My working day

Learn the following words and expressions:

а trade firm – торговая фирма

correspondence – заочное

а department – отделение

nine storey – девятиэтажный

an alarm clock – будильник

to wake up – будить

to be an early riser – рано вставать

especially – особенно

to switch on – включать

to do morning exercises – делать утреннюю гимнастику

to take a shower – принимать душ

to shave – бриться

to get dressed – одеваться

to have to – должен

to get up – вставать

to listen to – слушать

to take interest – интересоваться

latest – последние

а day-off – выходной

to leave – уходить, покидать

It takes me – у меня уходит

to waste time – терять время

to retell – пересказывать

silently – про себя

to come across – встречать

an expression – выражение

to memorize – запомнить

a flashcard – карточка

to arrive at – прибывать

though – хотя

sharp – ровно

frequently – часто

а representative – представитель

а price – цена

terms of payment – условия платежа

a delivery – доставка

to discuss business – обсудить дела

matters – деловые вопросы

а customer – заказчик, клиент

to make an appointment – назначить встречу

to look through – просматривать

mail – почта

to speak on the phone – разговаривать по телефону

a message – сообщение besides – кроме того

business partners – деловые партнеры

abroad – за границей

a break – перерыв

occasionally – время от времени

to get tired – уставать

to wait for – ждать

living room – жилая комната

just to talk – просто поговорить

to fail – провалить (экзамен)

to work hard – упорно трудиться

to revise – повторять

a subject – предмет

a library – бибилиотека

to get ready – подготовиться

a report – сообщать

a course paper – курсовая работа

to enter – поступать

to make up one’s mind – решить

to pass exams – сдать экзамены

excellent – отличный

а mark – отметка

easy – легкий

to combine – совмещать

learning – обучение

still – все равно

to look forward to – очень ждать

a job – работа

useful – полезный

experience – опыт

Read and translate the text “My Working Day”

Let me introduce myself first. I am … and I am … years old. I come from Berezniki but now I live and work in Perm. I am a manager of a big trade firm. I am also a student of a correspondence department. I study in the Perm Pedagogical University. I have a family – a mother and a father. Their names are …. We live in a new nine storey house in the centre of the city. We have a modern three room flat on the fifth floor.

On weekdays the alarm clock wakes me up at 6.30 and my work­ing day begins. I’m not an early riser, that’s why it’s very difficult for me to get out of bed, especially in winter. I switch on my music centre and do my morning exercises. Then I go to the bathroom, take a warm shower, clean my teeth and shave. After that I go to my bedroom to get dressed.

Usually my mother makes breakfast for me. But when she is away on business or just doesn’t have to get up early, I make breakfast myself. While having breakfast I listen to the latest news on TV. I take much interest in the latest po­litical and business news.

I always go to my office on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I don’t go to my office on Saturday and Sunday. These are my days-off.

I usually leave the house at 7.30 and go to the nearest bus stop. It takes me half an hour to get to work. I don’t want to waste my time on bus. I’ve got a good player, so I listen to different texts and dialogues on my way to work. Sometimes I read an English book and retell it silently. If I come across an interesting expression I try to memorise it. I also write some English words on flashcards and learn them.

I usually arrive at work at ten minutes to nine though my working day begins at 9 sharp. I have a lot of work to do. I frequently meet representatives of Eng­lish and French firms. We discuss prices, terms of payment and delivery. Sometimes I go to dif­ferent cities to discuss business matters with our custom­ers. I am a very busy man. During the day I make appointments with my business partners, look through mail, read faxes and letters, speak on the phone with the customers. Some fax messages are in English and I have to translate them into Russian. Besides, I write letters in English to our business partners abroad.

At 1 o’clock in the afternoon we have lunch. We usually have lunch in a small cafe just round the corner. At 2 o’clock we come back to the office and work hard till 6 o’clock. During the working day we also have several short coffee breaks. But sometimes we have no time for them. Occasionally I have to stay at work till 7 or even 8 o’clock in the evening. When we have a lot of things to do we go to work on Saturdays. So by the end of the week I get very tired.

I come home at about 7 o’clock in the evening. My parents are usu­ally at home, waiting for me. We have dinner together. Then we sit in the living room, drink tea, watch TV or just talk. As I’m a student and don’t want to fail my exams I work hard at my lessons. I do them in the evenings. I read a lot, do some exercises, learn new English words and revise grammar rules. We study a lot of subjects, so it takes me a lot of time to do my homework. Sometimes at the weekends I go to the library to get ready for my exams or to write a report or a course paper. When I entered the Institute I made up my mind to pass my exams only with good and excellent marks. So I do my best.

I must say that it isn’t easy to combine work and learning. But still I always look forward to my next working day because I like my job and my study. I think I’m getting a lot of useful experience.

Answer the questions:

1.Do you get up early? Is it easy for you to get up early?

2. Do you wake up yourself or does an alarm-clock wake you up?

3. Do you do morning exercises? Do you do your morning exercises to music?

4. Which do you prefer: a warm or a cold shower in the morning?

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?

6. Some people look through newspapers or listen to the latest news

on TV while having breakfast. What about you?

7. When do you usually leave the house?

8. Do you work? Where do you work?

9. How long does it take you to get to the office?

10. What do you usually do on your way to work (institute, etc.)?

11. Where do you usually have lunch (dinner)?

12. What are your duties at work?

13. What time do you come home?

14. How do you spend your evenings?

15. When do you do your homework?

16. What time do you usually go to bed?