Walt Disney (l) ... a number of jobs before be (2) ... the film industry. His first job in 1917 was on the railroad. Because he claimed to be sixteen they took him on, although in reality he was a year younger. He (3) the company’s standard uniform with gold buttons and told that his job was to collect baskets full of fruit, peanuts, chocolate bars and soft drinks from Kansas City station and try to sell as much as possible on the trains. The first trip he made was to end in disaster. Half-way through an eight-hour journey to Jefferson City he (4) ... plenty of drink and had left all the empty bottles in an end carriage. But when he (5) ... for them, he discovered that the carriage (6).... The conductor explained the situation to him, “It (7) ... . They usually do it at a station along the route.”  This was an unfortunate start for Walt!

Fashion is an industry that generates billions, and has (8)... great number of supporters. Most people want to keep (9) ... the times and stay fashionable. Being trendy or fashionable plays a big role (10) ... being able to fit in.  People rarely want to appear too different. As (11) ... consequence, there is a general tendency to wear clothes that don’t actually suit (12)... us, just because they are similar to what everybody else is wearing. Yet, a quick look around the shops is enough to realise that a range of styles (13) ... offer is enormous. There are clothes for every shape and size, so (14) ... individuality should not be frightening. Fashion never really changes, it goes round (15) ... circles. So your parents might have some cool clothes that would be trendy today.

Ann Marshall (22) ... a room at the Granada Hotel in London. She wrote to (23) ... and specifically asked the hotel to hold her room “all night” as she would be arriving very late. The hotel in their letter informed her that a late arrival was (24) .... So when Mrs Marshall arrived at the hotel at 11 pm on the night, she was astonished to be told it was full. The (25) ... arranged a room for her at another hotel, and gave her 5£ for taxi (26) ... Nevertheless, she was very upset. She got to bed later and had to (27) ... up earlier than she intended. Above all, she didn’t stay at the hotel of her (28) .... As a matter of fact, hotels find themselves in something of a dilemma when (29) ... for rooms is high, but they have rooms for guests who have not yet (30)... up. Some hotels may be tempted to (31) ... booked rooms and hope that they will somehow manage to host all the guests.

A. Congratulations! You deserve it!
B. Do you know yet whether or not you’ve got the position?
C. I’m sure you’re right. And if there is a problem, I’ll decide how to deal with it at the time.
D. Well, they rang this morning and offered it to me!
E. Oh, I doubt if any of them will even think about the age difference. Besides, they’ll soon get used to the idea that you’re the boss.
F. Thanks. My only worry is that I’m much younger than the people I’ll be managing.

§ 1. Maura Fay is a casting agent. She chooses actors for films, advertisements and soap operas, and her life is filled with people who refer to each other as ‘darling’ and kiss the air when they meet. It is not an environment which is immediately attractive to serious business people. Yet Maura Fay is now finding that her new courses, which are intended to improve nervous executives’ presentation techniques, are being taken very seriously indeed.
§ 2. ‘It began,’ says Ms Fay, ‘about four years ago during one of the workshops I set up for actors. Not stars, but those who could take on small, character parts. Teenagers especially, or people in their fifties and sixties w ho might have talent, but have no idea of how to present themselves in front of an audience. That’s when it struck me, in the middle of one of these sessions. I suddenly thought, this is what the business community needs.’
§3. For Ms Fay it was obvious. Business people are trained to do business, not to perform. Yet if they are to put across their ideas, their knowledge and their information in a memorable way, they need to understand actors’ techniques. So Maura Fay set about teaching business people how to win and influence their audiences, how to handle nerves, how to control their breathing and how to make a good impression. It took a long time but the outcome was worth it.
§ 4. ‘Most of our trainers are drama teachers. Many have been actors, some still are. In every workshop we do, we involve professional actors. So you can be taught by someone you’ve seen on television the night before. It's all very exciting and part of new management thinking as we approach the next century. Technology has changed the face of offices throughout the world, but companies are people, not things, after all.’
§5. Some business communities are rather cautious about accepting Maura Fay’s techniques. Meanwhile other organisations are working along similar lines and using theatre-based workshops not only for putting across business ideas, but also for dealing with people’s behaviour. Theatrical workshops, like music, can cross language and cultural frontiers. Different nationalities will interpret things in different ways, but that is one reason why a theatrical workshop is so interesting and useful. Maura Fay is also concerned with how to do business in different cultures and she employs actors from various countries to help with multi-cultural workshops. These actors then demonstrate exactly how clients in their own countries would behave in certain business situations, and that is very valuable experience for companies looking to do business in a particular country.