Explore writing: Pros and cons Read what some people say about open-plan offices. Which highlighted expressions show positive, negative or neutral opinions? Choose one of these topics and complete 1–4 with your opinions. ■■ living in a block of flats ■■ living in Austria ■■ modern architecture ■■ living in a (semi-)detached house Example: The best thing about blocks of flats is, you get to know many people. 1 The bad/worst thing about is, . 2 The good/best thing about is, . 3 The thing is, . 4 The trouble/problem is, . Write a blog entry on the place where you live. You should: ■■ describe where you live ■■ explain what type of building it is ■■ discuss the pros and cons of living there Use the highlighted expressions in 32. Write around 180 words. 32 “Sir Norman Foster is one of the pioneers of open-plan offices. The trouble is, many people don’t like working in them. Staff blame them for a loss of productivity.” (Daniel Remington, investment banker, London) “The best thing about this type of office is that it makes team-building easier.” (Sandy Chung, account manager in an advertising company, Hong Kong) “The thing is, in this kind of office, staff are packed in like battery hens1.” (Leslie Harris, journalist, New York) “The worst thing about open-plan offices is the high noise level and the lack of privacy. I felt very stressed when I first moved to an open-plan office, and I sometimes still find it difficult to concentrate.” (Mark Newman, software engineer, Toronto) 33 34 1 packed in like battery hens: eingepfercht wie die Legehühner 116 Language skills Extras Explore 9 People and places Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigen um des Verlags öbv
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