Networking | Out and About on Business

Dale Vince has worked for Ecotricity – one of the most prosperous British companies dealing in solar energy – for over 10 years. You can now read again the text from the video lesson about one of Dale's business trips across Europe.

It was 10:45 on Sunday and Dale was taking his business class seat on the flight to London. He had, of course, been on business trips before but that one was incredible! Dale had always wanted to make his solar energy business more large-scale. His team had researched the countries where the sun and the wind were successfully exploited to produce electricity. Dale had drawn up a list of companies that might be interested in a joint venture. Eager to meet their representatives, he had taken a plane to Paris at the beginning of the week. The first meeting had been promising because the French seemed keen on mutual business. On Tuesday, Dale had had an interesting visit to Munich. The Germans, however, remained sceptical. The Danish punctuality and seriousness had impressed Dale the next day. On Thursday afternoon, he had landed in Prague. Fortunately, the meeting went smoothly. As it had turned out, solar energy was rapidly advancing in this country. The final destination of the trip was Rome. Business conversations there were casual and laid-back as he had expected. The Italians were willing to invest money in the bioelectricity enterprise. On the plane home, Dale felt positive about the future of Ecotricity.    

Choose the correct answer for each question.

Which of the following statements about Dale’s business trip is NOT true?

• This was not his first business trip
• He visited a lot of European countries
• He didn’t enjoy the business trip

Find the INCORRECT statement about Ecotricity.

• It produces electricity from the sun
• It is an American company
• It was looking for partners outside Britain

During his business trip, Dale didn’t visit:

• Austria
• Denmark
• the Czech Republic

According to Dale, which of the foreign companies was least likely to become their partner?

• the French
• the German
• the Italian

The most informal meeting took place in:

• Rome
• Munich
• Paris

Which country impressed Dale with its business etiquette?

• Germany
• France
• Denmark

Which of the following statements about the Italian company is true?

• It is interested in producing bioelectricity
• It cannot afford to invest money in such a business
• It doesn’t approve of the other foreign companies