Episode 173

EPISODE 173
LEVEL A2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

 

American Express

American Express, a.k.a. AmEx, is one of the world’s top 20 global brands. This financial services company was established in 1850. It is one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. The company’s core business is credit cards and traveller’s cheques. American Express credit cards are seen as a premium product. Its membership fee is higher than most and it markets itself to a richer, business-travelling clientele. As a result, the company suffers less losses than its competitors. The company likes to keep with tradition. Its slogan “Don’t Leave Home Without It” dates from 1975. AmEx is frequently high on industry lists. ‘Fortune’ magazine listed it as one of the world’s 30 most admired companies and the ‘New York Times’ reported it has a 91% customer satisfaction rate.

 

 

Exercise 1
Find in the text words which mean:

1. marka
2. usługi
3. opłata
4. klientela
5. straty
6. zadowolenie

 

Exercise 2
Match these words from the two columns to form collocations:

1. global                    services
2. financial               satisfaction
3. core                       product
4. credit                    fee
5. premium             clientele
6. membership       card
7. richer                   business
8. customer             brand

 

Exercsie 3
Say these sentences in English using some expressions from the previous exercise:

1. Nasza firma oferuje usługi finansowe.
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2. Karty kredytowe są naszym produktem premium.
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3. Zadowolenie klienta jest dla nas najważniejsze.
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4. Czy wymagają (require) państwo opłaty członkowskiej?
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I know English idioms!

This time the reading text is about a credit card company. As we know credit cards can come in different forms and… colours! We can have a sliver, golden or platinum silver card. Whatever colour it is, we mustn’t forget that:

• All that glitters is not gold. Nie wszystko złoto co się świeci.

It’s worth remembering this idiom-proverb and act accordingly in real life! 

 

Phrasals, phrasals…

“It is one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average index.” reads a sentence from our text. It uses a popular phrasal verb: “make up”. This verb has many meanings so let’s study at least a few of them:

• He always makes up excuses for being late for work. (= invents)
• If you can’t think what to write, just make something up! (= think up)
• Let’s make up a list of things that need to be done. (= prepare)

 

Grammar corner

This time, tense-related exercise. Complete the reading text with the correct tense form of the verbs in brackets: American Express, a.k.a. AmEx, ………. (be) one of the world’s top 20 global brands. The financial services company ………. (be) established in 1850. It is one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. The company’s core business ………. (be) credit cards and traveller’s cheques. American Express credit cards ………. (be) ………. (see) as a premium product. Its membership fee is higher than most and it ………. (market) itself to a richer, business-travelling clientele. As a result, the company ………. (suffer) less credit losses than its competitors. The company ………. (like) to keep with tradition. Its slogan “Don’t Leave Home Without It” dates from 1975. AmEx is frequently high on industry lists. ‘Fortune’ magazine listed it as one of the world’s 30 most admired companies and the ‘New York Times’ reported it ………. (have) a 91% customer satisfaction rate.

 

 

GLOSSARY

a.k.a (also known as) – znany także jako
global – globalny, światowy
brand – marka
financial services – usługi finansowe
company – firma
to be established – zostać założonym
to make up – stanowić, tworzyć
Dow Jones Industrial Average index – indeks Dow Jones (jeden z najważniejszych indeksów akcji spółek notowanych na Giełdzie Papierów Wartościowych w Nowym Jorku)
core business – podstawowa działalność
credit card – karta kredytowa
traveller’s cheque – czek podróżny
to be seen as – być postrzeganym jako
premium product – produkt premium
membership – członkowstwo
fee – opłata
to market yourself – adresować swoją ofertę do
richer – zamożniejszy
business-travelling – podróżujący w interesach
klientele – klientela
as a result – w rezultacie
to sufler – cierpieć na, ponosić
loss – strata
competitor – konkurent
to keep with – trzymać się
to date from – pochodzić z, datować się
frequently – często
industry list – lista branżowa
to list – umieścić
admired – podziwiany
to report – donieść, oznajmić
customer satisfaction rate – wskaźnik zadowolenia klientów

 

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