If you could do anything you wanted for a living, what would you do? Maybe your choice is in the following four job descriptions. Read about the four jobs and decide which one, if any, you would like to do.
If you like chocolate ...
One of London's most exclusive grocery stores is seeking a chocolate taster at a salary of €55,000 a year.
Good news for unemployed chocoholics. One of the most exclusive grocery stores in the UK needs a new chocolate taster and will pay £35,000 pounds a year for the successful candidate. Fortnum & Mason in London is looking for a chocolate buyer to travel the world, taste as much chocolate as possible and select only the best for its customers.
Chocolate taster Jenny Cork, who is still surprisingly slim after 13 years in the job, is
moving on, and the company is offering the equivalent of nearly €55,000 for somebody with the right skills to
take over.
Personnel director Cathy O'Neill has already received lots of applications after she advertised the post as the "best job in the world." But not all of those interested have the right qualifications.
"We have had loads of people writing in saying they have absolutely no experience, but they love chocolate," O'Neill was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "My nine-year-old daughter Molly has already written to the managing director to apply for the position."
The job involves travelling around the world finding the best chocolate makers for the store's products. Fortnum & Mason say they don't think they'll have any trouble filling their chocolate taster vacancy. "Tasting is the key. You have to be prepared to taste," said the personnel director.
grocery = tienda de comestibles, ultramarinos
to seek = buscar
taster = catador/a
slim = delgada/o
skills = habilidades
loads (of something) = montones (de algo)
post/position = puesto de trabajo
trouble = dificultades
to fill a vacancy = proveer una vacante
Recording sounds
for PlayStation
Jerry Ibbotson is the sound man for Evolution Studios, and he’s responsible for the incredibly realistic acoustic sounds that you can hear in the latest PlayStation game, WRC II Extreme. Since the start of the 2002 season, he has been a passenger in every World Rally Championship (WRC) team car.
He even smashes up cars to reproduce crash noises, an experience he finds "very satisfying”. He records the sounds on mud and grass by driving along small country lanes near his house in his Ford Ka.
The most fun, of course, takes place when he’s riding next to one of his WRC heroes. One of his most memorable rides was with champion driver Gilles Panizzi.
"I was recording Peugeot's engine near the famous Col de Turini stage in France," says Jerry. "We started doing stage starts along these twisty roads with rocks, trees and a wall separating us from a huge drop. I was shaking so much I couldn't see the buttons on my equipment, but even though Gilles drove us along at 90mph, he was in perfect control. Apparently, I 'smelled of fear' when I finally
fell out of the car!"
His favourite car is the Mitsubishi. "The engine’s got a noise which works well in the game," he says. "The Ford Focus has the most unsuitable sound. It's very buzzy and high-pitched. Whereas the Skoda can sound like someone being tortured.
"It is the best job in the world and I know I'm very lucky. People look at me in disbelief when I tell them I get paid to go
driving around Britain and Europe recording the sounds of racing cars for a living. But it's a fantastic experience, and tremendous fun!"
season = temporada
rally championship = campeonato de rallye
mud and grass = barro y hierba
country lanes = caminos vecinales
crash = accidente, choque
to ride = viajar, ir
twisty roads = carreteras retorcidas
rocks = rocas
huge drop = caída enorme
to shake = temblar
buzz = zumbido
high-pitched = tono alto
whereas = mientras que
to torture = torturar
Being a Mum
I've been a mum for over 15 years now. I think I’ve learned more things from my children than any “paid” job could ever teach me.
For example, I learned a big lesson when my darling daughter, age 3, put her peanut butter sandwich in the video recorder. She told me she wanted to
"watch" her lunch instead of Bart Simpson. I learned that video recorders don’t eject sandwiches!
Another thing I’ve learned is that a new mum can get by on 3 hours and seventeen minutes of sleep per night. I’ve also learned that if it's 2am and your child cries, "Mummy, my tummy hurts!", you have three seconds to react before everything in his stomach
ends up on your pillow case.
Interestingly, a two year old can insert half a purple crayon up his nose in the
time it takes to put your 4-year-old's shoes on his feet.
A mum can have a 102 degree fever, a terrible cough, and a horrible
cold, but she still has to make supper, make a cover for a history text book, and take a small piece of wood out of an 8-year-old's finger.
Despite all the work and the lack of sleep, nothing feels better after a hard day at the office, than a big hug and sticky chocolate kiss from your smiling child.
I’ve learned that the best presents in the world are not made of gold, silver or diamonds, but are made of empty cereal packets, plastic bottles and egg cartons painted by your children.
Being a mum is the best job in the world, and it's definitely worth all the trouble.
darling daughter =
hija cariñosa
peanut butter = manteca de cacahuete
eject = expulsar
tummy = barriga
to hurt = hacer daño
pillow case = funda de almohada
crayon = lápiz de color
cough and cold = tos y resfriado
cover = tapar, cubrir
lack of = falta
hug = abrazo
sticky = pegajoso
Playing Nintendo
People who spend too much time playing video games have new hope for employment as Nintendo of America announced plans to pay 50 people about $100 a day to play computer games all summer.
For gamers, the program "is sure to be the best summer job ever," said Peter MacDougall, Nintendo's executive vice president.
From July to August, members of the "Nintendo Street Team" will earn their pay by showing the Nintendo Game Cube and handheld Game Boy systems to the public at concerts, shopping malls and fairs.
Candidates must be at least 18-years-old and must fill out an application form and create a two-minute video explaining why they deserve the job.
Applications must be sent in between May 13th and June 14th , and can be found on the company's Web site.
handheld = portátil
fairs = ferias
to deserve = merecer
Read the texts again and
answer the following questions.
1. do you need to do if you’re sick?
2. pays about $100 a day?
3. involves working for a British department store?
4. is only for the summer?
5. involves travelling all over the world?
6. could mean you get a lot less sleep?
7. will probably need the use of your own car?
8. may result in the damage of electrical equipment in your house?
9. is definitely not for nervous people.
10. requires that you include a short video with your application?
The following phrasal verbs have been highlighted in
red in the previous texts. Find them in the text, and use the context to match them with their meanings below.
to move on /
to drive around / to write in / to send in / to fill out
to take over / to smash up / to get by / to end up / to fall out of / to take
place
· If you Like Chocolate….
to apply for the job
to leave the company
to replace the previous worker
· Recording sounds for PlayStation
to happen, to occur
to leave the car in a bad condition
to drive from place to place
to break
· Being A Mum
to manage on
to finish
· Playing Nintendo
to complete
to post (UK) - to mail (USA)