Part 2. Painting for pay.
Keywords. college student, business experience, summer, Student Painters, real business world, responsibilities.
Vocabulary. tuition, market, ladder, payroll, contract, Pennsylvania, Toronto, Indiana.
A. In many countries such as Canada and America, college students usually have serval months off for summer vacation.
Many students get jobs to earn money for a college tuition and other school expenses.
The following passage you're going to hear is about a college student.
But before listening to it, think about the pre-listening questions below.
1. Have you ever had a part-time or a full-time job in summer?
If yes, what jobs have you had? If no, are you going to get one in the future?
2. Is it common for students in your school to have a part-time job?
3. Do you think it is good for students to have a part-time job or a full-time job in summer? Why or why not?
B. Now listen to the passage, while listening, focus on the major points, and then choose the correct answer to complete the following sentences.
19 year-old Mark Laratonda is a local college student.
He is getting useful business experience this summer at home in Pennsylvania.
Mark and other students are spending their summer working for a company called Student Painters.
Student Painters is based in Toronto.
It operates in 28 states in the United States and in 5 Canadian provinces.
All of the managers and painters at Students Painters are full-time college students.
They are earning money for tuition and expenses for the next school year.
Student Painters was founded in 1980, its goal is give students a chance to experience the real business world.
Laratonda is a manager for Student Painters.
He is also a business marketing major at Indiana University.
He says,"Working at Student Painters is a great experience for me.
I'm learning a lot about how businesses operate."
Laratonda heard about Student Painters last year at his university.
"I filled out an application and they called me for an interview.
After the interview, they called me again and offered me a job." Laratonda said.
He eagerly accepted the opportunity.
He said "It's a great chance to get experience in the business world.
I get to work in many different places and I get to work outside.
There are a lot of responsibilities, but there are also a lot of rewards. It looks good on your resume, too."
In order to become a manager, Laratonda was trained by company instructors.
As a manager, he must do many things.
For example, he is responsible for hiring the painters, he also does the advertising.
Mark must provide equipment such as ladders, paint and brushes for the painters.
He takes care of the payroll and writes the contracts.
It is also his responsibility to do the final inspection of each project with the customer.
Laratonda supervises two groups of painters. Each group has three painters.
The painters usually work 8 hours a day.
"The people I hired are very responsible. They work hard and get the job done." Laratonda says.
His painters have completed 15 projects since May.
They have about 40,000 dollars worth of painting jobs to do this summer.
C. Now listen again.
Then you are going to hear some statements.
Decide whether they are true or false. Put "T" or "F" in the brackets.
Statements.
1. Student Painters is based in New York.
2. Student Painters was founded in 1980.
3. Student Painters operates in 50 states in the United States and in 5 Canadian provinces.
4. Mark Laratonda supervises three groups of painters.
5. Laratonda's painters have completed 15 jobs since July.
6. Companies instructors trained Laratonda to become a manager.
7. Mark Laratonda is an engineering major at Indiana University.
D. Listen to the passage again.
This time focus on Mark Laratonda's responsibilities at Student Painters.
Fill in the blanks below by using key words.