📙 Part 2: Describe a job you don’t want to do in the future

This episode's vocabulary

To draw the line (idiom) - to never do something because you think it is wrong.

To baulk (verb) - to be unwilling to do something or to allow something to happen.

On edge (phrase) - nervous and not relaxed.

Cargo (noun) - the goods carried by a ship, aircraft, or other large vehicle.

To haul (verb) - to transport something, usually by road.

Trafficker (noun) - a person who trades in illegal goods, especially drugs, or who buys or sells people or makes money from the work people are forced to do, such as sex work.

Freight (noun) - goods, but not passengers, that are carried from one place to another, by ship, aircraft, train, or truck, or the system of transporting these goods.

Minder (noun) - someone who protects another person, often a famous person, from danger and unwanted public attention.

Point-blank (adverb) - saying something very clearly in very few words, without trying to be polite or pleasant.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you with us?

R: Yes. I'm ready.

M: Hey! Give us your story!

R: Well, there are a few things I draw the line at doing. But I think one of the few jobs I would baulk at would be anything that involves driving, like being a lorry driver. You see them all the time on the roads and on TV and films, though, usually, it's in the background. While I know haulage and freight are an important part of supply chains and logistics networks, the idea of driving something that could kill people absolutely terrifies me. I don't even like the idea of driving a car, never mind a massive 18-wheeler across borders and all kinds of conditions. I would be constantly on edge and in a panic all the time. It's not just the driving part that looks horrendously hard and dangerous. But I think you have to be responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle itself on the road. And any cargo you're hauling with you. That's a lot of responsibility. And I don't think I would deal well with that kind of pressure. Some people might not mind the idea of sitting around driving all the time, but I definitely would. I like to be up and moving around and have the opportunity to change positions. If you're sitting around in a cabin all day, then this doesn't seem possible. I think it can also be dangerous for other reasons, as you sometimes see them on the news, for instance, involving people traffickers and drug dealers, and then they lose their driving and their freight licenses not to mention things like dealing with militants if you're driving in some unstable region with lots of fighting and minimal escort. If I had to do this job, I think I'd need some kind of minder with me just to stop any accidents from taking place. Otherwise, I think I'd refuse to do it point-blank.

M: And how would you feel about this job?

R: Beyond terrified, bored and completely unsatisfied.

Discussion

M: Thank you, Rory, for your story! So, dear listener, a job you don't want to do in the future. Right? Rory told us about being a lorry driver. So here, you can, for example, describe the job that you are doing now. Because you know what you're doing now. Yeah? And you can speak about it. But you just say that you don't want to do it. You see? So kind of like it's a kind of a lie, dear listener, because you, you talk about something you do know, you're doing now. But you say that you don't want to do it. Do you get the point, dear listener? Yeah? Okay? If you don't want to do it, then you choose a job that you can describe. All right? Like you don't want to be a baker. Or an English teacher, or a blogger. You don't want to be a policeman or a doctor. Okay? Yeah.

R: What kind of job would you not want to have?

M: A banker.

R: Oh, really? Why?

M: Because of all these like numbers. So...

R: I don't think bankers actually do that much number work, do they?

M: Well, like I don't want to do any office job, let's say. Like to sit in the office for like eight hours. I don't think it's for me.

R: That makes sense. I wouldn't like this either.

M: So, dear listener, make your choice. All right? So Rory told us about being a lorry driver. A lorry is a truck. Like a huge car, a lorry driver. Rory started off with, there are few things I would draw the line at doing. So to draw the line at doing something is what?

R: It just means that you would say I'm not doing this and you're not going to change your mind. It's like you draw a line in the sand and you say no, not going over that line.

M: And one of the jobs is being a lorry driver.

R: It is. I couldn't think of anything else. Although, then you mentioned baker and I was like, yeah, I wouldn't want to be a baker either because I'm horrible at baking.

M: Yeah, a baker makes bread. Bakes bread. The idea of driving something that could kill people terrifies me. Or the idea of making bread terrifies me, the idea of being in the office terrifies me, the idea of, I don't know, cooking terrifies me. So I don't want to be a chef or a cook. I don't even like the idea of driving a car. So I don't like the idea of cooking, of teaching, of doing something. Okay? And then Rory said, I would be constantly on edge. So to be on edge is what?

R: Just to be nervous. And worried about what's going to happen next.

M: Yeah, I would constantly be nervous, or I would be constantly on edge, or in a panic all the time. So this is good to go for any job you are describing. I'd be constantly on edge. I'd be in a panic all the time. Cooking all these dishes. Being a chef. This job looks horrendously hard. Horrendously? Massively hard, difficult.

R: I love the word horrendous, even though it describes a really bad situation.

M: Horrendous means something very big. Like a horrendous house. Like a huge house. And here, we use it to intensify. It's really hard. So this job looks horrendous. Oh, gosh, how do you pronounce it?

R: Horrendous.

M: Horrendous. Horrendously difficult. Or it's horrendously dangerous. So I wouldn't like to be a firefighter. Or a policeman. It's horrendously dangerous, it's like really dangerous. For example, the driving part of this job or the cooking part of this job looks horrendously dangerous or hard. Then you have to be responsible. You have to be this, you have to be that, you have to be responsible, you have to be organized, you have to be working all the time. Yeah? And here, Rory told us about being responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle. Vehicle? A lorry. This car, truck. Maintenance? You take care of the vehicle. You repair it, you change different parts. Maintenance.

R: But if you don't want to talk about being in charge of the maintenance of a lorry or responsible for the maintenance of the lorry, you could be responsible for other things as well. For example, a baker is responsible for the quality of the ingredients and I don't want to do that because I don't know what quality ingredients look like.

M: Yeah.

R: The more we talk about this, the more I wish I talked about being a baker now.

M: No, but being a baker is quite cool, actually. Like you make bread, you eat bread all the time, maybe you're a quite big yourself. Like bread smells nice. You know? And I think like only kind and generous and nice people can make nice bread. So it's like, it's a nice profession. But I wouldn't like to be a baker. Maybe I'm not nice enough.

R: No, you're lovely.

M: Okay, dear listener. Would you like to be a baker? But if you prefer talking about this profession, then you should use specific vocabulary about baking bread. Bakers, bakery, you know? It's quite difficult. So I think the easiest one, I don't know, is to talk about your profession, dear listener because you know the words. You should know the words about the job you're doing now, just saying that I don't want to do it. That's a lot of responsibility. So you describe the job and you say, ooh, that's a lot of responsibility. I wouldn't like to be president of the world. That's a lot of responsibility. And I don't think I would deal with that kind of pressure. A very good sentence. So check out the structure. "I don't think", so we have a negative here. I don't think I would deal well with it. To work well with something or to deal well with smt. So I don't think I'd deal well with this pressure. Or I don't think I'd deal well with this responsibility. Or I don't think I'd deal well with this job.

R: And you could say that for just about anything. For this task.

M: Yeah. For example, if you work with people. Like an animator in a hotel, or with children. I don't think...

R: You don't think you would deal well with that?

M: Yep. Or I don't think I would deal well with children. Some people might not mind the idea of doing something. So some people might not mind the idea of driving or teaching or cooking. So they are okay with cooking and teaching, for example. But I would mind. You see? So we use would. Because the task is a job you don't want to do in the future. So we are using kind of like maybe I would, I wouldn't like to do that. I like to be up and moving around. So I don't want this job. I don't want to be a banker and sit in the office all day long. I like to be up and moving around. I'd like to be moving around. And I want to have the opportunity to change positions. Yeah? So I don't want to have an office job. I want to change my position, I want to be moving around all the time.

R: Oh, you could use it to talk about being stuck and doing the same job all the time. And if you want to change position, it could physically change position like I meant or... Or change position physically. Sorry, change position in the organization, like getting a promotion.

M: I think it could be dangerous. I think it could be difficult with the job. Yeah? And then Roy talked about incidents on the road, like with lorry drivers. And also people traffickers. Who are people traffickers? Traffic, traffickers. Traffickers.

R: Oh, there are people that, well, I suppose smuggle people into and out of countries.

M: And drug dealers?

M: Well, that would be people who deal drugs.

M: And then you can finish off with if I had to do this job. Kind of we imagine, right?

R: Yes.

M: If I had to do it, I would need some ta-ta-ta. Or if I had to do this, I'd be very unhappy.

R: I was running out of things to say at this point. So I was thinking, what alternative could I use to just keep going until the end of the two minutes?

M: Or you can say like, I would refuse to do it point blank. So if you refuse it, like you just say, oh, would you like to work with us? No.

R: No.

M: Would you like to be a teacher? No. So you refuse it point blank. So I would... Again, we use would about the future. So I'd, I'd refuse it. I'd refuse to do it point blank. So you would just say no. Yeah. Rory, how did you structure your answer?

R: I think I just followed the task again like I usually do. So I should say what it is. And I did. I talked about there not being many things I wanted to do. But ultimately, I would do this thing. And then I did briefly say where I know it from. I didn't say I know it from TV, movies and real life. I just said you see them all the time in these situations. And then whether I think it's difficult or easy, again, I didn't really say explicitly, I think it's difficult. I talked about all the things that would be difficult for me to do. And I connected that to why I don't want to do it, because it is difficult for someone like me. So while I did follow the structure of the task, I didn't say which points I was going to talk about one after the other. And then because I ran out of things to say for the other points, I finished off with, well, talking about the alternative. If I had to do this job, I would need this thing. So I'm not talking about something that's on the prompt, but I'm still talking about the job.

M: Yes, dear listener, so the key thing here is to choose a job. Okay? For example, I am a teacher. So I can talk about my job being a teacher and I'd say like, oh, you know, I wouldn't like to be a teacher because you should do this and this. I don't think I would deal well with all the students. There you go. You see? I think this is the easiest option. To turn your job into something you don't want to do. And kind of like yeah, it's a white lie, dear listener. Otherwise, like, choose a job you can talk about and use specific vocabulary when you describe this particular job. Stay with us in speaking part three. We're going to be talking about jobs and careers in general. Bye!

R: Bye!

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