Unusual occupations

Task 1. Work in pairs. Look at the following unusual jobs. What do you think these people do?

professional tree-climber

serenader

lock-keeper

Which of the words in the list below would you use to talk about these jobs?

aroma Chanel fishing heart nez perfume safety harness voice

balcony conservation flooding heights opera repertoire scent

bank cosmetics fragrance horticulture Paris river style

branches cottage garden love passion rope tenor

canal create gondola navigation park roses tropical

Underline any words which are not suitable for describing any of the jobs.

Task 2. Read the first part of an interview with a lock-keeper. With your partner, think about the questions and decide which words are likely to be stressed in the answers.

- How long have you been a lock-keeper, Mr Fielder?

- Oh dear, let me think – umm – I started when I was 25, so that means I've been at it for uh twenty-one years now. Yeah, that's it – three years on the Oxford canal and the past eighteen years here on the Reading stretch. Twenty-one years in all.

- What did you do before you became a lock-keeper?

- I used to be an electrician. That's what I trained as.

- Do you ever regret leaving your profession?

- Oh, no. Absolutely not. Right from the start I realised this was the one job that I would love to do. And I was right.

- When is your most busy time of year?

- The summer months. I can easily work a ten-hour day with all the holiday traffic and the upkeep of the flower beds along the side of the lock.

Listen to the recording and check your answers.

Task 3. Read the second part of the interview. With your partner, try and guess the missing words.

- Many people imagine life on the river as uneventful and easy-going. Is this right?

- Yes,...... often ...... me if I ever get...... sitting around here! In fact, I ...... ...... at six most mornings, and even in ...... when there are fewer ...... about, there is a lot to do controlling the water ...... . When it ...... hard in the ...... ,1 can be up half a dozen times attending to the weir ...... . No, I'm afraid the popular image of the pipe-smoking old man, ...... against the lock gate ...... for the occasional...... is far from the truth.

Listen to the recording and check your answers. Did you find it difficult to guess the missing words? If so, can you explain why?

Task 4. You are going to hear an interview with a professional serenader. Read the first part of the interview and underline the words that are important for meaning.

- I believe you are the founder of Serenading Service – is that right?

- Yes, that's right. I started the service three years ago when I realised that British people were desperate for romance with a capital 'R'. I thought there would be a clientele for a hired serenader.

- How did you begin your career as a singer?

- I started singing as a choirboy and at the age of ten I was chosen to sing alongside Placido Domingo at a charity do. That's what really got me started on a musical career. I went on to study music and then I joined an Opera company.

Listen to the recording and find out if the words you underlined were stressed by the speakers.

Task 5. Read the second part of the interview. With your partner, try and guess the missing words. Can you understand the meaning without the complete text?

- Where did the idea of serenading come from?

- From ...... studies ...... Renaissance music, ......, ...... course, opera, which is full...... serenades. On the continent, especially ...... Spain ...... Italy where it still thrives, it...... ...... traditional romantic experience. Over ...... centuries, university students ...... turned the serenade ...... .... art form ...... hire.

- What exactly do you do?

- Well, usually I am hired ...... men ...... sing love songs ...... women. Occasionally I...... asked ...... sing ...... men, but only ...... exceptionally.

Listen to the recording and check your answers. Did you find it easier to guess the missing words in this extract than in the extract in activity 3? If so, can you explain why?

Task 6. Listen to the final part of the interview. Find the answers to these questions.

1. What sort of songs does the serenader sing?

2. Where does he sing from?

3. How much do the services of a serenader cost?

4. How do people usually react?

5. How do serenaders avoid unpleasant situations?

Compare your answers with your partner. Then listen to the recording again and check.

Task 7. You will hear a radio interview with a man who is a professional tree-climber. Look at the sentences and complete them by writing one or two words in the spaces. Listen carefully. You will hear this piece twice.

Mr Saw has been a tree surgeon and qualified tree-climber for (1) ____________.

He started climbing trees for the Parks department when he was (2) ____________.

He was well adapted to climbing trees because he was (3) ____________ and he was not afraid (4) ____________.

He went to Merristwood College in Surrey, where he followed a course on tree (5) ____________ climbing.

His work is varied. He may be asked to (6) ____________ or to conduct (7) ____________ on the tree.

Last year he worked for a (8) ____________.

He travelled to the Comoros Islands and climbed a (9) ____________ in order to catch a (10) ____________.

He has never (11) ____________.

He has climbed trees more than (12) ____________ high.

He is now a lecturer on (13) ____________ at a horticultural college.

Task 8. Would you like to do any of the jobs mentioned in this unit? Do you have the qualities necessary for any of the jobs?

Read the description below of a job. It is a job which the underlined words from Task 1 could be used to describe.

Caroline is a perfume creator or nez and she lives and works in Paris for a German company. She develops new aromas for cosmetics and perfumes. All the raw materials are imported from the South of France so it makes sense to live in Paris for someone in this line of work. Paris is a city that offers ideas and Caroline finds most of her inspiration by looking at people. Parisian women display more style than others and just seem to know how to put everything together and make it look great. They are not afraid of taking risks.

An important aspect of Caroline's work is to evaluate how much women's perception of beauty is influenced by advertising and magazines and how this is reflected in what they buy.

Her own personal favourite perfume is Chanel No. 5, a great classic. Her husband is also a perfume creator and they live and work side by side. He creates beautiful and very successful fragrances, but Caroline doesn't usually wear any of them.

Did you think of this type of work? Does the article answer your questions?

Task 9. With your partner, choose four of the jobs from the list below. Think of four or five words you can use to talk about each job. Write the words in four separate groups on a piece of paper.

bank clerk decorator newspaper editor wine maker

carpenter film director orchestra conductor

computer programmer gardener shop assistant

dancer head teacher telephone salesperson

Work with another pair of students. Exchange your pieces of paper. Can you guess which jobs your partners were thinking of?