Teacher: Ms.

Aicha Boussema Level: 1st Grade Academic Year: 2025-26

Unit Three: The World Today

Part Two: New jobs & Teleworking (Answer Key)
I- Reading Comprehension:
Text n°1: Scan the text then answer the following questions:
Flexible working
What are flexible working arrangements and why are some people against them? Can companies
benefit from offering flexible working arrangements to their employees?
1. Fred works for a traditional company that expects him to start at 8.30 a.m. and leave at 5.30 p.m.
or later every day. Most of his work is done on a project basis and, as a manager, he is responsible for
the quality of work that is produced and for meeting deadlines. On most days of the week, there is
often extra work to be done on a project, and Fred stays late in the office or brings his work home.
Occasionally, when he finishes all his work before 5.30 p.m., he finds himself hanging around, chatting
with colleagues and waiting for the time he can officially leave.
2. With two small children at school, Fred has to use up his annual leave in order to take time off
when his children are ill, when he wants to attend their sports day or any time the kids have a half-
day at school. Fred also lives an hour's drive from his office and therefore spends two hours a day
commuting.
3. In the interest of increasing productivity and making better use of his time, Fred suggested the idea
of flexible working to his director. His director, however, rejected his suggestion, saying that he saw
flexible working as problematic for the company.
4. Fred's director isn't alone in this thinking. In many organisations, there is still a culture in which the
employee who arrives the earliest and leaves the latest is considered the most hard-working, and
many bosses still believe that they can’t trust their employees to work remotely. They worry that
there are too many distractions for workers at home or that team working and communication won't
be as good if workers are physically disconnected from each other. Some employers think
management is about the close supervision of employees to direct and control not just what is done
but also exactly how it is done.
5. However, the nature of a lot of work today involves meeting deadlines, achieving certain objectives
and hitting targets. As most people who've worked in these kinds of environments know, productivity
is less about how many hours you spend in the office and more about how well you meet those goals.
Even though they're outside the office, the remote worker who is not meeting targets is quickly
noticed. Micromanaging bosses don't help productivity either. In fact, research shows that controlling
bosses can have a negative effect on their employees' performance.
6. In contrast, giving employees the freedom to organise their working schedule to fit with their
personal life means they are working when they are best able to engage fully with their work and are
therefore more efficient and productive. Having choices in their working environment and timetable
creates responsible and motivated workers who are likely to get better results, knowing they can
meet the demands of both their job and their personal life.
7. Whether it is giving employees the right to work remotely, offering job sharing or part-time
working, or allowing non-fixed start and finish times, flexible working is not just about practical
working arrangements but also about a culture and a mindset. For example, many remote workers
find themselves working past their working hours, partly because there is no commuting to mark the
boundaries between work and personal life, making it hard to switch off from work. Companies might

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Teacher: Ms. Aicha Boussema Level: 1st Grade Academic Year: 2025-26

need to consider training both workers and management staff to help them better understand what
flexible working is, how to implement it and how to encourage a results-driven approach. Only then
can flexible working truly result in happier employees, increased productivity and better employee
retention.
(Source: [Link])

Comprehension Questions:
A- Answer the questions:
1. What are the advantages of remote working?
They may include: flexibility, efficiency, increased productivity, making better use of time, and
freedom to organize one’s working schedule.
2. What are its drawbacks?
Some of its drawbacks may consist of: the employers’ inability to fully trust the employees, the
existence of too many distractions outside the office (workplace), absence of team work and
communication, inability to meet deadlines or achieve objectives.
3. How can remote working be more effective?
The first step is changing the old mindset. Then, the boundaries between work and personal time
(or personal life) should be marked or specified. Besides, companies need to train both workers and
management staff.
B. Are the sentences true or false? Justify your answer from the text:
1. The director doesn't want Fred to work remotely because he sees that this employee is making
small talk and not working when he's in the office. [ False ]
Parag.3: The director saw flexible working as problematic for the company.
2. Fred wants to work from home in order to spend more time with his children. [ False ]
Parag.3: In the interest of increasing productivity and making better use of his time …
3. It is easy for a manager to know if a remote worker is not working effectively. [ True ]
Parag.5: Even though they’re outside the office, the remote worker who is not meeting targets is
quickly noticed.
4. Bosses who are very controlling get better results from their team. [ False ]
Parag.5: Micromanaging bosses don’t help productivity either.
5. Giving employees more flexible working conditions doesn't really benefit the company. [ False ]
Parag.6: In contrast, giving employees the freedom to organise their working schedule to fit with
their personal life means they are working when they are best able to engage fully with their work
and are therefore more efficient and productive.
6. Telecommuting makes people work longer hours than when working in the office. [ True ]
Parag.7: For example, many remote workers find themselves working past their working hours …
C- Complete the sentences with the right words with reference to the text:
1. Working remotely means that employees can use their commuting time to work.
2. Flexible working gives employees more freedom to make their own decisions and they become
more engaged with their work.
3. Remote workers are more motivated and may work past their normal working hours.

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Teacher: Ms. Aicha Boussema Level: 1st Grade Academic Year: 2025-26

4. If employees are happier, they are less likely to leave for another company. Flexible working can
improve employee retention rates.
5. One disadvantage for remote workers may be that there is less of a boundary between work and
personal life.
6. For flexible working arrangements to work well, staff who are used to traditional ways of working
may need to change their mindset.
D- Find in the text words that have the following synonyms or definitions:
1. time limit (parag.1) = deadline / 3. to disconnect (parag.7) = to switch off
2. to have a break from work (parag.2) = to take time off / 4. mentality (parag.7) = mindset
E- What do the underlined words in the text refer to?
1. he (parag.3) = director / 2. them (parag.7) = workers and management staff

Text n°2: Read the text below then answer the questions:
But what will it all mean?
1. ‘Teleworking and computer conferencing will mean that a lot more people will either work
freelance from home, or on flexible short-term contracts. The old concept of “jobs for life” will soon
be a thing of the past.’
2. ‘Highly-skilled professionals will be under pressure to work longer and longer hours, while much
of the mundane work will be done by machines, leading to high unemployment amongst unskilled
workers. By 2050, we are going to have a small number of hardworking rich and a vast majority of
idle poor.’
3. ‘With inventions like cell phones and hand-held computers it is becoming more and more difficult
to escape from work - the boundaries between work and leisure are gradually becoming blurred,
and in the future it will be harder and harder to get away from it all. Already the average American
is working 163 hours a year more than thirty years ago - that’s the equivalent of an extra month a
year.’
4. ‘Labour-saving devices and the resulting sedentary lifestyle could well lead to an epidemic in
obesity. It is predicted that the average man will weigh ten kilos more, and the average woman eight
kilos more.’
5. ‘A growth in online shopping and home-working may mean that our city centres become deserted
wastelands. The physical isolation and loss of social interaction resulting from these changes could
put further strain on family relationships and lead to depression and mental health problems.’
6. ‘There will be a huge growth in the leisure and fitness industry as people struggle to combat the
effects of inactivity, and social isolation.’
7. ‘We will adapt in all sorts of ways that are yet undreamed of. You should never underestimate
the amazing adaptability of human beings.’
(Source: Cutting Edge: Advanced, Student Book. By Sarah Cunningham, Peter Moorp and Jane Comyns Carr. Longman, p.87)

1) Questions:
a- Why does teleworking pose a threat to both skilled and unskilled workers?
Skilled workers will be under pressure to work longer and longer hours (which means that they may
exceed their official time), while unskilled workers will be at risk of being unemployed.

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Teacher: Ms. Aicha Boussema Level: 1st Grade Academic Year: 2025-26

b- Do cell phones and hand-held computers really facilitate life? Explain.

No, they don’t. They make people unable to escape from work since the boundaries between work
and leisure are gradually becoming blurred.
c- How do the new technologies affect people’s health?
The overuse of new technologies results in a sedentary lifestyle (i.e.: inactivity) which leads to
obesity, physical isolation, and loss of social interaction that may cause depression or mental health
problems.
2) Say if the following statements are true or false, then justify your answer from the text:
a- Mobile devices help reduce the working time. [ False ]
Parag.3: “It is becoming more and more difficult to escape from work.”
b- Purchasing goods online is beneficial for both consumers and shop owners. [ False ]
Parag.4: “A growth in online shopping and home-working may mean that our city centres become
deserted wastelands.”
3) Use your own words to explain the underlined expression in the text.
“The old concept of ‘jobs for life’ ” = sticking to the same job during the whole lifetime.
4) Find in the text the synonym of these words:
a- adaptable (parag.1) = flexible / b- tedious (parag.2) [i.e.: repetitive or routine] = mundane
c- futile or useless (parag.2) = idle / d- indistinct (parag.3) = blurred
e- work (parag.4) = labour / f- inactive (parag.4) = sedentary
g- tension or pressure (parag.5 ) = strain / h- adjust (parag.7) = adapt

II- Language: employee/instant/videoconferencing/ from /

who/telework/companies/while/ teleworker
1) Fill in the blanks with the words from the list:
/ substantially
Telecommuting, remote work, or telework is a work arrangement in which employees do not
commute to a central place of work. A person who telecommutes is known as a "telecommuter", "
teleworker", and sometimes as a "home-sourced," or "work-at-home" employee. Many
telecommuters work from home, while others, sometimes called "nomad workers", use mobile
telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations. Telework is facilitated
by tools such as groupware, virtual private networks, conference calling and videoconferencing. It
can be efficient and useful for companies since it allows workers to communicate over long distances,
saving travel time and cost. Furthermore, with their improving technology and increasing popularity,
smartphones are becoming widely used in telework. They substantially increase the mobility of the
worker and the degree of coordination with their organization. The technology of mobile phones
allows instant communication through text messages, camera photos, and video clips from anywhere
and at any time.
2) Express differently while keeping the same idea of the original sentence:
a- Technology is invading our lives.
→ Our lives are being invaded by technology.
b- It is a movie that breaks the heart.
→ It is a heart-breaking movie.

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Teacher: Ms. Aicha Boussema Level: 1st Grade Academic Year: 2025-26

c- In spite of the strong competition, the national team has won the match.
→Although there has been a strong competition, the national team has won the match.
d- You still make the same mistakes even though you had enough training.
→ Despite having enough training, you still make the same mistakes.
III- Writing:
Topic: Would you like to be a teleworker? Write an essay in which you provide adequate arguments
with concrete examples.
hints:

• For:

o Improved work-life balance and flexibility for managing personal and professional
responsibilities.
o Reduced commuting time and costs, leading to higher productivity and lower stress.
o Access to a broader talent teams and easier collaboration across geographies.
o Potential for quieter, personalized work environments and fewer office interruptions.
o Lower operating costs for employers (e.g., office space, utilities)

• Against:

o Challenges with collaboration and team cohesion due to lack of spontaneous

interactions.
o Potential isolation and reduced visibility for career advancement or recognition.
o Overlapping work hours, leading to burnout or poor boundaries between work and
home life.
o Information security and data privacy concerns.
o Variability in home office setups and tech/support requirements, potentially affecting
productivity.