Comprehension check

1. Why do some species of animals and plants disappear from the Earth?

2. What can you say about global warming?

3. What caused the “greenhouse effect”?

4. Has anything been done to solve ecological problems?

5. What will happen if nothing is done to protect the environment?

Work and jobs Warming-up questions

1. What professions do you know?

2. What are well-paid jobs in our country?

3. Which of them require the knowledge of foreign languages?

There may be different types of work.

You work with your hands if you do manual work, and then you are called a blue-collar.

Blue-collar workers do manual work, work in factories, or build things.

Manual workers often work outdoors, for example as gardeners or road builders.

People who work in a factory or a shop get wages, the money paid every week by their employer.

If you do office work (and work in an office), then you are called a white-collar.

White-collar workers have jobs in offices, banks, company management and so on.

They are called employees, because they are paid to work for someone else.

Employees, especially people in a profession (such as a teacher or a lawyer), get a salary.

It is the money paid every month by their employer.

Both in an office and in a factory you can work with people, and then your job involves a lot of contact with people and not just machines.

If you work in a team, you work together with other people in a group and not alone.

You can work both part-time or have a full-time job.

Someone who has a part-time job works for only part of each day or week.

Someone who works full-time, works for all the hours of a week during which it is usual for people to work or study.

Some people work independently for different companies and are not employed by one particular company.

They are called freelancers.

Others are self-employed – they work for themselves and are not employed by a company.

There are some positive aspects of work, like job satisfaction and job security – when you get enjoyment from doing your work and are not in danger of losing your job.

Other positive aspects of work are: a pay rise – an Increase in the amount of money you are paid for your job, a bonus – money added to your wages as a reward for good work, perks – something that you get legally from your work in addition to your wages, such as goods, meals, or a car, and other fringe benefits – additional services or advantages given with a job besides wages.

Paid holiday, pension contributions and sick pay also add to job satisfaction.

However, there are also negative aspects of work such as work-related stress, discrimination m the workplace, understaffing and unsocial hours.

Comprehension check

1. What’s the difference between manual work and office work?

2. Who are called freelancers?

3. What are positive aspects of work?

4. Are there any negative aspects of work?

5. Would you like to work independently? Why?