Idiosyncrasies of the Brits at work

By Mark Johanson

11 September 2015

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150910-idiosyncrasies-of-a-british-office

Vocabulary notes:

bottom line 2. Freelancer 3. the commissioner of translation 4. block style
4. modified block style 5. indented (modified block) with paragraph indentations 6. letterhead 7. stationery  8. a hard copy 9. print smth out, print a hard copy of smth 10. résumé  11. curriculum vitae 12. Covering Letter for Resume or CV – 13.  Letter of Reference  14.  Letter of Resignation 15.  Lay-off Notice –
16. Version 17. audience design  (addressees, auditors, overhearers, eavesdroppers). 18. re 19. real-life assignments 20. Transcoding 21. translation proper 22. translation problem 23. memorandum (memo) 24. Attachment
25. block format 26. Body 27. Bullets 28. certified mail 29. Coherent
30. Concise 31. confidential, personal 32. diplomacy, diplomatic 33. direct mail, junk mail 34. double space 35. Enclosure 36. Formal 37. Format 38. Heading 39. Indent 40. Informal 41. inside address 42. justified margins  43. Letterhead 44. Logo 45. Margin 46. memorandum (memo) 47. Modified block format 48. on arrival notation 49. Postage 50. Proofread 51. Punctuation 52. reader-friendly 53. Recipient 54. right ragged 55. Salutation 56. sensitive information 57. semi-block format 58. Sincerely 59. single spaced 60. Spacing 61. Tone 62. Transitions 63. ZZZZ-effect  

Pay attention to common expressions, such as: I look forward to hearing from you.

Vocabulary notes:

bottom line 2. Freelancer 3. the commissioner of translation 4. block style
4. modified block style 5. indented (modified block) with paragraph indentations 6. letterhead 7. stationery  8. a hard copy 9. print smth out, print a hard copy of smth 10. résumé  11. curriculum vitae 12. Covering Letter for Resume or CV – 13.  Letter of Reference  14.  Letter of Resignation 15.  Lay-off Notice –
16. Version 17. audience design  (addressees, auditors, overhearers, eavesdroppers). 18. re 19. real-life assignments 20. Transcoding 21. translation proper 22. translation problem 23. memorandum (memo) 24. Attachment
25. block format 26. Body 27. Bullets 28. certified mail 29. Coherent
30. Concise 31. confidential, personal 32. diplomacy, diplomatic 33. direct mail, junk mail 34. double space 35. Enclosure 36. Formal 37. Format 38. Heading 39. Indent 40. Informal 41. inside address 42. justified margins  43. Letterhead 44. Logo 45. Margin 46. memorandum (memo) 47. Modified block format 48. on arrival notation 49. Postage 50. Proofread 51. Punctuation 52. reader-friendly 53. Recipient 54. right ragged 55. Salutation 56. sensitive information 57. semi-block format 58. Sincerely 59. single spaced 60. Spacing 61. Tone 62. Transitions 63. ZZZZ-effect  

The Top of the Hill (by Irwin Shaw)

1. How was it possble to improve the performance of Mr. Lewis’ firm?

2. Why was Mr. Lewis so downbeat about the execution of the plan?

2.                 What would you do if you were in Mr. Lewis’ place?

3.                 What is the implication of Mr. Lewis’ remark "You guys cut pretty deep”?

4.                 What stands behind the idea of "spreading the responsibility around”?

The Top of the Hill (Irwin Shaw)

1. What is a managerial consultant expected to do ?

2. Why are managerial consultants expected to be ruthless?

3. What impression does the talk produce on Tracy?

2.                 What translation problems do the the words in bold type generate? Lexical? Grammatical? Stylistic?

3.                 What idea stands behind Michael’s assessment of his duties?

The Godfather (Mario Puzo)

1. What kind of business is Solozzo involved in?

2.     How does he pursue his aim?

3.     Why is he interested in Don Corleone?

4.    What is the reason for refusal?

5.     How is the idea of government corruption brought about?

6.    Can you make up a vocabulary list of prop words which you consider to be essential for your analysis of the text?