MONEY EARNING

MY SUMMER PART TIME JOB

My first job was a summer part-time job in England. I was a waiter at a fast food restaurant. It was great and I made many friends. On my first day, I was terribly nervous when I had to take a tray with six cups full of hot tea to the table. In case you don't know, in England cups and glasses are always filled to the brim. I was afraid I would spill everything all over the place and make a fool of myself. So I was slowly walking to the table, my hands were shaking (and so was the tray), I was trying to look calm and relaxed, and I heard my boss whisper some professional advice: ‘Focus on something in the distance. Don’t look at the cups.’ I followed his advice and was looking at the Special Offer poster on the wall while I was walking stiffly and slowly to the table. I arrived at the table and slowly put the tray down. All the tea was in the cups - I made it. I turned around and looked at my boss, and I saw that he and the other waiters were laughing and applauding. I’ll never forget that day.

GRAMMAR LOG

Past Continuous Tense

In Unit 9.3 you learned how to form the Past Continuous Tense and that it is used for actions that were going on for some time in the past. See more uses of this tense below.

1. Activity going on when something else happened
You already know that Past Continuous is used when somebody was in the middle of doing something when something else happened.
For example:

Leonard was watching TV when his parents returned home. (= Leonard was in the middle of watching TV)

   


2. Activity going on at a specific point in time
It is used for activities going on at a specific point in time (e.g. at midnight, at 6.30 etc,).
Example:

Leonard was watching TV at 7pm. (= Leonard began watching before 7pm and continued watching after 7)

   


3. Two actions happening at the same time

It can also be used for two past actions that were happening at the same time in the past.
Example:

Leonard was watching TV while his brother was reading. (= watching TV and reading were happening at the same time)

Examples:

The sun was shining, the birds were singing - it was a lovely summer day.
Mother was cooking while her son was washing the dishes.

4. Asking polite questions

It can be used to ask polite questions.
Example:

I was wondering if you could tell me how this machine is operated. 

When, while

Past Continuous and Past Simple can be connected with when and while.

While is used with the longer action.
Examples:

Leonard's parents returned home, while he was watching TV.
While Leonard was watching TV, his parents returned home.

When is often used with the shorter action.
Examples:

When Leonard's parents returned home, he was watching TV.
Leonard was watching TV when his parents returned home.

The comma

When you start a sentence with a conjunction (when or while), add a comma before the second clause. You don't need the comma if the second clause starts with a conjunction.
Examples:

While I was skiing, it started to snow. (the comma is needed)
It started to snow while I was skiing. (no comma)  

WORDS TO REMEMBER

pro = (n.) in favour of
con = (n.) against
extracurricular = (adj.) extra activities that are not included in the schedule of classes
prod = (v.) encourage to do something
handle = (v.) manage, deal with
criticism = (n.) expressing disapproval
part-time = (adj.) working less than the usual working day
volunteer = (v.) work without being paid
tutor = (n.) personal teacher
community = (n.) a group of people living in an area
extensive = (adj.) large
make friends = (v.) become someone’s friend
spill = (v.) causing liquid to flow over the edge of a container
brim = (n.) the top edge of a dish
applaud = (v.) clap hands to show approval