📙 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.