Work and leisure

Before you read

1. Answer these questions about yourself.

What time do you usually get up?

When do you have breakfast?

What time do you usually start work/college?

Reading

2. Read this article adapted from the Financial Times and answer the questions.

One day in the life of Peter Fellner

I always get up at 5 a.m. and eat a light breakfast. At 6.30 a.m., I am ready to leave, and my driver, Joan, drives me to work. I never do any exercise in the morning and usually read the FT and the Guardian or The Times in the car. The morning is a busy time of day for me, and I usually have a lot 10 of meetings. At 11 a.m., Joan often takes me to a meeting away from the office. Time in the car is useful for making phone calls.

I wait until 1 p.m. before I eat anything. I often have working lunches and usually eat fish or salad. In the afternoon, I answer my e-mails and organise my schedule. I go on short trips 20 abroad about once a month. I get home at 6.30 p.m. I sometimes make calls to America, and then I normally have time for family things. By 8.30 p.m., I am very hungry and ready to eat. I usually g to sleep around 11p.m.

Financial Times

3. Decide whether these sentences about Peter Fellner are true or false.

He sometimes gets up at 5 a.m.

He usually eats a lot for breakfast.

He does no exercise before work.

He likes to read newspapers on his way to work.

He doesn't eat anything at lunch time.

He regularly works while he eats lunch.

He answers his e-mails in the morning.

He leaves the office at 6.30 p.m.

He sometimes has to call America before he eats dinner.

4. Complete this table.

	Time	Action
a)	05:00	Peter ….and …. Breakfast.
b)	06:30	He …. home for the office.
c)	11:00	Joan …. him to a meeting outside the office.
d)	13:00	He …. lunch.
e)	18:30	He …. home from work.
f)	20:00	He …. some phone calls.
g)	23:00	He …. to sleep.

5. Write some questions to ask your friends.

What time / get up?

What / usually eat / breakfast?

When / normally have lunch?

What / often do / evenings?

What / favourite time of day?

Discussion

Do you think it's a good idea to do the same things at the same time every day?

What do you like doing at the weekends?

Ways of getting to work

Before you read

1. Answer these questions.

How do you usually travel to work?

Does it take a long time?

2. Use a dictionary to match the words (1-3) with the correct definitions (a-c).

1. commuter a) special clothing for water sports

2. traffic jam b) traffic which is not moving or is moving slowly

3. wetsuit c) a person who travels to work

Reading

3. Read this article adapted from the Financial Times and answer the questions.

Surf shorts fit fine in morning rush hour

Stephen Russel, who works in the Tamar Valley in Cornwall, takes a small boat down to the sea near his home and travels to his office. It takes about 30 minutes each way, and he can enjoy looking at the countryside while he travels to work, rather than sitting in a traffic jam. However, Mr Russel is not the only commuter to travel to work in an unusual way.

David Grimes, an IT manager, also travels to work by sea from his home in Shoreham-on-Sea to his office in Brighton. Mr Grimes says he commutes this way twice a week and he thinks he is one of the few people in the country who arrives at the office wearing a wetsuit.

In Derbyshire, Andrew Rastall, operations manager for Airways Airports, uses a small aircraft for his journey to work. He says the 25 kilometres is about ten minutes quicker than in the car; all you need is a field in which to take off, and he lands on the grass outside his office. His business partner also flies to work.