Listening
Time Distribution
Look at these two pie graphs.
They show how these two people spend their days, not including weekends.
The one on the top shows how Emma divides up her days.
She is a designer who works for a large company.
As Emma’s graph shows, the biggest portion of her day is spent working.
She works an average of 8 hours a day, which is one third of her day.
She gets an average of 6 hours of sleep, which is 25% of her day.
That’s less sleep than Martin gets.
According to his graph, he gets an average of 7 hours of sleep, which is about 29% of his day.
On the other hands, Martin, who is an engineer, works more hours than Emma does.
Martin averages 9 hours a day at work, compared to Emma’s 8.
That’s 37.5%, compare to 33%.
Other factors shown in the graphs include time for meals and commuting to work.
Other activities include getting dressed and household chores, such as doing laundry and paying bills.
As you can see, for Martin, commuting is taking a large amount of his time.
If he could reduce his commute time, he would have more time for other things.
And it isn’t just the time.
When the traffic is really heavy, his commute is stressful.
It would be great if he could work from home one or two days a week.
His life would be more enjoyable.
And looking at Emma’s graph, we see that she probably needs more sleep.
Perhaps she should spend a bit less time socializing with her friends.
On the other hand, socializing with her friends is something she really values.
As for putting on makeup, she isn’t willing to change that.
For her, exercising, socializing and staying beautiful help her deal with the stress of work.
In conclusion, Emma and Martin both wish that there were more hours in the day.
Job Satisfaction Factors
This next graph shows how various factors compare in importance to 1350 job applicants.
These applicants were between 20 and 25 years old.
They were asked to list which factors were most important in a good job.
As the graph shows, money was the most important factor for 25 percent of the applicants.
However, other factors were also important.
The second most important factor was the work environment.
In other words, for many, money isn’t everything.
People want to like where they work.
In fact, if we combine Work Environment and Co-workers, the total is 35%.
This is well above the 25% for salary and benefits.
Taken together, they are more important than salary and benefits.
Career path is also important, especially for younger applicants.
They want to see that their job helps build a successful career.
For older workers, this may not be as important.
Older workers often put a higher value on the balance between life and work.
What do you think?
Vocabulary
Political Terms
The government of a country is its control system.
Governments make laws and provide services to their citizens.
The land over which a government has control is its territory.
A country’s territory has boundaries, or borders.
When you leave or enter a country’s territory you usually need a passport.
A country’s military provides defense for its territory and its citizens.
The military includes an army, an air force, and a navy.
The main purpose of a military is to defend a country from attack.
A country’s criminal justice system includes the police, courts and prisons.
Its purpose is to enforce the law and protect people from criminal activities.
A country’s social services system provides support to people in need.
It provides basic health care services and helps poor people support their children.
Types of Government
A state of anarchy exists when a country has no effective government.
In an anarchy(无政府状态), there is nobody to make decisions or enforce the laws.
An autocracy(独裁政府) is the simplest form of government.
In an autocracy, the government is controlled by a single individual, known as the autocrat.
Whether or not an autocracy is successful depends on the character and ability of the leader.
In an oligarchy(寡头政府) a small group of people controls the government.
Membership in this group often depends on family connections, wealth or military power.
In a republic, individuals are elected to represent the citizens.
The power of the government in a republic is limited by a constitution.
A constitution is a written document that makes the rules for a government to follow.
This limits the power of the government.
A constitution defines the relationship between the government and its citizens.
Dialogue
qutting the job
M1：I hear you lost your job. Is that right?
M2：Yes, that’s right. I quit.I quit because of the way my boss treats people.
M1：What happened?
M2：I wasn’t feeling good one day and he yelled at me. When I told him not to yell at me, he threatened me.
M1：Is that all? That’s what bosses do.
M2：Sure, sometimes maybe. But my boss treated everyone badly and I was tired of it. It was the laststr.
M1：The last str?
M2：Yes, you know? It reaches the point where I couldn’t take it anymore.
M1：I see. So now you don’t have a job?
M2：Right, I don’t have a job. But at least I don’t have to deal with my boss anymore.
M1：What are you going to do now?
M2：To be honest, I’m not sure. But I’ll find something. I’ll get a job even if it pays less than before.
M1：Are you sorry you quit?
M2：Yes and no. I guess I should have found another job first，and then quit.
M1:Why didn’t you?
M2：As I said，he pushed me too far. There are some things that I just won’t take.
M1：What about your wife?
M2：She isn’t happy that I don’t have a job. But she understands. She knows I have a temper. And she knows I wasn’t happy working there.
M1：Well I guess I’m lucky. My job isn’t great but I like the people I’m working with. And I like my manager.
M2：Are you planning to stay there?
M1：I don’t know. For now it’s ok，but of course it all depends on how things change.
M2：Well if you hear of any job openings, let me know, ok?
M1：Sure, send me your resume and I’ll let people know you are looking.
M2：Thanks.
He won’t take being treated badly and threatened too many times.
His boss pushed him too far one too many times, so he couldn’t wait to quit. His boss treated him badly one too many times.
He isn’t sure what he is going to do.
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