Module 1

Working life
1.1 Working life
1 Vocabulary: Describing working life

2 Reading: Attitudes to work

3 Grammar: Gerund and infinitive

4 Listening: The future of human resources

5
休一天假 毕业 招
适应性强 人际交往能力 参考资料
申请人 受访者 辞职
申请 求职者 退休
候选人 加入 退休
解雇 遣散 奖励
教育 随着时间的推移 自雇人士
有效率的 参加者 自我激励
采用 兼职 发言人
雇员 常驻 临时
雇主 个人成就 培养
专长 晋升 学员
灵活 资格
 Vocabulary
Describing 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

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“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other
plans.”

This famous saying from John Lennon reflects a paradox in our lives.
Many of us would like to have a peaceful ride, enjoy the present
moment, yet we can’t help but make future plans so we feel secure,
or we spend time digging on past hurts. Lennon doesn’t say we
shouldn’t make plans, but that the true experience of being alive is
beyond those plans, and “happens” to us
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making
other plans.”
• I had planned to follow after my aunt’s footsteps and
become a lawyer but I ended up in advertising.

• I had planned to shift careers but more than a decade later,

I am still in the same job.

• I had planned to share many years with loved ones but they
passed on earlier than expected.

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The force of life is so strong that I can not
control the course of it and seem to be
predestined to suffer the arrangements or misfortunes
of life even though we are busy making plans to change it.

The attitude that we can preach that

everything is about choice and that we can
“take control of our lives and succeed” is
overly simplistic. Some things are genuinely
beyond our control – the behavior of others,
natural disasters, unexpected illness or
injuries – all of which can influence our lives
in dramatic ways.

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 Ways of working

• Think
Live for
and
theplan
moment
for the future

What implication does this have for the kind of work you will do?

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Useful expressions
• People who have their eyes and minds fixed upon the
future are prone to be absent-minded about what’s going
on now. what’s going on NOW is life.
• Most of the time the goals for future are not met. The
plans don’t work.
• People who have a mind so fixed on the future tend to
ignore the beauty in the everyday life.
• Live for the moment. Appreciate every minute.
• Time is money, but money can never buy time.
• Life is short and time is swift. Life is unpredictable.
• Lost time is never found again. Tomorrow never comes.
• Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
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2. Discuss these questions.

How many jobs do you expect to have in your life? 1-3, 4-

7, 8 or more

Would you prefer to be self-employed or an employee?

Why?

In fifteen years’ time, do you expect to be working more

or less than now?

At what age do you expect to stop working? 55, 65, 75

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Useful expressions
• I expect to have at least 5 jobs, because with age and
experience, I may develop new interests and aptitudes,
therefore, I may change my job accordingly.
• I can’t expect to have only one job because nowadays the
employment market is subject to change.
• I like changes, I like meeting different people and I want
higher salary, so I may change jobs often until I find the
job which can give me great job satisfaction.
• I want to be self-employed, because I don’t want to work
for somebody else. I want to be my own boss.

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Useful expressions
• If I’m self-employed, I can earn more money.
• I want to be an employee because I don’t want to work
long hours.
• In fifteen years’ time, people will work less because with
the introduction of new technology into office work
efficiency will be raised and time can be saved.
• People may tend to work more time because working
hours will become flexible in fifteen years’ time, which
will no longer be confined to 8 hours a day.

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4. Make sentences with the words
you didn’t use in Exercise 3
• I was driven to resign.
• He applied for a leave of absence.
• He paid $ 10 down payment and agreed to pay the
rest in monthly installments.
• He was dismissed for being late.
• It takes patience to educate children.
• The world is changing, so people’s minds have to
change with it.
• This factory employs many young workers.
• The newspaper staff always worked overtime.
• I’m looking for a part-time job.
• We always go on holiday in June.
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6. Do you think that people starting work now
have a different attitude to work than their
parents did? If so, in what ways?
Useful expressions
• Be willing/unwilling to work longer hours.
• Be more/less bent on the work.
• (don’t) ask for extra pay for overtime work.
• (don’t) follow orders.
• Want more benefits.
• Work is something that must be done whether one likes it or not.
• Performance doesn’t matter.
• Be unwilling to give full 100 percent to every endeavor.
• Be less dedicated to work.
• Want spacious and comfortable working environment.
• Want paid holiday and flexible working hours.
• Stick to the same job.
• Job-hunt frequently.
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 Voc & Special Terms

• Radio sales (marketing)

• A radio sales person is commonly called a station account
executive (AE). His job is to sell on-air radio advertising
time, normally receiving from 10 to 20 percent
commission on the total value of the advertising package
sold

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• Entitlement Generation [ 權利世代 ]
the group born between 1979 and 1994 who
believe they are owed certain rights and benefits
without further justification. Example: The entitlement
generation expects higher salaries, flexible work
hours, and ample time off.

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“ Young workers wants it all now” what do you think ？？ Read the below article and check 。
8. Do you think the younger generation is spoiled and
expects too much? Or do you think the older generations
sacrificed their lives (and fun in their livers) for work?
Useful expressions
• The younger generation is spoiled and premature.
• The younger generation indulges in Internet and is easy to lose
their temper, and work-ships money and wants to be famous
overnight.
• Grow up in a comfortable environment.
• Have experienced few hardships. Every demand should be met.
• The younger generation possesses strong technical skills and is
more independent than the prior generations.
• Young men are willing to develop their skill sets and take on
challenges and are very adaptive to job instability.
• Young men think more for themselves and do not blindly accept
the ideas of their elders.

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 8. Do you think the younger generation is spoiled and
expects too much? Or do you think the older generations
sacrificed their lives (and fun in their livers) for work?
Useful expressions
• The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend
and enjoy more freedom.
• The young would work best if they were given complete freedom and
responsibility.
• The older generation saw work as the only source of self-fulfillment.
• The older generation spent all their time and effort in work.
• The older generation possessed a strong commitment to work.
• The older generation declared a higher priority for work over personal
life.
• The older generation was willing to work hard to achieve goals set by
their companies.
• The older generation’s working life could integrate well with their private
life.
• There was neither relaxation nor entertainment for the older generation.
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 9. What do the following phrases from the text mean?

1 little appetite for hard work not interested in working hard

2 Twenty-somethings people in their twenties
3 Instant gratification getting what you want as soon as you demand
it
4 Coddling parents and colleges parents and colleges who
overprotect and spoil young people
5 We were spoiled by your generation your generation gave us
everything we wanted
6 Break our backs for you to work very hard for you
7 Bury themselves in a cubicle to sit quietly in a little office

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There is no particular reason why the verb should
take gerund or infinitive.

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Grammar: gerund and infinitive
3. Complete these sentences.

1) When I retire, I plan to take up a new sport.

2) I think I’m quite good at persuading people to buy things
3) Before attending a job interview, it’s worth researching the company.
4) My job involves solving technical problems.
5) When speaking English, I often have difficulty understanding native
speakers.
6) At work I feel satisfied if I manage to answer all my emails.
7) For my summer holiday this year, I am considering renting a caravan.
8) If I was offered more money, I would be willing to take on more
responsibility.
9) The hardest thing about starting a new job is getting used to doing
things as others want them done.
10)I get annoyed with colleagues if they fail to do their own job properly..
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Brainstorm :

• What are the roles of HR department?

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Roles of HR ?
• to recruit and select potential employees,
• making employees aware of health insurance benefits,
• Keep a check on employee’s health and safety issues
• and approve employee's maternity leaves, sick leaves, annual
leaves
• Responsibility of paperwork for hiring or firing employee’s,
• Advertising prospective jobs, and taking interviews and
selecting potential employee's,
• Reviewing performance and assessing raise and promotions,
• Keep a guard on any kind of discrimination whether related
to race, age, and color and employer abuses, sexual
harassment or bullying.

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 vocabulary--listening

• new recruits: 新员工

• Flip side: (opposite side/negative side)
• senior management: 高层管理 ( 人员 )
• School leaver: a person who has just left school,
especially when they are looking for a job 毕业生 ; 离校生
• Dry up: (of any source or supply) no longer be available
（指资源或供应）耗尽 , 枯竭

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• corporate university : is any educational entity that is a
strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in
achieving its goals by conducting activities that foster
individual and organizational learning and knowledge 企
业大学
• In most cases, corporate universities are not universities
in the strict sense of the word. The traditional university is
an educational institution which grants both
undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a variety of
subjects, as well as conducting original scientific
research.
• In contrast, a corporate university typically limits scope to
providing job-specific, indeed company-specific, training
for the managerial personnel of the parent corporation.

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E

F
B
G

A
B

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 speaking
2 Which applicants would you employ and why?
1
This applicant is very confident, perhaps over confident and his/her claims are not
backed by evidence.
2
This applicant seems to have the appropriate skills and experience, but what happened
to his/her own company? If he/she is so successful why is he/she looking for work
in another company? Did he/she go bankrupt? What type of company was it?
3
This candidate appears to be well qualified and seems modest, but reliable.

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 all

not
with

that

would against

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Vocabulary Preparation for listening
 tanker  油轮
 leak  泄露
 ground  使触海底，使搁浅
 tug  拖船
 media attention  媒体关注
 on the spot  处在困境中
 feature  特写，特高，专题报道
 dioxin gas  二恶英气体
 migrant worker  民工
 e-waste  电子垃圾
 employee loyalty  员工忠诚度
 employee commitment  员工敬业精神
 holiday entitlement  假期津贴
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1.2: Asking and answering
questions (listening)

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 Background Info
面试时的规矩
基本礼仪
一般不应由亲友陪同面试，避免给人留下不成熟的印象；不要紧
张，保持自信和自然的笑容。
面试前
道明来意，告知接待员你是来应聘的，以便做出安排；应对所以
职员保持礼貌，要知道，他们可能成为你的同事；进门前先敲门，和主考人
礼貌地打招呼。
面试时
谈话时要与考官有恰当的眼神接触，给考官诚恳、认真的印象；点头不可太
急，否则会给人留下不耐烦及想插嘴 IDE 印象；谈话时切忌东张西望，此举
有欠缺诚意之嫌。
身体语言
待主考人邀请时才礼貌地坐下，坐的时候要保持笔直；留意自己
的身体语言，要大方得体。翘腿、左摇右摆、双臂交的胸前、单手或双手托
腮都不适宜。
切忌一些缺乏自信的小动作
男士应避免把弄衣衫、领带及将手插进裤袋内；女士不宜经常拨
弄头发，
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 Background Info
过分造作；避免把弄手指或圆珠笔、眼镜及说话时掩嘴；面试结束离去时，
向主考人道谢及说再见。
回答问题的态度
态度诚恳，不宜过分客套和谦卑；不太明白主考人的问题时，应
礼貌地请他重复；陈述自己的长处时，要诚实而不夸张，要视所申请职位的
要求充分表现自己有关的能力和才干；不懂得回答的问题，不妨坦白承认，
被主考人揭穿反而会弄巧成拙。
语调
语调要肯定、正面，表现信心；尽量少用语气助词，避免主考人
一种用语不清、冗长、不认真及缺乏自信的感觉；讲错话要补救，在讲错话
之后，不要放弃，要重新振作，继续回到其他问题。
其他
不要打断主考人的话，因为这是非常无礼的行为。主考人可能会
问你一些与职位完全无关的问题，目的在于进一步了解你的思考能力及见识，
不要表现出不耐烦或惊讶，以免给用人单位留下一个太计较的印象。切忌因
主考人不赞同你的意见而惊慌失措。部分主考人会故意反对应聘者的意见，
以观察他们的反应。

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Listening: An environmental accident
1. Listen to the interview.
1) What caused the accident?
The ship made for port because of severe weather
conditions but hit some rocks near the coast.
2) How many accidents has the ship been involved in?
Three including this one.
3) Does the spokesman come out of it well?

Reasonably well. He explains the cause clearly and tries

to put the accident in context.

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Grammar: Indirect questions
5. Convert the following questions into tag questions.

1) You are married, aren’t you?

2) You can’t start tomorrow, can you?
3) You have only worked for smaller companies, haven’t
you?
4) You managed to find your offices easily, didn’t you?
5) This is your first real job, isn’t it?
6) You would be able to work part-time, wouldn’t you?

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speaking

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Speaking: A job interview
6 How would you feel if you were asked these questions? How
would you reply?
Useful expressions
1 I’m highly organized and I pay excellent attention to details.
1 I’m able to manage multiple tasks and handle the stress that is
associated with it.
2 I have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
2 I’m able to anticipate needs and problems.
2 I’m highly self-motivated.
2 I’m able to work independently to achieve results.
3 I’m fluent in both written and oral English.
3 I can work later than normal office hours.

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Speaking: A job interview
6 How would you feel if you were asked these questions? How
would you reply?
Useful expressions
4 I took time off to get some training in computer skills.
5 Though I’m a quietly-spoken person, I am confident.
6 I don’t feel like in my current position I am able to show my full
potential. I am looking for a challenge in a company that will
recognize my abilities.
6 I want to move up in my career.
6 This job really didn’t have advancement opportunities that I was
seeking.
7 I know about the company’s history, product range, financial
situation, core competencies, marketing strategies, etc.
8 Yesterday I was looking for a job.

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