How to become an airline pilot

Commercial pilot Andrew Mitchell tells how he made his high flying dreams a reality. Andrew is a captain with a commercial airline, who got his job as a result of his excellent education. He won the JN Somers scholarship from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (Gapan) in 2001 and has been flying…

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Giving difficult news

Giving bad or difficult news at work is always a very difficult and emotional thing. It is important to choose the right words and phrases and to be as calm as possible Where the person has done something wrong, it is important to show a distance with your phrases Look at the words and phrases…

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Christmas terms and meanings

FIRST OF ALL, CLICK ON THE YOUTUBE VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO ENJOY SOME WINTER MUSIC WHILST YOU WORK!   A lot of Christmas vocabulary can be used with or without the word ‘Christmas’ in front of it. For example we can talk about ‘Christmas crackers’ or just ‘crackers’: a cracker :…

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Idioms based on Winter

  stone cold – unemotional, very cold   a slippery slope – where one measure will lead to further worse measures   pay freeze – a temporary stop to rises in pay     chill out – rest and relax, calm down   break the ice – to begin a conversation when you first meet…

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Idioms based on music

  Here are some commonly used idioms based on music.     face the music – accept the consequences of your actions   music to my ears – exactly what you wanted to hear   change your tune – change your views or ideas on a subject   fiddle while Rome burns – waste time…

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Phrasal verbs – Hang

Hang about – Spend time somewhere not doing much Hang about! – Stop what you’re doing and pay attention to me Hang around – Stay in a place Hang back – Not move forwards to avoid doing something Hang back from – Delay or avoid doing something Hang in there – Persevere, not give up…

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Idioms based on weather

any port in a storm – in an emergency, any solution will do   on cloud nine – extremely happy   chasing rainbows – doing something that will not be achieved, being unrealistic   the calm before the storm – a calm moment before an argument or brisk activity   get wind of – hear…

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Phrasal verbs – 2

Phrasal verbs     We use phrasal verbs most frequently in conversation and less formal speech. Taking just 4 verbs, the examples below demonstrate how many different terms there are!   Try the QUIZ based on these 4 verbs, to test your knowledge.     ASK.   ask after enquire about someone or their health…

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Phrasal verbs – 1

Phrasal verbs   Phrasal verbs are more often used in everyday speech, rather than formal,official writing or speaking.   Here are some examples from just 4 verbs.   Wear. wear away erode, remove gradually   wear off stop having an effect     CUT. cut back reduce   cut down consume less, cut something from…

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