Facoltà di Economia
CdL Economia e gestione dei servizi turistici
Lingua Inglese
5. Price & Money
a.a. 2008/2009
PRICE & MONEY
English words or expressions connected with ………….
PRICE
cheap economical expensive
inexpensive
to charge
To pay pay/payment payer payable
to settle
to shop shop/store
market
to set the price
to increase
to rise to decrease
to fall
low
high
price v cost
profit margin
MORE ON PRICE & MONEY …
CASH
BUCK
QUID
CURRENCY
BILL
LOAN
LEND
BORROWING
CREDIT
DEBT
COIN
NOTE
GRAND
CHANGE
RECEIPT
INTEREST RATE
OWE
BANKRUPTCY
BALANCE SHEET
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
INCOME STATEMENT
LOSS
PROFIT
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cost 1 n [C, U] the amount of money that you have to pay to buy or produce
something: [costo] The cost of land in the city centre is very high. 2 costs
[plural] [costi] the money that a business must regularly spend in order to
continue its activities. Our profits are falling because of increasing costs.
Synonym expenses n [plural] [spese] Collocations labour costs, manufacturing
costs
deal n [C] an agreement or arrangement, especially one that involves the sale
of something [affare] to get a good deal get an agreement to buy or sell a
product at a good price: [fare un buon affare] We got a good deal when we
bought this office as demand was low at the time.
graph n [C] a drawing that uses a line or lines to show the relationship between
two sets of figures: [grafico] This graph shows sales figures for the year 2005.
price n [C, U] the amount of money for which something is bought, sold or
offered: [prezzo] The price of this picture is £6,000.
pricing n [U] the prices of a company's products in relation to each other and in
relation to the prices of competitors; also the activity of setting prices: [pricing,
determinazione del prezzo] We need to discuss our pricing if we want to boost
sales.
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profit margin n [C] the difference between the price a product or service is sold
for and the cost of producing it: [margine di profitto] We can increase our profit
margin by cutting the cost of production.
share n [C] the ownership of a company is divided into shares, which can be
made available for sale as a way to increase capital. Investors buy and sell
shares in the hope of making a profit: [azione] He made a lot of money by
investing in IBM shares.
spending n [U] the amount of money an organisation or a person spends: [+
on] [spesa] We need to increase spending on research and development.
strategy n [C] a plan for achieving a goal; the best way for a company to
develop in the future: [strategia] We need to develop a strategy for exporting the
company's products. Collocations pricing strategy, develop a strategy - strategic
adj [strategico]
trend n [C] the general way in which a particular situation is changing or
developing: [tendenza, trend] Economists study the trends in spending.
workforce n [C] all the people who work in a particular country, industry or
workplace: [forza lavoro] We are increasing our workforce from 1,200 to 1,400.
Keynotes
It is difficult for companies to set the price of
a product. A lower price may help to increase
sales, but it also reduces the profit margin.
As a result, the company may have to cut
costs to keep prices down. We often use
graphs to show trends in prices over months
or years. Studying the trends can help
companies to choose the right pricing
strategy for their products
PRICE
SAYING NUMBERS
Years
1984
2002
Decimals
16.5
17.38%
0.185
Currencies
£3.15
$7.80
Bigger Numbers
3560
598,347
1,300,402
1m
3bn
$478m
£7.5bn
PRICE
Mon
Tue
Wed
Your week’s emotional state
Thur
Fri
Sat
Sun
PRICE
VERB
NOUN
decline
A decline
decrease
A decrease
double
A doubling (rare)
drop
A drop
fall
A fall
fluctuate
A fluctuation
gain
A gain
halve
A halving (rare)
improve
An improvement
increase
An increase
Level off
A levelling off
Peak
A peak
plummet
A plummet (rare)
recover
A recovery
rise
A rise
Rocket / triple
A rocket / a tripling (rare)
Trends
Exercise p. 86
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food
Spending on ______________
increased up
to 1991 and then fell sharply.
communications
Spending on ______________
increased the
most.
leisure
Spending on ______________
rose by nearly
20 per cent.
equipment
Spending on household
______________
decreased
slightly after 1996.
11
TRENDS
Prepositions
Profits rose 11% to $2.7bn
Profits have gone up from 3m to 4m euros
Our business grew by 10% last year
There’s been a decrease of 4m euros
Last year profits stood at 2.5m pounds
Adjectives and adverbs
There was a dramatic fall; shares fell dramatically
The similarities between Enron and Ahold are striking
Prices fluctuated mildly, dropped slightly, rose steadily
Prices reached a peak, stocks had a dramatic and sudden fall
12
Happy talk
American consumer
confidence rebounded in
September from August's
sharp fall (the news was
one element pushing the
Dow Jones Industrial
Average towards a new
high). Cheaper petrol prices
were said to be the main
factor fuelling the optimism.
Positive feelings
The European Commission's
indicator of business and
consumer economic sentiment in
the euro area rose in October to
its highest level in more than fiveand-a-half years. Among the
bigger countries in the currency
block the uptick in optimism was
particularly strong in Germany
and France (where the
unemployment rate is at a fiveyear low), but in Italy confidence
fell.
14
Price
(Reading Comprehension) p.87
Make it cheaper and cheaper
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General:
What is this article about?
What is the ‘spending power’?
PARA a: What is a ‘survey’?
Can you give a synonym for ‘advances’?
What is the meaning of ‘run out’? And of ‘spending’? Does
‘plentiful’ mean abundant or poor?
PARA b: What is the meaning of ‘scale’?
A. ladder
B. steps
C. big quantity
What is the meaning of the expression ‘to buy in bulk’?
Price
(Reading Comprehension) p.87
Make it cheaper and cheaper
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PARA c: ‘huge’ is a synonym of …
What consequences for cutting margins can you list?
Can you give a synonym and an antonym of ‘shut’?
PARA d: Can you give a synonym and an antonym of
‘unhealthy’?
What is a deal?
What word in the text means ‘stressful position’?
What is the traditional strategy in terms of portions of
products to be sold? What should the new trend be?
Word building
Noun
Person
Verb
___________________ ___________________ produce
shop/shopping
___________________ ___________________
distribution
___________________ ___________________
___________________ ___________________ consume
retail
___________________ ___________________
___________________ writer
Suffixes: -ion, -er, -ation, -or, -ing
___________________
Price p.88
Vocabulary 1
 Vocabulary 2 – synonyms
 Vocabulary 3 – transitive and
intransitive verbs
 Vocabulary 4
 Describing a graph - p.91
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Phonetics
[praɪs] [fɔːl]
[‚ɪnɪk'spensɪv]
[tʃiːp]
[tʃɑːdʒ]
[ləʊ] [haɪ]
[ʃɑp/ʃɒp]
['peɪmənt]
[‚'ekə'nɑmɪkl/-nɒm-] ['mɑrkɪt /'mɑːkɪt]
[ɪn'krɪːs]
['prɑfɪt /'prɒ-] ['mɑrdʒɪn /'mɑːdʒɪn]
[fɪ'næns / 'faɪnæns]
Language
1 Write the verb in brackets in the past simple or
present perfect.
1 Two years ago, I ______________ (leave) my company for
this one.
2 The price ______________ (continue) to fall for the last two
weeks.
3 In 2001, the market ______________ (fall) to an all-time
low.
4 This graphs shows that inflation _______________ (remain)
steady for six months now.
5 German house prices _____________ (double) since 1979.
6 How ____________ (be) your trip?
7 We ______________ (not/raise) our prices in recent weeks.
8 ____________ (you/be) to France before?
I _____________(see) any changes in our recent
performance.
10 _______________ (you/invite) the press yesterday?
Vocabulary
2 Choose the correct verb from a, b or c.
11It is difficult for companies to __________ the price of a
product and know what to charge.
a) cost
b) set c) get
12A lower price may increase sales but it also ___________
the profit margin
a) increases
b) sets
c) reduces
13Many companies are ____________ costs to keep prices
down.
a) cutting b) setting
c) increasing
9
14All customers want to ___________ good value for money.
a) get
b) cost
c) sell
15Customers are also prepared to ____________ more time
looking for a good price.
a) make b) spend
c) have
16In recent months, sales _____________ between 35 and
40.
a) fluctuated
b) rose
c) raised
17Large supermarkets can afford to ____________ in bulk
which also reduces the price.
a) sell
b) save
c) buy
18Producing bigger portions doesn’t ___________ up the
price.
a) pull
b) pickc) push
19To ____________ the demands of supermarkets, food
producers have reduced the size of their workforces.
a) set
b) meet
c) reach
20Prices ____________ a peak last night and then fell.
a) reached b) increased c) put up
3 Put these trend words in the correct category.
remain steady / lower / rise / level / rocket / push down
21increase: ________________ ________________
22decrease: ________________ ________________
23no change: ________________ ________________
keys
Language
1 left /2 has continued/ 3 fell/ 4 has remained/ 5 have
doubled/ 6 was / 7 haven’t raised / 8 Have you been
/ 9 haven’t seen / 10 Did you invite
Vocabulary
11 b / 12 c / 13 a / 14 a / 15 b / 16 a / 17 c / 18 c / 19
b / 20 a
21 rise, rocket / 22 lower, push down / 23 remain
steady, level