Transcripts Unit 7
7.1 a I work from home. I just walk into my living room and switch on my laptop. It’s nice because I spend a lot of time with my family. But sometimes I don’t leave the house all day, and I don’t like that. I’m self-employed, so I don’t have a boss. I like that, of course!
b I work in an open-plan office. If I want to speak to a colleague, I just walk to their desk. It’s quite a small company, but there are a lot of us in the office and it can get quite noisy. I’m glad that I only work part-time – from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
c I am a builder so I work outside most of the time. In the summer, it’s great getting fresh air every day, but it’s not so good in the winter. I’m the boss and I have 12 employees. I work long hours. I start at 8.00 in the morning and finish at about 7.00 in the evening.
d I work for a multinational company, so I travel a lot. I have my own private office so I work on my own. It’s easy for me to do all my work because nobody disturbs me. But I do have a lot of meetings in my office and outside.
e I work full-time in a call centre. It’s an easy job. I usually do the day shift, which is 9.00 to 5.00. Because our customers call from around the world, I sometimes work night shifts. It’s hard working during the night and sleeping in the day.
7.2 a open-plan b boss
don’t long
7.3 Imagine you are a leader of a team and you are starting a big project. How are you going to lead your team? Well, there are three main styles of leadership.
First, there is the participative style. To ‘participate’ means to join in or be part of the team, so you want everyone to join in. If you make a decision, you ask people in the team for their opinion first. This helps you make a good decision and people know that you trust them.
Next, there is the delegative style. ‘Delegate’ means to give another person responsibility. If there is a job to do, you give it to a member of the team. You don’t do it yourself. This gives the team member confidence and they can learn about making decisions and taking responsibility.
Finally, there is the authoritarian style. This is simple. You make all the decisions. If anyone disagrees, they are in trouble. Everyone listens to you and does what you say. The advantage of this is that everyone knows what’s happening. The disadvantage is that your decisions may be unpopular or wrong.
There is something very important to remember. A really good leader will use all three styles. The key to good leadership is knowing when to use each one.
184 English for the 21st Century • Transcripts
So today I’ve talked about leadership and leaders. But the leader is just one member of the team. There are several other roles. And all of them are equally important. If you want to read about the other roles in a team, visit my website at
teamwork.com. And that’s all we have time for today. Next week, we’ll …
7.4 A OK. So, exams start in two weeks and we need to get some good grades.
B Right. A Any ideas? B Just a moment. Can someone write some notes? C OK. I will. B And could someone be the facilitator? A How about you? B Oh, OK. So let’s get started. C Well, how about studying some past papers? B Good idea. How do we get those? C They’re online and I’ve got some from last year. B Great. Thanks, Francis. Any more ideas? D Well, I always write lots in my exams, but I get low marks because I don’t answer the question.
B OK. So, read the question carefully. A And make some notes before you start writing. It’s a bad idea to start writing without a plan or outline.
B Thanks, Alana. What do you think, Jamie? E Me? Oh, I usually go to bed late, so the night before an exam I go to bed early, like before 12.00.
B Sounds good. Are you getting all this, Francis? C Yup. So far.
7.5 Any ideas? Any more ideas? Karen? Me?
7.6 One of the problems in shared offices is how warm or cool people want the office to be. Lucy’s main problem is that she gets cold in her office. She works from 8 a.m. until 4.30 p.m. She shares a large office with Mark. He sits near the window. During the day, he gets hot and he finds it difficult to concentrate. He likes the window open. His working hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They both have a lunch break. Lucy takes her lunch from 12 to 1, and Mark takes his lunch break from 1 to 2. There is a shop that sells desk fans 100 metres from the office. The fans cost $15 each.
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