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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

BRIGHT
IDEAS
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1 Key words

Read the sentences below and match the underlined words and phrases with their definitions:

1. Alex is very stressed out these days. He needs to take time off work.
2. Joe did not come to work, but nobody noticed his absence.
3. The bad economic climate will harm our business.
4. Most companies track their employees’ vacation time. They want to know exactly how many days
their workers are absent from work.
5. Morale is very high on our team. Everyone believes that we can become successful.
6. They claim to be very good salesmen, but I’ve never seen them sell anything.
7. The first generation iPhone was launched in 2007.

a. confidence, enthusiasm
b. follow
c. have a bad effect on
d. officially appeared on the market for the first time
e. say that something is true (but you cannot prove it and other people might not believe it)
f. take a break from your work
g. the time when you are not at work because of sickness or vacation

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BRIGHT IDEAS

2 Reading

You’re going to read an article about Richard Branson, a British businessman. Put T (True) or F (False)
next to each statement.

1. Richard Branson wants people to take time off work whenever they want.
2. Google doesn’t track employees’ vacation time.
3. Letting employees take time off when they want has a negative effect on business.
4. Richard Branson believes that he gave Steve Jobs the idea for iPod.
5. Richard Branson’s music store chain closed when Apple launched iTunes and the iPod.

Richard Branson proposes unlimited time off work.

He has introduced the idea in Virgin offices across the United States and United Kingdom.

1.
Billionaire ‘man of the people’, Richard Branson, has become more popular by saying that everyone should be able
to take time off work —whenever they want.
2.
"Employees should decide if and when they want to take off a few hours a day, a week or a month," the Virgin
Group entrepreneur writes in his book, "The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership".
3.
He introduced the new idea in Virgin offices across the United States and the United Kingdom. The idea is that
employees who feel their absence will not harm the business can take leave from their jobs. It is their responsibility.
4.
Branson got the idea after reading an article about the Netflix business model, and how they do not track vacation
time.
5.
"I have a friend whose company did the same thing. They’ve observed an improvement in everything - morale,
creativity, and productivity," he said.
6.
On the subject of great business ideas, Branson claimed that he gave Apple founder Steve Jobs the original
inspiration for iTunes. As a result, Branson’s Virgin Megastores, a chain of music shops, closed eight months
after it was launched in 2001.
7.
"On April Fool’s Day 1986, I gave an interview to a popular music magazine and I told them that Virgin was secretly
developing a ‘Music Box’ which can store music. For a small fee, music lovers can download any individual song
or album they want."
8.
"Many years later, Steve Jobs told me that he really liked the idea. We will never know for sure, but I have always
wondered if that April Fool’s joke resulted in the launch of iTunes and the iPod —technologies that caused the
death of our Virgin Megastores and completely changed the music industry."

Adapted from The Independent, by Jenn Selby, September 24th, 2014

3 Talking point

Do you think that Richard Branson’s proposal is a good idea?

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BRIGHT IDEAS

4 Grammar - Defining relative clauses

A relative clause is a part of a sentence. It can begin with which, who, that, or whose. Complete the
table below with examples from the text.

Use and examples

who We use who when we are talking about people:

... employees who feel their absence will not harm the business
(P3)

which We use which when we are talking about things:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (P7)

that We use that instead of who or which:

technologies that caused the death of our Virgin Megastores
(P7)

whose We use whose instead of his/her/their:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (P5)

Important points
1) That is more usual than which in defining relative clauses.
2) We do not use what in relative clauses.
I’ve never eaten a pizza what that tastes so good!
What = ‘the thing(s) that’ What I wanted was out of stock. I can’t decide what to buy.
3) We can also use where when we talk about place:
I can’t remember the name of the hotel where we stayed.
4) When who/that/which is the object of the verb, we can leave it out:
They didn’t have the shirt that I wanted to buy. They didn’t have the shirt I wanted to buy.
In the above sentence, that (= the shirt) is the object of the verb wanted. But if who/that/which is the
subject of the verb, we cannot leave it out:
Do you know the woman who is standing over there?
(NOT: Do you know the woman is standing over there?)

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5 Practice 1

Make one sentence or question from two, like in the example.

1. The receptionist helps clients. The clients visit the company.

The receptionist helps clients who/that visit the company.
2. I saw the employee. The employee left the company.
I saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Let’s go to that restaurant. We ate there yesterday.
Let’s go to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. I sent you an email. Did you get it?
Did you get the email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
5. His new laptop doesn’t work. He bought it yesterday.
The laptop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . work.
6. I work in an office. The office doesn’t have air-conditioning.
The office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. Vladimir is a director. His company employs over 100 people.
Vladimir is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 people.
8. They met at a coffee shop for the first time. They celebrated their anniversary there.
They celebrated their anniversary at the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 Practice 2

Put the words in the correct order, like in the example.

1. the office / This / we / work / where

This is the office where we work.
2. who / the woman / She’s / started / her own business
...............................................................................................
3. most interesting / I / He’s / know / the / person / that
...............................................................................................
4. dish / the / This / which / ate / we / yesterday / is
...............................................................................................
5. get / the email / Did you / I / that / sent you ?
..............................................................................................?
6. the man / laptop / was stolen / He’s / whose
...............................................................................................

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TEACHER MATERIALS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

BRIGHT IDEAS

Key

1. Key words

1. f 2. g 3. c 4. b 5. a 6. e 7. d

2. Reading

Students can work individually and check their work in pairs. Before students read, ask if they are familiar with
April Fool’s Day (Paragraph 6) – a celebration that takes place every year on the first day of April. Popular since
the 19th century, the day is not a national holiday in any country, but it is well known in Europe, Australia, Brazil,
and the United States. It is celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T

4. Grammar - Defining relative clauses

Students can work individually or in pairs.

Examples with ‘which’:
‘a ‘Music Box’ which can store music’ (P6)
Examples with ‘whose’:
‘a friend whose company did the same thing’ (P4)

5. Practice 1

Students can work individually and check their answers in pairs. Alternatively, assign the exercise as homework.
For slightly stronger classes, you can ask students which sentences do not require a relative pronoun (Sentences
4-5)
2. I saw the employee who/that left the company.
3. Let’s go to that restaurant where we ate yesterday.
4. Did you get the email that/which I sent you?
5. The laptop that/which he bought yesterday doesn’t work.
6. The office where I work doesn’t have air-conditioning.
7. Vladimir is a director whose company employs over 100 people.
8. They celebrated their anniversary at the coffee where they met for the first time.

6. Practice 2

Students can work individually and check their answers in pairs. Alternatively, assign the exercise as homework.
For slightly stronger classes, you can ask students which sentences do not require a relative pronoun (Sentences
3-5).
2. She’s the woman who started her own business.
3. He’s the most interesting person I know.
4. This is the dish which we ate yesterday.
5. Did you get the email that I sent you?
6. He’s the man whose laptop was stolen.

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