Lesson 188 - Food for thought

ACT Advanced Corporate Training od
ponad 12 lat specjalizuje się w szkoleniach
z zakresu ogólnych i specjalistycznych
umiejętności językowych, rozwoju
osobistego, coachingu oraz NLP dla
środowiska biznesowego z całej Polski,
ciesząc się zaufaniem renomowanych
klientów.
Wyróżnia się jakością szkoleń oraz
wieloletnim doświadczeniem w podejściu
do potrzeb klienta biznesowego.
Kontakt: www.act.edu.pl; [email protected]
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
During a break two colleagues are having a conversation about a meeting:
A: How was the meeting then? I heard a lot of shouting. What happened?
B: Well Dave had a beef about something and he was arguing with Sue.
A: Which Sue? There are two in your department.
B: Sue Thomson, the one with the plummy voice.
A: Oh, right. So come on then! Spill the beans! What went on?
B: Dave wasn’t happy that Sue had been given the new retail project. He seems to think that Neil
should have been given the project. They had a big argument and he ended up saying that the
project wasn’t a big deal anyway and wouldn’t be challenging enough for Neil.
A: Why on earth would he say that? Sounds like sour grapes to me.
B: I know but ever since Neil helped Dave with his sales problem he seems to think that Neil’s the
best thing since sliced bread.
A: What was the sales problem?
B: Dave was in a bit of a pickle. Sales for some key products were falling and Neil helped him with
some marketing ideas. He turned the situation round and now they’re selling like hot cakes.
A: Is that what Dave said? I’d take that with a pinch of salt if I were you. Neil doesn’t know the first
thing about marketing.
B: What are you implying?
A: Let’s just say that Dave and Neil know each other from way back. I think there’s more to this than
meets the eye.
B: Well that’s interesting. You’ve given me some food for thought.
Match the expressions from the dialogue with their definition in the table below.
1. a beef
a. describes a voice or accent which sounds upper class
2. plummy
b. to not completely believe sth you are told because you
think it’s not true
3. spill the beans
c. a complaint
4. sour grapes
d. something excellent or outstanding
5. the best thing since sliced
bread
e. sell quickly and in large numbers
6. to be in a pickle
f.
7. sell like hot cakes
g. to make sb think seriously about something
8. take sth with a pinch of salt
h. to be in a difficult situation
9. give sb food for thought
i.
to tell people secret information
when you criticize sth simply because you can’t have it
Key: 1-c, 2-a, 3-f, 4-i, 5-d, 6-h, 7-e, 8-b, 9-g
--------------------------Graham McCabe jest trenerem języka angielskiego, z powodzeniem prowadzącym kursy biznesowe
od ponad dziesięciu lat. Graham jest Szkotem z wykształceniem ekonomiczno-prawniczym oraz
kwalifikacjami w zakresie nauczania języka angielskiego, potwierdzonymi dyplomem TEFL.
Doświadczenie zdobywał pracując w Wielkiej Brytanii, Czechach, Izraelu, a od wielu lat również w
Polsce. Współpracę z ACT rozpoczął w 2010 roku i w bardzo krótkim czasie stał się jednym z
najbardziej pożądanych lektorów, cenionym za kompetencje, zorganizowanie oraz profesjonalizm.