- •Vocabulary for the World of Work
- •Job idioms
- •Work Game
- •Earning a living
- •In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the three best alternatives for each.
- •Looking for a job?
- •Taking Time Out
- •2 Read the quotes again to find words or phrases that are similar in meaning to 1-5.
- •3 Do you agree with this statement from quote c?
- •3 Do you think there is a lot of pressure on young people nowadays? What kind of pressure comes from:
- •Jobs: topic box
- •I’d like to be a reporter on a magazine or a newspaper. It would be interesting because there would be so much variety. And I wouldn’t be stuck in an office all day. I would go out and meet people.
- •Phoning about a job
- •Vacancies
- •Writing a letter of application
- •3. A Reader's Letter
- •I. Warm-up
- •Looking for a job
- •How to create a good impression . . .
- •1 Work in pairs
- •How to create a good impression at your first interview
- •Interviews
- •Part I. Preparation
- •Exercises
- •2. Put the following steps of Mr. Green's career in the correct order.
- •3. Put in the right word combination into each gap.
- •4. Translate into English.
- •5. Points for discussion.
- •Part II. Writing a resume
- •1. Translate the words given in brackets.
- •2. Put in the right preposition into each gap.
- •3. Fill in the correct word derived from the word in brackets.
- •4. Translate into English.
- •5. Points for discussion.
- •Write a resume and a cover letter of your own. Resume preparation
- •It is recommended that you accompany every resume with a cover letter.
- •Part III. A Winning Interview
- •1. Find the odd word in each two lines. Rewrite the interviewer s question in Direct Speech.
- •Ловушки для соискателей. (или как не стать жертвой провокации интервьюера на собеседовании)
- •Типичные ошибки на собеседовании
- •Exercises
- •5. Translate into English. К созданию команды стоит привлечь всех сотрудников
- •6. Points for discussion.
- •At work
- •On Business and Social Manners. Tips for Powerful Communicators
- •Smart Ways to Stamp Out Stress
- •1. You're overwhelmed
- •2. You've got task terror
- •3. You're a mess
- •4. Your boss is impossible
- •5. You're falling apart
- •6 You're over-extended
- •Schmooze your way to success
- •How to schmooze your boss
Job idioms
To bring home the bacon. To earn a living. He felt it was his responsibility to bring home the bacon.
To balance the books. To make certain that the amount of money spent is not more than the amount of money received. The accountant couldn't work out the profit and loss until they had balanced the books.
A ballpark figure. A general financial figure. Until we had costed the project properly we were only able to give the customer a ball park figure.
A bean-counter. An accountant. The bean-counters told us we had to reduce the budget.
Blood on the carpet. A lot of trouble in an organisation often resulting in someone losing their job. After the meeting there was blood on the carpet.
The bottom line. The total, the final figure on a balance sheet, the most important feature of smthing. When he told me -the bottom line I decided not to go ahead with the project.
To break even. When expenses equal profits. The company broke even after two years.
A cash cow. A product or service that makes a lot of money for a company. The new product has proved to be a real cash cow.
A big cheese. An important person, a leader (usually about business). Anita Roddick is a big cheese in Body Shop.
To cold call. To call potential customers without an appointment or previous contact. The sales rep cold called customers from the business directory.
To crack the whip. To make someone work harder by threatening them. We finished the project on time, but only because I really cracked the whip.
A dead end job. A job that has no chance of promotion or advancement. She left the company because she was very ambitious but in a dead end job.
A golden handshake. To receive a large payment on leaving a company. She won't have to find a job very quickly because she got a huge golden handshake from her last job.
To be fired. To be dismissed from your job. He was always coming late, so eventually they fired him.
To get the sack. To be dismissed from your job. He was always coming late, so eventually they sacked him.
A close shave. When you come extremely close to a dangerous or unpleasant situation or only just manage to avoid it. / nearly crashed the car this morning, it was a close shave.
To be snowed under. To be very busy. She wasn't able to finish the report as she was snowed under with other work.
To sweat blood. To work very hard. She sweated blood to finish the project on time.
By the sweat of one's brow. To work really hard. She managed to keep the company going by the sweat of her brow.
To work your fingers to the bone. To work really hard. She kept the family together by working her fingers to the bone.
Work Game
First, a game to test you on the words for some jobs and professions. Cover the column on the right. Who would you contact or call on in the situations below? Then look at the column on the right. Try to find the appropriate person for each situation. Be careful! They are not in the right order.
1 a filling has come out of one of your back teeth 2 you think your eyes need testing 3 you find you have an ingrowing toe-nail 4 your back hurts and your doctor can't help (Find four people.) 5 your fringe is getting a bit too long 6 you want a portrait photograph of yourself 7 you have decided to sue somebody (who might refer you to another lawyer) 8 you fancy a holiday in the sun 9 you want advice on investment or insurance 10 your grand piano isn't sounding quite right 11 you want to find a 400-year-old grandfather clock 12 you are planning a church wedding 13 your car won't start 14 you want to place a bet on the 3.45 race at Ascot 15 someone in the family has just died 16 you want to learn to drive 17 you want to buy a pedigree alsatian 18 you have decided to sell your house 19 you want plans drawn up for a new house 20 you want to go ahead and have the new house built 21 you are moving house and have a furniture problem 22 you have lots of old iron you want to get rid of 23 you want new windows put into the house 24 your new fridge is leaking 25 you like the idea of new wallpaper throughout the house 26 water is gushing from vour kitchen taps even when turned off 27 all the lights in your house have fused 28 you think your neighbours just might be neglecting their little child 29 your house is on fire 30 you think you are going crazy |
a chiropodist a broker a dentist (dental surgeon) a vicar (priest) a hairdresser (hair stylist) a bookmaker an architect an osteopath a driving instructor a solicitor a barrister a (dog) breeder a (garage) mechanic a photographer a piano tuner a chiropractor an optician a masseur (masseuse) a building contractor (builder) an antique dealer a travel agent a scrap metal deal (merchant) a physiotherapist an undertaker (funeral director) an electrician an estate agent a maintenance engineer a glazier (and a carpenter) the fire brigade (fireman) a psychiatrist a social worker a removal firm a plumber an interior decorator |
Reading
Not everybody has a regular, steady job with a fixed income. Some are self-employed and work for themselves, some work part-time, some work irregular shifts, some are unemployed. Some have a job, but it isn't what it should be. Some are apprentices, earning very little while they are being trained.
Read the words of the song below, noting how many people there are who are not Number One. The key-words have been printed on the right so that you can test yourself later.
I know you've always got to have a kind of... who will throw all the balls back into play. And you couldn't really do without a ... longing for the manager's holiday. And the company will always need a ... praying for the chairperson's death. It's clear that somebody has got to be the ... and someone has to make do with ....
Someone must accept that he's the ... waiting impatiently to play in the team. Someone's got to act as the ... typing out ream after ream. Someone's got to be the magician's ... holding the maestro's gloves. And someone's got to work as the ... wishing she was one step above.
I suppose there'll always be a place for the ... turning the pianist's pages. And you're always going to find a ... who'll clean out the animals' cages. And can the cast do without the poor ... fidgeting in the wings? Can the golfer get around without his faithful ... carrying his clubs and things?
I know that someone's got to be the ... getting on everybody's nerves. And there'll always be a need for a ... aware that she was ... And it's no disgrace to be a plumber's ... carrying the boss's tools, Or the temporary relief, a ..., A stranger in a hundred schools.
I guess there'll always be a job for the ... Peeping through the restaurant door. You can't have a fight without a heavy-weight... Landing in a heap on the floor. And you'll often hear the stories of the ... Who never quite made it to sea. I know all that, but I can't help wondering why it's always got to be me. |
Substitute
deputy manager
vice-chairperson
second string
second best
twelfth man
trainee
secretary-assistant
auxiliary junior
failed musician
would-be trainer
understudy
caddy
student
dentist
stand-in speaker
first reserve
mate supply teacher
commis waiter
challenger
stand-by sailor |
All in a day's work