Reading FCE - Jobs

MULTIPLE MATCHING: PAPER 1, PART 3

You are going to read an article about four people who have their dream job. For questions 1-15, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Which person:

1. is not completely happy? 
2. gets their motivation from someone else in their family?
3. does not own their own house?
4. suffered from prejudice? 
5. thought they wouldn't get their dream job when they were younger? 
6. got their dream job through introductions to other people? 
7. earns less money doing their dream job? 
8. finds it difficult to do any work? 
9. was criticised by their family? 
10. does long hours? 
11. was resented by their colleagues? 
12. lives abroad? 
13. did not continue their education after high school? 
14. is a workaholic? 
15. doesn't want to buy or own a lot of things? 

Dream Job

Is it really possible to find your dream job? For many people it seems a complete impossibility, but we spoke to four people who say that they have their dream job. The question is: are they happy?

A Zvonimir, Croatia

Ever since I was a very small child, I loved to play basketball and I always hoped to be a professional player. Although I played all the time when I was a kid, I was very small for my age. I always felt I had no chance. Thankfully, in my teens I did finally grow quite fast, but I'm still not as tall as many of the other players out there.

When I was eighteen, I had the choice of going to university or joining a very small local team to play basketball full-time. For me the decision was easy and although my parents thought I was mad, I knew it was the only thing I wanted to do. I have been playing for the team for two years now and although I still live at home, I am sure that one day everything will change. My real dream is to play in the NBA in the USA. I'm only twenty, so I still have time!

B Patricia, UK

I absolutely love my job, but I would never have thought of it as my dream job because it's the only job that I ever wanted to do. I was very fortunate in that my father worked as a TV director and when I was growing up, he used to take me along to the studio to watch the recordings. When I left school, I asked him if he could help me get a career in directing. He told me what were the best places to study and he also introduced me to his contacts. They were the people who opened the door to me.

But even though my father worked in the business, it doesn't mean that l've had an easy ride. Lots of people said that I only got the job because of nepotism. But I had to work twice as hard as everyone else because I was a woman. When I started work in the 1970s, there were very few female directors working in TV.

C Tove, Sweden

It took me a long time, but I finally have my dream job. I am an artist and illustrator for children's books. I am based half the year here in Uppsala and the rest of the year in New Zealand. It's this that makes my dream job. I always loved the thought of living my life this way. I never really wanted very much and I was never interested in possessions. I only managed to buy my house in the end because out of the blue a book I was working on became very popular. With the royalties from that, I was able to buy my house in New Zealand. 

The funny thing is that I don't feel absolutely content. Even though I have the lifestyle that I always wanted, I still feel there is something lacking in my life. Sometimes I think I was better off when I was working towards my dream. Now I have it, the motivation's gone. I used to work weekends and evenings all the time, but now I can spend days looking out of the window.

D Jose, Portugal

Who would believe that I have my dream job? I work twelve hours a day running a small export company from a small office outside of Porto. I never go on vacation, I eat lunch in ten minutes
at my desk and I often work through the weekend.

It's my dream job because I always wanted to run my own company, to be my own boss. I left my old job as a sales manager for a multinational last year. It wasn't easy making my mind up and I had actually been thinking about it for ages. In fact, I've actually taken a pay cut to do this. That hasn't bothered me too much though because I
knew what I wanted and I was prepared to take risks to get it. But it's not just watching the company grow and make profits. I also know that my daughters will benefit from any success that I may have.

Extra practice

Find these words and phrases (1-8) in the text. Then match the definitions (a-h) to the words and phrases.

1 in my teens 
2 opened the door 
3 nepotism 
4 out of the blue
5 royalties 
6 lacking 
7 running
8 bothered

a managing or controlling a business
b using family connections to get unfair advantages at work or in society
e money that an author or creative person gets from selling a book, CDs, etc.
d gave someone an opportunity
e aged 13-19
f concerned, worried
g suddenly, from nowhere
h missing, absent