Speakout Advanced p 83. Work and Leisure. Extra Speaking

A Have a conversation as natural as possible with a partner about the topic. Use the pictures above and the questions below to help you.

 

1. Do you know anyone at work prone to bearing grudges? Did you use to harbour more grudges as a child rather than nowadays? What kind of effect can holding grudges have on our physical or mental health? Are people who have grudges bitter people? What is their personality like?

2. Do you face a lot of pressure at work? How do you respond to pressure? How can you de-stress your working life and beat pressure? Which of the following symptoms are you experiencing?

• being incapable of saying “NO”.
• dreading getting out of bed and going to work.
• Coping with long working hours.
• Multitasking.
• Holidaying with your laptop.
• Suffering from insomnia.
• hurrying your work to the degree that accuracy and thoroughness are compromised.
• burning the midnight oil night after night 
• Having trouble switching off from work 

3. Does your boss / Do your teachers show favour to anyone at work or at school? How would you deal with a boss or a teacher who did not favour you? Do you owe anyone a favour?

4. Everyone wants to be recognized for a job well-done; but what does it take one to rise through the ranks? What is the right way to stand out at work? In what ways are the following qualities important if you want to rise through the ranks: adaptability, availability, flexibility, performance in the job, the way you embrace change, collaboration, sharing information, helping others, etc.

5. Do you know anyone who has had to hand in his notice? Why? What happened?

6. What kind of things are on the rise presently: employment? Unemployment? Prices? Economy? Retail shops? Technology? Protests and strikes? Hunger? Sports?...

7. How do you use the hours of a normal weekday? What about the weekend? Are you a workaholic? Do you work all hours? Do you think it's good to have a breather from time to time? Do you take a short rest in the afternoon? How often do you find yourself feeling short of time, on average? In what ways do we waste time every day? Do we tend to waste time at any time of the day or at specific times? How do you while away a Sunday afternoon? What time of the year are you able to kick back and relax?

8. Would you say you usually organise things in an orderly way? Why? / Why not? Do you use forward planning as a technique? What are the results of this technique? Are you better at organising people than being organised yourself? Do you know of any ways to help you use time more effectively, to organise yourself in a more useful manner? What kind of things might be able to help?

9. What setback will you experience if your goal is to achieve perfection? What will happen if you are pressed for time and you cannot achieve what you were set to achieve?

10. Have you ever taken time off work? Have you ever phoned in sick when in fact you were not? Would you consider taking time out from your job to work abroad for a year? Do you think a stint abroad is a plus on your CV?

11. Men are said to be able to do just one thing at a time, whereas women can do several unrelated things at the same time. For example, a woman can talk on the phone, at the same time as cooking a new recipe and watching television. Do you agree? Are women better organised than men? Are men’s brains more specialised?

B MONOLOGUE 

  

Student A

1. How much control do you feel you have in managing your time?
2. If you had more time outside work or school, how would you spend it? What would you like to do to chill out more? What helps you unwind after a busy day? Does a good night out help you take your mind off work? Do you enjoy letting your hair down at the weekend?
3. Are you realistic when you map out what you hope to achieve in the time available?

Student B

1. What kind of things can often present major obstacles to our achieving the goals we have set ourselves or to meeting the deadlines that others have set for us?
2. Do you set aside enough time to pursue your own interests? What helps you to ease your mind after a stressful day? Where do you hang out after work? Do you put your feet up when you get home or you carry on with the household chores?
3. How do you respond to being snowed under? What takes the first place: health or work? Do you think you may wear out if you keep burning the candle at both ends? Have you ever had to slow down because you weren't feeling well? Has the doctor ever told you to take things easy for a while?

Vocabulary

1.

grudge (against somebody) a feeling of anger or dislike towards somebody because of something bad they have done to you in the past. E.g. I bear him no grudge. He has a grudge against the world. She has harboured a grudge against me for years. I don't hold any grudges now. He's a man with a grudge.

2.

de-stress (somebody/yourself) to relax after working hard or experiencing stress; to reduce the amount of stress that you experience. E.g. De-stress yourself with a relaxing bath.

dread: to be very afraid of something; to fear that something bad is going to happen. E.g. dread something This was the moment he had been dreading. Dread doing something I dread being sick. Dread somebody doing something She dreads her husband finding out. 

cope: to deal successfully with something difficult. E.g. He wasn't able to cope with the stresses and strains of the job. 

hurry something to do something too quickly. E.g. A good meal should never be hurried.  

burn the midnight oil to study or work until late at night . E.g. I have a big exam tomorrow so I'll be burning the midnight oil tonight. If you burn the midnight oil night after night, you'll probably become ill.  

switch off (informal) to stop thinking about something or paying attention to something. E.g. When I hear the word ‘football’ I switch off (= because I am not interested in it). The only time he really switches off (= stops thinking about work, etc.) is when we're on vacation.

3.

favour:(N) treatment that is generous to one person or group in a way that seems unfair to others. E.g. As an examiner, she showed no favour to any candidate. 

favour somebody to treat somebody better than you treat other people, especially in an unfair way. E.g. The treaty seems to favour the US. My parents always favoured my older brother. 

4.

rank: the position, especially a high position, that somebody has in a particular organization, society, etc. E.g. He rose through the ranks to become managing director.

stand out (as something) to be much better or more important than somebody/ something. E.g. Four points stand out as being more important than the rest.

5. 

notice: a formal letter or statement saying that you will or must leave your job or house at the end of a particular period of time. He has handed in his notice. They gave her two weeks' notice. Tenants must give written notice to the landlord of their intention to move out of the property. Dozens of families on the estate have been given notice to quit (= told to leave their homes). 500 workers have been issued with redundancy notices. We received an eviction notice today.

6. 

on the rise: increasing in frequency or intensity. E.g. The number of auto thefts in Cook County is on the rise again. 

7.

workaholic /ˌwɜːkəˈhɒlɪk/ a person who works very hard and finds it difficult to stop working and do other things. E.g. He's a workaholic, and hard work is one of the key things in management.

work all hours: e.g. Who really likes to work all hours of the day? Not me. The home office makes us able to work all hours of the day, and this is dangerous for those who have difficulties with limiting their work hours.

breather: /ˈbriːðə(r)/ a short pause for rest or to relax. E.g. to take/ have a breather. Tell me when you need a breather. A five-minute breather. Let’s take a breather. They ran for a good hour before Michi stopped to take a breather.

take a rest  e.g. to have/take a rest from all your hard work. He took a short rest in the afternoon.

while something away: to spend time in a pleasant lazy way. E.g. We whiled away the time reading and playing cards. We whiled away the Saturday afternoon sitting by the lake. Commuters while away the time they are stuck in traffic by listening to their favourite radio station.
kick back: to relax. E.g. Kick back and enjoy the summer. He has not been able to kick back and enjoy his success. I'm about to take a week's annual leave starting next week so I'm going to be able to kick back and relax a little. Picnics are a time to kick back, relax and enjoy tasty, yet easy-to-prepare food with friends. The past few months have just been go, go, go and at last I'm getting the chance to kick back and relax.

8.

forward: /ˈfɔːwəd/ relating to the future. E.g. the forward movement of history. A little forward planning at the outset can save you a lot of expense.

9.

pressed/pushed for time needing time; in a hurry.E.g. be ~; become ~; get ~; Seem ~. If I weren't so pressed for time, I could help you. I can't talk to you. I'm too pushed for time. Can't talk to you now. I'm pressed for time. 

10

time off a period of time that is free from employment. E.g.  get ~; have ~; give someone ~; take (some) ~.) I'll have to get time off for jury duty. I have time off to go downtown and shop.

Call/ phone in sick: telephone to say you will not be coming to work because you are ill. E.g. Emma has just called in sick.

take time out to spend some time away from your usual work or activity in order to rest or do something else instead. E.g. She is taking time out from her music career for a year. It's very beneficial to take time out to relax each day. He's taking time out between high school and starting at the university. Mary's taking time out from her job to work abroad for a year. 

stint: a period of time that you spend working somewhere or doing a particular activity. E.g. He did a stint abroad early in his career. A two-year stint in the Navy. I've done my stint in the kitchen for today. His varied career included a stint as a magician.  

A

2

chill out: (informal) to spend time relaxing; to relax and stop feeling angry or nervous about something. E.g. They sometimes meet up to chill out and watch a movie. Sit down and chill out!

unwind /ˌʌnˈwaɪnd/ unwound, unwound /ˌʌnˈwaʊnd/ to begin to relax after you have been working hard or feeling nervous. To stop worrying or thinking about problems and start to relax. E.g. Music helps me unwind after a busy day. I need to sit down and unwind for half an hour. 

take your mind off something to make you forget about something unpleasant for a short time. Distract. E.g. Painting helped take her mind off her troubles. A good night out will help you take your mind off exams. 

let your hair down (informal) to relax and enjoy yourself, especially in a lively way. E.g.  It's about time you let your hair down and had some fun! We need a place where young folk can let their hair down and enjoy themselves. 

3 

map something out to plan or arrange something in a careful or detailed way. E.g. He has his career path clearly mapped out.

B

2.

ease: /iːz/ to become or to make something less unpleasant, painful, severe, etc. E.g. The pain immediately eased. This should help ease the pain. The plan should ease traffic congestion in the town. It would ease my mind (= make me less worried) to know that she was settled.

hang out (informal) to spend a lot of time in a place. E.g. The local kids hang out at the mall. She knew all the clubs where he usually hung out.

put your feet up: to sit down and relax, especially with your feet raised and supported. E.g. After a hard day's work, it's nice to get home and put your feet up.

chore:  /tʃɔː(r)/ a task that you do regularly. E.g. doing the household/ domestic chores.

3. 

be snowed under (with something) to have more things, especially work, than you feel able to deal with. E.g.  I'd love to come but I'm completely snowed under at the moment.

wear yourself/somebody out to make yourself/somebody feel very tired. E.g. The kids have totally worn me out. You'll wear yourself out if you carry on working so hard.

burn the candle at both ends: to become very tired by trying to do too many things and going to bed late and getting up early. E.g. No wonder Mary is ill. She has been burning the candle at both ends for a long time. You'll wear out if you keep burning the candle at both ends. 

slow down live or work less actively or intensely. e.g. You must slow down (= work less hard) or you'll make yourself ill. I wasn’t feeling well and had to slow down 

take it/things easy to relax and avoid working too hard or doing too much. E.g. The doctor told me to take it easy for a few weeks. I like to take things easy when I'm on holiday.