Find words in the article that are the opposites of these expressions

a) slow and low-key d) illogical

b) infrequent e) rational

c) irregularly and with great effort f) fresh, rested and ready to work

 

Choose the correct sense for the expressions in italics.

a) « The question is why all the technological gadgetry has failed make a dent in

the amount of business travel?» (line….)

i) a hollow area in a surface

ii) a reduction

b) The answer seems to lie with a simple statistic. (line… )

i) not tell the truth

ii) be found in

c) Facial expressions, body language, eye-contact – these are all key conduits.(line…)

i) channels of communication

ii) pipes

d) Without them you can’t get past first base.(line…)

i) get beyond the first stage in a negotiation or discussion – an expression taken

from baseball

ii) get beyond the base of something – an expression taken from building houses

e) It’s tough to bond over the Internet.

i) use a type of financial investment

ii) make close contact with someone

f) A lot of lobbing goes on before and after meetings. (line…)

i) meeting in hotel lobbies

ii) attempts to influence people and their decisions.

 

  1. Match each verb 1-5 to the noun a)-e) that it goes with the article
    1. read a) the atmosphere
    2. pick up b) relationships
    3. walk into c) people
    4. build d) a meeting
    5. burn out e) body language

 

  1. Now match each verb 1-5 in Exercise 5 with another noun tat it can

Typically go with.

a) trust

b) a worker

c) a feeling

d) a lamp-post

e) a book

 

  1. What is the key message of the article? Choose the best alternative.

a)Videoconferencing will eventually take over from face-to-face meetings.

b) Business meetings will always be necessary because people prefer to meet

face-to-face.

c) Airlines face a difficult future as business travel declines.

Over to you 1

When someone says that more than 90 percent of human communication is non-verbal,

what exactly do they mean? Do you agree? Why/why not?

Over to you 2

Is it a good idea to combine business travel with leisure? For example, would you stay in a place after meeting or a job interview to have a few days’ holidays? Why/why not?

Module 1 Travel

Text 3

The automation of travel

Before you read

The article you are going to read begins:

«Between the office and the hotel shower, a business traveler flying abroad comes

into contact with some 20 people. Try counting. »

 

Before looking at the article, make a list of all people that you meet in this way between

leaving your home or office and getting into your hotel room when you fly abroad.

Try to find 20 or more.

 

Reading

Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions.

 

Survey

Business of travel

Human contact may become part of history: Roger Bray discovers that many of the people

he meets during his travels are likely to become victims of increasing automation.

 

Between the office and the hotel shower, a business traveler flying abroad comes

into contact with some 20 people. Try counting. Starting at the airport, there is someone to

check you in – and maybe someone else to ask you security questions – someone to search

you when you set off the alarm at the metal detection arch, to greet and serve you in the

lounge. There’s aircraft cabin staff, customs and immigration officials, a taxi driver, someone

at the hotel check-in. And so the list goes on.

In the future, however, trips will involve much less human contact. It will begin with airline and hotel reservations being made by voice recognition. Your secretary will then check you in and select you a seat using a digital interactive television. A desktop printer will produce your boarding card, a driverless train will take you to the airport. Once aboard the aircraft you will enter your request for a drink using a seat-arm screen and a keyboard – and a robot trolley

will come along with it.

At immigration control your face will be checked automatically against information stored in a microchip on your identity card. In the hotel lobby you will check in at a touch-

screen kiosk, where you can tap in any special requirements.

During your trip, headquarters send you an e-mail asking you to divert from Atlanta to Cincinnati.. You plug in your laptop computer and tap into a programme which provides details of hotels and flights and allows you to make reservations without picking up a telephone.

Far-fetched? Not a bit of it. These developments may not all become common practice, but if they are not being tried out already they have all been the object of serious consideration.

An equally serious consideration for the travel industry, however, is how much its customers want to avoid human contact. Research carried out by British Airways indicates that they are ambivalent. A spokesman says: «When we asked the business traveler to describe the ideal, the answer was: «I want to be able to walk completely freely from the taxi –or my car –

to the aircraft, carrying my boarding pass and with hand baggage only. But the second I click my fingers, I want a member of the customer services staff to be there. »

 

1. If you are a victim of something, do you normally benefit from it? (headline)