NGÂN HÀNG NHÀ NƯỚC VIỆT NAM TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGÂN HÀNG TP.HCM TÀI LIỆU BỔ TRỢ MÔN HỌC TIẾNG ANH – ĐỌC 3 Chủ biên: TH.S PHẠM KHẮC THỜI Thành viên: ThS. Trần Đức Minh ThS. Nguyễn Thành Tuân ThS. Trần Tố Trân Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh – Năm 2023 1 CONTENTS Preface.
74 Unit 7 – Finance and Economy. 86 Unit 8 – Changes and Challenges. 143 3 PREFACE It is widely recognized that proficient reading skills are fundamental in mastering the English language, as they contribute significantly to expanding vocabulary, enhancing grammatical understanding, and facilitating exploration across diverse subject areas. In our commitment to augmenting the reading capabilities of our Business English students at HCM University of Banking, we have incorporated the textbook "Q Skills for Success 4: Reading & Writing" into our Reading 3 course.
This textbook, encompassing a broad spectrum of skills and topics, has proven instrumental. However, we observed a necessity for supplementary materials to deepen students' comprehension of the business domain. Consequently, we have compiled "Reading Plus 3," a resource-rich book designed to immerse Business English students in a comprehensive business knowledge and environment. This book could be used both as a part of classroom lesson and as a complementary material for those who wish to further enrich their business-related knowledge and language.
This publication comprises eight meticulously curated units, aligning with the B2+ level of our primary textbook. Each unit, centered around highly engaging topics, is equipped with vocabulary-building activities and insightful reading passages. These are complemented by practical exercises that enable students to effectively apply their newly honed reading skills. We advocate for adherence to this structured approach, culminating in the utilization of answer keys provided at the book's conclusion.
As a team of four dedicated educators, we believe this book will be instrumental in advancing the reading communication skills vital for business success. For students, it promises to be a cornerstone in your academic and professional journey. For teachers, it serves as an invaluable resource to enhance your pedagogical endeavors. We cordially invite all students and educators to engage with this book, confident in its potential to be a pivotal resource in mastering business English.
We wish you success and confidence as you navigate your academic pursuits and future career endeavors. 4 UNIT 1 - PROJECTS Reading strategy: Previewing and predicting When you preview a text, you look through it quickly to learn general information. To preview, • Read the title of the text • Look at any charts, graphs, pictures or captions • Skim the text for paragraph headings. These indicate important ideas that will be developed in the text Previewing helps you predict what the text is about and prepare you to better understand it.
Vocabulary practice: Match the words or expressions in bold in the article to these definitions. making very small changes to something so that it works as well as possible 2. range that an activity, subject, etc. used to give an example of someone or something 4.
it is likely 5. completely stupid and without any purpose 6. makes a subject or problem more difficult to understand, especially by introducing unnecessary ideas or items 7. say that something is not allowed by the rules, especially in sports 8.
resources, such as money, space, people or time, that are not being used fully 9. cry or complain about something bitterly 10. giving someone too much work or too much responsibility for a particular job 11. not working, or doing something without any specific purpose, intent or effort 5 1.
Reading practice Fine-Tune Your Project Schedule Do you have a staff member sitting idly in the midst of the other busy ones? If so, your project schedule might need fine-tuning. One of the most common problems that project managers weep about is ‘unrealistic timelines’, a common consequence of clients having set their expectations too high. Ironically, there are times in a project when a staff member is waiting for a colleague to finish so he can start his own task. Does the project manager shout foul and blame other people? Chances are, the project schedule needs a second look.
The basic foundation of managing a project is creating an efficient and realistic project schedule. During project planning, the project manager is given the chance to give it some fine-tuning. Given that most projects do not have the luxury of time, the project manager’s objective is to create the shortest schedule possible without sacrificing its scope and quality. The critical path If you want to deliver on time, or shorten the project duration, focus your attention on the critical path.
‘When the critical path is shortened, the project is finished early. When the critical path is maintained, the project is finished on time. When the critical path is extended, the project is delayed. It cannot be over-emphasised here that if there are any tasks in the schedule that a manager should pay close attention to, it is always those in the critical path.
6 It is quite funny to note that some managers simply stretch the bars in the Gantt chart so that all tasks finish in parallel; doing so simply clouds the entire project schedule. Doing the right things and doing them right are two important ingredients to successful project planning. Here are some right things done right: • Estimate the tasks individually. Make a list of tasks first.
Do not put them directly into the Gantt chart, because doing so may influence the estimates and the timeline. • Identify the task dependencies. Some tasks cannot start until prior tasks are finished. Obviously, you can’t install a roof over a house with no walls.
• Create your Gantt chart. Make sure you use the original estimates and adjust the task based on dependencies. Don’t try to schedule putting on the roof and building walls in parallel. • Identify your critical path(s).
Find the longest path of tasks in the Gantt chart. Take note that you may have more than one critical path in your schedule; and not all tasks are part of the critical path. Slack time Slack time, as the name implies, is the time when one can relax, delay a task but still finish the project on time. Managers tend to remove it from the schedule to impress their bosses or clients.
While this may look good on the surface, there are consequences when it is not done properly. For starters, accept the fact that slack times are a normal phenomenon in project schedules. The role of a manager is to identify and minimise them. Once there is acceptance, start thinking of ways to reduce slack times and improve productivity.
Crashing Crashing is the process of shortening delivery time. It is used when stakeholders ask for a faster delivery without reducing the scope of work. For one, do not crash tasks that are strictly interdependent on one another, such as applying a second coat of paint. Note that crashing works only on tasks in the critical path because reducing time on non-critical tasks will not affect the project delivery time.
7 You can put two people to work in parallel and have the task completed in half the time. Or you can assign a more productive resource who can finish the work earlier. In any case, make sure you assess the risks. Also, make sure you are not over-assigning critical tasks to your best team member.
It is mindless to assume that your best resource can work 16 hours a day for three weeks. Read the title and look at the picture in the reading passage. Write two things the reading passage may be about. Read the headings of each section.
Write down what each section may be about. Section What it might be about The critical path _________________________________________________ Slack time _________________________________________________ Crashing _________________________________________________ Exercise 2: Rewrite the statements, if necessary, according to the writer’s ideas. One minor aspect of project planning is knowing which tasks are dependent on other ones. Project managers often set their expectations too high, and clients complain that timelines are unrealistic.
Periods of non-productivity or inactivity are unacceptable at any time during a project. All the team should devote as many hours as necessary to complete critical tasks. One way of speeding up a project is getting more than one person to work on a critical task at the same time. By focusing on key tasks, a project manager can ensure the project is delivered on time or is finished ahead of schedule.
The project manager's aim should be to complete the project as soon as possible without compromising the original schedule. Vocabulary practice Exercise 1: Read the sentences and find synonyms in the text for the boldfaced phrases. The company will be in serious difficulties if they don’t complete the project within the time schedule and cost estimates. BAA decided against giving the project to an outside supplier.
Contractors generally award contracts to the companies that make the least expensive proposals. Suppliers who are partners have the motivation to provide quality work. Getting permission to build an additional runway is a much more important consideration. situations where something is late _________________________________ 3.
disagreement over minor details _________________________________ 4. expires, is not sufficient _________________________________ 9 Para I 7. doesn’t happen as planned _________________________________ 8. failure to ensure that work is done correctly _________________________________ 2.
Reading practice Up, Up and Away Tony Douglas is redefining how to run massive construction projects. “To the west of London is a vast building site. Skimming strategy In the midst of a landscape of mud and men rises a Skimming is reading a text vast glass-fronted box that will soon be Britain's largest quickly to get a general idea of what it is about. When you freestanding building.
This is Heathrow airport's fifth skim, use these tips. terminal, destined to cater for 30m passengers a year. It will - Read the title. - Look at any images and read include not just a terminal but also new road and rail links, any captions.
and connections to the London Transport network. - Quickly read the first sentence of each paragraph. Big construction projects are always tricky, but - Move your eyes quickly airports bring special problems: tricky building techniques, through the text. Do not read every sentence or every word.
and the need to interface with other transport links and to - If the text is short, read the install sophisticated electronics to handle passengers and first and last sentence of each paragraph. The man in charge of this logistical nightmare, Tony Douglas, came to British Airports Authority via stints in the car and the commercial jet 10 industries, and at Kenwood, a domestic appliance firm. For three years, he ran BAA's (British Airports Authority) supply chain. He took over as project manager for T5 (as the project is known) after the last boss left suddenly.
The risks attached to this huge project are so great that BAA has been forced to tackle it in novel ways. If this giant endeavour is not completed on time and on budget, it could take the whole company down. First, BAA is unusual in running the project itself. Mr Douglas insists that outsourcing to a big project management group such as Bechtel would cost more, not less.
Second, as much as possible of the construction is taking place off-site. This reflects the site's physical constraints: it has only one entry point, through which a 12-metre load must move every 30 seconds for a period of four years. And the site has capacity for no more than two days of storage. The solution, he says, has been some “car industry logistics” - a large investment in computing and training that no individual supplier would have made.
But the biggest novelty is the T5 Agreement.