UNIT 2, Studia Filologia angielska, Gramatyka (Grammar)

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UNIT 2
Learning for life
Speaking
1)
Which of the following features do you associate with a) a traditional approach to education b) a
more ‘progressive’ approach?
• choice of subjects
• questioning ideas
• written examinations
• continuous assessment
• individual assignments
• collaborative activities
• mixed-ability classes
• fixed curriculum
• streaming
• rote learning
Which have been features of schools you have attended?
2)
The following extracts from job advertisements mention qualities which are often required in the
modern working environment. Which qualities do you think are developed by schools? Which are not
developed? Which of the features listed in Exercise 1 are most likely to encourage these qualities?
must
be self-motivated and able to work independently
should possess well-developed leadership and communication skills
understanding of and empathy with other cultures
you will be a reliable team player with sound commercial judgement
excellent time management skills and attention to detail
good analytical ability
is essential for success in this role
Reading
Paper 1, Part 4
1)
The following text is taken from a book by Charles Handy, an educator with many years’
experience in business and public services, who has written extensively on the role of business in
modern society.
In this extract evaluates how useful his own education was a preparation for the world of work. Read
paragraphs 1, 5 and 6 quickly. Does the writer think his own education was useful preparation for
work? What does he say about the present situation?
A PROPER EDUCATION
1 I left school and university with my head packed full of knowledge; enough of it, anyway, to pass all
the examinations that were put in my path. As a well-educated man I rather expected my work to be a piece
of cake, something at which my intellect would allow me to excel without undue effort. It came as something
of a shock, therefore, to encounter the world outside for the first time, and to realize that I was woefully ill-
equipped, not only for the necessary business of earning a living, but, more importantly, for coping with all
the new decisions which came my way, in both life and work. My first employers put it rather well: ‘You
have a well-trained but empty mind,’ they told me, ‘which we will now try to fill with something useful, but
don’t imagine that you will be of any real value to us for the first ten year.’ I was fortunate to have lighted
upon an employer prepared to invest so much time in what was, in effect, my real education and I shall
always feel guilty that I left them when the ten years were up.
2 A well-trained mind is not to be sneezed at, but I was soon to discover that my mind had been trained to
deal with closed problems, whereas most of what I now had to deal with were open-ended problems. ‘What
is the cost of sales?’ is a closed problem, one with a right or a wrong answer. ‘What should we do about it?’
is and open problem, one with any number of possible answers, and I had no experience of taking this type
of decision. Knowing the right answer to a question, I came to realize, was not the same as making a
difference to a situation, which was what I was supposed to be paid for. Worst of all, the real open-ended
question – ‘What is all this in aid of?’ was beginning to nudge at my mind.
3 I had been educated in an individualist culture. My scores were mine. No one else into it, except as
competitors in some imagines race. I was on my own in the learning game at school and university. Not so in
my work, I soon realized. Being an individual star would not help me there if it was in my failing group. Our
destinies were linked, which meant that my co-workers were now colleagues, not competitors. Teams were
something I had encountered on the sports field, not in the classroom. They were in the box marked ‘fun’ in
my mind, not the ones marked ‘work’ or even ‘life’. My new challenge, I discovered, was to merge these
three boxes. I had discovered, rather later than most, the necessity of others. It was the start of my real
education.
4 ‘So you’re a university graduate are you?’ said my new Sale Manager. ‘In classics, is it? I don’t think
that is going to impress our Chinese salesmen! How do you propose to win their respect since you will be in
charge of some of them very shortly?’ Another open-ended problem! I had never before been thrust among
people very different from me, with different values and assumptions about the way the world worked, or
should work. I had not even met anyone more than two years older, except for relatives and teachers.
Cultural exploration was a process unknown to me, and I was not accustomed to being regarded as stupid
and ignorant, which I undoubtedly was, in all the things that mattered in their world.
5 My education, I decided then, had been positively disabling. So much of the content of what I had
learned was irrelevant, while the process of learning it had cultivated a set of attitudes and behaviors which
were directly opposed to what seemed to be needed in real life. Although I had studied philosophy I hadn’t
applied it to myself. I had assumed that the point of life was obvious: to get on, get rich, get a wife and the
get a family. It was beginning to be clear that life wasn’t as simple as that. What I believed in, what I thought
was worth working for, and with whom, these things were becoming important. So was my worry about
what I personally could contribute that might not only earn me money but also make a useful contribution
somewhere.
6 It would be nice to think that this sort of experience could not happen now, that our schools, today,
prepare people better for life and for the work which is so crucial to a satisfactory life. But I doubt it. The
subjects may appear to be a little more relevant, but we are still left to learn about work at work, and about life
by living it. That will always be true, but we could, I believe, do more to make sure that the process of
education had more in common with the processes of living and working as they are today, so that the shock of
reality is less cruel.
2)
It is important to have an overall idea of the organization of the text and its main message before
looking at the details.
Match the following main topics to the numbered paragraphs of the text. Then underline the phrase or
sentence in that paragraph which answers the question below.
Personal conclusions
(para. …………)
What was the writer’s main conclusion about his education?
Initial expectations of work
(para. …………)
What were the writer’s initial expectations of how he would cope at work?
Relevance to today’s educational systems
(para. …………)
To what extent does the writer think that things are better today?
Broadening awareness of other cultures
(para. …………)
In what ways were the people the writer worked with different from the people he had been educated with?
Dealing with problems and making decision
(para. …………)
What were the differences between the types of problem he had to deal with in education and at work?
Attitudes to colleagues
(para. …………)
What difference did the writer find between his relationships at school and at work?
3)
Now answer the multiple-choice questions below. Choose the answer (
A, B, C
or
D
) which you
think fits best according to the text.
1
When the writer left university, he expected to succeed by
A
using the qualities his education had developed.
B
gaining further qualification.
C
developing his decision-making skills.
D
acquiring relevant skills in his place of work.
2
He feels he treated his first employers badly because he did not
A
give them a true idea of his strengths and weaknesses.
B
contribute to the company financially.
C
stay with them any longer than he was obliged to.
3
He found that he needed to re-evaluate his approach at work because he
A
was asking the wrong types of question.
C
had been trained to deal with problems in the wrong way.
D
was dealing primarily with moral problems.
4
What was one of the first things he learned at work?
A
that other people were willing to help him
C
the importance of having leisure interests outside his work
D
the link between team sport and work
5
He realized that he lacked understanding of other cultures when he
had to work with people who had different values.
B
had to work outside his own country.
C
realized that his subordinates did nor respect him.
D
found that his qualifications were not relevant.
6
What was the writer’s main conclusion about his education?
A
It had taught him to value money too much.
B
It had been much too theoretical to be of any use.
C
It had been not just useless, but actually harmful.
D
It had taught him that life was not simples.
7
The writer feels that nowadays
A
life is changing so fast that schools can never prepare for it.
B
the way in which students are taught to think should be re-examined.
C
educational reforms have bridged the gap between school and work.
D
repay them fully for the help they gave him.
B
met new kinds of problems in his working life.
B
that he could no always be first
A
D
the content of syllabuses should be brought fully up-to-date.
4)
How do you think Charles Handy’s education could have prepared him more effectively for his
working life? Using information from the text, discuss whether and so what extent the following
suggestions would have helped him. Give reasons for your decisions.
• more vocational or practical subjects (
give examples
)
• compulsory involvement in competitive team sports
• school trips and exchange visits to other countries
• more cross-curricular projects
• work experience placements
Can you add any more suggestions to the list?
Language Focus: Vocabulary
Context and style
1)
You will often find clues to the meaning of difficult words and expressions with the txt itself. Find
the following expressions in the text on pages 24-25 and use the context to work out what they mean.
Which expressions are formal and which are informal?
1
a piece of cake (para. 1)
(
CLUE:
The following words explain the meaning of this idiom in relation to the topic.
)
2
excel (para. 1)
(
CLUE:
This is a verb related to the adjective ‘excellent’.
)
3
(
CLUE:
Use both contexts to work out the meaning.
)
4
closed problems/open problems (para. 2)
(
CLUE:
The text goes on to give examples and explanations.
)
5
nudge (para. 2)
(
CLUE:
This is a verb usually meaning ‘to give a gentle push’. Here it is used metaphorically.
)
6
merge (para 3)
(
CLUE:
Look back at the previous two sentences.
)
7
thrust (para. 4)
(
CLUE:
A passive verb followed by ‘among people’.
)
8
(
CLUE:
Word formation: an adverb formed from the root ‘doubt’ and a negative prefix.
)
9
cultivated (para. 5)
(
CLUE:
A verb usually used about farming or gardening. Here it is used metaphorically.
)
10
crucial (para. 6)
(
CLUE:
The immediate context.
)
2)
Like much written English, the text on pages 24-25 contains a mixture of formal and semi-formal or
even informal language. The following sentences are written in neutral language. Re-express them
using a phrase from the text to replace the words in italics. Which of the expressions from the text are
typical of formal language? Which are informal or idiomatic?
encounter (paras. 1 and 3)
undoubtedly (para. 4)
1 He therefore felt that starting work would be
very easy for him
.
2 He thought that he would succeed in business without
needing to work hard
.
3 The hard reality of the business world
was quite a surprise to him
.
4 He realized that he was
not adequately trained
for the demands of the business world.
5 He still felt that a well-trained mind
could be useful
, but that it was not enough for the world of
work.
6 He had been trained specifically to deal with closed problem
but
now he needed to solve open-ended
problems.
7 He felt unhappy and asked himself the question, ‘What is
the purpose of all this effort?
’
8 He had previously only
met
the idea of being part of a team when he played sports.
9 He also knew nothing about
finding out about other cultures.
10 He had assumed that the point of work was to
become wealthy
, but began to question this
philosophy.
3)
The text on pages 24-25 contains fewer phrasal verbs than would be found in a more informal
written text or spoken language.
Try to think of verbs or phrases with similar meanings to the ones below. Then check your answers
with the text.
non-phrasal verb phrasal verb/expression
found (by chance)
(1) …………
(2) …………
went away
(3) …………
find out
solve
(4) …………
was involved
(5) …………
(6) …………
had come across
(7) …………
join together
(8) …………
go over well with
(9) …………
built up
succeed
(10) …………
Language Focus: Grammar
Conditionals (1) + wishes and preferences
1) Conditionals:
review of basic patterns
1
Read through the text below, then complete it using the verbs in brackets.
My father’s job took him all over the world, so I was sent to a boarding school from the age
of eight to 18. Looking back on it now, I think I (1) ………… (
be
) happier, and maybe better
educated, if instead of sending me away, my parents (2) ………… (
keep
) me with them during
those years and (3) ………… (
send
) me to local schools in the countries they were living in. But
they did it for the best.
Now I’m trying to decide on my own career. I’d really like a job that involves travelling, and
I’ve applied for two so far. The first one’s in South America – I don’t think I’ll get it though. If I (4)
………… (
know
) some Spanish or Portuguese, I (5) ………… (
probably have
) a better chance, but
we only did French at school. The second job’s in Australia so there isn’t a language problem, and
the salary’s fantastic! I’m on the short-list, so things look hopeful. If I (6) ………… (
get
) it, I (7)
………… (
have
) to sign a five-year contract, but that doesn’t really worry me. After all, I suppose
that if you (8) ………… (
want
) a good job, you (9) ………… (
have
) to be prepared to commit
yourself.
2
Find examples in the text above of conditional structures related to:
•
something regarded as a general truth
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