- •Useful vocabulary
- •Do these PatchWork exercises and learn more about the work we do.
- •Read the extracts from the history of work ethic after Roger b. Hill, Ph.D., and match subtitles with corresponding paragraphs.
- •Study the patterns and translate the sentences into Russian.
- •Paraphrase the following sentences using Speech Pattern 3.
- •Grammar Clinic
- •10. Match the halves to make a meaningful whole. Translate the sentences into Russian paying attention to modal verbs.
- •11.How do you understand the following proverbs? Give reasons to prove your stance.
- •Vocabulary Practice
- •Find English equivalents in the text.
- •Find the words in the text which mean the following:
- •Text Analysis and Development
- •What do the following phrases from the text imply? Paraphrase and explain.
- •To what extent do your agree with the following statements? Give support from the text (avoiding lifting). Make use of the following phrases:
- •Complete the summary of the story providing the plot. Make use of the words from the box.
- •Answer the following questions developing the issue.
- •Language Focus
- •18. Look through the text for appropriate prepositions or adverbs to fill in the blanks.
- •21. Paraphrase using Core Vocabulary. Change the whole structure of the sentence.
- •22. Complete each second sentence using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, paying attention to the modal verbs.
- •23. Translate b’s replies, paying special attention to idioms.
- •24. Add negative prefixes il-, un-, dis-, in-,im-, ir- to the words to form the opposites.
- •25. Recast the following, using some of the words with negative prefixes. Change the structure of the sentence, if required.
- •Joint Research
- •26. Research the following aspects of a successful career.
- •Hard Work Makes the Difference
- •Vocabulary Practice
- •27. Find English equivalents to the following words and word combinations.
- •28. Find the words and word combinations which mean the same in the text:
- •Text Analysis and Development
- •29. Explain what the following sentences from the text imply by paraphrasing them. Pay special attention to the underlined parts.
- •30. Choose the appropriate endings for the sentences.
- •31. Finish the summary of the story providing major details and conclusion. Keep to the plan.
- •Speaking Springboard
- •32. Take a stance on the following statements:
- •Language Focus
- •33. Look through the text for appropriate prepositions or adverbs to fill in the blanks.
- •36. Paraphrase using Core Vocabulary. Change the whole structure of the sentence.
- •Word Building
- •37. Recast the following, using verbs with the prefix –re. Change the structure of the sentence, if required.
- •Collocations
- •38. What words collocate? Choose the correct variant.
- •39. Translate the story from Russian into English, paying special attention to modal verbs.
- •Useful vocabulary
- •Simulation Task generating motivation
- •40. Employees’ motivation is an important factor of successful business. Research the issue, answering the following questions.
- •Vocabulary Practice
- •41. Find English equivalents to the following words and word combinations.
- •42. Find the words and word combinations which mean the same in the text:
- •Text Analysis and Development
- •43. Explain what the following sentences from the text imply by paraphrasing them.
- •44. Compare and contrast the information from texTs a and b. Complete the form about reasons and consequences of downshifting.
- •45. Complete the summary of the texts about downshifting providing topic, main ides and conclusion. Compare and contrast the information.
- •Speaking Springboard
- •46. What do you think about the following statements? Take a stance on these issues.
- •Language Focus
- •47. Look through the text for appropriate prepositions or adverbs to fill in the blanks.
- •50. Paraphrase using Core Vocabulary. Change the whole structure of the sentence.
- •51. Explain the meaning of the phrasal verbs with particles up and down.
- •Word Building
- •52. Recast the sentences using the words with the prefix out-. Change the structure of the sentence, if required.
- •Grammar Clinic
- •53. Complete the text with the phrases given.
- •Take a Stance
- •54. What factors are taken into account when considering a job offer? These are two different opinions on the issue. Which of the two do you agree with? Give your arguments.
- •55. Render the text into English using the vocabulary of the unit.
- •Speaking Springboard
- •56. Do you agree with the following statements? Give support to your stance.
- •57. Choose the right word.
- •58. Read the text and choose the best words to fill in the gaps.
- •59. Choose appropriate words to complete the sentences.
- •60. Use the word in capitals to form a word that fits into the space.
- •61. Render the text into English using the vocabulary of the unit.
- •62. Speak for 2 minutes on one of the following quotations.
25. Recast the following, using some of the words with negative prefixes. Change the structure of the sentence, if required.
1. I think her behaviour is rather childish for her grown up age. – She is rather … 2. The consequence of our carelessness was the accident which we couldn’t avoid. – The accident was … 3. It is not normal practice; moreover, it’s against usual rules to release the goods without an invoice. – Releasing the goods … 4. It is impossible to make the changes to the tax system in an effective and realistic way. – The changes to the tax system proved … 5. Her son didn’t want her to accompany him to the school building and she tried hard not to be noticed by him, hiding behind the bushes. – She did her best to look. 6. The rock weighed over a ton and was completely impossible to move. – The rock was … 7. These documents are largely not related to what is being investigated now. – These documents are … 8. The food is always good though they never change the menu. – The menu is … 9. He has described the council as corrupt and not having the ability to cope with its tasks. – According to him, the council is … 10. Drivers who are thoughtless of cyclists’ safety run the risk of injuring them. – The cyclists run the risk of … |
Joint Research
26. Research the following aspects of a successful career.
|
Share the results with your fellow-students in a 2-min statement.
Reading 2
Hard Work Makes the Difference
“I would have to work hard tomorrow.
Work could cure almost anything,
I believed then, and I believe it now.”
Ernest Hemingway
Key factor to success
Charles Darwin, the man who would almost single-handedly redefine biological science, at the outset, was hardly even a scientist. He started out as an amateur naturalist, a beetle collector, a 22-year-old rich-kid dilettante who, after flirting with the idea of being first a physician and then a preacher, was allowed to ship out with the Beagle as someone who might supply good conversation at the captain's table. His father had all but ordered him not to go to sea, worrying that it was nothing more than one of Charles's lengthening list of aimless exploits. But when this young man came ashore after his five-year voyage, he would not only have shed his aimlessness but would have replaced it with a scientific sense of skepticism and curiosity so rigorous and abiding that he would be a workaholic almost to the day he died. The crucial thing is that he did all this by himself. Darwin worked slowly to master a subject. But he had a restless, hungry mind. He became the model of a modern major scientist. Darwin may have been independently wealthy, but in terms of his vocation, he was a self-made man.
It is a measure of his accomplishment, of how much he changed the world, that the era into which Darwin was born seems so strange to us now. Today one can be self-made in the more conventional way. But the key to it keeps unchanged. It’s hard work, which is many things.
Causes and effects
We live in a complicated, fast world, surrounded by distractions. Getting down to work can be a way to free yourself of all things extraneous. Setting about the task can be a stress reliever, a form of meditation. When we accomplish our goal, we find an immense release in the work preceding. Conversely, it can be punishment for having a whale of a time the night before.
Hard work is tunnel vision. Your working day claims your complete attention and involves all your senses and efforts to the extent of arousing a fervent desire to see the light at the end. With the work over, we are free to appreciate the world afresh and strive for its pleasures. Our feet, heads and stomachs feel light, empty and hungry. Another day of hard work has cured us of whatever burden the morning imposed on us.
Consistency
To keep your muscles strong or your mind sharp, you need to challenge them. The much tougher challenges will usually see a lot less competition and a lot more opportunity. Strong challenge is commonly associated with strong results. There’s an African gold mine two miles deep and tens of millions of dollars’ worth, and it’s one of the most lucrative gold mines ever. These miners tackled a very challenging problem with a lot of hard work, but ultimately it’s paying off.
Hemingway knew, as every professional writer, gymnast, jockey, chef and whoever also knows, hard work takes discipline and patience, especially over time. The practice of working hard once a week for an hour illustrates how little of discipline prevails. To do it for eight hours a day, seven days a week, over any number of years sets a real challenge. Consistency is crucial. As Ericsson, a Swedish inventor, notes, "Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends." The greater your capacity and willingness for facing the challenge, the more rewards fall within your grasp and the more likely possessor of a key to a special private treasure room you are. When you discipline yourself to do what is hard, you gain access to a realm of results that are denied everyone else.
Contradicting main flow
Sure anyone may have a fluke every once in a while. People of lesser character will fail to bypass the low hanging fruit, avoiding hard work. The superficial opportunities of life will be attacked by hordes of people seeking a soft option and an easy path to success. The longer this remains the case, the less they will be able to maintain that success, let alone repeat it. Easy living, if unchallenged, will cause physical and mental flabbiness and very mediocre results.
Steve Pavlina, an American self-help author and entrepreneur blasted through the obstacles that stopped others who have less resolve. “When I was developing the PC game Dweep,” he says. “I spent four months full-time working to create the design of a logic puzzle game. I found it extremely challenging to get the design just right. This was where I could get the competitive edge I needed. Most of the market was flooded with clones of older games, the kind of stuff that’s easiest to make. It was much, much harder to design an original game with unique gameplay. But it paid off handsomely. Dweep has won two Shareware Industry Awards in succession and it is still on offer. Everyone claims they have a cool game idea, but they are slow and shiftless to actually turn it into something workable, fun, and innovative.”
When you learn to embrace hard work instead of running from it, you gain the ability to execute on your big goals, no matter what it takes to achieve them.
Daily routine
Hard work is no cakewalk of a job, it might be accepted as painful or uncomfortable. You have to learn to associate more pleasure to the character development you gain than the minor discomforts you experience. Then you become accustomed to spending more time outside your comfort zone. But it’s a struggle within your reach and the benefits far outweigh the cost.
Routine laborious activities in those areas of your life that won’t succumb to anything less than hard work must become a fixture. It’s not make-believe, it’s a fact. Being healthy is hard work. Finding and maintaining a successful relationship is hard work. Raising kids, getting organized, achieving goals, and staying on track – all that is hard work. Even being happy means pushing yourself, as true happiness comes from high self-esteem, and not from denial and escapism.
“Hard work is a potent tool to have on your side,” says Russ Ahlberg, a mechanical engineer, “I’m working hard in Toastmasters to build my speaking skills. I belong to two different clubs and attend 6-7 meetings per month. I strive to explore topics deeply and search for the gold. I’m constantly forced to better my best. I’ve given many speeches, all of them for free. I’ve competed in every speech contest since I joined. I drive myself hard to go pro. I won’t take the easy path to a shallow position. I won’t get up on a stage and spout a bunch of fluffy self-help sound bites that still garner applause and a paycheck but which don’t ultimately help anyone. I’m willing to pay the price whatever it takes. If it takes years, it takes years.”
“Practice makes perfect”
“Practice makes perfect”, as the saying goes. We are only human, that is why perhaps we can never attain true perfection, but each day of practice does bring you closer, as something is always being accomplished. “If as a writer, “says Tim Sharpe, a famous novelist, “you spend six months writing a novel and realize when it’s done that it’s dreadful, you’ll have mastered your skills due to working on it every day. It might be disappointing that you have to chuck your manuscript into the fire, but you are sure to learn from your mistakes. Your strenuous efforts will be an engine of your tremendous growth.”
When eventually developed maturity and responsibility give you the understanding that certain goals will never just flow into your life; they’ll only happen to if you act as the driving force to bring them to fruition. As a bonus, the more you get used to using your own unique skill set, the more confident you will be in your abilities. Hard work fosters faith in yourself.
All the qualities that hard work demands, like discipline, patience, confidence and persistence do not come naturally to many of us. “I am a very impatient person by nature,” confesses Tim Sharp, “I fidget when I sit still for any length of time. I used to skip classes in college simply because I couldn’t sit through an hour of foot-bouncing boredom. But the more I commit myself to working hard at writing, the greater I find my reserves of patience within myself and with many other things like … bad drivers. Let me tell you, during the winter season, there are plenty of bad drivers on the road.”
Motivation
It is a strong purpose that gets you to the point and turns hard work into a necessity, never an option. While purpose is the why, hard work is the how. Purpose is what turns labor into labor of love and transmutes the pain of hard work into the higher level pleasure of dedication, commitment, resolve, and passion. It turns pain into strength, eventually to the point where you don’t notice the pain as much as you enjoy the strength.
Where does it all leave us? If Darwin was not so irreplaceable as, for example, Thomas Alva Edison, that should not gainsay Darwin’s accomplishment. We must give him his due. He was goal-oriented and brave. He risked his health and his reputation to advance his idea. Darwin was shaped by circumstances, he reacted to the beliefs that steered the world into which he was born and ultimately he reshaped his corner of that world and left it irrevocably changed. All of us have the same chance.