The office picnic.

(1)The annual office picnic is a popular social event for many companies in the USA. Employees go to local parks with food and their families each summer. In Britain office picnics aren’t regular events. But some British businesses think that it could be a good opportunity for employees to socialize in an informal way.

(2) Abel&Cole is a British catering company. The company has a big office picnic every year. Gary Congress organizes Abel&Cole’s annual picnic. “Christmas parties are great but they’re quite formal; with a picnic it’s much more relaxed”. Employees love picnics because they can arrive and leave when they want to, and it’s free for them! They relax, eat and play games with family and colleagues.

(3) But are picnics more of a problem to organize than other events? Many people don’t like insects, noisy children or bad weather – and these can all happen on a picnic. Food is probably the main health and safety concern because hot weather makes it difficult to keep it cool and edible.

(4) A catering company can deliver food to a picnic. This is useful for companies with large staff because it helps the food stay fresh. Managers can enjoy the picnic without worrying that half of the staff may be ill next day. Gary Congress recommends picnics as a staff social event. “We put photos from summer picnics all over the office and it brings back great memories”.

V. Are these statements true or false?

1.British companies don’t have regular picnics.

2.Christmas parties are sometimes formal.

3.At picnics people relax, eat and play music.

4.Employees don’t need to pay money for going on a picnic.

5.In hot weather it isn’t easy to keep food fresh.

6.Organizations with a lot of employees often use catering companies.

7.Managers don’t want 50% of their employees to be sick after a picnic.

VI. Match the words from the text with their definitions. Translate into Russian.

VII. Find the English equivalents of the Russian words below in the text.

1.ежегодный (para1)

2.хорошая возможность (para 1)

3.ресторанное обслуживание (para 2)

4.непринужденный (para 2)

5.приезжать (para 2)

6.вопрос здоровья и безопасности (para 3)

7.доставлять (para 4)

8.общественное мероприятие (para 4)