Views #1174 | Intermediate (B1)

Future Plans for Alex

Alex talks with Maria about what he would like to do in the future with his life.

Maria: So Alex, now we talked about what I would like to do in the future, what about you? Career wise, let's start with that.

Alex: I actually have absolutely no idea what I want to do as a career. I know I want to do something interesting and I want to do something fun. I've certainly, I think that I as a person am most suited to a service style industry or a hospitality something like that where I would be, I've had sort of dalliances or ideas about cafes, cafe chains, certainly I'd always wanted to I think maybe rival Starbucks would be lovely. I looked at restaurants. Restaurants didn't really appeal to me because you've got weird hours and when everyone is having fun you're not. What else? For me it's, I just like to be able to have something that was constantly enjoyable. I think, you know, what you said, dynamic you know.

Maria: Exactly.

Alex: You can have something that will be enjoyable and you can change it up every day and so on and so forth but as to what I specifically would do, I can't put a name to it. I'm not the only one in my family. My father has a CV that's four, sorry ten pages long. It's ten pages long. He's changed jobs I think twenty six times, twenty seven now, and he's just so I don't know. For me I'd like to travel but I'd certainly want to have a home base. I can't go too far away from home.

Maria: When you say home, would it be your present home like Australia or would you...?

Alex: Yeah, I've got to say I'm an Aussie, true blue Aussie. I've got a love of the country. It's my home. I have spent time overseas. I've lived a year and a half in Canada, a year and a half in Australia, a year and a half in Asia sorry it's not a year and a half in Australia, a year and a half in America, so I've done a couple of other things and I've always come back and been why did I leave? What caused me to leave? So, yeah, I'm torn between doing things that are altruistic and selfish. Do I want to just work for me and get the money, the moolah, the cash, the green, or do I want to do something a bit more for everyone else and I don't know it's difficult to decide. How do I do both?

Maria: So the future is open?

Alex: It is open isn't it?

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

suit

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I am most suited to a service style industry.

When something 'suits' you, then it is appropriate to your style or personality. Notice the following:

  1. Wearing a tie to work just doesn't suit me.
  2. My new job suits me quite well. I love it.

dalliances

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I've had sort of dalliances or ideas about cafes.

A 'dalliance' is a romantic feeling about a person or thing. Notice the following:

  1. I had a dalliance with poetry in college.
  2. They were married, so they kept their dalliances a secret between themselves.

rival

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I think a rival Starbucks would be lovely.

A rival is a person or organization you compete against. Notice the following:

  1. Our basketball games get big crowds when we play against our rival high school.
  2. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were both good friends and fierce rivals.

dynamic

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I think, you know, what you said, dynamic, you know.

When something is 'dynamic,' it is always changing or moving. It is something that is full of energy. Notice the following:

  1. His new haircut was a dynamic shift from his old look.
  2. Strong economies often have dynamic industries.

CV

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My father has a CV that's four, sorry, ten pages long.

'CV' stands for curriculum vitae and it is a list of a person's education and work history. Notice the following:

  1. British people prefers CV's while Americans prefer resumes, but they're basically the same thing.
  2. It says on his CV that he speaks five languages.

altruistic

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I'm torn between doing things that are altruistic and selfish.

When someone is 'altruistic,' that means they do things to help people without getting anything in return. Notice the following:

  1. Most charities try to be altruistic.
  2. At first we though he was altruistic, but later we learned he hoped to benefit from his actions.

moolah / green

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Do I just want to work for me and get the money, the moolah, the cash, the green?

'Moolah' and 'green' are informal terms for money. Notice the following:

  1. I do not have a lot moolah these days.
  2. She only likes him for his green.

Vocabulary Quiz

suit • altruistic • rival
dynamic • moolah
  1. Most religions stress that people should be to each other.
  2. You need a lot of to live in New York.
  3. Brazil's biggest in football is Argentina.
  4. Living in a big city does not me very well.
  5. The opposite of is static, which means no change.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

 

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