breach verb [transitive]
1 to break a law, rule, or agreement 破坏，违反，不履行
ￚ同义词 break
The company accused him of breaching his contract. 这家公司指控他违反了合同的约定。
Traders who breach the rules could face a fine of up to ￡10,000. 违反规定的贸易商们可能要面对高达1万英镑的罚款。
breach noun
1 [uncountable and countable] an action that breaks a law, rule, or agreement 违反，破坏
breach of
This was a clear breach of the 1994 Trade Agreement. 这种做法明显地违反了1994年贸易和约中的有关规定。
They sued the company for breach of contract. 他们起诉该公司违反了合同中的约定。
a breach of professional duty 不履行工作职责
be in breach of something
He was clearly in breach of the law. 很清楚，他违法了。
2 [countable] a serious disagreement between people, groups, or countries 不同意见
breach with
Britain did not want to risk a breach with the US over sanctions. 英国不想就制裁问题与美国持不同意见。
breach between
What had caused the sudden breach between Henry and his son? 是什么让亨利和他的儿子之间突然意见不和?
She wanted to help heal the breach between them. 她想帮助愈合他们之间的不同意见。
in place
a) in the correct position 在正确的位置上
The chairs for the concert were nearly all in place. 音乐会的椅子几乎都摆好了。
The glass was held in place by a few pieces of sellotape. 玻璃杯用几个透明胶带固定在了那个地方。
b) existing and ready to be used 存在，可供使用
Funding arrangements are already in place. 提供资金的安排已经到位。
benchmark its ethical practice against those of industry leaders
benchmark noun [countable]
something that is used as a standard by which other things can be judged or measured 标杆，尺度
benchmark data
The valuation becomes a benchmark against which to judge other prices.
benchmark for
figures that are a useful benchmark for measuring the company’s performance 这些数据对于衡量一个企业业绩表现是非常有用的尺度。
benchmark of
results that are used as a benchmark of success 作为衡量成功与否的结果
benchmark verb [transitive]
to use a company’s good performance as a standard by which to judge the performance of other companies of the same type 与…作衡量
benchmark somebody/something against something
British Steel is benchmarked against the best operations anywhere in the world. 英国的钢铁业可以与世界其它各地最好的企业来对比。
ￚbenchmarking noun [uncountable] 标杆管理
One-minute talk: The importance of ethics in today’s business world
Does the student show a clear understanding of the task?Yes
SHORTIs there an appropriate introduction and concl
sion?No
Are the student’s ideas well-organised and logically ordered?Partly
TALKIs appropriate signposting and linking language used?Partly
Does the student develop ideas rather than repeat them?Yes
Are the ideas clearly expressed and easy to understand?Yes
Does the student speak in a clear and natural manner?Yes
Is the talk of an appropriate length?No
fat cat
informal someone who has too much money, especially someone who is paid too much for their job - used in order to show disapproval 贬义词：薪水过高的人
the fat cats at the top who have recently been given obscene pay increases 最近得到不公正涨薪的公司高层人士
Oralpractice
V. Oral Practice
请根据下面提出的模拟场景与自己的另一学习伙伴讨论3分钟。
Scenario
Your competitor set up a retail outlet adjacent to one of your branches.
Discuss and decide:
l What immediate measures can you take to retain your customers
l How to deal with the long-term competition
思路提示：
Setting up a context
We work for one of the chain stores at the food giant, the McDonald’s. The store is located in the high street of Beijing. Recently, one of KFC restaurants is opening its retail outlet adjacent to us.
Measures of retention
Since both of the two stores offer the same type of product, namely, fast food. We believe the quick fixes are using promotional activities to retain our loyal customers. To be specific, we can send out coupons to offer more concessions or even reduce our costs during a designated period. Besides, updated service can work and can be a magnet for customers.
How to deal with long-term competition
First, our company should inject more capital into food development and make minor adaptations of the tastes.
Second, our retail store should hold training programmes on etiquette on a regular basis.
Businesspassagereading
VI. Business Passage Reading
China firms rush to meet US accounting standards
gGovernance
Enoch Yiu
A US corporate reform law known as Sarbanes-Oxley has become a major compliance issue with mainland companies that are listed or are planning to list in the Unites States.
Accounting firms are benefiting as Chinese companies, including subsidiaries of US listed firms, scramble to comply with the new accounting regulations ahead of the deadline.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was created following major US accounting scandals that led to the collapse of Enron and WorldCom.
The Act brings in accounting reforms and requires all US listed companies and their overseas subsidiaries to have proper internal controls in place to prevent corporate frauds and false accounting.
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance has become a major business for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s mainland operations in the coming year, according to its China chief executive Peter Bowie.
Mr Bowie describes the rush to meet Sarbanes-Oxley regulations as the biggest one-off event boosting business for accountants since the Y2K episode.
“As the deadline is looming, we have seen substantial demand from mainland firms and multinational companies on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance,” he said.
The deadline for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is based on the date of the financial year-end of the company. For most Hong Kong and Chinese companies listed in the US, the deadline for them to comply with the new law will be at their financial year ending on December 31.
“The fundamental requirement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is that the companies must have controls in place in the financial process. We are helping them identifying what controls [are needed] in their management and financial process and to ensure the control systems are operating effectively.” Mr Bowie said.
But, he said, like Y2K compliance, the huge demand over Sarbanes-Oxley would last for only a year as it would become a recurring factor in normal annual audits.
Deloitte’s other major business lines in China were initial public offerings, merger and acquisitions and taxation advisory, he said.
The firm two months ago announced that it would spend US$150 million to expand its China business in the next five years
As part of the expansion, the firm opened its 10th office in China, in Suzhou. “Suzhou is a rapidly growing place, it has a big industrial park and more than 3,000 investment projects there,” Mr Bowie said.
To cope with the growing business in the greater China region, Deloitte would hire 1,000 staff next year and increase staff numbers to 6,200 by the end of the year, he said.
The firm has 1,500 staff each in Hong Kong and the mainland and 2,200 in Taiwan, where Deloitte has taken over the collapsed Arthur Anderson’s business.
It also plans to open 10 more offices in the mainland, mainly in the inner or western regions as its operations are well-represented in the coastal area. Deloitte has offices in 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Tianjin.
