节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-19
难易度:High
关键字:aspect, viable, grant, outlook, keep the lights on
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And I'm Nathanael.
And we're getting started with our lesson called "Getting Started" again.
Yes. We're continuing this conversation between Ben and his uncle Bob.
You see, Ben and Sandy want to start a business, and Ben is asking Uncle Bob for
advice, or some tips.
Uncle Bob suggested having a written plan.
Well, my question for you is: How important is planning to you?
Nathanael, what do you think?
How important is planning?
Well, this makes me think of putting on plays.
Some people like to go out on the stage and come up with things off the top of
their head.
Just while they're there, they'll do something new.
But sometimes I think things should be more planned out so everyone knows what
is going to happen; no one will get confused.
All right.
That's a great example.
Carolyn, what else can benefit from a plan?
Or how important is planning?
Well, I really like to make sure I have a plan when I travel because I want to
use my time the very best way.
All right.
Well, there's lots of different ways that planning can be important in our
lives.
Let's think about that as we enjoy today's conversation between Ben and Uncle
Bob.
(Music).
Getting Started.
I guess making a business plan would help me think through all of those details.
I'm more worried about the financial aspects of starting a business, though.
It can take a long time to make a business profitable.
How will I keep the lights on?
Your business plan should help you with that in a couple of ways.
First it should predict what your operational costs will be and how many sales
you need to make your company profitable.
That would be a good indicator of how viable my business idea is.
Well, it is a good idea to make sure your business is going to make money before
you start.
Now at the beginning, we have Ben talking to his uncle Bob.
Now Nathanael, would you mind reading Ben for now?
Sure! I'll read Ben.
I guess making a business plan would help me think through all of those details.
I'm more...
Oh, now see, we have "think through." If you think something through, then you
really want to take some time to think about it.
Now Gabe, how... how would you use "think through"?
Hmm, good question, think through...
You know, sometimes we have conflicts in our relationships with people.
Something they said makes us angry.
And we want to say something to them right away.
But it's important to think through what you're going to say.
You don't want to continue the argument or the quarrel or the fight.
I think sometimes it's good to think through, and even write out what you're
planning on saying to that person before you go and confront the person.
Think through these things.
Otherwise, you might say something you regret.
So you do want to try to think things through.
And you should ask yourself: Well, did I think this through?
Is it a good idea?
Oh, sorry about that, Nathanael.
Please, continue, Ben.
I'm more worried about the financial aspects of starting a business, though.
Wait... Good. That was very good, Nathanael.
I mean, Ben.
We have a key word to talk about here from the World Bank.
It is the word "aspect." An aspect of something is like the part or the angle.
Many things have many parts or different angles you can view from.
So we're talking about the financial aspect of starting a business.
There could be other aspects of starting a business, but we're talking about the
financial aspect.
How else can you use that word "aspect," Carolyn?
Well, if you are starting a business, you also might want to think about the
aspect of time.
How much time are you going to have to spend to start your business, and how
many hours are you going to be open each day?
So time could be another aspect when having a business.
All right. That's one aspect.
What's another aspect we might talk about?
Well, if you're starting a business, you should probably pay attention to the
aspect of the economy.
How is the country doing financially with their money?
How are sales?
These are all important aspects to think through.
Let's continue with this line.
It can take a long time to make a business profitable.
Oh. Now Nathanael, that's a really great word, profitable.
And it is important for your business to be profitable because that means that
it will make money.
What else can be profitable, Gabe?
Profitable, profitable... Well, of course, you can make money, you can make more
money.
You sell one thing, and you're making money.
OK. You buy something, you sell it for more.
You're making a profit.
OK. That's profitable.
I think of maybe emotional things that's profitable too.
You invest time into a friend, and that could be profitable for your
relationship.
You spend time with somebody, and then your friendship is even better.
That is profitable for your friendship.
Oh, great. OK.
Well, let's finish what Ben has to say. Yeah.
Finally!
How will I keep the lights on?
Wait... We need to talk about that phrase there - to keep the lights on.
This is a good phrase to know, when you "keep the lights on." It's an idiom.
That means you have enough to make sure the electricity is running, to make sure
that your business is going well, and that it will not end.
You're keeping the lights on.
It's easy to remember because if you have money, then you can pay the
electricity bill, and your lights can stay on.
So keep the lights on with your business.
Guys, can I continue?
Can I be Uncle Bob?
Sure. Go right ahead.
OK. Uncle Bob. Here we go.
Your business plan should help you with that in a couple of ways.
First it should predict what your operational costs will be and how many sales
you need to make your company profitable.
OK. Now it's my turn to interrupt a second.
"Operational cost" is a very good phrase.
And we just did want to explain it really quickly.
An operational cost is how much money it takes to operate something, an
operational cost.
Of course, that's something that you're going to need to think about if you're
running a business.
Now Carolyn, would you like to be Ben this time?
I think she should.
Can I be Ben?
OK. Oh, great.
That would be a good inidcator of how viable my business idea is.
Excellent! Excellent, Carolyn... uh, Ben.
I think right now we need to talk about that Word Bank word.
It is "viable." What is viable?
Well, if something is viable, it's practical, and you know that it's able to
work in the right conditions.
So if everything is going smoothly, then maybe your company idea is a viable
idea.
Well, Nathanael, what else could be viable in life?
Well, there's lots of things that are necessary in life.
And a lot of things that are viable as well, things that we should consider
doing.
It's a viable consideration to explore other countries outside of your own.
It may be viable for you financially or maybe not.
You might need to save some money, and then it would be viable.
That's a good point.
Maybe it's a great idea, but you don't have enough money.
It's not a viable option right now.
But it could be a viable option in the future.
So how viable is Ben's business idea?
Well, we'll see.
Right now it's time for us to continue learning with Steve and Ken in the
Information Cloud.
So let's go there now.
Hey, guys.
Hey.
Hi, teachers.
Hello, teachers.
Today we continue to talk about what to consider before starting a business or
setting up a company.
But Steve, I just have a simple question.
Which pronoun should we use when we refer to a business or company, it or they?
You know, it's hard to believe,
but there's a small debate raging among English grammarians over which pronouns
we should use when we refer to collective nouns like businesses, companies and
organizations.
Now in the media, we see it both ways.
For example, we might read Microsoft said they are ready to hire 100 computer
programmers.
And then the alternative: Microsoft said it is ready to hire 100 computer
programmers.
It's a very small change: one pronoun is plural while the other is singular.
But it makes a big difference.
Now in the first example, using the plural pronoun "they" seems to present the
company with a more personal human face.
A good public relation's move, I would say.
Exactly.
Of course, companies, businesses and organizations are made up of many people.
But these things are collective nouns.
Each one should be referred to as a single impersonal identity.
So we should use the singular - it?
That's what I think, Ken.
But friends, I must warn you, not everyone agrees on this grammar point, like
the British.
Nevertheless, unless there is a persuasive reason not to, keep collective nouns
like "company" singular.
(Chinese).
Thank you, Ken and Steve, for explaining that little difference between "they"
and "it" when talking about companies.
Now let's see what Michelle has waiting for us in the Langauge Lab.
Hey, Michelle.