52 B2+ | 8. Klasse | READING | Working life The article has some idioms. An idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words e.g. ‘let the cat out of the bag’ is an idiom meaning to tell a secret by mistake. Find the idioms in the text and try to work out what they mean. Think carefully about the context as well as the individual words. ‘be a far cry from’ means: be very different from something / similar to something ‘gain ground’ means: become less / more popular ‘around the clock’ means: for a limited time / all day and night Did any words in the idioms help you to work out the answer? Underline the word/s and now check your answers to exercises 5 and 6 before you do the exam task. 6 Working the reading task: Multiple matching Read the article about how the work environment will change in the future. Some sentences are missing. Choose the correct sentence (A–J) for each gap (1–7). There are two extra sentences that you should not use. Write your answers in the boxes provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. 7 Look at the title, skim the text, then read sentences A–J and note the example. Clues may lie in the grammar and/or vocabulary – personal pronouns, possessives, relative pronouns, time phrases, adverbs of frequency/place/reason or a variety of linking words. Look also for clues in the paragraphs before and after the gaps to help you choose your answer. When you’ve chosen a sentence a to fill a gap, cross it out so you’re not tempted to put it elsewhere. Check the distractors – the sentences you haven’t used – to make sure they don’t fit in any of the gaps. Top tips A new way of working Current trends in business and technology show that the way employees work over the next decade or so will be a far cry from how they work today. De’Onn Griffin, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner1, outlines some ideas about the future direction of the workplace and how organisations can prepare for it. Currently, teams in the workplace typically comprise groups of people pulled together following a certain structure. Teamwork is therefore considered more of a behavioural necessity – to foster team spirit and collaboration – than a legitimate organisational principle. (0) Organisations will move toward a new working philosophy called ‘We Working’, which involves designing small and flexible teams in response to changing workloads, shrinking time frames and intense flurries of information exchange and coordination. In the next ten years, the most high-value work will be cognitive in nature. (1) “The demand for technical expertise has grown by 60% over the past several years. In today’s digital economy, the demand for new ideas, new information and new business models that continually expand, combine and shift into new ventures will gain ground,” says Griffin. “Employees must consistently refresh their digital dexterity to meet those needs.” For hiring managers, this means a growing proportion of jobs will require 1 Gartner: a technological research and consulting firm based in Connecticut, US Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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