Vocabulary

A. Match the prefixes over- and out- to the verbs below.

bid book charge manoeuvre number run strip subscribe take vote

B. Do any of the verbs above take both prefixes?

C. Complete these sentences using the prefixes over- or out-, and the correct form of the verbs above. Use each prefix and verb combination only once.

1. Nokia ………….. Motorola last year to become the world's biggest mobile phone maker.

2. The group has ……………….. its rivals Motorola and Ericsson.

3. AT&T ............... two of Mexico's largest suppliers to win the right to build 6o% of the network.

4. The CEO and three other board members combined to ............................. the three non-executive directors.

5. We were completely ............................. in the negotiation and ended up paying too high a price.

6. In our company, females …................ males four to one.

7. The airline offers cash as compensation for passengers when flights are ………… .

8. They refused to commit themselves in case the project's costs ............... its budget.

9. He is alleged to have ................... them for production and repair work.

10. The share issue was a success and was hugely ….................. .

D. What is the basic meaning of the prefixes over- and out-?

E. Choose the best definition of the verbs in italics in these extracts.

1. Nokia has a consistent record of increasing volumes by more than enough to offset falling prices.

a) to make one thing less than another resulting in a great difference

b) to cause something to happen

c) to balance one amount against another so that there is no great difference as a result

2. Chemicals, tyres, cables and television-set manufacturing were among the businesses offloaded during the early 1990s.

a) to sell a company at a higher price than expected

b) to get rid of something you do not want by giving or selling it to someone

c) to sell a company at a lower price than expected

3. You can use your frequent flyer mileage to upgrade to business class.

a) to get something earlier than you expected

b) to get something better than you paid for

c) to pay less money than you expected

F. Match each verb with its definition.

downsize	to be more successful than another company, country, etc
outflank	to improve, to make more efficient
undersell	to reduce the number of employees and levels of management that a company has
underspend	to sell goods at a much lower price than the competitor
upgrade	to spend less than you intended or than you are allowed

G. Complete the following sentences using the correct form of a verb from exercise F

1. Last year we ………………….. our budget by 21%, so unfortunately our budget this year has been reduced accordingly.

2. The CEO’s ideas were ……………………. by those of the directors.

3. Why don’t you have your PC ………………… if it’s so slow?

4. We’ll cut our expenses and ………………. our operations in order to become more competitive on the market.

5. We are looking for ways of …………………… our rivals. No one will be cheaper us.

PAIR WORK

A. Work in pairs. One of you reads New Coke for Old, the other reads Ford Edsel: Remember My Name. When you finished, tell your partner about what mistakes were made and why.