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Education
Before
you read, think about these questions
1. How do you commute or get to school / work and back everyday?
By car / train / underground / plane / bike / rickshaw / bus
/ ferry / motorbike / CNG / on foot? How long does it take
you?
2. Do you have a family member or friend who commutes to the
centre of the city everyday to work? How do they get there
and return home? How long does it take them?
3. Which method of transport is most efficient / the cheapest
/ the most expensive?
Reading
Understanding the Text
Read the first part of today's article and complete the text
with the missing words below.
big,
day,
downtime,
extra,
five,
hour,
sixth |
Commuting
Adds a 1.____________________ Day to Work Week. |
Glasgow,
Scotland (Reuters) September 4
People employed in 2._________ cities such as London are
effectively working six days a week because of their long
commutes, a British researcher said on Tuesday.
They may be in the office or workplace for 3._____________
days but daily commutes of an 4.__________or more each
way, everyday adds up to the equivalent of another work
5.____________.
'People are spending an 6.__________ working day getting
back and forth to work.' said Alexi Marmot of building
consultancy AMA Associates in London.
'The individual sees it as a great loss,' she told a scientific
conference. Because it is not family or work time, it
is effectively 7._____________, she said. (continued…)
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Further
Understanding
Read the first part of today's article again and find the
answers to these questions.
1. According to the text, why do people who commute long distances
work the equivalent of 6 days per week?
2. According to the text, how many hours a week do these people
spend commuting?
Scanning
Read the second part of today's article and answer the following
questions.
1. What were people surveyed about?
2. How many people were surveyed?
3. In how many office buildings did these people work?
4. What does Marmot think offices will have more of in the
future?
(continued….)
Marmot analysed data from a survey of several thousand
office workers in more than 100 office buildings to assess
working conditions and environment.
Easy access to conveniently located office buildings was
essential because so many people work in them, she said,
but most complaints were about air, heating and light.
She told the British Association of Science that the best
buildings were comfortable, spacious and allowed workers
to communicate with colleagues.
She predicted that office buildings increasingly will
incorporate gyms, child and elderly care facilities, prayer
rooms and other social facilities.
'They won't be just a bunch of desks and offices,' she
said. |
| facilities
buildings, equipment, or services for a particular purpose. |
Making
a List
The study found a number of good and bad points about buildings.
Complete the table below with what people in the survey said
they liked and what they had problems with.
E:
Language
These excerpts were taken from today's article.
'Easy access to conveniently located office buildings
was essential because so many people work in them.'
'People employed in big cities such as London are effectively
working a six days a week because of their long commutes.'
Because
and because of can be used to answer the question 'Why?'
Because is used before a subject and
a verb.
Because of is used before a noun
or pronoun.
In the paragraph below, because
and because of have been lifted
out of the text. Write them in where you think they should
be.
More and
more people are working from home these days the time it takes
to travel to work. The daily commute to and from work takes
up hours and is seen as wasted time by many employees they
are neither with their families nor working. Many larger companies
are also encouraging their employees to work from home the
reduction of expenses and company overheads. However, some
employees believe they will actually work longer days from
home the boundaries between work, home life and leisure will
become less clear.
Thinking
about what you read:
What makes a good working environment? In the article it said
that offices 'won't be just a bunch of desks and offices'
and that 'the best buildings were comfortable, spacious and
allowed workers to communicate with colleagues.'
Make a
list of things that you think make a good working environment.
(Put them in order of importance from1 as most important to
six as least important.)
Answers
1. sixth 2. big 3. five
4. hour 5. day 6. extra
7. downtime
Answer
to E
More
and more people are working from home the{e days because of
the time it takes to travel to work. The daily commute to
and from work takes up hours and is seen as wasted time by
many employees because they are neither with their families
nor working. Many larger companies are also encouraging their
employees to work from home because of the reduction of expenses
and company overheads. However, some employees believe they
will actually work longer days from home because the boundaries
between work, home life and leisure will become less clear
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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