Unit 09 Working Week

Unit 9 Page 84 READING exercise 5 THE PERFECT JOB? What would you choose as the perfect job? Here are three that could be on your list! MOVIE MADNESS For all big film fans out there, this is THE dream job. Most people pay to watch films, but in this job, You are paid to watch TV series and films. Around 30 people are employed by Netlix to watch Netlix content. They are required to binge-watch the latest films and TV series on the platform and 'tag' them with a few words. So, how does that work and why is it done? Words to describe each film or TV series are entered into the system. This is done so that Netlix users can search for content more easily. For example, in the sci-fi category, the tags include future and planets. The release date of the film, the language, the director and actors in the film are also included. How do you become a Netlix tagger? Well, first you need to have worked in the film or TV industry for five years. You also need to specialise in a film category, for example, comedy, horror or teen movies. Then there is a very difficult interview for the job. All Netlix taggers must have an excellent knowledge of film and TV. ONLY DAREDEVILS NEED APPLY Are you scared of heights? Then this is not the job for you. But if you are very brave and love rock climbing, then cleaning the windows of really tall skyscrapers is the perfect job for you. There is some on-the-job training to clean the windows: the cleaners are taught to abseil down from the top of the buildings. That means they move down the outside of the windows held by a rope around their bodies. Imagine cleaning the windows of the famous London Gherkin! It's 180 metres tall and 40 storeys high. It was designed by a very famous English architect and it was built in the 2000s. Cleaners abseil down to the 35th floor. Below the 35th floor, the cleaners can work in a traditional cradle. It takes nine of them ten days to clean the whole building. Cleaners don't work on days when the winds are too strong. And guess what? The Gherkin is cleaned with soap and water. Where do the cleaners go for lunch? Well, lunch breaks aren't taken in a café. They are taken sitting at the top of the 40-storey building. Imagine that amazing view every day. PET PSYCHOLOGIST If you love animals, this could be the dream job for you. The pay is good, too. You can earn between ￡25,000 and ￡50,000 per year. The job is to study animal behaviour and help owners discover the causes of their pets' problems. To work as a pet psychologist, you need to have a degree in veterinary science or zoology. You also need experience of working with animals, for example at a vet's or at a zoo. So, how is the job done? First, they talk to the owner to find out about the problem with the pet. For example, it may run after cars or bark too loudly. Then the animal is observed by the psychologist, and afterwards, once the pet psychologist discovers the causes of the pet's problems, the owners are given advice about how to help their pets.

Page 86 PRONUNCIATION exercise 1 If I could be anything, I'd choose to be a journalist. What about you, Jane? Journalism's a very dangerous job, Charlie. I'm going to be a chess player. You've changed your mind! You wanted to be a Geography teacher. Yes. I've just joined a chess club. My coach thinks I've got a good chance of becoming a champion. Page 86 PRONUNCIATION exercise 3 If I could be anything, I'd choose to be a journalist. What about you, Jane? Journalism's a very dangerous job, Charlie. I'm going to be a chess player. You've changed your mind! You wanted to be a Geography teacher. Yes. I've just joined a chess club. My coach thinks I've got a good chance of becoming a champion. Page 87 LISTENING exercise 9 and 10 And here we are looking at the world of work and jobs. Now, sometimes it's not easy to get a job, and it can be much, much harder to find a job if you have a disability – for example, if you need to use a wheelchair or if you are blind. But of course there are lots of disabled people who have very successful careers. We shouldn't forget that Britain once had a minister for education who is blind. Every day this week, we're talking to people with disabilities about their jobs, and today Mike Lawley meets Marina Stuart. Marina, when you were born, you already had problems with your eyes – is that right? Yes, that's right. I could only see partially, and when I was 18 I had an operation to get rid of the problems. Unfortunately, the operation went badly wrong, and I was left completely blind. So, what about your education? Well, I went to a special school for blind people, and then I went to college. But somehow, you know, the teachers at the college for blind people just didn't think we could get good, interesting jobs. You mean, the teachers didn't think you were going to be successful? That's terrible. I know! And so I didn't really know what to do. I got a job in a shop, but I hated it. I stayed because I felt that, well, because I was blind, I really didn't have much choice. But one day all that changed, right? Yes. I was in a café in London, and by accident I met someone who was in the theatre. We talked a bit, and I found out that he was the director of a group of disabled actors. He invited me to go to a workshop, and I went. I loved it, and soon I started doing real acting. Then what? Well, after working in the theatre, I got an offer to work in television for the first time. I worked in two or three television films, and I'm happy to say that one of them won an award. Acting isn't the only thing that you do, is it? No, I also love music, and I play the piano, and I give piano lessons at home to small children. It's wonderful, I love it almost as much as acting! So, it looks like that teacher was wrong. It is possible for a disabled person to be successful in the world of work. Is that right? Yes, it is. When I was young, you know, when I was a child and a teenager, no one thought I could do much. And it was hard to imagine what jobs I could do. But I fought hard and the most important thing is, I didn't let being blind get in my way. I have always wanted people to think of me as Marina Stuart, that's all. I'm Marina first, and then I'm a blind person.

Page 88 READING exercise 2 TECHNOLOGY in the workplace The world is being taken over by computers. They are doing jobs in seconds that once took us hours to do and they are helping us to do things we once only ever dreamed of doing. Advances in AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics mean that computers have become better at doing difficult tasks and can even teach themselves how to do them. As more and more jobs are being done by computers maybe it's time to start asking – are any of our jobs safe in the future? Here are four which might be in danger. JOURNALISTS Are you planning to work in journalism one day? If the answer is yes, you need to be aware that journalists who write articles based on numbers and data, such as business or sports journalists, may lose their jobs to robots in the future. Some short sports articles have already been written by a computer program. However, robots are not good at being creative. They need numbers and data that they can then describe and aren't able to write descriptive articles. So, while some types of journalism jobs may go, those who write more creative articles should be safe from computers taking over their jobs. TRAILER MAKERS The first AI film trailer, for a horror film, has been made by a computer. The supercomputer, IBM's Watson, learned how to make one by looking at 100 trailers from other horror films. These were analysed by the supercomputer and it learned how to produce a film trailer. It then watched 20th Century Fox's film, Morgan, to find the right moments to include in the trailer. Instead of taking 10 to 30 days to make the trailer, it only took 24 hours. CHEFS Can robots cook? The answer to this question is: not yet. Robots cannot prepare, cook or serve full meals, but an AI machine has been trained to create recipes. If you give it information about the ingredients and style of cooking you want, it will give you some ideas for different meals. This could be very useful. Especially when you only have a few things in the cupboard. However, it's not perfect yet. A journalist asked it for a 'Chinese-style' dish with Parmesan cheese and dark chocolate. It suggested a cheese and chocolate panini. Maybe it needs a bit more development before it can work as a chef! POLICE OFFICERS Have you seen the sci-fi film RoboCop? In one country, fiction may become reality as people may soon see these robot police officers on the streets. A robocop has been developed in the United Arab Emirates and there are robocops working for the police force in Dubai. These officers cannot solve crimes. However, people can report crimes to them. They have a touchscreen on their chests. People can pay their traffic fines to them, too. They have been designed to be friendly, so they will shake hands with people. Dubai wants 25% of their police officers to be robots by 2030. They also want to have a smart police station, which will not employ any humans.

Page 90 DEVELOPING SPEAKING exercise 1 Hello, Andy. Your father was telling me that you want to earn some extra pocket money. Hi, Mrs Ashton. That's right. I want to buy a new skateboard. Well, would you like to sort out my garage? It hasn't been tidied for years. I'll pay you ￡20 for two hours' work, as long as you do a good job. Yes, that sounds great! Thank you. I'll start right away! OK, you'll find everything you need in the shed. I'm going out for a while, so you'll be on your own. By the way, some of those boxes are a bit heavy! Don't worry, Mrs Ashton, I'll be careful. All right then. I'll see you soon. Have fun! Two hours later. Hello, Andy. My goodness! The garage looks fantastic now. You've done a great job. Thank you. I'm glad you like it. But I have to tell you something. I broke a vase. Oh no! Andy! Surely you haven't broken it! I loved that vase. It was worth a lot of money! I'm really sorry, Mrs Ashton. It was an accident. I didn't mean to break it. That's not the point, Andy. My vase is broken! But anyway – here's your ￡20, and here's another ￡2 for being honest. I don't understand! I broke your vase and you're going to pay me extra? You worked hard and you told me what happened. So, you've got your money and I've got a nice, tidy garage!