- •Unit II office personnel
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •Warming-up
- •I ______ the job because …
- •I didn’t _______ the job because …
- •Find out about your partner’s first job and make notes. Ask questions like these:
- •Tell others about your partner’s first job.
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Introductory text
- •Basic Skills Required
- •Text 3 classification of workers
- •Reading and Discussing
- •Do you type too much?
- •Is your job making you ill?
- •In his answer-letter Mr. Williams gives Julie some recommendations which follow. What do you think of them? Are they helpful? Which one is the most valuable?
- •Human relations on the job
- •Speaking
- •Activity 1
- •Interacting with those to whom you report
- •Activity 2 the role of office workers
- •What is your company’s main product or service?
- •Activity 3 outgoing mail procedures
- •Interacting with your co-workers
- •Activity 4
- •Incoming mail procedures
- •Interacting with your co-workers
- •Activity 5 data processing: financial applications
- •Case study problem solving
- •Test Yourself
- •Writing
Warming-up
Task I. Read the extracts from the articles about the work of the two offices. Which work conditions are better?
Office
hours are usually from 9am to 6pm, although many people work until 7
or 8pm. Junior staff normally stay until their bosses leave. Offices
are usually open on Saturday from 9am until 3pm. Lunch time begins
at 1pm and lasts 1 hour.
Business hours usually start
at 9am and finish at 5pm, Monday to Friday. Offices are normally
closed on Saturdays. In many businesses there is a 35-hour working
week. Lunch hour begins at 12 and finishes at 1 p.m.
Task II. Work in pairs. Ask your partner questions about the work of the employees in offices. (Consult the list of questions that follow to help you in this work.)
Does office employment interest you?
Why do you think the office is an interesting place to work at?
Do you know much about work in offices?
What type of office job do you believe you will find most interesting?
Task III. Let us define some BUSINESS QUALITIES of people.
A. Match the personality adjectives on the left (1-13)
with the descriptions on the right (a-m).
1) tidy |
a) works well, does not waste time |
2) shy |
b) wants to have a top job |
3) self-confident |
c) doesn’t get angry when he or she has to wait |
4) reliable |
d) gets nervous when talking to people he/she doesn’t know |
5) patient |
e) trustworthy, dependable |
6) demanding |
f) thinks carefully before doing or deciding anything |
7) nervous |
g) arrives on time |
8) ambitious |
h) keeps desk, papers, files, etc. in good order |
9) relaxed |
i) calm, unstressed, unworried |
10) cautious |
j) has a positive feeling about himself/herself |
11) dynamic |
k) afraid, doesn’t have a lot of confidence |
12) efficient |
l) makes other people work hard, often to a high standard |
13) punctual |
m) energetic and (usually) successful |
An executive needs some pairs of words to describe employee qualities and performance. Choose from the words on the right a synonym for each word on the left. (See example.)
1) tidy |
.……….neat…………… |
clever |
2) friendly |
………………………… |
timid |
3) careful |
.………………………… |
easy-going |
4) intelligent |
…………………………. |
acceptable |
5) shy |
…………………………. |
self-assured |
6) reliable |
…………………………. |
cautious |
7) relaxed |
…………………………. |
adaptable |
8) self-confident |
…………………………. |
neat |
9) flexible |
…………………………. |
consistent |
10) systematic |
…………………………. |
outstanding |
11) satisfactory |
…………………………. |
dependable |
12) excellent |
…………………………. |
warm |
C. An executive also needs some opposites for the questionnaire. Make negatives from the following adjectives using the prefixes UN-, IN-, DIS-, IR-, IM-. (See example.)
Adjective |
Negative |
1) tidy |
..………untidy……………… |
2) organized |
……………………………… |
3) accurate |
……………………………… |
4) systematic |
……………………………… |
5) patient |
……………………………… |
6) responsible |
……………………………… |
7) efficient |
……………………………… |
8) obedient |
……………………………… |
9) reliable |
……………………………… |
10) friendly |
……………………………… |
11) diplomatic |
……………………………… |
12) sincere |
……………………………… |
13) honest |
……………………………… |
14) competent |
……………………………… |
15) polite |
……………………………… |
Task IV. Work in pairs. Office life is different from country to country. What would you tell a foreign visitor about office routines in your country?
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Working hours |
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Canteen food |
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Flexitime |
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Lunch time |
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Working contracts |
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The atmosphere |
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Relations with the boss |
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Wage negotiations |
Task V. Think of some everyday situations concerning people at work in offices to use the following English proverbs, sayings, and idioms.
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Потерянного времени не воротишь. |
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По работе и мастера видно. |
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Дело мастера боится. |
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Нельзя быть мастером на все руки; нельзя уметь делать все. |
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Пока не попробуешь, не узнаешь, на что ты способен. |
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Мешай дело с бездельем, проживешь век с весельем. |
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Мастер на все руки. |
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За все браться, ничего не сделать. |
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Бездельничать, сидеть сложа руки. |
(= To work one’s fingers to the bone.) |
Без устали работать; работать, не покладая рук. |
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Хорошо справляться с чем-либо, быть на высоте положения. |
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Быстро справиться, разделаться с чем-либо. |
(= To make it a practice to do smth.) |
Регулярно, систематически заниматься чем-либо; взять себе за правило. |
Task VI. Check your feeling of English. Try and match English business idioms on the left (1-8) with their Russian translations on the right (A-H).
1. To pass the buck. (coll.) |
A. Влипнуть, вляпаться, сесть в лужу. |
|
B. Ввести кого-либо в курс дела. |
(= To play one’s cards well/right. ≠ To play one’s cards badly.) |
C. Высказать кому-либо откровенно свое мнение; сказать кому-либо пару “ласковых” слов, отругать. |
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D. Свалить ответственность на дру-гого; валить с больной головы на здоровую. |
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E. Быть расторопным, толковым. |
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F. Иметь хорошую (≠ плохую) репута-цию / характеристику / послужной список. |
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G. Использовать обстоятельства. |
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H. Перестать понимать ситуацию, потерять нить. |
Task VII. Definitions of English idioms have jumbled up.
Find the right definition to each idiom on the left.
1. To play one’s cards right. |
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2. To pass the buck. |
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3. To be on the ball. |
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4. To put smb. in the picture. |
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5. (To have a good/bad) track record. |
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6. To lose one’s touch. |
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7. To put one’s foot in it. |
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Task VIII. BUSINESS IDIOMS in speech.
On the left there is a sad story of Bobby Brown.
Match the idioms in sentences (1-11) with their meanings (a-k) on the right.
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c) He made a big mistake. |
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f) He was a clever employee, he knew what was going on. |
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i) His job experience was good. |
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j) The boss talked to him very directly. |
11. And in the end he was fired. |
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Task IX. Match the following set-phrases with their Russian equivalents. Use your intuition if necessary.
1) office hours |
a) избавляться (от чего-либо) |
2) rush hours |
b) работать на полной ставке |
3) day after day |
c) напряженная работа |
4) at a time |
d) служащий |
5) to be on full time |
e) быть на работе |
6) rush work |
f) мелкие статьи расхода (в учреждении) |
7) a good day’s work |
g) приняться/взяться за работу |
8) white-collar job/work |
h) часы пик |
9) white-collar worker |
i) регулярно, день за днем |
10) blue-collar worker |
j) безработный |
11) to set to work |
k) часы работы (учреждений, магазинов) |
12) to be at work |
l) разом, сразу, одновременно |
13) out of work |
m) рабочий |
14) to get rid (of smth.) |
n) большая работа, проделанная за день |
15) petty cash fund |
o) работа в учреждении, конторе |
Task X. Make up your own sentences about office workers and their activities with the set-phrases given above.
Task XI. When people talk about past jobs, they often say if they liked a job or not and give their reasons why.
