Year of the Snake
Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.
How do you feel about this new Lunar year; the Year of the Snake?
Do you believe that the Lunar Year animal signs are true? How much?
"People born in the Year of the Snake are born under the sign of wisdom," he says. "These people are often quiet, reflective and keep secrets. They are patient and watch, but are also very ambitious. They plan and choose the best time to do things and are often successful as they get older."
Somerville says snake individuals, born during the lunar years of 1929, 1941,1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 and 2013, are deep thinkers and enjoy research and study. They have a good business brain and are generally shrewd in business deals. Famous entrepreneurs who were born during the Year of the Snake include Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart.
"Businesses that are started or born during the year take on those zodiac or star personalities," she says. "Astrologers also gave natural elements such as fire, water, earth to each year, and 2013 is a year of water. According to the Chinese astrology belief, water is related with money, wealth and business. If we combine the snake with water, then it could be an auspicious year to open a business."
Lighthouse and Somerville agree that companies started during a snake year should not forget the importance of market research and product development.
"This isn't the time to do anything rash," says Lighthouse. "Move forward carefully and smoothly. Work hard and keep and don’t rush to succeed. It’s a year of steady progress; discipline and attention to details will help you get your goals."
If neither you nor your business were born during a Snake year, there’s still good news; ideas and concepts born this year benefit from its sign, says Somerville. "Interestingly it was in a Snake year when Apple launched the famous iPod (2001) and when the CD (1977) was invented," he says. "Both have helped to change the world so much."
Somerville says the Snake year offers a lot of possibility for everyone.
"It is a year for improving yourself, study and the getting more skills," he says. "In this year, which has a lot of potential, it is important that we begin, take action for our goals and do our personal best. There is a lot now that we can get."
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning.
The answers are below the table.
|
a bad omen |
A |
1 |
Natural ability to think of ways to make money |
|
reflective |
B |
2 |
To accept, be part of, |
|
good business brain |
C |
3 |
Sign of something bad to come |
|
shrewd |
D |
4 |
Acting without planning, no logic |
|
to launch |
E |
5 |
Looking carefully at things, being careful to make something of high quality in even the smallest parts |
|
take on |
F |
6 |
Clever, good planner |
|
auspicious |
G |
7 |
ideas |
|
rash |
H |
8 |
To go ahead, to increase, to improve |
|
Move forward |
I |
9 |
Favorable, encourages success |
|
attention to details |
J |
10 |
To begin something new such as a business |
|
concepts |
K |
11 |
To look at yourself and how you think and your actions, to look inside |
A=3, B=11, C=1, D=6, E=10, F=2, G=9, H=4, I=8, J=5, K=7
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
Dark clouds are a bad omen of rain or storms.
It is important to for a business to be reflective, for example every 6 months a business should consider what it is doing well and not well.
Even though the Mr Chung, the man who started Hyundai, didn’t go to business school, he had a great business brain.
Cats are famous for being shrewd; they have a plan to steal food.
Before you launch a new product, you need to do a lot of research to find out if people will buy it.
If you take on too much work, then you could become stressed.
Springtime is the most auspicious time to plant food crops.
I made a rash decision to buy shares in XYZ company, and so I lost all my money. I should have moved forward carefully.
We moved forward to apartment purchase date to one month earlier because we had enough deposit.
German cars are famous for quality and one reason is because Germans have an attention to detail when they make things.
Touch screen computer technology was one of the greatest concepts of the last twenty years.
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
Why do some people in the world think snakes are a bad omen?
Describe what a reflective person is like in your own words.
What does it mean to have a good business brain? Do you think people are born with a good business brain or can they learn it? Answer this same question using the word ‘shrewd’
Why would the Year of the Snake be a good year to launch a new business concept?
What kind of things do Snake people take on that makes them good for business.
Why would the Year of the Snake be an auspicious year to open a business? If you were to move forward with a new idea, what idea would be best in this world business environment?
Why would this Lunar Year not be a good year to do something rash?
In what ways do you, or should you pay more attention to details in your business?
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