CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED
UNIT 5
At work: colleagues and routines
A
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Colleagues
Philip is my opposite
number1 in the company’s New York office. We have a good working
relationship2 and there’s a lot of day-today collaboration3.
Having a counterpart4 like Philip in another branch is a
great support. Last month we got a new boss, who quickly established a good
rapport5 with everyone. She likes us to take the
initiative6. The company is very hierarchical7;
there’s a pecking order8 for everything. I do a job-share9
with a woman called Rose, which suits us as we each have childcare
responsibilities. My office uses a hot desking10 system,
so I sit in a different place every day. I socialise with my workmates11
outside of work, but we try not to talk shop12 on those occasions.
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1 has the
same position / does the same job as me
2 way of
communicating and working together
3 working
together to achieve shared goals
4 more formal
equivalent of opposite number
5 /ræˈpɔː/
communication/relationship
6 make
decisions without being told what to do
7 /ˌhaɪəˈrɑːkɪkəl/
has a structure with important and less important people
8 a system
where some people have the right to get benefits/promotions before others
9 an
agreement where two people each share the same job
10 a policy of
sharing desks in an office, so people sit at whichever desk is free on a
particular day
11 colleagues
you are friendly with (especially in non-professional occupations);
informal
12 talk about
work; informal
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B
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During the day (different work
patterns)
I do fairly mundane1
tasks. Occasionally I have to meet a deadline2 or they
need someone to volunteer3 for something. Then the job is
more rewarding4 and stimulating5.
Sometimes I have a heavy workload6 but at other times it
can be quite light.
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1 ordinary,
not interesting
2 have
something finished by a fixed day or time
3 offer to do
something without being asked or told to do it
4 making you
feel satisfied that you have done something important or useful, or done
something well
5 encouraging
new ideas or new thinking
6 amount of
work I have to do
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I start work at my machine at
seven o’clock when I’m on the day shift. The job’s mechanical1
and repetitive2. All I ever think about is knocking
off3 at three o’clock. The shift I hate most is the night
shift. I start at ten and work till six in the morning. It’s a bit monotonous4.
It’s not a satisfying5 job – I feel I need something a
bit more challenging6.
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1 you don’t
have to think about what you are doing
2 the same
thing is repeated every day
3 finishing
work; informal
4 boring
because it never changes
5 (does not)
make me feel pleased by providing what I need or want
6 that tests
my ability or determination
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I have a pretty glamorous1
job. I’m a pilot. But the hours are irregular and anti-social2.
I’m not stuck behind a desk3, but long-haul flights can
be a bit mind-numbing4; most of the time the plane just
flies itself. We work to very tight schedules5. But I
shouldn’t complain. I feel sorry for people who are stuck in a rut6
or who are in dead-end7 jobs.
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1 very
exciting, which everyone admires
2 do not
enable one to have a normal social life
3 sitting at
a desk all day; informal
4 extremely
boring
5 very strict
or severely limited timetables
6
stuck/trapped in a job they can’t escape from
7 with no
prospects of promotion
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I started off as a technician1.
After retraining, I worked for a software company, and later I went in
with2 a friend and we formed our own software company as a start-up3
in 2009, so now I’m self-employed. My husband is freelance4:
he works for several different companies as and when they need work done –
he’s a computer programmer5.
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1 person
whose job involves practical work with scientific or electrical equipment
2 formed a
business partnership with
3 a small
business that has just started
4 or works
freelance
5 someone who
writes computer programs
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EXERCISES
5.1
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Correct
seven mistakes in this paragraph.
REAL
WORKERS, REAL STORIES
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I’m a tecnician in a factory.
I think I have a good work relationship with my colleagues. I tried to
establish a good report with them from the very beginning. The person I like
most is my opposite member in our office in Paris. My boss likes me to make
the initiative. Generally, when I socialise with my jobmates outside of
work, we try not to talk about shop, but it’s not easy and sometimes we
have a good gossip about colleagues and events at work.
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5.2
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Match
the left and right-hand columns to make pairs of sentences.
1
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We
often work together.
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a
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There are several levels of management.
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2
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The
firm’s rather hierarchical.
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b
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Deadlines
have to be met.
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3
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Peter’s
my counterpart.
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c
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It’s
a job-share.
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4
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We
work to a tight schedule.
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d
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Collaboration
is a good thing.
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5
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I
don’t think I’ll be promoted before her.
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e
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We do the same job but he’s
based in Rome.
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6
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Jess
and I work half-and-half.
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f
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There’s
a strict pecking order in the company.
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5.3
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Use words and phrases from the
opposite page to complete these sentences.
1
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A good friend suggested we
set up a small company together, so I _________ her and we formed a _________
in 2012.
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2
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I’m really tired; I’ve had a
very heavy _________ recently.
I don’t want an office job. I
don’t want to spend all day stuck _________.
I’d hate to feel trapped in
my job and to be stuck in _________.
I work for different
companies at different times as it suits me. I’m _________.
I used to work for someone
else, but now I’m my own boss; I’m _________.
I stopped working in the
hamburger restaurant. It was such a dead _________.
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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When I was working in the
factory, all I could think of all day was the moment when I could knock _________.
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9
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Being a hospital nurse is a
good job, but you can’t go out much with friends. The hours are a bit _________.
(two possible answers)
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10
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I
find _________ annoying, because it means I don't have my own desk where I
can keep things at work.
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5.4
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Choose
adjectives from the box to describe the jobs below. You can use more than one
for each job. Add other adjectives of your own.
glamorous
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stimulating
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repetitive
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stressful
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monotonous
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varied
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mechanical
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mundane
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challenging
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mind-numbing
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rewarding
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1
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assembly-line worker in a car
factory
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2
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supermarket shelf stacker
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3
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public relations officer in a
multinational company
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4
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bodyguard to a celebrity
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5
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surgeon
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6
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lifeguard
on a beach
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7
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receptionist
at a dentist’s
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8
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private
detective
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9
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refuse
collector in a city
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10
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night-security
guard
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5.5
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Over
to you
Write
down words from this unit that relate to your job, or to a job you would like
to do in the future.
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ANSWER KEY
5.1
I’m
a technician in a factory. I think I have a good working relationship
with my colleagues. I tried to
establish a good rapport with them from the very beginning. The person
I like most is my opposite
number in our office in Paris. My boss likes me to take the
initiative. Generally, when I socialise with
my workmates outside of work, we try not to talk about shop,
but it’s not easy and sometimes we
have a good gossip about colleagues and events at work.
5.2
1
d 2 a 3 e 4 b 5 f 6 c
5.3
1
went in with, start-up
2
workload
3
behind a desk
4
a rut
5
freelance
6
self-employed
7
(dead-)end job
8
off
9
antisocial / irregular
10
hot-desking
5.4
Possible
answers:
1 repetitive, mechanical, challenging
2 mundane, monotonous, mind-numbing
3 varied, challenging, glamorous
4 glamorous, stressful, varied
5 stressful, challenging, rewarding
6 stressful, monotonous, glamorous
7 varied, repetitive, monotonous
8 stressful, stimulating, challenging
9 repetitive, monotonous, mundane
10 monotonous, challenging, stressful
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