Match the highlighted words or word combinations in the text with their definitions.

1. the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone;

2. the kind of education and experience you have had;

3. a person who spends large amounts of leisure or working time operating a computer;

4. to intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of smth;

5. the pleasure that you feel when you do something or get something that you wanted or needed to do or get;

6. important or significant in that situation or to that person;

7. to give support, confidence, or hope to someone;

8. a thing done successfully with effort, skill, or courage;

9. young people who have just left school;

10. an animal, plant, or other organism whose genetic structure has been changed by genetic engineering.

Exercise2.

Which of the following do you think are the two most important qualities in your future boss?Rank them, then discuss in pairs.a) respectfulness, b) sociability, c) moral values, d) sense of humour, e) intellect, f) empathy, g) romantic nature, h) taste in books/films, i) attractive appearance, j) punctuality k) generosity.

Exercise3.

Why are you learning English? Work in pairs.

I am learning Eglish because

Exercise4.

Work with your partner. Decide whether you agree or disagree with these statements. Give your reasons.

a) «Some people do the strangest things just to prove themselves».

b) «Everybody has their own Mount Everest they have to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don't make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow-line, years later you will feel emptiness».

c) «Team Players are not very good at creating value on their own. They are not autonomous; they need a team in order to exist».

Answer the following questions:

1. Describe you as a person. Describe your appearance and character. What kind of person you are?

2. Can you always get the balance?

3. Are you hard-working? Are you a well-educated person?

4. Do you like you as a person? Are you snobbish, sociable or reserved?

5. Could you say you are very careful about time? Prove it.

6. Imagine that you are allowed to have some of the gifts for your birthday. Choose three gifts which you think are the most important or useful and three which are the least important or useful (good health, a nice house, a brilliant mind, money, a good job, friends, the latest fashion clothes, travelling ….)?

7. Do you think that first impressions of a person are not always right? Why?

8. How are you going to build (step by step) your career?

9. Would you like to be a child again? Why?

10. What do you wear to theatres, cinemas, bars, parties, concerts? Do you think much about clothes? Many British people just like to be comfortable. What about you?

11. What would you do if you won $ 1 000000?

12. Which job is less stressful/more stressful from your point of view; (architect, journalist, teacher, banker, barber (hairdresser), beautician, dentist, engineer, carpenter, farmer, gas fitter, glazier, lawyer, interpreter, programmer, bus driver, and writer)? Why do you think so?

13. Do you find doing shift work is more stressful than a nine – to – five jobs?

14. Do you think people are getting ecologically wise? What does it mean «to be ecologically-minded»?

15.What are your favorite sports for keeping fit (walking, swimming, tennis, football, ice-hockey, ice-skating, roller-skating, basketball, rugby, golf, motor racing, wind-surfing, water-skiing, canoeing, horse-riding, rock climbing, orienteering, parachute jumping, go-cart racing, cricket, baseball, boxing, scuba-diving, gymnastics, aerobics, karate, judo, snorkeling, jogging, stretching, bodybuilding, )? Do you think it is a really good way to keep fit? Do you like sports (P.T lessons) at University?

16. Where is the difference in the meanings of the words: Self-appointed; self-denying; selfish; self-confident?

17.What is the first step when you have chosen your future occupation? When do undergraduates usually start their search? On the third year or on the final year? Do you always find it hard to take the first step? Why? Why not?

Unit 16

You will read & translate a text about attending a job interview. Before you read, discuss in pairs the following.

1. Do you know anything about the size of the working population in Russia? Do your parents work for a wage which is paid monthly or weekly? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being employed by the State? 3. Does Russia have a high unemployment rate? Do you know unemployment statistics? 4. Do undergraduates usually look through local newspaper advertisements to find a job? Do they visit a local «Job centre»? 5. Would you like to work in private industry or in the state sector? 6. What does job satisfaction mean?

Attending a job interview

To begin with I’d like to say that at now I have a vague idea about my future career and I am unable to give a detailed account of the activity it will involve. But it is evident that getting a job depends on many factors. First of all you are required to write correctly an application letter or covering letter (US cover letter) and curriculum vitae or CV (in US resume). As far as I can figure it out I have to send them to a personnel officer and I will be invited for a job interview. A company may ask candidates to fill up a standard application form.

There are different approaches to applying for a job. Some people try to look for a chance to develop and demonstrate their true potential. Another people are sure that their qualifications and experience speak for themselves. Sometime candidates think they are so brilliant at whatever they do and the interviewer would be lucky to have them working in his company. At the interview applicants will be asked their reasons for wanting the job, and have to answer questions about their academic career and other activities. They will often be asked questions which seem to have no point but which are intended to reveal their personality and general suitability for the job. From the candidates’ point of view, interviewers can seem both bewildering and artificial.

It is common knowledge that a good interviewer knows what to say, what to ask, when to be silent and for how long. Too much silence during the interview will make both the interviewer and the candidate uncomfortable. If the interviewer begins the encounter by bombarding the candidate with direct and specific questions, a pattern will be set that will be hard to break. Later, even when more indirect or less-structured questions are asked, the candidate will stick to the brevity initially established.

Every interview has its nonverbal overtones. There are variations in facial expression, movements of the body, tensions, changes in the quality and volume of the voice, and changes in enthusiasm. Such nonverbal clues should be weighed with care. You should manage yourself wisely and differentiate yourself from other jobseekers. I am sure all candidates must have asked themselves some questions: e.g.: What does the interviewer want me to say? Would I be better being more natural? Can I be natural in this artificial situation? etc.

Of course I will be very nervous and anxious, but still I’ll be able to think my strategy thoroughly, because doing well in an interview may be an important part of getting a good job. Every applicant keeps in mind that he/she should be properly dressed for demonstrating respect and consideration for those with whom they interact. So a good business suit will be the right thing to wear. It is necessary to pay attention to hairstyle, nails and choice of cosmetics. It is needless to say that chewing his/her nails during the interview can be very off-putting and only highlight their nervousness. Everybody knows it’s so annoying, the way the applicant keeps fiddling about with her or his hair.

Today, graduates can expect to make dozens of applications for jobs and get short-listed for interviews two or three times before they find satisfactory work. We can see in our modern world, the industrial scene is changing so quickly that many workers with special skills find that these are no longer needed and they must re-train for new jobs.

Topical vocabulary

Exercise1.