odd jobs
GETTING AHEAD
Odd jobs
Working hard and working smart sometimes can be two different things.
Byron Dorgan
Warming-up
1. Work individually. Compare the photographs and say what topic are both photos connected to? How are these pictures similar? How are these pictures different? Imagine you are a careers adviser and you are talking to a group of students about getting work during their free time. Which job would be the best for students?
Essential vocabulary
Nouns
an application (n)
retirement (n)
unemployment (n) Verbs
to involve (v)
to strive (v)
to exceed (v) Adjectives
patient (adj)
irregular (adj)
remarkable (adj) Phrasal verbs
to put on a brave face
to give up
to apply for a job
Phrases related to odd jobs
2. Make up sentences of your own with words and word-combinations from essential vocabulary.
Reading
3. Read the text quickly without paying any attention to the missing sentences. What are the three jobs described in it?
ODD JOBS: ALL IN A DAYS WORK
Doctor, police officer, lawyer, teacher... Everybody has heard of these jobs, but the most interesting jobs are not always the most obvious. Here are a few people who think they have some of the best jobs in the world – and it is possible that you have never even considered them.
Brad Taylor has enjoyed examining paintings since he was a child. He could tell the difference between a Van Gogh and a Da Vinci before he was seven. 1 □ What, you may ask, is that? Well, Brad makes his living by using various techniques to distinguish between a real painting and a fake.
‘I think what I do is a service to mankind’ says Brad. ‘Paintings by Botticelli and Renoir are priceless not only because they are exceptionally beautiful works of art, but because they tell us a lot about the period of time in history in which they were painted.
2 □ These paintings are therefore a rich source of information for us and it is essential that they be preserved and protected.
Brad works for a prestigious company that examines paintings for museums. 3 □ ‘I might spend most of my time alone with only an old painting to keep me company, but I wouldn’t change what I do for anything in the world!’ he says with a big smile on his face.
Gus Wong is a fingerprint analyst at a police station. His job is responsible, and maybe more exciting than Brad’s. Analysts use fingerprints to identify criminals. ‘Criminals can move away, change their hair colour, even their names,’ says Gus. ‘But they can’t change their fingerprints.’ 4 □ That way, even if a criminal has changed his name, he can be identified.
5 □ Many employers also require them to have a post-secondary degree. ‘You need good computer skills, an eye for detail and a lot of patience,’ adds Gus. ‘I have analysed thousands of individual fingerprints over my career. It is often exhausting, but I have seen many criminals convicted because of evidence that I found.’
Richard Beamish also does a job that is beneficial to the public, but in a different way. Richard is an avalanche forecaster and he works for a ski resort in the Monashee Mountains. It’s his job to take a look at mountain weather, check the snow and write up forecasts, reports and special warnings in order to inform people.
For the past three years, every winter, Richard has been heading out into the mountains before the sun rises in the morning to see what has happened to the snow since his last forecast. He examines the snow, performs tests and takes note of any changes in the weather. 6 □ After getting samples of the snow from different areas, Richard prepares an avalanche advisory that people can access by Internet, phone or e-mail to find out about how safe it is to travel in the area.
Richard loves the outdoors and doesn’t mind the fact that he spends 75% of his time sliding around in the snow. He has a science degree although it is not a formal requirement for the job. All avalanche forecasters must be certified by the Canadian Avalanche Association, but Richard says, ‘The one thing that is absolutely necessary in our world of unpredictable snow is personal experience.’
4. Read the text again and reconstruct a gapped text. Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which best fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. He compares the prints found at a crime scene with those in the police database.
B. That gives him a sense of satisfaction because he is helping make the world a better place.
C. The equipment he uses to do this includes shovels, rulers, magnifying glasses and thermometers.
D. Fingerprint analysts need to take a special course to learn the skills needed for their job, which they may do at a college or through the police station.
E. It, therefore, did not come as a surprise to all those who know him when he decided to become a painting authenticator.
F. He spends his day in a special fully-equipped laboratory dressed in a lab coat, baggy tracksuit and trainers.
G. By examining the real thing we learn not only about the lifestyle, ideas and beliefs of those people but also about the materials and techniques in use at that time.
5. Answer the questions after the text.
1) Which of the three jobs mentioned in the text appeals to you most? Why?
2) What’s more important, money or job satisfaction? Why?
3) Which three jobs do you think are the most important in society? What makes them so important?
4) Are there any jobs you would refuse to do, regardless of the pay?
5) What do you think the job of being an English teacher is like?
Writing
7. Write an essay discussing what things you should and shouldn’t do for a job interview. You should explain, giving reasons in support of your answer. Write 220-260 words in appropriate style.
Speaking
8. Think about your answers to these questions.
1) What is your ideal job? What are the reasons for your choice?
2) What unusual or strange jobs do you know?
3) What are the advantages of having your own business rather than working for someone else?
4) What company is the best to work for?
5) What is the best way to find a job?
9. Describe your ideal job. You should say:
what this job is;
whether you would need any qualifications;
whether it would be easy to find work;
and say why you would enjoy this job in particular.
10. Work with a partner. Make your own job ad. Use the example to help you.
Role A – Software designer
You think a software designer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a flight attendant or a teacher.
Role B – Farmer
You think a farmer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a software designer, a flight attendant or a teacher.
Role C – Flight Attendant
You think a flight attendant is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a software designer or a teacher.
Role D – Teacher
You think a teacher is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a flight attendant or a software designer.
Home project
11. Find 10 unusual questions that might be asked during the interview and answer them (https://www.thebalance.com/unusual-job-interview-questions-help-select-the-best-1918487).
http://www.henry4school.fr/Vocabulary/Jobs/jobs.htm
GETTING AHEAD
Odd jobs
Working hard and working smart sometimes can be two different things.
Byron Dorgan
Warming-up
1. Work individually. Compare the photographs and say what topic are both photos connected to? How are these pictures similar? How are these pictures different? Imagine you are a careers adviser and you are talking to a group of students about getting work during their free time. Which job would be the best for students?
Essential vocabulary
Nouns
an application (n)
retirement (n)
unemployment (n) Verbs
to involve (v)
to strive (v)
to exceed (v) Adjectives
patient (adj)
irregular (adj)
remarkable (adj) Phrasal verbs
to put on a brave face
to give up
to apply for a job
Phrases related to odd jobs
2. Make up sentences of your own with words and word-combinations from essential vocabulary.
Reading
3. Read the text quickly without paying any attention to the missing sentences. What are the three jobs described in it?
ODD JOBS: ALL IN A DAYS WORK
Doctor, police officer, lawyer, teacher... Everybody has heard of these jobs, but the most interesting jobs are not always the most obvious. Here are a few people who think they have some of the best jobs in the world – and it is possible that you have never even considered them.
Brad Taylor has enjoyed examining paintings since he was a child. He could tell the difference between a Van Gogh and a Da Vinci before he was seven. 1 □ What, you may ask, is that? Well, Brad makes his living by using various techniques to distinguish between a real painting and a fake.
‘I think what I do is a service to mankind’ says Brad. ‘Paintings by Botticelli and Renoir are priceless not only because they are exceptionally beautiful works of art, but because they tell us a lot about the period of time in history in which they were painted.
2 □ These paintings are therefore a rich source of information for us and it is essential that they be preserved and protected.
Brad works for a prestigious company that examines paintings for museums. 3 □ ‘I might spend most of my time alone with only an old painting to keep me company, but I wouldn’t change what I do for anything in the world!’ he says with a big smile on his face.
Gus Wong is a fingerprint analyst at a police station. His job is responsible, and maybe more exciting than Brad’s. Analysts use fingerprints to identify criminals. ‘Criminals can move away, change their hair colour, even their names,’ says Gus. ‘But they can’t change their fingerprints.’ 4 □ That way, even if a criminal has changed his name, he can be identified.
5 □ Many employers also require them to have a post-secondary degree. ‘You need good computer skills, an eye for detail and a lot of patience,’ adds Gus. ‘I have analysed thousands of individual fingerprints over my career. It is often exhausting, but I have seen many criminals convicted because of evidence that I found.’
Richard Beamish also does a job that is beneficial to the public, but in a different way. Richard is an avalanche forecaster and he works for a ski resort in the Monashee Mountains. It’s his job to take a look at mountain weather, check the snow and write up forecasts, reports and special warnings in order to inform people.
For the past three years, every winter, Richard has been heading out into the mountains before the sun rises in the morning to see what has happened to the snow since his last forecast. He examines the snow, performs tests and takes note of any changes in the weather. 6 □ After getting samples of the snow from different areas, Richard prepares an avalanche advisory that people can access by Internet, phone or e-mail to find out about how safe it is to travel in the area.
Richard loves the outdoors and doesn’t mind the fact that he spends 75% of his time sliding around in the snow. He has a science degree although it is not a formal requirement for the job. All avalanche forecasters must be certified by the Canadian Avalanche Association, but Richard says, ‘The one thing that is absolutely necessary in our world of unpredictable snow is personal experience.’
4. Read the text again and reconstruct a gapped text. Six sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which best fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. He compares the prints found at a crime scene with those in the police database.
B. That gives him a sense of satisfaction because he is helping make the world a better place.
C. The equipment he uses to do this includes shovels, rulers, magnifying glasses and thermometers.
D. Fingerprint analysts need to take a special course to learn the skills needed for their job, which they may do at a college or through the police station.
E. It, therefore, did not come as a surprise to all those who know him when he decided to become a painting authenticator.
F. He spends his day in a special fully-equipped laboratory dressed in a lab coat, baggy tracksuit and trainers.
G. By examining the real thing we learn not only about the lifestyle, ideas and beliefs of those people but also about the materials and techniques in use at that time.
5. Answer the questions after the text.
1) Which of the three jobs mentioned in the text appeals to you most? Why?
2) What’s more important, money or job satisfaction? Why?
3) Which three jobs do you think are the most important in society? What makes them so important?
4) Are there any jobs you would refuse to do, regardless of the pay?
5) What do you think the job of being an English teacher is like?
Writing
7. Write an essay discussing what things you should and shouldn’t do for a job interview. You should explain, giving reasons in support of your answer. Write 220-260 words in appropriate style.
Speaking
8. Think about your answers to these questions.
1) What is your ideal job? What are the reasons for your choice?
2) What unusual or strange jobs do you know?
3) What are the advantages of having your own business rather than working for someone else?
4) What company is the best to work for?
5) What is the best way to find a job?
9. Describe your ideal job. You should say:
what this job is;
whether you would need any qualifications;
whether it would be easy to find work;
and say why you would enjoy this job in particular.
10. Work with a partner. Make your own job ad. Use the example to help you.
Role A – Software designer
You think a software designer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a flight attendant or a teacher.
Role B – Farmer
You think a farmer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a software designer, a flight attendant or a teacher.
Role C – Flight Attendant
You think a flight attendant is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a software designer or a teacher.
Role D – Teacher
You think a teacher is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a farmer, a flight attendant or a software designer.
Home project
11. Find 10 unusual questions that might be asked during the interview and answer them (https://www.thebalance.com/unusual-job-interview-questions-help-select-the-best-1918487).
http://www.henry4school.fr/Vocabulary/Jobs/jobs.htm
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