A Very Energetic Woman

Martha is always busy with her job. She gets to the office before 8.30. She takes off her coat, puts on her reading glasses and sits down at her desk. Then she reads her mail and fills out the daily reports. If she has enough time, she has a cup of coffee.

At 9.00 the other workers arrive. Some of them are too tired to smile. Sometimes Martha is too busy to talk, but she says hello to everyone.

At 9.30 she goes into the boss’s office. She gives him the daily reports. They always talk about them for a few minutes. She tells the boss her plans for the day. Then she goes back to her office and makes phone calls. The company does business in England and Japan, so sometimes she has to call these countries.

At the end of the day she picks up her children at school. They are always happy to see her, and she is always energetic enough to play with them at home. Martha is important to the people at the office and to the people at home. And she does a good job there.

Exercises

1. Read the text and observe the use of “too” and “enough”. Fill in the blanks with either “too” or “enough”:

1. This exercise is easy … . 2. She is clever … to do this work herself. 3. Jack is … young to get married. 4. I am not going to talk to him just now. He is … angry. 5. She is … old to work. 6. Mary lives … far from the University. 7. She is communicative … to have many friends. 8. This room is … small for our office. 9. Emily is a good typist. She types well … . 10. We have … time to help him. 11. It is … cold to go out. 12. I am … busy to go to the cinema.

2. Ask and answer questions on the text.

3. Tell your fellow-students about Martha’s daily routine.

4. Is your mother a busy woman? Tell your fellow-students about her daily routine.

Text 3

My Leisure Time

There is plenty to do after your school or work hours, particularly sport which I enjoy most. My favourite sport is hockey. Almost all my friends are here. We train hard and play for the school and in many regional youth tournaments.

As most young people I spend my after school hours watching TV or doing domestic chores or listening to music or reading. We don’t have a computer at home, so I spend a considerable time playing computer games at my friend’s. Of course all this I do when I have my homework done.

I think it’s common with most young people to spend some time outdoors. Street life is important for us. We meet somewhere in streets and talk and then go to town centre to do window shopping and “see what’s going on”.

My friends use some of their spare time to earn money by working in different places. Some of them wash cars for people; others do a part-time job for shops and cafes. As for me I earn my pocket money teaching English at a kindergarten.

I’ve usually got enough money to do the things I want. I can buy the records and CDs I want without asking the permission from my parents.

Exercises

1. Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. How do most young people spend their spare time? And what about you? 2. Why is street life so important for young people? 3. Do you go in for sport? Do you take part in sport competitions at the University? 4. What are you interested in? 5. Do you enjoy visiting friends? 6. Do you talk about your problems or tell your friend about your new experiences? 7. What do you like to talk about? 8. Do you work? In what way can students earn money?