ПОЗНАВАТЕЛЬНОЕ

Оси и плоскости тела человека - Тело человека состоит из определенных топографических частей и участков, в которых расположены органы, мышцы, сосуды, нервы и т.д.

Отёска стен и прирубка косяков - Когда на доме не достаёт окон и дверей, красивое высокое крыльцо ещё только в воображении, приходится подниматься с улицы в дом по трапу.

Дифференциальные уравнения второго порядка (модель рынка с прогнозируемыми ценами) - В простых моделях рынка спрос и предложение обычно полагают зависящими только от текущей цены на товар.

The story behind Russia’s chocolate king

Korkunov has become the best Russian brand but entrepreneur Andrei Korkunov already finds the chocolate market too small for him. Korkunov doesn’t have a long corporative history. Although the company was established only ten years ago, it already has a niche on the confectionary market.

“Г m addicted to chocolate”, he admits. “1 have to taste it often in my line of business. When. I’m away for a long time and can’t have my chocolate, I feel discomfort”. But chocolate isn’t of course everything. Korkunov’s most important character traits are in his inborn self- confidence and exceptional intuition. When the chocolate boxes with the characteristic antique design hit the Russian market, many buyers thought that Korkunov was a bearded old man, carrying on some ancient family traditions. Even when the entrepreneur stopped hiding and staged a public appearance, many people didn’t believe that the brand’s founder was a graduate of the Moscow Energy Institute, a military engineer who had no idea about confectionary production a few years before.

Korkunov obtained his startup capital by making and selling jeans after opening a cooperative society in the early 1990s in Kolomna. Later, together with a friend he founded a company to sell office equipment, audio and video products, and food. In 1997 he suddenly decided to build a confectionary factory. He says that by that time he had realized that there was a far greater chance of building a booming business in Russia if you owned a factory instead of being a trader.

In 1998 he acted on his intuition. In a vacant lot in the Odintsovo Region, there was an unfinished confectionary factory, with $15 million already invested in the land. The country had just suffered a financial crash after the default. “I had to decide whether to import tire equipment I had ordered from Italy, or to leave it there.” As a military man, Korkunov refused to retreat. He decided to start assembling the plant.

Together with the equipment, an Italian confectioner came to Moscow. Having locked themselves in a room, he and Korkunov mixed up nut paste, cocoa butter and other ingredients until they obtained a taste that Korkunov liked. Since then Korkunov’s chocolates have received 13 gold and one silver medal, two grand prix at Russian and international exhibitions. Now the factory has 650 workers. It commands a 47% share in the Russian market’s segment for packaged chocolate sweets. The owner puts the company’s cost at around $230 million.

Korkunov makes no secret of the fact that before starting up the factory he had engaged in industrial espionage. Disguised as a customer, he visited chocolate makers across the world to see how they had organized production. On returning home he decided to do the same but better. Today he describes his sweets as “talented”. “We spend money lavishly on good raw materials and on the packaging.” He had built an experimental shop to produce hand-made sweets. A kilo of such chocolates costs 2,280 rubles.

Meanwhile, Korkunov’s interests stretch far beyond the chocolate sector. He has recently been to China and Singapore to examine their industrial parks with a hope to build similar facilities in Russia. Such parks, he says, have given a big boost to small business in Europe and Asia, where the state provides vast areas for the development of private enterprises, provides the entire infrastructure, and leases out business facilities on a long-term basis. As a result, they can begin operation at once. In Russia it’s much more difficult to start a business. Korkunov is trying to bring these new ideas home.

From “The MN” by N. Alyakrisnkaya

entrepreneur – предприниматель

to obtain startup capital - приобрести стартовый капитал

equipment – оборудование

confectionary market — кондитерский рынок

international exhibition - международная выставка

industrial espionage - промышленный шпионаж

raw materials - сырье

to examine industrial parks - осмотреть промышленные парки

to lease - сдавать в аренду, в основном, средств производства

private enterprise - частное предприятие

4. The silent giver (by Sam Leen)

Chuck Feeney has already given away $3 billion through his foundation ‘The Atlantic Trust’ - and there’s a few billion more to come.

The Simple Life

Chuck Feeney is a short man with greying hair and blue eyes. He agreed to meet me for the interview and I discovered that stories about his simple way of life are true. His reading glasses cost over $9 and he paid just $ 15 for his plastic watch! “If 1 can get a watch for $ 15 with a five-year battery that keeps perfect time, why should I wear a Rolex?” he says adding, “Do you want to buy it? I have two.”

He doesn’t own a car and it’s true he flies economy class. “It would be different if a first class flight got me to San Francisco quicker.”

Chuck Feeney’s foundation is currently worth $3.6 billion but its founder lives quietly in an apartment. “I wouldn’t be comfortable in an 8,000 square foot home; you couldn’t find anybody in it.” In fact, he is so quiet about his giving that few people know his name.

Giving it all away

Feeney was not born rich. He grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New Jersey. His vast wealth came from his clever idea in the 1960s to open Duty Free shops selling cut-price goods at airports and ports. About the same time people began to travel more and so his business boomed. By 1988 Forbes magazine included him in its 400 richest people list.

But recently this quiet man, Chuck Feeney, shocked the world of business by promising to give nearly all his money to charitable causes in the next 15 years. He wants to help the world’s poor and start educational projects for young people.

Giving while living

He has always secretly given to good causes throughout his life arid his first gift was for a schoolyard in a poor neighbourhood school and later a Maternity hospital in Vietnam. However, because he is Irish-American he has given much to Ireland. His donations have built new libraries and research laboratories in many Irish universities.

‘I love to go to a college and see the young people learning. I know I have helped them to dream better dreams”, he says after visiting the University of Limerick to which he has given generously.

I was surprised by how ordinary he seemed despite his great wealth. His parting words to me summed up the man, “If you have a lot of money- think about giving it away while you’re alive because you’ll get more satisfaction than if you wait till you’re dead.”

From the BBC news

to give away - дарить, отдавать

charitable causes - благотворительные цели

*do charity – заниматься благотворительностью

donations - пожертвования

5. Aeroflot sheds its image(by Sarah Wilson)

One of the hardest things for a business to do is to develop a more positive image. To do it the company must first improve the quality of the product, and then must solve the equally challenging task of convincing consumers that the product has really improved. Let’s examine one company that has successfully shed its image of a run-down unsafe airline and become an innovative competitor.

Aeroflot, the Russian state-owned airline giant, has recently launched a campaign to create a new, less Soviet image. With the help of a British public relations firm, Aeroflot is redesigning many aspects of its airline and launching publicity campaigns.

One of the most noticeable changes is the colour scheme of the airline, which has changed to silver, orange and blue. The company’s new colours are symbolic of the new image that Aeroflot is presenting. Silver stands for Aeroflot’s professionalism, orange for its friendliness and blue for its heritage. These colours will help to warm customer associations with the airline away from the cold, grey image Aeroflot used to present.

However, not all of Aeroflot has changed. One questionable aspect of the company that is remaining the same is its winged hammer and sickle (крылатый серп и молот) logo. Aeroflot is keeping the logo because the symbol has become highly recognizable to consumers. It takes loads of money to create a new recognizable one.

Bat it’s not just image. Aeroflot is also modernizing its fleet of planes, and incorporating Western models. This will help change Aeroflot’s image of being an unsafe airline with out-of-date equipment. Smoke-free flights and less crowded planes will also contribute to a new image.

Although these factors may seem insignificant, combined they create a powerful new image for what was, until recently, a falling business. These innovations, although costly, have proved very profitable to Aeroflot. So while shedding a poor image that has been around for half a century may seem impossible, Aeroflot shows that inventive business methods and marketing skills can successfully change a company’s image, and therefore its fortune.

From Cool English

to shed an image - сбросить, изменить образ

publicity campaign - рекламная кампания
run-down - упадочный, развалившийся

costly – дорогой, затратный

6. Peter Humbro’s success story (by Sarah Wilson)

This is an interview with Peter Humbro, a representative of the Humbros Banking family. We ask him about his immense success in gold mining in Russia. The company was set up in 1992 on a $5m budget; now it’s worth $l,5bn!

Peter, to start with, a little bit about yourself. Why do they call you the black sheep of the family?

- Not black sheep - Golden Fleece'

- Fair enough. Why do you have so much faith in Russian gold?

- Russia has the geological advantage that many tectonic plates meet under its surface. Where this happens you always find gold.

- What would you say are the three keys to entrepreneurial success?

- Luck, hard work and courage.

- What is more important - right place, right time, hard work or contacts and experience?

-The Secret of life is timing. If you are right at the wrong time you will lose everything. But contacts are vital - you can’t know everything. It’s more important to know the man who knows the answer than to try to know all the answers yourself.

-You are known for helping small companies with contacts funds and advice - why are you so supportive?

-I was lucky to have been born into a famous and wealthy family who were prepared to back me when I was struggling to begin. So that I can return something - and make a profit if it goes well - I try to back young people with good ideas.

-Could you tell us a little about the beginning of your company? What were the early days like in Russia in the 1990s?

-Chaotic and exciting. It was rather like the wild west of the USA or the Gulf states at the beginning of the oil boom.

-Why did you name your company Peter Humbro?

-1 needed confidence of my investors, besides this name had already been a brand.

-10 companies are part of Peter Humbro Mining, and 4 joint ventures: how do you keep track of all of them?

-We have a very good team of people whom we trust to run the business. Good communications are important. Our Russians speak English and we try to speak Russian.

-Does the activity of the gold market worry you much?

-It doesn’t worry me because we are one of the lowest cost producers in the world.

-Thank you very much Peter, and the best of luck to you.

-Thank you. From Cool English

gold mining - добыча золота

black sheep - паршивая овца (в семье)

Golden Fleece - золотое руно (в греч. мифах - золотая шкура волшебного барана)

timing - умение распределять время

the Gulf states - богатые нефтью страны Персидского залива

joint venture - совместное предприятие