Angličtina na celý týden / 3.

Test your attitude to time-keeping

1. You’ve arranged to meet a friend in the centre of town. How long do you wait if your friend is late?

a. Five minutes.
b. Fifteen minutes. 
c. Half an hour or more.

2. You have to do a job that’s difficult or unpleasant.

a. You do it  straight away so that you can forget about it.
b. You do it after you’ve tidied your desk and organised your CDs in  alphabetical order.
c. You leave it until the last minute because you need to feel the  adrenalin rush produced by stress.

3. During your holidays, …

a. you continue to get up early – you want to make the most of every day.
b. you allow yourself to get up later and go to bed later than usual.
c. you take your watch off and try to forget what day it is.

4. Which is the best description of your ideal job?

a. A nine-to-five office job that leaves time for my hobbies.
b. A job I love, even if I have to work long or  irregular hours.
c. I want to work for myself even if it means working eight days a week.

Glossary

• an attitude to – postoj k/přístup k
• to arrange – zařídit
• unpleasant – nepříjemný
• straight away – hned/rovnou
• an order – pořádek
• a rush – nával
• a description – popis
• a nine-to-five job – práce s “klasickou” pracovní dobou od 9 do 17
• irregular – nepravidelný

What your score means

Mostly a: You have a rigid attitude to time-keeping. Have you considered a career in the army?

Mostly b: You have a healthy attitude to time-keeping. Your life is not ruled by the clock, but you manage to meet your deadlines in good time.

Mostly c: You have a casual attitude to time-keeping. You stress levels are probably quite low – unlike your friends and colleagues (if you still have any!).

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Phrasal Verbs

Transitive phrasal verbs

Type 1 Phrasal verbs with an object which has two possible positions

• Did you turn down the offer?
• turn the offer down?

When the object is a pronoun (it/me/her/them, etc.) only one position is possible.

• Did you turn it down?
• Did you turn down it?

Type 2 Phrasal verbs with an object which has one position only

• She came across a friend.
• She came a friend across.
• She came across him.

Glossary

• transitive – přechodný (vyžadující předmět)
• an object – předmět
• to turn down – odmítnout
• to come across – náhodou potkat/narazit na

Jak ukazuje text na předchozí straně, některá frázová slovesa vyžadují předmět.

to turn down an offer = odmítnout nabídku
to come across a friend = potkat kamaráda

U sloves prvního typu lze předmět umístit “doprostřed” frázového slovesa (povinně, pokud je předmět vyjádřen zájmenem), u sloves druhého typu to nelze.

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Future forms

We use going to to talk about plans for the future or intentions (thingswe have already decided to do).

I am going to take a holiday in July.
Sue isn’t going to buy that car.

With the verbs go and come we often use the Present Continuous.

We use the Present Continuous to talk about fixed future arrangements (usually involving another person).

I am meeting John at 4 p.m. (I called him this morning to arrange it.)
Are you coming to the cinema tonight? (You have been invited.)

In many cases you can use either going to or the Present Continuous.

I am playing tennis tomorrow.
I am going to play tennis.

We use will for unplanned decisions (made while speaking), offers or promises.

I’ll/won’t tell her the joke.
Will you help me with this please?

For general predictions you can use will or going to.

I think Germany will/are going to win the next football World Cup.

Glossary

• an intention – úmysl/záměr
• a fixed future arrangement – pevně stanovené ujednání/příprava
• involving – zahrnující
• a promise – slib
• a prediction – předpověď

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Time-savingtips- lists

Making lists is relaxing. It makes you feel important – all those things to do. It calms you down (“it’s OK, it’s on a list somewhere”) and it makes you feel good when you cross something off.
The world divides into two types of list-makers. Type A makes orderly lists, prioritises and calmly sets to work on them. Type B waits until panic sets in, grabs the nearest envelope and scribbles all over it, sighs with relief and promptly loses it.
It’s all a question of what works best for you, whether it’s a tidy notebook,a forest of Post-it notes or the back of your hand, some people rely on their personal organisers or simply on their good memory.
So what are you waiting for? There’s no better time than the present to take control of your work and life. So, get out your pencil and paper and make a list.

Glossary

• to calm down – uklidnit
• to cross off – vyškrtnout/odškrtnout si
• orderly – pečlivý/upravený
• to set in – nastat/propuknout
• to grab – popadnout
• to scribble – naškrábat
• to sigh with relief – oddechnout si (úlevou)
• promptly – rychle/okamžitě
• to rely on – spoléhat na

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Writing simply and clearly

Here are a few guidelines for writing clearly and effectively.
Put yourself in the reader’s shoes.

What do they already know about the subject? What message are you trying to get across, and why? Is it to inform, sell, persuade, or explain?

Use short sentences
The shorter the sentence, the stronger the message, and the less room for ambiguity and confusion. This is why most advertisers use short sentences, even when they are aiming at a highly-educated market.

Use active verb forms
One way to shorten sentences is to use active verb forms rather than passive forms. Another good idea is to use personal pronouns wherever it is appropriate.

Include just one main idea per sentence
This avoids the possibility of confusion or ambiguity, particularly when the subject matter is complex.

Remove all unnecessary words or phrases
This will help to shorten sentences and to make the language more forceful and direct.

Glossary

• a guideline – vodítko
• to put yourself in the reader’s shoes – vžijte se do role čtenáře
• to get across – sdělit/předat
• ambiguity – nejednoznačnost
• confusion – zmatení/nedorozumění
• to aim at – mířit/zaměřit se
• to shorten – zkrátit
• appropriate – vhodný/hodící se
• particularly – zejména
• to remove – odstranit
• forceful – působivý/účinný

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Joke

Time Management
The church wanted to help their congregation cope better with the stresses of modern life, and decided to offer a course in Time Management. Soon after the course was announced, a member telephoned the Pastor. “What time does the course start, Pastor?” The Pastor replied, “Oh... six-ish, seven-ish...”

Glossary

• a congregation – náboženská obec
• to cope better with – lépe se vyrovnat s
• a pastor – farář/duchovní
• to reply – odvětit/odpovědět
• six-ish, seven-ish – kolem šesté, sedmé

Six-ish, seven-ish
Přípona -ish se používá v hovorové angličtině pro vyjádření přibližnosti, přibližné hodnoty.

What time shall we meet?
I don’t know, seven-ish?

Je to přípona, která se dá použít vcelku univerzálně.
What colour is his car?
I don’t know exactly… I think brown-ish. Nahnědlou.

Jedná se o hovorový výraz, při přepisu se může psát i bez spojovníku.
She is still quite youngish… Je stále poměrně mladá…

 

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