unit 8 Work and jobs
2 Talking about what you do
So what do you do,Nori? Are you working or studying or what?
Well,I graduated a couple of years ago and now I'm working in Osaka.
Oh right,So what do you do?
I'm a civil servant.I work for the government.
Oh,do you ? Do you enjoy it?
Yes,it's OK.I have to do a lot of paperwork,which is quite boring,but
it's quite well paid. Oh,that sounds good.
Yes,it is,but sometimes I get a bit bored wiht it.
I have to work a twelve-hour day most days,and a lot of the time,
I don't really have much to do,so I just sit around and kill time.
Do you have to work weekends?
No,thank goodness!Five days a week is enough.
Yes,I know what you mean.Do you get much holiday?
It's not too bad.I get three weeks a year,so that's OK.
And do you have to travel very far to work?
Yes,quite a long way.It's about an hour on the train,
so I have to spend a lot of time commuting.
Anyway,what about you,Jenny? What do you do?
I'm an estate agent,actually.I work in an office in the centre of Leeds.
Oh really? That sounds interesting.
Yes,it is,but it's quite stressful sometimes.
We don't get paid that much.
It depends how many houses we sell.If I don't sell anything,
I don't get any extra money.
Oh,I see.So how's it going at the moment?
It's been OK this month,actually,but it's not always like that.
Right.And what're the other people you work with like?
Oh,they're OK.We all get on OK.
How long've you been doing it?
About a year an da half now.
I'm still not sure that it's what I really want to do,though.
I'm going to continue doing it for another six months
and see if I start enjoying it more.
It might get easier to sell things.
And if it doesn't get easier?What then?
Oh,I don't know.I'll have to think about it.
4 Using vocabulary:expressions with get
A lot of people ask me why I do temping work rather than get a permanent job with one company.
I guess it's partly because of my father.
He was a computer programmer for a big multinational company.
His job was very important to him.
He used to work very long hours.
When we were kids,he often got home after nine o'clock at night-
the time that we went to bed.
Sometimes I didn't see him for days and days.
He did very well in his job.He got promoted.
He became the manager for the whole of the country
and then the whole of South-east Asia.
He just worked harder and harder.
I don't think he was really happy doing what he was doing,
but I guess he couldn't see any other wy.
Then,when he retired,he didn't know what to do.
He was even more unhappy.
He died of a heart attack when he was 68.
I don't want to be like that.
Doing temping work means I don't have to go to work every day.
When I work,I don't have to do the same things or see the same people every day.
That's why I like it.I've been with the same agency for about ten years now.
They know I'm a good worker and I'm reliable-I've never been late for work-
so I can more or less choose the jobs I want to do.
Sometimes I work in the same place for a few weeks,
sometimes it's for just one day.
I only get paid for the days I work,
so if I'm not very well and take a day off sick,or if I want a holiday,
I don't get any money.
I suppose that if I had a family,it would be a problem,but I don't mind.
Money isn't that important to me.
It's more important that I can take time off when I want to.
Some of my friends only get two weeks'holiday a year.
I often take five or six weeks'holiday and go travelling all over the world.
At the moment,I'm working in an office as a secretary.
I've been there for about three months.It's a nice place.
The people who work there are really friendly,
but I'm getting a bit fed up with the work,
so I think I'll probably ask to change and do something else soon.
I do quite a lot of office work because I'm good at typing,
but I've done lots of other jobs as well.
I've been a security guard and a barman;I washed cars one summer;
and I worked in a hotel in a ski resort for two winters,
which was good because I went skiing a lot.
Not all the jobs I had was when I worked in an abattoir,
which is a place where they kill animals.
I had to cut up the meat,pack it and send it off to supermarkets.
Then I had to clean the floor.
It was disgusting!My best job was working in a chocolate factory for a week.
I went home with lots of free chocolate bars. That was great!
3 Listening
Hello Sue!How are you?
Oh hi,yes.I'm all right,I guess.
You don't sound very well.Have you been ill?
I didn't see you in class yesterday.
No,I know.I've just been really busy applying for jobs.
I've applied to about ten different places
and all the application forms are really big.
They take a really long time to fill in.
It's awful.
I had to finish one yesterday so I could hand it in before the deadline.
That's why I missed class.
Wow!really don't know what I want to od when I finish.
I'm just going to go on holiday
and then I'll think about looking for a job after that.
Well,that's probably quite a good idea.
Look at me.I've sent off ten application forms
and I've only had one interview and that was a disaster.
Oh dear.What was the job? Accountant.
Accountant!You?
Yes,why are you so surprised?
Well,you're doing a degree in biology and you're terrible with money!
You're always asking to borrow money from me!
Yes,OK,but I was quite good at maths when I was at school,
and they said they would give people training.
So,you know,I thought I might have a chance.
I know,but usually they want people to have some experience of working in business.
Ah,yes..well,that was the problem,actually.
I told them in the application form
I had experience of working for an accountancy company.
What,you mean you lied? Well,it wasn't exactly a lie.
My cncle runs an accountancy company,
and I sometimes worked there in the holidays to get some extra money.
Yes,but what were you doing there?
Well,OK.I was making tea and posting letters and things like that,
but it WAS an accountancy company!
Right,yes.SO what happened in the interview?
Oh,they asked me some really difficult questions.
I didn't knwo what to say.
It was a bit embarrassing,actually.
Oh well,you live and learn.So what else have you applied for?
Well,I've sent off a couple more for accountancy jobs,
one for marketing,three for jobs in drug companies,
and the last one was to work in a zoo,
but the money's terrible for that one,so I don't know if I really want that.
Review:units 5-8
Consonant sounds:
pattern 1
upset enquire
career arrange
pattern 2
bracelet necklace
lecture details
Parttern 3
library opposite
sensible restaurant
Pattern 4
imagine directly
appointment revision
Listen and repeat these paris of sounds.
1 /p/ /b/
2 /t/ /d/
3 /ch/ / /
4 /k/ /g/
Now listen and practise these words and expressions.
/p/ /b/ /pay/ /back/ I'll pay you back tomorrow.
/t/ /d/ /turn/ /down/ Can you turn the TV down?
/ch/ / / /change/ /jacket/ I just need to change my jacket.
/g/ /k/ /get/ /break/ I get an hour break for lunch.
4 Difficult sounds:consonant clusters
Listen and try to say the sounds.
/pr/ /br/
/tr/ /dr/
/kr/ /gr/
/skr/ /skr/