BUSINESS ENGLISH 14/2019 Spotlight 43
Brainstorming and moving ahead
Read the following dialogue from one of
the team’s meetings and match the high-
lighted phrases (A–J) to their meanings
(1–10).
- speed up
- looking ahead
- an obvious choice
- think about the ideal situation
- come up with innovative ideas
- move one step further
- carry out thorough research
- work with freelancers or hire
people only for a limited time - make more efficient
- it’s not difficult
Bonus question:
K. Take a quick look at the
dialogue again. Which two
words that are not highlight-
ed mean “to make larger”
or “to make the best use of”
something?F. Chris: Well, it’s not rocket
science. Just state the plan
clearly, and everyone will
understand.
G. Jane: If we stick to it, we can
expedite production. What
happens now?
H. William: Going forward, we
should stay very focused.
We can’t afford to waste
time on minor details. The
first stage of production has
to start by next month.
I. Chris: And we have to take
it to the next level by the
end of the year.
J. Jane: We really have to
maximize efficiency and
streamline the process.freelancer [(fri:lA:nsE]
, Freiberufler(in)staff [stÄf]
, Personal, Mit
arbeiter(innen)A–5B–7C–4D–8E–3F–10G–1H–2I–6J–9K.to optimize, to maximizeAnswersA. Jane: Come on! Let’s think
outside the box here. All the
ideas we’ve talked about so
far have been done before.
B. Chris: OK, but at the same
time, we should do a deep
dive and optimize the strat-
egies we know we’ll use.
C. William: And don’t worry
about the budget for now.
Let’s just do some blue-sky
thinking.
D. Jane: You mean we don’t
have to rely on the gig
economy? We’ll actually
be in the position to hire
permanent staff?
E. Catherine: Absolutely!
Chris, the idea you present-
ed last week is a no -brainer
for us. We should go ahead
with it, even if it’s rather
complex.We should really
take this to
the next level.Come on,
we need to
think outside
the box!It’s not rocket
science...