This is Lesson 3, “Who’s the Best Person for the Job?,” from our collection of intermediate-level adult ESL lessons. The lesson features a reading passage about a trade company looking to hire a secretary, followed by comprehension questions and discussion questions. This content-packed lesson is written with relatively simple English to help students transition to a more advanced level of English understanding and fluency. This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many other adult ESL lessons like this one in our book ESL Pathways: Bridges.
Read the following situation.
Trade Winds is an international trade company based in Hong Kong. They import goods from Mainland China and export to Europe, Australia and the USA. Mainly they deal with clothing and accessories. In the future they would like to expand their markets. They would like to do business with Mexico and some other countries in South America.
The president of Trade Winds believes it is important for businesses to find new markets and to increase their sales. This way they can increase profit, and their employees can get higher salaries and better benefits.
Right now Trade Winds Company needs to hire a secretary for the marketing division. Twenty people have applied for the job and the personnel department has chosen four final applicants out of the original twenty. There are two males and two females. Two are from Hong Kong and the other two are from Mainland China and The UK. They each have good skills, high level of education and are all qualified for the job. The company needs to consider the applications of these final four applicants. Then they need to make a decision about which person is most suitable for the job. There are many things to consider when hiring a new employee.
Read about the four applicants:
Name: | Susan Tsai | Martin Lee | Peggy Wang | Robert Peel |
Nationality: | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | China | United Kingdom |
Education: | B.A. English | B. A. Finance | B.A. Math and Business | B.A. Secretarial studies |
Age: | 30 | 34 | 28 | 24 |
Typing speed: | 60 WPM | 55 WPM | 60 WPM | 65 WPM |
Languages: | Cantonese, Mandarin, English | Cantonese, English, Spanish | Mandarin, English | English, Spanish |
Experience: | 8 years as a secretary | 7 years in international trade sales | 4 years as a secretary | None. Just graduated |
Personality: | Serious, organized | Outgoing, funny | A little shy, quiet | Enthusiastic, a little gullible |
Comprehension Questions:
Discussion Questions:
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