Professional Documents
Culture Documents
COMMUNICATION
Take the fear out of talking to large gatherings
of people. Gain the public speaking experience
that will empower you with better
C
List of Headings
The typist must be comfortably accommodated
i How can reflection problems be avoided? in a chair that is adjustable for height with a
ii How long should I work without a break? back rest that is also easily adjustable both for
iiiWhat if I experience any problems? angle and height. The back rest and sitting
iv When is the best time to do filing chores? ledge (with a curved edge) should preferably
v What makes a good seat? be cloth-covered to avoid excessive
vi What are the common health problems? perspiration.
viiWhat is the best kind of lighting to have?
viii
What are the roles of management and D
workers? When the keyboard operator is working from a
ix Why does a VDU create eye fatigue? paper file or manuscript, it should be at the
x Where should I place the documents? same distance from the eyes as the screen.
The most convenient position can be found by
using some sort of holder. Individual arrange-
15. Section A ment will vary according to whether the opera-
16. Section B tor spends more time looking at the VDU or the
17. Section C paper – whichever the eyes are focused on for
18. Section D the majority of time should be put directly in
19. Section E front of the operator.
20. Section F
21. Section G E
While keying, it is advisable to have frequent
BENEFICIAL WORK PRACTICES FOR THE but short pauses of around thirty to sixty sec-
KEYBOARD OPERATOR onds to proofread. When doing this, relax your
hands. After you have been keying for sixty
A minutes, you should have a ten minute change
Sensible work practices are an important factor of activity. During this spell it is important that
in the prevention of muscular fatigue; discom- you do not remain seated but stand up or walk
fort or pain in the arms, neck, hands or back; or around. This period could be profitably used to
eye strain which can be associated with con- do filing or collect and deliver documents.
stant or regular work at a keyboard and visual
display unit (VDU). F
Generally, the best position for a VDU is at right
B angles to the window. If this is not possible then
It is vital that the employer pays attention to the glare from the window can be controlled by
physical setting such as workplace design, the blinds, curtains or movable screens. Keep the
office environment, and placement of monitors face of the VDU vertical to avoid glare from
as well as the organisation of the work and indi- overhead lighting.
vidual work habits. Operators must be able to
recognise work-related health problems and be G
given the opportunity to participate in the man- Unsatisfactory work practices or working condi-
agement of these. Operators should take note tions may result in aches or pain. Symptoms
of and follow the preventive measures outlined should be reported to your supervisor early on
below.
so that the cause of the trouble can be have been correctly followed. In cases where
corrected and the operator should seek an employee’s misconduct has been very
medical attention. serious, however, an employer may not have to
follow all of these procedures. If the employer
can prove that the employee’s behaviour was
Questions 22–28 illegal, dangerous or severely wrong, the
Read the text below and answer Questions employee can be dismissed immediately: a
22–28. procedure known as summary dismissal.
Sometimes a dismissal is not considered to
WORKPLACE DISMISSALS have taken place fairly. One of these types is
wrongful dismissal and involves a breach of
BEFORE THE DISMISSAL contract by the employer. This could involve
If an employer wants to dismiss an employee, dismissing an employee without notice or
there is a process to be followed. Instances of without following proper disciplinary and
minor misconduct and poor performance must dismissal procedures. Another type, unfair
first be addressed through some preliminary dismissal, is when an employee is sacked
steps. without good cause.
Firstly, you should be given an improvement There is another kind of dismissal, known as
note. This will explain the problem, outline any constructive dismissal, which is slightly
necessary changes and offer some assistance peculiar because the employee is not actually
in correcting the situation. Then, if your openly dismissed by the employer. In this case
employer does not think your performance has the employee is forced into resigning by an
improved, you may be given a written warning. employer who tries to make significant
The last step is called a final written warning changes to the original contract. This could
which will inform you that you will be dismissed mean an employee might have to work night
unless there are improvements in shifts after originally signing on for day work, or
performance. If there is no improvement, your he could be made to work in dangerous
employer can begin the dismissal procedure. conditions.
The dismissal procedure begins with a letter
from the employer setting out the charges Questions 22 and 23
made against the employee. The employee will Complete the sentences below.
be invited to a meeting to discuss these Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
accusations. If the employee denies the from the text for each answer. Write your
charges, he is given the opportunity to appear answers in boxes 22–23 on your answer sheet.
at a formal appeal hearing in front of a different
manager. After this, a decision is made as to 22. If an employee receives a .................... ,
whether the employee will be let go or not. this means he will lose his job if his work does
not get better.
DISMISSALS
Of the various types of dismissal, a fair 23. If an employee does not accept the reasons
dismissal is the best kind if an employer wants for his dismissal, a .................... can be
an employee out of the workplace. A fair arranged.
dismissal is legally and contractually strong
and it means all the necessary procedures
have been correctly followed. In cases where
Questions 24–28 A
Look at the following descriptions (Questions 24–28) From the very first cave-man to scale a tree or
and the list of terms in the box below. hang from a cliff-face, to the mighty armies of
the Greek-Roman empires and the
Match each description with the correct term A–E. gymnasiums of modern American high
schools, calisthenics has endured and thrived
Write the appropriate letter A–E in boxes 24–28 on because of its simplicity and utility. Unlike
your answer sheet. strength training which involves weights,
machines or resistance bands, calisthenics
24. An employee is asked to leave work straight uses only the body’s own weight for physical
away because he has done something really bad. development.
C
Reading Section 3 The Greeks took calisthenics seriously not only
as a form of military discipline and strength, but
Questions 29–40 also as an artistic expression of movement and
Read the text below and answer Questions an aesthetically ideal physique. Indeed, the
29–40. term calisthenics itself is derived from the
Greek words for beauty and strength.
CALISTHENICS We know from historical records and images
The world’s oldest form of resistance from pottery, mosaics and sculptures of the
training period that the ancient Olympians took
calisthenics training seriously.
They were greatly admired – and still are, today Although body building’s pioneers were drawn
– for their combination of athleticism and from the calisthenics tradition, the sole goal
physical beauty. You may have heard a friend soon became an increase in muscle size. Body
whimsically sigh and mention that someone building icons, people such as Arnold
‘has the body of a Greek god’. This expression Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva, were called
has travelled through centuries and continents, mass monsters because of their imposing phy-
and the source of this envy and admiration is siques. Physical development of this nature
the calisthenics method. was only attainable through the use of anabolic
steroids, synthetic hormones which boosted
D muscle development while harming overall
Calisthenics experienced its second golden health. These body builders also relied on free
age in the 1800s. This century saw the birth of weights and machines, which allowed them to
gymnastics, an organised sport that uses a target and bloat the size of individual muscles
range of bars, rings, vaulting horses and rather than develop a naturally proportioned
balancing beams to display physical prowess. body. Calisthenics, with its emphasis on physi-
This period is also when the phenomena of cal beauty and a balance in proportions, had
strongmen developed. These were people of little to offer the mass
astounding physical strength and development monsters.
who forged nomadic careers by demonstrating
outlandish feats of strength to stunned G
populations. Most of these men trained using In this “bigger is better” climate, calisthenics
hand balancing and horizontal bars, as modern was relegated to groups perceived to be
weight machines had not yet been invented. vulnerable, such as women, people
recuperating from injuries and school students.
E Although some of the strongest and most
In the 1950s, Angelo Siciliano – who went by reduced to nothing more than physically
the stage name Charles Atlas – was crowned developed human beings ever to have lived
“The World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man”. acquired their abilities through the use of
Atlas’s own approach stemmed from traditional sophisticated calisthenics, a great deal of this
calisthenics, and through a series of mail order knowledge was discarded and the method was
comic books he taught these methods to reduced to nothing more than an easily
hundreds of thousands of children and young accessible and readily available activity. Those
adults through the 1960s and 1970s. But Atlas who mastered the rudimentary skills of
was the last of a dying breed. The tides were calisthenics could expect to graduate to weight
turning, fitness methods were drifting away training rather than advanced calisthenics.
from calisthenics, and no widely-regarded
proponent of the method would ever succeed H
him. In recent years, however, fitness trends have
been shifting back toward the use of
F calisthenics. Bodybuilding approaches that
In the 1960s and 1970s calisthenics and the promote excessive muscle development
goal of functional strength combined with frequently lead to joint pain, injuries, unbal-
physical beauty was replaced by an emphasis anced physiques and weak cardiovascular
on huge muscles at any cost. This became the health.
sport of body building.
As a result, many of the newest and most of the impressive size of their muscles. Drugs
popular gyms and programmes emphasise and mechanical devices were used to develop
calisthenics-based methods instead. Modern individual muscles to a monstrous size.
practices often combine elements from a Calisthenics then became the domain of
number of related traditions such as yoga, ‘weaker’ people: females, children and those
Pilates, kettle-ball training, gymnastics and recovering from 38 .................... . Much of the
traditional Greco-Roman calisthenics. Many advanced knowledge about calisthenics was
people are keen to recover the original Greek lost and the method was subsequently
vision of physical beauty and strength and downgraded to the status of a simple,
harmony of the mind-body connection. user-friendly activity. Once a person became
skilled at this, he would progress to
Questions 29–35 39 ................... Currently a revival of
The text has eight paragraphs, A–H. calisthenics is under way as extreme muscle
Which paragraph contains the following building can harm the body leaving it sore, out
information? of balance, and in poor
Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes, 29–35 40 ..................
on your answer sheet.
Questions 36–40
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from
the text for each answer. Write your answers in
boxes 36–40 on your answer sheet.
Writing Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Dear .....................,
Writing Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
It is generally accepted that exercise is good for children and teenagers. Therefore, physical
education and sport should be compulsory for all students in all schools.
What do you think?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.