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Richard Branson – Virgin’S Versatile Visionary

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Richard Branson – Virgin’S Versatile Visionary Intermediate Richard Branson – Virgin’s versatile visionary Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires. His public image shows him a warm, friendly, idealistic, family man. He is also a workaholic who considers himself a tough negotiator in business dealings. Many entrepreneurs make their fortunes by focusing on doing one thing extremely well. However, Branson has used his own basic business model in various fields, making him a highly successful and versatile businessman. He was born in 1950 in London and started his business career with the “Student” magazine aged 16. In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record business, opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London, called Virgin Records. The name "Virgin" indicated that they were all new at business. In 1972 he built a recording studio in Oxfordshire where the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded the 'Tubular Bells' album. In 1977 he signed the Sex Pistols and other bands including Culture Club and the Rolling Stones, helping to make Virgin Records one of the top six record companies in the world. In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold Virgin Records to EMI for £500 million. Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984. Virgin Atlantic uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets and operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its bases at Gatwick and Heathrow airports. In 2011 Virgin Atlantic carried 5.3 million passengers, making it the eighth largest UK airline in terms of passenger volume. In 2004 he added another business to his Virgin empire under the name Virgin Galactic. Its goal is to carry passengers on suborbital space flights. The technology used in the spaceplane Spaceship One is partly funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Richard Branson’s key ingredient to success is his commitment to his employees. He believes in promoting from within the company, by providing career opportunities to his staff. Even in tough economic times, there are no layoffs at Virgin despite employing over twenty thousand people. He was voted the most popular businessman in the United Kingdom, among others, because he is involved in charity foundations and humanitarian work including AIDS research and help for unemployed young people. Vital Vocab 4th richest citizen – according to the Forbes list – tough negotiator – entrepreneur – fortune – do one thing extremely well – 1 in various fields – a highly successful and versatile businessman – business career – found a mail order record business – record an album – to sign a band – keep a company afloat – fleet – carry passengers – passenger volume – Virgin empire – spaceplane – partly funded by the co-founder of Microsoft – key ingredient to success – commitment to his employees – promoting from within the company – provide career opportunities – staff – tough economic times – layoff – the most popular businessman – charity foundations – unemployed young people – True or false? Add the correct answer where necessary 1. True / False: Mike Oldfield is a pilot with Virgin Atlantic Airways. _______________________________________________________________ 2. True / False: Branson became an entrepreneur when he sold Virgin Records. _______________________________________________________________ 3. True / False: Versatile means that Branson only concentrated on one business field. _______________________________________________________________ 4. True / False: A tough negotiator does not easily accepts the offer of the other party. _______________________________________________________________ 5. True / False: Gatwick is a famous railway station. _______________________________________________________________ 6. True / False: Virgin Galactic is already flying passengers to the Middle East. _______________________________________________________________ 2 7. True / False: He is committed to his employees, but this is just a minor factor in achieving success. _______________________________________________________________ 8. True / False: Charity organization develop new technologies for spaceplanes. _______________________________________________________________ 9. True / False: If someone is laid off, they lost their job. _______________________________________________________________ 10. True / False: An Airbus is the name of the shuttle bus that takes you from the terminal to the airplane on the runway. _______________________________________________________________ Match the phrases to describe Branson English English Translation 1. tough a. another business to his empire 2. family b. to his employees 3. successful c. man 4. versatile d. in charity work 5. keep e. the company afloat 6. add f. entrepreneur 7. committed g. negotiator 8. involved h. businessman Make full sentences from the given parts 1. career / start / Branson’s / “Student” magazine ______________________________________________________________ 2. extremely well / make / can / if / do / a fortune / one thing / ______________________________________________________________ 3. basic / using / successful / made / his business model / Branson / versatile / and ______________________________________________________________ 4. at business / they / come from / name / “Virgin” / idea / be new / because / that / ______________________________________________________________ 5. sold / his airline company / Virgin Music / Branson / keep / afloat ______________________________________________________________ 6. formed / Virgin Atlantic Airlines / 1984 ______________________________________________________________ 7. Virgin Atlantic / based on / eight / passenger volume / UK airline / large ______________________________________________________________ 8. / latest / empire / member / Virgin Galactic / Branson’s / ______________________________________________________________ 3 9. people / more / employ / Virgin / than / twenty thousand ______________________________________________________________ 10. voted / Branson / popular / businessman / most / in UK ______________________________________________________________ Match the synonyms 1. unemployed a. keep a company running 1 - 2. according to b. has many sides, good in many fields 3. versatile c. person who discusses and closes business deals 4. keep a company afloat d. different areas of business 5. sign a band e. based on 6. fleet f. most important component 7. commitment to his employees g. letting employees go from the company 8. layoff h. group of airplanes or ships 9. entrepreneur i. does not have a job 10. key ingredient j. loyalty to his staff 11. negotiator k. owner of his own business 12. various business fields l. make a contract with musicians Add the missing numbers and give full answers to the questions! There’s one extra number. 5.3 £500 1950s 1984 1992 1972 4th 7 8th 2011 1. Which place is Richard Branson on the richest UK citizens list? ____________________________________________________________ 2. Which year did Forbes publish this list? ____________________________________________________________ 4 3. Which decade was Branson born? ____________________________________________________________ 4. Which year was “Tubular Bells” released? ____________________________________________________________ 5. When was Virgin Records sold? ____________________________________________________________ 6. For what price did Branson sell the record company? ____________________________________________________________ 7. Which year was Virgin Atlantic formed? ____________________________________________________________ 8. How many passengers did the airline carry in 2011? ____________________________________________________________ 9. How many airlines in the UK were ranked higher than Virgin in 2011? _____________________________________________________________ Match these abbreviations with their full versions abbreviation explanation English explanation / translation 1. e.g. a. Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord) 2. A.D. b. as soon as possible 3. B.C. c. before Christ 4. GDP d. blind carbon copy 5. CEO e. carbon copy 6. NATO f. Chief Executive Officer 7. VAT g. exempli gratia (for example) 8. R&D h. European Union 5 9. EU i. frequently asked questions 10. IMF j. gross domestic product 11. ASAP k. International Monetary Fund 12. IMO l. in my opinion 13. FAQ m. North Atlantic Treaty Organization 14. cc n. Research and Design facility 15. bcc o. value added tax 16. PA p. Personal assistant Now use them in sentences! 1. _____________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________________________ 6. _____________________________________________________________ 7. _____________________________________________________________ 8. _____________________________________________________________ 9. _____________________________________________________________ 10. _____________________________________________________________ 11. _____________________________________________________________ 12. _____________________________________________________________ 13. _____________________________________________________________ 14. _____________________________________________________________ 15. _____________________________________________________________
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