KIWI PHOTO Dragon in Hamilton Gardens

ACADEMIC WORD

If a date or time is auspicious, it means that, especially in a particular culture, it’s considered a good time to do something in order to achieve good fortune. For instance, in Chinese culture, the year of the dragon is considered an auspicious year to be born. That is why large numbers of Chinese couples are said to be planning to have a child this year. In Western cultures, on the other hand, Friday 13^th is considered an inauspicious date to start a new venture. 

TEST

Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out?

Given the uncertain financial situation in Europe, this may not be an auspicious time to be opening a new retail business there.

The investment initially lost money but became increasingly auspicious in subsequent years.

He scored in his first game for his new club, which the fans considered an auspicious start.

She arrived late and kept calling him by the wrong name, which was hardly an auspicious start to their relationship.

PRACTICE

In your culture, are there any auspicious or inauspicious dates to …

get married

have a child

start a journey or a business

KIWI QUIZ

Dragon is the name of one of New Zealand’s most successful …

theatre companies

rock groups

wildlife parks

VIDEO

Today’s video looks at investment.  It’s part of a question and answer session by the American investor, Warren Buffett, with MBA students. Click on pause on your podomatic player and click on play to watch the video and answer the questions below. When it’s over, click on ‘play’ again on the podomatic player to hear me give the answers to the questions.

1) The best investments are when ...

both quantitative and qualitative data are strongly positive

qualitative data is positive and quantitative data is mixed

qualitative data is mixed and quantitative data is positive

2) Warren Buffett regrets his investment in a windmill company because ...

it only generated a short-term return on investment

it was not an ethical investment

long-term losses cancelled out short-term gains

3) In order to make a good investment, Warren Buffett argues that it is essential that you ....

have comprehensive financial statements available

are already familiar with the area of business

have face-to-face meetings with the senior management team

4) A successful investor needs ...

to diversify their circle of competence

to understand their own limitations

to avoid investing where there is a possibility of making a loss

5) Warren Buffett used to investigate an industry by asking managers questions about ...

future plans

ex-employees

rival companies

6) Warren Buffett uses Wrigley’s Chewing Gum as an example of a company...

whose fundamentals change very little over the years

for which all the important details are collected in a database

whose owner contacted him after playing golf with a mutual acquaintance

7) Warren Buffett expects Coca Cola domestic sales to ...

increase modestly

decline steadily

remain steady

8) Warren Buffett attributes the steady growth in per capita consumption of Coca Cola largely to its ...

addictive nature

simple brand values

inherent qualities