Around 1970 a company in Boston drew four boxes to help businesses decide where to spend their money. Today Google’s parent company, Alphabet, works almost exactly like those boxes — but its money machine is in danger.
Harder version: read this lesson at C1 level →
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. My uncle wants to his savings in a small café.
2. Riding a bike at night with no lights is a big .
3. Every Saturday there is a fruit and vegetable in the town square.
4. Babies very fast in their first year.
5. The shop sold a lot, but its costs were higher. It didn’t make a .
6. The museum will at six o’clock today, so let’s go now.
1. invest · 2. risk · 3. market · 4. grow · 5. profit · 6. close
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
In the 1960s, some American companies were enormous. One company could own hotels, bakeries, car hire and factories — all at the same time.
These companies had a problem. They had a lot of money, but how could they decide which business should get it?
Around 1970, a consulting company in Boston — the Boston Consulting Group, or BCG — drew a simple picture with four boxes.
A product with a big share of a slow market was a cash cow. It made a lot of profit and needed very little money.
A product with a big share of a fast, growing market was a star.
A small product in a growing market was a question mark. Nobody knew if it would win. A small product in a slow market was a dog.
The idea was simple: take the money from the cows, invest it in the best question marks, and sell or close the dogs.
Many big companies started to use the four boxes. But some people did not like them. If you call a business a dog and take its money away, it will probably fail.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. The four boxes helped companies decide where to spend money.
2. A cash cow needs a lot of new money.
3. Everybody agreed that the four boxes were a good idea.
Fifty years later, one company looks almost exactly like the four boxes: Google.
Google’s search engine makes enormous amounts of money from advertising. It is a giant cash cow.
Google used this money for very new, very risky projects: cars that drive themselves, balloons that bring the internet to villages, and drones that deliver parcels.
In 2015, the founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, made a new parent company called Alphabet. Google became one part of it. The new projects became separate companies called “Other Bets”.
Now everyone could see the numbers. Most of the bets lost money — several billion dollars in most years.
Alphabet became more careful. Some projects stopped: the balloon project closed in 2021. Other projects found new investors.
The founders could wait a long time for success because they still control the company. Most bosses cannot do that.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Google’s search engine makes its money from advertising.
2. All of the Other Bets made a profit.
3. The balloon project closed in 2021.
Some of the bets are now doing well. Waymo, the self-driving car company, started in 2009. By 2025 it was giving hundreds of thousands of paid rides every week in several American cities. A question mark was becoming a star.
But then the cow had a problem. In late 2022, ChatGPT arrived. Millions of people started to ask a chatbot their questions, not a search engine.
Google made its own AI. From 2024, many searches showed an AI answer at the top of the page.
But there is a risk. If people read the AI answer, they may not click on the adverts — and the adverts pay for everything.
Also in 2024, a US judge said that Google had broken the law to stay the biggest search engine.
Some experts say Alphabet shows the four boxes still work: the cow paid for Waymo. Others say the biggest danger is something the boxes cannot see.
So here is the question. Should Google protect its cow — or change it, and risk the money that pays for the future?
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Waymo is a self-driving car company.
2. AI answers can mean fewer clicks on adverts.
3. Google did not make any AI of its own.
This story is full of numbers: how many projects closed, how much money came from search. To talk about part of a group, we use these words.
100% — All of the projects were expensive.
more than half —Most of the money comes from search.
a part — Some of the bets closed.
0% — None of my friends drive to work.
Use of before the / my / our / these / them / us: most of the workers, some of them.
Talking about people or things in general? No of, no the: Most people use a phone. (all people in the world) — Most of the people in my office use a laptop. (a group I know)
With all you can drop of: all the money = all of the money. But never all of money — you need the.
| Word | How much? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| all (of) the | 100% | All the shops were closed on Sunday. |
| most of the | more than half | Most of the students passed the test. |
| some of the | a part | Some of the questions were difficult. |
| none of the | 0% | None of the trains were on time. |
Look at the number in brackets. Write all, most, some or none.
1. of the money in my wallet is coins. I have no notes. (100%)
2. of Alphabet’s income comes from search and adverts. (more than half)
3. of my colleagues eat lunch at their desk. They all go out. (0%)
4. of the students in my class walk to school, and the others take the bus. (about 30%)
5. I read of the report — every page! (100%)
1. All · 2. Most · 3. None · 4. Some · 5. all
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. Most of people like holidays.
2. All of money comes from one product.
3. Some of my friend live in another country.
4. No of the projects made a profit.
5. Most the workers were happy with the change.
1. Most people like holidays. (people in general = no of)
2. All (of) the money comes from one product. (you need the)
3. Some of my friends live in another country. (part of a group = plural)
4. None of the projects made a profit. (0% = none of)
5. Most of the workers were happy with the change. (a group we know = of the)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the story in your own words. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Think about the things you spend your time on: work, study, hobbies, sport, friends.
Which one is your star? Your cash cow? Your question mark? Your dog? Say why.
Think about the shops and businesses in your town or city.
Tell me: are most of them new or old? Did some of them close? Are all of them busy?
You are the boss of a company with four products: a popular old product, a new app that is growing, a small café, and a product nobody buys any more.
You have money for only two. Which two? Why?