are the only well-known companies in America nowadays.

represent companies which have never delivered high returns to the investors.

are examples of companies which made significant alterations to their original business plans.

illustrate the kind of businesses that remained loyal to their original plans and fought for results.

have founders who have been on the cover of Fortune magazine and are the world’s richest men.

does not invest rich sums or waste years on precise planning to design an elaborate business model.

shares common characteristics with traditional businesses that have survived crises.

expects the business to grow rapidly and prosper faster than all other companies in the market.

rejects venture capital funding and does not expect immediate returns.

is based on inadequately designed business plans and on market hypothesis that are not previously tested.

persistent businessman who fought for success.

careless worker who didn’t take time to build a business model.

foolish entrepreneur who insisted on opening his own company.

expert in cryptography who failed as a businessman.

impatient investor who did not believe PayPal would prosper.

a religious conviction that the business project is definitely going to prosper.

confidence on the various concrete evidences that your business model will surely be successful.

verything you do not know about the returns of your investment and should not worry about.

knowledge about historical precedents that are applicable to your company’s current situation.

assumptions about the aspects of the business you propose that are carefully thought of but not tested.

“...stuck to...” (line 2) – abandoned.

“...grows out of... ” (line 31) – develops from.

“...pursue.” (line 43) - follow.

“...scupper...” (line 62) – ruin

“...devising...” (line 75) – elaborating.

higher product pricing will certainly lead to more market sales.

sales are determined solely by the characteristics of the gadget.

the most appropriate price should be defined by the competitors.

the cheaper the product is, the more profitable the company will be.

previous testing of price ranges will help find the one which will boost sales.

recommendation for future use and transport of fossil fuels.

manual for the recycling of fossil fuels consumed in industries.

panoramic account of the past, present and future of fossil fuels in society.

historical perspective of world energetic resources before the Industrial Revolution.

newspaper article on recent discoveries in oil drilling and their economic potential.

such as

besides

in spite of

instead of

because of

decrease of the energy produced by fossil fuels.

discovery of natural resources millions of year ago.

artificial decomposition of plants, animals and natural gas.

disintegration of plants and animals under extremely cold conditions.

deterioration of the remains of living beings caused by heat and pressure.

oil reached the maximum volume of sales last century.

alternative sources of fuel are being employed at their peak capacity.

the world consumption of fossil fuels has been growing uncontrollably.

natural gas and coal are not suitable as replacements of oil in industrial settings.

fossil fuels emerged as the major energy source long 50 before the Industrial Revolution.