This fabulous world of cinema and music

Working life.

1. In your opinion, which factors below are important for getting a job?

appearance hobbies experience sex

intelligence marital status personality qualifications

references age astrological sign handwriting

blood group sickness record family background

contacts and connections

 

2. Discuss the statements.

a) At work appearance is more important than performance.

b) Everybody should retire at 50.

c) It is best to work for as many companies as possible.

d) You should keep your private life totally separate from your work.

e) People don’t change much during their working lives.

 

3. Complete the sentences using the words bellow.

commute, overtime, qualifications, freelance, salary, skills

 

1. His academic _____________ are good for this job.

2. Employers are interested in practical __________ like word-processing and fluency in languages.

3. The job offers a _____________ of 25000 pounds a year.

4. Officially, she works 35 hours a week but sometimes with __________ she does as many as fifty.

5. Nowadays many designers or information technology workers are ____________; in other words they sell their work or services to different organizations.

6. Now she works from home, she doesn’t have to ____________ by train to and from London every day.

 

4. Which of these words would you use to describe people in a work; which of them describe jobs; which words can describe both?

ambitious reliable creative

challenging dynamic worthwhile

stressful patient enthusiastic

secure confident boring

trustworthy flexible conscientious

 

Divide the words into 3 columns. Two have been done as examples.

 

Jobs challenging

People ambitious

bo

 

5. Read the text about a woman and her attitude to work and answer the questions.

 

1. What does she do?

2. How does she feel about working hard?

3. Is work getting easier or more difficult?

4. What kind of sacrifices has she made?

5. How common are the people like Trish in your country?

6. How easy is it for young professionals to have lives which are a healthy balance between work and personal life?

 

Twenty-six year old Trish Crofts, a media buyer with an advertising agency, is typical of the young professionals who feel that their work is depriving them of a real life. She starts work at 9 a.m. but often doesn’t leave her office until 8 p.m. Occasionally she is at work until 10 p.m.

“In my company when people leave they are not replaced and everybody is expected to work extra hard”, she said. Ms Crofts enjoys her work but feels stressed all the time. She said: “My hair is already going grey”. As her partner, Graham Dodridge, frequently does not arrive home until late either, the couple often do not have their meal until after 10 p.m.

Ms Crofts would be prepared to accept a cut in pay if it would guarantee a genuine reduction in her workload, but she believes her promotion prospects would suffer. “You have to sacrifice your personal life if you want career advancement.”

 

6. Read the interview of an Industry Correspondent about young people’s attitude towards work nowadays and discuss with your partner how the attitude to work has changed.

 

Interviewer A new survey out today shows how young people’s attitudes towards work have changed. Can you tell me want it all means?

Industry Correspondent Well, essentially the report shows that the young are turning their backs on traditional employment, you know, working for a wage, and becoming self-employed or going freelance.

Interviewer And what’s made them do that?

Industry Correspondent Basically, seeing their parents’ generation struggle with unemployment and job insecurity. They’ve seen established firms lay off employees who’ve worked for them for years. Also, they’ve understood that benefits like cars, pensions, and so on, not to mention a fairly secure job in the longer term, are all disappearing fast. In their place you’ve got insecurity, part-time work, and short-term contracts. An ordinary job simply isn’t attractive any more.

 

Ethics in business.

 

1. Discuss these questions.

a) What is the purpose of the business? Is it just to make money?

b) How do you understand the phrase “business ethics”?

c) Should mission statements of any business include statements about ethics? Why? Why not?

 

2. The sets of words and phrases below are related either to honesty or to dishonesty. Which word is different from the others in each set? Use a dictionary to help you.

1. trustworthy law-abiding corrupt

2. a slush fund a sweetener compensation

3. insider trading industrial espionage disclosure

4. a whistleblower a fraudster a con artist

5. a bribe a bonus a commission

6. fraud secrecy integrity

7. a confidentiality agreement a cover up a whitewash

 

3. Complete the sentences with words and phrases from the sets above. Choose from the first set to complete sentence 1, from the second set to complete sentence 2, and so on.

1. Our company does nothing illegal. We are very law-abiding.

2. We’ve got ____________ which is used in countries where it is difficult to do business without offering bribes.

3. Their car looked so much like our new model. We suspect __________.

4. They fired him because he was ____________. He informed the press that the company was using under-age workers in the factory.

5. He denied accepting ___________ when he gave the contract to the most expensive supplier.

6. I admire our chairman. He’s a man of his word and is greatly respected for his ___________.

7. Many companies ask new employees to sign _______________ to avoid future litigation problems.

 

 

4. What would you do in each of these situations?

1. The best-qualified person for the post of Sales Manager is female. However, your customers would prefer a man. If you appoint a woman you will probably lose some sales.

2. Your company has a new advertising campaign which stresses its honesty, fairness and ethical business behavior. It has factories in seve4ral countries where wages are very low. At present it is paying workers the local market rate.

3. A colleague working in a hospital has been making mistakes at work recently. This is because she has a serious illness. You are her friend and the only person at work who knows this. She has asked you to keep it a secret.

 

5. Andy Hammerton works for the Cooperative Bank in Manchester, England. The bank is known for its policy of ethical investment. Read how Andy answers the question “Can successful businesses always behave ethically?”

“We believe they can. In fact, we believe that, in the years to come, the only truly successful businesses will be those that achieve a lasting balance between their own interests and those of society and the natural world.

Therefore businesses cannot just have a self-interest; they must play a social role. Our position has enabled us to build trust, develop our brand and have a positive impact on the bank’s bottom line.

On the issue of trust, research shows that trust in business has been declining for a number of years and the general public feel that businesses don’t take them seriously. Higher trust creates higher loyalty. First, because customers trust you, they are less likely to look elsewhere in the first place. Second, if you do make a mistake, they are more likely to forgive you.”

 

Agree or disagree with Andy Hammerton. Give your own examples of businesses behaving ethically or unethically.

 

This fabulous world of cinema and music

1. Read the professions, dealing with the world of cinematography. Tell about the duties of each person involved in cinematography:

 

An actor/an actress, a director, a producer, a cameramen

 

2. Translate the phrases and sentences:

 

Her play is artificial/nice/.

She is at her best today.

The plot is interesting/unpredictable/contrived.

The plot is predictable.

The musical score is excellent.

The main character is portrayed with great mastery.

They play the title role.

-to start a long/short tour

-to rehearse

-to cast

-to play with great mastery

-to make a show

-to be talented

 

3. Look at these words for types of films. Think of an example of a film for each type.

action film, western, thriller, science fiction film, horror film, comedy, musical, love story

 

4. Look at the adjectives. Which ones can you use to describe something you adore? Which ones can you use to describe something you dislike?

 

amazing horrible

appalling funny

simple powerful

remarkable terrible

delighted emotional

charming fantastic

impressive slow

awkward extraordinary

far-fetched spectacular

clumsy

sensitive

gripping

 

5. Make sure you know the meaning of the words below:

Drum, violin, cello, trumpet, guitar, piano, harp, keyboards, sax

Record company, soloist, big hit, album, producer

 

Movies

1. Before you read, discuss these questions with your partner:

1) When was the last time you went to the cinema? What film did you see?

2) Do you often watch films on video? What was the last video you saw?

3) Were these films made in Russia?

4) Can you remember a movie that you really loved as a child?

5) Now read the text and answer the questions.

 

Making Movies

When the brothers Luis and Auguste Lumiere showed their first films in a Paris café in 1895, the audience was amazed to see images that moved. Soon cinemas began to open in cities across Europe and North America. A new industry had arrived: movie-making.

Hollywood in the USA quickly became the capital of movie-making. The first studio opened there in 1912 and the others soon followed. Land and labour were cheap at that time and there was plenty of Californian sunshine to provide natural light for filming outside. While Europe was at war, Hollywood made hundreds of movies. This was the time of “silent movies”. Many cinemas had pianos, and pianists played music to accompany the films. The dialogue appeared in writing every thirty seconds or so.

The era of “silent movies” finished in 1927, when the film “The Jazz Singer” was released. In this film the actors spoke and sang. Audience loved the new “talking pictures”. The 1930s became the golden age of Hollywood and more people visited the cinema and even before. The 1930s was a time of economic depression and audiences everywhere wanted a chance to forget their problems for a few hours and enter a magic world of song, dance, romance and adventure.

In the 1940, a new challenge appeared: television. Cinema audiences fell by almost fifty percent as people stayed at home to watch their television. People began to think the movie industry would die. But teenagers soon came back to the cinema. It was a place they could go without their parents! Today, a large majority, if not most cinema industries, is under the age of 25.

Hollywood still dominates movie-making. The Hollywood studios have enough money to pay for big stars and special effects. Newspapers estimate that the recent movie “Waterworld” cost as much as $ 225 million. This film stars Kevin Costner as the fishlike hero of a world that is covered in water. However, some of the most successful films of all time have been much cheaper. Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, which first appeared in 1937, is still popular today, almost 60 years later. Parents remember how much they loved watching Disney movies when they were young then they go and buy a Disney video for their children. Across the world, such movies have become a part of the culture.