2010年ESL之商务英语 09 Using Unfair Influence（打印版）

2010年ESL之商务英语 09 Using Unfair Influence（在线收听）

09Using Unfair Influence

GLOSSARY

contract – a legal agreement between two or more parties who agree to providea product or service in exchange for money or something else* We have an appointment at 3:00 today to sign the new rental contract.

to bid – to offer to do something for a particular amount of money when manyother people or companies are making similar offers, so that the buyer candecide which bid offers the best quality for the lowest price* Is your company going to bid on the new road construction project?

to be of service – to be useful or helpful in some way* If there’s anything I can do to be of service during your stay in our hotel, pleaselet me know.

to secure – to get; to obtain* How many new clients have we secured in the past two months?

the less said the better – a phrase used to mean that one doesn’t want to sharea lot of details about something, probably because those details would includesomething bad, wrong, or immoral that the other person doesn’t really need orwant to know about* I don’t know how Marty got those great front-row concert tickets, and I don’twant to know. The less said the better!

friends in high places – professional and/or personal relationships orconnections with people who are very powerful and can make importantdecisions* Manny has lots of friends in high places and he even knows the President ofthe United States personally.

Capitol Hill – U.S. Congress; the name of the area where the U.S. Senate andHouse of Representatives meet, used to refer to powerful political decisionmakingin U.S. government* After college, James got a job on Capitol Hill, working in his senator’s office fora few years.

to line the right pockets – to pay money to a powerful decision-maker so thathe or she makes a particular decision or views something in a particular way* It can be really difficult to get permission to build in this area, but if we line theright pockets, it shouldn’t be a problem.

to pull some strings – to do something that is secretive, unusual, or immoral toinfluence a person or control a situation* I had to pull some strings, but the home sellers have finally agreed to the pricewe were asking for.

bribery – the illegal practice of giving money to politicians or other decisionmakersto make them do what one wants* In some countries, people are expected to use bribery to pay off police officersif they don’t want to get a traffic ticket.

preferential treatment – favoritism; the practice of giving more favorable resultsor decisions to a particular person or organization, often because one hasreceived money or favors from that person or organization* The boss gives a lot of preferential treatment to her own daughter, letting hertake long breaks and giving her the easiest projects.

backroom deal – a transaction or agreement that happens secretly without theawareness of all the people who will be affected by it, and is often illegal orimmoral* The directors made a backroom deal to sell the company at a very low price,and in exchange, they were each secretly paid $250,000.

business as usual – the way things are always done in a particular workplace orindustry* Working 12-hours days is business as usual in many law firms.

influence peddling – the illegal practice of using one’s authority or decisionmakingpower as a way to get money or favors from other people* The senator made more than $3 million through influence peddling beforepeople found out what he was doing.

corruption – dishonest behavior by people who have a lot of power, especially inpolitics* There’s so much corruption in the city that it’s impossible to do anything withoutpaying extra money to the officials.

rampant – prevalent; very common; not unusual or rare* The flu was rampant in our schools all winter.

unethical – immoral; wrong* Do you think it is unethical for doctors to receive money and gifts forrecommending certain drugs to their patients?

dirty work – tasks or activities that are unpleasant or wrong, but need to be done* You couldn’t pay me enough to do that type of dirty work!

______________

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these is illegal?

a) Bidding.

b) Bribery.

c) Signing contracts.

2. Why doesn’t Josey want to hire Curt?

a) Because Josey’s company can do the dirty work itself.

b) Because Curt doesn’t understand business as usual.

c) Because Josey’s company has high ethical standards.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to bidThe verb “to bid,” in this podcast, means to offer to do something for a particularamount of money when many other people or companies are making similaroffers, so that the buyer can decide which bid offers the best quality for thelowest price: “Some companies bid low and then raise their prices after they havebeen selected for the project.” At an auction, “to bid” means to say how muchmoney one will pay for something: “Everyone was surprised when Mr. Hylton bid$100,000 for the painting.” Finally, the phrase “to bid against (someone)” meansto be in competition with another person to see who will bid the largest amount ofmoney to buy something: “You’re bidding against one of the richest women intown. There’s no way you’ll win.”

to secureIn this podcast, the verb “to secure” means to get or obtain: “Do you think thosenegotiators will be able to secure a peace agreement between the twocountries?” The verb “to secure” also means to protect something, or to keepsomething safe: “They installed extra locks on all the doors to secure theirhome.” Or, “We need to act now to secure the health of the planet for future generations.” The phrase “to secure a loan” means to borrow money from abank or another financial institution by agreeing to give something up if onecannot pay back the money: “He used his new car to secure the business loan.”

Finally, the phrase “to secure (something) to (something)” means to tiesomething to something else, usually with a piece of rope: “How did you secureyour kayak to the top of the car?”

______________CULTURE NOTERod Blagojevich was the Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, but he was“arrested” (taken to jail for having broken the law) on corruption “charges”

(accusations; claims of having done something illegal) on December 9, 2008.

Specifically, he was arrested for “solicitation” (requesting or asking forsomething) of bribery in “pay-to-play schemes,” in which people are asked to givemoney to a politician secretly in order to receive a particular job or participate in aparticular committee.

When Barack Obama became the President of the United States, his “Senate”

(one-half of the law-making part of the U.S. government) “seat” (position) for thestate of Illinois was left “vacant” (empty). In this situation, the governor has thepower to “appoint” (decide who should have a particular government position orjob) a “successor” (the next person to receive something – in this case, theSenate seat). This decision should be based on an individual’s qualifications,such as education and experience. However, Governor Blagojevich tried to“auction off” (sell) the seat to the “highest bidder” (the person willing to pay themost for something).

He won’t “be tried” (have a trial in a courtroom) until June 2010, but he hasalready been punished for his unethical actions. On January 8, 2009, the IllinoisHouse of Representatives voted to “impeach” (take away a high-poweredpolitician’s job) Governor Blagojevich. On January 29, 2009, the Illinois Senatemade the same decision, so he was “removed from office” (he lost his job asgovernor) on that day. The Illinois Senate also voted to prevent him from ever“holding” (having) another “public office” (government job) in the State of Illinois.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 576: Using UnfairInfluence.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 576. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. You can support this podcast by becoming amember of ESL Podcast. When you becoming a member, you also receive theLearning Guides for each of our episodes, 8- to 10-page PDF guides that helpyou improve your English even faster. Don’t forget about our ESL Podcast Storeor our ESL Podcast Blog. Both of those you can find on our website.

This episode is called “Using Unfair Influence.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Josey: Hello, I’m Josey Kim.

Curt: Hi, I’m Curt West. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.

Josey: You mentioned on the phone that you can help us get that governmentcontract we’re bidding on, is that right?

Curt: Absolutely. I’m sure I can be of service to your company and secure thatcontract without too much difficulty.

Josey: I appreciate your confidence, but can you tell me more about how youplan to do that?

Curt: I think the less said the better. Let’s just say that I have friends in highplaces.

Josey: I’m not sure I understand you.

Curt: Come on, you know how business is done on Capitol Hill. If you line theright pockets, it’s not difficult to pull some strings to get what you want.

Josey: Are you suggesting that our company use bribery to get preferentialtreatment on our bid?

Curt: I’m simply saying that backroom deals are business as usual in thegovernment.

Josey: If you’re suggesting that we hire you to do influence peddling, I can tellyou now that we’re not interested. Corruption may be rampant in government,but we’re not willing to do anything unethical to get a contract.

Curt: Suit yourself, but without somebody like me doing your dirty work, there’sno way you’re going to win that contract.

Josey: That may be, Mr. West, but that’s a chance we’re willing to take.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Josey saying, “Hello, I’m Josey Kim.” Curt says, “Hi,I’m Curt West. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.” Josey says, “Youmentioned on the phone that you can help us get that government contract we’rebidding on, is that right?” A “contract” is a legal agreement between two peopleor two groups, where one of the “parties,” as they’re called – one of the people orthe groups agrees to give something, to do something for the other group orperson, and that other party gives them money or something else of value.

Josey is talking about a government contract that her business is bidding on. “Tobid” (bid) means to offer to do something, in this case for a particular amount ofmoney. Often the government has work that it needs done, and it hasbusinesses do that work. But the businesses have to bid; they have to say, “I’lldo it for this much,” “I’ll do it for that much,” and then the government picks thebest bid, sometimes the cheapest or the one that will do the most for the money.

“To bid” has other meanings in English as well; take a look at our Learning Guidefor those.

Curt says, “Absolutely,” meaning yes, we can help you get that governmentcontract. He says, “I’m sure I can be of service to your company and secure thatcontract without too much difficulty.” “To be of service to (someone)” means tobe useful, to be helpful to that person. “To secure” here means to get, to obtain.

“Secure” has other meanings in English; those – guess what – are in theLearning Guide.

Josey says, “I appreciate your confidence, but can you tell me more about howyou plan to do that?” So Josey wants to know how Curt can help her companyget this government contract, and Curt says, “I think the less said the better.”

This expression, or phrase, “the less said the better,” is used to indicate that youdon’t want to give a lot of information – a lot of details about something, perhapsbecause the details would be about something bad, unethical, immoral, or wrongin some way, and the other person doesn’t need to know that information.

Sometimes the phrase is simply used to mean that I don’t want to talk about it orthat’s not something we want to talk about because, perhaps, it’s embarrassingto someone: “The less said the better.”

Curt says, “Let’s just say that I have friends in high places.” “To have friends inhigh places” means that you have personal or professional relationships withpeople who have a lot of power. Perhaps you know the governor of your state. IfI knew our current Governor Schwarzenegger I would say that I have friends inhigh places.

Josey says, “I’m not sure I understand you.” Curt says, “Come on (meaning bereasonable; don’t joke with me), you know how business is done on Capitol Hill.”

Capitol Hill is in Washington, D.C.; it’s where the building – the Capitol Building islocated, where you have the U.S. Representatives and the U.S. Senators. Theymeet in the Capitol Building, so when someone says Capitol Hill, they’re referringto the Senate and the House of Representatives, or simply the Congress, whichis another word for those two groups.

Curt says, “If you line the right pockets, it’s not difficult to pull some strings to getwhat you want.” “To line (line) the right pockets” means to give money topowerful people so that they will make a particular decision or take a particularview on something. You’re basically influencing them illegally – unethically – bygiving them money. This is a type of what we would call more generally“corruption,” where people in the government are taking money, or houses orvacations or whatever, in exchange for making certain decisions to help thepeople who gave him or her that money. That’s what it means to line someone’spockets. He says, “it’s not difficult to pull some strings to get what you want.”

The phrase “to pull some strings” means to do something in secret, somethingunusual, perhaps unethical to influence a person or a situation. It doesn’t alwayshave to be something that is illegal. “To pull some strings” means simply to useyour influence – your power to get something done. But with Curt, we kind ofthink it is unethical!

Josey says, “Are you suggesting that our company use bribery to get preferentialtreatment on our bid?” “Bribery” (bribery) is the illegal practice of giving money topoliticians or other decision-makers to make them do what you want to do, so it’sto line someone’s pockets, as we said earlier. That’s bribery, and the verb is “tobribe.” “Preferential treatment” means someone is going to be favorable towardyou; they’re going to make decisions that help you or your organization. Again, ifthis is done because they received a bribe then that would be illegal andunethical.

Curt says, “I’m simply saying that backroom deals are business as usual in thegovernment.” A “backroom (one word) deal” is an agreement that happens insecret, without people knowing about it, certainly without the general public – theaverage person knowing about it. “Business as usual” here means the waythings have always been done in this particular kind of business or in this type oforganization, in this case the government. Curt is saying that the governmentalways has these secret agreements – these secret deals, that’s business asusual – as normal.

Josey says, “If you’re suggesting that we hire you to do influence peddling, I cantell you now we’re not interested.” “Influence peddling” (peddling) is, again, theillegal practice of using your authority or your power as a way to get money orfavors from other people. Josey is saying that her company is not going to giveCurt money so that he can go bribe government officials. She says, “Corruptionmay be rampant in government, but we’re not willing to do anything unethical toget a contract.” “Corruption” is, as we mentioned before, dishonest behavior bypeople who have a lot of power, especially governments. “Rampant” (rampant)means very common, not unusual; often a negative thing that’s very common.

“Unethical” means wrong, immoral, often illegal. But unethical doesn’tnecessarily mean it’s illegal, but it does mean that it’s wrong; it’s against thecommon understanding of right and wrong.

Curt says, “Suit yourself,” meaning you can do what you want to do; I don’t care.

“Suit yourself, but without somebody like me doing your dirty work, there’s noway you’re going to win that contract.” “Dirty work” here means doing things thatare not pleasant, perhaps are wrong, but that you are going to have to do. Curtsays that if you don’t do this – if you don’t bribe the government officials – youwon’t win the contract; the contract will not be given to you. Josey says, “Thatmay be, Mr. West (that may be correct, she means), but that’s a chance we’rewilling to take,” meaning that’s a risk that we are willing to take. Perhaps wewon’t get the contract, but we won’t do anything illegal or unethical.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.