1.1 Working life
1 What does this quotation mean to you?
`Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.' john Lennon, English singer& song writer (1940-19830) 2 Discuss these questions.
1 How many jobs do you expect to have in your life ? 1-3 4-7 8or more 2 Would you prefer to be self-employed or an employee? Why ?
3 in fifteen years’ time, do you expect to work more or less than now ? 4 at what age do you expect to stop working ? 55 65 75 3Underline tire best word to complete each sentence.
1 At the moment, people generally retire/resign at 65
2 I joined/applied for the company when I was 25 and have worked there
ever since
3 What's the best way to pay/reward our employees for good performance? 4 About 700 staff were laid off/dismissed when the company lost the contract to supply Toyota
5 We have educated/trained our staff in the use of laser equipment. 6 I'm going to leave/change the company at the end of the year.
7 E and C Consultants recruits/employs from the top business schools.
8 Companies need to offer parents of young children more flexible/overtime hours-
9 they used only to offer permanent posts, but now most new contracts are temporary/part-time ones.
10 I have one day off/ holiday a week to attend a course at college. 4 Make sentences with the words you didnt use in Exercise 3. 5 Make nouns from thefollowing verbs. verb noun verb noun 1 employ 6 recruit 2 promote 7 apply 3 retire 8 dismiss 4 resign 9 pay 5 train 10 reward
1
Attitude to work
6 Do you think that people starting work now have a different attitude to work than their parents did? if so, in what ways?
7 Look at the newspaper article and read the title. What does the title suggest to you?
Read the article arid check if you were r fight. Young workers Want it all, now
Oh, and they’ll need to take next Friday off ,too
TETROIT一Kurt Jennings, hoping to start a career in radio sales, thought he was prepared to answer any question during his recent interview. Then the
radio executive opened the interview with, `So, we call you guys the Entitlement Generation\
There is an impression that the current generation of young workers has high expectations for salary, responsibility and job flexibility, but little appetite for hard work and little sense of loyalty to a company
`A lot of twenty-somethings have a hard time making the transition to work typically Kids who've had success early in life and who've become used to getting instant gratification,' says Dr. Levi Cohen, a peadiatrics professor. He says that coddling parents and colleges often fail to prepare students for the realities of adulthood and working life.
Many employers, from corporate executives to restaurateurs, agree. `It seems they expect to hove in then first week everything that the veteran has worked 20 or 30 years to earn,' says Mike Amor, the owner of a Salt Lake City chain of restaurants.
Kurt had this reply 'for his interviewee at the radio station: `Maybe we were spoiled by your Generation. But \think we're deserving if we're doing to go out there and break our backs for you'? Yes..'
He ended up getting the-job.
But some experts say that' having high
expectations, and tellin}} your boss what they are, isn't necessarily a bad thing. `It's true they're not all rushing to bury themselves in a cubicle a}记follow orders for the next 40 years, but why on earth should they?' asks .leaf Bartlctt, a University of Carolina psychologist
8 Do you think the younger generation is spoiled and expects too much? .or do you think the older generation sacrificed their lives (and fun in their lives) for work?
9 What do the following phrases from the text mean? 1 little appetite for hard work 2 twenty-somethings 3 instant gratification
4 coddling parents and colleges
5 we were spoiled by your generation 6 break our backs for you 7 bury themselves in a cubicle
2
Gerund and infinitive
1 Which of the verbs or phrases in the box take the gerund (-ing) and which ones take to infinitive (to do)?
Be good at plan/intend /aim be worth fail be reluctant have trouble/difficulty hope/expect manage succeed in decide think about/consider enjoy avoid involve have be used to/accustomed to be willing/prepared
2 Which of the following pairs of phrases is the odd one out grammatically? Why?
1 be good at一be bad at 2 be willing一be reluctant 3 succeed in一fail 4 enjoy一dislike
3 Complete these sentences.
0 when I retire, I plan to do some voluntary work for charity 1 When I retire, I plan… 2 I think I'm quite good at…
3 Before attending a job interview, it's worth… 4 My job involves…
5 When speaking English, I often have difficulty… 6 At work I feel satisfied if I manage…
7 For my summer holiday this year, I am considering… 8 If I was offered more money, I would be willing…
9 The hardest thing about starting a new job is getting used to… 10 I get annoyed with colleagues if they fail…
4 Choose five of the phrases
working life.
in exercise 1 and make sentences about your own working life
3
The future of human resources
5 You will hear five human resources (HR) manages0s talking shout the key issues in human resources facing companies today. ·The first time you listen, indicate which employee group in the workforce they are talking about. ·The second time you listen indicate what actions they propose to take to deal with each issue.
TASK ONE一EMPLOYEE GROUP
A older employees (50-GO) B new recruits C trainees
D senior management
E young highly qualified employees F women
G retired employees H disabled workers
A efforts to retain good employees
B the introduction of more flexible working arrangements
C linlting salaries more closely to results D more focus on job training for employees E encouraging people back from retirement F more support for working parents G developing a more positive attitude towards older workers H reducing staff costs
6 You've heard the priorities of HR managers. What are your priorities for your working life? Consider the following: .flexible hours ·working environment .pay
。training
.career prospects .retirement
4