A. Study the following.

What do you do?

People may ask you about your job. They can ask and you can answer in different ways:

NB 'Work' is usually an uncountable noun, so you cannot say 'a work'. If you want to use the indefinite article you must say ‘a job^’, e.g. She hasn't got a job at the moment.

What does that involve? = What do you do in your job?

When people ask you to explain your work/job, they may want to know your main responsibilities, or something about your daily routine. They can ask like this: What does that (i.e. your job) involve?

Main responsibilities

I'm in charge of all deliveries out of the factory.

I have to deal with any complaints.

I run the coffee bar and restaurant in the museum.

Daily duties/routines

I have to attend a lot of meetings.

I visit/see/meet clients. I advise clients.

It involves doing quite a lot of paperwork.

Pay

Most workers are paid every month and this pay goes directly into their bank account. It is called a salary. We can express the same idea using the verb to earn:

My salary is $60,000 a year. = I earn $60,000 a year.

With many jobs you get holiday pay and sick pay (when you are ill). If you want to ask about holidays, you can say: How much holiday do you get? or How many weeks' holiday do you get?

The total amount of money you receive in a year is called your income. This could be your salary from one job, or the salary from two different jobs you have. And on this income you have to pay part to the government - called income tax.

Working hours

For many people in Britain, these are 8.30-9.00 a.m. to 5.00-5.30 p.m. Consequently people often talk about a nine-to-five job. Some people have flexi-time; and some have to do shiftwork. Some people also work overtime. Some people are paid to do/work overtime, others are not paid.

B. Match the definitions with the italicized words and phrases from the text.

C. Match the verbs on the left with the nouns or phrases on the right to form collocations. Use each word once only.