Practice English Vocabulary B2 Exercises – Work and business

A. Circle the correct word.

1   The charity / union I’m a member of is calling for a nationwide strike next week.

2   It’s company / firm / business policy not to allow the use of phones for personal calls during working hours.

3   The recent raise / rise in the cost of petrol has affected loads of small businesses round here.

4   In some professions, you have to retire / resign when you’re 60 or 65 years old.

5   My grandfather gets a pension / promotion from the company he used to work for.

6   Not only did we all have to work overtime / promotion this weekend, but we didn’t get paid for it!

7   Have you had any news about that work / job / career you applied for yet?

8   The starting salary / wage is €20000 per year.

9   You’ll get a weekly pay / wage of about €300 before deductions.

10   She became a full-time member of employees / staff / employers last year.

B. Complete using the correct form of the words in the box.

1   No sooner had Denzil …………………… the lottery than he decided to quit his job.

2   How long does it take you to …………………… to work every day?

3   How much does a state school teacher …………………… each year?

4   Over a hundred workers were …………………… redundant when the factory closed.

5   Our next-door neighbour was …………………… for stealing company property.

6   Does your local supermarket ……………………?

7   Rarely have I …………………… so much valuable experience in such a short space of time.

C. Write one word in each gap.

It just takes hard work and commitment

Entrepreneur Jane Dickson describes how she got started

I was working as an IT Manager for a small publishing company (in fact, I was standing (1) ……………… for the actual manager while she was away on maternity leave) when the company was taken (2) ……………… by a large multinational media organisation. It was in the depths of the recession, and initially our new owners promised to see our small company (3) ……………… the hard times. Things got worse, though, and they finally backed (4) ……………… of their agreement. Our company closed (5) ……………… . We were all made redundant – it was horrible!

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. I (6) ……………… down several offers of work as I didn’t want to rush into anything. Then, one day, I woke up and thought: ‘I’m going to set (7) ……………… my own business!’ At first it was tough. I had to (8) ……………… to everything myself – I was the only employee! – but I set (9) ……………… it with dedication and refused to give up, whatever happened. Over the last five years, as the company’s grown, I’ve taken (10) ……………… more and more staff. Dickson’s now employs over five hundred people! I set (11) ……………… to be successful, and I’ve managed it. I feel very lucky, although, to be honest, luck has nothing to do with it. It just takes hard work and commitment. I don’t feel satisfied yet, though. We’re bringing (12) ……………… new products all the time, and I want to continue doing that. I also want to speed (13) ……………… our production process to make it more efficient. I’m not planning to slow (14) ……………… any time soon!

D. Match to make sentences.

A   on hold for ages.

B   about who’s going to get promoted.

C   of work for over two months now.

D   into writing this report.

E   business long.

F   in your work.

G   for that position.

H   accept a pay cut.

I    work, doesn’t he?

J   on this, aren’t we?

E. Write one word in each gap.

1   Maybe you should write a letter ……………… complaint to the manager.

2   When was the last time you had a ……………… off?

3   Hardly had the police officer come ……………… duty when he had to respond to an emergency.

4   My dad’s ……………… work at the moment, I’m afraid. Can you call back later?

5   I am available to ……………… an interview at your convenience.

6   He’s been ……………… this job for over thirty years.

7   Our company ……………… a lot of business with Altech Industries.

8   Sol’s made an arrangement ……………… the wholesalers to deliver more frequently in future.

9   June’s got several years’ experience ……………… dealing with young children.

F. Choose the correct answer.

1   Who is responsible ………… dealing with complaints?

      A with             B for

      C in                  D at

2   We began ………… looking round for advertising agencies which had experience of our market.

      A to                 B with

      C by                 D at

3   The covering letter wasn’t attached ………… the CV.

      A to                 B with

      C from            D by

4   Don’t you think you should apply for the job ………… writing?

      A with             B for

      C at                 D in

5   I was only absent ………… the office for a few minutes!

      A for               B from

      C in                  D about

6   Success in this industry depends a lot ………… luck!

      A with             B from

      C at                 D on

G. Cross out the incorrect word in each sentence and write the correct word on the line.

1   Sadie’s quite good in typing. …………….

2   Jimmy qualified at a doctor a couple of years ago. …………….

3   You need to be good at languages to work in an interpreter. …………….

4   It’ll be good that Rudy to get some work experience this summer. …………….

5   You’ve got to be experienced from dealing with difficult authors if you want to be an editor. …………….

6   We specialise for manufacturing tiles for the building industry. …………….

7   After qualifying as veterinary medicine, she decided to move to Yorkshire. …………….

8   I’d love to work as advertising. …………….

9   Joanne is training for become a trapeze artist at the moment! …………….

H. Complete the sentences by changing the form of the word in capitals when this is necessary.

1   All the heavy ………………… (MACHINE) in the factory has been manufactured on site.

2   Al is a manager at the local water ………………… (WORK).

3   An ………………… (INDUSTRY) dispute is threatening to delay production of the new car.

4   We work under close ………………… (SUPERVISE), so there’s not much opportunity for initiative.

5   Farm ………………… (WORK) in Belgium have accepted a 5% pay increase.

6   There’ll be an ………………… (ADD) charge of €30 for delivery.

7   Supersonic planes have never been a ………………… (COMMERCE) success.

8   We couldn’t have built this new train without the ………………… (DEDICATE) and expertise of the entire workforce.

9   The plan is completely ………………… (WORK). Let’s just forget it!

I. Complete the text by changing the form of the word in brackets.

Job fairs

Although a certain percentage of graduates will still be (1) ………………… (employ) six months after leaving university, the majority will have found (2) ………………… (employ) by then. Many of these will even have been offered a job while at university, as a result of visiting a job fair. Job fairs are held at many universities each year. Companies come along to advertise jobs, which are usually in (3) ………………… (manage), and the career structures and benefit packages that go with them. Job fairs are an (4) ………………… (effect) way for undergraduates to find out what kind of job they might be interested in.

If you go to a job fair, dress (5) ………………… (profession). Don’t wear jeans and a T-shirt. Wear a suit! You don’t want to look (6) ………………… (responsible) when you have your first (7) ………………… (meet) with your potential (8) ………………… (employ). If you’re interested in a job on offer, you may have to fill out an (9) ………………… (apply) form, so it’s (10) ………………… (help) to take along relevant information with you. You’ll also need proof of all your (11) ………………… (qualify), so don’t forget to take photocopies of all your certificates with you.