Business English

1. Unit One
First Day On Campus
 The Bridge
If you’re an international student, or you
happen to join a university away from home,
you face many challenges and make a huge
move as you leave for college. It’s normal to
feel a certain level of stress in new situations, it
keeps you aware and on your toes. Yet, during
the first weeks and months you’ll want to be in
control of stress, otherwise you will start to feel
overwhelmed. How can you be happy and
successful there? How do you stay balanced as
a fresh university student? Here are some tips:
Yes, the work is hard, but give yourself an
opportunity to get used to this new academic
life. Don’t forget that you are your own boss.
You make the schedule and manage your own
time. You might think of cutting classes and
neglecting homework, as no one will nag you.
Nevertheless, you’ll wish they had if the final
exam is approaching and you’re not ready.

2. The beginning of college can be a lonely time
on the social level. You might be leaving your
old friends behind. The flip side is that you can
also expect to make new friends. All colleges
have freshman orientation programs so that
new students can get to know each other.
Freshmen are usually anxious to make new
friends because everyone’s in the same boat.
To wrap it up, college means potentials. It is
not just a learning opportunity; it’s a bridge
through life. If you make the right choice, you
cross safely. You’ll feel good about yourself,
get a great education, have fun, and you’ll grow
up in the process. Wow! What a deal!

3. Key Vocabulary:
- on your toes = to be careful and attracted
- overwhelmed = affected
- tips = advice
- opportunity = chance
- schedule = timetable
- nag = keep repeating and asking
- approaching = nearing
- flip side = less good side
- orientation = guidance
- Freshmen = new students
- anxious = worried
- wrap it up = finish = conclude
- potentials = opportunities = abilities

4. Grammar
Tens
e
Affirmative/
Negative/Que
stion
Usage Signal
Words
Simp
le
Prese
nt
A: He speaks.
N: He does
not speak.
Q: Does he
speak?
■action in the present
taking place once, never
or several times
■facts
■actions taking place one
after another
■action set by a timetable
or schedule
always,
every
…,
never,
normall
y,
often,
seldom,
someti
mes,
usually
if
sentenc
es type
I (If I
talk,
…)
Simp
le
Past
A: He spoke.
N: He did not
speak.
Q: Did he
speak?
■action in the past taking
place once, never or
several times
■actions taking place one
after another
■action taking place in the
middle of another action
yesterd
ay, 2
minutes
ago, in
1990,
the
other
day,

5. last
Friday
if
sentenc
e type
II (If I
talked,
…)
Futur
e
Simp
le
1
A: He will
speak.
N: He will not
speak.
Q: Will he
speak?
■action in the future that
cannot be influenced
■spontaneous decision
■assumption with regard
to the future
in a
year,
next
…,
tomorr
ow
If Type
I (If
you ask
her, she
will
help
you.)
assump
tion: I
think,
probabl
y, we
might
…,
perhaps

6. Futur
e
Simp
le
2
(goin
g to)
A: He is
going to
speak.
N: He is not
going to
speak.
Q: Is he going
to speak?
■decision made for the
future
■conclusion with regard
to the future
in one
year,
next
week,
tomorr
ow
 Simple Present Tense
 We use the present simple to talk
about:
1- General facts that are true and will be
true for some time
I am a university student.
2- Repeated action or habits:
She gets up at seven-thirty every morning.
3- Stories of films and plays, and in sports
commentaries:
Harry Potter uses magic and fights the evil
demons.
4- Future schedules and arrangements:
The train leaves at eleven o’clock.

7.  We make questions in the present
simple tense:
1- By changing the order of the subject and
verb ‘to be’:
Statement:
She is happy.
Question:
Is she happy?
2- For other verbs we use “do” before the
subject to make questions
Statement:
Mark lives in France.
Question:
Does Mark live in France?
 We make negative sentences in the present
simple tense:
By putting not after verb ‘to be’ or after ‘do’:
Statement:
She is happy.
Mark lives in France.
Negative:
She is not happy.

8. Mark does not live in France.
Note
Some verbs usually take the present simple
rather than the present continuous, whatever the
context:
Mental states:
believe, know, suppose, think, realize,
recognize, and understand.
Wants and likes:
want, like, love, hate, need, and prefer.
Appearance:
appear, seem, and look like.
Example:
Correct: She knows him very well.
Wrong: She is knowing him very well.
**************************************
 The past simple of regular verbs is formed
by:
Adding- (ed) to the base form of the verb:
Play Played
Many common verbs have irregular past simple
forms:

9. Take > Took
Note:
The irregular verb must be well memorized.
 How to make questions with past simple
tense verbs?
We make questions in the past simple tense:
1. By changing the order of the subject and verb
‘to be’:
Statement: Rachel was a teacher.
Question: Was Rachel a teacher?
2. For other verbs we use ‘did’ before the
subject to make questions:
Statement: Samuel played football.
Question: Did Samuel play football?
 How to make negatives with past simple
tense verbs?
We make negative sentences by putting not
after verb ‘to be’ or after ‘did’:
Statement: Rachel was a teacher.
Samuel played football.
Negative: Rachel was not a teacher.
Samuel did not play football.

10. **************************************
 When do we use the future simple tense?
We use the simple future tense in the form of
"Will + infinitive" to express the following:
1- As a statement of future fact, or to say
what we think will happen as this example
shows.
I think I will visit my aunt.
2- Repeated events in the future:
She will do her homework when she finishes her
lunch.
Note
• To talk about strong future intentions or plans
we use be going to + infinitive , look at this
example:
- She is going to fly to Paris next week.
• The simple present tense can be used with a
time expression for a definite future
arrangement.
- Correct: The girls start school on Sunday.
- Wrong: The girls are going to start school on
Sunday.

11. • We use shall instead of will in questions with
I and we:
- Shall we get some tea?
- Shall I help you carry the box?

12. Listening Comprehension
First Day on Campus by Fadwa Mohamed
It was my first day on campus. I have become
an international student at Georgia State
University (GSU) in the USA. I flew a long
way from Egypt to be there. From the plane,
everything seemed small and strange. I was
nervous to be in a new place, but kind of
curious too. An Egyptian student with GSU
came to pick me up. I found myself in a new
world with new people.
It's impossible now to express that feeling in
words. But I can tell you my experience. I was
relieved to see some Egyptian students in the
orientation. They were the representatives of
the Egyptian student organization. I met
students from different countries, like China,
Japan, Mexico, and Iraq. I met a very friendly
girl from South America who really helped me
feel less nervous. Soon, time was flying among
laughs and joy.

13. The lunch break was a painful time. It was the
first time in my life to taste American food. It
looked nice but didn't satisfy my appetite, as I
remembered my mother’s delicious cooking.
Yet, I knew I had to get used to it. After lunch,
we were taken to visit the campus. Our group
leader took us to different buildings and gave us
a long tour. By this time, I was beginning to
enjoy myself and make new friends.
Two hours later, I started to feel tired. I asked
my group leader - who was Indian - to take me
to the student hostel. I was a bit scared of
having a roommate. I’m an only child and
never got used to sharing a room with anyone.
But when I met May, we immediately hit it off.
I felt like we’ve known each other all our lives.
Tomorrow was something to look forward to.

14. Academic Writing
In academic writing, “pre-writing” comes first.
- Pre-writing involves three steps:
1- Choosing a topic
2- Narrowing down the topic
3- Making an outline
 Choosing a Topic
- Choosing a topic means deciding on a thesis
statement.
- The thesis statement is the sentence that tells
your readers what your topic is, and what they
should expect. It is usually the last sentence in
your introduction.
- A thesis statement is a single, clear sentence
that states what you want your readers to know,
believe, or understand after having read your
essay.
 Narrowing Down the Topic
- This means downsizing your topic to make it
well organized, concise, and to the point.

15. - Example:
Friends (too broad)
My Friend's date of birth (too narrow)
 Making an Outline
What is an outline?
An outline is a part of “Pre-Writing”
A list outlines all of the information that you
would like to include in your paper.
The list helps you to put all of your information
in the right order before you begin writing.
Why Write an Outline?
• It helps you organize all the ideas struggling
to appear.
• It allows you to discover the problems that
might occur in your essay.
An outline organizes your information into 3
major parts in preparation for your paper:
1- Your Introduction
2- Your Body Paragraphs
3- Your Conclusion

16. What Goes in the Introduction Section of the
Outline?
The same information that should be in your
essay’s introductory paragraph Thesis
Statement
1- Your First Major Point
2- Your Second Major Point
3- Your Third Major Point
What about the Body section?
The body section outlines the following
information on each of your major points:
- Major Point
- 3-5 Supporting Details
- Transition relating it back to your thesis
3- Your conclusion section
1-Restates your thesis statement
2-Reestabelishes your major points
3-Adds any final thoughts