English Vocabulary Exercises for A2 – Jobs

1. Read the definitions and complete the puzzle.

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This person:

1) helps people to look after their teeth.

2) writes computer software.

3) flies an aeroplanes.

4) often looks after cows and other animals.

5) cuts people’s hair.

6) helps people who are injured or ill in an emergency.

7) trains a person or team to make them better at a sport.

8) deals with people who arrive at a hotel, an office, etc.

9) designs and builds road, bridges, machines, etc.

10) helps people when they buy a house or have a legal problem.

11) designs buildings.

12) helps people to choose a holiday.

13) cleans people’s offices, houses, etc.

14) brings food and drink to tables in a restaurant or café.

What is the secret job? ______________

Show answers

1) dentist   2) programmer   3) pilot   4) farmer

5) hairdresser   6) paramedic   7) sports coach

8) receptionist   9) engineer   10) solicitor   11) architect

12) travel agent   13) cleaner   14) waiter

Secret word : sales assistant

2. Complete the work activities with the words below. Use each word or phrase only once.

alone      children      a computer      customers      your feet

five      hours      indoors      a lot      a lot of money      outdoors

the phone      phone calls      the public      a team      a uniform

1) travel              ______________

2) be on              ______________

3) serve               ______________

4) work ______________

______________

______________

5) wear               ______________

6) deal with        ______________

7) be part of      ______________

8) work nine-to-______________

9) work long      ______________

10) make ______________

11) answer         ______________

12) work with    ______________

13) earn              ______________

14) use                ______________

Show answers

1) travel a lot   2) be on your feet   3) serve customers

4) work alone / indoors / outdoors   5) wear a uniform

6) deal with the public   7) be part of a team

8) work nine-to-five   9) work long hours

10) make phone calls   11) answer the phone

12) work with children   13) earn a lot   14) use a computer

3. Complete the adjectives for describing jobs with a, e, i, o, u and y. Then use them to complete the table.

1) ch a ll e ng i ng

2) b__dl__p__d

3) cr__t__v__

4) r__p__t__t__v__

5) r__w__rd__ng

6) str__ssf__l

7) t__r__ng

8) v__r__d

9) w__ ll p__d

Positive

Negative

challenging

Show answers

2) badly paid   3) creative   4) repetitive   5) rewarding

6) stressful   7) tiring   8) varied   9) well paid

Positive : creative, rewarding, well-paid, varied

Negative : badly-paid, repetitive, stressful, tiring

4. Listen to three people talking about their jobs. What are the jobs? Choose two adjectives from exercise 3 which you think best describe each job.

Job

Adjective 1

Adjective 2

1

2

3

Show answers

1) receptionist; varied, tiring

2) architect; creative, well-paid

3) cleaner; repetitive, badly-paid

4) programmer; challenging, rewarding

Transcript

1)

I work as a receptionist in a hotel. The job is OK. There are lots of different things I have to do, like deal with the public, check guests in and out, answer the phone, use a computer, and so on. So every day is different. The problem is, I have to work long hours, sometimes at night, so I’m absolutely exhausted when I go home.

2)

I’m an architect. I finished college last year and this is first job. I love designing houses, creating something beautiful for people. I love working in a team and the other people in the office are great. But we all work very long hours. Luckily, I get quite a lot of money so it’s worth it!

3)

I’m from Senegal and I work as a cleaner. I’m on feet all day, but I don’t mind because I’m fit and strong and the work isn’t too hard. But I have to clean the same offices every day, six days a week. The same offices! That’s very boring. And I only get about £7 an hour, which isn’t much at all. Britain is expensive and it’s difficult to live on so little money.

4)

I’m a programmer. I work for a software company in London. I love job. I often have to solve quite difficult problems, which is difficult, and takes a lot of time, but I really enjoy it. I love the feeling at the end of the day when I have solved a really difficult problem.

Extra exercises

1. Match the jobs with the statements.

architect      cleaner      dentist      paramedic      pilot

receptionist      sales assistant      sports coach      travel agent

1) ‘I design beautiful houses and large buildings.’ ________

2) ‘I greet people when they first come into our offices.’ ________

3) ‘I wash and vacuum floors, take out the rubbish and keep things tidy.’ ________

4) ‘I can help you find the right clothes to suit you.’ ________

5) ‘I think that being in charge of an aeroplane full of people can be stressful, but I love job.’ __ _____

6) ‘I do everything I can to help the players on football team succeed.’ ________

7) ‘I need to stay calm in emergencies and do everything I can to help people who are hurt.’ __ _____

8) ‘Strong teeth are important to your health – and job is to look after them.’ ________

9) ‘I help people to find just the right holiday for them.’ ________

Show answers

1) architect   2) receptionist   3) cleaner   4) sales assistant

5) pilot   6) sports coach   7) paramedic   8) dentist

9) travel agent

2. Complete the sentences with the words below.

badly-paid      creative      repetitive      rewarding

stressful      tiring      well-paid

1) job as a solicitor is so ________. that I can’t always relax after work.

2) I am so ________. that I don’t have enough money to go out with friends.

3) As a hairdresser, I’m on feet all day. It’s really ________.!

4) I work on the same machine in a factory every day, and it becomes very ________.

5) It’s very ________. to be a teacher and see students improve every day.

6) You might think a musician’s work is always ________, but there is a lot of repetition too.

7) Bankers are usually very ________, and some people think they earn too much money.

Show answers

1) stressful   2) badly-paid   3) tiring   4) repetitive

5) rewarding   6) creative   7) well-paid

3. Complete the sentences with the words below.

answer      deal      earn (x2)      on feet      travel      wear      work

1) I am an international businesswoman. I’m almost never at home because I ________. a lot. I don’t mind, though, because I ________. a lot of money.

2) As a receptionist, I ________. the phones and ________. with the public.

3) I’m a doorman in a hotel, so I have to ________. a uniform, and I ________. long hours.

4) I am a cook in a fast-food restaurant, so I’m ________. all day. I don’t ________. a lot, but I enjoy the job.

Show answers

1) travel, earn   2) answer, deal   3) wear, work

4) on feet, earn

4. Match the jobs below with definitions 1-9.

builder      estate agent      groundskeeper      journalist

photographer      pizza delivery man      police officer

stunt performer      video game developer

This person:

1) helps people buy and sell houses. ________.

2) constructs houses and other buildings. ________.

3) writes about current events for the media. ________.

4) takes care of a big outdoor area such as a football pitch. ________.

5) performs difficult physical tricks for films and TV. ________.

6) takes pictures with a camera. ________.

7) makes sure people follow the law. ________.

8) design fun digital entertainment. ________.

9) takes a type of fast food to people’s houses. ________.

Show answers

1) estate agent   2) builder   3) journalist

4) groundskeeper   5) stunt performer   6) photographer

7) police officer   8) video game developer

9) pizza delivery man / woman

5. Complete the text with the words below.

have       join      looking for      offer      noticed      sent in      take

No one likes 1) _____. a job, but when you’re unemployed, that’s all you can do. This is second experience of unemployment in ten years. A lot of things were different the first time. Then, when I 2) _____. an interesting advertisement in the paper or online, I completed and 3) _____. an application. Then I waited. Nowadays, I ‘network’. I use social media to tell people in good companies what I can do. They don’t usually 4) _____. me a job, but they often know about available jobs. I always explain that I want to 5) _____. a team and that I rarely 6) _____. a day off sick. I mention the fact that I 7) _____. a degree in English. I usually say that I’m flexible and a team player, and this seems to help a lot.

Show answers

1) looking for   2) noticed   3) sent in   4) offer   5) join

6) take   7) have

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