Аудирование билет 25

Card 25

Listen to three people speaking about their work-life balance and answer the questions below.

1. What does the first speaker complain about?

2. How has the lifestyle of the second speaker changed?

3. What does the third speaker think about his way of life and the typical Japanese work-life balance?

Speaker 1: l am not happy with my work-life balance at all. I work at least 50—60 hours a week so I don’t have any time at all for myself to enjoy hobbies or to see my children and spend quality time with them. I communicate with my wife leaving messages on the fridge. We hardly ever see each other because we work different hours. Also, I eat very badly because my working lunch ‘hour’ is only 10 minutes and it is not enough to have a proper meal. OK, I earn a lot but I have no free time.

Speaker 2: I didn’t use to have much time for anything because I worked too much: 40—45 hours a week. Now I am working 30 hours a week. I feel much happier. I play tennis twice a week and have long weekends. I think if you have time to enjoy your personal life you work much better and your productivity is much higher.

Speaker 3: Yes, I am happy because I’ve chosen a lifestyle that I like and that gives me a lot of freedom. But my father, on the other hand, works 70 hours a week for a car company in Japan, which I think is madness. There’s an expression in Japanese ‘karoshi’ which means dying because you work too hard. A lot of people in Japan get ill and die because they work too much. I don’t want my life to be ruled by work. I want to have time for myself.