Achievement_ Professional podcast.

…Thank you all for coming today. As you are all aware we are here to celebrate 35 years of continuous
service by our friend and colleague James Dawson. He started as an administration officer in 1972, in our
accounts department, and worked his way up the career ladder over the years, finally becoming vice
president in 1989 of the company, and managing over three hundred employees. As most of you who
have been working here long enough will know, it has been a long struggle to become one of the
European market leaders in our field, and you may remember in 1982, when we had a huge setback, with
the plans for a merger with our top rival company falling through. Because of that, we had to make some
workers redundant, however James was lucky enough to keep his job. Yes, those really were the worst
few years. However, we managed to get through these difficult times by working hard and James was a
key player in the struggle to get us back on the path to becoming one of the largest computer
manufacturing companies in Europe. One of James’s biggest strengths has been his immaculate
timekeeping and organisational skills - in fact I have never known him to be without his diary! His
negotiation skills and determination led to a tactful action plan to become one of the leading companies in
Europe. I will never forget that day in 1987 when we had the final negotiations for the takeover of our rival
company. James and his superb presenting and negotiating skills was one of the key factors to our
success. The turning point in our company came with the successful takeover, and despite all the
obstacles we have faced, the hard work and dedication of all our workers has made our company the
success it is today. And I have to say that James, as one of our managers, has always acknowledged the
work and contribution made by others. James, you rewarded your best employees with some of the best
perks any company has given! Today we want to acknowledge the hard work and significant contributions
which you have made. So thank you James, for your loyalty to the company and your hard work.

P – radio host; D – analyst

P: Regular listeners to the programme will have followed our coverage of the trial of Martha Stewart, one
of the best-known women in America, leading to her conviction on charges of having lied to federal
investigators. Stewart’s company, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, is described as a ‘lifestyle media and
merchandising giant’, producing everything from books and magazines to TV programmes, garden
furniture, towels, kitchen equipment …. pretty much everything you could need to make your dream
home, and pretty much all sold using Martha Stewart’s name. Now, as we’ve reported recently, shares in
Martha Stewart Omnimedia have fallen dramatically since her conviction and many analysts are
convinced that if the company is to survive, a name change is inevitable. I’m joined here by Professor
Dave Spader. Dave, do you think there’s any future for the Martha Stewart brand?

D: Well, that’s the big question. As you say, the share price has fallen dramatically and that’s not good
news for any company. The company’s own research says that 70% of their consumers think they should
keep the Martha Stewart name but at the same time advertisers are keeping away from the company’s
magazines. Advertising in the Martha Stewart Living magazine is down 35%. I think what’s happening is
that they’re keeping the name but playing it down and putting the emphasis on other things. For example,
one of their newest magazines, ‘Everyday Food’, no longer has ‘From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart
Living’ on its cover. Things like that. Publicly, they’re saying they’ll stick with the name but I think we’ll
continue to see Stewart’s name fade from view somewhat. Whether they’ll get rid of her name altogether I
think it’s too early to say.

P: Are there other examples of brands changing names to survive this kind of bad publicity?
D: Oh, several. Philip Morris, the cigarette company, has recently become Altria and, in America,
Esson became Exxon. But they were both parent companies changing their names, and I don’t think we
can make direct comparisons with the Martha Stewart brand where she really is – or perhaps I should say
was – the public face of the brand.

P: So, you think the tough times will continue for Martha Stewart Omnimedia?

D: I’m afraid so. Whatever they choose to call themselves.

Viral Marketing
P = Presenter, M = guest on radio show

P: Now, one of the latest buzzwords in e-commerce is 'viral marketing' - using the power of the internet
to advertise a product or service. I'm joined in the studio today by Michael MacAulay of the buzz.com
website which monitors internet trends. Michael, what exactly is 'viral marketing'?

M: Hi Tony. The idea of viral marketing is basically that the internet does your advertising for you. A
good example is internet email providers like Hotmail or Yahoo. Every time someone sends you an email
using a Yahoo address you get that little 'Do you Yahoo?' message at the end - basically advertising what
Yahoo does, while still providing you with the service - the message you've received.

P: But it's not limited to internet email providers, is it?

M: Not at all. Hotmail is perhaps the most famous example but there's lots and lots of stuff on the web that
can be seen as viral marketing. You might get sent, for example, a little game to play on your PC or a
funny animation, something like that. More often than not, they're advertising a product or an event. The
initial idea of viral marketing was that it cost next to nothing - great for ventures without a huge
startup budget but I suspect there's quite a lot of money spent on this sort of thing now.

P: And presumably the idea is that people like the game, or animation or whatever and send it on to their
friends.

M: Exactly - it spreads like a virus.

P: So far so good, but the word 'virus' is quite a negative one. I know from the emails we receive on
the programme that a lot of our listeners are very concerned about the amount of unwanted emails
- 'spam' as it's known - they already receive. Isn't viral marketing just another form of spam?

M: It's a good point Tony. The vital difference between viral marketing and spam is that one is providing a
service and the other isn't. Viral marketing relies on people sending things on to their friends and family.
Spam is sent to thousands of people at random. So they're very different. Having said that, the line does
begin to get a bit blurred in places. There's the example of the company in the US that paid people - 50
cents an hour, I think - to let the company's viewbar display advertisements on their screens. However,
the company also paid people 10 cents an hour if they sent the 'viewbar' to another person who allowed
the ads onto their screen. Now that can be seen as encouraging people to send unwanted emails.
 Adjectives & Prepositions

Adjectives & Prepositions

Some adjectives go with certain prepositions. There is no real pattern – you need to learn them as you meet them.
Here are some examples but remember that there are many other adjective + preposition combinations that are not
covered here.

With ‘at’

 I’m quite good at English but I’m bad at maths and I’m terrible at physics.

With ‘for’

 Jogging is good for your health but smoking is bad for you.
 The town is famous for its cheese.

As well as ‘good for’, ‘bad for’ and ‘famous for’ we also say ‘qualified for’ ‘ready for’, ‘responsible for’, ‘suitable
for’ and several others.

With ‘of’

I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself, thank you.

I’m very fond of this old sweatshirt.

As well as ‘capable of’ and ‘fond of’ we also say ‘aware of’, ‘full of’, ‘tired of’ and several others.

With ‘with’

 We’re very pleased with your progress.

 You’re not still angry with me are you?

As well as ‘pleased with’ and ‘angry with’ we also say ‘bored with’, ‘delighted with’, ‘satisfied with’ and several
others.

With ‘to’

 She’s the one who’s married to a doctor, isn’t she?

 You’ll be responsible to the head of the Finance department.

Notice that you can be responsible for something but responsible to someone.

Other common adjective + preposition combinations include ‘interested in’ and ‘keen on’. It’s a good idea to make a
note of new combinations in your vocabulary notebook as you meet them. Remember too that a preposition is
followed by a noun or a gerund (‘ing’ form).

Adjectives (gradable / non-gradable)

 Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Adjectives can be either gradable or non-gradable

Gradable

Gradable adjectives are adjectives like ‘cold’ ‘hot’ and ‘frightened’. You can be very cold or a bit cold. Gradable
adjectives show that something can have different degrees.

Non-gradable

Non-gradable adjectives are adjectives like ‘married’ or ‘wooden’. You can’t be very married or a bit married. Non-
gradable adjectives do not have different degrees.

Adjectives like ‘terrifying’, ‘freezing’ ‘amazing’ are also non-gradable adjectives. They already contain the idea of
‘very’ in their definitions – ‘freezing’ means ‘very cold’ etc.

Using adverbs of degree

When we use adverbs of degree to modify adjectives we usually have to use different adverbs for gradable and non-
gradable adjectives.

 NOT I’m completely hot.

 NOT It was very fantastic!

With gradable adjectives

 It’s a bit cold in here. Shall I turn the fire on?

 He’s very interested in history. Why don’t you buy him a history book?
 This exercise is really difficult. I don’t know any of the answers.
 I’m extremely tired. I’m going to bed.

The adverbs a bit, very, really, extremely and quite can all be used with gradable adjectives.

With non-gradable adjectives

 It’s absolutely freezing in here. Shall I turn the fire on?

 He’s completely fascinated by history. Why don’t you buy him a history book?
 This exercise is absolutely impossible.
 That film is really terrifying. Don’t go and see it on your own.

The adverbs absolutely and completely can be used with non-gradable adjectives.

Notice that really can be used with both gradable AND non-gradable adjectives.

NOTE: There are other adverbs of degree that we haven’t covered in this section. The ones included here are some
of the most common.