Another Monday, one

 
 
 

waffle	based on	authorized
pancake	self-help	fry/fried/fried
device	pullover	French toast
subway	sneakers	mushrooms
free (3)	commute	representative
rep	sneakers	call-center
repair	flatmate	specialize
rent	break (2)	main course
brand	colleague	meantime
staff	selection	complicated
resolve	scramble	put through
seminar	issue (3)	keep abreast
boss	shift (2)	encouragement
toll-free	latest (2)	periodically
wide	selection	workshop (2)
plus (2)	particular	adventure
anyway	satisfied	it sure beats

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Getting Ready

It’s six o’clock. Marsha slowly gets out of her warm bed.

It’s another MONDAY morning!

She goes into the kitchen and cooks and eats some bacon, sausage, and fried or scrambled eggs with mushrooms and tomatoes. Sometimes she’ll make pancakes, waffles or French toast.

After breakfast, Marsha takes a warm shower, then puts on blue jeans, a sweater (pullover) and sneakers.

Commuting

At about 7:10, she leaves home and walks to a nearby subway station and takes the number 12 train to her workplace.

Unfortunately there are no free seats, so she stands. But Marsha has brought along a new self-help book and begins to read it. She arrives at work at 7:45.

At Work

Marsha’s company deals with electronic devices: smart phones, phablets, tablets, laptops, PCs and accessories.

As one of its customer service representatives, she works in the call-center department, where she specializes in a particular brand of laptops. When a customer has a question or problem with their device, they can call a toll-free number, and get put through to one of the reps.

They tell Marsha their problem or ask her questions. She then answers them or helps resolve their issue. If the problem is too complicated, she instructs the customer to go to an authorized repair shop.

Breaks

At about 10:30, the staff takes a break. They gather in the break room where they have coffee or tea, and a pastry . . . and relax. After 15 minutes, they return to work.

At about 1:00 pm, employees head to the building cafeteria for lunch. There they have a wide selection of soups, salads, main courses, and desserts.

Other Tasks

When not receiving calls, Marsha and her colleagues can surf the internet. Periodically, they have workshops and seminars to keep abreast with the latest product developments.

Marsha’s boss used to work on the phones. At the start of each shift, he briefs the staff on important issues and gives them words of encouragement. Fortunately he is nice, most of the time.

At about 5:00 pm, Marsha finishes work and goes home.

Ambition

To be perfectly honest, Marsha isn’t satisfied with her career; she’d rather be a novelist (she studied literature at university).

However she needs to pay the rent and put food on the table. Anyway it sure beats being unemployed, like Mike (her flatmate) and Jeff (her former classmate).

In the meantime she works on her computer: she’s currently writing an adventure story set in the Swiss Alps. It’s based on a holiday she had there last winter.

 

 

Questions

1. Marsha wakes up early in the morning. Yes or no? What time does Marsha wake up? Marsha wakes up at . . . .

2. What does she have for breakfast? Does she eat the same things for breakfast every morning?

3. She drives to work in her car. True or false?

4. Describe Marsha’s work.

5. Does she take breaks? If yes, describe her breaks.

6. Marsha spends all her working time on the telephone. Is this right or wrong?

7. Is her boss mean and strict? Does she get along with him?

8. She loves her job. Is this correct or incorrect? Is Marsha’s goal to become a senior manager of her company? What is Marsha’s goal? How is she trying to achieve it?
 
 
A. Do you or your friends work in a call center? Would you like to work in a call center? Why or why not?

B. Now talk about what you normally do every day. What do you have for breakfast?

C. How do you or your parents get to work?

D. What do you or your parents do at work?

E. How do you take breaks from your work or study?

F. Where do you have lunch? What do you eat for lunch?

G. What are some of your goals? How will you go about achieving it?

 

 

 

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