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1. Cycle Contents

2. Cycle Vocabulary
   1. Week 1
      1. Session 1
   2. Week 2
      1. Session 1
   3. Week 3
      1. Session 1
      2. Session 2

3. Reading Sections
   1. “Why don’t you get a proper job?” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:46, Week 1 Session1]
   2. “Great British Jobs” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:52, Week 2 Session 1]
   3. “Tesla's rise made 2020 the year the U.S. auto industry went electric” [Reuters (By: Joseph White), link, Week 3 Session 1]
   4. “Republished: Princess Fatma Ismail - The woman behind Cairo University” [AhramOnline (By: Amira Noshokaty), link, Week 3 Session 2]

4. Extra Reading
   1. “Tesla is proof that the next 20 years in the tech industry won't be like the last 20” [INSIDER (By: Matthew DeBord), link, Week 3 Session 1]

5. From Grammarway 4
   1. Unit 10

Cycle Contents

Week 1

1. Upstream:
   1. Unit 3: Making a living { Reading: “Why don’t you get a proper job?” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:46] }

2. Writing Academic English:
   1. Part 2: Writing an Essay, Chapter 9: Argumentative Essay

3. Some online resources

Week 2

1. Upstream:
   1. (continue) Unit 3: Making a living { Reading: “Great British Jobs” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:52] }

Week 3

1. New Hello:
   1. Unit 8: High tech-transport
   2. Unit 12: Achievements & goals

2. Grammarway 4:
   1. Unit 10: Clauses - Linking Words

3. Some online resources

** All online resources can be found in the cycle file.

Cycle Vocabulary

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Reading

“Why don’t you get a proper job?” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:46, Week 1 Session1]

She wants to be a singer; you think she should go for a long-term career with job security and eventually retire with a good pension. But a new report suggests that in fact she's the practical one. Why do parents make terrible career advisers?

Today's 14 and 15-year-olds are ambitious. They are optimistic about their prospects, but their career ideas are rather vague. Although 80% of them have no intention of following in their parents' footsteps, 69% still turn to their parents for advice. They look at their working future in a different way to their parents.

A job for life is not in their vocabulary; neither is a dead-end but secure job that is boring but pays the bills. Almost half the boys surveyed expected that their hobbies would lead them into the right sort of job, while most girls seemed determined to avoid traditionally female careers such as nursing.

In the past, this might have counted as bad news. Certainly when I was 15, my guidance counsellors were horrified at my plans to become a writer. I'm glad I didn't change my plans to suit them. Even so, their faith in rigid career paths was well-founded. In those days, that was the way to get ahead.

But the world has changed. The global economy is not kind to yesterday's diligent and dependable worker. The future belongs to quick-thinking people who are resourceful, ambitious and can take the initiative. This means that a 14-year-old who sees her working future as a kind of adventure, to be made up as she goes along, is not necessarily being unrealistic.

However, she has to have the training and guidance to help her develop the right skills for today's market; not the rigid preparation for a workplace that disappeared twenty years ago. Many young people are very aware of the pitfalls of the flexible workplace; they understand that redundancy, downsizing and freelancing are all part of modern working life, but no one is telling them how they might be able to turn the new rules of the employment game to their advantage. This is what they need to know if they are to make a life for themselves.

So what is to be done? A good first step would be to change the way in which schools prepare young people for adult life. The education system is becoming less flexible and more obsessed with traditional skills at just the time that the employment market is going in the opposite direction.

Accurate, up-to-date information on new jobs and qualifications can help guidance counsellors to help their students. Young people need solid information on the sort of training they need to pursue the career of their dreams. Also, a little bit of encouragement can go a long way. If nothing else, a bit of optimism from an adult can serve as an antidote to the constant criticism of teenagers in the press.

What, then, can we as parents do to help them? The best thing is to forget all the advice that your parents gave you, and step into your teenager's shoes. Once you've done that, it's easier to see how important it is that they learn how to be independent, resourceful and resilient. Give them the courage to follow their dreams - however odd they might sound right now. In a world that offers economic security to almost no one, imagination is a terrible thing to waste.

“Great British Jobs” [Upstream Unit 3 SB, P:52, Week 2 Session 1]

We talked to some people who are still managing to make a living doing traditional jobs in today's hi-tech Britain

A) SHAUN HARRISON – BUTLER

Modern butlers combine the roles of cook, cleaner, waiter, gardener, driver and household manager and they have to be polite, respectful, and well-organised. "We do everything from paying the bills to picking up the children, organising parties and getting the washing machine repaired," says Shaun Harrison, 32, who works for a family in the Oxfordshire countryside. "During the week I'm in jeans and a shirt, busy looking after the household and the gardens. At weekends, when the family arrives, I put on a suit and take on the role of a traditional butler. I get four weeks holiday a year and I have to take it when it suits my employer."

B) MARK THOMPSON – STEEPLEJACK

Mark Thompson is self-employed and carries out a range of building, repair and maintenance jobs to the outside of tall structures such as church spires, monuments, industrial chimneys and high rise buildings. It takes from 2-6 years to train as a professional steeplejack and Mark has been doing it for the last 15 years. "The one thing you must have for this job is a head for heights," he says. "I like working outdoors, but it can be very dangerous carrying equipment and trying to keep your balance when the weather's bad. It gets really windy up there, so you've got be quite fearless!” Also make sure you take plenty of exercise so as to be strong enough. Mark travels all over the country and often works away from home for extended periods. "I often have to work a lot of unsociable hours such as weekends and evenings to get the job done, but I get a great feeling when I finish and I know that because of me beautiful buildings will continue to grace the skyline for a good few years."

C) PETER MOORE – TOWN CRIER

The job of Town Crier can be traced back as far as the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when the news was passed on to the general public by individuals employed by the king. "Basically, a Town Crier was a kind of talking newspaper, but today a lot of my work is ceremonial or promotional," says Peter. "I wear a traditional costume and carry a bell and shout the familiar call of Oyez Oyez* to get people's attention. I work for the British Tourist Authority and I preside at festivals, shows and parades as well as at London's tourist attractions. I also get to travel all over the world doing different promotions at department stores and hotels." Peter has been doing this job for more than 25 years and to him it is more than a job; it is a way of life. “I’m keeping a much-loved tradition alive. If you ever need to find me, just follow the sound of my booming voice.” In his job he has met lots of celebrities including MPs and members of the Royal Family, but his proudest boast is that he has never lost his voice.

( * Oyez Oyez, roughly translated, means listen listen.)

D) RICK BOOTH – MILKMAN

Rick Booth, 36, is one of a decreasing number of milkmen still working in Britain. He arrives at the dairy around 11.00pm to load up his milk float and it takes him about five hours to complete his round. He leaves the milk on the doorstep and collects the empty bottles left there by the householders. By the morning, Rick's hands are sore and blistered. "Picking up and carrying crates all night is really hard on your hands," he admits. It also strains his knees and back. “I’m always bending down and lifting so you have to be in good shape to do this job." Sore knees and backs aren't the only pains milkmen have to suffer. Angry pets are another problem. "Some dogs get you when your back is turned," Rick laughs. The other problem is the unsociable hours. "When the moon is up and everybody is asleep, your body tells you it's bedtime. But you have to go against nature and stay awake. Also, I hardly ever see any of my customers, so I do feel rather isolated."

E) TED COX – CHIMNEY SWEEP

"Central heating and gas fires haven't done away with us sweeps yet," says Ted Cox, 64, who was just seven years old when his father, also a sweep, first put him up a chimney where he had to climb up and sweep out the soot. "In fact," he says, “increasing concerns over carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty electric and gas fires has increased the demand for chimney sweeps lately. Sweeps don't just clean chimneys, you know. They also keep them free from obstructions, like cobwebs, birds’ nests and leaves to ensure proper ventilation." Ted says to be a good sweep, you also need to be a good listener. “When I make house calls, I usually end up staying for a cup of tea and a chat, which I really enjoy. It's no use being a sweep if you don't like tea!" he says laughing.

F) MILES REED – YEOMAN OF THE GUARD

"You have to be on your guard at all times for bomb scares or robbery attempts," says Miles Reed, 58, a Yeoman of the Guard at the Tower of London otherwise known as a ‘Beefeater’. “We’re not just a tourist attraction, you know!" he adds proudly. Miles’ day starts around 9 o'clock in the morning when the first visitors arrive. He spends most of the day giving guided tours of the Tower of London, answering questions on its history and posing for photographs with tourists in his traditional red and gold uniform. His shift usually ends at around 5.45 when the Tower closes to visitors. Miles doesn't have far to go after work because all ‘Beefeaters’ and their families have accommodation in the Tower grounds. “What I enjoy most about the job is meeting and talking to the tourists,” admits Miles. “There must be pictures of me in photo albums all over the world.”

“Tesla's rise made 2020 the year the U.S. auto industry went electric” [Reuters (By: Joseph White), link, Week 3 Session 1]

DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Inc and Wall Street made 2020 the year that the U.S. auto industry decided to go electric.

Tesla’s market capitalization surged above $600 billion, making the once wobbly startup founded by billionaire Elon Musk worth more than the five top-selling global vehicle making groups combined. The exclamation point came on Friday when Tesla rose to a record high in frantic trading ahead of the stock’s much anticipated entrance into the benchmark S&P 500 index..

For 2021, all signs point toward the industry accelerating its shift toward electrification, a turning point as historically momentous as the launch of Ford Motor Co’s moving assembly line for the Model T or General Motors ’ 2009 bankruptcy.

Tesla’s ascent came the same year that activist hedge funds and other investors ratcheted up pressure on corporations to fight climate change. Evidence is growing that more investors have concluded the century-long dominance of internal combustion engines - “ICE” in industry slang - is headed toward a close within a decade.

From London to Beijing to California, political leaders also embraced plans to start phasing out internal combustion engine-only vehicles as early as 2030. Pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions undermines the logic for significant new investments in ICE engines. Thousands of manufacturing jobs are currently tied to internal combustion in the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan and other countries.

Other powerful forces also shook the auto industry’s status quo this year. The COVID-19 pandemic stripped away the sales and profits that incumbent automakers had counted on to fund methodical transitions to electric vehicles. China’s rapid recovery from the pandemic exerted an even more powerful gravitational pull on industry investment.

WILL CONSUMERS PLUG IN?

This was the year GM Chief Executive Mary Barra and other top industry executives began to echo Tesla’s Musk, saying electric vehicle battery costs could soon achieve parity with internal combustion technology. Still, it remained to be seen whether consumers, particularly in the United States, are ready to say goodbye to petroleum-fueled pickup trucks and SUVs.

The best-selling vehicles in the United States remain large, petroleum-burning pickup trucks. Demand for these vehicles powered a recovery for Detroit automakers after the pandemic forced factories to shut down in the spring.

The best electric vehicle and battery makers could field models that match internal combustion upfront cost as soon as 2023, brokerage Bernstein wrote in a report.

“ICE game over with BEV ~ 2030,” Bernstein’s auto analysts wrote, using the industry’s acronyms for internal combustion engine and Battery Electric Vehicle.

The shift toward electric vehicles is speeding a parallel transformation of vehicles into largely digital machines that get much of their value from software that powers rich visual displays and features such as automated driving systems.

Across the industry, century-old manufacturers such as Daimler AG are scrambling to hire programmers and artificial intelligence experts.

The capability of software to manage autonomous driving systems, electricity flows from batteries and data streaming to and from vehicles is replacing horsepower as a measure of automotive engineering achievement.

Tesla’s use of smartphone-style over-the-air software upgrades was once a unique feature of the Silicon Valley brand. In 2020, the best-selling model line in the United States, the Ford F-150 pickup, was redesigned to offer over-the-air software updates, making the technology as mainstream as it gets.

THE PANDEMIC AND CHINA

In the best of times, traditional internal-combustion vehicles would have faced huge costs and disruptions to their workforces to evolve to electric, software-intensive vehicles. But the shock delivered by the coronavirus pandemic gave manufacturers much less money and time to adapt.

Consultancy IHS Markit forecasts that global vehicle production will not match 2019 levels again until 2023. Automakers will have produced 20 million fewer vehicles by 2023 than they could have built had output stayed at 2019 levels.

“Only the most agile with a Darwinian spirit will survive,” said Carlos Tavares, the Peugeot SA chief who will lead the combined Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler when that merger is completed.

The pandemic also elevated the importance of China to the industry’s future. That country’s swift recovery from the pandemic amplified the gravitational pull of its huge market on automotive investment, despite anti-China rhetoric from U.S. and European politicians.

China’s drive to reduce dependence on petroleum is compelling automakers to shift investment toward battery electric and hybrid vehicles, and re-center design and engineering activities to Chinese cities from traditional hubs in Nagoya, Wolfsburg and Detroit. Tesla said it will establish a design and research center in China.

Daimler AG Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius put it bluntly in October: “We need to look at our production footprint and where it makes sense, shift our production,” he said during a video call. “Last year we sold around 700,000 passenger cars in China. The next biggest market is the U.S. with between 320,000 and 330,000 cars.”

“Republished: Princess Fatma Ismail - The woman behind Cairo University” [AhramOnline (By: Amira Noshokaty), link, Week 3 Session 2]

While Egypt yet strives for women's right to proper education, let alone higher education, Ahram Online celebrates the woman behind the founding of Cairo University.

In celebration of the many achievements of Egyptian and Arab women over the years, Ahram Online republishes this article as part of a nine-day special series of gratitude and pride for women's achievements — from 8 March, which is International Women’s day, to 16 March, which is Egyptian Women’s Day.

The series aims to refresh the collective memory of our nation of the many, and often forgotten, women who excelled against all odds.

While Egyptian women in the 21st century are still lobbying for basic human rights, these republished stories serve as a reminder to society that Egyptian and Arab women fought for and enjoyed similar rights as men across many decades.

From the first woman doctor in the world, to the first woman to fly in Egypt and the Middle East, these women's stories are interweaved, and all deserve to be shared with a younger generation that needs to learn the truth about the accomplishments of their grandmothers and great grandmothers.

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"This is one of the relics of her royal highness Princess Fatma Ismail," reads a sign crowning the main entrance of the Faculty of Arts building at Cairo University.

Fatma Ismail (1853-1920) was unique among the daughters of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879) for the footprint of philanthropy and social work she left on Egyptian history, most notably in the form of today's Cairo University.

In the late 19th century, Egyptian intellects called for the creation of a national university to provide modern, professional education to Egyptians. A committee of intellectuals and public figures began a fundraising campaign but were unable to sustain the costs of such a huge project.

To meet the pressing need for funding, Princess Fatma Ismail intervened, providing a waqf (endowment) of 661 feddans to cover the costs of establishing the Egyptian University. She donated 6 feddans of royal land in Giza's Dokki area to expand the university's grounds and EGP 18,000 (a significant sum at the time) for its construction.

The princess ensured that two of the era's most enlightened sheikhs, as well as the country's supreme judge would sit on the university's founding board.

The Egyptian public praised her intervention, which rescued the dream of an independent institute of higher learning in Egypt.

On 21 December 1908 the Egyptian University opened its gates for the first time.

In 1913, Al-Ahram published a piece thanking the princess for her efforts, which read "this is how efforts should be exerted" (hakaza takon al hemam).

The same year, Princess Fatma was applauded for acting on the wisdom of iconic enlightenment figure Sheikh Mohamed Abdu, who believed Egypt had focused so much on building mosques that the buildings themselves outnumbered those who prayed. He argued instead for educating the people—something the princess took to heart.

In 1923, the university established the Fatma Ismail scholarship for students to study Egyptology abroad.

In 1929, the princess' mansion, located a few blocks from the university, was transformed into the Museum of Agriculture.

In 1940, the university was renamed King Fuad I University, in honor of the lately departed monarch.

After the 1952 revolution, the new regime changed the school's name to Cairo University. Yet, the iron gates still proclaim its original title, funded and supported by Princess Fatma as an institute for all Egyptians: "The Egyptian University."

Extra Reading

“Tesla is proof that the next 20 years in the tech industry won't be like the last 20” [INSIDER (By: Matthew DeBord), link, Week 3 Session 1]

From Grammarway 4

Unit 10