Spotlight - 13.2019

(singke) #1

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Fotos: shironosov; iStockc.om

Spotlight 13/2019 EVERYDAY ENGLISH

EVERYDAY ENGLISH


Early retirement


DAGMAR TAYLOR presents four dialogues about
retiring. Read them carefully and look at our tips to
brush up on your everyday English.

MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS


  1. Time for golf
    It’s Friday morning. Keith has met his friend Dougie for a round of golf.

  2. A happier man
    Keith is talking to Dougie about his decision to take early retirement.


Dougie: So, how’s life treating
you, Keith? Have you been
rushed off your feet since
you retired?
Keith: (laughs) Kind of. I really don’t
know how I ever had time to
work.
Dougie: What’s the best thing about
being retired then?
Keith: I can honestly say — without
hesitation — that it’s not hav-
ing to go to work ever again.

Dougie: (laughs) Was it really that bad?
Keith: Eh, yes! As you know, I was a
software tester, but because
of all the offshoring,
I wasn’t doing any testing.
I was just sorting things out
when they went wrong. And
that was all the time! It was
so frustrating.
Dougie: Sounds like you made the
right decision.
Keith: Without a doubt!

Dougie: So, how did you manage to
get early retirement? You’re
only 50.
Keith: Ah, I might look 50, but
you’ll be surprised to hear
that I’m actually 56. (laughs)
It was like this: when UK
legislation changed to allow
employees over 55 to decide
what they wanted to do with
their pensions, I realized
that I could free up funds
and invest them.

Dougie: Clever!
Keith: And also, we’ve paid off
the mortgage and my wife
works full-time. It’s been
much less stressful at home
since I retired. I’m a much
happier man.
Dougie: How long did you work for
the company?
Keith: I started when I was 18. I
was with them for just shy
of 38 years.
Dougie: Good on you!

Tips
⋅ How’s life treating you? is said as an
informal greeting.
⋅ If you are extremely busy, you can
say that you are rushed off your feet
(ifml.).
⋅ Offshoring is the practice of basing
a business or part of a business in a
different country, usually because
this involves paying less tax or other
costs.
⋅ When you have to deal with a
problem, and do so in a successful
way, you sort it out.
⋅ Without a doubt is used to
emphasize one’s opinion.

Tips
⋅ Legislation is a law, or a set of laws,
passed by a parliament.
⋅ A pension is an amount of money
paid regularly by a government or a
company to somebody who is too old
to work.
⋅ When you free up something, you
make something available to be used.
⋅ Yo u c a n u s e (just) shy of^ (ifml.) with
numbers or quantities to mean
“slightly less than”.
⋅ Good on you!^ (UK) is used to show
approval of someone’s success or
good luck.

approval [E(pru:v&l]
, Zustimmung

fund [fVnd]
, Kapital, Geldmittel

mortgage [(mO:gIdZ]
, Hypothek, Grundschuld
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