Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 55 - It’s a quite daunting task to narrow the list down

Albert: So which of these applicants do you think we should interview? They all seem to fit the job description quite well to me. It’s a quite daunting task to narrow the list down to just one person.

Lisa: I agree. So, lets start by taking up references for these ten people.

Albert: OK then; I’ll keep those who claim have shown resilience and comfortable with taking responsibility.

Lisa: Did you automatically eliminate the two who’d previously taken industrial action and those with an appalling track record?

Albert: One of them - I’d also heard rumors about his involvement in a professional misconduct case. He was certainly relieved of his duties under mysterious circumstances.

Lisa: That’s right. So could we pencil in a meeting for considering the references? And then I’d better leave you and go and clear my desk before I go home.

Vocabulary;

job description: a list of the tasks and responsibilities involved in a job.

daunting: (adjective) making you feel slightly frightened or worried about your ability to achieve something.

narrow something down: to reduce the number of possibilities or options.

resilience: (noun) an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

take responsibility: to accept something that it is your job or duty to deal with.

industrial action: an occasion when workers do something that is intended to force an employer to agree to something, especially by stopping work.

appalling: (adjective) shocking and very bad.

track record: a record of actual performance or accomplishment.

professional misconduct: unethical or unprofessional behavior that falls short of the ethical or professional standards, guides or codes of conduct.

relieve of duty: to dismiss; to sack; to lay off; To remove from a job or set of responsibilities.

pencil in: to arrange for something to happen on a particular date or occasion.

clear one’s desk: to remove everything from one's desk.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. I’m the leader of this team and I .......... full .......... for any remaining errors.

2. We'll .......... the dates for the next two meetings and confirm them later.

3. Let's .......... it .......... to just our very top choices, otherwise we'll never pick a place to go.

4. The country was faced with the .......... prospect of overcoming four decades of division.

5. Sorting out everyone's social life isn't part of my ..........

6. The car manufacturer is facing a threat of .......... over plans to reduce pension benefits.

7. The chief of police has been .......... in the wake of the investigation into departmental corruption.

8. Your table manners are .......... - don't you know how to use a knife and fork?

9. This was a job I had thought about going for myself, but I'd decided against it considering my appalling .......... when it came to interviews.

10. That idle employee was asked to .......... and leave the building.

11. Trauma researchers emphasize the .......... of the human psyche.

12. Bullying, misuse of others work, breaches of .......... confidentiality and other forms of are all potential problems of online environments.

1. take/responsibility 2. pencil in 3. narrow/down 4. daunting 5. job description 6. industrial action 7. relieved of duty 8. appalling 9. track record 10. clear his desk 11. resilience 12. professional misconduct