Unit 2: Careers

A. Write the word that describes each person.

1. Faisal works in a clothing store. He helps customers choose clothes, and he answers their questions.
Faisal thinks that the store needs to sell hip and cool clothes. He has asked some customers about this, and they are interested in buying that style of clothes.
He talked to his manager, and his manager was very happy with Faisal and his idea. In fact, the manager gave Faisal a promotion!
Faisal has initiative.

2. Joe is a doctor and works at a hospital. He has worked there for three years. He has never been late for work.
Joe has always done his job well, and he has never missed a day of work.
He loves his job and always helps others. He often stays late to see his patients. Joe has a strong work ethic.

3. Adel works in a bank. Yesterday morning he had a new customer. He lost his wallet at the bank.
After lunch, Adel saw the wallet on the floor by his desk. He immediately called him.
He returned to the bank, and Adel gave him the wallet.
All his money was still in the wallet, and he was very happy. He gave Adel $20 as a reward. Adel received the reward because of his honesty and integrity.

3. Adel works in a bank. Yesterday morning he had a new customer. He lost his wallet at the bank. After lunch, Adel saw the wallet on the floor by his desk.
He immediately called him. He returned to the bank, and Adel gave him the wallet.
All his money was still in the wallet, and he was very happy. He gave Adel $20 as a reward. Adel received the reward because of his honesty and integrity.

4. Saeed has always liked to work with people. He’s a manager in an advertising agency.
Saeed is always interested in working with new clients. He is good at getting people to work together.
That is an important part of his job. And he has always been successful because of this.
Saeed has a lot of success at work because of his teamwork skills.

B. Read Tom’s job application. Answer the questions about him. Use the present perfect progressive.

1. Has he ever had a computer science class?
(take) Yes, he has been taking a computer science class for three years.

2. Does he know more than one language?
(speak) Yes, he has been speaking Spanish for three years.

3. Can he read French?
(study) Yes, he has been studying French for two years.

4. Does he play basketball?
(play) Yes, he has been playing basketball for four years.

5. Has he ever worked in a restaurant?
(work) Yes, he has been working in a restaurant for two years.

6. Does he know how to answer phones?
(answer) Yes, he has been answering phones for two years.

C. Now tell about your skills. Use the present perfect progressive.

1. I have been playing football for five years.
2. I have been using a computer for three years.
3. I have been painting for six years.

D. Read what the people have been doing and what they have done.
Complete each story. Use the present perfect progressive or the present perfect. Sometimes either one is correct.

1. I’m a professional football player. I love to play football, and I (do) have been doing it since I was a kid.
I also like to win. My team (win) has won 15 games so far this season.
We practice a lot, and we (work) have been working all season on our teamwork skills.
The team wins a match, not just one person. Our coach (tell) has told us that a hundred times. It really is important to remember.

2. I’m a nurse. I (work) have been working in the same job since I was 22 years old. I (do) have been doing the same thing for ten years.
My job is never boring, and I really like to help people get well again.
It’s great to get a thank you card from a patient. In fact, lots of patients (send) have sent me cards, and I (keep) have kept all of them!

3. I’m a flight attendant, and I love my job. Sometimes we get some noisy people on a flight, and once in a while I have to work with an unpleasant passenger.
But I have great communications skills, and passengers usually like me.
I (do) have been doing this for five years, and I (meet) have met so many wonderful people.
The hours are long, but after I (work) have been working for five days I get two days off.
I (travel) have travelled to five continents. It’s a great job.

E. Omar is at a job interview. Mr. Al Zahrani is asking him some questions.
Complete the conversation. Use good at + gerund or interested in + gerund.

Mr. Al Zahrani: What job are you interested in?
Omar: I’m (1) (work) interested in working for you as an accountant.
Mr. Al Zahrani: How are your computer skills? Have you taken any computer science classes?
Omar: Yes. I got all A’s in my computer science classes, and I’m (2) (use) good at using computers and different computer programs.
Mr. Al Zahrani: How are your communication skills?
Omar: I’m not very (3) (speak) good at speaking in public, but I am very (4) (write) good at writing reports and emails.
Mr. Al Zahrani: Why do you want to be an accountant?
Omar: I’m (5) (use) good at using my analytical skills.
Mr. Al Zahrani: That’s good. Tell me about your analytical skills.
Omar: I’m (6) (study) good at studying a problem, and I’m (7) (find) good at finding any mistakes, and then I’m very (8) (find) good at finding a solution to a problem.
Mr. Al Zahrani: We want employees with a strong work ethic. We are (9) (have) interested in having employees with lots of honesty and integrity.
Omar: I agree with you. Those are important qualities, and I have a very strong work ethic.
Mr. Al Zahrani: Very good. Thank you, Omar.
Omar: Thank you, Mr. Al Zahrani.

F. READING

Read the story, and answer the questions.

1. How long has Tony been working with snakes?

He has been working with snakes since he was a little boy.

2. How long has Tony’s father been handling snakes?

His father has been handling snakes for twenty years.

3. How many snakes has Tony’s father handled?

He has handled nearly 1000 snakes.

4. How long has Tony been earning his living from snakes?

He has been earning his living from snakes for five years.

5. Why is Tony so comfortable around snakes?

Because he has been working with snakes for a long time.

G. Look at the pictures. Write sentences about each person. Use the present perfect simple and the present perfect progressive. Also use interested in + gerund and good at + gerund.

Hameed

1. He has been a sales manager for the last two years.
2. He is interested in signing new contracts.

Ali

• Ali has been studying for the last ten years.
• He has been doing his internship in Dubai.

H. You have applied for a teaching position. You are preparing for the interview. Write some of the questions that the interviewer might ask you.

1. How did you find out about the job?
2. Why are you applying for it?
3. What are some of your strengths?
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I. Look at the two pictures and answer the questions below.

1. What do these people do?
The man on the right is a researcher.
The man on the left is an architect.

2. What are the different things they need to do every day?
An architect needs to check the blueprints.
A researcher needs to search on the web.

3. Are there any dangers in their jobs? What?
For the architect there are dangers, because sometimes he has to work in a dangerous places like mountains and high buildings.

4. What are the good things about having each kind of job?
It is an honour to be an effective member in a teamwork and you see your accomplishments helped the environment and the society.

5. What are some words that describe each kind of job?
Interesting, tiring, dangerous.
Interesting, profitabl.

J. WRITING

Get a picture of a job you like. Pretend that you are applying for this job. Complete the chart below and use it to write a letter of application.

Dear Sir,

I believe that I have good qualities that makes me a competitive candidate for this position.

I'm patient, creative, and very good at dealing with young people and communicating ideas.

I'm also good at using the computer and the internet.

I followed some courses and practiced teaching in some schools.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Ahmed Al-jasim

K. Complete a question for each answer.

1. Rana / do / nurse What does Rana do? She's a nurse.
where / work / hospital Where does she work? She works in a hospital.

2. you /do / chef What do you do? I'm a chef.
where / work / hotel restaurant Where do you work? I work in a hotel restaurant.

3. your uncles / do / lawyers What do your uncles do? They are lawyers.
where / work / office Where do they work? They work in an office.

4. Aisha’s father / do / sales manager What does Aisha's father do? He's a ales manager.
where / work / shopping mall Where does he work? He works in a shopping mall.

5. Faisal / do / car mechanic What does Faisal do? He's a car mechanic.
where / work / garage Where does he work? He works in a garage.

L. Complete the conversation. Circle the correct answers.

Yahya: Hi. I’m Yahya Abdullah. I’m a photographer. I 1 (work / works) for a sports magazine in Dubai.
Gregory: That’s a great job. I’m Gregory Hunter.
Yousef: What 2 (do you do / you are doing)?
Gregory: I’m a football coach. I coach the players in a club here. And my wife’s a teacher . She isn’t at the school now. 3 (On / In) weekends, she 4 (doesn’t work / don’t work). She’s at home.
Yahya: Do you 5 (have / has) any friends here?
Gregory: Yes, 6 (I do / I has). My friends are Ali and Samir. They are standing over there.
Yahya: What 7 (they do / do they do)?
Gregory: They’re football players. They 8 (play / playing) for a team in Jeddah.
Yahya: That’s interesting. 9 (When / What) do they train?
Gregory: They train 10 (at / on) weekdays, from seven 11 (at / to) ten every evening.
Yahya: My brother plays football 12 (in / on) the evenings, too. He’s in a team in Dubai. They’re playing 13 (at / to) nine o’clock tonight. Do you want to watch the match?
Gregory: Thanks, but no, I 14 (don’t watch / don’t). My plane leaves at ten.

M. Complete the sentences with who or which.

1. What’s the name of the girl who sits next to Amal in school?
2. This is the stadium which our team plays in.
3. That’s the new restaurant which is really expensive
4. Is that the helpful taxi driver who brought us to the hotel yesterday?
5. The web designers who made the company website are excellent at their job.
6. A journalist who works for a newspaper in Dubai was at the airport.

N. Make sentences using while. Use the past progressive.

1. some passengers / sleep / / pilot / land plane

Some passengers were sleeping while the pilot was landing the plane.

2. baby / cry / / Nawal / talk on the phone

The baby was crying while Nawal was talking on the phone.

3. it / rain / / we / play tennis

It was rainning while we were playing tennis.

4. Faisal / work on the weekends / / he / study at university

Faisal was working on the weekends while he was studying at university.

5. I / do my science homework / / my sisters / watch a film

I was doing my science homework while my sisters were watching a film.

6. Dan / organize the conference / / you / prepare your speech

Dan was organizing the conference while you were preparing your speech.

O. Complete the text. Write one word in each gap.

• Last year, Asma (1) was studying for her medical degree (2) while she and her sister (3) were staying with their aunt and uncle in Edinburgh.
• Her aunt, (4) who worked in a hospital there, (5) was helping her with her studies.
• Asma applied for a job in a hospital (6) which is in her town. Now she’s a trainee nurse there.
• She really enjoys helping people (7) who are sick.