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Handouts and Key to book4 unit1-8 Unit 1

Active reading (1)

Looking for a job after university? First, get off the sofa Background information

About the passage: This is an article by an Education Correspondent, Alexandra Blair, published in

September 2008 in The Times, a long-established British quality newspaper. In Europe generally, and in

Britain in particular, for a number of years there has been a rising number of students who go to university

and therefore more new graduates seeking employment. However, for many graduates finding a job became

harder in 2008–2009 because the economic downturn – then a recession – meant that many employers werereducing their workforce. After their final exams, some students rested in the summer before looking for jobs

and then they found that it was difficult to find employment in their field or at the level they wanted. The

article addresses the problems of such new graduates who might be stuck at home and advises their parents

to be there for their children (ie to be available if their children want to talk about the problem or if they

need help). The article recommends finding work in a bar or supermarket rather than sitting unemployed

at home since this is more likely to lead to better employment later. The style is partly of a report, but also

of a humorous comment for light entertainment (seen in the jokey language and problem-solving advice to parents).

Why finding a job in 2008 is so difficult for university graduates?

Universities in Europe, particularly in Britain, have expanded greatly in the last fifteen years (over 45% of

young adults now go on to higher education), so there are more graduates looking for jobs. This competitive

situation became a lot worse in 2008 onwards with the credit crunch and economic depression, which meant

that there were fewer jobs available and a rise in unemployment. Thus new graduates have to be active

to seek a job, they need to fill in many application forms and try to get job interviews: they won’t find

employment by lying on the sofa at home. Culture points

honours degree: Traditionally, in the British university system, BA and BSc honours degrees are awarded

in different categories: a first class degree (written using Roman numbers as I), a second (divided into two

subcategories, written as IIii and IIii, which are called “a two one” and “a two two”), a third (written III) and

a pass degree. Most people get a second. There are also ordinary degrees with more general courses of study without these categories.

Generation Y and Grunt: The main idea here is that there is a succession of different generations or

cohorts of adults who come into the workforce in North America which are given different informal names

to characterize them. First, “Baby boomers” were born in the great increase (the boom) of births after World

War II (1946–1960), followed by “Generation X” people (born 1960–1980) who were said to bring new

attitudes of being independent, informal, entrepreneurial, and expected to get skills and have a career before

them. “GenerationY” or the “Millenial Generation” (born 1980s and 1990s and becoming adult in the new

millenium) are now making up an increasing percentage of the workforce; they are said to be spoilt by doting

parents, to have structured lives, to be used to teamwork and diverse people in a multicultural society. In

the passage, this generation is now becoming (morphing into) Generation Grunt, which is an ironic name

referring to repetitive, low status, routine or mindless work – this may be the only work available to some

graduates, who may have to take very ordinary jobs to get experience before they find something more

suitable. “Grunt” also refers to coarse behaviour or bad manners and to the deep sound that is made by a pig;

when people “grunt” they express disgust but do not communicate with words – this may be how the parents

of new graduates think their children communicate with them!

A comprehensive refers to a British type of secondary school which became popular in the1960s. Before that

there were academic “grammar schools” and more general “secondary modern” schools for those who did

not pass the grammar school entrance tests, but the comprehensive schools were designed for all students in

a social philosophy of bringing diverse students together whether they were academic or not. Those students

who went to a comprehensive school probably felt that had to study particularly hard (I worked my backside

off) to get to university, compared to those who went to grammar schools where all students were academic –comprehensive students felt they had to struggle to get to university.

Chicken suit This refers to a large yellow costume that someone wears which makes the person look like a

giant chicken. Before he became a famous actor, Brad Pitt once dressed in such a costume when he had a job

advertising for a restaurant called El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken’ in Spanish) – the job meant that he had

to walk around the streets like a chicken to attract customers to come to the restaurant. Language points

1 Those memories of forking out thousands of pounds a year so that he could eat well and go to the

odd party, began to fade. Until now. (Para 1)

The parents paid a lot of money for their son’s university fees and living expenses (so that he could eat

well) and for occasional social events – at graduation these memories of money were mostly forgotten

because the parents were proud. But now the parents are thinking of money again because the son doesn’t

have a job and doesn’t seem to be actively seeking one.

2 This former scion of Generation Y has morphed overnight into a member of Generation Grunt. (Para 2)

The distinguished son of Generation X (of the parents’ generation who worked hard, got jobs, and had

good careers and expected their son to do the same) has changed into a member of Generation Grunt – he