18. Describe a time when you were very busy.

Question 1

Describe a time when you were very busy.
You should say:
\+ When it was
\+ What you had to do during that time
\+ How you managed it
And explain how you felt about being busy.

Card
- Past simple, present simple
- 5 years ago when I was in college < IT assistant
- Applied because it is the best-paid job
+ helped other students sort out problems with PC
+ assisted prof + faculties < anything related to technical
- 5 others students in the same position
+ 2 people in a shift
+ usually busy because of huge amount of work
+ often had to work extra hours
- made us felt stressful sometime but enjoyed doing
+ learn a lot about PC + other machine
+ had chance to talk with other people
+ felt happy when help them

Answer 1

I would like to talk about the time when I was busy. It was 5 years ago when I was in college and working as an IT assistant.

Although I was a physics major at that time, I still applied for a position of IT assistant because it was the best- paid job on campus. As an IT assistant, I helped other students sort out problems with their personal laptops. Besides, I assisted professors and faculties to set up projectors, to fix printers and copy machines on campus, and anything related to technical matters in general.

There were 5 other students who were in the same position as me. We usually registered work hours based on our own personal schedule, as long as the total working hours met the job requirement. For one shift, there were usually two assistants, so that we could help each other if necessary. However, due to the huge amount of work we usually had to work extra hours.

Although, the work made us felt stressful sometime, we enjoyed doing it. I learned a lot about computers and other machines. In addition, I got a chance to talk with many people around campus and it felt great when you were able to help somebody with their problems.

Question 2

Working nowadays vs in the past
Working the the future
Advantages of overtime working
Disadvantages of overtime working
why people are so busy todays

Answer 2

• Working nowadays vs in the past
  + people work harder in the past
  + technology makes people works easier

Working the the future
+ Robot + AI will replace human in many work
+ people will have more time for the life
+ Nowadays, it is easy to set up a company
+ The Internet provides a global marketplace

Advantages of overtime working
+ increase performance < production planning
+ workers can earn more money

Disadvantages of overtime working
+ Too much work can result in stress and poor health
+ Workers may neglect their families and friends

why people are so busy todays
+ the competition is heigh < replaced by companies
+ people worry about their career.

Question 3

1. The benefits of staying in the same job for life
2. The benefits of not staying in the same job
3. Self-employment
4. Unemployment
5. Unemployment benefits: positives
6. Unemployment benefits: negatives
7. Work/Life Balance
8. Technology and work
9. Child labour

Answer 3

1. The benefits of staying in the same job for life
   Employees have a stable career with one employer
   They have a good pension and health insurance
   Their salaries gradually increase
   They demonstrate loyalty
   Experienced staff can be trusted with more responsibility
   There is a clearly defined path for development
2. The benefits of not staying in the same job
   People often change jobs in order to further their career Another company may offer a promotion or a higher salary
   People who change jobs can gain experience
   They can learn different skills
   Changing jobs is interesting and challenging
   People need to develop a range of experience and skills
3. Self-employment
   Nowadays, it is easy to set up a company
   The Internet provides a global marketplace
   Self-employment offers greater freedom than working for a company
   However, there are risks to starting a new business
   Self-employed people may face financial difficulties
   Many businesses fail to make a profit
   There is less stability in self-employment
   Self-employment involved hard work, long hours and total responsibility
4. Unemployment
   Unemployment is a big problem for individuals, communities and society Some people are unable to find a job
   They may not have the sufficient level of education or qualifications
   They may find themselves homeless
   Jobless people may become involved in crime as a means to get money
   The unemployed need careers advice
   Governments need to provide vocational courses and retraining
5. Unemployment benefits: positives
   Some governments pay unemployment benefits in order to help jobless people
   Unemployed people need financial support until they find a new job
   By claiming benefits they can continue to pay for their homes
   The benefits system helps to reduce poverty, homelessness and crime
6. Unemployment benefits: negatives
   Some people claim benefits rather than working
   They become dependent on the government
   They are not motivated to find a job
   The benefits system is a burden on taxpayers
7. Work/Life Balance
   It is important to achieve a balance between work time and leisure or family time
   Too much work can result in stress and poor health
   “workaholics” may neglect their families and friends
   People need to take regular holidays
   Companies should be expect employees to work overtime
   Nowadays, many people work part-time or have flexible working hours
   Technology allow people to work from home
   Many companies provide childcare facilities
   Happy, healthy workers are more productive
8. Technology and work
   Workers can communicate via email, online networks and video conferencing
   Technology can connect workers in different countries
   help each others
   It can also save time and money
   Some people believe that offices could disappear in the future
   Virtual online offices may replace them
9. Child labour
   In some countries, children are exploited
   They do repetitive jobs for very low pay
   Children are often used in agriculture and factory work
   The employment of children is prohibited in other countries
   Many people think that children should be free to enjoy their childhood
   Governments should make education a priority
   They should build new schools
   They should supply the resources to educate children
   Children need to be given the knowledge and skills for adult life