SERGEY BRIN ON GOOGLE

1. What do the rising dots represent?

2. What do the colours mean?

3. Where is there not much activity? Why?

4. How many queries per second are there?

5. Where are these queries available?

6. How can the data be transmitted?

7. What do they spend most of their time doing at Google?

8. What can the queries be about?

9. What are Google embarking upon?

10. What do Google grants serve?

11. What is the Singaporean businessman sponsoring?

12. What has Orkut built?

FINDING TIME

Answer the following questions and find out where your time goes.

1. How much control do you feel you have in managing your time?

a. A lot of control.       b. An adequate amount.
c. Little control.          d. No control.

2. How do you use the hours of a normal weekday? Write how many hours you spend on each activity, to give a total of 24. Do the same for the weekend.

a. Sleeping

b. Travelling

c. Studying / Working

d. Eating

e. Time with family

f. Time to yourself

g. Socialising with friends

h. Household chores.

3. If you had more time outside work or school, how would you spend it? Tick as many as apply for you.

a. Time to yourself.                                           b. Time with your family
b. Doing sport or exercising.                        d. Social activities.

4. How often do you find yourself feeling short of time, on average?

a. Once a month.                                        b. Once a week.
c.  Several times a week.                         d. Every day.

5. In what ways do we waste time every day? Do we tend to waste time at any time of the day or at specific times?

6. Would you say you usually organise things in an orderly way? Why? / Why not? Do you use forward planning as a technique? What are the results of this technique? Are you realistic when you map out what you hope to achieve in the time available?

7. Are you better at organising people than being organised yourself?

8. Do you know of any ways to help you use time more effectively, to organise yourself in a more useful manner? What kind of things might be able to help?

9. What kind of things can often present major obstacles to our achieving the goals we have set ourselves or to meeting the deadlines that others have set for us?

10. How do you respond to being snowed under? What takes the first place: health or work?

11. What setback will you experience if your goal is to achieve perfection?

12. What will happen if you are pressed for time and you cannot achieve what you were set to achieve?

13. Is being unable to say “No” an important factor to the problem of wasting time? Can you find any examples?

14.  Do you set aside enough time to pursue your own interests?

15. Have you ever taken time off work? Have you ever phoned in sick when in fact you were not?

16. Men are said to be able to do just one thing at a time, whereas women can do several unrelated things at the same time. For example, a woman can talk on the phone, at the same time as cooking a new recipe and watching television. Do you agree? Are women better organised than men? Are men’s brains more specialised?

SPEAKING ACTIVITY

1. Sometimes, someone bearing grudges can be defined as someone who…

• doesn’t forgive others’ mistakes;
• seeks revenge;
• seldom apologizes.

Are you prone to bearing grudges? Do you know anyone who is? Did you use to bear more grudges as a child rather than nowadays?

What kind of effect can bearing grudges have on our physical or mental health?

Are people who bear grudges bitter people? What is their personality like?

2. Do you face a lot of pressure at work? How do you respond to pressure? How can you de-stress your working life and beat pressure?
Which of the following symptoms are you experiencing?

• being incapable of saying “NO”.
• dreading getting out of bed and going to work.
• Coping with long working hours.
• Multitasking.
• Holidaying with your laptop.
• Suffering from insomnia.

3. Does your boss / Do your teachers show favour to anyone at work or at school? How would you deal with a boss or a teacher who did not favour you?

4. Do you owe anyone a favour?

5. Everyone wants to be recognized for a job well-done; but what does it take one to rise through the ranks? What is the right way to stand out at work? In what ways are the following qualities important if you want to rise through the ranks: adaptability, availability, flexibility, performance in the job, the way you embrace change, collaboration, sharing information, helping others, etc.

6. Have you ever had to hand in your notice? Why? What happened?

7. What kind of things are on the rise presently:

• Employment?
• Prices?
• Economy?
• Retail shops?
• Technology?
• Protests and strikes?
• Hunger?
• Religion?
• Sports?

THE FAST TRACK TO BURNOUT

To promote: to raise someone to a higher or more important position or Rank.

Income: money that is earned from doing work or received from investments.

To turn out: to happen in a particular way or to have a particular result, especially an unexpected one.

To show off: to behave in a way which is intended to attract attention or admiration, and which other people often find annoying.

To cope with: to deal successfully with a difficult situation.

To relate to: to understand a situation or someone’s feelings because you have experienced a similar situation or similar feelings.

Overload: to put too large a load in or on something.

To turn one’s back on: to refuse to help someone.

Grudges: a strong feeling of anger and dislike for a person who you feel has treated you badly, which often lasts for a long time To bear no grudges: No guardar rencor.

To get sucked in: to cause someone or something to gradually become involved in an an unpleasant situation or harmful activity.

To quit: to leave.

MBA: Abbreviation for Master of Business Administration: an advanced degree in business, or a person who has this.

To snap up: to immediately accept someone’s offer to join your company or team because you want them very much.

Retail: the activity of selling goods to the public, usually in small quantities.

Stage: a part of an activity or a period of development.

Implementation: To implement: to put a plan or system into operation:.

Unforeseen: unexpected.

Problems ARISE

Appraisal: when an employee meets with their manager or employer to discuss their progress, aims and needs at work.

Rating: a measurement of how good or popular someone or something is.

Devastating: making someone very shocked and upset.

To set up: to formally establish a new company, organization, system, way of working, etc.

Recruitment: To recruit: to persuade someone to work for a company or become a new member of an organization, especially the army.

Flourishing: To flourish: to grow or develop successfully.

Perks: INFORMAL an advantage or benefit, such as money or goods, which you are given because of your job.

Burden: something difficult or unpleasant that you have to deal with or worry about.

A cog in a / the machine: a member of a large organization whose job, although necessary, makes them feel unimportant.

Burnout: extreme tiredness usually caused by working too much.

To step into one’s shoes: to take someone’s place, often by doing the job they have just left.

Developing countries: describes a country or area of the world which is poorer and has less advanced industries, especially in Africa, Latin America or Asia.

Worthwhile: useful, important or beneficial enough to be a suitable reward for the money or time spent or the effort made.

To sign up: to sign a document saying that you will work for someone or do a particular job or activity.

Leading: very important or most important.

To admit TO + -ing

To rise through / from the ranks: to be moved up from a low level position in an organization to a higher one.

Overtime: (time spent working) beyond the usual time needed or expected in a job.

Reluctant: not very willing to do something and therefore slow to do it.

Flawless: perfect or without mistakes.

Utterly: completely, extremely.

To mystify: to confuse someone by being or doing something very strange or impossible to explain.

To talk sby out of sthg: to persuade someone not to do something.

To resent: to be angry about and to dislike being forced to accept something or someone annoying. Resentment: noun.

To alienate: to make someone feel that they are different and do not belong to a group.

To update: to give someone the most recent information.

To withhold: to refuse to give something or to keep back something.

To hand in: to give something to someone in a position of authority.

To hand in / to give in your notice: to tell your employer that you intend to leave your job after a particular period of time.

Flexi-time: a system of working in which people work a set number of hours within a fixed period of time, but can vary the time they start or finish work.

SLOPES AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

To master: to learn or understand sthg completely.

Hurdle: obstacle.

To pick: to choose.

Piste: a track of firm snow prepared for skiing on.

Well-groomed: clean, neat.

Drop: a distance down from a high point to a lower point.

Ranks: the members of a particular group or organisation.

On the whole: considering everything; in general.

Fairly: to some extent but not very.

To groom: to prepare, to look after. To prepare (a trail) for skiers, as by packing down new snow or levelling moguls.

Cool: calm, confident.

To cater for: to provide the things that a particular person or situation needs or wants.

Cable car: a vehicle that hangs from and is pulled by a moving cable and that carries passengers up and down a mountain.

Resort: a place where a lot of people go on holiday / vacation.

To branch off: to be joined to another road or river but lead in a different direction.

Steep: rising or falling quickly, not gradually.

Nasty: very unpleasant.

To cruise: to travel at a steady speed.

Reaches: the parts of an area or a place that are a long way from the centre. Tramos.

To tuck away: to be located in a quiet place, where not many people go.

Downhill: towards the bottom of a hill; in a direction that goes down.

Postbus: A small bus, van or similar vehicle, used for delivering mail and carrying passengers, especially in rural areas.
To try out: to test or use sby/sthg in order to see how good or effective they are.

Tricky: difficult to do or deal with.

T-bar: a machine which pulls two people up a mountain on skis together.

To put sby off: to make sby lose interest in or enthusiasm for sthg/sby.

Off piste: away from the tracks of firm snow that have been prepared for skiing on.

Chairlift: a series of chairs hanging from a moving cable, for carrying people up and down a mountain.

Must: something that you must do, see, buy, etc.

The lot: (informal) the whole number or amount of people or things.

Cornice: a decorative border around the top of the walls in a room or on the outside walls of a building.

Lip: a hollow place in the ground. The edge of an opening or cavity, as of a canyon.

Powder: loose, dry snow which has fallen recently

To fight your way through: to try very hard to get your way or to achieve sthg.

In terms of: used to show what aspect of a subject you are talking about or how you are thinking about it.

Crevasse: a deep open crack, especially in ice, for example in a glacier. Grieta (en un glaciar)

To lurk: when sthg unpleasant or dangerous lurks, it is present but not in an obvious way.

To tower: to be much higher or taller than the people or things that are near.

Jagged: with rough, pointed, often sharp edges. Irregular, recortado, con picos.

Serac: A large pointed mass of ice in a glacier isolated by intersecting crevasses.

Speechless: not able to speak, especially because you are extremely angry or surprised.

To queue up: to queue.

Sheer: used to emphasise the size, degree or amount of sthg.

To screen: to protect.

Safety net: a net placed underneath acrobats, etc. to catch them if they fall.

Close-up: a photograph, or picture in a film / movie, taken very close to sby/sthg so that it shows a lot of detail.

Imposing: impressive to look at; making a strong impression.

Moguls: a raised area of hard snow that you jump over when you are skiing.

To stop sby in their tracks: to suddenly make sby stop by frightening or surprising them; to suddenly stop because sthg has frightened or surprised you.

THE PERILS OF PIZZA MAKING

To turn out: to be discovered to be; to prove to be.

Topping: a layer of food that you put on top of a dish, cake, etc. to add flavour or to make it look nice.

Let alone: used after a statement to emphasise that because the first thing is not true or possible, the next thing cannot be true or possible either.

To toss: to shake or turn food in order to cover it with oil, butter, etc.

To roll out: to make sthg flat by pushing sthg over it

Rolling pin: a wooden or glass kitchen utensil (= a tool) in the shape of a tube, used for rolling pastry flat.

Dough: a mixture of flour, water, etc. that is made into bread and pastry.

Trainee: a person who is being taught how to do a particular job.

Sorry: [only before noun] very sad or bad, especially making you feel pity or disapproval.

To sigh: to take and then let out a long deep breath that can be heard, to show that you are disappointed, sad, tired, etc..

Craft: all the skills needed for a particular activity.

Craftsman: a skilled person, especially one who makes beautiful things by hand.

Stoker: a person whose job is to add coal or other fuel to a fire, etc., especially on a ship or a steam train.

Proceedings: [pl.] an event or a series of actions.

To struggle: to try very hard to do sthg when it is difficult or when there are a lot of problems.

Handful: he amount of sthg that can be held in one hand.

To press out: to make sthg flat or smooth by using force or putting sthg heavy on top.

Edge: the outside limit of an object, a surface or an area; the part furthest from the centre.

To twirl: to make sthg turn quickly and lightly round and round. To spin.

To shake off: to get rid of.

To toss: to throw sthg lightly or carelessly.

For show: intended to be seen but not used.

Disdainful: showing disdain, contemptuous, dismissive.

To scoop up: to move or lift sthg with a scoop or sthg like a scoop. Scoop: a tool like a large spoon with a deep bowl, used for picking up substances in powder form like flour, or for serving food like ice cream.

Snug: warm, comfortable and protected, especially from the cold. Cosy.

To pull sthg off: to remove.

To sow: to plant or spread seeds in or on the ground.

Seed: the small hard part produced by a plant, from which a new plant can grow.

Failure: lack of success in doing or achieving sthg.

To shower: to drop a lot of small things onto sby.

Crestfallen: sad and disappointed because you have failed and you did not expect to.

To step: to lift your foot and move it in a particular direction or put it on or in sthg; to move a short distance.

Paddle: a tool or part of a machine shaped like a paddle, especially one used for mixing food.

Baffled: confused.

To be on to sthg: to know about sthg or be in a situation that could lead to a good result for you.

To top: to put sthg on the top of sthg else.

Smear: an oily or dirty mark.

Crunchy: (especially of food) firm and crisp and making a sharp sound when you bite or crush it.

Crispy: pleasantly hard and dry.

Even: smooth, level and flat.

Overworked: too hard.

To amble: to walk at a slow relaxed speed.

To head for: to move in a particular direction.

Stage: phase.

Stickiness: the fact of being sticky. Sticky: made of or covered in a substance that sticks to things that touch it.

To slap: to hit sby/sthg with the flat part of your hand.

Chilled: very cold.

To take sthg in: to understand.

To go wrong: to experience problems or difficulties.

Breast: chest.

To plunge: to move or make sby/sthg move suddenly forwards and/or downwards.

Target: a result that you try to achieve.

Red-hot: so hot that it looks red.

FOOL IF YOU THINK IT’S OVER

To sound out: to try to find out from sby what they think about sth, often in an indirect way.

Raw: in its natural state; not yet changed, used or made into sth else.

Tune: a series of musical notes that are sung or played in a particular order to form a piece of music.

To reappraise: to think again about the value or nature of sth to see if your opinion about it should be changed.

Afterthought: a thing that is thought of, said or added later, and is often not carefully planned.

Gushing: (disapproving) expressing so much enthusiasm, praise or emotion that it does not seem sincere.

To shave: to cut a small amount off a price, etc.

Daunting: intimidating.

Track: part of a tape or computer disk that music or information can be recorded on.

To release: to make sth available to the public.

Label: a company that produces and sells records, CDs, etc.

Throwaway comment: something you say quickly without careful thought, sometimes in order to be funny.

The final straw: the last in a series of bad events, etc. that makes it impossible for you to accept a situation any longer.

OUT OF the question: impossible or not allowed and therefore not worth discussing.

To reel off: to say or repeat sth quickly without having to stop or think about it.

To trap: [often passive] to keep sby in a dangerous place or bad situation that they want to get out of but cannot.

Along the lines: (informal) at some point during an activity or a process.

To bracket: to consider people or things to be similar or connected in some way.

Middle-of-the-road: not extreme; acceptable to most people. Moderate.

Compliant: (usually disapproving) too willing to agree with other people or to obey rules.

To wheel: to push or pull sth that has wheels.

Operating theatre: a room in a hospital used for medical operations.

To stamp: to print letters, words, a design, etc. onto sth using a special tool.

Moaning: to groan, to complain.

To plead: to beg.

Raucous: sounding loud and rough.

Stomp: (informal) to walk, dance, or move with heavy steps.

Setting: a set of surroundings; the place at which sthg happens.

Gravelly: (of a voice) deep and with a rough sound.

Slide: a part of a musical instrument or other device that slides backwards and forwards.

Bass drum: a large drum that makes a very low sound, used in orchestras.

Riff: a short repeated pattern of notes in popular music or jazz.

Unearthly: very strange; not natural and therefore frightening.

The blues: feelings of sadness.

Exchange: building.

To shudder: to shake because you are cold or frightened, or because of a strong feeling.

Upbeat: optimistic.

Catchy: (of music or the words of an advertisement) pleasing and easily remembered.

THE INTERNET

1. What recent invention do you think has had the greatest impact on society? Why?

2. In what ways has technology improved our lives? In what ways has it made life worse?

3. Imagine that you could only use of the following: a computer, a telephone, or a car. Which one would you use and why?

4. Which of the following do you own: a VCR, a DVD player, a microwave oven, a computer, a cell phone, and an electronic dictionary? Which one do you use most often?

5. Do computers save time or do they make us waste more time?

6. If you had the possibility to only work from your house via a computer, would you do it?

7. What would the world be like without the Internet?

8. How has the Internet changed the way you live? Do you remember the first time you used it?

9. Could you live without the Internet?

10. What do you use the Internet for? How often do you access the Internet? How much time do you spend online?

11. How has the Internet changed the world?

12. What is the best thing about the Internet? What annoys you about it?

13. What is your favourite Internet site? What sort of websites have you recently visited: shopping sites, educational, games, music, films, news, sports, dictionaries, encyclopedias, fashion, ESL (English as a Second Language) sites?

14. Do you have an e-mail account or more than one? What do you use it / them for? How often do you check it / them?

15. In which of the following places have you ever made use of the Internet?

• In a cybercafé
• In a library
• At home
• At a friend’s home
• At school or work

16. When you access the Internet, which of the following do you usually do?

• Use it for your own entertainment.
• For school or work purposes.
• To send or receive e-mails.
• To chat.
• To use Messenger.
• To play games.
• To download music or videos.
• Other.

ROYAL MAIL

1. How many items of post have to be processed in Britain every day? How long should it take for every letter or parcel to reach its destination?

2. How much mail do Ned and his wife get?

3. How much time does Ned’s sister have for her birthday card to reach Ned?

4. How much postage did Ned’s sister have to pay?

5. Where do London’s postal workers have to take the mail they collect?

6. What increases the chance of the card not arriving at its destination in time?

7. How many letters have to be sorted every hour?

8. What helps the job of sorting all these letters?

9. Where does oversize mail go?

10. What is the task of the…

• phosphorus detector?

• high-resolution camera?

11. What do special staff look for in case there is no address on the envelope?

12. How will Ned’s card travel to Kerrera?

13. How does Kerrera’s local postman sort the mail?

14. Why is Ned confused when he gets his sister’s card?

GLOSSARY

AUTOMATED: operated by machines or computers.

CONVEYOR (BELT): a continuous moving strip or surface that is used for transporting a load of objects from one place to another. Cinta transportadora.

FIN: a thin vertical part sticking out of the body of especially a fish or an aircraft which helps balance and movement.

STATE-OF-THE-ART: very modern and using the most recent ideas and methods.

TO BE SNOWED UNDER: to have so much work that you have problems dealing with it all.

TO CULL: to select.

TO SNIFF OUT: to discover where something or someone is by smelling.

TO STACK: to arrange things in an ordered pile.

TO TICK AWAY: If time ticks away/by, it goes past.

TO WEED OUT: to get rid of unwanted things or people from a group.

WORD FORMATION PAGE 34

1. What school subject(s) do you consider pointless to study? What English exercises seem absolutely pointless to do in class?

2. Are you allergic to anything? Do you know anyone who is allergic to dust mites /some kind of food? Do you know anyone who suffers from hay fever? If so, what are their symptoms?

3. Would you define any of your friends as approachable people? Why (not)? Chatty? Provocative? If so, in what ways? Imaginative? Knowledgeable? What are they knowledgeable about?

4. What is the most (un)believable lie you have ever told?

5. Did you use to have endless arguments with your parents about anything in particular when you were younger?

6. Have you ever got hopelessly lost? What happened?

7. Do you think the education standards are unsatisfactory nowadays? What standards should we try to raise: standards in literacy, mathematics standards, history standards, science standards, technology standards, behavioural standards, others?

8. Can you mention any shops where the shop assistants are unhelpful and discourteous?  Any consejerías (autonomous government departments) where the government employees are, too?

9. Do you know any incompetent people? If so, what makes you think they are incompetent?