LESSON 16

The Past Perfect Continuous Tense. Прямая и косвенная речь (Повторение).

Text 1

Read the text. Translate and retell it.

Applying for a Job

If you want to apply for a job you must think of your weaknesses and strengths, likes and dislikes, skills and capabilities in order to decide what sort of work you want to do. When searching for a job you can buy a local newspaper or ask your friends, parents or neighbours, go to an employment agency or listen to local radio stations to learn about vacancies. If you hear of something interesting, you should make an application.

In this application you should give the most necessary data: personal information or curriculum vitae and a separate letter asking for this job. In this letter you must specify what post you want to apply for and give the best justification, namely the reasons why you are the most suitable candidate for this job. You can write about your education and qualifications. If it is not your first job you should add a brief description of the duties and achievements in your previous jobs. Write why you are interested in this job. References from your previous employers are excellent evidence of your good work and proper attitude.

The other paper is the curriculum vitae which should contain the following particulars: your name, address and phone number, date and place of birth, marital status, number of children, education and employment background. A health certificate is also important in some jobs. You can add some relevant information e.g. knowledge of foreign languages, voluntary work, interests and features of character.

All those pieces of information are considered by the employer before he asks you to come for an interview. You must remember to write true and correct information not to mislead your future employer.

Text 2

Read the text. Translate it. Have you ever been interviewed?

An Interview

An interview is a meeting between you – a person who applies for a job, and your future employer or his representative. For the employee the aim of the interview is to get an interesting and well-paid job, and for the employer, to find the most satisfactory employee. Both of them want the interview to be successful, and if they talk sincerely they have a chance to succeed.

You, as an applicant, should try to make a good impression. If it is possible find out from the employment agency, or contacts at the firm, friends, etc., any information about the company and the person who will be your boss, this gives you an advantage in preparing for the interview.

Very important at interviews is the first impression. Most important is appearance, this means cleanliness (what the English often refer to as the “well scrubbed look”) together with smart clothes. This does not necessarily mean expensive clothes, but clothes of good appearance. Above all don’t forget shoes! Many applicants have lost a job because although wearing a smart suit or dress, they wore dirty shoes or jogging shoes for their interview. Finally a nice smile on your face – look happy to be there, not terrified, and when you talk, speak slowly, and clearly. If you stutter and do not articulate you certainly won’t get the job.

Punctuality is of paramount importance, this means BE ON TIME! Not 10 minutes early, and certainly not late, but quite simply knocking at the door at exactly the appointed time. You should bring a pen as you will probably have to fill out an application form. You must not have chewing gum in your mouth, suck sweets or smoke during an interview. You must remember to bring school certificates or certificates of graduation from training courses, letters of reference. You must not drink alcohol before an interview as it may make you either too sleepy, aggressive or too excited and loud, and the odour of beer will certainly not be appreciated by your future employer.

An interview takes the form of many questions and answers. Let the interviewer ask questions first without interruption, and make your answers in a polite and sincere way. Be clear and concise when answering questions. Do not say only “yes” or “no”, give a full explanation when necessary and never shrug your shoulders, yawn or fidget. At the very beginning do not forget to shake hands providing he or she offers their hand, or be sure your handshake is firm and not a “wet fish” handshake. Also sit down only when you are invited to.

Listen carefully when the employer talks about your duties. Show how much you are interested in them, and ask polite questions if you want to know more. If it turns out you do not know how to use a computer for example, be honest and say so, but assure the interviewer of your willingness to learn. Talk about your schooling and skills, and about your previous jobs in a positive way. Never criticise your previous bosses, and at the end of the interview don’t be afraid to ask any questions you may have regarding salary, working hours, holidays etc. Do not be disappointed if the interviewer does not tell you the job is yours, he may well have more candidates yet to see, before making a decision. If the answer is negative do not complain or worry, try again in another place. By applying for jobs and going for interviews you also acquire experience.

ADDITIONAL READING

Competitive Women

Management Consultant Rennie Fritch says:

“I don’t agree with people who say you have to be tougher than the toughest man in order to succeed in business. Instead of trying to be macho, tough and ruthless, women should aim to be strong, resilient and fair. By doing this they can be very competitive. Women who try to copy their male colleagues pay a high price. These macho women who to be copies of men end up sacrificing everything for the company. One of the main reasons why women fail to reach the top is their low self-image, a syndrome that starts from an early age. Ask a boy, who is expected by his teacher to get sixty per cent in an exam, how he himself expects to do and he will answer confidently that he expects seventy or seventy-five per cent. Ask a girl the same question and she will say that she might get fifty per cent.

Women should be more realistic and objective about themselves. If you don’t rate yourself highly, how can you expect anyone else to do it?

Women who do make it to the top are always outstanding which is not always true of men.

When I start meeting women who are not as brilliant as they think they are, I’ll know that women have really made it.

The competitive woman must pay plenty of attention to her image. Never underrate yourself. Men really do it.

Believe in yourself, even if others don’t.

Don’t worry about making mistakes. You are entitled to make wrong decisions”.

ORAL PRACTICE

Read the dialogue and act it out.

-Oh, I’m tired with the Customs formalities. Let’s take a short rest now. Shall we sit here?

-It’s a good idea and the armchairs look cosy. Let’s enjoy fresh air.

-Certainly. Well, that’s what La Manche looks like.

-You mean the English Channel.

-Why? What’s the difference?

-Oh, no difference between ourselves, because you are Polish and I’m German, but when you speak to a Frenchman, call it La Manche. On the other hand, British people prefer the English Channel.

-Then I think it should be called the British Channel, shouldn’t it?

-That ‘s history, traditions and all that.

-Thanks a lot, because it’s very good to know the “likes and dislikes” of the country you are going to visit for the first time.

***

Learn the dialogues by heart.

1.

-Who do you work for?

-Goldstar Electric. It’s a Korean company. It’s a part of Lucky-Goldstar Group.

-And where do you work?

-At the Headquarters. That’s in Seoul. But I travel a lot. We have branches in over 120 countries. So I’m not actually in my office very often.

2.

-Hello, Paul. Haven’t seen you for ages. How are you?

-Hello, Nick. Fine, thanks. I’ve just changed my job.

-Can you tell me about your company?

-We’re in financial services business. Traveller’s cheques, charge cards, banking and so on. It’s a large company. The head office is in New York but we have offices all over the world.

3.

-Morgan Enterprises.

-That’s a Dutch company, isn’t it?

-Yes, that’s right. The Headquarters are in Amsterdam, but I don’t work there. I work in Rotterdam. We have business in 80 countries and manufacture in 15.

4.

-Good morning. I’ve got an appointment with Mr. Brown in Marketing Department.

-Good morning. You must be Mr. Ross.

-Yes, that’s right.

-Mr. Brown is waiting for you. Marketing Department is on the 4th floor. You can take the elevator, if you like.

5.

-Well, Mr. Brown, let’s resume our talks, shall we?

-Yes, we are going to discuss guarantees today. We guarantee the highest standards and excellent performance. In fact the models we are supplying are the latest. We put them on the market a year ago.

-That’s good. So the guarantee period is 12 months, isn’t it?

-Quite right.

-But we’d like the final test to be made at our plant.

-No problem. Let’s issue the document about the tests and fix the date.

GRAMMAR EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Insert the verbs “to hear” or “to listen”.

1.I am ... to you attentively. 2. Oh, is it really so? I didn’t ... about it.

3.She ... her husband come in and called out to him. 4. Julia with half an ear

... to the list Margery read out and, though she knew the room so well, idly looked around. 5. As she got into the house she ... the telephone ringing. 6. She ... Michael come whistling along the passage, and as he came into the room she turned to him. 7. I like to ... to clever people. 8. She was awake when she ... Roger come in. 9. She could almost ... the girl’s heart beating.

10.Julia did most of the talking while Roger was listening. 11. She ... with a show of appreciation to one of Michael’s theatrical stories that she had ...

twenty times before ... . 12. How did you ... about her? 13. You are the one person in London I really like to ... to. 14. I ... you are putting a new play on soon. 15. Oh, my dear, I am sorry to ... that. 16. If one could only teach people how to talk and how to ... the society would be quite civilized. 17. They were ... to the radio in the dining-room, when the telephone rang. 18. He ... with his slow, quiet smile.

Exercise 2. Translate the sentences into English:

1.Вечерами он читал газеты и слушал радио. 2. Она говорила о п˝огоде

èзаметила (to notice), что никто не слушает ее. 3. Простите, я не слыш˝ала, что вы говорили. 4. Я слышу голос сестры в соседней комнате. 5.˝ Говорите громче, пожалуйста. Я вас не слышу. 6. Она перестала слушать, ч˝то он говорит. 7. Я слышала, как он поднялся наверх и вошел в комнат˝у. 8. Я рада это слышать. 9. Я слышала, вы изучаете два иностранных я˝зыка. 10. Я слушаю последние известия утром и вечером. 11. Я слышал, эта˝ книга очень интересная. 12. Я никогда не слышал подобной глупости ˝(nonsense). 13. Он не хотел меня слушать. 14. Она слушала меня, но не слышала,˝ что я говорю. 15. Вы должны меня выслушать. 16. Какую музыку вы любит˝е слушать? – Я люблю музыку Чайковского. 17. Я слышала, вы пишете˝ книгу. 18. Вы слышали, что ночью шел дождь?

Exercise 3. Correct the mistakes in the following:

1. I have never been to Alps. 2. He has the son and the daughter. 3. I bought half the kilo of meat. 4. I earned two thousands dollars a last month. 5. John is businessman. 6. Elena has caught the cold. 7. The few students in our group can speak fluent English. 8. I want to buy costume. 9. What a bad mood! 10. Pass me a salt, please. 11. I like the tea. 12. Borisov liked to go to Bolshoi Theatre.

Exercise 4. In this exercise you have to read a situation and then write a sentence.

Example: The two boys came into the house. One had a black eye and the other had a cut lip (they /fight). – They had been fighting.

1. Tom was watching television. He was feeling very tired. (he/study/ hard all day). 2. When I walked into the room, it was empty. But there was a smell of cigarettes. (somebody/smoke/in the room). 3. When Mary came back from the beach, she looked very red from the sun. (she/lie/in the sun too long). 4. The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired. (they/play/football). 5. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and she didn’t know where she was. (she/ dream).

Exercise 5. Put the verb into the correct form: Past Perfect Continuous or Past Continuous.

Examples: Tom was leaning against the wall, out of breath. He had been running (to run).

I tried to catch Tom but I couldn’t. He was running (to run) very fast. 1. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He … (to look) for his cigarette lighter. 2. We … (to walk) along the road for about 20 minutes when a car stopped and the driver offered us a lift. 3. When I arrived, everyone was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They … (to eat). 4. When I arrived, everyone was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full. They … (to eat). 5. When I arrived, Ann … (to wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because

I was late and she … (to wait) for a very long time.

Exercise 6. Make up your own sentences for these situations.

Example: It was 3 o’clock when Jill went out to look for her son and 6 o’clock when she found him. – Jill had been looking for her son for 3 hours before she found him.

1. Roger Morgan got his first job in the film industry when he was 20. He made his first film when he was 25. 2. Roy started studying for his doctorate when he was 25. He got it when he was 30. 3. Mary started in the shop when she was 19. When she was 29 she became the manageress. 4. Miss Roach began her driving lessons in January 1992. She didn’t pass her test until January 1993. 5. She started the composition at 8 in the evening. She gave it up at midnight and went to bed. 6. Roger went to the bus-stop at 7. It was 7.30 when the bus came. 7. You ordered the meal at 2, and the waiter brought it at 3. 8. They went for a walk in the park at 11. It was 12 when it began to rain. 9. Peter and I arranged to meet at 6 but he came only at 6.30. 10. The programme was interesting. I started to watch TV at 9 when the telephone rang at 10.

Exercise 7. Use either the Past Simple Tense or the Past Perfect Tense.

Example: The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody (to go) had gone to bed.

1. I felt very tired when I got home, so I (to go) straight to bed. 2. I had been looking for my textbook for an hour when at last I (to find) it in the laboratory. 4. Mary looked happy. She said she (to find) her ring. 5. Julia (to finish) her homework at 6 and went out for a walk. 6. Jane (to wash) the dishes, dried them and put them into the cupboard. 7. Tom called me this afternoon and invited me to go out for a walk, but I couldn’t as I (not to wash) the windows yet.

ADDITIONAL READING

In the Bank

In a large, dimly lighted room with acoustic walls and ceilings to deaden sound, about fifty operators – predominantly women – are sitting at a battery of monitors with a keyboard beneath each. It is here that holders of the blue, green, and gold credit cards are given or refused credit.

When a card is presented anywhere in payment for goods or services, the place of business can accept the card without a question if the amount is below twenty-five and fifty dollars. For a large purchase, authorization is needed, though it takes only seconds to obtain.

The approval procedures move at a jet speed. From wherever they are, merchants and others dial directly to the credit-card processing centre of the bank. Automatically each call is routed to a free operator, whose first words are, “What is merchant number?” As soon as the answer has been given, the operator types the figures, which appear simultaneously on the monitor. Next she asks the card number and amount of credit being sought. They are also typed and displayed.

The operator presses the key, feeding the information to a computer, which instantly signals “accepted” or “declined”. The first means that credit is good and the purchase has been approved, the second that the cardholder is delinquent and credit has been cut off. The operator informs the merchant, the computer records the transaction. On a normal day fifteen thousand calls come in.

Sometimes a monitor flashes a message from the computer – “stolen card”. In this situation an operator, speaking calmly, as trained, has to answer, “The card presented to you has been reported as stolen. If possible, detain the person presenting it and call the police. Retain the card. The bank will pay you thirty dollars reward for its return.”

Storekeepers are usually pleased at the prospect to get an easy thirty dollars. For the bank it is also a good deal, since the card, left in circulation, can be used fraudulently for a much greater total amount.

But this system works well only when the bank has got the information and can program the computer. Unfortunately most of the defrauding happens before a missing card is reported. To avoid this the computer also warns the operators about excessive purchasing: when a cardholder makes ten or more purchases during a single day, the computer alerts an operator. Since an ordinary cardholder never makes more than six or eight purchases a day, a card showing more than normal use may be fraudulent, even though the owner might be unaware of its loss.

However, despite all the warning systems, a lost or stolen card, if used cautiously, is still good for twenty thousand dollars’ worth of fraudulent purchases in the week or so during which most stolen cards stay unreported.

Moreover, there are devices used by criminals to decide whether a stolen card can be used again or it cannot. A favourite one is to pay a waiter twentyfive dollars to check a card out. He can get the answer easily by consulting a weekly confidential warning list issued by the credit card company to merchants and restaurants.