Section 2 work texts: a job advert and a training notice
You can find the rule, the date or the exception a question asks about in a work text, and answer within the word limit.
A hotel wants a front office supervisor, and the same hotel is training its staff on a new booking system. You read the job advert and the training notice.
Section 2 of General Training Reading has two texts like these, both about work: job descriptions, contracts, notices about staff training.
Its questions go after the details that matter in a job: hours, pay, dates, and who has to do what.
Warm-up
Which section?
The three sections of General Training Reading use different kinds of text. Which of these belongs in Section 2?
Which could be a Section 2 text?
How it works
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.
- 15The Front Office Supervisor will manage a team of 15 receptionists.
- 16After a successful first year, the salary goes up to £16 a year.
- 17Applicants must have worked on a hotel reception desk for at least 17.
- 18Staff without a first aid certificate must gain one within 18 of starting.
- 19Applications must be made using the 19 on the hotel's careers page.
The answers are words from the text. A word that is spelled wrongly, or one word too many, loses the mark.
The method
- 1Look at the layout first
Work texts are split into short parts under headings such as Hours, Pay and How to apply. Spend a few seconds seeing what is where.
- 2Decide what the gap needs
A number, a date, a length of time, a thing. The words around the gap tell you.
- 3Go to the right part and read it closely
The heading takes you to the right few lines. The answer is usually in one sentence there.
- 4Read the condition words
Must, may, or, if and unless decide who a rule is for. A question may be about the people a rule treats differently.
- 5Copy the words and count them
Use the words from the text, spelled as they are there. Leave out words that are already printed around the gap.
Words that set conditions
A rule with no choice. It must be finished before you attend Part 2.
Allowed, and your choice. It can be done at home or on a staff computer.
A second way to meet a rule. Hold a first aid certificate, or be willing to gain one.
A rule for some people only. If you attend on a day off, you will be paid for three hours.
The passage
Text A: a job advert
Front Office Supervisor
Haverly Riverside Hotel. Full-time, permanent.
The role
You will lead a team of six receptionists and make sure that guests are checked in and out smoothly. You will deal with complaints before they need to go to the duty manager, plan the weekly staff rota and train new members of the team.
Hours
Forty hours a week, worked in shifts. The early shift runs from 6.30 am to 3 pm and the late shift from 2.30 pm to 11 pm. You will work two weekends in every four. This role has no night shifts.
Pay and benefits
- A salary of £29,500 a year, rising to £31,000 after a successful first year
- 25 days' annual leave, plus public holidays
- Free meals on every shift
- Half-price rooms at any Haverly hotel for you and your family
What we are looking for
You will need at least two years' experience on a hotel reception desk, including some time supervising other staff. A second language is useful but not required. You must also hold a first aid certificate, or be willing to gain one within three months of starting. The hotel will pay for the course.
How to apply
Apply using the online form on our careers page by 14 March. CVs sent without a completed form will not be considered. Interviews will be held in the week beginning 24 March, and the successful candidate will start on 22 April with a two-day induction.
Text B: a staff notice
Training for the new booking system
To: all front office and reservations staff
On 2 June the hotel will change to a new booking system. Everyone who takes or changes bookings must complete both parts of the training below before that date.
Part 1: online module
The module takes about 90 minutes and can be done at home or on a staff computer. It must be finished before you attend Part 2. Your login details will be sent to your work email address.
Part 2: classroom session
Sessions last three hours and are held in the Training Room on Level 2. Choose one of these:
- Tuesday 13 May, 9 am to 12 noon
- Thursday 15 May, 2 pm to 5 pm
- Saturday 17 May, 9 am to 12 noon
To book, email Mariam Chowdhury in Human Resources by 6 May. There are twelve places in each session.
If you attend on a day off, you will be paid for three hours at your usual rate. If you are on annual leave on all three dates, speak to Mariam, who will arrange an extra session in the week of 26 May.
The session ends with a short practical test. Anyone who does not pass will be offered a second attempt within a week.
Watch me do one
Question 18: Staff without a first aid certificate must gain one within ______ of starting. The gap needs a length of time.
The advert has headings, so I don't read it from the top. A certificate is something the hotel asks for, so I go to What we are looking for.
There it is: You must also hold a first aid certificate, or be willing to gain one within three months of starting.
The question is about people without a certificate. They are the second half of the rule, after or: they must gain one within three months.
I write three months. That's two words, inside the limit. I leave out of starting, because it is already printed after the gap.
Practice with Elita7 questions
Seven questions from both texts. Each one shows the part of the text its heading would take you to.
The team
Complete the sentence with a word or a number from the text.
Read thisYou will lead a team of six receptionists and make sure that guests are checked in and out smoothly. You will deal with complaints before they need to go to the duty manager, plan the weekly staff rota and train new members of the team.
The Front Office Supervisor will manage a team of receptionists.
Write no more than 2 words.
The salary
Two amounts are given. Write the one the sentence asks for.
Read thisA salary of £29,500 a year, rising to £31,000 after a successful first year. 25 days' annual leave, plus public holidays. Free meals on every shift. Half-price rooms at any Haverly hotel for you and your family.
After a successful first year, the salary goes up to £ a year.
Write no more than 2 words.
Experience
Complete the sentence. Count your words before you check.
Read thisYou will need at least two years' experience on a hotel reception desk, including some time supervising other staff. A second language is useful but not required. You must also hold a first aid certificate, or be willing to gain one within three months of starting. The hotel will pay for the course.
Applicants must have worked on a hotel reception desk for at least .
Write no more than 2 words.
How to apply
Complete the sentence with words from the text.
Read thisApply using the online form on our careers page by 14 March. CVs sent without a completed form will not be considered. Interviews will be held in the week beginning 24 March, and the successful candidate will start on 22 April with a two-day induction.
Applications must be made using the on the hotel's careers page.
Write no more than 2 words.
Who must train
Now Text B, the training notice. Read who it is sent to and who the rule is for.
Read thisTo: all front office and reservations staff. On 2 June the hotel will change to a new booking system. Everyone who takes or changes bookings must complete both parts of the training below before that date.
Who has to complete the training?
A day off
Complete the sentence with words from the notice.
Read thisIf you attend on a day off, you will be paid for three hours at your usual rate. If you are on annual leave on all three dates, speak to Mariam, who will arrange an extra session in the week of 26 May.
Staff who come to Part 2 on a day off are paid for .
Write no more than 2 words.
Away on all three dates
This question is about the exception to the rule. Write a date.
Read thisIf you attend on a day off, you will be paid for three hours at your usual rate. If you are on annual leave on all three dates, speak to Mariam, who will arrange an extra session in the week of 26 May.
Staff who are on holiday on all three dates can do Part 2 in the week of .
Write no more than 2 words.
Words to keep
A plan that shows who works at which times. The supervisor plans the weekly staff rota.
Of a job: with no planned end date. It is a full-time, permanent post.
Paid holiday from work, counted in days each year. The job comes with 25 days' annual leave.
Be ready to do something if it is needed. Applicants must be willing to work some weekends.
The first days in a new job, when you are shown how things work. New staff start with a two-day induction.
A day when you do not have to work. Staff who train on a day off are paid for it.
Before you go
Use the headings to go straight to the part of the text a question is about.
Read the condition words, such as must, or, if and unless: they decide who a rule is for.
Check that a number belongs to the thing the question asks about.
Copy the words from the text, and leave out any that are already printed around the gap.
Next: In the next lesson a tutor helps two students plan their work placement, and you answer Part 3 multiple choice questions as they talk.