Home assignment
1. Watch the movie Up in the Air and prepare to talk about it in class a while later.
2. Read the excerpt from a contemporary British short story. Would you agree that a fixed daily routine is a must even for a homeless person? Why?
The grass is always greener…
by Jeffrey Archer
Bill woke with a start. It was always the same following a long sleep-in over the weekend. Once the sun had risen on Monday morning they would expect him to move on. He had slept under the archway of Critchley's Bank for more years than most of the staff had worked in the building.
Bill would turn up every evening at around seven o'clock to claim his spot. Not that anyone else would have dared to occupy his pitch after all these years. Over the past decade he had seen them come and go, some with hearts of gold, some silver and some bronze. Most of the bronze ones were only interested in the other kind of gold. He had sussed out which was which, and not just by the way they treated him.
He glanced up at the clock above the door: ten to six. Young Kevin would appear through that door at any moment and ask if he would be kind enough to move on. Good lad, Kevin – often slipped him a bob or two, which must have been a sacrifice, what with another baby on the way. H certainly wouldn't have been treated with the same consideration by most of the posher ones who came in later.
Bill allowed himself a moment to dream. He would have liked to have Kevin's job, dressed in that heavy, warm coat and peaked hat. He would still have been on the street, but with a real job and regular pay. Some people had all the luck. All Kevin had to do was say, 'Good morning, sir. Hope you had a pleasant weekend.' Didn't even have to hold the door open since they'd made it automatic.
But Bill wasn't complaining. It hadn't been too bad a weekend. It didn't rain, and nowadays the police never tried to move him on - not since he'd spotted that IRA man parking his van outside the bank all those years ago. That was his army training.
He'd managed to get hold of a copy of Friday's Financial Times and Saturday's Daily Mail. The Financial Times reminded him that he should have invested in Internet companies and kept out of clothes manufacturers, because their stocks were dropping rapidly following the slowdown in High Street sales. He was probably the only person attached to the bank who read the Financial Times from cover to cover, and certainly the only one who then used it as a blanket.
He'd picked up the Mail from the bin at the back of the building – amazing what some of those yuppies dropped in that bin. He'd had everything from a Rolex watch to a packet of condoms. Not that he had any use for either. There were quite enough clocks in the City without needing another one, and as for the condoms – not much point in those since he'd left the army. He had sold the watch and given the condoms to Vince, who worked the Bank of America pitch. Vince was always bragging about his latest conquests, which seemed a little unlikely given his circumstances. Bill bad decided to call his bluff and give him the condoms as a Christmas present.
The lights were being switched on all over the building, and when Bill glanced through the plate-glass window he spotted Kevin putting on his coat. Time to gather up his belongings and move on: he didn't want to get Kevin into any trouble, on account of the fact he hoped the lad would soon be getting the promotion he deserved.
Bill rolled up his sleeping bag – a present from the Chairman, who hadn't waited until Christmas to give it to him. No, that wasn't Sir William's style. A born gentleman, with an eye for the ladies – and who could blame him? Bill had seen one or two of them go up in the lift late at night, and he doubted if they were seeking financial advice. Perhaps he should have given him the packet of condoms.
He folded up his two blankets – one he'd bought with some of the money from the watch sale, the other he'd inherited when Irish died. He missed Irish. Half a loaf of bread from the back of the City Club, after he'd advised the manager to get out of clothes manufacturers and into the Internet, but he'd just laughed. He shoved his few possessions into his bag – another dustbin job, this time from the back of the Old Bailey.
Finally, like all good City men, he must check his cash position - always important to be liquid when there are more sellers than buyers. He fumbled around in his pocket, the one without a hole, and pulled out a pound, two 10-pence pieces and a penny. Thanks to government taxes, he wouldn't be able to afford any fags today, let alone his usual pint.
Clocks all over the city were beginning to chime six. He tied up the laces of his Reebok trainers – another yuppie reject: the yuppies all wore Nikes now. One last glance as Kevin stepped out onto the pavement. By the time Bill returned at seven that evening – more reliable than any security guard – Kevin would be back home in Peckham with his pregnant wife Lucy. Lucky man.
Kevin watched as Bill shuffled away, disappearing among the early-morning workers. He was good like that, Bill. He would never embarrass Kevin, or want to be the cause of him losing his job. Then he spotted the penny underneath the arch. He picked it up and smiled. He would replace it with a pound coin that evening. After all, wasn't that what banks were meant to do with your money?
3. Work individually. Study a map of London centre and pick several places where Bill is most likely to spend the rest of the day. Think of the things he might do. Write down his daily schedule and compare it with those of your group-mates.
4. Work individually. Choose 10 interesting words from the piece of prose you’ve just read and share them with your group mates.
Topic 3.1
SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
CLASS 3
JOBS: THINK AND ACT GLOBALLY
1
2. Watch the video featuring Steve Jobs’ speech addressed to college graduates. Take notes and point out the most striking examples the speaker uses to prove his ideas.
3. In small groups, share your notes and list the phrases you liked best. Choose the winning one and share it with the others. Compare your choices.
4. Do a bit of jig-saw reading (Student A + Student B). Read the two parts of the biography of Steve Jobs. Share the information with your partner. Decide whether he really was a great leader in the world of business and innovation.
Part A