Dialogue
A: Well, right, let’s move to our next order of business, as many of you are aware, in recent weeks there has been a lot of media coverage surrounding this bird flu issue. And it’s come to my attention that our company lacks any sort of bird flu contingency plan.
B: Basically, we need to come up with a clear plan; we need to outline specific actions that our company can take to maintain critical business functions in case a pandemic
strikes.
A: So, what I’d like to do is: first appoint someone to look after drafting our plan; Ralph, I’d like you to head up this project.
C: Sure, no problem. What issues do you want me to consider?
B: Well, let’s see, there are a few points we need to be thinking about. . . first, I’ll need you to analyze our numbers and figure out what kind of financial impact an outbreak might have.
A: You’ll also need to think about how we can avoid any of our employees getting infected; think of ways to reduce employee-customer contact, perhaps some IT solutions that will allow our people to work from home.
C: I guess you’ll need me to forecast employee absences as well, right? And I’ll think about the impact this will have on our clients. Hey, what about vaccines? Should we
be thinking about getting vaccines for our employees?
A: Exactly right. So, I’ll leave this to you, and we’ll review the draft plan in two weeks. Okay, so, anyone want to order some KFC for lunch?
Explain
Key Vocabulary
order of business — Phrase an issue that must be discussed
bird flu — Noun (noncount) flu originated from birds that carry virus
contingency plan /kənˈtɪndʒənsi/ — Phrase a plan that prepares for a situation where things can go wrong
critical — Adjective extremely important
pandemic — Noun (singular) a situation where a disease is spread out very quickly, and affects many people in many countries
draft — Verb make a first version of something
impact — Noun (singular) major influence or effect on something
outbreak — Noun (singular) a sudden start of disease affecting many people
head up — Verb lead and be responsible for
forecast — Verb predict what is going to happen based on available information
vaccine — Noun (plural) medical substance that protect people or animals against diseases
Example
critical — Really important, really urgent.
Voice: Example one.
A: It’s absolutely critical that we increase our sales. If not, the company will go bankrupt.
Voice: Example two.
B: We have a critical shortage of food. If you don’t go help, people will die!
Voice: Example three.
C: This is a critical step in the process. You can’t make a mistake here.
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