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Listening A series of audio recordings that are designed to put your listening skills to the test. Focus on keywords, grammar and pronunciation.
Academy An online English Academy that is focussed on your learning needs. Native speaking English teachers from Central London with neutral accents.
Objectives To increase vocabulary, improve pronunciation and develop confidence.
5th In this series!
Business Ideal for students who interact with clients and need to develop the ability to understand.
By Sanj Saigal
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The Interview Hi, Sophie.....I just finished my interview, yes it went well.... they asked me about where I worked, how much responsibility I have and about the type of job that I was looking for. No, it wasn’t hard at all. I thought that the questions were going to be really hard after all it’s quite a senior position that I am applying for. Not sure, they said that they would contact me towards the beginning of next month. About 10 other candidates, well that I know about. Two of them are from my Company. No they didn’t mention pay but the job advert said that they would pay up to 50 thousand for the right candidate. Yes, I would love that , when are you free? Tuesday is fine but only after 6pm because I have a meeting. Listen I had better go, I’m running late and I need to get back to the office. Ok..... see you on Tuesday!
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Questions: 1. The author had just returned from: a. A meeting b. A conference c. An Interview 2. The author described the interview as being: a. Very hard b. Very Easy c. Very challenging 3. What type of questions were asked at the interview? 4. At the interview they: a. Talked about pay b. Didn't mention pay c. Confirmed a salary
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5. The author agreed to meet his friend on: a. Monday b. Friday c. Tuesday 6. How many candidates did the author state were present at the interview? 7. Why could he only meet his friend only after 6pm? 8. The author phoned a friend after his interview, what was the name of his fiend? 9. The author stated a salary that was advertised, it was a. 65k b. 50k c. 45k
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10.The position that the author applied for was: a. A senior position b. A junior position c. A management position 11. The author had to cut his telephone conversation short because: a. He had a meeting b. He was running late c. He was meeting someone 12. When did the author state that he would be contacted by the Company? a. Towards the beginning of next month b. Towards the end of the month c. Towards the beginning of next week
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14. The author stated that the two candidates were from: a. His town b. His City c. His company 15. What were the two characters in this story arranging: a. To meet for coffee b. To meet for a meal C. Not known
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Matching Match the text in the white box to it’s similar meaning in the blue box.
k
Around
Circa
Wages
Salary
Someone who applies for a job
Position Candidate Towards
Near to Thousand Job
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Audio 2 There are a lot of reasons as to why the global economy has been so bad over the last few years. Personally I think that the Banks were one of the reasons that contributed to the problem. To be fair though you can't just blame them. People were spending more money than they were earning. The criteria for borrowing money was very easy no matter what age you were. Everyone seemed to be living the life of a movie star. Two cars, two homes and two holidays a year. Now things are very different, people have learnt their lesson, they don't seem to live by credit card any more. I feel upset when I hear stories about how people have been affected, but from my perspective I think that the world is going through a period of change, more like a rebalancing of the whole economic system. It's certainly much more challenging to find a job, these days companies expect so much more. Longer hours and an average pay packet often means that people need to have a second job just to make ends meet. This year I got a promotion, I didn't really expect it. The media had reported that things were getting better but no one pays attention to news like that anymore, so I really wasn't expecting it. My manager called me into his office and told me that I was being promoted to a junior management position. You can imagine how I felt, I had worked very hard over the last year but no harder than anyone else in the office. I had a pay increase of 10 percent and the responsibility of managing a department. I decided that I would celebrate, so the first thing that I did was to go on a short break to London. I managed to go to the Museums and take in the sights but most of all it was a well deserved trip. I felt a real sense of achievement and purpose, I took that trip to reflect on just what it was that got me that promotion and how I could work towards another one some time in the future. If there is one thing that I have learnt it's that it's not just how early it is that you get into work or how late it is when you leave but more the quality of work and the attention to detail that you have.
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1. Who does the author blame for the economic climate? 2. How did the author describe the way in which people borrowed money? 3. The author stated that he celebrated an occasion, how did he celebrate? 4. Did the author get a pay rise? 5. How did the author describe the job's market? 6. Who reported that the global economic climate was getting better? 7. What happened to the author this year? 8. What advise does the author give at the end of the story? 9. The global economic climate was described by the author as: a. Very bad over the last few years b. Very bad over the last year c. Very bad over the last 7 years 10. The author stated that people needed a second job: a. to have a better income b. To make ends meet c. To get a loan
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Conversation 1. Do you have an opinion about the global economic crisis? 2. Media has reported improvement, what do you think? 3. If you could turn back time what advice would you give yourself? 4. How has it effected your perspective about the future? 5. Have people learnt their lesson? 6. Is it easier to get credit this year compared to the last 5 years? 7. Are there enough government incentives for people to start their own businesses in your country? 8. Do businesses expect more from people because of the crisis or is that a myth? 9. Other countries in the world have performed well in the last 7 years why? What are they doing better than the west? 10. Is there enough infrastructure in your country? 11. Is a bad economy due to a lack of education or greed? 12. Have you ever thought about opening your own business? Why? 13. What advice will you give to the next generation about the economic cycle? 10
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