The Interview

Jane Parker is a dress designer. At present she works at a large clothing firm producing a range of quality men’s and ladies’ wear in South Wales, but she has applied for a job with E.Smithies LTD, children’s wear manufacturer. At the moment she’s having an interview with Mr. Barry, Personnel Manager.

Mr. Barry: Do come in, Ms Parker, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting but I was busy. You (wait) long?

Jane: Not too long, and I (look) through the material which your secretary handed me.

Mr. Barry: Oh, that’s all right then. And the secretary already (show) you around our design office?

Jane: No, not yet.

Mr. Barry: Well, that can be arranged later. Do sit down. Now tell me, how long you (work) for your present firm?

Jane: Oh, let me see, almost six years now.

Mr. Barry: You ever (work) at a firm producing children’s coats, jackets, dresses and coordinates?

Jane: No, not directly. You’ll find the details in my application?

Mr.Barry: Yes, of course. And how long you (work) as a garment

designer altogether?

Jane: For about five years.

Mr. Barry: Fine! So you (have) a lot of experience in the field already. Now tell me, you ever (travel) abroad for your present firm?

Jane: No, mainly inside Great Britain.

Mr. Barry: Perhaps you (bring along) some sketches of children’s

garments?

Jane: Yes, here are some ideas from the collection I (work on) for the past four months.

(half an hour later).

Mr. Barry: Well, Ms Parker. We (have) a good talk and you (give) me a full picture of your experience and ability. You’ll be hearing from us within a week or so.

1.2. Analyse the situations in which the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite Tenses are used. Ask the questions given below.

Have you ever ... ?

When did you ... ?

Illustrative situations:

a) Leo Hart is an economist. He is trying to get a job. He is usually asked questions like these:

“Have you ever done this sort of work before?”

“Where did you work last?”

“How long did you work there?” (This question means that the person does not work there any longer).

“How long have you been out of work?” (means that the person is still jobless).

1) What is Leo trying to do?

2) Ask the same questions he is usually asked.

a) this sort of work before?

b) last?

c) how long / there?

d) out of work?

b) Anna tries to visit all fashion shows in the city. But sometimes she has much work to do and stays at home or goes on business trips. She asks her friends a lot of questions instead. She is talking to one of her friends now. Here are her questions:

“Have you seen V. Yudashkin’s last collection?”

The answer is: “Yes, I have”. Then Anna asks different questions like these: “When did you see it? Where did you see it? What did you think of it? Was it really interesting?”

1.2.1. Study the prompt and the model conversation that results from it. Then make conversations of your own on the same model.

Prompt: to Moscow

A: Have you ever been to Moscow?

B: Yes, I have.

A: When were you there?

B: Last winter.

A: What did you think of it?

B: It was beautiful. Better than I thought of it.

or It impressed me greatly.

1) English food

2) the last fashion show on TV

3) Ryazanov’s films

4) to Petersburg / to Kiev

5) to the art exhibition

6) the fashion magazine “Burda Modern” ( the last issue)

7) Moscow Kremlin

8) books by W.Saroyan / S.Maugham

1.3. Practise in translating the sentences with the emphatic construction

It is / was ... that / who (подлеж.) does / did smth