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EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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1

GLOSSARY

togetoff–tofinishone’sworkscheduleandbeabletoleaveone’sworkplace

*Igetoffat7:givemearidehome?

topickup–tograb,get,orobtainsomething,especiallyifitisagood,favorable

thing

*Atthebeginningoftheyear,theschoolchoirwasreallysmall,butwe’vepicked

upafewnewmembers.

shift–aperiodoftimewhenagroupofworkersfillcertainjobs,tobereplaced

byanothergroupofworksatalatertimeduringtheday,sothatsomeoneis

alwaysworking

*Thefactoryusthreeeight-hourshiftstokeepthemachineryrunningnonstop.

couldu–abletobenefitfromhavingordoingsomething

*oumindanswerthephonesforafewminutes?

part-time–referringtoajobthatislessthan40hoursperweek;workingforonly

apartofthenormalworkdayorworkweek

*Part-timeemployeesaren’teligibleforhealthinsurance,butfull-timeemployees

are.

tocutback–toreducethenumberoramountofsomething,especiallytosave

money

*Ifyouwanttoloweight,trycuttingbackonjunkfoodandexercisingmore.

(one’s)hours–thenumberofhoursperweekthatoneworks,ortheschedule

thatonenormallyworks

*Ashtonusatimesheettoreporthishourstothepayrolloffice.

amumentpark–athemepark;alargeparkwithmanymechanicalrides

designedtoexcite,thrill,entertain,andpleapayingvisitors

*Mostoftheridesattheamumentparkrequireriderstohaveaminimum

heightof42inches.

skeletoncrew–minimalstaffing;thesmallestnumberofworkerswhocankeep

abusinessrunning,udtosavemoneywhenbusinessisnotbusy

*Theuniversitylibraryhasaskeletoncrewinthesummer,whentherearevery

fewstudents.

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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2

tempagency–abusinessthatfindstemporary(short-term)jobplacementsfor

peoplewithcompaniesthatdonotwanttocommittohiringworkers

*hinkthe

tempagencycouldfindsomeonetohelpus?

short-term–temporary;lastingonlyashortamountoftime;notpermanent

*tofindapermanentsolutionsoon.

tojuggle–tohandlemanythingsatthesametime,especiallywhenitis

challengingordifficult

*Idon’tknowhowShannonjugglesschool,afull-timejob,andmotherhood.

Whendoesshesleep?

topiecetogether–tomakesomethingfrommanysmallerpieces;togetlittle

bitsofwhatoneneedsfrommanydifferentsources

*Throughinterviewsandcarefulrearch,thejournalistbeganpiecingtogether

thestory.

income–moneythatonereceives,especiallyforone’swork;revenue

*Theircombinedincomeiswellover$100,000peryear.

toqualifyfor–tomeettherequirementsofajoborposition;tohavethe

characteristicsneededinordertohaveordosomething

*Computermanufacturersinthiscountryarestrugglingtofindpeoplewhoare

qualifiedtoperformtechnicaljobs.

full-time–referringtoajobthatis40ormorehoursperweek

*Aftercollegegraduation,Jakedecidedtotravelforafewmonthsbeforettling

intoafull-timejob.

benefits–helpful,uful,andattractivethingsthatonereceivesinexchangefor

one’swork,notincludingmoney

*Benefitsforouremployeesincludehealthinsurance,dentalinsurance,a

retirementsavingsplan,andfreebuspass.

salary–theamountofmoneyreceivedinayearinexchangefortheworkof

someonewhoisnotpaidbythehour

*Janeislookingforajobwithasalaryofatleast$65,000.

fairygodmother–inafairytale(fictionalstoryforchildren),awomanwith

magicalpowerswhobringsgoodluckandfortunetothemaincharacter

*Pinocchioisthestoryofawoodenpuppetbroughttolifebyafairygodmother.

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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3

COMPREHENSIONQUESTIONS

stheamumentparkhaveaskeletoncrewinthewinter?

a)ToscarevisitorsonHalloween.

b)Tosavemoneybyhavingfewemployees.

c)Tokeepitsoperationshiddenfromcompetitors.

sn’tMaxstudytogetafull-timejob?

a)Becauhedoesn’thaveenoughmoneytogotoschool.

b)Becauheisn’tsmartanddoesn’tlikestudying.

c)Becauheenjoyshavingmanyshort-termjobs.

______________

WHATELSEDOESITMEAN?

shift

Theword“shift,”inthispodcast,meansaperiodoftimewhenagroupofworkers

fillcertainjobs,tobereplacedbyanothergroupofworksatalatertimeduring

theday,sothatsomeoneisalwaysworking:“Canyouworkmyshiftnext

Saturday?”The“graveyardshift”orthe“nightshift”referstotheshiftworkedat

night:“Workingthegraveyardshiftmeanssleepingduringthedaywhen

everyoneelisatwork.”A“swingshift”isaworkschedulefrom3:00or4:00

11:ight:“Thebestthingaboutworkingtheswingshiftis

thatthere’snotrafficduringmycommute.”Finally,a“splitshift”isaschedule

wheresomeoneworksfortwoblocksoftimeduringtheday:“Harveyhasasplit

shift,soheworksforafewhourarlyinthemorningandthenagaininthe

afternoon.”

toqualifyfor

Inthispodcast,thephra“toqualifyfor”meanstomeettherequirementsofa

joborposition,ortohavethecharacteristicsneededinordertohaveordo

something:“HowoldwasOscarwhenhequalifiedtocompeteintheOlympic

games?”Thephra“tobequalifiedfor(something)”meansforthepersonto

havetherequiredskills:“Daviddoesn’temqualifiedforanexecutiveposition

inthiscompany.”Thephra“toqualifyas”meanstohavethecharacteristicsto

beperceivedorconsideredinacertainway:“Justmakingagoodsales

prentationdoesn’uallyhavetomakeasale.”

Thephra“toqualifyastatement”meanstoclarifythemeaningofwhatonehas

said,usuallymakingitlessstrongorlimitingitsaffect:“Thespokeswoman

qualifiedherstatementthatnoonewouldbefiredtoveryfewpeoplewouldbe

fired.

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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4

CULTURENOTE

ThePart-TimeWorkerBillofRightsActof2013

InFebruary2013,Janice“Jan”Schakowsky,entativeforIllinois,

“introduced”(askCongresstoconsider“enacting”(makingintoalaw))the“Part-

TimeWorkerBillofRightsActof2013.”This“bill“(propodlaw)would

“penalize”(punish)employersforfailingtoprovidehealthcaretopart-time

employees.

Oneofthe“unintendedconquences”(thingsthathappenastheresultof

somethingel,eventhoughnobodyplanneditthatway)ofthe“Patient

ProtectionandAffordableCareAct”pasdin2009wasthatitgaveemployers

an“incentive”(motivation;areasontowanttodosomething)to“drop”(remove)

ordableCareActincludes

a“fine”(moneythatmustbepaidasapunishment)foremployerswhodonot

providehealthinsurancebenefitsforfull-timeworkers,butnotforpart-time

ult,someemployersbegan“cutting”(reducing)employees’

hourssothattheywouldbepart-timeemployeesandtheemployerwouldn’thave

toprovidehealthinsurancebenefits.

ReprentativeSchakowsky’sbillwould“rever”that(makesomethingbecome

theopposite)bypenalizingemployersfornotprovidinghealthinsurancebenefits

topart-timeemployees,wouldalsoextendcoverageforpart-time

employeesunderthe“FamilyandMedicalLeaveAct”(alawthatallowspeopleto

take“unpaidleave”(timespentawayfromworkwithoutreceivingpayment)for

familyandmedicalemergencies)andthe“EmployeeRetirementIncomeSecurity

Act”(alawthatdetermineswhocanparticipatein“pensionplans”(plansthrough

whichemployerspaymoneytoformerworkersintheirretirement).

TheActisstronglysupportedbythe“UnitedFoodandCommercialWorkers

InternationalUnion”(UFCW)andother“unions”(organizedgroupsoflaborers

whoadvocateforworkers’rights).

______________

ComprehensionQuestionsCorrectAnswers:1–b;2–a

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ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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5

COMPLETETRANSCRIPT

WelcometoEnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcastnumber1,072–Working

Part-TimeJobs.

ThisisEnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcastepisode1,072I’myourhost,Dr.

JeffMcQuillan,comingtoyoufromtheCenterforEducationalDevelopmentin

beautifulLosAngeles,California.

udo,youcanjoinESLPodcastasa

memberanddownloadourLearningGuide.

ThipisodeisadialoguebetweenLuisaandMaxaboutworkingajoblessthan

40hoursaweek–thatis,’sgetstarted.

[startofdialogue]

Luisa:Areyoustillhere?Ithoughtyougotoffatthreeo’clock.

Max:uthemoney.

Luisa:ButIthoughtyouhadanotherpart-timejobintheevenings.

Max:Inormallydo,buttherestaurantwhereIworkhasbeencuttingbackmy

hours,soI’mtryingtopickupasmanyextrashiftshereasIcan.

Luisa:Anddon’tyouworkattheamumentparkontheweekend?

Max:Idohalftheyear,butit’swinterandtheparkonlykeepsaskeletoncrewon

eantime,I’mworkingforatempagency,which

givesmeshort-termassignments.

Luisa:Idon’tknowhowyoujuggleallthejobs.

Max:opiecetogetheranincomeifIwanttopayrent.

Luisa:Haveyoueverthoughtaboutgoingbacktoschooltoqualifyforother

work,somethingfull-time?

Max:Sure,allthetime.I’dlikeabetterjob,onewithbenefitsandareliable

salary.

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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6

Luisa:What’sstoppingyou?

Max:Ihavetopayforsomethingcalled“food,”andIhaven’tmetmyfairy

godmotheryet!

[endofdialogue]

LuisabeginsherdialoguebysayingtoMax,“Areyoustillhere?”Thisisoneof

thoquestionsyouaskwhenyou’resurpridaboutsomething–obviously

s,“Ithoughtyougotoff

atthreeo’clock.”“Togetoffofwork”meanstofinishyourworkschedule,tobe

onesays,“Whattimedoyouget

off?”theymean“Whattimedoyougetoffofwork?”Whendoyoustopworking?

Whattimedoyoustopworking?

Maxsays,“Ipickedupacondshift.”A“shift”(shift)referstoaperiodoftime

ythistermisudforjobswhenpeopleworkatthat

particularlocationmorethaneighthours,orthattherearepeopleworkingatthat

tbe,forexample,aplacewherethere

,onepersonisnotgoingtowork24

hoursstraight,sotheybreakupthedayintoshifts.

So,ifyouworkthedayshift,you’reworkingprobablyfromeightinthemorning

orkingthenightshift,you’llbe

’reworking

whatwecallthe“graveyardshift,”you’reworkingprobablyfrom11:00atnightor

re“shifts,”then–divisionsof

theworkdayinaplacethatusuallyisopenformorethaneighthours.

Maxsayshe“pickedupacondshift.”“Topickup”heremeanstoget,to

orkingoneshift,andnowhe’spickedupacondshift–which

means,ofcour,he’Maxdone

this?Well,hesays,“Icoulduthemoney.”Whensomeonesays,“Icouldu

themoney,”hemeansthathewouldbeabletobenefitfromgettingmoremoney.

Hehassomeneedofextramoney.

Luisasays,“ButIthoughtyouhadanotherpart-timejobintheevenings.”A“part-

timejob”nited

States,40hoursperweekisconsidered“full-time.”Ifit’slessthan40hours,we

mightcallit“part-time.”

says,“Inormallydo,buttherestaurantwhereIworkhasbeencuttingbackmy

hours.”

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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7

Whenwetalkaboutsomeone“cuttingback”onsomething,wemeanthatheis

-wordphrasal

verb“tocutback,”then,meanstoreducethenumberofsomething–inthisca,

we’

“hours”she’stryingto

pickup“asmanyextrashiftshereasIcan.”

Luisathenasks,“Anddon’tyouworkattheamumentparkontheweekend?”

An“amument(amument)park”isalargeparkusuallythathaslotsofwhat

wewouldcall“rides”inthem–placeswherepeople,especiallychildren,canplay

gamesandgetintothemachinesthatgoreallyfast,landis

anexampleofanamumentparkhereinSouthernCalifornia.

says“Idohalftheyear,”meaningIdoworktherepartoftheyear,“butit’swinter

andtheparkonlykeepsaskeletoncrewonduringthemonths.”Maxissaying

thatthattheamumentparkwherehenormallyworksinthesummertimeonly

a“skeleton(skeleton)crew

(crew)”referstoaverysmallnumberofworkers–theminimumnumberof

workersyoucanhaveataplace.

Ifthebusinessdoesn’thaveverymanycustomers,itmighthaveveryfew

employees,andwemightcallthata“skeletoncrew”ifduringbusytimesthe

d“crew”d

“skeleton”isnormallyudtodescribethebonesofyourbodyorthebonesofan

animal.

Maxsays,“Inthemeantime,”meaningduringthiswinterason,“I’mworkingfor

atempagency,whichgivesmeshort-termassignments.”A“temp(temp)

agency”d“temp”isshort

fortemporary,meaningshort-term–notpermanent,

are,ofcour,manycompaniesthatfindworkers,findpeopletoworkfor

companiesthatjustneedworkersforashortperiodoftime.

Maxsaysthetempagencygiveshim“short-termassignments.”“Short-term”

referstoashortamountoftime–perhapsaweek,o

callupeverymorningand

eiftheyhadanyworkforme,andtheywouldndmetojobsthatwouldlast

maybeoneday,maybetwoorthreedays,

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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8

agenciesareverypopularnow,especiallywhentheeconomyisnotdoingso

iesdon’twanttohireemployeesfull-time.

Luisasays,“Idon’tknowhowyoujuggleallthejobs.”Theverb“tojuggle”

(juggle)usuallyreferstothrowingobjectsupintheairandkeepingthemupin

rtosomeonewhodoesthisasa“juggler,”butheretheverb

meanstohandlemanydifferentthingsatthesametime,tobeabletodomany

s,“Ihavenochoice”–Ihavenoother

option–“IhavetopiecetogetheranincomeifIwanttopayrent.”“Topiece

(piece)together”somethingmeansputtogether,“income”

(income)referstothemoneyyougetfromworking.

Maxissayingthathehastoworkalittlebitatthisjobandalittlebitatthatjobin

ays,“Haveyouever

thoughtaboutgoingbacktoschooltoqualifyforotherwork,somethingfull-

time?”“Toqualify(qualify)for”somethingmeansyouhavetheskillsand/or

xample,ifyouwanttobe

adoctor,youhavetostudyformanyyearsinordertoqualifyforthatkindofjob–

atleast,Ihopeyoustudymanyyearsifyou’,pleadon’ttobe

mydoctor.

LuisaisaskingifMaxhasthoughtaboutgoingbacktoschooltoqualifyforsome

kindofjobthatwouldbefull-time,s,

“Sure,allthetime,”,“I’dlikeabetter

job,onewithbenefitsandareliablesalary.”“Benefits”(benefits)referstothings

suchashealthinsuranceandvacationtimeandsickpay–moneyyougetwhen

youcan’tworkbecauyou’recommonbenefitsthatyouget

whenyouhaveafull-timejob.

“Salary”(salary)referstomoneythatyougettoworkatacertainplace,usually

talkaboutasalary,we’retalkingabout

retwokindsof

waysofgettingpaid–oneisbythehour,whenyougetpaidacertainamountof

you’regettingpaidonasalary,wewouldsayyouaregettingacertainamountof

moneyandareexpectedtodoyourjob,evenifittakesmorethanthenormal40

hoursaweek.

Luisasays,“What’sstoppingyou?”What’spreventingyoufromgoingbackto

school?Maxsays,“Ihavetopayforsomethingcalled‘food.’”Maxismakinga

’ssayingthathecan’n’thave

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ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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9

enoughmoneytogobacktoschoolbecauinadditiontopayinghisrent,he

alsohastoeat,andtoeathehastobuyfood.

Hefinishesbysaying,“Ihaven’tmetmyfairygodmotheryet.”A“fairy(fairy)

godmother(godmother)”isacharacterfromchildren’sstories–storiesthatwe

tellchildren–usuallyinvolvingawomanwhohassomesortofmagicalpowers.

Thefairygodmotherisacommoncharacterincertainfairytalesthataretoldto

,Maxisusing

theexpressiontomeanthathehasn’tfoundsomeonewho’sjustgoingtogive

himmoneytopayforhixpensandtogotoschool.

Nowlet’slistentothedialogue,thistimeatanormalspeed.

[startofdialogue]

Luisa:Areyoustillhere?Ithoughtyougotoffatthreeo’clock.

Max:uthemoney.

Luisa:ButIthoughtyouhadanotherpart-timejobintheevenings.

Max:Inormallydo,buttherestaurantwhereIworkhasbeencuttingbackmy

hours,soI’mtryingtopickupasmanyextrashiftshereasIcan.

Luisa:Anddon’tyouworkattheamumentparkontheweekend?

Max:Idohalftheyear,butit’swinterandtheparkonlykeepsaskeletoncrewon

eantime,I’mworkingforatempagency,which

givesmeshort-termassignments.

Luisa:Idon’tknowhowyoujuggleallthejobs.

Max:opiecetogetheranincomeifIwanttopayrent.

Luisa:Haveyoueverthoughtaboutgoingbacktoschooltoqualifyforother

work,somethingfull-time?

Max:Sure,allthetime.I’dlikeabetterjob,onewithbenefitsandareliable

salary.

Luisa:What’sstoppingyou?

EnglishasaSecondLanguagePodcast

ESLPodcast1072–WorkingPart-TimeJobs

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10

Max:Ihavetopayforsomethingcalled“food,”andIhaven’tmetmyfairy

godmotheryet!

[endofdialogue]

OurscriptwriterisveryqualifiedforthejobthatshedoeshereatESLPodcast,

whichis,ofcour,ou,e.

FromLosAngeles,California,I’

backandlistentousagainrighthereonESLPodcast.

T,ght2015bytheCenterforEducational

Development.