Topic 1: work and careers

Question 1

the ability of people to produce useful results at work

Answer 1

Productivity

/ˌprɒd.ʌkˈtɪv.ə.ti/ noun

Question 2

to pay part of the cost of something, usually in order to help people

Answer 2

subsidise

/ˈsʌb.sɪ.daɪz

the government subsidising swimming lessons for children

Question 3

the amount of work or goods produced

Answer 3

Output

In Europe, industrial output has decreased, maybe because of competition from producers in other continents

Question 4

the ability to work hard but also enjoy a good quality family and social life

Answer 4

Work and life balance

People are working long hours these days, and so their work/life balance is affected, leading to stress.

Question 5

to give them positive reasons for working hard

Answer 5

To motivate people

/ˈməʊ.tɪ.veɪt

If employees are given regular feedback, they will probably be well motivated and committed

Question 6

tiền lãi

Answer 6

Pay increments
(noun)
## Footnote

In my country, pay increments have been very low because of the financial crisis

Question 7

reward from an employer which are not financial (eg free lunches, a car etc)

Answer 7

Perks

/pɜːk/ noun

Personally, I’d like to work for a company that gives lots of perks, because I would find this very enjoyable

Question 8

any form of money payment (salary, commission, pension etc)

Answer 8

Financial rewards

Being a primary teacher may be satisfying, but the financial rewards are not high

Question 9

money given in addition to salary, usually in return for achieving targets

Answer 9

Bonuses

Apparently some investment bankers can earn millions of dollars in bonuses

Question 10

any reward that makes people work harder = encourage

Answer 10

Incentives

/ɪnˈsen.tɪv/ noun

Some employers offer vacations or parties as incentives if the team hits its sales targets

Question 11

enjoyment of a job for non-financial reasons

Answer 11

Job satisfaction

/ˌsæt.ɪsˈfæk.ʃən/

I get a lot of job satisfaction from my work at the wildlife centre, although the financial rewards are quite low

Question 12

dependent on hitting a target

Answer 12

Target-related

adj

My boss once offered me a target-related bonus, but it was almost impossible to achieve

Question 13

training while working, not by leaving work to go to college

Answer 13

On the job training

(noun)

My sister has found that the on the job training she gets at her bank is very useful, and she has progressed well because of this.

Question 14

training throughout your time in a job, not just at the start

Answer 14

Ongoing training

I enjoyed my work at the airline at first, but I soon found that there was no ongoing training and my skills weren’t really developed

Question 15

programmes of training or education when employees can spend entire days out of work

Answer 15

Day release programmes

(chương trình nghỉ phép)

I feel that employers should be much more flexible regarding training, for example by subsidising day release programmes or job exchanges with other companies.

Question 16

the ability to advance your career

Answer 16

Career progression

The problem with being a freelance photographer is that there’s no real career progression, unless you become very famous.

Question 17

Job prospects

Answer 17

the possibility of promotion or higher level work in future

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I remember an interview when the employer told me there were excellent job prospects in their firm for young people. In reality, this was not really true.

Question 18

To measure

Answer 18

to assess the dimensions of something

< đánh giá >

to assess the dimensions of something

Question 19

Superficial

Answer 19

not addressing deep or important issues

I’m not a big fan of traditional music. I find the lyrics rather old-fashioned and superficial for modern listeners

Question 20

• Redundancy
  => made someone redundant

Answer 20

a situation where a worker loses their job because of changes in the company (not because of personal mistakes)

In my home town, the textile factories have closed and many people have been made redundant.

Question 20

-Performance reviews
-Performance appraisals

/əˈpreɪ.zəl/

Answer 20

meeting at which an employer gives feedback to a worker on their work over a fixed period

I remember being worried about my job at first, but at my six month appraisal my manager told me she was pleased with my efforts

Question 21

To restructure

Answer 21

to change the organisation of a company, usually in order to make it more effective or to save money.

We used to have a large training department in my office, but in our recent restructure it was eliminated and the staff were made redundant.

Question 22

To downsize

Answer 22

to make an organisation smaller and employ fewer people

My father’s college used to employ almost one thousand people, but then it downsized and now has less than five hundred.

Question 23

To outsource

Answer 23

to stop doing work inside the company and send it to other companies or other countries, usually to save money

< thuê ngoài >

Many American companies have outsourced their IT operations to Asian countries, where productivity is similar and salaries are lower

Question 24

The workforce

Answer 24

the total number of people working in an organisation, company or country

The workforce in Northern Europe is skilled, but it’s also inflexible and much older than in other parts of the world.

Question 25

Human Resources

Answer 25

the department in a company which manages recruitment, employment and training

When I graduate, I plan to work in the Human Resources area of the oil industry, possibly in the Middle East.