Match sentences 1-8 from column A with sentences A-H from column B.

A

q  Jane is pregnant.

w  Emma has gone trekking in India.

e  Pam has got a fellowship at the MIT.

r  Sally is learning how to use the new GBT software.

t  Laura has had a stroke.

z  Cilla is looking for new office equipment.

u  Nora has gone to her father's funeral.

i  Jill is working with a partner company for two years.

B

A  She's on vacation.

B  She's at a trade fair.

C  She's on a training course.

D  She's taken a year's sabbatical leave.

E  She's on secondment.

F  She's on maternity leave.

G  She's on sick leave.

H  She's on compassionate leave.

Work around the clock!

Use the clues below to find the expressions corresponding to numbers 1 to 12. Each expression contains the word «work», «working» or «to work».

CLUES :

 q  You will need this in France if you are not from the EU.

 w  A useful heading for your CV/your professional activities, past and present.

 e  To do more than your contractual hours.

 r  The amount of work you have to do.

 t  All the years you have spent in your professional activity.

 z  Weekly/monthly planned activities.

 u  A strike.

 i  The legal amount in France is 35.

 o  The company's premises.

qp  The commission concerned with employer/employee relations.

qq  A place where things are made/an active training session for a small group.

qw  Someone who has a manual job.

Check your pronunciation!

Read the words in brackets [] and you will discover yourself saying English words!

(Stress the syllable highlighted in blue).

Example : [vee ik ul] vehicle

q  [higher are key]

w  [kwest tchun air]

e  [nig owe she ay shun]

r  [bizz niss]

t  [min itss]

z  [ vo kay shun ul]

u  [ ak wizz ish shun]

i  [tem pree]

Many hands make light work !

handle handed in hand out handy handed over at hand

Fill in the blanks using the words in the box above.

q  He wasn't happy in his job so he................................ his notice.

w  After a brief introduction, the chairman........................ to the first speaker.

e  It was difficult to......................... such a large group.

r  John will........................ the leaflets at the end of the conference.

t  Thanks for lending me your laser pointer. It came in very.................

z  Its always useful to have a technician........................ in case of unexpected hitches.

Use the clues to complete the crossword.

If you find it difficult, the letter boxes below may help you.

CLUES :

Across :

 e  Money you may receive to help pay your rent when working away from home.

 t  To be filled in when you evaluate an employee (2 words).

 u  Something that employers look for on a CV/ it shows what you can do.

 i  A verb connected to salary.

 o  A process used to reach an agreement.

qq  An adjective used to describe the business world

qw  A recipient for your morning coffee.

qe  «Industrial....................», a place to go to sort out problems.

qr  A month/a verb expressing permission or possibility.

qt  What a student might be doing in your company.

qu  A task/a position.

qi  When you are the only person in your office.

qo  Money spent during a business trip.

wp  The opposite of purchase.

Down :

 q  Something both employer and employee have to pay (2 words).

 w  A standard.

 r  A break between school and university (2 words).

 z  All the vehicles owned or leased by your company.

 u  The number of years you have worked for a company.

qp  A type of complementary pension.

qz  Does your company offer a health............. plan?

Letter boxes :

q  SLIAOC CBTOUINOTNRSI

w  MRON

e  LOALWNACE

r  PGA REAY

t  PAPRIALSA MORF

z  TEEFL

u  KLLISS

 u  ENSOIIRYT

 i  NREA

 o  GENOITAIOTN

qp  COCPUAITOLNA

qq  ORCPROTEA

qw  GUM

qe  RITBNULA

qr  YAM

qt  NIERTNPHIS

qz  RACE

qu  BJO

qi  ENOLA

qo  XENEPSSE

wp  LESL

Find the «odd man out»!

Find the word or expression that is different from the others

q  wages/salary/income/taxes.

w  to hire/to dismiss/to take on/to recruit.

e  fixed-term/open-ended/seasonal/apprentice.

r  associate/officer/leader/team.

t  ground floor/fire escape/emergency exit/ extinguisher.

z  commercial/managerial/secretarial/aerial.

u  BSc/BA/BBC/Beng.

i full-time/part-time/temporary/unpaid.

qq a w............s................

qp a w............ c........................

o the w............p.............

i w....................... h............

u w............ s......................

a w............ p....................

w............ e................................

to w............ o........................

w...............l................

w..................... l.................

w............ s.......................

Translate these sentences about John's career into French. (Pay particular attention to the tenses of the verbs).

q  John has been with us now for nearly 30 years.

w  He joined the company in 1980.

e  Before working for us he had spent several years working abroad.

r  Unfortunately, he'll be leaving us next month for a well-deserved retirement.

t  With his usual sense of humor, he said to me a few days ago, « Had I known I would stay here so long I would never have applied for the job! »

Translate these sentences into English.

A  Combien de personnes a-t-il invité à son pot d'adieu ?

B  Faut-il commander un buffet froid chez un traiteur ?

C  Qui s'occupe d'acheter le cadeau ?

D  Le Président prononcera un petit discours. Ensuite ses collègues diront quelques mots.

E  Il va beaucoup nous manquer.

Spot the mistakes!

Can you find the 10 typing errors in this memo?

To all staff

Closure of PJ2 Parking lot

As of 15th september and until farther notice, intensive repair work will be carried out on the central warehouse after the fire that ravaged the building last month.

During the restauration work, the adjacent company parking lot were closed. Employees are therefore requested to park private vehicles in the municipal car park in Brookland Street.

Any parking expenses incurred will be refounded. Please fill up the special expensive form downloadable from the company intranet (code CP 5110) and hand it in to your department secretariat, together with receipts, no later than the 3th of each month.

However, as spaces are limiting in the public car park, it is advisable to use public transports wherever possible.

The other side of the pond! (outre-atlantique)

Put the following expressions in the appropriate column, British English or American English, and translate into French.

ground floor a rise first floor bulletin board

a raise a lift vacation zip code

an elevator notice board an intern post code

a trainee holiday

Do you know your alphabet?

What do the following acronyms stand for?

 q  CAL

 w  IT

 e  AGM

 r  HRM

 t PLC

 z  PEO

 u  NVQ

 i  SERPS

 o TUC

qp  TEC

q Cela fait presque trente ans que John travaille chez nous.

w Il a commencé sa carrière chez nous en 1980.

e  Avant de travailler chez nous il avait travaillé pluieurs années à l'étranger.

r  Malheureusement il nous quitte le mois prochain pour prendre une retraite bien méritée.

t  Avec son sens d'humour habituel, il m'a avoué il y a quelques jours : « Si j'avais su que j'allais rester aussi longtemps dans cette boîte, je n'aurais jamais posé ma candidature ! »

Suggested answers :

A How many people has he invited to his farewell party?

B Should I/we order a cold buffet from an outside caterer?

C Who is buying the present?

D The chairman will make a short speech. Then his colleagues will say a few words.

E We're really going to miss him.