Glee is currently a Top Hit TV show in North America. It is a musical comedy-drama that celebrates human diversity in a high school setting. Glee has become an award winning TV series in a very short time. The music from the show has sold over 36 million copies of single releases and more that 11 million albums worldwide. Glee is also quite popular with big celebrities. Guest appearances on the Glee show include Ricky Martin and Britney Spears; Tom Hanks is known to enjoy watching the show with his family. Let’s check out how some of the cast members feel about their work!
What is your job/work like?
Amber Riley (Mercedes):
I love my work. It is exciting. I get to dance, I get to act and I get to sing.
Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina):
During a typical day, we are juggling shooting scenes, learning dances and recording songs.
Mark Salling (Puck):
The busy days are long like 14 to 16 hour days. But my work keeps me on my toes.
Natural Speaking Styles
A common style in North American culture is to ask people about their job. This week I wanted to take a look at the answers from some of the cast of the hit TV show ‘Glee’. The question ‘What is your job/work like?’ is great for finding out more information about a person’s employment. It is casual and usually asked if you already know what the person’s job is. If you don’t know then this would be the second question. For example
Question: What do you do?
Answer: I am an actor.
Question: Really, how interesting. What is your job like?
Answer: Well… I love my work. It is exciting. I get to dance, I get to act and I get to sing.
Celebrity Answer styles:
With Amber Riley’s case, she tells us she ‘loves’ her job and it is ‘exciting’. Amber tells us 3 activities that she can do at her job. Amber uses the informal verb ‘get to’ to emphasize why she loves her job and why it is exciting. She loves her job because she can dance at her job. She is allowed to sing and act. Amber uses repetition of ‘get to’ to really emphasize the great things her job entails.
Jenna Ushkowitz gives the listener an idea of her ‘typical’ workday. Jenna also tells us 3 activities to explain her job: shooting scenes, learning dances and recording songs. She uses the verb ‘juggling’ (to juggle) to help provide more imagery for the listener and emphasize the idea that her typical day is quite busy.
Mark Salling explains to the listener what his job is like on a busy workday. Mark says that his long workdays are ‘like’ (=for example) 14 to 16 hours in one day. Mark also explains that his job ‘Keeps him on his toes’.
To keep someone on one’s toes = to keep someone active/alert/busy/focused/no time to be relaxed. This is a common expression and conveys a positive idea.
Practice Styles
So please try out these styles the next time someone asks you “What is your job like?”
Here are some practice ideas.
Question: What is your job like?
Amber ’s style
I love my work. It is exciting. I get to dance, I get to act and I get to sing.
Ex1. I love my work. It is exciting. I get to take pictures, I get to travel and I get to meet new people from different backgrounds.
Jenna’s style
During a typical day, we are juggling shooting scenes, learning dances and recording songs.
Ex2. During a typical day, we are juggling customer calls, sales and marketing.
Mark’s style
The busy days are long like 14 to 16 hour days. But my work keeps me on my toes.
Ex3. The busy days are long like 12 to 14 hour days. But my work keeps me on my toes.
Have a good week! See you next week!
Alex
Celebrity English
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