Part 1

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Part 1

The orange colour shows a grammar subject from the Basics. You can click the Basics tab on the left to find the explanation.

The blue colour shows words that might be new or difficult. You can use an online dictionary to find the meaning. You can add these to your personal word list.

Questions in English will be answered in English. Questions in Dutch can be answered in English and Dutch.

Task 1 - Present Simple or Present Continuous

Maak de zinnen af. Bedenk goed of je de Present Simple of de Present Continuous moet toepassen.

1. At De Nieuwste School we always ... (to eat) lunch at 1 o'clock.

2. Look! Dzenana and Manon ... (to eat) their lunch in the Huiskamer.

3. Elisa ... (to take) a picture of the homework right now.

4. Elisa has got a really good camera. She always ... (to take) pictures during the weekend.

5. Look! They ... (to eat) bacon and eggs.

6. On weekdays they usually ... (to eat) breakfast in bed.

7. I always ... (to drink) water from the tap. I don't drink water from bottles.

8. - Where is Jess? - She's at that table over there. - She ... (to drink) a bottle of Coca Cola right now.

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

Before you start reading, have a look at the questions underneath the text.

1. Pet Food Tester

Yes, it's a thing, and yes it's totally disgusting.

But as the owner of pet food company Huds and Toke, Mark Gooley, says,

"If you wouldn't put it in your mouth, don't expect your dog to eat it."

Mr Gooley eats dog food for a living. He eats everything from doggie treats and chewy bones to liver mixture

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

2. Gumologist

A lot of hard work goes into creating the perfect piece of chewing gum.

Just ask Jesse Kiefer, who works as a Gumologist for Cadbury Schweppes.

Kiefer has to get the flavour just right, which isn't easy with some combos like strawberry and lime - which he says don't mix together that well.

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

3. Waterslide Tester

Monday morning definitely seems a lot more exciting if you get to spend your working week slipping down water slides. Especially in summer.

And water slides are usually placed in massive theme parks. Imagine getting to spend your lunch break on a rollercoaster, and eating a hot dog for lunch.

Working holiday, right?

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

4. Teddy Bear Repair Technician

Kids get really emotional about their toys. Remember when your favourite toy lost an arm, or suffered a similar life-threatening injury? It was devastating.

But now there's a special technician who can come to the rescue.

The Build-A-Bear Workshops have a Teddy Bear Repair Technician who is hired to repair those much-loved teddy bears and get them back to their cuddly, intact, lovable selves.

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

5. Snake Milker

Snake venom is powerful stuff. It can be turned into medicine to treat all kinds of conditions, including a poisonous snake bite.

But someone needs to collect that venom by hand… They gently expose the snake's fang and squeeze out the deadly juices.

"The only difference between me and any other company in the world that produces something is that the means of production here can kill you...and wants to," Alabama snake milker Ken Darnell says.

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

6. Laughter therapist

They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.

If that’s true then a career as a laughter therapist should be an easy ride. In this job a laughter therapist must do their best to make people laugh their way to a better life. Perfect for all you beginning clowns out there!

The Most Extraordinary Jobs

7. Paint Watcher

You may have heard some people say they would “rather watch paint dry” than do something they don’t want to do. Well, if they really mean it, the opportunity is there – studying the drying time and effects of paint as a full-time job for a paint manufacturer.

8. Dice inspector

In the world of gambling, millions can be lost when you roll a faulty dice. With that in mind, the job of a dice inspector is an important one, making sure each dice is in proportion, with all the right angles and blemish free.

Understanding the text

Task 2 - Reading a text, step 1

Before you read the text, answer these questions.

What is the title of the text?

What are the different subtitles of the text?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Kijk naar de titel, de plaatjes en de verschillende tussenkoppen van de tekst. Schrijf in het Nederlands op waarover je denkt dat de tekst gaat.

Task 3 - Reading a text, step 3

Lees de tekst nu volledig en zorg ervoor dat je weet waar hij over gaat. Schrijf bij elke tussenkop op wat het beroep precies inhoudt.

Basis - maak de aantekeningen in het Nederlands.

Uitbreiding - take notes in English.

Task 5 - Questions about the text

 

1. For what kind of company does Mark Gooley work?

2. What does Mark Gooley do for a living? What does this mean?

3. Jesse Kiefer works as a gumologist. What is the hardest part of his job?

4. Of course, testing water slides seems great. What do you think that the last sentence ‘Working holiday, right?’ means? Explain in your own words.

5. Explain these sentences in your own words: ‘Remember when your favourite toy lost an arm, or suffered a similar life-threatening injury? It was devastating.’

6. Why do you think that the author starts with these sentences?

7. What purpose does snake venom have?

8. How do the ‘snake milkers’ collect the venom?

9. What do you think that ‘to frown’ means? Why should a career as a laughter therapist be an easy ride?

10. What does it mean to be a ‘paint watcher’? What do you actually have to do?

11. What does it mean to be a ‘dice inspector’? Why is it an important job?

12. “The only difference between me and any other company in the world that produces something is that the means of production here can kill you… and wants to.” Alabama snake milker Ken Darnell says.

What exactly is the difference between Ken Darnell’s job and someone else’s? Why does he say this?

Task 6 - Writing about extraordinary jobs

Now, choose one of the strange jobs from the list below.

Look up information about one of these jobs and write your own piece of information about this job.

Worm picker

Professional sleeper

Shark tank cleaner

Roadkill cleaner

Fortune cookie writer

Face feeler

Golf ball marshall

Odour tester

Cartoon people / mascots

Let op: focus extra op het toepassen van de juiste Basis Grammatica regels. Gebruik de Present Simple om te beschrijven wat je altijd, nooit of soms doet (om feiten te geven). Gebruik de Present Continous om te beschrijven wat je nu aan het doen bent.

Verwerk in je omschrijving ook de aanwijzende voornaamwoorden this, that, these en those.

Basis - write a text between 150 and 170 words long.

Uitbreiding - write a text between 180 and 200 words long.

You're Finish! Good Job

Next up is Part 2!