What do the following numbers refer to? Make a sentence about each number.

1. 1837

2. $37.2 billion

3. 5,000,000

4. 1879

5. 1995

6. $10 billion

7. 1961

Translate the text.

TEXT 10

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

FREEPLAY

Freeplay is a unique business venture which combines an unusual mixture of
entrepreneurship, education, communication and concern for the environment.
Although the company was set up in 1995, its origins go back to an invention that Trevor Bayliss thought of in 1994. Bayliss found out how to build a radio that works with just the kinetic energy stored from a special spring that you can turn by hand. It was the perfect solution for bringing information cheaply to the third world.

The inventor was soon contacted by Chris Steines who offered to manage the business side of things in order to develop the idea and make it into a commercial product. Bayliss thought over proposal and decided to accept it. Together with another co-founder, Rory Steer, they wrote a business plan and started to look for finance to launch the company. With initial funding from various sources, the original prototype was re-engineered and turned into a viable commercial product.

Since those days Freeplay has gone on to develop other self-
powered products such as its flashlight and like any new business, Freeplay has
had to face the realities of the marketplace. However, Freeplay may have failed to take advantage of some opportunities in markets in the West where its products are starting to become popular. This is because the company remains faithful to its top priority which is to make sure that its radios are first distributed to third world communities. Chris Steines likes to draw attention to the fact that his company is not in business just to make money, but to make a difference to people’s lives.

Complete the information about the company.

1. The company’s name __________ .

2. The year of foundation __________ .

3. The founders of the company __________ .

4. Its main activity __________ .

5. It produces __________ .

6. The company’s philosophy is __________ .

Answer the question.

1. Is Freeplay a young company?

2. When was the company founded?

3. What did Trevor Bayliss invent?

4. Why was that invention very important?

5. Did the co-founders have enough finance to start a business?

6. Why does the company distribute its radios to third world communities?

Translate the text.

TEXT 11

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

HI-FRY - THE SONY STORY

After the Second World War, Akio Morita, the co-founder of Sony, joined forces with a friend, Masaru Ibuka. Both men knew a great deal about telecommunications, so they used all their money, about £100, and set up a small engineering company, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. They found a small broken-down building to use as a laboratory in Tokyo. There were so many holes in the roof that when it rained, they had to continue working under umbrellas.

Their first task was to decide what to make. They didn’t want to make radios because of the competition from much larger companies. Instead, they decided to create an entirely new product, a tape recorder. The succeeded in making a machine, but unfortunately they didn’t have any tape, and they didn’t know how to produce it.

So they started to experiment, tried using a number of different materials. Finally, they made a breakthrough. They cut up strips of paper to make a reel, and painted them with a magnetic material that they heated on a frying pan in their small room. It worked and they gradually improved the process. In 1950, they began trying to sell their revolutionary machine.

And the rest is history!

Answer the questions.

1. When did Akio Morita and his friend start a company?

2. What was the name of the company?

3. How much money did they have?

4. Where was their laboratory located?

5. Did they make radios?

6. Why didn’t they want to make radios?

True or false?

1. Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka knew a great deal about the production of washing machines.

2. They decided to make radios.

3. The friends created a new product, a tape recorder.

4. They failed to produce any tape.

5. The company began selling tape recorders in 1950.

Translate the text.

TEXT 12

Read the text about the history of the company and do exercises that follow.

HALLMARK CARDS, INC

The story begins in 1910, when 18-year-old Joyce Clyde Hall stepped off a train in Kansas City, with nothing but two shoeboxes of postcards under his arm. He had little money. Hall printed some invoices and started sending packets of a hundred postcards to dealers throughout the Midwest. A few of the dealers kept the cards without paying. Some returned it with an angry note. But about a third sent a check. Within a couple of months, the teenage businessman had cleared $200 and opened a checking account. He was in business.

Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold, but he knew the future was more than postcards. In 1915, Hall Brothers, as the company was named when Roliie Hall joined his brother in business, saw the potential in high-quality valentines and Christmas cards and began creating and printing their own cards, Hall's instinct was right and greeting cards gained popularity. The first success into other product lines came in 1917 when the Hall brothers invented modern gift wrap.

Traditionally, gifts were wrapped in brown paper or colored tissue, called "gift dressing." And Hall Brothers started designing and printing their own gift wrap. Other innovations followed and the Hallmark brand began to take form.

In 1928, the company began marketing its brand by using the Hallmark name on the back of every card.

In 1951 NBC approached Hallmark about sponsoring the first television opera in early December. Hallmark's marketing department knew the sponsorship would be costly. J.C. Hall decided to take the risk and sponsor the program to thank all the people who bought Hallmark cards. The opera moved viewers to send thousands of letters, cards, and telegrams thanking Hallmark for presenting it. In the 50-plus years since, Hallmark Hall of Fame productions have won 78 Emmy Awards.

In 1954the company name was officially changed from Hall Brothers to Hallmark Cards, Inc. In nearly a century of product innovations and creative partnerships, the company:

• Partnered with notable artists and personalities.

• Pioneered decorative paper party products.

• Introduced a line of humorous cards called Shoebox Greetings
(named for the two shoe boxes of postcards that started Hallmark)
that has become one of consumers' favorite card brands.

• Developed culturally-relevant card lines for Jewish, African-American, and Hispanic consumers.

• Worked with software manufacturers to enable consumers to createpersonalized Hallmark greeting cards on their home computers.

J.C. Hall retired in 1966, leaving the company he built in the capable hands of his son, Donald J. Hall. Don Hall continued to expand Hallmark, and with his father, outside of headquarters, Hall looked internationally for expansion, increasing distribution worldwide.

When Don Hall retired as president and chief executive officer in 1986, Irvine O.Hockaday, Jr. began to run the company.

In 2002, Donald J. Hall, Jr., grandson of founder J.C. Hall, became the third-generation of the Hall family to take the helm of the American institution that is Hallmark today. He continues to build on the tradition that is the mark of excellence for the company.

One of Hallmark's most creative partnerships is with its employees.. That staff includes painters and poets, but also editors, photographers, calligraphers, sculptors, designers, cartoonists, needlework artists, and specialists in various graphic techniques.

As the leader of the greeting card industry, Hallmark leaves its mark on more than just cards. The Hallmark Channel television network reaches millions of households around the globe with Hallmark's family-oriented programming.

Although the company is approaching its 100th year, the Hallmark brand continues to evolve.The company researches the latest consumer trends in color, fashion, design, and lifestyles.

Today, the company publishes in 30 languages and its products are available in more than 100 countries around the world.

Whenever, however, wherever people are communicating thoughts and feelings, connecting with each other, and celebrating milestones, Hallmark is there.

Answer the questions.

1. When did the company start?

2. What did Hall send to dealers?

3. How much money did he earn within two months?

4. Wеre their Christmas cards and Valentines a success?

5. What did the brothers invent in 1917?

6. How did the company market the brand?

7. When did Joyce Clyde Hall retire?