4. Read and write a note.

The Present Perfect Tense expresses the effect of past actions and activities of the present.

It means “before now”. The Present Perfect does not express when an action happened.

If we say the exact time, we have to use the Past Simple.

HAVE (HAS) + V3 (PAST PARTICIPLE)

a) It expresses an action which began in the past and still continues.

We have lived in the same house for 25 years.

How long have you lived in Surgut?

Note the signals and time expressions:

Just; already; yet; ever; never

For two years / a month/ a few minutes/ half an hour/ ages;

Since 1997 / the end of the lesson / August / 8.00 / Christmas

b) It expresses an experience that happened at some time in one’s life.

I have been to the USA. ( I still remember)

c) It expresses a past action that has a present result. The action is usually in the recent past.

I have lost my wallet. (I haven’t got it now).

5. Open the brackets using Present Perfect Tense in the following sentences:

1. Small business (reach) great results in European countries.

2. They (not pay) the tax yet.

3. The florist shop (open) some new stalls.

4. Some politicians (lobby) the laws on small business development.

5. The company (employ) a lot of workers since the beginning of the year.

6. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using Present Perfect Tense:

1. Малый бизнес в России успешно развился за последние годы.

2. Эта компания распродала всю новую продукцию.

3. Он успешно ведет свой бизнес с 1990 года.

4. Правительство уже приняло несколько законов по расширению малого бизнеса.

5. Они еще не выполнили свой план по выпуску новых товаров.

7. Match English word-combinations with their Russian equivalents:

Part A: 1) small business; 2) political lobby; 3) enterprise system; 4) ambitious entrepreneur; 5) innovations; 6) salesmanship; 7) a chief executive officer; 8) entrepreneurial spirit ; 9) to generate new jobs; 10) to establish the basis for; 11) the changes in tax law; 12) to take out a loan

Part B: a) целеустремленный предприниматель; b) нововведения; c) дух предпринимательства; d) взять ссуду; e) малый бизнес; f) предоставлять новую работу; g) изменения в закон по налогообложению; h) политическое лобби; i) умение торговать; j) система предпринимательства; k) ответственный руководитель; l) создавать основу для ..

8. Before reading the text study the meaning of the following new words:

on the verge – near, about to

breakthrough – a sudden, impressive improvement

priorities- the most important things

SBA – Small Business Administration

a loan- money given for a certain period of time

calls on – requests

9. Read the text. Small Business Discovers Its Strength

(by Arthur Levitt,Jr in Business World by Roger Speegle and William B. Giesecke, OUP, pp.138-147)

For the first time in American history, small-business men and women throughout the land are about to become the most powerful political lobby in the country.

The backbone of the American enterprise system has always been the ambitious entrepreneur who wants to be in business for himself or herself and with drive, imagination, innovation, salesmanship – and a good head for making his or her way in our competitive system. But it is the chief executive officer of the big corporation who has had the loudest voice in regard to national economic policy. Now it all may change. We will be hearing much more from the collective voice of the local florist, stationer, travel agent, restaurateur, who together constitute more than 14 million small business entrepreneurs in the USA.

The recent White House Conference on Small Business of 2,100 American representatives has shown that the entrepreneurial spirit in America is on the verge of making a new breakthrough. Why? There are some reasons for that.

First, and perhaps most important, small-business people have discovered that all politicians – even the President of the USA – are willing to listen to them because they are important to the future of the country. An MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) study reported that small business is by far the largest employer in the USA because it generate 66% of all new jobs. Small companies produce 24 times as many innovations per research dollar as the largest.

Second, the conference hasn’t ended with conflicts as the two previous ones ( 1937, 1956), there was a spirit of agreement and harmony which can establish the basis for a new and dynamic political voice.

Third, small-business people have now exchanged views on what they want to lobby for in the years ahead, and they have agreed on their priorities. They have put out 15 major objectives which fall into three groups.

The first group concerns the changes in tax law and the reduction of paperwork necessary to take out an SBA-backed loan. Another group of objectives calls on the federal government to give consideration to the small-business economy in creating economic policy for the nation. Finally, minorities and women want to be involved in the small business economy and they need help and assistance in starting their own businesses.