IELTS Expert User b1 Term 9 subject 3 lesson 14
PART 1
Passagino
A
Look at the picture. Do you ever do volunteer work? What kind of volunteer work interests you?
B
Read the ad. What are the two kinds of volunteer jobs? Why are these jobs useful for a student?
Volunteer at the Street Beads Festival!
Are you good with people? Do you know the city well? Then maybe you can help…
We’re looking for volunteers to help at the Street Beats Festival. Next year, this amazing festival will bring together a cast of more than 1,000 street performers, including dancers and musicians, from more than 20 countries. And it will happen right here, on the streets of our city, from July 25-27.
We’re looking for:
Cast Helpers: You’ll meet cast members at the airport on arrival and help them get to their hotels. At the hotel, you’ll tell them where they should go for festival events and how to get there. You’ll also help them with the schedule and organization of the festival.
City Guides: You’ll stand on sidewalks around the city and help visitors find their way around. You’ll also give advice on things to see and do during the festival.
If you’re a student, volunteering is a smart career move. This position is unpaid, but we’ll give you a certificate to show you helped at the event- a useful experience that you can put on your résumé.If you are interested, complete the application in English.
C
Read the ad again. Answer the questions.
1 What two skills does the company want the volunteers to have?
2 Who will the cast be?
3 What four things will the volunteers do?
D PAIR WORK
What do you think it would be like to be a Street Beats Festival volunteer?
Which parts of the job would you like? Which parts wouldn’t you like?
PART 2
Write it
WRITING
A
Manuela is applying to be a volunteer for the Street Beats Festival. Read her personal statement in the application below. Answer the questions.
1 What language skills does Manuela have?
2 What experience does she have with events? What volunteer experiences does she have?
3 How well does she know the city?
The volunteer job of City Guide is perfect for me. I am fluent in Spanish and English, and I’m learning French and Portuguese in college. Fortunately, your festival happens during our summer break, so I am free to help all day from July 25th to the 27th. I am very interested in world cultures and have organized two cultural events at my school. I’ve never worked at a big festival or volunteered before, but I’m excited to try. I was born and raised in this city and have lived here all my life, so I know the transportation system well. I am also familiar with different neighborhoods because I have studied, worked, and lived in a few parts of the city. For these reasons, I think I would be an excellent City Guide.
B THINK CRITICALLY Do you think Manuela will be a good City Guide? Why or why not?
C WRITING SKILLS Accuracy is important, especially in a volunteer or job application. Read about how to check your own writing. Find examples in Manuela’s personal statement.
Punctuation: Use capital letters at the beginnings of sentences and for job titles, names, places, months, languages, and nationalities.
Put a period (.), exclamation mark (!), or question mark (?) at the end of each sentence. Use a comma before but and so. There’s no comma before because.
D Write it Imagine you’re applying to be a City Guide or Cast Helper. Write a personal statement for the volunteer application. You can use your own information or make it up. Check your writing after you are finished.
E PAIR WORK Exchange personal statements with a partner. What was the best reason your partner gave for wanting the job?
PART 3
Practicino 1
READ FOR DETAIL Read the ad. Then answer the questions.
The 25th Annual Cross-City 10K Race is happening on May 27 – join the race or volunteer!
RUN
The race route will take runners through the whole city. The race starts at the ferry terminal and ends at the soccer field in Miller Park. Sign up for the race online. The deadline to sign up is May 15. Click here to sign up.
WATCH
Stand along the race route and cheer the runners on. After the race, stay and enjoy free food and drinks and a concert in the park. Click here to see the concert schedule.
VOLUNTEER
Several of our runners are coming from out of town. A couple of days before the race, we need volunteers to meet them at the airport or the train station and tell them which buses or trains to take to get to their hotels. These volunteers will also give runners race information, schedules, and directions to the race’s starting line. On race day, volunteers will stand on the race route and hand out water to all of the runners. Volunteers should have a lot of energy, enjoy meeting new people, and know how to get around the city. Click here to volunteer.
1 What is the ad about?
2 What are three things that volunteers will have to do?
3 What three characteristics should volunteers have?
Practicino 2
Listen to the conversation. Circle the correct answers to the questions.
1 What does Anna want to do?
a run
b volunteer
2 What does Robin want to do?
a run
b volunteer
3 Why does Anna know the city well?
a She’s lived there for a long time.
b She goes to school in the city.
4 Why doesn’t Robin know the city well?
a She doesn’t go out very much.
b She moved there a few months ago.
5 Has Robin ever run in a race?
a yes
b no
Practicino 3
WRITING
Imagine you want to be a volunteer for the race in exercise 1A. Complete the application. Then check your punctuation and grammar.
1 Why do you want to be a volunteer?
2 Have you ever volunteered for anything before?
3 Why do you think you would be a good volunteer?
4 Do you like meeting new people? Why or why not?
5 Do you know the city well? Write directions from one place in the city to another place.