8 .
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. figured B. novelty C. practical D. exhausting E. regret F. fortune
G. hopefully H. collected I. perspective J. conflicts K. basically |
My First Job
Jocelyn, Scotland
I grew up in a rural community where it was common for kids to help out on the nearby farms. When I was about fifteen or sixteen, I started working Saturdays picking potatoes. We’d be 1 at seven in the morning and driven out to the fields, where we’d walk behind these huge machines and bag all the potatoes they’d dig up. It was 2 , but I enjoyed being outside and we all had a laugh together. Of course, as a teenager, I provided cheap labour, but that didn’t bother me. The £30 I earned every week — cash-in-hand, of course — felt like a(n) 3 back then.
ELA, Poland
I did politics at university and I really wanted to go and see more of Europe, so I 4 I needed a part-time job. A friend of mine did market research for this local company and she put in a good word for me. I mostly worked weekends, but once in a while they’d asked me to do the odd evening as well. I 5 went door to door asking specific questions what people drank, who they were planning to vote for, all sorts. It was fun to begin with, meeting so many new people, and the money was quite good too, but the 6 soon wore off. It soon got very repetitive. I don’t 7 it, though. I learned that a smile goes a long way — and as I know that some people were lazy and made up their data, I’ve learned not to take statistics for granted too!
Carla, Chile
I joined the army after leaving school because I was a restless person and didn’t like ‘academic’ things. Funnily enough, I’ve actually spent quite a lot of time in a classroom since I joined, as we get training for things like logistics. It’s OK, though — you see the 8 benefits more than at school, so I don’t regret joining at all. And if I wasn’t in the army, I would never have gone somewhere like Haiti. I went there as part of a UN humanitarian mission. For sure, people associate the army with war, but nowadays it’s more about peacekeeping and helping people involved in 9 . My area — logistics — is really about solving problems and communication. I’m certainly staying in the army and 10 I’ll achieve a high rank.
