Listen and consider : Consider honesty in business as a sign of active/good citizenship

🔊 المعلّمة تقرأ لك

An official receives money under the table and, in exchange, gives a public contract to a company. It is called bribing — and it is a crime. But who should fight it: the government alone, or every one of us? On the radio, the head of an anti-corruption association answers. Is honesty in business the government's affair only — or a sign of good citizenship?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

فهم مقابلة إذاعية عن مكافحة الفساد، واستخراج معلومات دقيقة منها: البرنامج والضيف وجمعيته وهدفها
التمييز بين ما قيل في المسموع وما لم يُقل فيه ⁦(true · false · not mentioned)⁩
شرح لماذا تُعدّ النزاهة في الأعمال ومكافحة الفساد علامة على المواطنة الفاعلة
طلب رأي الآخر وإبداء الرأي، والموافقة أو الاعتراض بأدب، شفهيّا بالإنجليزية

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

كلمات أساسية: ⁦business · government · law · citizen⁩
الحاضر البسيط والماضي البسيط
صيغة السؤال في الإنجليزية

Before you listen

قبل الاستماع: تعرّف على خمس ممارسات في عالم الأعمال، وأجب عن الأسئلة، ثمّ اضغط زرّ الاستماع أعلى الصفحة. لا تفتح نصّ المسموع إلّا بعد أن تجيب.

Five practices in business

Practice	What it means
bribing	an undertable payment to corrupt officials, to win public contracts or favours
whistle blowing	revealing confidential information to the police or to a newspaper — for example, that your company is breaking health and safety regulations
lobbying	spending money to persuade politicians to pass laws favourable to your particular industry
false accounting	using all available procedures, including deception, to hide the true financial position of your company
being an active member of an anti-corruption association	working with other citizens to fight corruption

1. Which of these five practices do you regard as morally acceptable (ethical), and which ones as morally wrong (unethical)? Justify your answer. 2. Explain in about three sentences what you understand by ethics in business. 3. Should ordinary citizens take part in the fight against corruption? Why, or why not? ⭐ On this page the recording is read aloud by the listening button, at the top. Listen once without opening anything — exactly as you would in class.

The recording

نصّ المسموع. ⛔ لا تفتحه قبل أن تستمع وتجيب.

A radio interview — Talk of the Nation: Karim Bishi, Head of the Right-to-Know Association, answers questions about corruption Radio host: This is Talk of the Nation. I'm Mohamed Berrashid welcoming you on the English service of your favourite radio. We're at 021455461. And in the studio with us now is Karim Bishi, Head of the Right-to-Know Association. Karim Bishi, how are you? Bishi: Fine. Thanks for asking. Radio host: Can you tell us a bit about the purpose of your association? Bishi: Well, our association is basically an anti-corruption body. Its chief purpose is to make people aware of their right to know how public funds are spent. Radio host: And how did the idea of creating such an association crop up? Bishi: It all started with last year's Transparency International Report. You know, the report published annually about the level of corruption in most countries of the world. Radio host: Oh! … Is there anything special in that report to make you think about creating such an association? Bishi: Well, yes. How shall I put it? When friends of mine and I read that report, we realized that the least corrupt countries are those which have associations like our own. So I said to myself it's high time we organised ourselves into an association to fight corruption. Radio host: So you think there are chances of winning the fight against corruption…? Bishi: Yes, but only if we act swiftly and collectively. We will eradicate corruption providing we act now. And I must add that the chances of eradicating this corruption will increase as long as all countries are committed to fighting it. You see… Radio host: Sorry to interrupt you, but should citizens be involved in this fight to stop corruption? Bishi: Now, if you ask me, I will say that corruption is not the affair of the Government only. So I think citizens had better stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste. They had better not say that the fight against corruption is not their own business because it is… Radio host: Any other idea to close this interview? Bishi: Well, I wish our fellow citizens had heard our call to fight corruption earlier than now. I wish the present anti-corruption laws were tougher. And above all I wish our government would pass a law giving citizens the right to know how public funds are spent, and the sooner the better!

First listening — who, what and why?

الاستماع الأوّل: دوّن اسم البرنامج، والضيف ومهنته، وجمعيته وهدفها الرئيسيّ.

Task 1 — Listen to the beginning of the interview and note down:

The name of the radio programme: …… The guest and his job: …… What his association is: …… Its chief purpose: ……

Task 1 — what the guest says

ما قاله الضيف في بداية المقابلة.

What you note	What you hear
The radio programme	Talk of the Nation
The guest	Karim Bishi, Head of the Right-to-Know Association
The association	basically an anti-corruption body
Its chief purpose	to make people aware of their right to know how public funds are spent

Notice « basically » and « chief »: the guest gives the essential, not every detail — and so should you when you note it down.

Task 2 — How did the idea of creating the association crop up?

كيف نشأت فكرة إنشاء الجمعية؟

It all started with last year's Transparency International Report, the report published annually about the level of corruption in most countries of the world. Reading it, Karim Bishi and his friends realized that the least corrupt countries are those which have associations like theirs — so they decided to organise themselves into an association to fight corruption.

Second listening — true, false or not mentioned?

الاستماع الثاني: قرّر لكلّ جملة هل هي صحيحة ⁦(T)⁩ أو خاطئة ⁦(F)⁩ أو غير مذكورة ⁦(NM)⁩ في المقابلة.

Task 3 — True (T), false (F) or not mentioned (NM)? The first one is done for you.

A. The Right-to-Know Association is an anti-corruption body. — T B. The Transparency International Report is published every year. C. According to Karim Bishi, corruption can be defeated whatever we do. D. For Karim Bishi, the fight against corruption is the affair of the government only. E. Karim Bishi's association has more than a thousand members. F. Karim Bishi would like the anti-corruption laws to be tougher.

Task 3 — the answers, with the words that prove them

الإجابات، مع الكلمات التي تثبتها من المسموع.

B — T. « the report published annually ».
C — F. He sets conditions: « only if we act swiftly and collectively », « providing we act now ».
D — F. It is the opposite: « corruption is not the affair of the Government only ».
E — NM. The interview gives no number of members.
F — T. « I wish the present anti-corruption laws were tougher ».

Not mentioned is the trap of this task: a sentence can sound true and still not be in the recording. Before you tick T, find the words that say it.

Speaking — ask for and give opinions

التعبير الشفهيّ: اطلب رأي زميلك، وأبدِ رأيك، ووافق أو اعترض بأدب، مستعملا عبارات الجدول.

Asking for and giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing

To…	Expressions
ask for an opinion	Do you think …? · What do you think about …? · What do you think of …? · What do you say to that?
give your opinion	I think that … · I believe that … · In my opinion, … · It seems to me that … · As far as I'm concerned, … · As for me, … · If you ask me, …
say what people think	Some people think that … · be in favour of · be against · be undecided · be in two minds
agree strongly	Absolutely! · Exactly! · I couldn't agree more. · You're telling me! · Right you are!
agree	Yes, I know. · I quite agree with you. · That's right. · You're right.
agree, but not strongly	I suppose so. · I guess so.
disagree politely	Yes, but … · I know, but … · I see your point, but … · But don't you think …? · I'm not so sure …
disagree strongly	No, that's not true. · You must be joking! · No way! · I can't accept that. · Rubbish!

Opinions are not facts: we can agree or disagree with them.

Task 4 — Complete the dialogue with expressions from the table.

You: ……… the fight against corruption? (ask for an opinion) Your partner: ……… corruption is not the affair of the government only. (give your opinion) You: ……… Citizens must know how public funds are spent. (agree strongly) Your partner: But don't you think that tougher laws are enough? You: ……… Laws are important, but the fight can be won only if we act swiftly and collectively. (disagree politely)

Task 4 — a model dialogue

حوار نموذجيّ.

You: What do you think about the fight against corruption? Your partner: If you ask me, corruption is not the affair of the government only. You: I couldn't agree more! Citizens must know how public funds are spent. Your partner: But don't you think that tougher laws are enough? You: I'm not so sure. Laws are important, but the fight can be won only if we act swiftly and collectively. Other expressions of the table are just as good: what matters is that each one does its job — ask, give, agree or disagree.

Honesty and citizenship — what the guest defends

النزاهة والمواطنة: ما يدافع عنه الضيف في المقابلة.

For Karim Bishi, corruption concerns everybody. His association is an anti-corruption body whose chief purpose is to make people aware of their right to know how public funds are spent. The idea came from the Transparency International Report: the least corrupt countries are those which have associations like his. He believes the fight can be won — but only if people act swiftly and collectively, and if all countries are committed to it. Above all, it is not the affair of the government only: citizens should stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste, and stop saying that the fight is not their business. That is what active citizenship means here: an honest citizen does not look away. He ends with three wishes: that his fellow citizens had heard the call earlier, that the anti-corruption laws were tougher, and that the government would pass a law giving citizens the right to know how public funds are spent.

Why, according to Karim Bishi, is the fight against corruption every citizen's business?

لماذا يرى كريم بيشي أنّ مكافحة الفساد شأن كلّ مواطن؟

Because corruption is not the affair of the government only: citizens should stop shrugging their shoulders at bureaucratic abuse and waste, and they have a right to know how public funds are spent. The facts support him: according to the Transparency International Report, the least corrupt countries are those which have associations like his — associations of active citizens.

Do this alone, out loud. Prepare a short public statement: what would you do to fight corruption if you were elected mayor of your town? Take the four ideas of the programme — enact stringent regulations, appoint honest civil servants, fight tax evasion, rehabilitate the value of work — and give one detail for each. Start with a punchy sentence: « Dear fellow citizens, corruption is an evil that must be fought now! », and end with another one. Record yourself on your phone, listen back once, and check one thing: did you give a detail for each idea?

حضّر وحدك بيانا قصيرا تقول فيه ما ستفعله لمكافحة الفساد لو انتُخبت رئيسا لبلدية مدينتك، ثمّ سجّل صوتك واستمع إليه مرّة واحدة.

The written exam plays no recording: what this lesson brings to it is the vocabulary to read and write about ethics in business — corruption, bribing, whistle blowing, false accounting, public funds, the right to know — and the expressions to give and discuss an opinion. Have three things ready: ① each unethical practice defined in one line (bribing: an undertable payment to corrupt officials); ② the citizen's role: corruption is not the affair of the government only; ③ two ways to give an opinion (In my opinion…, As far as I'm concerned…) and one to disagree politely (I see your point, but…). The frequent mistake is to state an opinion as if it were a fact: opinions are not facts, so introduce them as opinions.

What I keep — Corruption is not the affair of the government only. An honest citizen refuses bribing and false accounting, has the right to know how public funds are spent, and does not shrug his shoulders at abuse and waste: honesty in business is a sign of active citizenship. To take part in the debate, I ask for opinions (What do you think about…?), give mine (In my opinion…), and agree or disagree politely (I see your point, but…).

الصفحة 1/5