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
We're enjoying a lively conversation between Ben and his uncle Bob.
Uncle Bob has some good advice for Ben about starting a business.
Of course, there are different aspects to starting a business.
Some things might be profitable.
Some things might not be so profitable.
The important thing is to keep the lights on in your business.
Some things are viable to do; other things might not be.
Well, we're going to continue this conversation right now.
Getting Started.
Right.
The other thing is that you will need a business plan if you are going to
attract investors, get business loans or even government grants.
All right, but how do I go about writing a business plan?
There are plenty of online resources to help you.
Most libraries also have books that walk you through the steps of writing a
plan.
So if I write a business plan, what do you think the outlook for my business
will be?
A good business plan will answer that question far better than I can, Ben.
Let's get some more coffee.
That sounds good.
Well, Uncle Bob and Ben are done with their conversation, but we aren't.
Let me continue as Uncle Bob, charming old Uncle Bob.
Right.
The other thing is that you will need a business plan if you are going to
attract investors, get...
Wait... Nathanael.
Uncle Bob, excuse me, charming Uncle Bob.
I would like to talk a little bit about that word: investor.
I think it's important because there are some other words related to it that are
important to know if you are starting a business,
or if you're interested in something like this.
You see the word "investor." And that is someone who invests into your company.
Maybe they give you some money.
They invest into the company.
Now there's another word here, an investment.
Carolyn, what's an investment?
Well, an investor would make an investment into the company.
So an investment is the actual money that they are putting into the company to
encourage business growth.
That's right.
So we have "investors," here from the lesson.
And of course, the verb is "invest." You want to invest in something.
You can invest into a relationship too.
You invest your time and your energy.
And the other word here is "investment." Investor, invest and investment.
Well, I'll let you get back to your line, Uncle Bob.
Thank you.
... to attract investors, get business loans or even government grants.
Oh. Now here we have a key word in our Word Bank: grants.
And here a government grant is special money that the government has set aside
for people to apply for.
You can apply for a grant from the government.
And this means that the government will give you money to help you with a
certain project.
Now Gabe, can you think of any times that you might want to apply for a grant?
Oh, yes, I can.
Actually, when I was at university, I wanted to apply for a grant from the
government for my education at the university.
I was in California at the time.
It's called the Cal Grant.
Sometimes the government gives a big sum of money for grants for people who want
to attend university.
That was the Cal Grant.
But there are many different kinds of grants.
Right.
So it's not just for people who want to start a business.
It can also be for education, for improving highways or even some sort of fine
arts project like renewing the beauty in your community by planting flowers.
There are grants for just about anything.
That's right.
They're a certain amount of money that you have for a specific purpose like
these things.
Well, Nathanael, how else would you use that word, "grant"?
Well, "grant" can actually also be used as a verb.
We've been talking about it as a noun.
But if you grant something, you give it to someone.
It's a connected word, "grant" as a noun and "grant" as a verb.
A grant, as a noun, is something you receive.
But to grant something means to give it.
Let me grant you a few dollars.
That's something you could say, even if it is not too common.
Excellent.
Well, who is going to continue as Ben?
Oh, I'll do that. I'll do that.
Thank you.
All right.
But how do I go about writing a business plan?
OK. Thank you, Ben.
That was very charming as well.
Right now it's time for us to go and enjoy some time with Liz in the Grammar
Gym.
(Music).
Hi there, friends.
I hope you're doing well today.
My name is Liz.
And thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
We see this question asked in today's article.
... how do I go about writing a business plan?
Our grammar focus is on the idiom - to go about.
It means to start something.
So the question we see in today's article is basically a question about how to
start writing a business plan.
This idiom is often used in informal situations.
If you don't know how to collect information for a report, you can ask:
How do I go about getting information for this report?
Or, if you don't know how to apply for a certain job, you can ask:
How do I go about applying for this position?
So next time when you don't know how to do something and you need help getting
started, give this idiom a try:
How do I go about plus verb with I-N-G.
And you can find more examples in today's Grammar Tip section in your magazine.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym signing off.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, we are going to go on listening about what Uncle Bob has to say.
Now who would like to be Uncle Bob this time?
Oh, I...
No. I love Uncle Bob. I love Uncle Bob. I'll do it.
Right.
OK.
There are plenty of online resources to help you.
Most libraries also have books that walk you through the steps of writing a
plan.
Wait, wait, wait. OK, good.
That was very nice, Nathanael.
I wanted to talk here about some words in that sentence.
"Walk you through"- most libraries also have books that walk you through the
steps of writing a plan.
We see those words, "walk you through" something or to walk someone through.
What does that mean, Carolyn, if someone walks you through something?
Well, if they walk you through, that means that they explain it to you in
detail.
So maybe you're having trouble understanding what you're supposed to do and you
might ask:
Well, could you please just walk me through it so I can understand a little bit
better?
I like that.
You can walk someone through something that you already know about.
Maybe they're just learning, you can walk them through the steps of doing that.
So we'll continue as Ben.
I think that I should be Ben, right?
Um, yeah.
Well, I... I'll be Ben if that's OK.
I like being Ben too.
All right.
Right.
So if a business... if I write a business plan, what do you think the outlook
for my business will be?
Um, excuse me, Nathanael.
We need to talk about that key word there from the Word Bank.
It is "outlook." An outlook is your perspective on something or what the future
might look like.
It's your expectation for the future, the outlook.
So you could have a financial outlook.
That means what you expect the finances will be.
How else can you use that word, Carolyn?
Well, you could also have a weather outlook.
And it's what you think the weather might be doing today, tomorrow, next week.
What is the outlook for the weather?
That's right.
And you can also have an outlook on life, your perspective on life.
Well, we have a couple more lines in this dialogue between Uncle Bob and Ben.
A good business plan will answer that question far better than I can, Ben.
Let's get some more coffee.
That sounds good.
Uh... right.
That sounds great.
That sounded wonderful, Nathanael.
Excellent.
Well, right now it's time for us to continue learning something with Michelle in
the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And let's get back to teachers.
Thanks, Michelle.
Well, we've learned a lot from Uncle Bob today about what we should do when
we're trying to start a business.
And writing a business plan does sound really important.
Gabe, have you ever written a business plan?
Actually, I'm writing a business plan right now.
I want to know what you guys think about this.
Here's my business plan.
Wake up very early in the morning.
Go to the store and buy a big roll of duct tape.
You know that big, thick grey tape that you can tape across someone's mouth, and
then when you pull it off, it really hurts?
Yes. Buy some duct tape.
Go to Nathanael and tape it across Nathanael's mouth in an X so that he cannot
speak and say everyone's lines when we're trying to teach!
Then I can say everything I need to say and go home and rest in peace.
What do you guys think about that?
Gabe, I'm not so sure that that's a business plan.
What, you don't think so?
No. It... it sounds more like you're trying to prevent Nathanael from teaching.
I mean, he was just reading the lines.
Yeah, but I said...
I don't think Nathanael is really that bad of a guy.
No, he's not that bad of a guy.
He's quite charming, isn't he?
I think this is a good business plan for my duct tape business for other people
who can identify with my problem.
I think it sounds good, too.
So wonderful, wonderful voice you have for Uncle Bob and for Ben.
All right, friends.
We had a lot of fun here today at Studio Classroom talking about businesses and
starting businesses.
I hope you learned something new.
And we'll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.Goodbye.