Task 30. Answer the questions on the text

1. What steps do school leavers in Britain take to find a job?

2. What makes it more difficult for college graduates to find employment?

3. What can be done to bridge the gap between the completion of education and the start of employment?

4. What information do interviewers try to get during the interview?

5. What obligations do the employer and the employee assume once the contract has been signed?

6. How long do people usually stay in the same job? Why?

7. Does loyalty to the company give employees an advantage over those who are new in the job?

8. Why are employers interested in bringing in “fresh blood”?

 

Task 31. Read and translate the text

Great British jobs

Modern butlers combine the roles of cook, cleaner, waiter, gardener, driver and household manager and they have to be polite, respectful, and well-organized, “We do everything from paying the bills to picking up the children, organizing parties and getting the washing machine repaired.” Says Shaun Harrison who works for a family in the Oxford shire countryside. “During the week I’m in jeans and a shirt, busy looking after the household and in the gardens. At the weekends, when the family arrives, I put on a suit and take on the role of a traditional butler. I get for weeks holiday a year and I have to take it when it suits my employer.”

Mark Thompson is self-employed and carries out a range of building, repair and maintenance jobs to the outside of tall structures such as church spires, monuments, industrial chimneys and high rise buildings. It takes from 2-6 years to train as a professional steeplejack and Mark has been doing it for the last 15 years. “The one thing you must have for this job is a head for heights,” he says. “I like working outdoors, but it can be very dangerous carrying equipment and trying to keep your balance when the weather’s bad. It gets really windy up there, so you’ve got be quite fearless!” Mark travels all over the country and often works away from home for extended period, so that because of him beautiful buildings will continue to grace the skyline for a good few years.

The job of Town Crier can be traced back as far as the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when the news was passed on to the general public by individuals employed by the king. “Basically, A Town Crier was a kind of talking newspaper, but today a lot of my work is ceremonial,” says Peter Moore. “I wear a traditional costume and carry a bell and shout the familiar call of “Oyez! Oyez!” (Listen! Listen!) to get people’s attention. I work for the British Tourist Authority and I preside at festivals, shows and parades as well as London’s tourist attractions.”

Rick Booth is one of a decreasing number of milkmen still working in Britain. He arrives at the dairy around 11.00 pm to load up his milk float and it takes him about five hours to complete his round. He leaves the milk on the doorstep and collects the empty bottles left there by the householders. By the morning, Rick’s hands are sore and blistered. It also strains his knees and back. Angry pets are another problem. The other problem is the unsociable hours.

 

Task 32. Answer the questions

1. Why do you think these jobs are in danger of disappearing?

2. Which traditional jobs in your country are in danger of disappearing? Why is this happening?

Task 33. Read and translate the text

Living by the sword

When Cristina Sanchez told her parents that she wanted to become a bullfighter instead of a hairdresser, they weren’t too pleased. But when she was eighteen her parents realized that she was serious and sent her to a bullfighting school in Madrid, where she trained with professionals.

Since last July, Sanchez has been the most successful novice in Spain and is very popular with the crowds. After brilliant performances in Latin America and Spain earlier this year, Sanchez has decided that she is ready to take the test to become a matador de toros. Out of the ring, Sanchez does not look like a matador. She is casually elegant, very feminine and wears her long hair loose. She seems to move much more like a dancer than an athlete, but in the ring she is all power.

When she was fourteen, Sanchez’s father warned her that the world of bullfighting was hard enough for a man and even harder for a woman. It seems he is right. ‘It really is a tough world for a woman”, says Sanchez. “You start with the door shut in your face. A man has to prove himself only once, whereas I have had to do it ten times just to get my foot in the door.”

In perhaps the world’s most masculine profession, it would seem strange if Sanchez had not met problems. But even though Spanish women won the legal right to fight bulls on equal terms with men in 1974, there are still matadors like Jesulin de Ubrique who refuse to fight in the same ring as her.

Sanchez lives with her family in Perla, south of Madrid. Her family is everything to her and is the main support in her life. “My sisters don’t like bullfighting, they don’t even watch it on TV, and my mother would be the happiest person in the world if I gave it up. But we get on well. Mum’s like my best friend.”

When Sanchez is not fighting she has a tough fitness routine – running, working out in the gym and practicing with her father in the afternoon. By nine she is home for supper, and by eleven she is not in bed. She doesn’t drink, smoke or socialize. “You have to give up a lot,” says Sanchez. “It’s difficult to meet people, but it doesn’t worry me – love does not arrive because you look for it.”                     

Sanchez spends most of the year traveling: in summer to Spanish and French bullfights and in winter to Latin America. Her mother dislikes watching Sanchez fight, but goes to the ring when she can, if not, she waits at home next to the television. Her husband has had to ring three times to say that their daughter had been injured, twice lightly in the leg and once seriously in the stomach. After she has been wounded, the only thing Sanchez thinks about is how quickly she can get back to the ring. “It damages your confidence,” she says “but it also makes you mature. It’s just unprofessional to be injured. You cannot let it happen.” Sanchez is managed by Simon Casas, who says, “At the moment there is no limit to where she can go. She has a champion’s mentality, as well as courage and technique.”

1. When Sanchez told her parents that she wanted to be a bullfighter they:

a. felt a little pleased

b. thought she was too young

c. thought she had a good sense of humour

d. were initially opposed to the idea

2. Sanchez thinks that:

a. living in today’s world is difficult for a woman.

b.bullfighting is a difficult career for women

c. it is impossible to succeed as a female bullfighter

d.women have to demonstrate their skills as much as male bullfighters do.

3. Sanchez’s mother:

a. is everything to the family

b.prefers to watch her daughter on TV

c. supports her more than the rest of her family

d.would prefer Cristina to leave the ring

4. What does “it” in line 37 refer to?

a. the fitness routine

b. not socializing

c. giving up

d. smoking

5. Sanchez does not socialize often because:

a. she doesn’t like cigarettes and alcohol

b. her work takes up most of her time

c. she is worried about meeting people

d. it’s too difficult to look for friends

6. What does Sanchez think about after being injured?

a. her next chance to fight bulls

b. her abilities

c. her development

d. her skills

 

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