Unit 8 Business Searching For Success

Unit 8
Business
Searching for success
Sensory Perception
In this unit, you will:
• read about the Internet search engine Google and its new
way of doing business.
• learn about analyzing and developing criteria.
• increase your understanding of the target academic words for
this unit:
bias constant format investigate relevant

clarify distribute formula offset scope
compute edit found potential
Self-Assessment of Target Words
• Read the target words of this unit in the objectives box above. Think
carefully about how well you know each word. Then, write each word in
the appropriate column in this chart. When you have finished this unit,
come back and reassess your knowledge of the target words.
I have never I have seen I understand I have tried I use the I use the
seen the the word but the word to use the word with word with
word before I am not sure when I see or word, but I confidence in confidence
what it hear it in a am not sure I either both in
means sentence am using it speaking or speaking and
correctly writing writing
Reading 1:
Before You Read
Read these questions. Discuss your answers in small groups.
1. When you hear the name Google, do you have a positive,
negative, or neutral attitude toward the company? Why?
Reading 1:
Before You Read
2. Google's search engine is so successful that it collects billions

of dollars of revenue each year. Yet its search engine is free.
Where do you imagine Google's revenue comes from?
Reading 1:
Before You Read
3. When you search the Internet, what factors do you consider

when you select a search engine?
Reading 1: Read
Google: A Brief History
• This article traces the history of one of the most successful
new companies of our time.
Reading 1: Read
• If you type into Google's search engine the question
"How does Google work?,“
• Google uses clusters of trained pigeons to "compute
the relative value of web pages faster than human
editors or machine-based algorithms."
Reading 1: Read
• The Google story begins in 1996 at Stanford University in
California. Two graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin,
wanted to find a better way to search websites. Current
search engines ranked search results according to how
frequently the search words appeared on a page.
• If someone links to a page, then the page has at least some
importance. If a very important website links to the page, that
indicates even greater importance.
Reading 1: Read
• But could Google make money?
A free search engine that worked well quickly attracted users,
an increase of about 50 percent each month, but that
required investing in more computing power, and expensive
supercomputers could cost $800,000.
• To avoid this expense, Brio and Page purchased thousands of
ordinary PCs.
Reading 1: Read
• Even with operating costs kept down, the company still
needed to generate cash.
• One obvious tactic was to sell advertising space on Google's
home page. By the end of 1999, Google averaged 7 million
searches each day.
• But research showed that large banner ads and pop-up ads
seemed more annoying to the user than profitable for the
advertiser.
After You Read
Reading Comprehension Activities
A. Mark each sentence as T (true) or F (false) according to the information in
reading 1. Use dictionary to help you understand new words .
........ 1. Larry Page and Sergey Brin studied the behavior of pigeons to design their
search engine .
........ 2. Page and Brin stayed ahead of competitors and tricksters by regularly
modifying their search engine .
........ 3. The reading implies that Yahoo made a mistake when it did not buy
Google for $1 million .
........ 4. Google results pages give priority to advertisers over other types of
results .
........ 5. Google makes its money by loading every search results page with
advertising .
........ 6. Google is no longer a privately held company.
........ 7. Google would like to make it possible for users to read many different
kinds of books online .
........ 8. The reading predicts that Google will soon face financial problems.
After You Read
A. Answer Key:
After You Read
B. Imagine that you need to check some information in Reading 1 for
a report. Scan the article quickly to find answers to these
questions. First think about the words you will scan for.
1. Where did the two founders of Google get started on their project?
2. What word did the reading use to describe the way the Google
search engine works?
3. In what year was Google founded?
4. Did Google lose money during the years when the dot-com bubble
burst?
5. What does IPO stand for?
6. Did Google have a lot of debts at the time the article was written?
After You Read
B. Answer Key:
READING STRATEGY: Analyzing Criteria
A. Let's consider the long-term survival of Google.

Read these criteria that indicate whether a company is
likely to survive and grow.
Skim Reading 1 and identify which criteria Google meets by
answering the questions.
Write Yes, No, or ? (if you're not sure).
B. Do you think Google meets enough criteria to continue its
success into the future? Discuss your ideas in a small group.
A. Answer Key:
After You Read
Vocabulary Activities
After You Read
A. Fill in the blanks with a target word from the chart that completes the
sentence in a grammatical and meaningful way. Be sure to use the
correct form.
1. Many dot-corns in the late 1990s were ................................................ on an
unsound business model.
2. The business was under ................................................ pressure to expand
into new markets.
3. A complicated algorithm ................................................ the importance of
each web page for the purposes of ranking it.
4. What is Google's ................................................ for success?
5. I know he's a hard worker and wants the job, but unfortunately that's not
really ................................................. We need someone with real
expertise in the field.
6. The websites of many reputable newspapers lack the
careful ............................................... . of the print editions. They are full of
errors.
After You Read
A. Answer Key:
After You Read
B. The word bias has technical and non-technical uses. Which
meaning of the word bias is expressed in each sentence?
Match the sentence on the left with the definition on the
right. Compare answers with a partner .
B. Answer Key:
After You Read
C. Here are some studies where the sample may be biased.
What bias can you detect in the sampling method? Discuss
your ideas with a partner.
C. Answer Key:
After You Read
After You Read
D. Analogies are used to support each of these theses. Are the
similarities relevant? Can you think of any relevant
differences? Discuss your answers in a small group.
1. Thesis: Parents should have to get a license before they have
children.
2. Thesis: Children should not be required to go to school.
3. Thesis: Smoking should be allowed on public sidewalks in the
downtown areas of major cities.
After You Read
D. Answer Key:
After You Read
D. Answer Key:
After You Read
D. Answer Key:
Reading 2:
Before You Read
1. Successful companies, like Google, tend to attract suspicion
and the attention of watchdogs-people or groups who
monitor their activities.
What kind of things might these watchdogs look for?
Reading 2:
Before You Read
2. Internet companies can collect information on the interests
and purchasing habits of Internet users by examining the
kinds of sites they visit. Is this an invasion of privacy? Should
companies limit the kind of information they collect?
3. Are governments justified in censoring the content that
citizens can access on the Internet? If so, what content should
governments censor?
Reading 2: Read
Google Controversies
• This article discusses some of the challenges faced by Google
when its business model came into conflict with reality.
Reading 2: Read
• "Google it" is now a common phrase in many of the world's
languages.
• Google has an unusual company motto: Don't be evil.
• Most people familiar with Page and Brin's achievements
would likely agree that the two have improved the world and
lived up to that motto.
• However, there are many who have raised questions about
the ethics and legality of Google's business practices.
Reading 2: Read
• One complaint is "click fraud."
• Advertisers make bids to place ads along the top and right
hand sides of Google search result pages.
• When potential customers click on an ad, Google collects a
fee ranging from a few pennies to $30 or more, depending on
how high the bidding went.
• Despite these legal and ethical issues, Google remains an
extremely popular company.
• After all, its most popular products are free. But it is also an
aggressive company with big goals, a company that likes
surprises and challenges.
After You Read
Mark each sentence as T(true) or F(false) according to the
information in Reading 2. Use the dictionary to help you
understand new words .
........ 1. Some critics feel that Google's effort to dominate the Internet
has compromised its company motto .
........ 2. Google has refused to do anything to combat click fraud .
........ 3. In the coming years, we can expect many battles in court
involving the Internet and intellectual property.
........ 4. Gmail promises not to scan the content of individual emails .
........ 5. Data mining raises privacy issues for many Google users .
........ 6. The reading claims that Google's goal is to prevent other
companies from improving Internet services.
After You Read
• Mark each sentence as T(true) or F(false) according to the
information in Reading 2. Use the dictionary to help you
understand new words .
Answer Key:
READING STRATEGY: Determining Degree
A. With a partner, examine these criteria and decide whether

they are absolute categories (A) or whether the answers
could distribute themselves along a continuum of values
(C) .
........ 1. Is the company listed on a stock exchange?
........ 2. Does it have a high market capitalization?
........ 3. Is it a non-profit corporation?
........ 4. Does it have an experienced top management?
........ 5. Does the company have potential for earnings growth?
A. With a partner, examine these criteria and decide whether

they are absolute categories (A) or whether the answers
could distribute themselves along a continuum of values
(C) .
• A. Answer Key:
After You Read
After You Read
A. Fill in the blank with a target word from the chart above that completes the sentence in
a grammatical and meaningful way. Be sure to use the correct form.
1. In response to a query, search engines have the ................................................ to search
every book, paper, or article ever published.
2. Google has used the same basic ................................................ for its home page since its
inception. It has no graphics except the Google logo and limits text to just over 4 0 words.
3. If a web page uses Google ads, a portion of the advertising fee
is ................................................ to the web page owner.
4. Since its initial appearance, Google has expanded the ................................................ of it
operation to include dozens of services and products.
5. In early 2006, Google's operations in China prompted members of the U.S. Congress to call
for a(n) ................................................ .
6. Critics have called on Google, Y.1hoo, and other companies
to ................................................ their company policies concerning search engine
censorship.
After You Read
A. Answer Key:
After You Read
After You Read
• B. The previous chart shows some of the more predictable
collocations, or word partners. For selected target
vocabulary. Using the chart, complete these sentences with
a likely word. Be sure to use the correct form.
After You Read
B. Answer Key:
After You Read
C. Distribute and distribution have the general meaning of
giving something out or spreading something in an
organized way. Which meaning of distribute is expressed in
the sentences?
Match the sentences on the left with the definitions on the
right. Compare answers with a partner.
After You Read
C. Answer Key:
After You Read
D. Build sentences using a random generator: Your teacher or
partner calls out a random two digit number to identify two
words from the lists below. You then use those words to
write a grammatical and meaningful sentence.
• Teacher: "2-1." [The two words are "constant" (2) and
"distribution" (1).]
• Possible sentence: "Our company's distribution network has
constant delays."
WRITING AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
Research Assignment
Each student should choose one of
the topics on page 128 to write
about and present it next session.
Thank you

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How did Google get started?

What factors do people consider when selecting a search engine?

Unit 8

bias constant format investigate relevant

2. Google's search engine is so successful that it collects billions

3. When you search the Internet, what factors do you consider

A. Let's consider the long-term survival of Google.

A. With a partner, examine these criteria and decide whether

A. With a partner, examine these criteria and decide whether

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