The weekend is a part of the week lasting one or two days in which most paid workers do not work. This is a time for leisure and recreation, and/or for religious activities. In historically Christian countries the weekend typically covers Saturday and Sunday, for Muslims and while in Muslim countries it is Friday and Saturday, or Thursday and Friday. In Israel the weekend is Friday and Saturday. Sometimes the end of the...............(1) work day is considered part of the weekend.
The notion of a weekly rest is ancient. The Jewish Sabbath, known as Shabbat, is from sunset Friday to nighttime on Saturday. The Christian Sabbath has been Sunday traditionally. The weekend as a time of leisure is a.............(2) invention. Before the industrial revolution the wage labour force was a minuscule fraction of the population. The day of the Sabbath was viewed as one dedicated to God, not one of relaxation, and strict prohibitions on permissible activities were enacted.
The ..............(3) Europe saw a six-day work week with only Sunday off, but some workers had no days off at all. The labour and workers rights movements and campaigns by trade unionists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw a five day work week introduced as Saturday became a day of rest and relaxation. This movement began in England. In several languages, the word for weekend is an adaptation of weekend or the term "English week" is used for the five-days work week.
In many ways this has been a great boon to the economy as it led to a great increase in consumer spending on Saturdays as a ..................(4) became standard Saturday fare. Many jurisdictions continued to enforce strict blue laws on Sunday which meant that most recreations, such as stores and theatres, were forced to close on that day. These regulations began to weaken in the years after the Second World War and Sunday also became a day of ..................(5) for many.
In recent years the weekend has begun to fade in importance. While most people work a five day work week, when the hardware costs outweigh human costs, the competitiveness of the modern economy means that leaving a factory idle or an office unmanned for two days is of too great expense. Thus many workers regularly work on weekends. Since this is seen as a ..................(6) most employers pay extra for weekend work, either by agreement or by legislation, or else give time off midweek.
There is still great variability in many areas between the .................(7) and weekend. Stores that are reliant on office workers will see far less business on a weekend, while those in the suburbs or in residential areas will see far more. Since weekends are days where people can safely sleep in and also not have to worry as much about the ill effects of a hangover, Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest for bars, restaurants, clubs, and cinemas. There is substantially..............(8) on many websites on weekends.
Put one of the following parts of the text in each gap.
A. restaurant visit, motorcar journeys, or a trip to the movies B. workweek C. rather modern D. early industrial period in E. greater burden F. preceding G. less activity H. recreation
KEY
1F, 2C, 3D, 4A, 5H, 6E, 7B, 8G
RIGHT AND WRONG
Choose the correct words in brackets.
1. The (dog´s / dogs´) heads were very dirty.
2. I´ve seen the (children´s/childrens´) school.
3. Where are (the girls´ jackets?/the jackets of the girls?)
4. She quietly opened the (laboratory´s door/laboratory door).
5. The garden is at (the house´s front/the front of thehouse).
6. She´s just had a (week´s holiday/week holiday).
7. I´ve broken the (kitchen door/kitchen´s door).
8. She´s the (doctor´s receptionist/doctor receptionist).
9. I am the (manager of the London office/the London offices manager)
10. It´s (six day work/six days´ work)
KEY
1. dogs´, 2. children´s, 3. girls´ jackets, 4. laboratory door, 5. the front of the house, 6. week´s holiday, 7. kitchen door, 8. doctor´s receptionist,9. manager of the London office, 10. six days´ work
COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS alebo slová, ktoré si často mýlime
stationary - stacionárny, nehybný. (The accident was my fault because I ran into a stationary object.)
stationery - písacie potreby, papier (My mother bought me stationery that was on recycled paper.)
precede - predchádzať, prísť pred – sloveso ( Pre-writing precedes the rough draft of good papers.)
proceed - pokročiť, pokračovať, postupovať (He proceeded to pass back the failing grades on the exam.)
lose sloveso - zlyhať, prehrať, stratiť ("If you lose that new lunchbox, don't even think of coming home!")
loose sloveso – povoliť, uvoľniť, prídavné meno – voľný. (The burglar's pants were so loose that he was sure to lose the race with the cop chasing him.)
BUSINESS PHRASES
Choose the right phrases to complete these statements.
1. Someone is going to have to take responsibility for this disaster. Who is going to ........ .
a. can't win
b. carry the can
c. chicken
d. a can of worms
e. chicken and egg
2. Whatever we do, we are going to come out badly. It's a ........ situation.
a. a can of worms
b. carry the can
c. chicken
d. can't win
e. chicken and egg
3. She always like to think things through very carefully. She likes to ........ .
a. chicken and egg
b. chicken
c. chew things over
d. call his bluff
e. call it quits
4. We wanted to expand into Asia but we were a bit frightened. We were soon sorry for being so ........ .
a. chicken and egg
b. chicken
c. calls the shots
d. chew things over
e. call it quits
5. I reckon we owe you about the same as you owe us. Why don't we just ........ ?
a. call his bluff
b. called it a day
c. calls the shots
d. chicken
e. call it quits
6. I imagine their company jet was very expensive indeed. It probably......... .
a. cost the earth
b. clear the decks
c. cut it fine
d. cut-throat
KEY
1B, 2D, 3C, 4B, 5E, 6A