VB036/08
Jones, Leo. New Cambridge Advance English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.
Malcolm Mann and Steven Taylore-Knowles. Destination B2: Grammar & Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
Fitzgerald, Patrick; McCullagh, Marie and Carol Tabor. English for ICT Studies in Higher Education Studies. Garnet. 2009
1) Fill the gaps in these sentences with one of the expressions below.
at times, for the time being, from time immemorial, good timing, half the time, in time, in your own time, it’s about
time/it’s high time, on time, once upon a time, take your time, the time of your life, time and time again, timeconsuming,
time limit, wasting my time
1 Legends have been told ________________ and they are still being told today.
2 Folk stories often begin with the words: ‘________________ . . .’
3 I haven’t received a reply from my friend, ________________ he wrote back.
4 You only have to do two writing tasks in the exam but there’s a two-hour ________________.
5 You can borrow the book, I don’t need it ________________.
6 There’s no quick and easy way to learn idioms, it’s a ________________ process.
7 I’ve warned him ________________ that he should be more careful but ________________ he just doesn’t seem
to take any notice. You know, ________________ I feel that I’m ________________ talking to him.
8 A good actor or comedian has to have ________________ when on stage.
9 There’s no hurry, so you can ________________ and do the work ________________.
10 We didn’t manage to get there ________________ for the start of the meeting – it had already begun.
11 If you go to Disneyland I’m sure you’ll have ________________.
12 Next time we’ll try to be there ________________.
2) Conditionals – choose the correct answer.
If this theory about parallel universes (1) ________ correct, it (2) ________ that we’re living in more than one
universe at the same time. But if that (3) ________ true – if I was doing different things in different universes – (4)
________ about it. And if I (5) ________ about it, how could it be me doing these things? If I (6) ________ the lottery
last year in a parallel universe, and decided to sail round the world, how is that ‘me’? It doesn’t make sense!
And another thing. If I do something, it (7) ________ consequences. For example, if I (8) ________ study, I might not
pass my exams. I can’t start thinking about different universes where the consequences are different. If I just (9)
________ about the universe I actually live in, then I’m sure (10) ________ okay!
1 A) will be B) is C) would have been D) has been
2 A) has meant B) meant C) had meant D) means
3 A) will be B) was being C) were D) has been
4 A) I’d know B) I’ll know C) I have known D) I know
5 A) wouldn’t know B) don’t know C) won’t know D) didn’t know
6 A) had won B) was winning C) have won D) win
7 A) would have B) would have had C) will have D) had had
8 A) won’t B) haven’t C) don’t D) hadn’t
9 A) think B) to think C) am thinking D) have thought
10 A) I’d be B) I’ve been C) I’d have been D) I’ll be
VB036/08
Jones, Leo. New Cambridge Advance English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.
Malcolm Mann and Steven Taylore-Knowles. Destination B2: Grammar & Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
Fitzgerald, Patrick; McCullagh, Marie and Carol Tabor. English for ICT Studies in Higher Education Studies. Garnet. 2009
CHANGING THE WAY WE WORK
1) How did ICT change current work dynamics? Discuss in groups and write down your answers.
A) The introduction of modern technology has not caused high unemployment, but it has meant that workers need
new skills. Many people have retrained so that they can find new work in customer service industries, like call
centers. Some have moved into the ICT industry to work as developers or trainers. Others have learnt to do their old
jobs in a new way. For example, typists and journalists now work with computers instead of typewriters. Some
people find that new technology has changed their work and given them increased responsibilities. This can mean
that their jobs are now much more interesting.
B) The same systems that allow people to work from home also allow employers to outsource work to cheaper
areas. In Britain, firms have opened telecenters outside the major cities. They have opted for towns where office
space and labor are not so expensive. However, there is no reason why work cannot be moved to cheaper parts of
the world. Indeed, over the last few years, a number of multinational companies have closed call centers and dataprocessing
centers in Britain and moved to work to India, where salaries are lower. More recently, however, some
large UK companies have brought their operations back into the UK due to customer service issues. This is, perhaps,
a good example of companies thinking about ICT in isolation without thinking of what’s best for the business or their
customers.
C) ICT is not only changing the nature of work, it is also starting to change where that work is done. Most office
workers travel to and from work every day. Now companies are starting to look at the possibilities of teleworking, or
telecommuting, where staff work at home or from a telecenter. They use computers and telecommunications
equipment to stay in contact with their office.
D) Telework has advantages for both employers and employees. Firms save money because they do not need large
offices. They can recruit people who live further away or who would find it difficult to work normal office hours: for
example, women with children. However, it does mean that they lose direct control over their workers. Employees
save time because they do not have to commute long distances and can organize their work to suit themselves. The
disadvantage for teleworkers is that they work alone and may miss sharing ideas with their colleagues, or working as
part of a team. They can also find it difficult to separate work and home life.
E) The increasing demand for good ICT skills in the workplace has also had an impact on the world of education.
Many governments have responded by investing in new technology for schools so that pupils can learn both with
and about computer-based systems. Universities now offer a whole range of ICT-related courses, which means that
teachers have had to learn to use ICT to deliver lessons in the classroom or teach entire courses online. This kind of
change is important because young people who have computer skills will have an advantage when it comes to
finding work.
F) In the past, many people stayed in the same job for their whole life. When ICT first appeared in the workplace,
many people feared they would lose their jobs to machines. This was true in some cases; for example, robots have
replaced large numbers of production line workers in the manufacturing industry. Service industries, such as
banking, also cut jobs when they brought in automated systems. However, while technology has made some jobs
disappear, at the same time it has created new types of employment. These include jobs in areas such as software
engineering and website design. Nowadays, people have to prepare for change, possibly involving retraining more
than once.
VB036/08
Jones, Leo. New Cambridge Advance English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.
Malcolm Mann and Steven Taylore-Knowles. Destination B2: Grammar & Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
Fitzgerald, Patrick; McCullagh, Marie and Carol Tabor. English for ICT Studies in Higher Education Studies. Garnet. 2009
2) Read the text and put the paragraphs into the correct order.
3) Match the definitions to the highlighted words in the text. You will not need two definitions
a) to arrange for sb. outside a company to do work or provide goods for that company
b) to learn or to teach sb. a new skill
c) to choose to take or not to take a particular course of action
d) work, especially physical work
e) the state of not having a job
f) a person who uses a typewriter or computer keyboard
g) a set of sequential operations established in a factory in order to create a product
h) the desire or need of costumers for goods or services
i) to travel regularly to work
j) to find new people to join a company or an organization
k) a duty to deal with or take care of something
4) Complete the following paragraph closing the text above with the words from the list. You will not need two
words.
What, nowadays, where, they, reject, about, ultimately, staying, recent, flexibility
How, when and __________ we work is changing and will continue to change. Success depends _________ on
whether we accept or __________ this change. People have to be more flexible __________ the hours they work
and the type of work __________ do. __________, job security no longer comes from finding a job and __________
in that job for life. It comes from having the skills and __________ to adapt to change and being prepared to learn
new things.