Originally named for their rarity, technology “unicorns” are now as common as cats and dogs. As the number of companies hitting the $1bn valuation mark that defines a unicorn skyrockets, it’s easy for investors to be giddy with excitement. But, as City AM points out, these magical creatures may be too good to be true:
The so-called “unicorns” are being targeted by traders betting their share prices will fall. Named because of their mythical, elusive status, the number of unicorns running around has been enough to garner speculation that many of these firms are overvalued.
What was once a dream for science fiction fans is now inching closer to reality. Powerful companies are pouring money into what they hope will be the birth of a new delivery market. Google, Amazon, and a handful of others have embarked on a project that may change the way consumers receive products, and the commercial drone industry is poised to take off with far-reaching applications.
In today’s Business English News lesson, we look at the battle for the wearable technology throne. From watches to glasses, and clothing to health monitoring, the possibilities are seemingly endless for wearable tech. ‘Wearables’ refers to the electronic technologies or computers incorporated into watches, contact lenses, eyewear, bracelets, rings, clothing and more ”” all designed to be worn on the body.
Microsoft has been busy since CEO Steve Ballmer announced his retirement last summer. On top of buying Nokia, introducing a new tablet lineup, and tweaking Windows 8, they searched high and low for a viable replacement for Ballmer. Even with the recently announced hiring of Satya Nadella as CEO, last year may have been Microsoft’s annus horribilis.
A colleague calls you with a problem. You listen, you ask questions, and you figure out a solution. But you can’t fix the problem yourself – you need to explain to your colleague how they can fix it. It doesn’t matter how simple the solution is to you, you have to make it clear to the other person. And that can be challenging. Fortunately, you can learn some ways of making your instructions clear and effective.
In today’s lesson, we’ll listen to a tech support agent explain a solution to a computer user. But don’t worry if you don’t work in tech support. The techniques this agent uses are useful in any situation where you need to provide support or solutions to someone else. We’ll cover language that you can use to explain a solution in clear steps and explain the reasons for those steps. We’ll also look at how you can recap the steps in a solution, confirm that solution actually worked, and emphasize to someone how to deal with similar problems in the future.
In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Nick and Stacey. Nick is a tech support agent, and Stacey’s a lawyer in New York who is having trouble uploading documents to the company server. Nick has discovered the cause of the problem and is now explaining to Stacey how to fix it.
Listening Questions
1. What does Nick ask Stacey to do first?
2. Why does Nick ask Stacey to upload another PDF from her computer?
3. What should Stacey do next time she has a problem uploading a file?
