English Unlimited HAK/HUM 3, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM (mit Handelskorrespondenz)

29 Success 03 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE LOOK AGAIN EXTRAS Work in A/B pairs. A, read the article below and B, read the article on p. 171 to check your ideas. 3 Karaoke is a $10 billion-a-year industry, but the man who invented it has made almost no money out of it. Inoue Daisuke came up with the idea in 1971. He could have become one of the richest men in Japan, but he didn’t patent his idea and doesn’t seem worried about the lost opportunity. “I took a car stereo, a coin box and a small amplier to make the karaoke,” says the 65-year- old in his small o„ce in Osaka. “Who would consider patenting something like that?” In the early 1970s, Inoue was a drummer in a bar band with six colleagues, playing in local clubs in Kobe. ‰ey played for middle-aged businessmen who wanted to sing traditional Japanese songs. Inoue says, “Out of 108 club musicians in Kobe, I was the worst! And the clients in my club were the worst singers!” One day, one of his clients asked Inoue to play for him on an overnight trip. Inoue, unable to leave his job, gave him a tape of the backing music instead. ‰at night, the businessman gave an emotional performance and karaoke (meaning ‘empty orchestra’) was born. Inspired by this success, Inoue made 11 boxes with tapes and ampliers and began renting them to bars in Kobe in 1971. His plan was to make a bit of money, but he never thought the idea would be so popular. In fact, karaoke was soon picked up by larger companies and through the 1980s and 1990s, it swept across Asia, the US and Europe. ‰en in 1999, Time Magazine called Inoue one of the 20th century’s most in˜uential people, saying he had completely changed nightlife. “Nobody was as surprised as me,” he says. Inoue himself only used a karaoke machine for the rst time to celebrate his 59th birthday. ‰ese days, he makes a living selling a cockroach repellent for the machines. “Cockroaches get inside the machines, build nests and eat the wires,” he says. He’s very excited about his next venture. “My dream,” he says, “is to train Japanese pet- owners to take better care of their pets.” Friends say he is the ideas man, while his wife, who works in the same Osaka o„ce, helps bring the ideas to life. Mr Song and Dance Man Student A, complete the summary of this article; Student B, complete the summary on p. 171. a 4 Complete the questions with verbs from the highlighted expressions in 5 in the correct form. 1 How did Inoue Daisuke with his idea? 2 Why didn’t he his invention? 3 Do you think Jonathan Ive a lot of money out of the iPod? 4 What do you think is the easiest way to a living? 5 Is it more important that a gadget is easy to use or fantastic? Ask and answer the questions in 6 together. 6 SPEAKING 7 Tell each other about your articles. How are the two men similar or different? Look at the sentences from the articles. Match 1–3 with topics a–c. b VOCABULARY 5 Talking about business ideas 1 Inoue Daisuke invented karaoke, but he didn’t … 2 He was a drummer in a band which … 3 The idea for karaoke started when Inoue gave … a a description of the product b the financial success of an idea c the start of a project or invention 1 Inoue Daisuke came up with the idea in 1971. He didn’t patent his idea . 2 You can use it to store thousands of songs. Critics said it looked fantastic and was easy to use . 3 The man … has made almost no money out of it. He makes a living selling a cockroach repellent. 4 Over the next twenty years karaoke became … Inoue was surprised when … 5 Now, Inoue … In the future, he … Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eig ntum des Verlags öbv