A. Before reading the text about Apple Inc. discuss the questions in small groups.

1 Read the headline of the article. What do you think it is about?

2 What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Apple’?

3 How cool is Apple and its products?

B. Read the text about Apple Inc. and decide whether the statements below the article are true (T) or false (F).

Apple Briefly World’s Most Valuable Company

Apple Inc., the innovative and pioneering technology company, was briefly the world’s most valuable company on Wednesday. It went neck and neck for the top spot with the oil giant Exxon. At one point in the day’s trading, Apple’s shares went up six per cent on the Nasdaq exchange to put its market capitalisation at $446 billion. This was higher than Exxon’s $417 billion valuation. However, at the close of trading, Exxon was up half a percentage point at $418 billion, slightly ahead of Apple, which went down to $416 billion. Apple’s figures were buoyed by news of its record profits in the last quarter of 2011. It made $13 billion in profit on $46 billion in sales. Analysts predict Apple will soon overtake Exxon.

Apple’s success has been phenomenal. It was struggling to make a profit fifteen years ago but experienced an incredible revival of fortunes after co-founder Steve Jobs took over as CEO in 1997. He turned the company round with iconic products like the iPod, iMac, iPhone and iPad, which helped the company’s profits skyrocket. The past three months is one of the most profitable ever for an American company. In that period, it overtook Hewlett Packard as the world’s biggest computer maker and took in more revenue than Google. Apple’s profit per employee now exceeds $400,000 a year. The introduction of the iCloud and soaring demand for the iPhone 5 this year should see the company’s value continue to surge.

True or False?

a. Apple was the world’s most valuable company for three seconds. T / F

b. Apple was competing with an oil company for the top position. T / F

c. Apple is worth close to half a trillion dollars. T / F

d. Analysts believe it won’t be long before Apple is number one. T / F

e. Apple’s profits were also phenomenal fifteen years ago. T / F

f. Steve Jobs kept Apple on the same course when he took over in 1997. T / F

g. Hewlett Packard is still the world’s biggest computer maker. T / F

h. The average Apple employee earns around $400,000 a year. T / F

C. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	pioneering	a.	stimulated
2	briefly	b.	timeframe
3.	slightly	c.	incredible
4.	buoyed	d.	momentarily
5.	surge	e.	luck
6.	phenomenal	f.	cutting-edge
7.	revival	g.	rise
8.	fortunes	h.	booming
9.	period	i.	a bit
10.	soaring	j.	comeback

D. Apple Survey.

Choose three questions from the list and interview as many people in the class as you can. Compare the answers and report the finding to the class.

What does Apple need to do to stay so valuable?

Is there a company with a better brand image than Apple?

Apple or PC – which is best?

Apple has more cash than the U.S. government. What do you think of this?

Is “Apple” a good name for a technology company?

What do you think of Apple?

Would you like to work for Apple?

Are you surprised Apple is the world’s first or second most valuable company?

Do you think Apple’s shares would be a good investment?

Why are people so loyal to Apple?

What’s Apple’s closest competitor and how do the two companies compare?

What advice would you give to Apple’s CEO?

What products should Apple make in the future?

What questions would you like to ask Apple’s CEO?