In this third step, listen to the
conversation again while you read the transcription. Finally,
read the glossary information, phrasal verbs (highlighted in yellow) and
notes at the bottom. This step also means good practice for your reading
comprehension skills. To get information in Spanish, just place the
arrow of your mouse on any highlighted word without clicking.
(In
Peter Wiles's office)
JOHN
Hello, Peter! Have you
seen the article in The Times this morning about Habraka? It says
here that
income per capita is rising fast.
PETER
I can't
keep up with
all these newly independent countries. Is Habraka the country that's just
found a lot of oil?
JOHN
That's the
one. Apparently they're going to build a lot of new offices in the
capital, Djemsa, and I think it might be a good market for our furniture
and office equipment.
PETER
Ah, the
export market. Well, you know what H.G.'s views are on that!
JOHN
But we must export
more, Peter. You really must try and help me to convince Mr. Grant that
we're crazy not to look for more foreign business.
Will you back me up?
PETER
Yes, of
course I will; but you know what the boss thinks about exports. He
thinks it's all a big waste of time and money for very little profit.
Anyway, I'll do what I can.
(In
Hector Grant's office. Elizabeth Corby, his secretary, speaks to
him)
ELIZABETH
Mr.
Martin to see you, Mr. Grant.
GRANT
Oh yes,
ask him to come in, please, Elizabeth.
JOHN
Good
morning, H.G.
GRANT
Ah, John,
I've been thinking about this scheme of yours to sell our products to
Habraka.
JOHN
Oh, I'm
glad.
GRANT
Yes, it's
all very well to say we should export more, but
is the expense worth it?
Look what happened over our attempt
to break into that South American
market.
JOHN
That was
because we had that labour trouble at the time and we
weren't able tomeet our
delivery dates. But we can't let that one failure stop
us from trying to break into a new market.
GRANT
You say
Habrakan imports are going to rise rapidly. Well, let's have some
figures. What are the difficulties? Who are our likely competitors? What
about
tariffs?
JOHN
There are
tariffs on certain products, but the
Board of Trade assure me
that our office equipment would not be
liable for
duty.
GRANT
What
about shipping facilities? It seems there are few direct sailings, and a
lot of goods have to be trans-shipped via Rotterdam. And then
there's all this
red tape involved in getting an
import licence.
JOHN
Well, if
I find an
agent in Habraka to act for us, we can get him
to sort
out the import licence.
I'll have
to find out, but we might be able to sell direct to government
departments and oil companies. Maybe we should have a
field survey
to find out exactly how the firms in Habraka prefer to buy their products.
GRANT
Field
surveys are too expensive.
JOHN
Oh, I don't
agree, Mr. Grant. As you see from my preliminary desk research, Habraka is a young, rich, expanding country. I'm convinced that we can
work up a big demand for our goods there.
GRANT
I'm
sorry, John.
On balance, I don't think it's quite the right time for
this
probe. I don't want the expense of sending you out there.
You've got plenty to do in the home market.
JOHN
But
surely we ought to go ahead now. Why wait and let somebody else get
there first? We can't
live on our old markets for ever!
GRANT
Let's say
we have a different way of looking at things.
JOHN
I'm sorry, Mr. Grant,
but I do feel strongly about this. If this is really your policy, then I
must think about leaving the firm.
GRANT
You're
being very foolish, John.
JOHN
Perhaps I am. But, as
our opinions differ so much about the future of the firm, perhaps I'd
better go somewhere a little more
forward‑looking. I'm sorry, H.G.
(In John Martin's office)
PETER
Good
morning, John. Where were you yesterday afternoon? I tried to contact
you all over the place.
JOHN
I went
out for a long drive to cool my temper a bit.
PETER
Oh?
What happened?
JOHN
You
know H.G. decided not to let me go to Habraka.
PETER
Oh no!
I thought he'd be
bound to agree. I'd have said that particular market
was wide open.
JOHN
That's
what I think. Anyway, I just suddenly got
fed up with H.G.'s old-fashioned
outlook and I
resigned.
PETER
Did he accept your
resignation?
JOHN
I
didn't give him much chance. I was so angry I just walked out of his
office.
SALLY
Excuse
me, Mr. Martin, this letter has just come for you from Mr. Grant's
office.
PETER
What is
it, John?
JOHN
Good Lord! It's a
reservation for a first-class return flight to Habraka!
GLOSSARY & NOTES
income per capita
Average
income, money earned, per head of the population(ingresos por persona).
to keep up with
To keep informed
(mantenerse informado, actualizado).
to back someone up
To give support
(apoyar, respaldar).
worth
Having
sufficient value
(valer la pena, digno de).
to break
into
To start sales with
a new market
(introducirse, comenzar a operar en un mercado nuevo).
weren't able to
meet
Couldn't satisfy
(no pudimos cumplir).
delivery dates
Dates
on which a firm promises to deliver goods. If the goods do not arrive
on time the firm has failed to meet the delivery dates(fechas de entrega).
tariffs
Import
taxes
charged by the importing country
(gravámenes de importación).
Board of Trade
A
British Government
Department which deals with trade and commerce
(Secretaría de Comercio).
liable for duty
Responsible
for duty, according to law
(sujeto a derechos aduaneros).
trans-shipped
Moved,
transferred, from one ship to another because there is no direct
sailing from the home port to the port of destination(reembarcadas,
transbordadas).
red tape
Unnecessary
formalities,
bureaucratic procedure. So called from the
red
tape used by lawyers to tie up documents(trámites en reparticiones gubernamentales).
import licence
Permission
given by a government to bring goods into a country
(permiso o certificado de importación).
agent
Someone
who acts for a person or business. In this case it means a resident in
Habraka
who acts for, or represents,
Harper & Grant Ltd.
abroad.
An agent
works for a commission, that is, a payment of a percentage on
the value of goods coming into a country
(agente, representante exclusivo).
to sort out
To solve (solucionar).
channels of
distribution
Different
ways of getting the goods to the buyers. This may be direct to
government departments, to retailers or through wholesalers(canales de distribución).
field survey
Also market research. An
investigation during which information is collected in the field
by means of interviews. A report is then prepared on possible
demand: type of consumer, buyer; methods of selling; number or
rivals; what sort of packaging is preferred, etc., in any country or
area where a company wishes to begin trading(estudio de mercado).
to work up
To build, to
develop
(generar, desarrollar).
on balance
Taking everything
into consideration
(bien mirado o analizado).
probe
A
preliminary survey of a possible new market(sondeo).
to live on
To continue to live
(continuar viviendo de).
forward‑looking
Innovative, modern,
ahead of the times
(innovadora, emprendedora).
bound to agree
Forced to accept
(obligado o forzado a aceptar).
fed up with
Disgusted, sick of
(harto de).
to resign
To quit, to leave
(a job, post, or position) voluntarily
(renunciar).
