Unit 2. Occupations

Key.1 in court / clients / legal problems / represent / arrested for a crime / the police
2 lonely / away from your family / on the road / behind the wheel / cars / unload / journey
3 tabloid / paper / write / current affairs / press conferences / interviewing / name in print
4 whisper / books / literature / service to the public / borrow books

Write TWO words or phrases from each paragraph which helped you make your decision.

1 _________________ _________________    
2 _________________ _________________  
3 _________________ _________________    
4 _________________ _________________

Here's another description of a job. Can you think of a good heading for the paragraph?
Key.Suggested answers:
Dangerous but important
Trained to help
Careful and useful

Heading: ___________________________
'I have to be very careful in my job. Working with wires, cables andplugs can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. If youmake a mistake, you could be electrocuted. But of course I've beentrained, so I make sure nothing like that happens to me. I do all sortsof things each day, from changing an old lady's light bulbs to rewiring awhole factory. That's why I like my job - it's so varied. You're in anew place almost every day and, without you, people wouldn't be able tocook, or listen to music, or even see at night.'

You are going to read an extract from an autobiography. For questions1-7, choose the answer (А, В, С or D) which you think fits bestaccording to the text.
Key.1C    2B     3D      4C     5A     6D     7B

Although I left university with a good degree, I suddenly found that itwas actually quite hard to find a job. After being unemployed for a fewmonths, I realised I had to take the first thing that came along or I'dbe in serious financial difficulties. And so, for six very long months, Ibecame a market research telephone interviewer.

I knew it wasn't the best company in the world when they told me thatI'd have to undergo three days of training before starting work, andthat I wouldn't get paid for any of it. Still, I knew that the hourlyrate when I actually did start full time would be a lot better thanunemployment benefit, and I could work up to twelve hours a day, sevendays a week if I wanted. So, I thought of the money I'd earn and put upwitn three days of unpaid training. Whatever those three days taught me —and I can't really remember anything about them today — I wasn'tprepared for the way I would be treated by the supervisors.

It was worse than being at school. There were about twenty interviewerslike myself, each sitting in a small, dark booth with an ancientcomputer and a dirty telephone. The booths were around the walls of thefifth floor of a concrete office block, and the supervisors sat in themiddle of the room, listening in to all of our telephone interviews. Weweren't allowed to talk to each other, and if we took more than abouttwo seconds from ending one phone call and starting another, they wouldshout at us to hurry up and get on with our jobs. We even had to askpermission to go to the toilet. I was amazed how slowly the day went.Our first break of the day came at eleven o'clock, two hours after westarted. I'll always remember that feeling of despair when I would lookat my watch thinking, Tt must be nearly time for the break', only tofind that it was quarter to ten and that there was another hour and aquarter to go. My next thought was always, T can't believe I'm going tobe here until nine o'clock tonight.'

It wouldn't have been so bad if what we were doing had been useful. Butit wasn't. Most of our interviews were for a major telecommunicationscompany. We'd have to ring up businesses and ask them things like, 'Isyour telecoms budget more than three million pounds a year?' The chancesare we'd get the reply,'Oh, I don't think so. I'll ask my husband. Thisis a corner shop. We've only got one phone.'And so the day went on.

The most frightening aspect of the job was that I was actually quitegood at it. 'Oh no!' I thought. 'Maybe I'm destined to be a marketresearcher for the rest of my life.' My boss certainly seemed to thinkso. One day — during a break, of course - she ordered me into heroffice. 'Simon,' she said, 'I'm promoting you. From tomorrow, you're offtelecoms and onto credit card complaints. I'm sure you can handleit.There's no extra pay, but it is a very responsible position.'

Three weeks later I quit. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

1    Why did the writer become a market research telephone interviewer?
A He had completely run out of money.
В He had the right university degree for the job.
С It was the first job he was offered.
D He knew it was only for six months.

2    The writer had doubts about the company when
A they only offered him three days of training.
В they told him he wouldn't receive payment for his training.
С they told him he had to be trained first.
D he was told what the hourly rate would be.

3    His workplace could best be described as
A large and noisy.
В silent and dirty.
С untidy and crowded.
D old-fashioned and uncomfortable.

4    How did he feel when he realised it wasn't time for the break yet?
A He felt that he would have to go home early.
В He felt that he wouldn't survive to the end of the day.
С He felt that the end of the day seemed so long away.
D He felt that he must have made a mistake.

5    What would have made the job more bearable?
A knowing that he was carrying out a valuable service
В being able to phone much larger companies
С not having to talk to shopkeepers
D not having to ring up businesses

6    What was unusual about Simon's promotion?
A It showed how good he was at his job.
В It meant he would be phoning different people.
С It involved greater responsibility.
D There was no increase in salary.

7    What would be the most suitable title for this extract?
A Typical Office Life
В Unpleasant Employment
С How To Earn a Decent Salary
D You Get What You Deserve