General English:9
Stages of life
Unit3 How things have changed
Vocabulary Work stuff
I need to do lots of overtime.
I have a lot of responsibility.
I need to deal with people‘s problems.
There‘s no time to work on my own projects.
I spend so much time in meetings.
I get a say in what we decide.
I often get stressed out.
It‘s a well-paid job.
Now read the conversation between the man and woman that you heard earlier. Move the text to the correct gap.
MAN: So, how are things? Are you enjoying the new job?
WOMAN: Yeah, fine, thanks. It‘s been OK. A lot of changes.
MAN: I know. Moving into a management position ...
WOMAN: Yeah, I certainly never used to be as busy or do so much overtime !
MAN: It‘ll be like that for the first couple of years.
WOMAN: And, obviously, I didn‘t have as much responsibility before.
MAN: You find that stressful ?
WOMAN: A little. I feel like I spend more time dealing with other people‘s problems these days.
MAN: Yeah, I remember these things from when I got my promotion. I used to have more time to work on my own projects, and it was frustrating when I had to spend all my time in meetings.
WOMAN: Oh, yes, the meetings!
MAN: Still, I didn‘t use to get so much say in what happens in our department either – it‘s not all bad.
WOMAN: No, there are definitely benefits. Being better paid , for a start.
Expressions Reminiscing
He often worked late into the night.
He did become a successful engineer.
I think he felt bad.
He was missing out.
He wasn‘t around.
He was a good father.
Use expressions like these to reminisce:
Remember when we would make believe that we were married?
Those were the days. I‘d swim all summer!
Life was simpler back then.
Those were the days! 那些日子！
Remember when you‘d spend all day exploring?
Everything was easier back then.
Notice that for past events that only happened once, you can‘t use would.
Gale took her first step when she was 10 months old. She would walk and fall around each room of the house, and then she‘d start again.
Grammar Past routines
Talking about then and now
Use ** used to** to describe routines from the past that do not happen anymore.
I used to complain a lot about this job, but it‘s taught me so much.
I used to have more responsibility before, but now I‘m much more relaxed at work.
We used to have a lot more problems. 我们曾经有更多的问题。
Use didn‘t use to to describe things that happen now that did not happen in the past. Notice, in the negative form, there is no d in use to.
I didn‘t use to spend so much time dealing with other people‘s problems.
In the other department, I didn‘t use to get a say in the bigger decisions.