Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。
- How many days do you work a week?
- Do you like a four-day workweek?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。
- seem /seem/
- advantage /ad-VAN-tij/
- emergency /ih-MUR-juhn-see/
- tight schedule /tahyt SKEJ-ool/
- unexpected /uhn-ik-SPEK-tid/
[verb] – to give the effect of being; to be judged to be
These birds seem unaffected by the climate.
[noun] – a condition giving a greater chance of success
The advantage of the idea was its simplicity.
[noun] – something dangerous or serious, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results
It is important to keep calm in an emergency.
[noun] – a small amount of time to do something
The president has a tight schedule today.
[adjective] – not expected
The experiment produced some unexpected results.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。
A shorter workweek is being called the future of employee productivity and work-life balance. Is it that easy to make work better?
Having four days off per week seems to provide many advantages. The new plan required Koray Camgöz, a PR officer located in London, to better manage his time. Even with an extra day off each week, he was still able to complete tasks and meet deadlines. He could now spend more time with his child. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were usually his days off. He had to put in more hours at work to make up for having to be reachable for emergencies even on his day off because of the always-on environment.
Even when a workday is removed from the schedule, the workload usually remains the same. Employees generally have to learn new routines and work longer hours when given a tighter schedule. A rapid switch to a new working model can occasionally cause problems, as Camgöz noted, especially if not everyone is in favor of the change. The four-day workweek may have a number of benefits for certain people, but it may also have unexpected disadvantages.
Having four days off per week seems to provide many advantages. The new plan required Koray Camgöz, a PR officer located in London, to better manage his time. Even with an extra day off each week, he was still able to complete tasks and meet deadlines. He could now spend more time with his child. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were usually his days off. He had to put in more hours at work to make up for having to be reachable for emergencies even on his day off because of the always-on environment.
Even when a workday is removed from the schedule, the workload usually remains the same. Employees generally have to learn new routines and work longer hours when given a tighter schedule. A rapid switch to a new working model can occasionally cause problems, as Camgöz noted, especially if not everyone is in favor of the change. The four-day workweek may have a number of benefits for certain people, but it may also have unexpected disadvantages.
True or False:
Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.
文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。
- A shorter workweek is being called the future of employee productivity and work-life balance.
- Having four days off per week seems to provide many advantages.
- Rey Camgöz is a PR officer in London.
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays were usually Rey’s days off.
- A rapid switch to a new working model can occasionally cause problems.
Fill in the blanks:
Choose the correct word from the table then fill in the blanks.
適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。
| seem | advantage | emergency | tight schedule | unexpected |
- His departure was quite ______.
- She explained to them what to do in an ______.
- The children always ______ to be hungry.
- She had the ______ of a good education.
- A ______ means we can’t delay any longer.