Theme 3.4: Jobs, Part-Time Work and Career Ambitions
Reading comprehension for Theme 3.4 covers texts about part-time jobs alongside school, job adverts, and future career ambitions and plans. The examiner is testing whether a student can distinguish a current part-time job described in the present tense from a longer-term ambition expressed in the future or conditional tense (seré, me gustaría ser, trabajaría como), extract precise pay and hours details, and follow comparative statements between two jobs or career paths. Texts range from personal accounts and job adverts to interviews about someone's career journey and advice for young people.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Identify the job or ambition named in each paragraph or by each speaker before attempting a matching question, since texts often contrast a current job with a future ambition for the same person.
- Distinguish a current part-time job, described in the present tense (trabajo los sábados en..., gano...), from a future career ambition, expressed in the future or conditional tense (seré, me gustaría ser, trabajaría como) - a common trap swaps a Saturday job for a stated long-term ambition.
- Underline pay and hours details (gano ocho euros la hora, trabajo diez horas a la semana) for questions that ask for a specific number.
- Note opinion-plus-reason structures about a job (me gusta este trabajo porque..., odio mi trabajo porque...), since the reason after porque usually carries the credit-worthy detail.
- Watch comparative statements between two jobs or career paths (prefiero ser... antes que..., un trabajo más gratificante que) to identify which option is favoured and why.
- Learn job-advert vocabulary (se requiere experiencia, hay que tener el título de bachillerato, buscamos a alguien con) which is typical of formal, requirement-listing texts.
- For negatives about a job's downsides (no me pagan bien, no tengo tiempo libre), register the specific complaint accurately, rather than just the job title.
Worked example
Read this extract and decide whether the statement that follows is true, false or not mentioned. Texto: Los fines de semana trabajo de canguro para pagar mis gastos, pero en el futuro me gustaría ser veterinaria porque me encantan los animales. Afirmación: La chica trabaja actualmente como veterinaria.
- Identify the present-tense fact: trabajo de canguro (I work as a babysitter), which describes her current weekend job.
- Identify the conditional-tense ambition: me gustaría ser veterinaria (I would like to be a vet), which describes a future hope, not a current job.
- Compare this to the statement, which claims she currently works as a vet - this confuses the current job with the future ambition.
- Since the text clearly states her current job is babysitting and the vet ambition is for the future, the statement is false.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is the difference in meaning between 'trabajo de camarero' and 'me gustaría trabajar de camarero'?Show answer
Answer: 'Trabajo de camarero' means I work as a waiter now; 'me gustaría trabajar de camarero' means I would like to work as a waiter, a future wish, not a current fact.
Q2Translate into English: 'Gano ocho euros la hora repartiendo periódicos los sábados por la mañana.'Show answer
Answer: I earn eight euros an hour delivering newspapers on Saturday mornings.
Q3In 'Prefiero ser socorrista antes que trabajar en una tienda', which job does the writer prefer?Show answer
Answer: Being a lifeguard, over working in a shop.
Q4What does 'se requiere experiencia previa' mean in English?Show answer
Answer: Previous experience is required.
Q5True or false: 'trabajaría como abogado si tuviera la oportunidad' describes a job the person already has.Show answer
Answer: False - the conditional (trabajaría) describes a hypothetical future job, not a current one.
Q6A text reads: 'Odio mi trabajo actual porque el jefe no me paga bien y nunca tengo tiempo libre.' Give two reasons stated for disliking the job.Show answer
Answer: The boss does not pay well, and the writer never has free time.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lee el texto y contesta a las preguntas en inglés. Se busca camarero/a para trabajar los fines de semana en un restaurante familiar en el centro de Sevilla. Se requiere experiencia previa de al menos seis meses y disponibilidad los sábados y domingos de diez de la mañana a seis de la tarde. Se ofrecen nueve euros la hora más propinas. Interesados, enviar el currículum a la siguiente dirección. Marina, de diecisiete años, responde: Llevo tres meses trabajando de canguro los fines de semana, pero me gustaría cambiar de trabajo porque este anuncio ofrece mejor sueldo y horario. Aunque no tengo seis meses de experiencia como camarera, sí que tengo experiencia atendiendo al público en la tienda de mi tio durante las vacaciones. Espero que eso cuente a mi favor. (a) What hours does the advertised job require candidates to be available? (b) How much does the job pay, according to the advert? (c) What is Marina's current part-time job, and for how long has she done it? (d) Why does Marina want to change jobs? (e) What experience does Marina have that might help her, even though she lacks the required six months as a waitress?
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Lee el texto y contesta a las preguntas. Entrevistan a Rodrigo, un joven ingeniero, sobre su carrera. Cuando era adolescente, trabajaba los veranos en la tienda de mi padre, pero siempre supe que quería ser ingeniero porque me fascinaban las matemáticas y la tecnología. Estudié mucho durante el bachillerato y luego hice un grado en ingeniería, que no fue nada fácil. Mi consejo para los jóvenes es que un trabajo a tiempo parcial durante el instituto, aunque no tenga relación con tu futura carrera, te enseña disciplina y responsabilidad, algo que te sirve para cualquier profesion. ¿Verdadero, falso o no se menciona? (a) De adolescente, Rodrigo trabajaba en la tienda de su padre. (b) Rodrigo siempre quiso ser profesor. (c) El grado de ingeniería le resultó muy fácil. (d) Rodrigo cree que un trabajo a tiempo parcial enseña disciplina. (e) Rodrigo estudió en el extranjero. Elige la opción correcta para (f): Según Rodrigo, un trabajo a tiempo parcial en el instituto es útil aunque (i) este mal pagado, (ii) no tenga relación con tu futura carrera, (iii) sea a tiempo completo.
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