Practice 1
Read the job description for summer work in a hotel and say if the following statements are true(T) false (F) or not given (NG) ie there is no relevent information.
Scroll down for the answers
1. Employees have to have a drivers licence.
2. Employees must be English or come from the European Union.
3. Employees will receive half of the cost of their plane ticket.
4. Employees can work more than 6 weeks
5. Employees work 15 hours a day.
6. Employees can have a free day on Saturday or Sunday.
7. Employees don't pay for their meals at the hotel.
Qualifications
Applicants must be between 18 and 26 years old. They should have a basic knowledge of English, and be physically fit. A driving license and experience in hotel work is an advantage but is not essential.
Travel
The hotel will pay 50% of the cost of return air or train fare. This will be paid to employees on completion of their contract.
Contracts and Pay
Contracts will be for a minimum of 6 weeks. Employees will be paid at the standard local rates, and local tax and insurance will be deducted.
Work permits will be arranged by the hotel. Please enclose two passport photos with your application form.
Conditions of Work
Employees will do a variety of jobs, including cleaning, bedmaking, acting as porters and waiters, helping in the kitchens, and driving between the hotel and airports/stations.
The working day is from 6.00 am to 9.00 pm. This will include two hours for meals, plus a two-hour free period which may be from 10.00 -12.00 or 2.30 – 4.30.
Employees will have one free day per week. This can be any day except Saturday and Sunday.
Employees are expected to look smart at all times, and will be provided with a uniform, which they must wear during working hours. The hotel will be responsible for cleaning the uniforms.
Accommodation and Food
Accommodation will be provided in the hotel or an annexe, in rooms shared between four employees.
Meals will be provided free of charge by the hotel.
Hotel Facilities
Outside working hours, employees may use the hotel’s facilities, including the swimming pool, sauna and tennis courts. They will be charged for these at 40% of normal rates.
ANSWERS
1. T
2. NG
3. T
4. NG
5. F
6. F
7. T
Reality television is a genre of television programming which, it is claimed, presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people rather than professional actors. It could be described as a form of artificial or "heightened" documentary. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the current explosion of popularity dates from around 2000.
Reality television covers a wide range of television programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning programmes produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (a modern example is Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism- focused productions such as Big Brother.
Critics say that the term "reality television" is somewhat of a misnomer and that such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques.
Part of reality television's appeal is due to its ability to place ordinary people in extraordinary situations. For example, on the ABC show, The Bachelor, an eligible male dates a dozen women simultaneously, travelling on extraordinary dates to scenic locales. Reality television also has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities, outwardly in talent and performance programs such as Pop Idol, though frequently Survivor and Big Brother participants also reach some degree of celebrity.
Some commentators have said that the name "reality television" is an inaccurate description for several styles of program included in the genre. In competition-based programs such as Big Brother and Survivor, and other special-living-environment shows like The Real World, the producers design the format of the show and control the day-to-day activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the participants, and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events, and settings to encourage particular behaviours and conflicts. Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor and other reality shows, has agreed with this assessment, and avoids the word "reality" to describe his shows; he has said, "I tell good stories. It really is not reality TV. It really is unscripted drama."
QuestionsQ1 - In the first line, the writer says 'it is claimed' because they agree with the statement. everyone agrees with the statement. no one agrees with the statement. they want to distance themselves from the statement.
Q2 - Reality television has always been this popular. has been popular since well before 2000. has only been popular since 2000. has been popular since approximately 2000.
Q3 - Japan is the only place to produce demeaning TV shows. has produced demeaning TV shows copied elsewhere. produced Big Brother. invented surveillance focused productions.
Q4 - People have criticised reality television because it is demeaning. it uses exotic locations. the name is inaccurate. it shows reality.
Q5 - Reality TV appeals to some because it shows eligible males dating women. it uses exotic locations. it shows average people in exceptional circumstances. it can turn ordinary people into celebrities.
Q6 - Pop Idol turns all its participants into celebrities. is more likely to turn its particiapants into celebrities than Big Brother. is less likely to turn its particiapants into celebrities than Big Brother. is a dating show.
Q7 - The term 'reality television' is inaccurate for all programs. just for Big Brother and Survivor. for talent and performance programs. for special-living-environment programs.
Q8 - Producers choose the participants on the ground of talent. only for special-living-environment shows. to create conflict among other things. to make a fabricated world.
Q9 - Paul Burnett was a participant on Survivor. is a critic of reality TV. thinks the term 'reality television' is inaccurate. writes the script for Survivor.
Q10 - Shows like Survivor are definitely reality TV. are scripted. have good narratives. are theatre.
1. d
2. d
3. b
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. d
8. c
9. c
10. c
The majority of people in Scotland are in favour breaking away from the rest of the UK and becoming independent, according to a poll taken just before the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, which united Scotland and England.
A pair of Acts of Parliament, passed in 1706 and 1707 that came into effect on May 1, 1707, created Great Britain. The parliaments of both countries were dissolved, and replaced by a new Parliament of Great Britain in Westminster, London.
The poll showed support for independence for Scotland is running at 51%. This is the first time since 1998 that support for separation has passed 50%, and the first time since devolution gave power to the country in 1999. Six months before elections for the Scottish Parliament, these poll results come as good news to the Scottish Nationalist Party, who are hoping to make progress against Labour and further the cause of an independent Scotland.
Many people have become disillusioned with devolution, and believe that the Scottish Parliament has failed to deliver what they had hoped it would; only a tenth have no opinion. In fact, only 39% of those polled want to keep things as they are.
QuestionsQ1 - Scotland and England have always been united. want to break up the union. have been united for a long time. were united by war.
Q2 - Great Britain was formed by an Act of Parliament in 1706. was formed by two Acts of Parliament in 1707. was formed by an Act of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707. was formed by Acts of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707.
Q3 - People who want indepence for Scotland are the vast majority. are in the minority. are the slight majority. have decreased in number since devolution.
Q4 - The majority of people wanted independence for the first time before devolution. in 1999. after devolution. before and after independence.
Q5 - The results of the poll are good news for Labour. for both parties. for the Scottish Nationalist Party. for devolution.
Q6 - Most people's opinions of devolution have gone up. have gone down. are the same. make progress against Labour.
Q7 - The number of people who want to keep things as they are is greater than those that don't know. is smaller than those that don't know. is increasing. is the majority.
1. c
3. c
4. a
7. a
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year for a novel written by a writer from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and it aims to represent the very best in contemporary fiction. The prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, which was the name of the company that sponsored it, though it was better-known as simply the ‘Booker Prize’. In 2002, the Man Group became the sponsor and they chose the new name, keeping ‘Booker’.
Publishers can submit books for consideration for the prize, but the judges can also ask for books to be submitted they think should be included. Firstly, the Advisory Committee give advice if there have been any changes to the rules for the prize and selects the people who will judge the books. The judging panel changes every year and usually a person is only a judge once.
Great efforts are made to ensure that the judging panel is balanced in terms of gender and professions within the industry, so that a writer, a critic, an editor and an academic are chosen along with a well-known person from wider society. However, when the panel of judges has been finalized, they are left to make their own decisions without any further involvement or interference from the prize sponsor.
The Man Booker judges include critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent quality of the prize and its influence is such that the winner will almost certainly see the sales increase considerably , in addition to the £50,000 that comes with the prize.
QuestionsQ1 - The Republic of Ireland is in the Commonwealth. is not in the Commonwealth. can't enter the Man Booker Prize. joined the Booker prize in 2002.
Q2 - The Man group was forced to keep the name 'Booker'. decided to include the name 'Booker'. decided to keep the name 'Booker-McConnell'. decided to use only the name 'Booker'.
Q3 - Books can be submitted by publishers. by writers. by judges. by the sponsors.
Q4 - Who advises on changes to the rules? The sponsors The judging panel The advisory panel Publishers
Q5 - The judging panel doesn't include women. includes only women. is only chosen from representatives of the industry. includes someone from outside the industry.
Q6 - The sponsors of the prize are involved in choosing the winner. are involved in choosing the judges. are not involved at all. choose the academic for the panel of judges.
Q7 - The consistent quality of the prize is guaranteed by the prize money. is guaranteed by the gender of the judges. is guaranteed by the make-up of the panel of judges. is guaranteed by the increase in sales of the winner.
1. b
2. b
3. a
5. d
7. c
lexineedsoxygen