Read the following passage.
for my age. I leave home early and it takes about two hours on a crowded train
to get to the office. I get Sunday off, but on the other days I'm usually in my
office till nine o'clock, or even midnight on occasion. But I enjoy seeing the
customers excited about our new products and services. Every August I take a
15 years. It's a secure job in a major company and I enjoy a relatively high salary
six-day summer vacation, usually at my parents' place in Toyama. It's nice to
Thave been working for a Japanese cell phone company in Tokyo for the last
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or the space of the countryside after my cramped apartment in the suburbs.
However, I spend two days travelling there and back, and then it's straight back
to work the next day.
Last summer, however, I was able to take 10 days off in August and used the
rare chance to take my wife on a foreign holiday by going to visit my old friend,
Pierre, in Paris. He and I met at university in the US nearly 20 years ago when
we were both international exchange students. We shared a love of tennis and
S0on became good friends, and have stayed in touch. He now works as a
supervisor in a post office in eastern Paris.
It was lovely to see Pierre again and spend time in the spacious apartment he
shares with his wife. I was very surprised to find that they were just back from
a month-long summer vacation in southern France and Switzerland. Pierre told
us that this is perfectly normal in his job, and couldn't believe his ears when I
mentioned that my usual vacation is around a week and that I work 12 hours a
day, six days a week. His usual workday, he said, was from 9:00 to 16:00. He
wasn't joking ; he was back home by bicycle by 16:20 every day. He likes his job
as the postal service fulfills a vital function in society by connecting people both
aomestically andinternationally. On hearing his story, though, I began to reflect
upon my own life and work. AmI working to live, or just living to work ?
Answer questions A to C in English. You may use words and ideas from the
Lext, but you must not copy complete sentences.
