Миловидов В.А. Английский разговорный язык. Практическое пособие по развитию устной речи
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1. What was the applicant responsible for on his last job?
2. What made the applicant think that he would be able to handle a variety of work?
3. What starting salary was the young applicant (fresh from the Business School) thinking of?
4. What benefits package was he offered?
5. Who was kidding?
6. What did the young employee imagine?
7. Where would the doctor get the battleship?
8. What would you do if you looked out of the window and saw a battleship coming down the
street?
Equal Opportunities for All
A business was looking for office help. They put a sign in the window, stating the following:
«Help Wanted! Must be able to type, have computer skills, and be bilingual. We are an Equal
Opportunity Employer».
A dog trotted up to the window, saw the sign and went inside. He looked at the receptionist and
wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it and whined a bit.
Getting the idea, the receptionist got the office manager. The office manager looked at the dog
and was surprised, to say the least. However, the dog looked determined, so the manager led
him into the office. Inside, the dog jumped up on a chair and stared at the manager. The
manager said, «I can't hire you. The sign says you have to be able to type.»
The dog jumped down, went to the typewriter and proceeded to type out a perfect letter. He
took out the page and trotted over to the manager and gave it to him, then jumped back up on
the chair. The manager was stunned, but then told the dog,
«The sign also says you have to be good with a computer.»
The dog jumped down again and went to the computer. He proceeded to enter and execute a
perfect spreadsheet that worked flawlessly the first time.
By this time, the manager was totally dumb-founded! He looked at the dog and said, «I realize
that you are a very intelligent dog and have some interesting abilities. However, I still can't give
you the job.»
The dog jumped down and went over to a copy of the sign and put his paw on the sentence
about being an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The manager said, «Yes, but the sign also says that you have to be bilingual.»
The dog looked at that manager calmly and said, «Meow!»
:
ability –
bilingual –
calm –
determined –
equal – ,
execute – ,
flawless –
hire –
intelligent – ,
paw –
proceed –
,
spreadsheet –
stun – ,
trot – ()
wag –
whine –
office help –
a bit – ,
to say the least –
dumb-founded –
Meow! – !
Exercise 6
Answer the questions:
1. What sort of help was the business looking for?
2. What capabilities and skills did an applicant have to demonstrate?
3. What did the dog do when he entered the office?
4. Why did the manager let him in?
5. What did the dog type?
6. What did he work out at the computer?
7. What was the dog's second language?
More Stories about Applicants
1
An applicant was filling out a job application. When he came to the question, «Have you ever
been arrested?» he answered, «No.»
The next question, intended for people who had answered in the affirmative to the last one, was
«Why?» The applicant answered it anyway: «Never got caught.»
2
In a job interview for policemen the applicants were shown a profile picture of a man, and the
interviewer said, «The job that you're applying for requires powers of observation. Make one
observation about this man.»
The first applicant entered and said, «This man has just one ear.»
«Get out!!» screamed the interviewer.
The second applicant entered and said, «This man has one ear.»
«Get out!!» screamed the interviewer again.
Then the third applicant got up to go in for his interview.
The first two guys were out there and they told him, «The guy that's giving the interview doesn't
like to hear that the man in the picture has one ear.»
«Thanks for the tip,» said the third applicant.
So the third applicant entered, stared at the picture for a while, and finally said, «This man
wears contact lenses.»
The interviewer was impressed. «Excellent observation,» he said. «Tell me, how could you
tell?»
And the guy said, «Well, as this man has just one ear, how could he wear glasses?»
3
A man applied for a job as an industrial spy. Together with several other applicants, he was
given a sealed envelope and told to take it to the fourth floor.
As soon as the man was alone, he stepped into an empty hallway and opened the envelope.
Inside, a message read: «You're our kind of person. Report to the fifth floor Personnel Office.»
4
A man applied to a finance agency for a job, but he had no experience. He was so intense that
the manager gave him a tough account with the promise that if he collected it, he'd get the job.
Two hours later, the applicant came back with the entire amount.
«Amazing!» the manager said. «How did you do it?»
«Easy,» the applicant replied. «I told him if he didn't pay up, I'd tell all his other creditors he paid
us.»
5
"Where did you receive your
training?"
«Yale.»
«Good, and what's your name?»
«Yim Yohnson.»
6
When you hire people that are smarter than you are, you prove you are smarter than they are.
:
affirmative –
amazing – ;
arrest –
collect – , , ,
contact –
creditor –
envelope –
hallway –
industrial –
intend –
intense – ,
jale –
lense –
observation –
profile –
seal – ;
smart – .
spy –
tip – .
tough – ,
in the affirmative –
Get out! – . !
Yale – , .
finance agency –
tough account – «» (: ,
)
Exercise 7
Answer the questions:
1. Why hasn't the applicant ever been arrested?
2. What positions did the men at the police station apply to?
3. What power were they supposed to demonstrate?
4. How many ears did the man in the picture have, in the first two applicants' opinion?
5. Why was the applicant to the position of an industrial spy employed?
6. How did the applicant to the finance agency get the job?
7. Where did the man named Jim Johnson really get his training?
8. Will you hire people that are smarter than you are, and why?
Work Gives No Satisfaction?
When you have an «I hate my job» day, try this.
On your way home from work, stop at the pharmacy, go to the thermometers section and
purchase a rectal thermometer made by «Best Thermo». Be very sure you get this brand.
When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will
not be disturbed during your therapy. Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit
and lie down on your bed. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Carefully place it on
the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken.
Take out the material that comes with the thermometer and read it. You will notice that in small
print there is a statement: «Every rectal thermometer made by Best Thermo is personally
tested.» Now close your eyes and repeat out loud five times: «I am so glad I do not work for
quality control at the Best Thermo Company.»
We guarantee you will feel much more happy with your present occupation.
Labour Force and Unemployment. The Results of a Government Study
For the past three years, the government has worked hard and spent many tax dollars to find
the approval ratings for unemployment.
They have concluded that a 7 % unemployment level is acceptable to 93 % of the working
population.
:
acceptable –
brand – ,
chip – ,
conclude –
disconnect – ,
disturb –
drapes – ,
material – :
occupation – ,
pharmacy –
guarantee – ;
statement – ,
sweat suit–
therapy –
thermometer –
"I hate my job" day – ,
rectal thermometer –
small print –
personally tested –
quality control –
"Best Thermo" Company – «»
approval ratings – ,
Exercise 8
Answer the questions:
1. Have you ever had a day «I hate my job»?
2. Where can we by a thermometer?
3. What brand of a thermometer do we have to buy to feel eventually how happy we are?
4. What do we have to do on coming home with a thermometer in our hands?
5. What statement should we carefully read, and what does this statement mean in plain words?
6. Would you want to work for quality control of the «Best Thermo» Company?
7. How long did it take the government to work out the approval ratings for unemployment?
8. What unemployment level is acceptable to the working segment of the working population?
Unemployment
Unemployment statistics are of major concern for most economists. But, actually, not all people
out of work may be classed as unemployed. If someone reports that he is both out of work and
seeking employment, he is counted as an unemployed member of the labour force.
The jobless who have chosen not to continue looking for work are considered out of the labour
force and therefore are not counted as unemployed. Thus, the unemployment rate in many
countries includes only people within the labour force who are out of work.
Not all unemployment is the same. Unemployment can be long– or short-term. It can be
frictional, meaning someone is between jobs. Or it may be structural, as when someone's skills
are no longer demanded because of a change in technology or an industry downturn.
There are two causes of recorded long-term unemployment in the developed countries. Those
are welfare payments and unemployment insurance. These government assistance programs
contribute to long-term unemployment in two ways.
First, government assistance increases the measure of unemployment by prompting people
who are not working to claim that they are looking for work even when they are not. The work-
registration requirement for welfare recipients, for example, compels people who otherwise
would not be considered part of the labour force to register as if they were a part of it. This
requirement effectively increases the measure of unemployed in the labour force even though
these people are better described as unemployed – that is, not actively looking for work.
Similarly, unemployment insurance increases the measure of unemployment by inducing people
to say that they are job hunting in order to collect benefits. Thus government assistance
programs contribute to long-term unemployment by providing an incentive, and the means, not
to work. Each unemployed person has a «reservation wage» – the minimum wage he or she
insists on getting before accepting a job. Unemployment insurance and other social assistance
programs increase that reservation wage, causing an unemployed person to remain
unemployed longer.
Consider, for example, an unemployed person who is used to making $10.00 an hour. On
unemployment insurance this person receives about 55 percent of normal earnings, or $5.50
per lost work hour. If that person is in a 15 percent federal tax bracket, and a 3 percent state tax
bracket, he or she pays $0.99 in taxes per hour not worked and nets $4.51 per hour after taxes
as compensation for not working. If that person took a job that paid $10.00 per hour,
governments would take 18 percent for income taxes and 7.5 percent for Social Security taxes,
netting him or her $7.45 per hour of work. Comparing the two payments, this person may decide
that a day of leisure is worth more than the extra $2.94 an hour the job would pay. If so, this
means that the unemployment insurance raises the person's reservation wage to above $10.00
per hour.
:
bracket – ,
claim – , ,
compel – ,
concern –
frictional –
induce – ,
leisure – ,
net – «» ()
prompt –
recipient –
report – , ,
structural –
welfare –
major concern –
be counted as – ()
people within the labour force – , ,
industry downturn –
welfare payment – ,
assistance programs –
work-registration requirement –
job hunting – , «»
collect benefits –
reservation wage –
tax bracket –
Exercise 9
Answer the questions:
1. Why are unemployment statistics of major concern for most economists?
2. What people does the unemployment rate in many countries include?
3. What types of unemployment can there be?
4. What are the two causes of long-term unemployment in the developed countries?
5. What does government assistance induce unemployed to do?
6. What is the difference between the unemployed and the unemployed?
7. How does unemployment insurance change the measure of unemployment?
8. What is a reservation wage?
9. How much does an unemployed receive relative to what he would receive while working?
10. Does unemployment in developed countries create incentives to work?
Productivity
Productivity is the basic criterion of an economy's health. When productivity is rising, living
standards and the quality of life are rising as well. The rate of productivity growth is the most
important thing for the economic well-being of a country.
The most familiar definition of labour productivity is output divided by the number of workers or,
more usually, by the number of hours worked. Output can be expressed in tons of iron or
numbers of jeans' pairs, but usually it is some very broad aggregate like gross domestic
product.
Other ways of defining productivity take into consideration other inputs, such as managerial skill,
innovation and technology, organization.
While such factors of production as land or population are always limited, the prospects for
increasing productivity are boundless. Studies of the US economy show that half of the growth
in labour productivity in the postwar years there has been due not to the use of added capital,
but to making better use of these inputs.
There are only three ways by which a country can raise the level of consumption, and,
correspondingly, of its well-being. First, a larger number of citizens can go to work. Second, a
country can borrow from abroad. Third, the country can increase productivity of labour. Whereas
there are limits on what portion of the population can join the home labour force and on how
much foreigners will lend, the potential for boosting productivity are limitless.
The number one country in the world at any given time has always been the productivity leader.
It was northern Italy from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the Dutch republic in the
seventeenth and early eighteenth, Britain in the late eighteenth and most of the nineteenth, and
the United States for the entire twentieth century.
:
aggregate – ;
boundless –
criterion –
define –
definition –
entire – ,
familiar – ,
portion –
postwar –
productivity – ()
whereas –
well-being –
divided by – ()
managerial skill –
due to – (), ()
added capital –
the Dutch republic –
Exercise 10
Answer the questions:
1. Why is the rate of productivity growth considered the most important thing for the economic
well-being of a country?
2. What is the most familiar definition of labour productivity?
3. In what terms can output be expressed?
4. What other inputs apart from hours worked, can be taken into consideration in talking about
productivity?
5. How much of the growth in labour productivity in the postwar years in the USA could be
accounted for by the added capital.
6. By what means can a country raise its level of consumption?
7. Which is preferable in the long run?
8. What makes a country the number one country in the world?
9. What countries were the leaders in the world in the past, and when?
Natural Resources
The natural resources are limited. If we use them continuously, we will eventually exhaust them.
But there is another approach to the problem. According to it the earth's exhaustible natural
resources can actually increase year after year, perhaps never coming to an end. How can this
fact be accounted for? The answer is that the effective stocks of natural resources are