Lectura, LIJ e Internet

1. Comprehension

Peter Drucker on Entrepreneurs

Which way of completing each of the following sentences agrees with the original text? Some sentences may be completed in more than one way.

1. An entrepreneurial boom

a) will possibly emerge in this century.

b) has not been seen in this century.

c) is the extraordinary economic event of this century.

2. An enormous number of new jobs

a) have been created by large established companies.

b) have been taken by the millions of women who have entered the labor force.

c) have been taken up by the quickly growing population after the Second World War.

3. The large majority of high-tech entrepreneurs fail because

a) they only talk about profit but do not work hard enough.

b) they do not have enough cash to start a business.

c) they know too little about financial planning.

4. The two men who started a barbershop chain were successful because

a) they were real experts in haircutring.

b) they applied all the elementary management techniques.

c) they only accepted cash from their customers.

5. The new entrepreneurs rely heavily on a) glamor.

b) predictable technology.

c) demographical data.

6. Most new entrepreneurs worked for big companies until they realized that

a) there was no chance of being promoted in the near future.

b) they had a good idea which they thought they could sell themselves.

c) they could build a thousand million dollar company themselves.

7. Compared with giant companies small businesses

a) are more flexible.

b) do not lay so much stress on the organization of management.

c) enjoy a higher degree of anonymity.

8. Peter Drucker believes that big companies a) will die out soon.

b) are not as efficient as they used to be.

c) like other big institutions, are often regarded as failures.

2. Anticipation

Inside Bell Labs

Before you read the text, look at the layout.

1. What can you anticipate about the article by just looking at the title photo and the subtitle?

2. The italicized introduction or lead is meant to provide as much information as necessary to arouse the reader's curiosity about the text.

What aspects are mentioned in this introduction? Which ones would you be interested in following up?

3. Who is the author and what are his credentials?

3. Organization of the Text

Now have a closer look at the organization of the text as a whole and the function of each paragraph.

1. First read through the text and underline the key words or phrases of each paragraph.

2. Then number the eighteen paragraphs of the article and match them with the descriptions below using the following sentence:

The function of paragraph. . . (number) is to point out

a) the growing expansion and diversity of Bell Labs in spite of the court-enforced break-up of AT&T.

b) the enormous attention basic research gets through epochal discoveries.

c) the new emphasis on robotics and computer science.

78 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

d) that competition has always been a constant driving force in research.

e) impressive technological products which support the view that Bell Labs have an advantage over their competitors.

f) the use of the Karmarkar algorithm.

g) a Bell Lab invention that revolutionized astronomy.

h) the latest invention of the physics research division, i) a discovery for which Penzias and his

colleague Wilson won the Nobel Prize in 1978.

j) the development of an optical computer, k) an example of the practical use of basic

research on ants. 1) the motives of scientists for joining Bell

Labs, m) the idea of market-oriented research and

development, n) Bell Labs as the most important corporate

research facility in the United States, o) the percentage of staff doing basic

research, p) the size and diversity of the Bell research

staff.

q) an ingenious idea of Arno Penzias. r) the importance of the transfer of basic

scientific discovery to the world of commerce.

4. Style

A French-Fry Diary: From Idaho Furrow to Golden Arches

1. Especially at the beginning of this article the author aims at a comic effect when

transferring words that originate in the fields of warfare or medicine to the potato and French-fry business. Find examples in the text.

2. Look at the questions asked in this article.

What do you think their function is?

5. Producing a Filmscript

Imagine you work for an American TV station.

You have enjoyed reading this article so much that you have decided to use it as the basis for a loosely-connected documentary film showing

• the business policies of McDonald's

• potato processing from Idaho furrows to McDonald's restaurants

• different people (young people, a gourmet, a nutritionist) expressing different opinions about McDonald's French fries.

The film is to be made on location, with comments alternating with interviews.

Estimated length: 15-20 minutes.

Draw up a plan for such a film and decide how to present the basic points you want to make. Think about

• the kind of interviewees you will have to pick in order to present these points.

• the role of the commentator

• the settings required

• the total number of scenes.

After forming small groups or pairs, concentrate on the individual scenes and write a filmscript to include

the setting

the camera movements

the dialogues of the interviews the remarks of the commentator

the kind of music you would like to use.

Here is a list of vocabulary connected with film-making:

shot a unit in film-production, i.e. a single part of a film made by one camera without interruption

exterior shot shot of an outdoor scene indoor shot shot of an indoor scene types of camera shots

close-up a large-scale photograph taken from very near: the slightest nuance of expression in an actor's face is magnified by the close-up and can become significant

long shot shot taken from a distance

medium shot normal camera angle and distance special effects

low angle in a low angle a figure is seen as if from below: the effect is often one of a towering presence, overriding power—otten associated with a sense of threat. "The camera shoots from a low angle."

high angle high angle looks down on the

subject, reversing the psychological effect of low angle

to fade out gradually dissolve one picture in another

camera movements

camera pans it moves from side to side, up and down, following the action. "The camera pans across the picture."

6. Structuring an Article

The Forgotten Farmer

camera tracks it moves along. "The camera tracks the movement of an actor." camera is tilted "It is tilted to make a low angle

shot." camera zooms it moves quickly between a

distant and a close-up view. "The camera zooms in on Mr. W.'s face."

U.S. agricultural policy

С

decides to increase grain production to the highest level

farmers' indebtedness grows|

by leaps and bounds

FARM FORECLOSURES FARMS FOR SALE

The diagram presents the logical organization of the article. It shows how various factors contribute to the present farm crisis in the U.S.A. Decide on the logical position in the diagram of the following factors. Match numbers with letters.

banks encourage farmers to lake out loans at low interest rates

1

high military spending deficits and a tight money supply drive up interest rates on farm loans

increasing international trade competition

countries in the Third World are no longer able to buy U.S. grain at any price

8 Carter's grain embargo reduces U.S. grain exports

government policies encourage farmers to plant their land from fence row to fence row

the high level of productivity drives the price of farms sky-high

increased value of land-holdings allows farmers to borrow more, expand more and produce more

farmers buy more land and equipment to enlarge their operations and produce more

80 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

7. Discussion

Danny Collum's article points out why in the 1980s a great number of family farms in the U.S.A. closed down. What about the situation of farmers in your country? Do you think that the

"economics of the marketplace" should also be applied to farming? Should big agricultural firms, which are more competitive, replace small farms? Should governments guarantee family farming through subsidies and protective measures? How would you advise your government about its agriculture policy?

8. Comprehension

Economics vs. Ecology: Problems with Solutions to Pollution

1. What are the effects of the air pollution caused by International Nickel?

2. Americans have a special liking for the

"quick fix." What examples does the author use to explain the meaning of this way of solving problems?

3. Name the principles of American business that get in the way of any substantial progress in environmental improvements.

4. The average citizen acknowledges the necessity of an effective protection of the environment. Why, then, does he/she not always advocate reasonable solutions to ecological problems?

5. What can the private consumer do to reduce the air pollution caused by his/her car?

6. How do the different methods of cleaning wastes applied by Wisconsin and Iowa reveal the conflict between economics and ecology?

9. Text Production

The following group work activity consists of three successive steps. A business manager, a newspaper reporter, and an environmentalist are involved in the controversy of economics versus ecology. Choose one of the roles.

Step 1 (statement): You are a representative of Chemicals International. Write a statement which you are going to deliver at a press conference.

The purpose of the statement is to announce the company's decision not to take immediate steps to reduce pollution of the environment. Try to convince the audience.

Step 2 (newspaper article): You are one of the reporters attending the news conference of Chemicals Internationa!. Take notes on the business manager's statement and write an article for your newspaper. Step 3 (letter to the editor): You have read the article about the commercial views of Chemicals International on ecological problems. As an active

environmentalist you do not agree. Write a letter to the editor.

In document De la Cervantes Virtual a la LIJ 2.0. (página 67-74)