Episode 90 B

EPISODE 90
LEVEL B2

 

READING COMPREHENSION

 

JOB INTERVIEWS          

With unemployment so high, and often scores of (= a large number of) applicants chasing every job, you have to count yourself lucky to be called for an interview. If it is your first, you’re bound to be nervous. But don’t let the jitters (= a feeling of nervousness that you experience before something important happens) side-track (=to direct a person’s attention away from an activity or subject towards another one that is less important) you from the main issue- which is getting this job. The only way to do that is by creating a good impression on the person who is interviewing you. 

1. Find out as much as you can about the job beforehand (= in advance)
2. Jot down (= to take notes) the qualifications and experience and think about how they relate to the job.
3. Be on time.
4. Be clear and concise (= short and clear, expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words)
5. Don’t give the interviewer a hard time by giggling (= laughing), yawning, rambling on unnecessary or appearing cocky (=describes a young person who is confident in a way that is unpleasant and sometimes rude)  or argumentative.
6. Stress poor aspects of yourself and always show your best side especially your keenness (= being keen to do sth) to work and your sense of responsibility.
7. 7. Sell yourself short (= to not consider someone or something to be as valuable or good as they deserve) – which doesn’t mean exaggerating or making your interests seem unimportant.
8. Get prepared and ask questions at the end of the interview about pay, perks (= fringe benefits, sth added to your salary), in-house trainings (= trainings organised at work internally), pension scheme (= programme of pension contributions).

 

EXERCISE 1 

Decide which of these statements are true of false:

1. During an interview you should be over-confident.
2. Nervousness can help you during an interview.
3. Your qualifications must be presented in a cocky way.
4. Not many applicants are invited for job interviews.

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

 

Word formation: 

EXERCISE 2

Add more examples of nouns formed from the verbs and adjectives listed:

 

NOUNS FROM VERBS:

accept   achieve   agree   approve   astonish   collect   create   decide   direct   employ   encourage   entertain   imagine   improve   insist   insure   prefer   produce   propose   protect   replace   resist   retire   survive

 

– MENT :
– ANCE :
– ENCE :
– ION :
– TION :
– ATION :
– AL :

 

NOUNS FROM ADJECTIVES:

absent   aware   brilliant   careless   efficient   fluent   formal   happy   important   lonely   nervous   patient   polite   popular   possible   present   private   proficient   real   rude   secure   selfish   significant   simple

– NESS :
– ANCE :
– ENCE :
– ITY :
– CY : 

 

EXERCISE 3

Use the words given to form a word that fits in the space, words are already in a good order:

difficult   modernize   use   train   computerize   know   employ   aware   recognize   replace

 

One of the ……………………… people have in their work these days is coming to terms with ……………………… Technology is changing fast, and many of the skills we learn today may no longer be…………………….. in the future. We should all expect to be …………………….. several times during our working lives. The experience of ……………………. is typical. Today computers are used in every business. Without a good working ……………………… of computers you can’t expect to find …………………….. these days. It is also absolutely essential for employees to have an ………………….. of how various software applications work. Although computers are more user-friendly than they used to be, keyboard skills are essential. Voice …………………….. technology is unlikely to provide a ……………………… for the keyboard –whose layout is exactly the same as an old-fashioned typewriter.

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

EXERCISE 4

SHORE STH UP = HELP TO SUPPORT STH THAT IS WEAK OR GOING TO COLLAPSE
HANG IN THE BALANCE = TO BE UNCERTAIN
GO TO THE WALL = TO FAIL BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF MONEY
AT THE 11TH HOUR = AT THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT

 

Rewrite the sentences using the correct form of the word in capitals. Keep the meaning the same:

1. A management buyout emerged at the last possible moment. HOUR = 
2. There are fears that the company could fail. WALL =
3. Their future is uncertain. HANGS =
4. Government refuses to support an ailing company. SHORE =

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning:

 

EXERCISE 5

Replace the words with a phrasal verb with COME and GO using the words in brackets:

 

1.While I was going through my drawers I found …………………(across) these old love letters.

2. You shouldn’t wear those red socks, they don’t match……………( with) your grey suit.
3. The beach is washed clean by the sea when the tide rises ………………(in), and you can see the rocks sticking out of the water when the tide falls ………………….(out)
4. The date on this yoghurt is 1May, it must have gone bad…………………(off) by now.
5. A bomb has exploded………………… (off) and several people have been hurt.
6. She left………………….(off) at 7 a.m. and we never saw her again.
7. He entered …………….. (in for)the competition and won the cruise.
8. Before we continue………………… (on), let’s examine ………………….(over) the correct answers to this exercise.

 

NEWS

 

NEW TRENDS IN JOB INTERVIEWS

“Are you interested in a new trend in job interview questions – or perhaps an old trend newly revived? Lynne Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at the Northeastern University business school, believes that more and more businesses are asking unusual job interview questions as part of their candidate job interview process.

Microsoft’s job interview questions are legend (examples include: How many golf balls does it take to fill a 747? Why is a manhole cover round?). (But, Microsoft, at least in their developer interviews, appears to have moved away from puzzle questions and is asking candidates to solve white board code problems during interviews.)

But, other employers are using unusual questions in their candidate selection process for new reasons. The job search advice industry is so prolific that any candidate who researches knows he should prepare brief responses in advance to frequent standard questions. These include job interview questions such as: „what are your strengths and weaknesses” and „what makes you the most qualified candidate for this job.”

 

Revived = to come or bring something back to life, health, existence, or use
Manhole = a covered opening in a road that a worker can enter in order to reach underground pipes, wires, or drains that need to be examined or repaired
Prolific = producing a great number or amount of something
Brief = very short
To frequent = to be in or visit a particular place often, or to do sth very often

 

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