Facts and fiction Choosing a career

a treasurer wants to be an insurance agent a captain of soccer team wants to become a professional soccer player a school correspondent wants to become a brand ambassador

a class president plans to become a game tester

JÖ ottRA a volunteer in a dog shelter considers a pet stylist career 0 4 »

cheerleaders eager to become professional entertainers on football team

w A. There are many people who influence my decision to select this career field. One of my early mentors is a business friend of my mother, who works in the insurance industry and encourages me to explore opportunities in this field. I think she points me in the right direction to explore the possibilities. I think I have qualities necessary to become a good insurance agent. I am honest. Agents are expected to tell the truth up front. Besides, I am energetic. One of the most important traits of a good insurance agent is that they appear to be excited and eager at all times.

w I want to become a professional football player for the money, fame, and joy. So now I play for fun. I have a drive and passion which matters much to me. I have determination to get through many training, stresses, downs and pressures of playing well. I have a true love for the game. So, one day I will play at Chelsea. I will gain the experience of training with top players and at top facilities, playing every week in big stadiums. That's my motivation.

v r A brand ambassador is someone who promotes a brand and its products to their network trying to increase brand awareness and driving sales. Brand ambassadors use their fame, looks, talent, smarts, fans, reputation, etc to get exposure for the brand. Actors, musicians, models are paid a lot to be brand ambassadors for a specified term. NBA basketball player Tony Parker was paid $600,000 USD to be the global ambassador forTissot watches.

So I need to become famous first. I can do it if I get into "Dance with the Stars" program. I have the innate talent to interpret and communicate stories and feelings through the dance. I can work with other people. I always take direction from my choreographer, and coordinate my dance routines with other dancers in the company.

© I want to work as a game tester. Most companies do not require a college degree to be hired as a game tester. But if I get a degree, then I have a much better chance of moving into higher-paying jobs, or moving into other areas of game development like art, design or programming. To be honest, those other jobs almost always pay a lot more than a job as a tester. So I want to have a career in the game industry; so it's smart to get an education. Also, to be a good tester you need to be disciplined and focused. I pay attention in school and get good grades. What is more, I also learn about game design by reading through some of the top game design books. I take technical writing, computer programming (introduction), project management that will help me in my future.

© I am thinking of becoming a pet stylists or groomer. I will bathe animals and trim their hair and nails. I might work in pet stores, styling salons, animal clinics and animal rescue organizations or be self-employed. Mobile businesses that offer pet styling services are also growing in demand, since pets can stay in more familiar surroundings. I need to have physical stamina since pet groomers spend many hours standing, and care must be taken with animals that might nip at unfamiliar people. I have necessary skills. I am strong enough to stand as long as I will need to and I am patient. I will obtain my skills through a short-term training program at grooming salons. One day when I have enough experience in this job I might want to start my own salon. Of course, I might consider taking basic business courses to learn how to manage employees and handle business operations.

V Becoming a professional entertainer starts with building a particular set of talents, such as acting, singing, telling jokes, playing a sport or performing magic tricks. We spend long hours training and practicing our skills. We know that we could receive training through an academic program, or our skills might be self-taught. We think, we don't need a formal education to become professional entertainers. We started preparing for this career playing in plays at the school theater. We also try writing screenplays or scenes to perform. At the music club, we learn song writing. We are witty. We can make people laugh. We are willing to commit the hours and sacrifice to reach the top.

1 Before you read: Stude nts' plans fo r th e future a) Describe students' qualities in the pictures.

b) Read the stories. Were you right?

2 The characters a) Choose an adjective which you think describes each o f these people best

b) Find a sentence in the story which tells you this.

determined • funny • energetic Tyler • talented • patient • disciplined jay • hard-working • goal-oriented • Cal focused • witty • eager • honest • motivated • cooperative • strong • eager

3 Discover your future Think about the talents you already know you have, and ask friends and family what they think you are good at. You might be surprised by what they say. 1) What are some things you feel you do well? 2) What challenges you? 3) What are you good at? 4) Who do you look up to? 5) What’s something you’ve always wanted to try? 6) What accomplishment has made you most proud? 7) What’s your favourite subject? 8) What do you read about in your free time? 9) As a kid what did you want to be as you grew up? 10) Has your plan changed since then?

4 Word fam ilie s a) Form nouns o f the following verbs, using the suffixes -ment and - tion. Write them down in your notebook in two columns.

explore • encourage • expect • determine • motivate • communicate • coordinate • require • move • develop • educate • manage • entertain • commit • promote

-tion -m ent

b) Which part o f speech do you need in the gap in each o f the following sentences - verb or a noun. Guess the words in purple. My father en... me to explore opportunities in this field. I like his e n .... I have enough de...to get through pressures of playing well. My passion for chemistry d...m y future career. My mo... is to gain the experience for my future life. The coach’s m...was “I believe in you.” The brand ambassador’s job is to p... a brand and its products. They offer free samples a s a p . . . . I have the talent to c... feelings through the dance. English lessons develop my c... skills.

c) Write more sentences to show that you understand when you use a verb and when you use a noun.

5 Role play: Your career! Write a dialogue about choosing your career and act it or read it out in class.

READING S K I L L S

Reading for research

When you are doing research, especially on the Internet, different reading skills can help you to choose the right texts and then to get the information you need from them.

1 Skim to get the gist First use the title of this text to guess the topic. Then skim the text to see if you are right

The MySpace Age by Jonathan Duffy, BBC News Magazine

In only a couple of years MySpace went from zero to being a top five website which no self-respecting US teenager can ignore. And the same thing has happened in Britain. MySpace is what is known as a social networking site. It’s by far the biggest, with over 100 million users around the world. Others include Facebook, Bebo, Friendster and Yahoo 360, all offering users a host of functions - blogging, forums, instant messaging, personal profiles, photo albums. Want to see someone who’s into the same music or films as you, or someone you just fancy? Send a message, and if they’re interested, hey, you’ve made a friend. Social networking sites make money out of advertising, and the success of MySpace is being used by companies to target potential customers. For example, anyone who mentions an interest in kite-surfing can expect a mass of e-mails trying to sell them the latest equipment. The easy development of relationships online is also changing the nature of friendship. Briana Dougherty, 25, has 224 “friends” on MySpace, although some are not individuals but bands she likes. Stella Sims, 26, sees a competitive streak among users. “It’s a statement of how popular you are,” says Stella. Not everyone may understand the idea of setting out one’s personal life to an audience of millions. MySpace users, however, show little sign of finding it a problem to deal with their extensive friendship networks.

'Andi" Girl, 17 years old Birmingham, UK

Andi's quick info: Hi, my name is Andi and I'm 17 years old. I'm here to fine! new friends. How about sending mean e-mail?

Andi’s friends: Shirin Lisa Tess [more]

Andi’s interests: Pop music, love stories, movies, my friends [more]

2 Scan to get the facts you w ant You are researching the pros and cons for people using social networking sites. Look for what the text above says about this. (Only look up important new words.)

3 Check the source a) Why is it important to check the source o f information you find on the Internet?

b) Look more closely at the text above. Are there any reasons against using the social networking sites? Could you make a list o f cons that everybody should be aware o f when using social networking sites?