Reading
Task
1.
Key Words
Braggart
- the person who boasts.
Conceited
- excessively proud of yourself.
Cocky
- similar to conceited. Thinking very highly of yourself.
Bragging
- to boast about achievements or possessions.
Champion Yourself At Work
If you're a
younger employee, you've no doubt run up against the struggle of getting
noticed for your work. One of the biggest battles in the workplace is getting
recognition for the work you do without coming across as boastful or a
braggart. Even older, seasoned workers have to fight to get their work
recognised.
The truth is,
however, that you have lots of opportunities to champion yourself at work and
point out your victories: in meetings, presentations and even company-wide
e-mails. However, it's a fine line to walk; there's a definite art involved in
the subtleties of touting your accomplishments. If you're always talking about
how good you are at your job and how lucky the company is to have you, you'll
come across as conceited, or even just as an idiot. But speak too little of
your work, and you could miss out on assignments, raises, promotions, and your
own private jet. OK, maybe not the last one, but if you want to take your
career to the next level, you need to champion yourself at work.
Focus
On Specifics
The first rule of championing yourself
at work is to have something worth crowing about. You need a particular
achievement, because going around telling people you're great for no reason at
all makes you sound full of yourself. You should always have something
specific, and it should be measurable.
Measurements are a sure way to show
change, improvement in an area that was weak, etc. There's a saying in
business: “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.” We know, we know;
things like your team's morale are important too, but the fact is your boss,
your boss’ boss and everyone else has a preference for numbers. Why? Numbers
are an easy handle. Your boss could spend a few hours a week sitting in on the
sales team, watching how many deals are made, and the overall mood of the
division. Or, he could read the sales figures for the month, and the number of
employees who've quit this year versus last. As a busy man, which do you think
he's more likely to do? Exactly.
Present
Accomplishments As Company Victories, Not Your Own
When you achieve the result you've aimed
for, you truly have something to brag about. However, if you play that victory
off the wrong way you'll come across as cocky. So instead of going around
bragging about what a fine job you did, share with the others around you how
proud they should be of the success the company had. Do what you can to share
the praise: It makes you look like a bigger man and nobody will be confused
about who actually made the win possible.
Be
Persistent
Have you ever had a question for your
boss or something to get their feedback on and felt brushed off by them? You
may have even felt unimportant or unappreciated to them. Well, barring the few
truly bad bosses out there, most bosses care about their teams a great deal.
Your boss doesn't mean to ignore you, he’s just busy. Get a promotion to
management, and you'll quickly realise how much work your boss was dealing with
that you weren't even aware of. They have people above them to answer to, their
own work and, last but not least, you and your coworkers on the level below. So
don't feel bad if you get a lukewarm reception from your boss -- you may have
caught them at a bad time. Keep bringing up the good things you're
accomplishing. Don't give up, and keep reminding your boss of your past
accomplishments and the big projects you're currently facing.
Mark true or false statements:
1. When you're a new employee it can be
hard to get your work noticed.
2. You should make sure you always tell
people how well you are doing at work.
3. If you don't ever tell people about
your achievements, you may miss out on getting paid more money.
4. It is important to have specific
goals at work.
5. If you achieve something big, you
should focus on how it positively affects the company.
6. There are many truly bad bosses in
the work world.
7. You shouldn't feel upset if your boss
brushes you off, he/she is probably very busy.
Task
2
The history of graffiti
The first
drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient
Romans and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern
graffiti seems to have appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the
late sixties it had reached New York. The new art form really took off in the
1970s, when people began writing their names, or ‘tags’, on buildings all over
the city. In the mid seventies it was sometimes hard to see out of a subway car
window, because the trains were completely covered in spray paintings known as
‘masterpieces’.
In the early
days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned with marking
their territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called what they did
‘writing’ – the term ‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and the
novelist Norman Mailer. Art galleries in New York began buying graffiti in the
early seventies. But at the same time that it began to be regarded as an art
form, John Lindsay, the then mayor of New York, declared the first war on
graffiti. By the 1980s it became much harder to write on subway trains without
being caught, and instead many of the more established graffiti artists began
using roofs of buildings or canvases.
The debate over
whether graffiti is art or vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone, a New
York city councillor, thinks that graffiti done with permission can be art, but
if it is on someone else’s property it becomes a crime. ‘I have a message for
the graffiti vandals out there,’ he said recently. ‘Your freedom of expression
ends where my property begins.’ On the other hand, Felix, a member of the
Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that artists are reclaiming cities
for the public from advertisers, and that graffiti represents freedom and makes
cities more vibrant.
For decades
graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel
Basquiat began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected
artist in the ’80s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy
have achieved international fame by producing complex works with stencils,
often making political or humorous points. Works by Banksy have been sold for
over £100,000. Graffiti is now sometimes big business.
Task
1. Check your understanding: matching
Write the paragraph headings next to the
paragraphs. One heading is not needed.
Art or vandalism? Increasing exposure and
attention The future of graffiti
Famous graffiti artists Not just a
modern phenomenon
1. paragraph 1
______________________________
2. paragraph 2
______________________________
3. paragraph 3
______________________________
4. paragraph 4
______________________________
5. not needed
Task
2. Check your understanding: multiple choice
Circle the best answer to these
questions.
1. Why was the seventies an important
decade in the history of graffiti?
a. That was when modern graffiti first
appeared.
b. That was when modern graffiti first
became really popular.
c. That was when graffiti first reached
New York.
2. What is a 'masterpiece' in graffiti?
a. A really high-quality piece of
graffiti.
b. A work of graffiti showing the
artist's name.
c. A full piece of graffiti, like those
seen on subway trains.
3. What was the main motivation for the
first taggers?
a. Showing which streets belonged to
which gangs.
b. Creating a strong visual identity for
their 'crew'.
c. Sending coded messages to other
gangs.
4. Who coined the phrase 'graffiti'?
a. New York gangs who had a lot of
Italian immigrant members.
b. A newspaper and an author.
c. The man who was the mayor of New York
in the late seventies.
5. How did things change after the first
war on graffiti?
a. It was considered a more serious
crime.
b. Graffiti artists had to find
different places to paint.
c. New York looked a lot cleaner.
6. What does New York city councillor
Peter Vallone say about graffiti?
a. Graffiti can be good for cities as
long as it is tasteful and conveys positive messages.
b. Graffiti can be beautiful if it is
done by a skilled artist.
c. Graffiti is a crime if the artist
does not have permission.
7. What do the Berlin-based group
Reclaim Your City say about graffiti?
a. Involving young people in graffiti
stops them getting involved with serious crime.
b. Graffiti helps the public to own the
streets and take control away from advertisers.
c. Graffiti actually increases the value
of property by making the area more attractive.
8. What is the author's final point?
a. Graffiti has now become mainstream
and can make artists a lot of money.
b. Graffiti is not a good way to become
a respected artist.
c. Some of the most popular graffiti
artists end up being exploited by the art world.
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