There are many people who would love nothing else than to marry a CEO. After all, they think that this person must be intelligent, powerful, charismatic and very successful, and usually they are. Does it mean that you will have a charmed life just because you marry a CEO? Here are some things to consider:
· CEOs have a lot of responsibilities when it comes to their business. This is a good thing when it comes to the bottom line[3] financially, but will this be a good thing for your relationship? You will need to make sure they can balance their responsibilities at the office with their responsibilities at home or you might end up being ‘an office widow/widower’. If they have to work those late nights, you will need to be accepting of that and give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not doing this on purpose, it is just the nature of the job.
· CEOs usually work 24/7. This does not mean that they are actively working every minute of the day, but what it does mean is that they are always on call and they are the go-to person when there is a fire that needs to be put out. How this translates to your relationship is that your romantic dinner might be interrupted or there might be a no-show to your son’s soccer game to your son’s disappointment. The pro is that you will probably get to go to any restaurant you want, but the con is that your dinner might get cancelled or interrupted time and time again. CEOs do not always put their families and personal relationships first. Can you handle that?
· CEOs are always under scrutiny. When their company is doing well, they are the heroes and everyone wants to be their best friend, but when times are tough, they get all the blame. You might find that everyone wants to have you at their dinner party when the company is doing well, and when it’s not, the invitations might stop coming. Can you be supportive when serious problems arise? Additionally, you can expect no respect for personal or family boundaries. Gossip columnists are relentless at finding out every single detail of your private life, including potentially embarrassing details you would never want to be publicized. If you actually do become successful and famous, expect constant invasion of your private life.
· CEOs get recognized; especially the successful high profile ones. This might seem pleasant in theory, but can you handle having strangers coming up to him when you are out for a dinner? Can you be gracious all the time? This will be expected of you even if the person who comes up to the table is a blond bombshell or a drunken guy asking why his stock went down this month.
· CEOs get invited to a lot of social events. Again, this might seem like it will be fun in the abstract, but in reality, this means that you will attending a lot of business events where you will be expected to make some boring chit-chat while your spouse works[4] the room. This does not mean that you can’t enjoy or get something out of the events yourself, but mostly you will be expected to be by your spouse’s side with a smile on your face.
Keep in mind that regardless of whom you marry, every marriage needs care and attention so that it can stand the test of time.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? Write:
| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information |
| NOT GIVEN | if there is no information on this |
1. The highest-level executives are considered rather smart, influential and rich.
2. A top manager needs a patient and understanding spouse who is going to stick by him / her.
3. Wealthy people have to take serious measures to maintain their families security.
4. One’s expectations of enjoying a glamorous life-style are not always in line with the reality of being married to a CEO.
5. Tabloid reporters are considerate and scrupulous in the use of personal information.
Focus on Vocabulary
Unit 1 “Something to Shout About”
Vocabulary Commentary on the text “How to be a Winner ”
Don’t let potential hurdles block your path to success. (12)
· to overcome / surmount (formal) / clear / get over ahurdle –one of a number of light barriers over which runners leap in certain events; an obstacle to be overcome; e.g. What are the major hurdles one must overcome when starting a business?
… and that was it – the spur I needed. (15)
· to spur sb (on) to do sth / into action = to put / set spurs to sth– to encourage; e.g. Even a small success would spur me on to greater effort.
spur, n. (C.) – (1) a sharp object on the heel of a rider's boot which is used to encourage a horse to go faster;
(2) a thing that prompts or encourages smb; an incentive; e.g. It is our hope that the awards will act as a spur to their careers.
No obstacle is ever insurmountable. (18)
· an insurmountable problem / obstacle / etc. – (formal) impossible to deal with successfully; insuperable; e.g. The questions discussed in the article remain thorny but perhaps not insurmountable.
When times are hard, keep plugging away towards your goal. (22)
· to plug away at sth - to keep working hard at sth in a determined way despite difficulties; e.g. Barack Obama urged the crowd to “keep plugging away, keep fighting, and we’ll build an even better America.” (The Washington Post)
There was a time in my career when I matured from a little girl to a woman and I experienced a huge dip in my confidence. (24-25)
· to mature (into sth / sb) - to start behaving like an adult and become more sensible as you get older; e.g. Stem cells have the capability of maturing into different types of tissue depending on how they are stimulated.
Concentration will (…) boost your confidence and self-belief. (65-66)
· confidence – (1) the feeling that you can trust and be sure about the abilities or good qualities of sb/sth; e.g. The fact that a company needs to be rescued by the federal government tends to undermine confidencein the company’s financial condition.
(2) a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities; e.g. At an interview a candidate who lacksconfidence may be unable to respond to questions properly. (job-interview.net)
confident, – sure about something, someone, or oneself; e.g. Roger Federer was confidentof winning a record eighth Wimbledon title. self-confident
NOTE: To be self-confident is to have confidence in yourself. Self-confident people don't doubt themselves. It is usually a positive word: you can be self-confident without being cocky, arrogant, or overconfident.
Sometimes it’s very hard to put things into perspective, but the best approach is toblock out the negative thoughts and keep at it. (27-28)
· perspective, n.– (1) (C.) a way of thinking about sth; e.g. The problem needs to be looked at froma historical perspective.
(2) (U.) a sensible outlook on life; you do not imagine that sth is more serious than it really is; to put things into perspective = to see things as they are, from an objective viewpoint; to have a reasonable view of something. e.g. You can put your worries into perspective when you realize how many people in the world are so much worse off than you.
NOTE: ‘перспектива’ (видынабудущее) = prospect (s); e.g. What are the prospects of promotion in this job?
· to block out / to filter out - to stop yourself thinking about sth or remembering it; to try not to listen to; e.g. You have to block out all your fears if you want to do a parachute jump.
Channel your efforts in the right direction and don’t get side-tracked.(33-34)
So, at work, make an effort to learn something new every day. (47-48)
· effort, n. – (1) (C.) an attempt to do sth that is difficult or involves hard work; e.g. The tobacco industry has fought government efforts to introduce or increase the size of graphic warnings in some countries. (The Washington Post)
(2) (U.) physical or mental energy needed to do sth; e.g. Writing a book requires a lot of time and effort.
Then there are external distractions, such as family or lifestyle. (63-64)
· to distract- to draw the attention of (a person) away from sth; to get distracted / side-tracked; e.g. Sometimes getting easily distracted is the result of insufficient motivation to complete your work.
distraction, e.g. In our hyper-connected world, digital distractions can provide all too perfect an excuse for procrastination.(Forbes)
Remember, the more you practise being assertive and proactive, the more it becomes second nature. (45-46)
This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily… (69-70)
· assertive - confident and direct in claiming one's rights or putting forward one's views; e.g. An assertive person can express their feelings and assert their rights while respecting the feelings and rights of others. (skillsyouneed.com)
· to become second nature / automatic – can be performed automatically and without thinking, because it seems normal and natural; e.g. After a while, you will not need to make such a conscious effort; your actions will become second nature. (tipsonhealthyliving.com)
Concentration will (…) boost your confidence and self-belief. (65-66)
· to boost - to encourage, to help sth to increase, improve; to make sb feel more positive or more confident; to boost one’s confidence ≠ to knock one’s confidence; e.g. Constantly reminding yourself about what you like about yourself helps boost your confidence and goes a long way to helping build self esteem.
The key is to make sure that these don’t have a detrimental effect. (64-65)
· detrimental – (formal) harmful, damaging; e.g. Retiring early can have a detrimental impact on your retirement savings.
Don’t underestimate yourself. (86)
· to underestimate - to think that sb is not as good, clever, or skilful, as they really are; e.g. I think we all drastically underestimate the effect divorce has on children. ≠ tooverestimate.
Search the Vocabulary Commentary for the equivalents of the following:
1) быть уверенным в победе;
2) войти в привычку;
3) ему не хватает уверенности в себе;
4) легко отвлекаться;
5) лишить уверенностив себе;
6) напористый / пробивной человек;
7) необращать внимания / гнать прочь свои страхи;
8) недооценивать;
9) неодолимое / непреодолимое препятствие;
10) неразрешимая проблема;
11) объективно / здраво взглянуть на вещи;
12) отстаивать свои права;
13) пагубное воздействие;
14) переоценивать;
15) подорвать уверенность;
16) подталкивать / подгонять / «пришпоривать»;
17) попытки / усилия;
18) преодолеть препятствие;
19) придать уверенности в себе;
20) продолжать усиленно работать / пахать / корпеть;
21) с исторической точки зрения;
22) слишком уверенный / самонадеянный;
23) служить стимулом;
24) созреть, развиться;
25) то, что отвлекает внимание;
26) требуется много усилий;
27) уверенный в себе.
Vocabulary Exercises
*1. Translate the following English phrases from the text “How to be a Winner” into Russian:
1) to claw my way back into contention;
2) to feel low;
3) the spur I needed;
4) illness was never enough to prevent me from pursuing my goal;
5) inch your way towards your dream;
6) to experience a huge dip in my confidence;
7) relieve some of the tension associated with your challenge;
8) try making a few decisions based on your gut instinct;
9) to be assertive and proactive;
10) to boost your confidence and self-belief;
11) there is no way I could get through that sort of workload without being on top of my diary;
12) the possible permutations of what could happen;
13) to misjudge one’s race;
14) to take your time.
*2. Find in the text English equivalents for the following Russian phrases:
1) подвести свою страну;
2) достичь намного больше, чем ожидалось;
3) непреодолимое препятствие, преграждающее путь к успеху;
4) преследовать цель;
5) никогда не сдавайся;
6) ставить себе достижимые цели;
7) направить усилия в правильном направлении;
8) не отвлекаться (от цели);
9) оказывать пагубное воздействие;
10) внешний;
11) нервирующий / вызывающий стресс;
12) недооценивать себя.
*3. Answer the following questions to the text.
1. What helped Denise Lewis to claw her way back into contention and win in the Olympics?
2. What hurdles did Sir Steven Redgrave have to overcome? What or who boosted his confidence?
3. What advice does Annika Reeder give to those who lack mental will to succeed?
4. What should a person do if he/she has a fear of failure according to Pete Cohen?
5. Should people rely on their instincts in Octavius Black’s opinion?
6. How much importance does Karen Pickering attach to discipline and self-organisation?
7. How to become more focused according to Kirsten Best?
8. How can one’s imagination help achieve their goals?
9. How to boost one’s self-esteem according to Donna Frazer?
4. (a) Rewrite the sentences below using synonymous Vocabulary Commentary items instead of the words or phrases in italics:
1. I’ll just keep (working hard) and try to get it finished by tonight. to plug away at
2. It seems to me that most people (don’t realize) how much their attention is diverted by making a phone call while driving.
3. Barack Obama won his second term on a vow to focus on restoring economic stability but he was (turned aside) from the course by (determinedattempts) to pass gun control and immigration legislation. distracted / side-tracked assertive efforts
4. Relying on a single (point of view) is problematic, even (harmful) for predicting an accurate outcome. Detrimental to put things into one perspective
5. A new source of funding for research will hopefully (encourage) new proposals for research from scientists. act as a spur to
6. Any form of exercise produces biochemical changes in your body that (make you feel sure of yourself).; to boost one’s confidence
7. You need to (see it from an objective viewpoint): even though you have not attained your career goals yet, you still have many years to do so. to put things into perspective
8. The golfer is seldom seen without his wraparound sunglasses. They are protection, but not from the sun’s rays. “They help (not to pay attention to) (things that turn my attention away),” he said. block outdistractions
9. In the beginning, I had a hard time following this rule, but it eventually became (possible to be performed automatically). to become second nature / automatic
LMS (b) Fill the gaps in the passage about assertiveness from the Careers and Employability Service website of a British university (you may have to change the grammar form of some verbs):