Exercise 6. Put in the right endings to the underlined words

1. Paula’s first job was quite interest…

2. Paula was very interest… in foreign travels.

3. Alexandra was really bor… with her job, so she decided to leave it.

4. Her new job wasn’t bor… but nevertheless she didn’t like it.

5. Paula’s first training course seemed very excit… for her.

6. She was very excit… about getting new career opportunity.

7. Her new boss wasn’t very pleas… with her work.

UNIT 9. BUSINESS HOURS

The standard working day in the United Kingdom and the USA starts at 9:00 a.m. and lasts till 5:00 p.m. with lunch time from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Many banks are usually open for customers from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Some businesses and industries traditionally work different hours.

Most employees have a five-day working week, Monday through Friday. The working week is between 35 and 40 hours long. Overtime is quite common and is generally paid, often at a premium to the basic rate of pay. The weekend usually starts on Friday night and lasts till Monday. Thus on Saturdays and Sundays most businesses are closed. But as to shops they are open on Saturdays and some of them are open on Sundays.

In Britain the law does not say what shops can be open on Sundays but it says what goods can be sold on Sundays. They are newspapers, magazines and fresh food. If the law is broken, criminal proceedings may be taken. Many officials and the public demand that the Sunday trading rules should be abolished in the UK.

Most businesses are closed on public or national holidays.

The main public holidays of the UK are the follows:

New Year’s Day 1 January

Good Friday in April

Easter in April

Easter Monday in April

May Day in May

Christmas Day 25 December

Boxing Day 26 December

In the United States the following main holidays are celebrated:

New Year’s Day 1 January

Washingtons’s Birthday 20 February

Easter in April

Memorial Day in May

Independence Day 4 July

Labour Day in September

Veterans’ Day in November

Thanksgiving Day in November

Christmas Day in December

All the main public or national holidays in the USA and UK are bank holidays, which means banks are closed on those days. Besides there are some other bank holidays, when banks and many other businesses are closed.

The bank holidays besides public or national holidays are:

Spring or Summer (Bank) Holiday - in May or June

Autumn (Bank) Holiday - in August or September

It dates back to the nineteenth century when by the Bank Holiday Act and a Supplementary Act these days were constituted bank holidays in the UK.

EXERCISES