
to beat the competition
to maximize sales or market share
to minimize costs
to maximize profits
to maintain steady earnings growth
The goals we listed above are all different, but they tend to fall into 2 classes. The first
relates to profitability. The second relates to controlling risks. Unfortunately, these 2
types of goals are somewhat contradictory. So what we need is a goal that include both
these factors.
But we need to remember one thing: the financial manager makes decisions for the
stockholders of the firm. So from the point of view of the stockholders, what is a good
financial decision?
If we assume that stockholders buy stocks because they want to gain financially, then the
answer is obvious. Good decisions increase the value of the stock, and poor decisions
decrease it. So we can easily state a suitable goal for the financial manager: it is to
maximize the current value per share.
But you see, the financial manager is employed by the firm to act on behalf of the
stockholders. But will he act in the stockholders’ best interest? In fact, this depends on
two factors. The first is how managers are compensated. The second relates to control of
the firm. Managers’ salaries and bonuses are usually tied to financial performance. Better
performers can also get promoted and enjoy higher salaries. On the other hand, poor
performers will be replaced.
Alright. That’s it for today. Good bye.
66
(925 words)
week 22

what is a market economy
First Speaker
1. Why does the US Department of Commerce make a conclusion about Vietnam’s non-market-
economy at this moment?
2. On what basis do you identify the status of Vietnam’s ecnomy?
3. What implications does your conclusion have on Vietnam?
4. Why do you still see Vietnam as a non-market economy while its private sector is developing very
fast?
5. Is your conclusion something which contradicts the BTA which came into force in 2001?
6. Is this your first action in a series of anti-dumping cases against Vietnam?
Second speaker
1. Bộ Thương mại trước đây đã không xem xét đến tình trạng NME của Việt Nam chiểu theo các luật
thương mại của Hoa Kỳ vì cho đến nay Mỹ chưa có vụ tranh chấp thương mại nào liên quan đến Việt
Nam. Liên quan đến cuộc điều tra chống phá giá hiện đang diễn ra đối với một số loại cá phi-lê đông
lạnh có xuất xứ là Việt Nam, ngành cá nheo nội địa của Mỹ cáo buộc rằng Việt Nam là một nước có
nền kinh tế phi thị trường. Ðáp lại cáo buộc đó, Cục Nhập khẩu có nghĩa vụ xác định tình trạng nền
kinh tế thị trường hoặc phi thị trường của nước bị cáo buộc.
2. Theo luật, Bộ Thương mại Hoa Kỳ phải xem xét sáu tiêu chí để xác định Việt Nam có nền kinh tế thị
trường hay phi thị trường. Các tiêu chí đó bao gồm: khả năng chuyển đổi của đồng tiền, tự do thoả
thuận mức lương, đầu tư nước ngoài, sở hữu hoặc quản lý của nhà nước đối với các ngành sản xuất,
quản lý của nhà nước đối với sự phân bổ các nguồn lực, các yếu tố thích hợp khác.
3. Trước hết, vì giá cả thị trường nội địa của nước có nền kinh tế phi thị trường được xem là không phản
ánh đúng quy luật cung cầu của thị trường, Bộ Thương mại Hoa Kỳ sẽ sử dụng đến các yếu tố sản
suất của các nhà sản xuất Việt Nam như số lượng nguyên liệu và lao động trực tiếp, và sẽ định giá
các yếu tố này bằng giá từ một nước thay thế có nền kinh tế thị trường. Thứ hai, luật thuế chống trợ
giá của Hoa Kỳ, là luật quy định biện pháp sửa chữa chống lại sự trợ giá của chính phủ, sẽ không
được áp dụng đối với Việt Nam.
4. Bộ Thương mại Hoa Kỳ công nhận những kết quả đổi mới tích cực của Việt Nam, đặc biệt sự phát
triển đáng khích lệ của các doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa. Tuy nhiên mức độ đổi mới rất hạn chế của một
vài khu vực kinh tế trọng điểm như lĩnh vực ngân hàng và công nghiệp đã gây ra những lo ngại về sự
tiếp tục kiểm soát đáng kể của chính phủ đối với nền kinh tế.
5. Không. Ðây là những vấn đề riêng biệt. Quyết định của chúng tôi liên quan đến hiện trạng nền kinh
tế phi thị trường của Việt Nam chỉ áp dụng với luật chống phá giá và luật thuế chống trợ giá của Hoa
Kỳ. HDTMSP mở rộng quan hệ bình thường với Việt Nam. Tuy nhiên, hiệp định thương mại không
hề ảnh hưởng tới việc có hay không áp dụng luật chống phá giá của Hoa Kỳ đối với hàng hoá nhập
khẩu từ Việt Nam. Luật chống phá giá và luật thuế chống trợ giá về bản chất là các phương thức để
sửa chữa va bù đắp những thiệt hại từ việc trao đổi thương mại không công bằng. Chúng tôi cam kết
tiếp tục thực hiện đầy đủ hiệp định thương mại song phương và tất cả các vấn đề của tự do hoá
thương mại và đầu tư mà hiệp định đã nêu ra.
67
6. Chúng tôi không biết liệu có còn các trường hợp khiếu kiện khác liên quan đến hàng nhập khẩu từ
Việt Nam không. Nếu có đơn kiện đáp ứng được tất cả các yêu cầu theo luật định, Bộ Thương mại
Hoa Kỳ, theo luật pháp, phải tiến hành điều tra.
Corporate securities and long-term financing

KEY TERMS
equity security chøng kho¸n cã (cæ phiÕu)

debt security chøng kho¸n nî (tr¸i phieeus)
liquidation gi¶i thÓ c«ng ty
tax deductible ®îc trõ ®i tríc khi tÝnh thuÕ
zero-coupon bond tr¸i phiÕu tr¶ l·i tríc
floating-rate bond tr¸i phiÕu cã l·i suÊt th¶ næi
income bond tr¸i phiÕu dùa trªn thu nhËp
convertible bond tr¸i phiÕu chuyÓn ®æi
put bond tr¸i phiÕu cã quyÒn b¸n l¹i
public issue ph¸t hµnh chøng kho¸n cho c«ng chóng
private issue ph¸t hµnh chøng kho¸n kÝn
direct placement chµo mua trùc tiÕp
SEC Uû ban giao dÞch vµ chøng kho¸n Mü
Prospectus B¶n ço b¹ch (®Ó chµo b¸n chøng kho¸n)
general cash offer Chµo b¸n tiÒn mÆt
rights offer Chµo b¸n quyÒn chän
underwriter C«ng ty/ng©n hµng b¶o l·nh ph¸t hµnh
Tapescript
Good morning everyone. Today’s topic is the main features of corporate securities and
long-term financing. We will begin with a look at long-term debt, preferred stock, and
common stock. They are the main sources of long-term financing. Then we go on to
consider how a corporation issues securities to the public.
O.K. Let me start with the first part: corporate securities. You know, securities issued by a
corporation may be roughly classified as equity securities and debt securities. A debt
represents something that must be repaid, it is the result of borrowing money. When a
corporation borrows, it issues debt securities, called corporate bonds. It promises to make
regular scheduled interest payments and to repay the original amount called the principal)
on a stated date. The bondholders are called the lenders, or creditors.
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From the financial point of view, there are three main differences between debt and
equity. First, debt is not an ownership interest in the firm. Creditors, or bondholders, do
not have voting power. Second, the corporation’s payment of interest on debt is
considered a cost of doing business and is fully tax deductible. Third, unpaid debt is a
liability of the firm. If it is not repaid, the creditors can legally claim the assets of the
firm. This action can result in liquidation or reorganization, 2 possible consequences of
bankruptcy. This possibility does not arise when equity is issued.
So far, we have only considered plain bonds. In practice, however, there are many
unusual types of bonds to match different needs of the buyers. For example, there are
zero-coupon bonds, floating-rate bonds, income bonds, convertible bonds, and put bonds.
I know some of these terms are new to you, so I let me explain them briefly.
A zero-coupon bond is one that pays no coupon (that is the scheduled interest payment) at
all, so it must be offered at a lower price than its face value. With floating-rate bonds, the
coupon payments are adjustable, not fixed. The adjustments are tied to an interest rate
index, such as the Treasury Bill interest rate. With income bonds, coupon payments are
dependent on company income. With a convertible bond, the bondholder can choose to
swap it for a fixed number of stocks anytime before maturity. Finally, a put bond allows
the holder to force the issuing company to buy the bond back at a stated price.
O.K. Is it clear so far? Let’s talk about equity securities. Unlike bondholders, stockholders
are owners of the company. Therefore, they have many rights that bondholders don’t.
They can elect the board of directors who in turn hire and fire managers. They also have
the right to share proportionally in dividends paid. They also share proportionally in
assets remaining after a liquidation. In addition, they vote on important matters such as a
merger or acquisition.
There is another basic kind of corporate security, that is preferred stock. Preferred stock
differs from common stock because it has preference over common stock in the payment
of dividends. It also has preference in the distribution of assets in the event of liquidation.
However, holders of preferred stock sometimes have no voting rights.
Well, that covers my first part about the 3 basic sources of corporate long-term financing.
Let me turn now to my second part to look at how corporations sell securities to the
public.
There are basically two alternative issue method: public and private. We consider them in
turn. There is a series of steps involved in issuing securities to the public. In general, the
basic procedure is as follows:
7. Managers must obtain approval from the board of directors.
8. The firm must file a registration statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Normally, the registration
statement contains 50 pages or more of financial information.
69
For example, it contains a financial history, details of existing
business, proposed financing, and plans for the future.
9. The Securities and Exchange Commission studies the
registration statement. During this waiting period, the firm can
distribute a prospectus to potential investors. It can make oral
offers, but can not sell securities during the waiting period.
10. The Securities and Exchange Commission approves the
registration statement 20 days after it is filed. On that date, a
price is determined and selling effort gets under way.
Those are the steps of a public issue. Actually, there are two types of public issues: a
general cash offer and a rights offer. With a cash offer, securities are offered to the
general public on a “first come, first served” basis. But with a rights offer, securities are
initially offered to existing stockholders. In general cash offers, the issuing corporation
usually uses an investment firm to act as an intermediary between it and the public. This
investment firm is called an underwriter. Typically, the underwriter buys the securities for
less than the offering price and accepts the risk of not being able to sell them.
Are you with me so far? O.K. That’s the public issue. However, if securities are sold to
fewer than 35 investors, it can be done privately. If so, a registration statement is not
required. Private issues are often called direct placement, because it is a negotiated sale
involving a specific buyer.
Well, I think that’s enough for today. I’ll see you again next week and we will look at
corporate short-term finance. Good bye.
(894 words)
70
week 23

VOA PHáNG VÊN §¹I Sø BURGHARDT
First Speaker
1. Ngày 10/12/2002 đánh dấu kỷ niệm 1 năm ngày Hiệp định Thương mại Song phương giữa
Hoa Kỳ và Việt Nam bắt đầu có hiệu lực. Trước khi xem xét những điều mà hiệp định này đã
mang lại cho cả hai nước trong năm đầu tiên được thực hiện, có lẽ nên nhắc lai rằng hiệp
định này là kết quả của 4 năm đàm phán.Thưa Ngài Đại sứ, tại sao thời gian đàm phán để đi
đến hiệp định lại lâu như vậy?
2. Trong quá trình đàm phán, Đại sứ quán đã đưa ra một thông cáo tuyên bố rằng "mục đích
của Hiệp định là đảm bảo sự minh bạch của pháp luật thương mại, khuyến khích và thúc đẩy
thương mại, và giúp Việt Nam hội nhập về kinh tế, gồm cả việc gia nhập Tổ chức Thương
mại Thế giới". Thưa Ngài Đại sứ, hai nước đã làm được những gì nhằm đạt đến mục đích
đó?
3. Xin Ngài Đại sứ cho biết những kết quả đáng chú ý nhất mà bản Hiệp định đã đạt được kể từ
tháng 12 năm 2001?
4. Thưa Ngài Đại sứ, liệu sự tranh chấp hiện nay về vấn đề cá da trơn giữa hai nước, với những
hệ quả tất yếu của nó - vụ kiện chống bán phá giá, và quyết định mới đây của Bộ Thương
mại Hoa Kỳ tuyên bố Việt Nam là một nền kinh tế phi thị trường - có làm giảm đi triển vọng
thành công nói chung của việc thực hiện bản Hiệp định hay không?
5. Thưa Ngài Đại sứ, Ngài có muốn chia sẻ bất cứ suy nghĩ nào khác với các thính giả Việt
Nam của chúng tôi trong dịp này không?
6. Xin cam on ngai.
71
VOA PHáNG VÊN §¹I Sø BURGHARDT
Second speaker
1. The BTA is a key step in the normalization process launched by President George H.W.
Bush more than 10 years ago, continued by President Clinton, and brought to fruition by
President George W. Bush. It is now the keystone of our relations with Vietnam and it has
already begun to have effects on the well being of our two peoples.This was the most
comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that either Vietnam or the United States has ever
negotiated with another country. For that reason alone, it should be no surprise that the
process of negotiation and ratification was careful and deliberate.
2. One year after the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Vietnam
became effective, this historic agreement clearly has benefited the peoples and companies of
both countries with a boom in two-way trade. The BTA is a functional roadmap for
Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization. To reach this goal, much needs to be
done in several areas. Vietnam faces serious challenges fulfilling its several of its
commitments, particularly in the areas of transparency, investment and protection of
intellectual property rights.
3. Vietnam has seen tremendous benefits already from the fact that the U.S. is giving Vietnam
WTO-level access to the US market. The enormous increase in trade has a real and
significant impact on job creation, investment, tax revenue and general economic
development in Vietnam, and has also benefited US consumers and exporters.
4. Not at all. The BTA and the anti-dumping action are separate issues. The BTA is not a magic
wand and was not designed to end all trade disputes. Both the Vietnamese and the US
governments specifically agreed in the BTA that each country could apply its fair trade laws,
including laws on dumping.
5. I first arrived in Vietnam in 1970 and it is a moving experience to come back now with the
responsibility to continue the normalization process in our relations. Today, much of what
the Embassy does day-to-day relates to the economic aspects of our relationship, but I am
also seeking to broaden the relationship beyond commercial issues. Already, we have regular
official discussions with the Government many important issues, such as human rights,
regional and global strategic issues, and the fight against global terrorism. We have a
productive relationship now, but we would like closer relations in law enforcement, counter-
narcotics, and military-to-military cooperation.
6. My pleasure.
72
Corporate short-term finance
KEY TERMS
Unsynchronized Kh«ng x¶y ra cïng mét lóc

Current assets to sales ratio tØ lÖ tµi s¶n lu ®éng/doanh thu
Flexible/conservative short-term financial policy chÝnh s¸ch tµi chÝnh mÒm dÎo
Restrictive/aggressive short-term financial policy chÝnh sÊch tµi chÝnh h¹n chÕ
Financial distress khã kh¨n vÒ tµi chÝnh
NPV gi¸ trÞ hiÖn t¹i rßng
Maturity hedging b¶o hiÓm thêi h¹n kho¶n vay vµ cho vay
Unsecured borrowing vay kh«ng thÕ chÊp
Secured borrowing vay cã thÕ chÊp
Credit line h¹n møc tÝn dông
Commercial paper th¬ng phiÕu
Trade credit tÝn dông th¬ng m¹i
tapescript
Hi there! You know, to this point, we have described long-term financing. Today, we
introduce some aspects of short-term finance. Actually, the focus of short-term finance is
on current assets and current liabilities. I will try to keep my talk brief and to the point.
We can leave the details to the discussions afterwards.
O.K. My talk today is divided into 3 main parts. First, we discuss the short-term operating
activities of the firm. Then we identify some alternative short-term financial policies.
Finally, we outline the basic elements of short-term financial decisions and describe
short-term financing instruments. I will try to answer your questions at the end of my talk.
Right. Let’s start off with the first part. The primary concern in short-term finance is the
firm’s short-run operating and financing activities. For a typical manufacturing firm, these
activities might consist of the following decisions:
1. What is a reasonable level of cash to keep in hand to pay bills?

2. How much raw materials should we order?
3. If we need to pay cash, should we borrow, or should we draw down our cash
balances?
4. How much should the firm borrow short-term?
5. Should we sell on credit?
6. How much credit should be extended, to whom, and for how long?
7. How can we collect payment from our customers?
73
These activities create patterns of cash inflows and outflows. These cash flows are both
unsynchronized and uncertain. You see, they don’t happen at the same time. Future sales
and costs can not be precisely predicted.
Before going to part 2, it is useful to note that short-term financial management in a large
firm involves a number of financial and non-financial managers. For example, selling on
credit involves the credit manager, the marketing manager, and the controller. Thus, there
is the potential for conflict.
O.K. Let’s turn now to our second part: short-term financial policies. The kind of policy
that the firm adopts is reflected in the size of investment in current assets. This size is
measured relative to the firm’s level of operating revenues. I suppose you know about the
current assets to sales ratio? If this ratio is high, we say that the firm has flexible, or
conservative short-term financial policies. On the contrary, if this ratio is low, we say that
the firm has restrictive, or aggressive short-term financial policies. In practice, flexible
short-term policies are reflected in some actions. For example, we keep large balances of
cash and marketable securities. We make large investment in inventory. We can also
grant generous credit terms, which results in a high level of accounts receivables. With
restrictive short-term financial policies, we do exactly the opposite.
You might wonder: which is the better policy, flexible or restrictive? Apparently, flexible
policies are costly. However, we expect that they can help increase future cash inflows.
For example, a generous credit policy can stimulate sales. A large inventory of finished
products can provide quicker delivery service. Similarly, a large inventory of raw
materials can help avoid production stoppage. So in my view, flexible policies are better.
But of course, you should not abuse it. Otherwise you must pay unnecessary costs.
Those are the 2 alternative short-term financial policies. We are now going to the third
part. In the previous part, I said that the firm policies are reflected in the size of
investment in current assets. The other aspect of short-term financial policies relates to
how investment in those assets is financed. In an ideal economy, short-term assets are
financed with short-term debt, and long-term assets are financed with long-term debt and
equity. But in the real world, this is not a common case. So what is the most appropriate
amount of short-term finance, or short-term borrowing? There is no definite answer. Here
I can only give you 3 considerations you should include in your analysis.
The first is cash reserve. The flexible policy implies surplus cash and short-term
borrowing. This avoids the probability of financial distress. However, if you keep too
much cash in hand, it’s a waste. The best amount of cash and marketable securities to
keep is an amount with Net Present Value equal to zero.
The second consideration is maturity hedging. That means you should always attempt to
match the maturities of assets and liabilities. For example, you can finance inventories
with short-term bank loans.
74
The third consideration is relative interest rates. Short-term interest rates are usually lower
than long-term rates. So it is more costly to rely on long-term borrowing.
So what are the sources of short-term financing? The sources might vary from one
company to another, but there are 2 basic forms: unsecured borrowing and secured
borrowing. Unsecured borrowing might be a credit line arrangement with the bank, a
letter of credit, a commercial paper, or a trade credit. On the other hand, secured
borrowing are loans secured by accounts receivable and inventories.
Well, is it too complicated to understand? I hope not. However, if you have any questions,
I’m pleased to answer them now.
(839 words)
week 24
75
PHáNG VÊN THñ T¦íNG PHAN V¡N KH¶I
First Speaker
1. First of all, thank you very much for agreeing to do this rare interview with us. I also want to say
congratulations because the conference in Hanoi today about Vietnam’s investment climate is so heavily
attended. That means investors are interested in Vietnam as a destination. So can you tell me what are the key
areas that you wish to target for investment in Vietnam ?
2. Yes, that is very ambitious. By the way, is the dispute over catfish keeping with the spirit of the 2001 BTA with
Washington?
3. Mr Minister, can you tell me what comes after the BTA?
4. What are the biggest problems facing foreign investors in Vietnam?
5. Have you been influenced by China’s experience in joining the WTO and attracting foreign investment?
6. Do you worry that China’s rapid growth might draw potential investment away?
7. Thank you for your time.
Second Speaker
1. Chóng t«i hi väng sÏ thu hót ®îc ®Çu t vµo lÜnh vùc c«ng nghÖ cao, nhê ®ã çc ngµnh cã thÓ sö dông c«ng
nghÖ cao ®Ó n©ng cao n¨ng lùc c¹nh tranh so víi çc c«ng ty ®èi thñ cña níc ngoµi. Chóng t«i còng sÏ chó
träng ph¸t triÓn c¬ së h¹ tÇng, gåm c¶ ngµnh ®iÖn lùc. Nhu cÇu vÒ ®iÖn cña ViÖt nam hiÖn nay ®ang t¨ng
m¹nh, do ®ã n¨m nay chóng t«i sÏ ph¶i xay dùng thªm mét sè nhµ m¸y thuû ®iÖn, nhiÖt ®iÖn vµ c¶ mét nhµ
m¸y ch¹y b»ng khÝ tù nhiªn n÷a. Ngoµi ra, lÜnh vùc chÕ biÕn n«ng s¶n vµ h¶i s¶n dµnh cho xuÊt khÈu còng
lµ u tiªn cña ViÖt nam trong n¨m tíi.
2. Trong 2 n¨m thùc hiÖn H§TMSP, th¬ng m¹i hai chiÒu ®· t¨ng ®¸ng kÓ. TÊt nhiªn trong qu¸ tr×nh cñng cè
quan hÖ th¬ng m¹i vµ ®Çu t, c¶ hai níc sÏ ph¶i cè g¾ng gi¶i quyÕt nh÷ng víng m¾c n¶y sinh. ViÖt nam
nhËn thøc r»ng tranh chÊp lµ tÊt yÕu vµ cã thiÖn chÝ gi¶i quyÕt nh÷ng vÊn ®Ò n¶y sinh. Chóng t«i ®· mêi
®¹i diÖn cña Bé Th¬ng m¹i Mü, C¬ quan §¹i diÖn Th¬ng m¹i Mü vµ çc c¬ quan h÷ quan kh¸c cña Mü ®Õn
th¨m çc khu n«ng tr¹i nu«i ç basa cña ViÖt nam. T«i cho r»ng phÝa Mü nªn cã mét kÕt luËn kh¸ch quan vµ
nªn tÝnh ®Õn lîi Ých cña ngêi tiªu dïng Mü. Còng xin kh¼ng ®Þnh mét lÇn n÷a r»ng chÝnh phñ ViÖt nam
kh«ng hÒ trî gi¸ cho mÆt hµng nµy.
3. T«i nghÜ r»ng bíc tiÕp theo sÏ lµ chuÈn bÞ cho viÖc gia nhËp Tæ chøc Th¬ng m¹i ThÕ giíi vµo n¨m 2005.
Chóng t«i ®· ®Ö ®¬n xin gia nhËp tæ chøc nµy vµo n¨m 1995, vµ ®Õn nay ®· tiÕn hµnh ®îc 4 vßng ®µm
ph¸n víi c¬ quan cña WTO, trong ®ã cã mét vßng ®µm ph¸n quan träng vÒ chÕ ®é th¬ng m¹i cña ViÖt nam.
4. Thø nhÊt, thñ tôc hµnh chÝnh cña ViÖt nam vÉn cßn qu¸ rêm rµ, nhµ ®Çu t vÉn ph¶i qua nhiÒu cöa. Cã khi
cöa ë cÊp trung ¬ng th× réng më nhng xuèng ®Õn cÊp ®Þa ph¬ng th× l¹i gÆp r¾c rèi. Trë ng¹i thø hai lµ
vÊn ®Ò ph©n biÖt ®èi xö, cô thÓ lµ chÕ ®é hai gi¸. Cíc phÝ ®iÖn thoai, vÐ m¸y bay, tiÒn ®iÖn... ®èi víi
ngêi níc ngoµi vÉn cßn qu¸ cao.
5. Çc bµi häc cña Trung quèc rÊt cã Ých cho chóng t«i, ®Æc biÖt trong vÊn ®Ò thu hót ®Çu t, ph¸t huy néi
lùc, ph¸t triÓn khu vùc kinh tÕ t nh©n, n©ng cao n¨ng lùc c¹nh tranh cho khu vùc nhµ níc ... TÊt nhiªn mçi
níc cã mét ®Æc thï vµ mét lÞch sö riªng nªn kh«ng thÓ cãpy nguyªn xi mµ ph¶i tiÕp thu cã chän läc.
6. Trung quèc lµ mét thÞ trêng lín cho hµng ho¸ ViÖt nam. §Ó cã thÓ c¹nh tranh víi hµng Trung quèc, chóng t«i
cÇn ph¶i cã nh÷ng mÆt hµng gi¸ rÎ víi chÊt lîng cao.
7. RÊt h©n h¹nh.
Derivatives markets and financial engineering

KEY TERMS
76
financial derivatives chøng kho¸n ph¸i sinh
financial engineering thiÕt kÕ çc s¶n phÈm tµi chÝnh
risk exposure møc ®é rñi ro
risk averter ngêi sî rñi ro
risk taker ngêi chÊp nhËn rñi ro
forward market thÞ trêng kú h¹n
future market thÞ trêng t¬ng lai
swap market thÞ trêng swap
option market thÞ trêng quyÒn chän
spot contract hîp ®ång giao ngay
to honor a contract thùc hiÖn hîp dång
strike/exercise price gi¸ theo hîp ®ång
call option quyÒn chän mua
put option quyÒn chän b¸n
option premium phÝ cña hîp ®ång quyÒn chän
tapescript
Hello everyone. What we are going to talk about today is financial derivatives and
financial engineering. I think those jargons are unfamiliar to you, so I hope you pay
attention and take careful notes.
Because many people are concerned with controlling risks, “financial engineers” have
developed a wide variety of new financial instruments, so various individuals or
institutions can alter their risk exposure to various events. The new markets for “financial
derivatives” have grown rapidly, because they allow the risk averters to become risk
takers. They also generate substantial fee income for commercial and investment banks.
What I’d like to do today is to describe the nature of the most important markets for
financial derivatives. I’ll start with forward and future markets, and then discuss the
swaps and options markets.
A forward contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain future time for a
certain price. It can be contrasted with a spot contract, which is an agreement to buy or
sell an asset today. One of the parties to a forward contract agrees to buy the underlying
asset on a certain specified future date for a certain specified price. The other party agrees
to sell the asset on the same date for the same price.
A forward contract is traded in the over-the-counter market, which is an important

alternative to exchanges. It is a telephone- and computer-linked network of dealers, who
do not physically meet. Trades are done over the phone and are usually between two
financial institutions or between a financial institution and one of its clients. Telephone
77
conversations in the over-the-counter market are usually taped so that when there is a
dispute about what was agreed, the tapes are replayed to resolve the issue. Normally,
trades in the over-the-counter market are much larger than trades in the exchange-traded
market. A key advantage of the over-the-counter market is that the terms of a contract do
not have to be those specified by an exchange. Market participants are free to negotiate
any mutually attractive deal. A disadvantage is that there is usually some credit risk,
which is the risk that the contract will not be honored, in an over-the-counter trade.
Like a forward contract, a futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or
sell an asset at a certain time in the future for a certain price. But unlike forward contracts,
futures contracts are normally traded on an exchange. To make trading possible, the
exchange specifies certain standardized features of the contract. And because the two
parties to the contract do not necessarily know each other, the exchange also provides a
mechanism that gives the two parties a guarantee that the contract will be honored.
Another way in which a futures contract is different from a forward contract is that an
exact delivery date is usually not specified. The contract is referred to by its delivery
month, and the exchange specifies the period during the month when delivery must be
made. For commodities, the delivery period is often the entire month. The holder of the
short position has the right to choose the time during the delivery period when it will
make delivery. Usually, contracts with several different delivery months are traded at any
one time. The exchange specifies the amount of the asset to be delivered for one contract
and how the futures price is to be quoted. In the case of a commodity, the exchange also
specifies the product quality and the delivery location.
Right, that’s the basic concept of forward and future contracts. I’ll now move on to
discuss the swaps and options markets. Swaps are a recent innovation. They were first
introduced to the public in 1981 when IBM and the World Bank entered into a swap
arrangement. The swaps market has grown tremendously since that time.
A swap works much like a forward contract. It guarantees the exchange of 2 items at
some time in the future. However, unlike the forward market, only a net transfer of funds
is exchanged. For example, a U.S. firm agrees with a German firm to exchange 1 million
dollars for Deutsche marks at a fixed rate at a specified future date. On that date, if the
exchange rate is different, only that difference is transferred between the 2 firms. The
principal amount of 1 million dollars is only notional. It is only used as a basis for
calculating the swapped currency payment. In practice, most swap contracts fall into one
of three basic categories: currency swaps, interest rate swaps, and commodity swaps.
78
Let’s now talk about the last kind of derivative – options. An option contract is an
arrangement that gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell some
asset at a specified price, called the strike price or exercise price, for a specified time. The
option to buy is called a call option. The option to sell is called a put option.
There are two key differences between an option contract and a forward contract. The
first is obvious. With a forward contract, both parties are obligated to transact. With an
option, the transaction only occurs if the owner of the option chooses to exercise it. The
second difference is that no money changes hand when a forward contract is created.
However, the buyer of an option contract has a valuable right and must pay the seller for
that right. That money is called the option premium.
Well, I guess that covers my talk for today. See you again next week. Bye bye.
(928 words)
week 25

A NEGOTIATION ON ENDING OF A JOINT-VENTURE
79
First speaker
1. Chµo çc ngµi, h«m nay chóng ta sÏ ph¶i bµn tiÕp thªm mét chót vÒ vÊn ®Ò møc tiÒn b¶n
quyÒn vµ møc båi thêng.
2. T«i nghÜ lµ ®©y lµ hai vÊn ®Ò cã liªn quan tíi nhau. VËy chóng t«i xin ®îc ®Ò nghÞ
møc tiÒn b¶n quyÒn lµ 5% royalty vµ båi thêng trªn c¬ së hai n¨m.
3. V©ng, nÕu vËy th× chóng t«i cã thÓ nh©n nhîng mét chót. VËy møc tiÒn b¶n quyÒn lµ 7.5%,
nhng thêi gian båi thêng vÉn gi÷ ë møc hai n¨m.
4. T«i xin gi¶i thÝch thÕ nµy ¹. T×nh h×nh kinh doanh cña chóng t«i râ rµng lµ phô thuéc vµo viÖc cã
b¸n ®îc çc dù ¸n cña chóng t«i hay kh«ng. C«ng ty chóng t«i lµ mét c«ng ty nhá vµ chóng t«i muèn
ph¸t triÓn çc s¶n phÈm cña m×nh. Trong lÇn hîp t¸c nµy, c«ng søc lµm viÖc suèt mét n¨m cña
chóng t«i bçng nhiªn bÞ ®×nh trÖ l¹i, mµ cha thÊy s¶n xuÊt ®îc çi g× c¶.
5. TÊt nhiªn lµ chóng t«i hy väng t×m ®îc ®èi t¸c kh¸c. T«i nghÜ lµ sÏ t×m ®îc th«i. Nhng cã t×m
®îc còng cßn mÊt nhiÒu thêi gian. VËy trong thêi gian ®ã chóng t«i cÇn cã mét kho¶n thu nhËp.
V× vËy møc båi thêng tho¶ ®¸ng ®èi víi chóng t«i lµ rÊt quan träng. Chóng t«i cã thÓ ®ång ý tr¶
møc tiÒn b¶n quyÒn cao nh vËy, v× mét khi mµ chóng t«i tr¶ tiÒn b¶n quyÒn cã nghÜa lµ chóng
t«i cã thu nhËp tõ ho¹t ®éng s¶n xuÊt ®Ó cã thÓ tr¶ tiÒn b¶n quyÒn ®ã.
6. V©ng, vÒ mÆt nguyªn t¾c mµ nãi th× chóng t«i cã thÓ chÊp nhËn møc tiÒn b¶n quyÒn lµ 10% -
®i liÒn víi møc båi thêng trªn c¬ së doanh thu dù kiÕn trong hai n¨m. Tuy nhiªn chi tiÕt cô thÓ cßn
tïy thuéc vµo sè phËn thùc tÕ cña s¶n phÈm.
7. ý t«i muèn nãi lµ gi¶ sö chóng t«i b¸n ®îc ngay s¶n phÈm ®ã th× chóng ta ph¶i tho¶ thuËn kh¸c ®i
mét chót. Tuy nhiªn chóng ta cã thÓ bµn chuyÖn ®ã sau. T¹m thêi cø ®Ó ngá vÊn ®Ò nµy l¹i cã
®îc kh«ng ¹?
8. V©ng, tÊt nhiªn råi, chóng t«i hiÓu chø.
9. V©ng. Ban n·y «ng cã nãi lµ sÏ gióp chóng t«i t×m ®èi t¸c ph¶i kh«ng ¹?
10. ThÕ th× tèt råi. C¶m ¬n «ng nhiÒu. Cßn vÒ vÊn ®Ò b¶n quyÒn vµ møc båi thêng nh chóng ta võa
tháa thuËn, ®Ò nghÞ «ng so¹n gióp b»ng v¨n b¶n cô thÓ ®i. Chóng ta sÏ cïng xem l¹i vµ hai bªn sÏ ký
vµo.
A NEGOTIATION ON ENDING OF A JOINT-VENTURE

Second speaker
1. Yes, please put forward your suggestions.
2. I think the royalty is too low.
3. Can I ask why this two year figure is so important?
4. We hope you do understand that this termination of the joint venture is also not what we wished for.
And we will try to give you a hand in finding a new partner. It is very likely that you will be able to
find a new one soon.
5. Yes, I see that. Well, if you can settle on a 10% royalty, we’ll accept that – the two years’
compensation.
80
6. Could you please clarify what you mean by saying that these details might be affected by the
actual destiny of the product ?
7. Yes, okay. So, to confirm that, in principle we are agreeing to a two year sales forecast
compensation – less costs of course – so it’s profit on sales?
8. And Arco would have a 10% royalty on profits from eventual production, subjects to some
other kind of deal that you might have with a third party. We’d have to look at any
agreement you eventually com up with.
9. Yes. I have been working in this field for quite a long time, so I know who are interested in
this kind of machine. But please just take this personally. I will introduce you with one of my
friends, who is working for BFN. They are expanding in this field. Maybe you could try to
persuade him to become your partner.
10. Yes, of course. We will send you the written agreement soon, maybe by 15 May, because we
need to get our boss’ agreement. From now up to that date, if you would like to add any
more specific suggestions concerning these two issues, please advise us soon.
Mutual funds
KEY TERMS
81
mutual fund quü t¬ng hç
portfolio danh môc ®Çu t
holdings çc chøng kho¸n do c«ng ty n¾m gi÷
redeem mua l¹i
NAV gi¸ trÞ tµi s¶n tÞnh
sales load chi phÝ giao dÞch
capital gain l·i do cæ phiÕu lªn gi¸
capital loss lç do cæ phiÕu xuèng gi¸
money market fund quü t¬ng hç trªn thÞ trêng tiÒn tÖ
bond fund quü tr¸i phiÕu
stock/equity fund quü cæ phiÕu
yield lîi tøc cæ phiÕu
tapescript
Hello everyone. We’ve gone quite a long way in our study of finance, and I really
appreciate your patience and painstaking effort in digesting this difficult topic. Today is
our last lesson and then you can have a break from me!
Our topic for today is mutual funds, one of the important financial institutions in
developed markets. A mutual fund is a company that brings together money from many
people and invests it in stocks, bonds, or other securities. (The combined holdings of
stocks, bonds, or other securities and assets that the fund owns are known as its portfolio.)
Each investor owns one or more shares in the fund, and his or her shares represent a part
of these holdings.
You can buy some mutual funds by contacting them directly. Others are sold mainly
through brokers, banks, financial planners, or insurance agents. All mutual funds will
redeem, i.e. buy back your shares on any business day and must send you the payment
within seven days.
You can find out the value of your shares in the financial pages of major newspapers;
after the fund's name, look for the column marked "NAV." NAV stands for Net Asset
Value per share, which is the value of one share in a fund. When you buy shares, you pay
the current NAV per share, plus any sales charge, also called a sales load. When you sell
your shares, the fund will pay you NAV less any other sales load.
A fund's NAV goes up or down daily as its holdings change in value. For example, if you
invest $1,000 in a mutual fund with an NAV of $10.00, you will then own 100 shares of
the fund. If the NAV drops to $9.00, because the value of the fund's portfolio has
dropped, you will still own 100 shares, but your investment is now worth $900. If the
NAV goes up to $11.00, your investment is worth $1,100. We assume no sales charge in
this example.
82
When you have a share in a mutual fund, you can earn money from your investment in
three ways. First, the fund may receive income in the form of dividends and interest on
the securities it owns. It will pay you, the shareholders, nearly all of the income it has
earned in the form of dividends. Second, the price of the securities that the fund owns
may increase. When it sells a security that has increased in price, the fund has a capital
gain. At the end of the year, most funds distribute these capital gains (minus any capital
losses) to investors. Third, if the fund does not sell but holds on to securities that have
increased in price, the value of its shares (NAV) increases. The higher NAV reflects the
higher value of your investment. If you sell your shares, you make a profit (this also is a
capital gain).
Usually funds will give you a choice: the fund can send you payment for distributions
and dividends, or you can have them reinvested in the fund to buy more shares, often
without paying an additional sales load.
You take risks when you invest in any mutual fund. You may lose some or all of the
money you invest (your principal), because the securities held by a fund go up and down
in value. What you earn on your investment also may go up or down.
Each kind of mutual fund has different risks and rewards. Generally, the higher the
potential return, the higher the risk of loss.
Before you invest, decide whether the goals and risks of any fund you are considering are
a good fit for you. To make this decision, you may need the help of a financial adviser.
There are also investment books and services to guide you.
The three main categories of mutual funds are money market funds, bond funds, and stock
funds. First, the MONEY MARKET FUNDS have relatively low risks, compared to other
mutual funds. They are limited by law to certain high-quality, short-term investments.
Money market funds try to keep their value (NAV) at a stable $1.00 per share, but NAV
may fall below $1.00 if their investments perform poorly. Investor losses have been rare,
but they are possible. The second type is BOND FUNDS, which are also known as
FIXED INCOME FUNDS. Bond funds have higher risks than money market funds, but
seek to pay higher yields. Unlike money market funds, bond funds are not restricted to
high-quality or short-term investments. Because there are many different types of bonds,
bond funds can vary dramatically in their risks and rewards.
Most bond funds have credit risk, which is the risk that companies or other issuers whose
bonds are owned by the fund may fail to pay their debts (including the debt owed to
holders of their bonds). Some funds have little credit risk, such as those that invest in
insured bonds or U.S. Treasury bonds. But be careful: nearly all bond funds have interest
rate risk, which means that the market value of the bonds they hold will go down when
83
interest rates go up. Because of this, you can lose money in any bond fund, including
those that invest only in insured bonds or Treasury bonds.
Long-term bond funds invest in bonds with longer maturities (length of time until the
final payout). The values (NAVs) of long-term bond funds can go up or down more
rapidly than those of shorter-term bond funds.
Finally, the STOCK FUNDS, also called EQUITY FUNDS, generally involve more risk
than money market or bond funds, but they also can offer the highest returns. A stock
fund's value (NAV) can rise and fall quickly over the short term, but historically stocks
have performed better over the long term than other types of investments.
Not all stock funds are the same. For example, growth funds focus on stocks that may not
pay a regular dividend but have the potential for large capital gains. Others specialize in a
particular industry segment such as technology stocks.
Alright, that’s everything I want to say for the moment. I do hope that some of the
knowledge in this course may become useful for you in the future. Take care, and Good
luck!
(950 words)
week 26
84
A NEGOTIATION ON AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
First Speaker
1. Chµo «ng. H«m nay t«i ®Õn ®Ó bµn tiÕp vÒ hîp ®ång qu¶ng ço cña chóng ta.
2. V©ng, chóng t«i xin phÐp ®Ò xuÊt thÕ nµy ¹. Chóng t«i muèn tæ chøc chiÕn dÞch qu¶ng ço cho
c«ng ty ta thªm bèn tuÇn n÷a.
3. ý «ng lµ thÕ nµo ¹?
4. V©ng, v©ng. Tuy nhiªn sù chËm chÔ trong chiÕn dÞch qu¶ng ço nµy kh«ng hoµn toµn lµ do
chóng t«i. Thùc tÕ lµ çc «ng yªu cÇu thay ®æi çc chi tiÕt trong qu¶ng ço qu¸ muén.
5. V©ng, th«i th× dÉu sao chóng t«i còng muèn tæ chøc qu¶ng ço cho c«ng ty ta thªm bèn tuÇn n÷a.
6. T«i xin phÐp ®Ò nghÞ lµ gi¶m phÝ ®i 20%, céng víi viÖc chóng t«i qu¶ng ço thªm bèn tuÇn n÷a
cã ®îc kh«ng ¹ ?
7. V©ng, t«i nghÜ lµ chóng ta ®· m¾c lçi, c¶ hai bªn ®Òu cã lçi. T«i nghÜ lµ c¶ hai bªn ®Òu cã tr¸ch
nhiÖm.
8. Xin çc «ng lu ý cho lµ kh«ng thÓ tæ chøc thªm toµn bé chiÕn dÞch mét lÇn n÷a mµ hoµn toµn
miÔn phÝ ®îc. §Ó tæ chøc ®îc mét chiÕn dÞch nh thÕ chóng t«i ph¶i bá ra rÊt nhiÒu chi phÝ.
9. T«i nghÜ cã lÏ chóng ta ph¶i gi¶i lao mét chót. Chóng ta ®Òu ph¶i c©n nh¾c thªm.
A NEGOTIATION ON AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

Second Speaker
1. Okay. So what do you have in mind?
2. Well. I did hope you have in your mind clearly the problems with the last campaign.
3. Well, can we summarise the problems from your point of view? Fist of all, the campaign was
late, it missed two important trade fairs. The advertisement also did not appear in two key
magazines. As a result, if failed. Do you accept that summary of what happened?
4. Hmmm, in fact, SAR were late with the initial proposals, so we had very little time, and in
fact we only asked for small changes.
5. That’s not really the point. The campaign missed two key trade fairs – because of this we are
asking you either to repeat the campaign next year, or we only pay 50% of the fee for this
year.
6. We are not happy – the delays, the missed magazines, the trade fairs – we lost business.
7. Okay, let us suggest a new solution: how about a 40% cut in fee or a free repeat campaign?
8. Yes, but I’ve said either a 40% cut in fee or a free repeat campaign. I guess you mean you
prefer a 40% cut in fee?
9. Okay. You should discuss among yourselves. I am sorry, I need to go out for a few munites.
I will be back soon.
Tæ chøc Liªn Hîp Quèc
85
Key terms
League of Nations Héi quèc liªn
Charter HiÕn ch¬ng
Security Council Héi ®ång b¶o an
General Assembly §¹i héi ®ång
Economic and social Council Héi ®ång kinh tÕ x· héi
Trusteeship Council Héi ®ång ñy trÞ
International Court of Justice Tßa ¸n quèc tÕ
Secretariat Ban th kÝ
Permanent member ñy viªn thêng trùc
Veto Phñ quyÕt
Tapescript
Xin chµo çc b¹n. H«m nay t«i rÊt h©n h¹nh ®îc nãi chuyÖn víi çc b¹n vÒ çc tæ chøc quèc tÕ. T«i xin
b¾t ®Çu bµi nãi chuyÖn ®Çu tiªn cña t«i b»ng çch giíi thiÖu víi çc b¹n mét tæ chøc quèc tÕ mµ theo
t«i lµ quan träng nhÊt- Tæ chøc Liªn Hîp Quèc. Cã thÓ çc b¹n còng ®· biÕt s¬ qua vÒ tæ chøc nµy trong
mét sè bµi häc tríc nhng h«m nay t«i xin nãi chi tiÕt h¬n vÒ c¬ cÊu vµ çc chøc n¨ng quan träng nhÊt
cña tæ chøc nµy.
LHQ chÝnh thøc ra ®êi vµo ngµy 24/10/1945 sau khi 51 quèc gia thµnh viªn ®Çu tiªn phª chuÈn HiÕn
ch¬ng cña nã. Môc ®Ých chÝnh cña tæ chøc nµy lµ nh»m g×n gi÷ an ninh vµ hßa b×nh thÕ giíi, ph¸t
triÓn mèi quan hÖ h÷u nghÞ gi÷a çc quèc gia, hîp t¸c trong viÖc gi¶i quyÕt çc vÊn ®Ò kinh tÕ, x· héi,
v¨n hãa cña c¶ thÕ giíi, thóc ®Èy sù t«n träng nh©n quyÒn vµ çc quyÒn tù do c¬ b¶n kh¸c cña con
ngêi.
§Ó thùc hiÖn ®îc nh÷ng môc tiªu cña m×nh, LHQ ®· thµnh lËp 6 c¬ quan víi nh÷ng chøc n¨ng vµ
quyÒn h¹n kh¸c nhau. C¬ quan ®Çu tiªn vµ quan träng nhÊt lµ Héi ®ång b¶o an víi nhiÖm vô chÝnh lµ
g×n gi÷ hßa b×nh vµ an ninh thÕ giíi. §©y lµ nhiÖm vô c¬ b¶n nhÊt cña LHQ, nhiÖm vô mµ Héi Quèc
Liªn tríc ®ã ®· kh«ng lµm ®îc. Cã lÏ t«i xin phÐp ®îc dµnh ra mét vµi phót ®Ó nãi qua vÒ HQL.
HQL lµ mét tæ chøc t¬ng tù nh LHQ ®îc thµnh lËp sau thÕ chiÕn lÇn thø nhÊt nhng nh chóng ta ®·
biÕt tæ chøc nµy ®· tan r· khi thÕ chiÕn lÇn thø 2 b¾t ®Çu vµo n¨m 1939. Vµ sau khi thÕ chiÕn 2 kÕt
thóc, çc níc th¾ng trËn ®· thay thÕ HQL b»ng LHQ víi nh÷ng chøc n¨ng vµ quyÒn h¹n to lín h¬n. Vµ
chÝnh v× HQL kh«ng hoµn thµnh nhiÖm vô cña m×nh mµ LHQ ®· lËp ra H§BA víi nhiÖm vô chÝnh
lµ g×n gi÷ hßa b×nh vµ an ninh thÕ giíi.
H§BA gåm 15 thµnh viªn trong ®ã cã 5 thµnh viªn thêng trùc lµ Hoa Kú, Liªn X«, Trung Quèc, Anh vµ
Ph¸p. §©y chÝnh lµ nh÷ng quèc gia ®· th¾ng trËn trong thÕ chiÕn 2. 10 thµnh viªn cßn l¹i ®îc bÇu
theo nhiÖm k× 2 n¨m vµ çc thµnh viªn cña H§BA lu©n phiªn nhau gi÷ chøc chñ tÞch cña H§ nµy. KÓ
tõ khi Liªn X« tan r· vµo n¨m 1991 th× Liªn Bang Nga ®· thay thÕ LX gi÷ vai trß lµ thµnh viªn thêng
trùc cña H§BA. TÊt c¶ çc quèc gia thµnh viªn ®Òu ph¶i thi hµnh NghÞ quyÕt cña H§BA vµ nÕu quèc
gia nµo kh«ng nghe theo th× sÏ bÞ trõng ph¹t nghiªm kh¾c b»ng çc biÖn ph¸p chÝnh trÞ, ngo¹i giao,
kinh tÕ vµ thËm chÝ c¶ qu©n sù. §Ó 1 NghÞ quyÕt cña H§BA ®îc th«ng qua th× Ýt nhÊt ph¶i cã sù t¸n
thµnh cña 10 thµnh viªn H§BA vµ kh«ng cã thµnh viªn thêng trùc nµo phñ quyÕt.
T«i xin ®îc chuyÓn sang nãi ®Õn c¬ quan thø 2 cña LHQ, ®ã lµ §¹i Héi §ång. §H§ ®ãng vai trß nh lµ
mét diÔn ®µn ®Ó tÊt c¶ çc quèc gia thµnh viªn cã thÓ th¶o luËn víi nhau vÒ çc vÊn ®Ò cña thÕ giíi.
C¬ quan thø 3 cña LHQ lµ Héi ®ång kinh tÕ x· héi. Môc ®Ých cña c¬ quan nµy lµ xãa bá ®ãi nghÌo vµ
n©ng cao møc sèng cña mäi ngêi d©n trªn toµn thÕ giíi. C¬ quan tiÕp theo cña LHQ lµ Héi ®ång ñy trÞ
víi nhiÖm vô lµ cai qu¶n nh÷ng vïng ®Êt tríc kia vèn lµ thuéc ®Þa cña çc níc thùc d©n vµ sau ®ã trao
quyÒn ®éc lËp cho nh÷ng quèc gia nµy. ChÝnh nhê sù s¸ng lËp ra c¬ quan nµy mµ hµng lo¹t çc quèc
gia trªn thÕ giíi trong thËp niªn 50 vµ 60 cña thÕ kØ tríc ®· giµnh ®îc ®éc lËp mµ kh«ng ph¶i tr¶i qua
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nh÷ng cuéc chiÕn tranh ®Ém m¸u. Tuy nhiªn giê ®©y vai trß cña c¬ quan nµy ngµy cµng trë nªn Ýt quan
träng do hÇu hÕt çc quèc gia ®· giµnh ®îc ®éc lËp.
C¬ quan thø 5 cña LHQ lµ Tßa ¸n quèc tÕ. C¬ quan nµy cã nhiÖm vô ®Ò ra nh÷ng luËt lÖ vµ khu«n
khæ ph¸p lý cho tÊt c¶ çc quèc gia thµnh viªn trong viÖc gi¶i quyÕt çc xung ®ét vµ chÝnh c¬ quan nµy
sÏ xÐt xö çc níc thµnh viªn vi ph¹m luËt lÖ quèc tÕ.
C¬ quan cuèi cïng cña LHQ lµ Ban th ký. BTK lµ c¬ quan ®iÒu hµnh c«ng viÖc hµng ngµy cña LHQ
díi sù chØ ®¹o cña mét Tæng th ký. VÞ TTK nµy ph¶i lµ mét nhµ ngo¹i giao l·o luyÖn nãi th«ng th¹o 2
thø tiÕng Anh vµ Ph¸p. Chøc vô TTK nµy ph¶i ®îc sù phª chuÈn cña H§BA.
Ngµy nay chóng ta ®ang dù ®Þnh c¶i tæ l¹i LHQ, nhÊt lµ viÖc c¶i tæ l¹i c¬ quan ®Çy quyÒn lùc lµ
H§BA. ThËt v« lý khi 1 quèc gia cã sè d©n chiÕm 1/6 d©n sè thÕ giíi vµ së h÷u vò khÝ h¹t nh©n lµ Ên
®é l¹i kh«ng ph¶i lµ thµnh viªn thêng trùc cña H§BA. ThËm chÝ c¶ 2 níc ph¸t xÝt thua trËn trong thÕ
chiÕn 2 lµ §øc vµ NhËt còng lªn tiÕng ®ßi cho m×nh chiÕc ghÕ thêng trùc trong H§BA víi lý do ®©y
lµ 2 ®Çu tÇu kinh tÕ thÕ giíi. Vai trß cña H§BA còng ®ang bÞ ®e däa nghiªm träng sau khi Mü vµ Anh
tÊn c«ng 1 thµnh viªn cña LHQ lµ Iraq ngµy 20/3/2003 mµ kh«ng cÇn sù ®ång ý cña H§BA. ThËm chÝ
lµ 3 thµnh viªn thêng trùc cßn l¹i cña H§BA ®· lªn tiÕng ph¶n ®èi cuéc chiÕn nµy nhng Mü vµ Anh
vÉn phít lê.
Cã lÏ nh÷ng vÊn ®Ò chÝnh trÞ nh nµy kh«ng ph¶i lµ vÊn ®Ò mµ sinh viªn çc b¹n quan t©m s©u s¾c,
nhÊt lµ nh÷ng sinh viªn trêng Ngo¹i Th¬ng nh chóng ta. Dï sao th× t«i còng hy väng r»ng nh÷ng kiÕn
thøc s¬ ®¼ng vÒ LHQ h«m nay sÏ cã thÓ gióp chóng ta chót Ýt trong c«ng viÖc kinh doanh sau nµy.
T«i xin dõng bµi nãi cña t«i h«m nay t¹i ®©y vµ xin çm ¬n sù l¾ng nghe cña çc b¹n.
week 27

interview with Mr. clementi, chairman of global prudential group
First Speaker
1. Mr. Clementi, congratulations upon your new job. Could you tell me briefly about your
professional background?
2. You chose Vietnam as your first stop for your business trip in Asia. Can you tell me why?
3. I hope so too. What observations do you have about Vietnam’s economy?
4. Yes. You know, life insurance is a new business in Vietnam. What do you think about its
potential in this country?
5. You’re right. In well-developed countries, there are many types of financial institutions.
6. Prudential Vietnam was one of the first foreign company investing in this sector. How do
you see its operations in Vietnam so far?
7. Yes, that’s really impressive. What ar the keys to this success, then?
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8. Recently, many financial institutions have run into problems in the face of weakening stock
markets worlwide. How can Prudential maintain its competitive edge in such uncertainty?
9. Thank you very much for doing this interview with us. I wish you success in everything you
do.
Second Speaker
1. Tríc khi trë thµnh chñ tÞch Prudential, t«i lµ phã thèng ®èc Ng©n hµng Trung ¬ng Anh
quèc. T«i lµ thµnh viªn cña Uû ban ChÝnh s¸ch TiÒn tÖ vµ chÞu tr¸ch nhiÖm vÒ æn ®Þnh
tµi chÝnh.
2. T«i rÊt vui ®îc ®Õn th¨m ViÖt Nam ngay khi b¾t ®Çu nhiÖm kú chñ tÞch. ViÖc t«i chän
ViÖt Nam cho thÊy tÇm quan räng cña thÞ trêng nµy ®èi víi chóng t«i. Hi väng t«i sÏ cã
dÞp trë l¹i th¨m ViÖt Nam trong mét t¬ng lai kh«ng xa.
3. Trong bèi c¶nh nÒn kinh tÕ toµn cÇu ph¶i ®èi mÆt víi nhiÒu th¸ch thøc, t«i vÉn cho r»ng
nÒn kinh tÕ ViÖt Nam vÉn sÏ tiÕp tôc ph¸t triÓn m¹nh. Møc nhËp khÈu m¸y mãc thiÕt bÞ
kh¸ cao chøng tá nhu cÇu ph¸t triÓn lín. Chóng t«i còng rÊt phÊn khëi tríc nh÷ng tiÕn bé
gÇn ®©y cña ViÖt Nam. Çc bíc ®i cña chÝnh phñ ®Æc biÖt trong lÜnh vùc th¬ng m¹i
lµ nh÷ng tÝn hiÖu cho thÊy khuynh híng tÝch cùc sÏ ®îc tiÕp tôc.
4. ThÞ trêng nµy cã vai trß quan träng trong viÖc trî gióp ngêi d©n b¶o vÖ vµ dµnh dôm
tiÒn tiÕt kiÖm cho gia ®×nh hä. T¹i thêi ®iÓm nµy, ng©n hµng vÉn cßn chi phèi phÇn lín
hÖ thèng tµi chÝnh cña ViÖt Nam. Do ®ã ngêi d©n cã rÊt Ýt sù lùa chän khi muèn ®ång
tiÒn cña m×nh sinh s«i n¶y në, cßn çc c«ng ty còng cã rÊt Ýt sù lùa chän khi muèn huy
®éng vèn ®Ó më réng kinh doanh.
5. V©ng, chÝnh v× thÕ mµ t«i nghÜ ngµnh b¶o hiÓm hay thÞ trêng chøng kho¸n sÏ ph¸t
triÓn m¹nh ë ViÖt Nam trong thêi gian tíi.
6. Chóng t«i hÕt søc vui mõng vÒ nh÷ng thµnh qu¶ kinh doanh ®· ®¹t ®îc t¹i ViÖt Nam.
Trong th¸ng 1 n¨m 2003, Prudential ®· ®ãn mõng kh¸ch hµng thø mét triÖu, vµ ®iÒu nµy
thËt ®¸ng phÊn khëi.
7. Cã nhiÒu yÕu tè. §ã lµ sù chuÈn bÞ c«ng phu, lßng tËn tuþ víi c«ng viÖc, kh¶ n¨ng chuyªn
m«n cao cña çc nh©n viªn, ®Æc biÖt lµ cña Tæng gi¸m ®èc Huúnh Thanh Phong.
8. §óng lµ t×nh tr¹ng sa sót kÐo dµi ®· ¶nh hëng ®Õn kh¶ n¨ng chi tr¶ cña tÊt c¶ çc c«ng ty
b¶o hiÓm. Tuy nhiªn, Prudential vÉn lµ mét trong nh÷ng tËp ®oµn m¹nh víi nguån vèn dµi
h¹n rÊt dåi dµo.
Cµ phª
Key terms
Robusta cµ phª r«
Arabica cµ phª chÌ
Liberica cµ phª vèi
Espresso Tªn mét lo¹i cµ phª
Blended coffee Lo¹i cµ phª trén ( gi÷a Robusta vµ Liberica)
Brewed coffee Lo¹i cµ phª cã chÕ biÕn ( nh capuchino...)
Indian Ngêi da ®á
International Coffee Organisation Tæ chøc cµ phª thÕ giíi
Altitude §é cao so víi mÆt biÓn
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tapescript
Xin chµo tÊt c¶ çc b¹n. H«m nay chñ ®Ò bµi nãi cña t«i sÏ lµ ®å uèng vµ t«i xin tËp trung nãi vÒ cµ
phª. Ch¾c nhiÒu b¹n sÏ cã thÓ th¾c m¾c t¹i sao chóng ta kh«ng nãi vÒ rîu, rîu m¹nh hay rîu vang,
hoÆc nãi vÒ trµ hay sinh tè mµ l¹i ®i nãi vÒ cµ phª, mét ®å uèng kh«ng cã truyÒn thèng l©u ®êi ë ViÖt
nam. Lý do t¹i sao t«i chän cµ phª rÊt ®¬n gi¶n bëi lÏ hiÖn nay uèng cµ phª ®ang trë thµnh mèt cña
nhiÒu ngêi d©n ViÖt Nam vµ nh chóng ta ®· thÊy th¬ng hiÖu cµ phª Trung Nguyªn ®· trë nªn næi
tiÕng nh thÕ nµo trong vµi n¨m trë l¹i ®©y.
Cµ phª lµ mét lo¹i ®å uèng cña thæ d©n da ®á ë ch©u Mü tõ rÊt l©u ®êi. Sau khi Christophe Columbo
ph¸t hiÖn ra ch©u Mü, nhiÒu th¬ng gia ®· ®em lo¹i ®å uèng nµy vÒ ch©u ©u vµ rÊt nhanh chãng nã
trë nªn næi tiÕng t¹i lôc ®Þa nµy. Cµ phª chØ ®îc trång ë nh÷ng níc cã khÝ hËu nhiÖt ®íi vµ cã ®Êt
®á cao nguyªn nhng nã l¹i ®îc tiªu thô chÝnh ë nh÷ng níc ch©u ©u vµ B¾c Mü. Ngµy nay h¬n 30
triÖu ngêi trªn thÕ giíi sèng b»ng nghÒ trång cµ phª vµ cµ phª lµ lo¹i hµng nguyªn liÖu cã gi¸ trÞ lín thø
2 trªn thÕ giíi sau dÇu th«. ThËm chÝ vµo n¨m 1963 LHQ ®· thµnh lËp Tæ chøc cµ phª quèc tÕ ®Ó
b×nh æn gi¸ cµ phª trªn toµn thÕ giíi. Tæ chøc nµy cã h¬n 100 thµnh viªn, bao gåm c¶ nh÷ng níc s¶n
xuÊt vµ tiªu thô cµ phª.
H¹t cµ phª ®îc chia ra lµm 3 lo¹i chÝnh. Lo¹i thø nhÊt lµ Robusta cã chÊt lîng thÊp h¬n c¶ vµ thêng
®îc dïng ®Ó chÕ biÕn cµ phª hßa tan. Lo¹i cµ phª nµy ®îc trång ë ®é cao díi 600m so víi mùc níc
biÓn. Nh÷ng níc trång nhiÒu cµ phª lo¹i nµy nhÊt lµ Uganda vµ Indonesia. Lo¹i cµ phª thø hai lµ
Arabica cã chÊt lîng cao nhÊt vµ thêng ®îc trång ë ®é cao tõ 600-2000m so víi mùc níc biÓn. Hai níc
cã s¶n lîng cµ phª Arabica cao nhÊt thÕ giíi lµ Brazil vµ Columbia. Kenya ë ch©u Phi còng trång kh¸
nhiÒu lo¹i cµ phª nµy vµ s¶n lîng cña hä ®øng thø 3 trªn thÕ giíi. Lo¹i thø ba lµ Liberica, ®îc trång ë ®é
cao díi 1200m so víi mùc níc biÓn. Tuy nhiªn s¶n lîng lo¹i cµ phª nµy trªn thÕ giíi rÊt thÊp vµ ngêi ta
thêng dïng lo¹i nµy lµm cµ phª trén.
H¹t cµ phª ®îc chÕ biÕn thµnh 3 lo¹i cµ phª chÝnh. Lo¹i cµ phª thø nhÊt lµ cµ phª hßa tan ®îc lµm tõ
lo¹i h¹t cµ phª Robusta. Nh÷ng níc tiªu thô cµ phª hßa tan nhiÒu nhÊt lµ Mü, Anh vµ Brazil. Çc níc nh
Ph¸p vµ Italia l¹i thÝch uèng cµ phª kiÓu Espresso. Cßn nh÷ng níc nh §øc, NhËt, Nauy, Thôy §iÓn l¹i
thÝch uèng cµ phª qua chÕ biÕn.
Cµ phª ë ta ®îc thùc d©n Ph¸p ®em vµo trång ë T©y Nguyªn tõ ®Çu thÕ kØ 20. §Çu thËp kØ 90 cña
thÕ kØ tríc gi¸ cµ phª ®· cã lóc lªn ®Õn 3000 USD/tÊn vµ rÊt nhiÒu hé gia ®×nh trång cµ phª ë T©y
nguyªn giµu lªn nhanh chãng. Tuy nhiªn tõ cuèi thËp kØ 90 trë ®i gi¸ cµ phª rít th¶m h¹i khiÕn cho nhiÒu
gia ®×nh ph¶i ph¸ bá c©y cµ phª vµ chuyÓn sang trång çc lo¹i c©y kh¸c. ViÖt nam chóng ta hiÖn nay
®· v¬n lªn lµ níc xuÊt khÈu cµ phª lín thø 2 trªn thÕ giíi nhng doanh thu tõ xuÊt khÈu cµ phª cña ta
vÉn kh«ng cao bëi chÊt lîng cµ phª cña chóng ta kh«ng ®Òu vµ thÞ trêng kh«ng æn ®Þnh.
Ngêi ViÖt nam ta chñ yÕu uèng cµ phª pha phin víi ®êng hoÆc s÷a. Mét sè Ýt hµng cã çch pha chÕ
®Æc biÖt nh cµ phª trøng ë cµ phª Gi¶ng phè Hµng Gai. §iÒu ®Æc biÖt lµ tuy kh¸ nhiÒu ngêi thÝch
uèng lo¹i cµ phª trøng nµy nhng chØ riªng cµ phª Gi¶ng míi cã lo¹i nµy, çc hµng cµ phª kh¸c kh«ng hÒ
thÊy cã.
T«i xin dõng bµi nãi vÒ cµ phª h«m nay t¹i ®©y, t¹m biÖt vµ xin çm ¬n.
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week 28

interview with Mr. YAMAZAKI RYUICHIRO, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO VIETNAM
First Speaker
1. Tha «ng, võa qua chÝnh phñ NhËt b¶n ®· quyÕt ®Þnh c¾t gi¶m 10% tæng møc viÖn trî ph¸t triÓn
chÝnh thøc cho çc níc ®ang ph¸t triÓn. Nhng møc ODA dµnh cho ViÖt Nam th× vÉn cao h¬n
n¨m ngo¸i, víi trÞ gi¸ 750 triÖu ®«la. ¤ng cã thÓ gi¶i thÝch lý do cña quyÕt ®Þnh nµy kh«ng ¹?
2. Theo «ng th× viÖn trî ODA ®· cã ¶nh hëng nh thÕ nµo ®Õn ®Çu t trùc tiÕp cña NhËt b¶n vµo
ViÖt Nam?
3. Ch¾c «ng còng biÕt ViÖt Nam vµ Hoa Kú ®· ký kÕt mét HiÖp ®Þnh Th¬ng m¹i song ph¬ng.
§iÒu nµy cã ¶nh hëng g× ®Õn çc doanh nghiÖp NhËt b¶n ë ViÖt nam hoÆc cã lµm ¨n víi doanh
nghiÖp ViÖt nam?
4. H×nh nh trong khi céng ®ång çc níc viÖn trî ®ang chuyÓn u tiªn sang çc vÊn ®Ò x· héi th×
NhËt B¶n vÉn “trung thµnh” víi ph¸t triÓn c¬ së h¹ tÇng. LiÖu trong t¬ng lai xu híng nµy cã thay
®æi hay kh«ng?
5. NhËt b¶n lµ níc viÖn trî ODA lín nhÊt cho ViÖt Nam. ¤ng cã ®¸nh gi¸ nh thÕ nµo vÒ tÝnh hiÖu
qu¶ vµ ¶nh hëng cña viÖc sö dông vèn ODA ë ViÖt Nam? Theo «ng cßn nh÷ng bÊt cËp g×, vµ
chóng ta ph¶i lµm g× ®Ó kh¾c phôc?
6. Cã ý kiÕn cho r»ng thñ tôc ®Êu thÇu cho viÖc sö dông vèn ODA dêng nh chØ u tiªn çc nhµ thÇu
NhËt B¶n, khiÕn cho chi phÝ dù ¸n bÞ cao. ¤ng cã nhËn xÐt g× vÒ vÊn ®Ò nµy?
7. Xin çm ¬n «ng ®· tr¶ lêi pháng vÊn cña b¸o chóng t«i.
interview with Mr. YAMAZAKI RYUICHIRO, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO VIETNAM

Second Speaker
1. The decision stems from the economic difficulties in Japan. However, this does not mean
that all recipient countries’ aid will be cut by 10% across the board. I personally hope that we
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can maintain a high profile of ODA. Japan accounts for 40% of total ODA that Vietnam
receives, and 3% of the country’s GNP./ Why? There are several reasons. First, Vietnam is
an ASEAN member and has the largest population in the bloc. Second, Vietnam’s poverty
reduction and economic growth will have a bearing on the stability and prosperity of
Southeast Asia. Third, we look forward to further progress in the doi moi policy.
2. Japanese FDI is increasing in Vietnam. We invest a great deal in Phu My 2 and Phu Myx 3
power plant projects. On the trade side, there are also impressive figures. We expect further
improvements in the investment climate including lower international telephone charges and
providing the same national treatment.
3. Japanese businesses view the BTA as an opportunity to expand exports to the U.S. For
Vietnam, the agreement is an important step toward joining the WTO.
4. Infrastructure building is important because it provides a sound basis for the whole economy
to develop. However, poverty reduction is also an important area for Japanese ODA which
puts priority on health, education, environment and agricultural development. Besides,
human resource and institution building, including the legal system, are all note-worthy
areas.
5. Effectiveness of ODA is the top concern of Japanese tax payers. This year there were 5
government and private delegations coming to Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness of ODA
in Vietnam. They visited many hospitals, bridges and roads built from Japanese ODA. They
were pleased on the whole.
6. In fact, there are just a few projects like that. Most Japanese ODA is completely open. Lots
of Japanese bidders do not get the contract because they ofer too high price.
TiÕn bé ®¹t ®îc sau mét n¨m
(Intepretation course – FTU)
KEY TERMS
cã hiÖu lùc come into force/become effective

quyÒn së h÷u trÝ tuÖ intellectual property right
dù ¸n hç trî kü thuËt technical assistance project
nhîng quyÒn kinh doanh franchising
ph¸t huy build on
tapescript
(Tha quÝ vÞ, nh©n dÞp kû niÖm 1 n¨m ngµy hiÖp ®Þnh th¬ng m¹i song ph¬ng ViÖt-Mü cã
hiÖu lùc, §¹i sø qu¸n Hoa kú tæ chøc buæi häp b¸o ngµy h«m nay víi sù hiÖn diÖn cña ngµi §¹i
sø Raymond Burghardt. Ngµi ®¹i sø sÏ ph¸t biÓu Ýt phót, vµ sau ®ã sÏ tr¶ lêi c©u hái cña quÝ
vÞ. Xin mêi ngµi.)
§¹i sø Burghardt: Xin chµo tÊt c¶ mäi ngêi, t«i rÊt vui mõng ®îc cã mÆt t¹i ®©y h«m nay.
Mét ®iÒu ®Æc biÖt lµ H§TMVM b¾t ®Çu cã hiÖu lùc ®óng n¨m ngµy tríc khi t«i trë l¹i ViÖt
Nam trªn c¬ng vÞ ®¹i sø. Do ®ã, ®èi víi t«i, ®©y còng lµ dÞp kØ niÖm mét n¨m c«ng t¸c. B¶n
hiÖp ®Þnh lÞch sö nµy giê ®©y ®· trë thµnh mét dÊu mèc quan träng trong quan hÖ hai níc.
Nã ®· dì bá nhiÒu rµo c¶n kinh tÕ ®· tån t¹i trong mét thêi gian kh¸ dµi.
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Trong mét n¨m qua, b¶n hiÖp ®Þnh ®· mang l¹i nh÷ng lîi Ých râ rµng cho c¶ hai níc. Thùc tÕ
cho thÊy th¬ng m¹i hai chiÒu ®· t¨ng vät. XuÊt khÈu cña ViÖt nam sang Hoa kú trong 9 th¸ng
®Çu n¨m 2002 ®· t¨ng h¬n gÊp ®«i so víi cïng kú n¨m ngo¸i, ®¹t kho¶ng 1.5 tØ ®«la. Cßn xuÊt
khÈu cña Hoa Kú sang ViÖt Nam còng t¨ng kho¶ng 30%, ®¹t 343 triÖu ®«la. §iÒu ®¸ng chó ý ë
®©y lµ sù gia t¨ng kÓ trªn diÔn ra trong thêi kú mµ th¬ng m¹i thÕ giíi t¬ng ®èi tÜnh lÆng.
Do ®ã chóng ta hoµn toµn cã thÓ l¹c quan vÒ quan hÖ kinh tÕ gi÷a hai níc t¹i thêi ®iÓm nµy
vµ trong t¬ng lai.
C¶ hai phÝa ®· cã nhiÒu biÖn ph¸p tÝch cùc nh»m thùc hiÖn nh÷ng ®iÒu kho¶n cña hiÖp
®Þnh vÒ th¬ng m¹i hµng ho¸, th¬ng m¹i dÞch vô, vµ c¶ lÜnh vùc ®Çu t n÷a. Nh çc b¹n ®·
biÕt, çc nghÜa vô cña Hoa Kú ®îc thùc thi ngay lËp tøc, cßn çc nghÜa vô cña ViÖt nam ®îc
thùc hiÖn dÇn tõng bíc trong mét vµi n¨m.
Hoa Kú ®· gióp ®ì ViÖt Nam thùc hiÖn çc cam kÕt cña m×nh theo hiÖp ®Þnh, cô thÓ lµ
chóng t«i cã c¶ mét dù ¸n hç trî kü thuËt cho vÊn ®Ò nµy. §ã lµ dù ¸n STAR kÐo dµi 3 n¨m víi
trÞ gi¸ 8 triÖu ®«la. Chóng t«i ®· hç trî cho çc b¹n trong çc lÜnh vùc nh c¶i çch ph¸p luËt, h¶i
quan, quyÒn së h÷u trÝ tuÖ, vµ t¨ng cêng tÝnh c«ng khai minh b¹ch. Vµ sù hç trî nµy ®îc
dµnh cho çc c¬ quan chÝnh phñ ViÖt Nam, phßng th¬ng m¹i vµ c«ng nghiÖp ViÖt Nam, çc
hiÖp héi ngµnh nghÒ, vµ çc trêng ®¹i häc. Çc b¹n cÇn nhí r»ng viÖc thùc hiÖn thµnh c«ng
hiÖp ®Þnh TMSP còng rÊt cÇn thiÕt ®èi víi nh÷ng nç lùc gia nhËp WTO cña ViÖt Nam.
T«i cho r»ng n¨m ®Çu tiªn thùc hiÖn hiÖp ®Þnh ®· cho thÊy mét sù khëi ®Çu tèt ®Ñp, nã
®¸nh dÊu mét kû nguyªn míi trong quan hÖ song ph¬ng ViÖt Nam – Hoa Kú. T¹i §¹i sø qu¸n,
t«i nhËn thÊy r»ng çc c«ng ty Hoa Kú quan t©m ®Õn ViÖt Nam nhiÒu h¬n so víi 3 n¨m tríc.
Sè lîng çc doanh nghiÖp Hoa kú tíi th¨m Phßng Th¬ng vô cña chóng t«i ë Hµ néi vµ L·nh sù
qu¸n t¹i thµnh phè Hå ChÝ Minh ®· ®¹t con sè cao kû lôc. Nh÷ng lÜnh vùc mµ hä quan t©m lµ
c¬ héi nhîng quyÒn kinh doanh, ngµnh du lÞch vµ ngµnh dÇu khÝ. T«i nghÜ ®©y còng lµ c¬
héi tèt cho çc c«ng ty ViÖt Nam ®Ó trë thµnh ®¹i lý hoÆc nhµ ph©n phèi cho hµng ho¸ cña
Hoa Kú.
V©ng, ®©y míi chØ lµ n¨m ®Çu tiªn. Chóng t«i mong muèn ®îc phèi hîp víi chÝnh phñ vµ çc
c«ng ty ViÖt Nam ®Ó ph¸t huy nh÷ng viÖc chóng ta ®· lµm ®îc trong n¨m võa qua vµ tiÕp tôc
ph¸t triÓn mét mèi quan hÖ kinh tÕ v÷ng m¹nh, ®em l¹i lîi Ých cho c¶ hai phÝa.
Xin c¶m ¬n quÝ vÞ.
(712 words)
92
week 29

interview with Mr. pham tu, vice director of vietnam tourism general department
First Speaker
1. Thank you very much for coming to do this interview. It seems that we have reasons to
believe that 2003 will be a good year for the tourism sector?
2. But don’t you think we still need to attract tourists from other markets?
3. What do you think need to be done to attract more tourists?
4. I’ve learnt that an amount of 1 trillion dongs from the national budget has been spent on the
tourism sector during the past 3 years. Does that seem too little?
5. Do you mean we have other channels available to mobilize capital for investment?
6. But there are cases where lots of money has been invested on a tourist site, but the site still
fails to attract visitors and therefore the project can not pay back. How would you attempt to
solve this problem?
7. Yes, I myself have the same feeling. Well, it’s been very interesting talking with you. Thanks
a lot.
Second speaker
1. V©ng, chóng ta cã thÓ nh×n nhËn mét çch l¹c quan vÒ n¨m du lÞch 2003. Trong n¨m 2002
®· cã kho¶ng 42 triÖu c«ng d©n ASEAN ®i du lÞch sang çc níc l©n cËn, nhng míi chØ
cã 250.000 ngêi tíi ViÖt Nam. §iÒu nµy cho thÊy chóng ta cha chó träng ®óng møc ®Õn
thÞ trêng ASEAN. Mµ tiÒm n¨ng khu vùc nµy th× rÊt lín.
93
2. Cã chø. Nhng ngay c¶ th«ng qua çc níc ASEAN, ta còng cã thªm ®iÒu kiÖn thu hót kh¸ch
tõ çc níc thø 3 ®Ó khi hä vµo ASEAN sÏ nèi tuyÕn ®Õn ViÖt Nam. V× vËy, Tæng côc
Du lÞch chñ tr¬ng t¨ng cêng tham gia vµo çc diÔn ®µn du lÞch khu vùcvµ çc diÔn ®µn
kh¸c ngoµi ASEAN.
3. T«i nghÜ cÇn ®Çu t ®Ó x©y dùng çc s¶n phÈm du lÞch ®Æc thï cho tõng n¨m, tõng
vïng. Ch¼ng h¹n n¨m 2002 lµ N¨m Du lÞch V¨n ho¸, g¾n víi Festival HuÕ. Cßn n¨m 2003
lµ n¨m Du lÞch H¹ long vµ Du lÞc ThÓ thao, nh©n sù kiÖn Sea Games 22.
4. Vèn cÇn thiÕt cho ®©u t ph¸t triÓn çc s¶n phÈm du lÞch lµ rÊt lín. Do vËy, chóng t«i cho
r»ng ng©n s¸ch nhµ níc kh«ng thÓ “bao s©n” hÕt, mµ chØ mang tÝnh chÊt “®Çu t måi”
theo c«ng thøc “ 1 vèn trung ¬ng gäi 10 vèn ®Þa ph¬ng”. Tõ ®ã, sÏ khuyÕn khÝch tiÕp
çc thµnh phÇn kinh tÕ, çc doanh nghiÖp ®Çu t vµo çc dù ¸n, c«ng tr×nh cô thÓ.
5. §óng vËy. Trong 3 n¨m qua, tõ 1 ngµn tØ ®ång tõ ng©n s¸ch nhµ níc, ta ®· cã thªm nhiÒu
ngµn tØ ®ång tõ çc ®Þa ph¬ng, çc thµnh phÇn kinh tÕ, thËm chÝ c¶ çc c«ng ty níc
ngoµi.
6. Thùc tÕ lµ ®· cã nh÷ng khu du lÞch x©y dùng lªn chØ ®¸p øng ®îc nhu cÇu cña kh¸ch néi
®Þa mµ cha thÓ lµ ®iÓm ®Õn cña kh¸ch quèc tÕ. Còng cÇn c¶nh b¸o mét nguy c¬ n÷a lµ
sù l·ng phÝ tµi nguyªn du lÞch do qui ho¹ch kh«ng chÝnh x¸c, kh«ng tróng “gu” thÞ trêng.
Kh«ng cÈn thËn th× chóng ta sÏ r¬i vµo t×nh tr¹ng khi cha ®Çu t th× cßn tµi nguyªn, ®Çu
t råi lµ mÊt lu«n tµi nguyªn du lÞch. NhiÒu ngêi b¹n t«i phµn nµn r»ng gÇn ®©y hä kh«ng
muèn ®i SÇm S¬n v× n¬i nµy ®· trë nªn qu¸ nh©n t¹o vµ bÞ th¬ng m¹i ho¸ qu¸ nhiÒu.
7. Kh«ng cã g×.

Im lÆng lµ vµng
tapescript
Trong kinh doanh th× "Im lÆng lµ vµng". Cã thÓ nhiÒu ngêi ®· nghe tíi thµnh ng÷ nµy vµ cã
nhiÒu nh÷ng çch hiÓu kh¸c nhau, dÉn tíi nh÷ng çch c xö vµ th¸i ®é kh¸c nhau trong cuéc sèng hµng
ngµy. Tuy nhiªn, trong lÜnh vùc kinh doanh hay cô thÓ h¬n, lÜnh vùc b¸n hµng, "im lÆng" hay "biÕt
l¾ng nghe" l¹i ®ång nghÜa víi thµnh c«ng vµ lîi nhuËn. SÏ cã nhiÒu ngêi c¶m thÊy ng¹c nhiªn. Nhng,
thùc tÕ ®· chøng minh ®óng nh vËy. NhiÒu ngêi b¸n hµng ®· ®Ó tuét khái tay m×nh nh÷ng hîp ®ång
b¸n hµng lín chØ v× kh«ng biÕt r»ng m×nh ®· m¾c mét sai lÇm mµ hä tëng lµ nhá. §ã lµ kh«ng l¾ng
nghe kh¸ch hµng tr×nh bµy.
Nh÷ng ngêi b¸n hµng cã kinh nghiÖm ®· ®óc kÕt r»ng, nh÷ng cuéc tiÕp xóc b¸n hµng cã hiÖu
qu¶ thêng héi ®ñ bèn çch trß chuyÖn: trß chuyÖn mµo ®Çu (®Ó cuéc tiÕp xóc dÔ dµng h¬n vµ quan
hÖ hai bªn tèt h¬n), trß chuyÖn nh»m híng tíi môc ®Ých b¸n hµng (®Æt c©u hái mang tÝnh chÊt gîi më
®Ó kh¸ch hµng nãi ra nh÷ng ®iÒu hä cÇn, nh÷ng çi hä thÝch hoÆc phµn nµn vÒ nh÷ng s¶n phÈm cïng
lo¹i cña h·ng kh¸c); trß chuyÖn trao ®æi th«ng tin vÒ s¶n phÈm vµ dÞch vô cña m×nh, vµ thuyÕt phôc
kh¸ch hµng mua s¶n phÈm, dÞch vô ®ã. Tuy nhiªn, phÇn lín nh÷ng ngêi b¸n hµng chØ tËp trung vµo hai
çch trß chuyÖn cuèi cïng lµ trao ®æi th«ng tin vµ thuyÕt phôc mua hµng.
Mét triÕt häc gia sèng çch ®©y 18 thÕ kû ®· nãi r»ng "con ngêi ta sinh ra cã hai tai nhng chØ
cã mét çi måm. ThÕ th× chóng ta cã thÓ nghe nhiÒu h¬n gÊp hai lÇn nãi". VËy nªn, cÇn ph¶i biÕt l¾ng
nghe. Mét nghiªn cøu gÇn ®©y cho biÕt ngêi ta thêng dïng 9% thêi gian giao tiÕp cña m×nh vµo viÖc
ghi chÐp, 16% vµo viÖc ®äc tµi liÖu, 30% vµo nãi chuyÖn vµ 45% vµo viÖc nghe ngêi kh¸c nãi.
94
Tuy nhiªn, nghe còng lµ mét kü n¨ng cÇn ph¶i luyÖn tËp, bëi v× cã nhiÒu çch nghe: nghe bÞ
®éng vµ nghe chñ ®éng. "Nghe bÞ ®éng" ®¬n gi¶n chØ lµ nghe, nghe thÊy ®ñ tõ ng÷ cña ngêi nãi
nhng kh«ng hiÓu nh÷ng ý nghÜa s©u xa ®»ng sau nh÷ng tõ Êy. Cßn "nghe chñ ®éng" ®ßi hái ngêi
nghe ph¶i suy nghÜ vµ tËp trung cao ®é ®Ó kh«ng nh÷ng chØ hiÓu nh÷ng g× ®· ®îc nãi ra, mµ cßn
ph¶i hiÓu c¶ nh÷ng ®iÒu cha ®îc nãi. Chóng ta ph¶i luyÖn tËp ®Ó cã thÓ trë thµnh ngêi nghe chñ
®éng. ë trêng chóng ta ®îc d¹y çch viÕt, çch ®äc, çch tr×nh bµy, nhng cã mÊy ai trong chóng ta
®îc häc çch l¾ng nghe ngêi kh¸c nãi. Mét sè ngêi ®· sai lÇm khi cho r»ng nghe kh«ng ph¶i lµ mét kü
n¨ng mµ chóng ta cã thÓ häc, thay ®æi vµ n©ng cao.
VËy, ®Ó trë thµnh ngêi nghe chñ ®éng, nh÷ng ngêi b¸n hµng ph¶i luyÖn tËp nh thÕ nµo?
Thø nhÊt, ph¶i biÕt ®Æt nh÷ng c©u hái ®óng vµ phï hîp. §Ó cã thÓ biÕt ®îc nªn ®Æt nh÷ng
c©u hái nh thÕ nµo, chóng ta ph¶i t×m hiÓu tÊt c¶ nh÷ng th«ng tin liªn quan ®Õn kh¸ch hµng m×nh sÏ
gÆp cho dï nh÷ng th«ng tin ®ã cã vÎ kh«ng phôc vô môc ®Ých b¸n hµng cña chóng ta, vÝ dô nh: Kh¸ch
hµng hiÖn t¹i cña hä lµ ai? Môc ®Ých mua hµng cña hä lµ g×? Hä ®Þnh ph¸t triÓn kinh doanh ë khu
vùc nµo? v.v. Ph¶i dù tÝnh tríc cuéc gÆp gì ®ã sÏ diÔn ra nh thÕ nµo vµ nh÷ng g× chóng ta ®Þnh nãi.
Thø hai lµ, cã kiÕn thøc vÒ hµng ho¸ m×nh chµo b¸n. Cô thÓ lµ, ph©n biÖt râ ®Æc trng vµ lîi
Ých cña hµng ho¸. Trong khi "®Æc trng" cã thÓ hiÓu ®¬n gi¶n lµ chÊt lîng, dÞch vô hoÆc gi¶i ph¸p
cña lo¹i hµng ho¸ ®ã, th× "lîi Ých" lµ nh÷ng g× mµ hµng ho¸ ®ã, víi çc ®Æc trng ®ã, cã thÓ ®¸p øng
nhu cÇu cña kh¸ch hµng hay gióp hä c¶i thiÖn mét t×nh huèng cô thÓ.
Thø ba lµ, luyÖn tËp nghe ë mäi n¬i, mäi lóc vµ ph¶i biÕn nã trë thµnh thãi quen hµng ngµy.
§Æt c©u hái vµ ph¶i tËp trung l¾ng nghe c©u tr¶ lêi.
Thø t lµ, h·y ghi chÐp. Ghi chÐp sÏ gióp chóng ta tËp trung nghe vµ n¾m b¾t ®îc ®Çy ®ñ
nh÷ng th«ng tin tõ phÝa ngêi nãi.
Thø n¨m lµ, sö dông ng«n ng÷ cö chØ (ngåi híng vÒ phÝa tríc, gËt ®Çu, mØm cêi hay giao
tiÕp qua m¾t), ®Æt c©u hái gîi tiÕp çc vÊn ®Ò kh¸ch hµng ®ang nãi hay nh¾c l¹i lêi hä ®Ó chøng tá
chóng ta ®ang ch¨m chó l¾ng nghe. Nh vËy, kh¸ch hµng sÏ vui vÎ tiÕp tôc c©u chuyÖn cña hä.
Cuèi cïng, ngêi chñ ®éng l¾ng nghe lµ ngêi kh«ng sî sù im lÆng. Cho dï cã kho¶nh kh¾c im
lÆng trong cuéc trß chuyÖn th× ngêi b¸n hµng còng kh«ng nªn ngay lËp tøc lªn tiÕng ph¸ vì sù im lÆng
®ã. Bëi v×, sù im lÆng ®ã cã thÓ lµ lóc mµ ngêi nãi ®ang chuÈn bÞ tiÕp tôc nh÷ng ý tiÕp theo cña
chuyÖn hä ®ang nãi vµ còng cã thÓ hä sÏ cho chóng ta biÕt nh÷ng ®iÒu g× ®ã rÊt quan träng. Vµ trªn
hÕt ®ã lµ v× Im lÆng lµ vµng.
95
week 30
interview with Mr. Andrew Steer – former wb director in vietnam
First Speaker
1. NhiÒu ngêi nhËn xÐt «ng lµ ngêi níc ngoµi lu«n nãi vÒ ViÖt Nam mét çch l¹c quan
nhÊt. T¹i sao vËy?
2. Nhng vÉn cßn kh«ng Ýt th¸ch thøc chø?
3. Nguy c¬ ®Çu t kh«ng ®óng chç lµ nh thÕ nµo, tha «ng?
4. Thùc chÊt mèi quan hÖ “kiÓu In®«nªxia” lµ g×?
5. Tríc ®©y xo¸ ®ãi gi¶m ghÌo lµ u tiªn sè mét ®èi víi çc nhµ tµi trî. Cßn giê ®©y dêng nh
çc tæ chøc nh WB l¹i chuyÓn u tiªn sang c¶i çch hµnh chÝnh vµ luËt ph¸p, cã ®óng
kh«ng ¹?
6. Quan hÖ gi÷a ViÖt Nam vµ WB diÔn ra ªm ®Ñp, kh«ng bÞ ph¶n ®èi hay gÆp ph¶i nh÷ng
xung ®ét gay g¾t nh ë mét sè níc kh¸c. Theo «ng th× ®©u lµ bÝ quyÕt cña quan hÖ tèt
®Ñp Êy?
7. ý «ng muèn nãi g×, t«i cha hiÓu?
8. Xin c¶m ¬n «ng vÒ nh÷ng lêi tèt ®Ñp dµnh cho ViÖt Nam vµ chóc «ng thµnh c«ng t¹i
nhiÖm së míi ë Jarkarta.
Second Speaker
1. Because Vietnam is moving on the right track. Foreigners tend to look at Vietnam as it is
today without recalling what it was like yesterday. But I often look at how people’s standard
of living has improved during the past decade. Also, when talking about per capita income,
you tend to forget what 400 dollars means in terms of purchasing power. 400 dollars in
Vietnam is in fact equivalent to 2100 dollars in NewYork.
2. Yes, there are 7 major challenges in the decade ahead. First, how can you generate the 10
million new jobs by 2010, given the rapid population growth? Second, do you have a
comprehensive and systematic look at the reform requirements? Third, can you suceed in
your administrative and legal reforms? Fourth, can your country avoid the danger of
improper investment? Fifth, will telecommunication and information technology promote or
hinder your development? Sixth, can you protect your own environment? And seventh, will
the poor benefit from economic development?
3. That means some projects are implemented for political rather than economic or social
reasons. You also need to stay alert about the “Indonesian” relationship.
4. That is the unhealthy relation between private players and the government officials. We call
this relation “crony capitalism”. Many private businesses in Indonesia are politically well-
connected, and this can lead to monopoly or protectionism. This “nod-and-wink” practice is
96
widespread in Asia, but if Vietnam is aware and bold enough, you can tackle this problem by
reducing protection and ensuring transparency.
5. Yes, that’s right. Slow implementation of administrative reforms can block economic
growth. But I hope that the government is determined to push the process further forward.
6. Actually, there are two extreme cases where we have most difficulties. One extreme is
countries which are too dependent or which have no confidence in themselves. The other
extreme is countries which think they know everything and don’t need help. But Vietnam is
an exception.
7. Vietnam is confident and strong. You know you need international assistance. You know
what you don’t know. But you never allow foreign powers to impose things on you or treat
you unequally.
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interpretation Course description

Total number of weeks 30 (2 terms)

Total number of periods 90 (3 periods per week)

Total number of students 250

Course objective build/sharpen students’ interpretation skills to a point when they

Course components Liaison interpretation

Warm-up talk (30 min.)

Liaison interpretation practice (40 min.)

Episode 1. For all classes

Episode 2. Stand-bys for fast classes

Consecutive interpretation practice (50 min.)

Session 1. warm-up talk

(respond to questions if any)

session 2. liaison interpretation

1. Fine, thanks. Anything new?

episode 1. TH¢M NHËP THÞ TR¦êNG N¦íC NGOµI

1. ¤ng Nigel, chµo «ng. ¤ng khoÎ chø?

EPISODE 2 no more nine to five

English Speaker: you’re an American experienced personnel officer and an advocate

EPISODE 2 no more nine to five

Vietnamese speaker: you’re a personnel officer asking your American colleague

session 3. consecutive interpretation

Skills Written Oral

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 2. meeting a potential customer

episode 2. students taking part-time jobs

session 3. consecutive interpretation

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 1. clinching a deal

1. Excellent. How many do you want to buy?

session 3. consecutive interpretation

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 1. methods of payment

session 3. consecutive interpretation

session 1. warm-up talk Student’s presentation.

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 1. choosing the right method of payment

episode 2. management style: authoritarian vs. participative

Life on other planets

session 1. warm-up talk Student’s presentation.

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 2. pursuing overseas graduate study - a wise investment?

session 3. consecutive interpretation

session 2. liaison interpretation

episode 2. IS telecommuting an exciting prospect?

episode 2. IS telecommuting an exciting prospect?

Vietnamese speaker: telecommuting refers to office workers spending much of their

Sleeps and Dreams

episode 1. Looking for a suitable agent

1. Tell me about him. Maybe I can help you decide.

EPISODE 2. working for a foreign-owned vs. a state-owned enterprise

SESSION 3. CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETATION

episode 1. Problems with a sales agent

EPISODE 2. what is an ideal job?

EPISODE 2. what is an ideal job?

SESSION 3. CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETATION

Computers and how we talk

session 1. warm-up talk Student’s presentation

EPISODE 2. a good student is more important than a good teacher

SESSION 3. CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETATION

Deserts – they keep expanding

session 1 warm-up talk Student’s presentation

Photographs today: Do they tell the truth?

capital market thÞ trêng vèn