Business and Social Contacts

BUSINESS TRIP ABROAD

Unit 1

Travelling by Air, Passport Control, Customs.

Lead in

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs:

Why do businessmen travel so much nowadays?

What means of travelling do they prefer? Why?

Reading

2. Read the text, be ready to explain the words in bold.

Nowadays people who go on business mostly travel by air, as it is the fastest means of travelling.

Here are a few hints on air travelling that may be helpful:

Passengers are requested to arrive at the airport two hours before departure time on international flights and an hour on domestic flights as there must be enough time to complete the necessary airport formalities. Passengers must register their tickets, weigh in and register the luggage. Most airlines have at least two classes of travel: first class and economy class which is cheaper. Each passenger of more than two years of age has a free luggage allowance. Generally this limit is 20 kg for economy class and 30 kg for first class passengers. Excess luggage must be paid for except for some articles that can be carried free of charge.

Each passenger is given a boarding pass to be shown at the departure gate and again to the stewardess when boarding the plane.

Watch the electric sign flashes when you are on board. When “Fasten seat belts” sign goes on, do it promptly and also obey the “No smoking” signal.

Do not forget your personal effects when leaving the plane. Landing formalities and customs regulations are more or less the same in all countries.

While still on board the plane the passengers are given an arrival card to fill in. After the passenger has disembarked, officials will check his passport and visa. In some countries they will check his certificate of vaccination. The traveler is also requested to go through an AIDS check within ten or fourteen days of his arrival in the country. If the passenger fails to do so some strict measures could be taken by the authoritiesincluding imprisonment or payment of a considerable penalty. to the

When these formalities have been completed the passenger goes to the Customs for an examination of his luggage. As a rule personal belongings may be brought in duty-free. If the passenger has nothing to declare he may go through the “green” section of the Customs. In some cases the Customs inspector may ask you to open your bags for inspection. It sometimes happens that a passenger’s luggage is carefully gone through in order to prevent smuggling. After you are through with all customs formalities the inspector will put a stamp on each piece on your luggage or chalk it off.

Checking comprehension

3.Answer the following questions:

1. How long before the departure time is it advisable to arrive at the airport? Why?

2. What airport formalities is the passenger requested to complete before he boards the plane?

3. What do you do if you have an excess luggage?

4. What can you carry to the cabin free of charge?

5. What electric signs must the passenger obey?

6. What are the usual landing formalities and customs regulations?

7. Is the passenger’s vaccination certificate always checked? Why?

8. What do you do if you have nothing to declare?

9. Some passenger’s luggage may be gone through carefully. Is it a regular occurrence? Why is it done?

Speaking

4. Imagine that you have just arrived from a foreign country. You have travelled by plane. Tell your friends about this trip.

5. Read, translate and learn speech patterns.

SPEECH PATTERNS

Here you are.

You’d better fasten the belts.

Would you mind lending me…

(Come) this way, please.

Are you quite comfortable?

Is anything the matter?

Is there anything I can do for you?

6.Act out the dialogues.

On board the plane.

Air-hostess: Are you quite comfortable, sir?

Russian traveller: Yes, quite. Could I have a newspaper, please?

A.- h.: Here you are. Would you like a magazine?

R. t.: I’ll have Time, thank you.

Fellow-traveller: Excuse me, when will you be serving drinks?

A.- h.: I’ll be bringing the trolley round quite soon. Will you have some chewing-gum or peppermint now?

R. t.: Some peppermint, please. My ears often ache during take-off.

F. – t.: I’ll have the same, please.

* * *

R. t.: Excuse me, what was the announcement?

F. – t.; They are asking us to fasten our seat belts.

R. t.: Why? Is anything the matter?

F. – t.: Don’t worry. We are probably going through some bad weather.

R. t.: What’s happened? Are you feeling all right?

F. – t.: Not very, I’m afraid it’s a bit rough, I get air-sick easily.

R. t.: Is there anything I can do for you? Shall I ring for the stewardess?

F. – t.: Yes, please, and would you mind lowering the back of my seat a little?

R. t.: Of course.Is that better?

A. – h.: Ys, sir?

R. t.: Have you got anything for air-sickness – it’s for this gentleman.

A. – h.: certainly, sir, I won’t be a moment. Here you are, just drink this. That should do the trick.

Landing in London.

R. t.: are we coming into London? It’s my first visit to London. Doesn’t it look huge?

F. – t.: Yes, it does. I can see the runway lights. We’d better fasten our seat belts, the plane is going down.

R t.: So it is. We are on time. And… what do we do with our landing cards?

F. – t.: they are for the immigration officer on arrival.

R. t.: I haven’t filled mine in yet. Would you mind lending me your pen?

F. – t.: Not at all.

Health check.

Official: Health check here. Where are you from, sir?

R. t.: From Russia.

O.: Your certificate of vaccination, please?

R. t.: Here you are.

O.: Thank you. Everything is O.K. You may proceed to Passport Control.

Passport Control.

Passport control officer: Your passport, please?

R. t.: here you are.

P.c.o.: How long are you staying in London?

R.t.: Ten days I’m here.

P.c.o.: Your passport and visa are in order. Have a pleasant stay, sir.

At the Customs.

Customs official: Good afternoon, sir, is this your suit-case?

R.t.: No, the brown one is mine.

C.o.: Oh, I see. Have you got anything to declare?

R.t.: No, I haven’t. My bag only contains personal things. Shall I open it?

C.o.: No, thank you, sir, that won’t be necessary.

Meeting at the airport.

Foreign representative: Good morning, Mr Somov. Welcome to London.

R.t.: Good morning, Mr Brown. Nice to see you again.

F.r.: Oh, I never forget meeting you in Moscow. Did you have a good journey? How are you?

R.t.: I’m quite well, thank you.The trip was very pleasant.

F.r.: Come this way, please. The car is outside the airport building. Is it your first visit here, Mr Somov?

R.t.: Yes, it is. And I like what I see.

F.r.: I am sure London will impress you favourably. You’ll have an opportunity to have a look round and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

R.t.: Certainly, though I’m afraid I’m going to be very busy during my stay.

F.r.: Yes, the programme for your stay is rather packed and we’ll discuss it tomorrow in details.

Now I’m going to take you to the hotel and I’ll be able show you some places of interest on the way to the city.

R.t.: Thank you.

On the way back.

R.t.: Do I check in for the flight to Moscow here?

Clerk: Moscow, sir? Yes, that’s right. May I see your ticket and passport, please? And your bag. Put it on the scales.

R.t.: Here it is. Do I need to weigh this small bag?

C.: Are you keeping it as hand luggage, sir?

R.t.: Yes.

C.: You must weigh it as well. Oh, it’s too heavy. I’m afraid there’ll be an excess luggage charge. Perhaps there’s something you could take out? Otherwise you’ll have to pay extra.

R.t.: All right. I’ll take these booklets out. They are rather bulky.

C.: Will you put your luggage on the machine again, sir? Now, it is inside the free allowance. Here is your ticket and boarding pass.

R.t.: Thank you. Which way do I go now?

C.: Passport Control is that way. Then the departure lounge is straight ahead. Then you’ll have to go through the check gate.

R.t.: Thank you.

7. Supply the missing remarks in the following dialogues.

Official: Could I have your passport, please?

Traveller: ………..

O.: Where are you going?

T.: …………..

O.: How long are you going to stay?

T.: ………….

O.: What’s the purpose of your trip?

T.: ………..

O.: And can I see your vaccination certificate?

T.: …………….

* * *

Customs officer: …….?

R.t.: That’s right? Shall I open it?

C.o.: ………..?

R.t.: I don’t think I have, though I have a box of cigarettes for my own use. I believe they are duty free?

C.o.: ………

R.t.: Thank you.

8. Make up your own dialogues on the topics.

1) Registration for the flight.

2) On board the plane.

3) At the health check.

Listening

9.Listen to these flight announcement. Check (*) the flight number you hear.

a KL 202 d UA 173

KL 203 UA 174

b JL 401 e BA 547

TA 201 BK 547

c AF 260

AX 280

Writing

10.Fill in the Customs Declaration.

Keep for the duration of your stay in Russia or

abroad. Not renewable in case of loss.

Persons giving false information in the

Declaration or to Customs officers shall render

themselves liable under the laws of the Russian Federation.

CUSTOMS DECLARATION

Full name

Citizenship

Arriving from

Country of destination

Purpose of visit (business, tourism., private, etc.)

My luggage (including hand luggage) submitted for Customs inspection consists of______________pieces.

With me and my luggage I have;

I. Weapons of all descriptions

and ammunition______________________________________________________________

II. Narcotics and appliances

for the use thereof ___________________________________________________________

III. Antiques and objects of art (paintings,

drawings, icons, sculptures, etc.)_________________________________________________

IV. Russian rubles, Russian State Loan

bonds, Russian lottery tickets___________________________________________________

V. Currency other than Russian rubles (bank notes, exchequer bills, coins), payment voucher
(cheques, bills, letter of credit, etc.), securities (shares, bonds, etc.) in foreign currencies,
precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, metals of platinum group) in any form of condition, crude
and processed natural precious stones (diamonds, brilliants, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and
pearls), jewelry and other articles made of precious metals and precious stones, and scarp
thereof, as well as property papers:

	Amount/quantity
Description	in fugures	in words	For official use
US Dollars
Pounds Sterling
French Francs
Deutschemarks

VI. Russian rubles, other currency, payment vouchers, valuables and any objects belonging to other persons

I'm aware that, in addition to the objects listed in the Customs Declaration, I must submit for inspection:
printed matters, manuscripts, films, sound recordings, postage stamps, graphics, etc., plants, fruits,
seeds, live animals and birds, as well as raw foodstuffs of animal origin and slaughtered fowl.
I also declare that my luggage sent separately consists of___________________ pieces.

(Date)_____________ 20… Owner of luggage

(signed)

Follow-up

11.Distribute roles and take part in therole play “Travelling by air”

Unit 2

Staying at a Hotel.

Lead in

1. Check if you know these adjectives. Which of them can be used to describe the nouns below? Add some more adjectives to each point.

a) a hotel b) a room c) the service e) a view

Luxurious, modern, cramped, traditional, basic, comfortable, friendly, centrally-located, spectacular, quiet, noisy, spacious, professional.

2. Read the list of facilities modern hotels usually have. Choose five of them which would be the most important for you. Explain why.

Restaurant

Swimming pool

Childcare

Room service

Internet access

Satellite TV

Laundry service

Bar

Disabled access

Sauna

Reading

3.Read the text. What other facilities can you add to the list in Ex.2? Why is it important for a travelling businessman to choose a comfortable hotel?

Never before in the history of the world have businessmen travelled so much as they do today. It is not surprising because we are living in the world of growing international trade and expanding economic and technical cooperation.

Fascinating though it is for tourists, travelling has, however, become the most tiring of all the occupations for many businessmen. Choosing a comfortable hotel to stay at is therefore a matter of some importance. There are plenty of good hotels, motels and guest houses in the world conveniently located for major business centres.

Many developing countries, such as India, Egypt, Nigeria etc. have excellent hotels. Their numerous facilities include both large and small cocktail lounges, ballrooms, banqueting rooms, beauty parlours, barber's shops, conference halls equipped with simultaneous multilingual translation systems. There are parking areas which can accommodate a lot of cars. It might be useful for traveling businessmen and tourists to know that tailor shops, shoe repair shops, laundry and dry cleaning services are available for guests. People in the office help guests to book train, air or steamer tickets and rent a car. They are also ready to give all necessary information.

4.Read and act out the following dialogues.

Making arrangements about rooms

Receptionist: Good afternoon, sir. What can I do for you?

Visitor: We are Russian businessmen. Reservations have been made to accommodate 16 people.

R: Oh, yes, sir. 8 double rooms for a fortnight.

V.: Sorry, but we need now 7 double rooms and 2 single rooms.

R: I'm sorry, sir, but we're having a big international conference here this week, and we are completely booked out. You should really have mentioned the change when you confirmed your reservation.

V.: Yes, I suppose I should have, but do you think you could do something now? We need two single rooms for our top executives.

R.: Top executives.... Are they going to stay for a fortnight?

V.: No, about a week.

R: Then, you can have 2 single rooms on the first floor.

V.: Thank you, you've been very helpful. I hope the rooms are not noisy.

R: They're very quiet. They face the garden.

V.: Good. Are all the rooms with private baths?

R.: All rooms are with private baths, telephones and back-ground music.

V.: What about television?

R: There's a television room on the ground floor, sir. By the way, you can have our central papers free every morning.

V.: How much are the rooms?

R: Singles are $100 and doubles $50 a day. Have you filled in your arrival card? Good. Then sign here, please. Here's your key. When you go out, please, leave the key at the reception desk.

V.: Sure, and what if we want to extend our stay?

R.: You'll have to contact the chief receptionist at least 24 hours before the original date of your departure.

V.: Thank you.

Talking to a bell-boy.

Bell-boy: Your room, sir.

Visitor: Thank you.

B-b: If you want a maid, sir, or to order anything, you may use the telephone. All the numbers you may need are on the list beside the phone. You can have room service day and night. For meals and drinks in the rooms we charge an extra 10%.

V.: Thank you. I don't think I'll have drinks or breakfast in the room. When do you

serve breakfast in the breakfast room?

B-b: From 7 till 9, sir. If you want to have a full breakfast, you must fill in a breakfast order and hand it to the waiter in the breakfast room, or put it on the door handle outside the room.

V.: Thank you, I think continental breakfast would be sufficient.

B-b.: Then, you just sign the bill in the breakfast room, because continental breakfasts are included in the cost of the room.

5. Read, translate and learn speech patterns.

SPEECH PATTERNS

What can I do for you?

How much are the…?

What about….?

I’d rather…..

How do I (telephone, get to …)?

You’d better off going …..

May I have my key, please?

I won’t be a minute.

6.Supply the missing remarks.

Visitor: May I have my key, please?

Receptionist: ……?

V.: 325.

R.: …………

V.: Thank you. Where’s he waiting?

R.: …….

V.: The hotel is big. How do I get there?

R.: …….

* * *

V.: ………?

R.: Yes, sir. Do you want a single or a double room?

V.: ……?

R.: $.......... per person a night.

V.: ………?

R.: No, sir. Service is 10% extra. We add it to the bill.

V.: …..?

R.: Yes, TV is included.

V.: ……?

R.: One paper can be sent up free.

Speaking

7. Make up dialogues on the basis of these situations.

1) You have failed to reserve a room in advance. Try to make the receptionist understand your position and register you at the hotel for several days.

2) You’ve just checked at the hotel for several days. Ask the receptionist what services the hotel offers, where you can have your meals, a newspaper to read, etc..

Writing

8. Fill in this registration form.

NAME OF HOTEL OR INN OR ADDRESS OF HOUSE_____________________________________

TO BE FILLED IN IMMEDIATELY ON ARRIVAL

1.Surname _______________

2.Christian Names __________________________________________________________________________________

3.Nationality_____

4.Date

of arrival________

5.Sex___________

6.Particulars of Registration Certificate or Passport________________________________________

Issued at__________________________Number________________________________________

7. Arrived here from (give last address in full)______________________________________________

Signature of person to whom the above particulars relate____________

TO BE FILLED IN ON DEPARTURE

8.Date of departure____________

9.Destination (Give a new address in full) _________________________________________________

Signature of person to whom the above particulars relate________________________

Listening

9.Steve Sheridan is talking about his company’s new hotel project.Listen and complete the table below.

Name
Where
When
Size
Transportation
Sports facilities
Bars/Restaurants
Conference facilities
Cost

Follow up

10.Use the Internet or magazines to find information about hotels. Present your findings to the whole group.

11.In pairs or in groups work on the project “Hotel of my dream”. Prepare a computer presentation.

Unit 3

Business and Social Contacts.

Lead in

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs, then express your ideas to the group.

1) Which functions do businessmen usually take part?

2) Which of them are formal and informal?

3) What is the difference between them?

Reading

2. Read the text and find out meanings of the words in bold.

Distance is no obstacle today and personal contacts have become the most efficient means of promoting a better understanding in all spheres of human activity. Foreign trade is no exception.

Normally, businessmen keep in touch through correspondence or telephone calls, but there's no denying the fact that major problems can be solved more effectively through a personal meeting. Both parties have equal opportunities to hear out their counterpart's arguments and counterarguments and come to an agreement on the business in hand. Since a business trip is always limited in time, a businessman makes arrangements before his departure or immediately on arrival. Among other things he can make an appointment by telephone or by fax. In the counterpart's country a businessman can make an appointment in person. It is customary for businessmen to draw up a tentative programme of the points they would like to take up during the forthcoming meeting.

The programmes of the delegation's stay include a series of business talks and social meetings like a sightseeing tours, entertainment, visits to their counterpart's homes, etc. Visitors may have to attend a business lunch or a reception given in honour of the delegation.

These tips may come in handy for a businessman on a trip:

It is essential to be punctual in business. If you cannot keep the appointment you should notifyyour counterpart in advance and fix a new date.

On a formal occasion (talks, a working lunch, a reception) a business is expected to wear a suit and tie. Informal occasions (a sightseeing tour, an outing, a visit to a private home) do not call for formal clothes; one should be dressed casually.

Remember that it is always best to behave naturally. Jokes and humour are appreciated just as much as they are else.

Checking comprehension

3.Answer the following questions.

1) Why have personal contacts become very important nowadays?

2) How do businessmen maintain business contacts?

3) What is usually done to avoid loss of time?

4) In what way can you make an appointment?

5) What do the programmes of the delegation’s stay usually include?

6) What does a formal (informal) occasion imply? What clothes do they call for?

7) What qualities are highly valued in a businessman?

4. Read, translate and learn speech patterns.

SPEECH PATTERNS