Note Taking Lecture SFL – ENGLISH PREPARATORY PROGRAM

WORK IN THE USA

Part A: You are going to listen to a lecture called ‘’Work in the USA’'. You are going to listen to it
only once. You have one minute to take a look at the outline. Listen and take notes while listening
to the lecture.

Work in the USA

Two perspectives

Change in type of work

- Agriculture

- Service industries

Wages and salaries

Work place safety

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Current problems

The causes of the problems

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Part B: Answer the questions below using your notes.

1. The author talks about work in the USA beginning from ______________________ to
______________________.

2. By the end of the twentieth century, there was a decrease in the number of people working in
certain industries other than farming. Name two of them.

-
-

3. A service industry provides a service rather than goods or products. Write two branches of service
industry.

a. b.

4. What is the “difference” between the income of an average worker at the beginning of the
twentieth century and at the end of it?

5. By the end of twentieth century, the workers ________________ more money, and their
_______________ _______________ (two words) improved greatly.

6. How long is a worker’s vacation in European?

7. Which of the following statements is TRUE for the workers in the USA?

a. They are less productive than the rest of the world.

b. They have 8 weeks of vacation.
c. They live in less stressed environment than workers in Europe.
d. They work longer hours than European workers.

8. There is a growing gap in terms of income between two groups in the USA? What are these two
groups?

a. b.

9. According to the authors of the book called “Inequality by Design”, where does all the money,
which was generated by the workers, mainly go? (write two)

a. b.

10. What are the two reasons for the workers in the USA to work longer hours, have fewer vacations
days, and earn less money than they could?

-
-

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Answer key

Part B: Answer the questions below using your notes.

1. The author talks about work in the USA beginning from 1900 / the beginning, to 1999 / the end of
the 20th century.

2. By the end of the twentieth century, there was a decrease in the number of people working in
certain industries other than farming. Name two of them.

Two of the following: mining, manufacturing, construction

3. A service industry provides a service rather than goods or products. Write two branches of service
industry.

Two of the following: transportation, tourism, banking advertising, health care, legal services

4. What is the “difference” between the income of an average worker at the beginning of the
twentieth century and at the end of it?

$29,500

5. By the end of twentieth century, the workers made /earned more money, and their working
conditions (two words) improved greatly.

6. How long is a worker’s vacation in European?

Four to six weeks a year

7. Which of the following statements is TRUE for the workers in the USA?

a. They are less productive than the rest of the world.

b. They have 8 weeks of vacation.
c. They live in less stressed environment than workers in Europe.
d. They work longer hours than European workers.

8. There is a growing gap in terms of income between two groups in the USA? What are these two
groups?

a. The rich (in the USA) b. Everyone else (in the USA)

9. According to the authors of the book called “Inequality by Design”, where does all the money,
which was generated by the workers, mainly go? (write two)

Two of the following: CEOs’ salaries, the stock market, corporate profits

10. What are the two reasons for the workers in the USA to work longer hours, have fewer vacations
days, and earn less money than they could?

- Labour unions lost power

- Government (passed) laws (which favour the rich)

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LECTURE SCRIPT: AMERICANS AT WORK

Most people spend a major part of their lives at work. Americans are no exception. Today, we’re
going to take a look at work in the United States from two perspectives. First, we’ll take a historical
look at work in America. We’ll look at how things changed for the American worker from the
beginning to the end of the twentieth century, that is, from the year 1900 to the year 1999. Then
we'll look at how U.S. workers are doing today.

As we look at the changes over the last century, first, let's consider how the type of work people
were involved in changed. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 38 percent of the
workforce was involved in agriculture, that is, they worked on a farm. By the end of the century, only
3 percent still worked on farms. There was also a large decrease in the number of people working in
mining, manufacturing, and construction. The number of workers in mining, manufacturing and
construction went down from 31 percent to 19 percent.

On the other hand, the number of people in the service industries went up. As you may know, a
service industry is one that provides a service, rather than goods or products. A few examples include
transportation, tourism, banking advertising, health care, and legal services. I’m sure you can think of
more. The service industry workforce jumped from 31 percent of the workforce at the turn of the
century to 78 percent in 1999.

Let's see what has happened to wages and salaries. All the numbers I will give you are in terms of
1999 dollars. Let me explain. In 1900, the average per capita income was $4,200 a year. That does
not mean that the average worker in 1900 earned $4,200, a year, but that what he or she earned was
equal to $4,200 in 1999. The average per capita income in 1999 was $33,700. Whereas wages and
salaries increased over the century, the average workweek dropped. That is, workers, in general, did
not work as long hours in 1999 as they did in 1900.

The last area that I'd like to give you a few statistics about is work place safety. Safety was a real
concern for a lot of workers in 1900. In 1900 almost 1,500 workers were killed in coal-mining
accidents; in 1999, the number was 35. 2,555 railroad workers were killed in 1900, compared to 56 in
1999. So, by the end of the twentieth century, U. S. workers in general made more money, they
enjoyed more benefits, and their working conditions had improved greatly.

But today, there are still some problems. U. S. workers are the most productive in the world among
industrialized nations, but they work longer hours than European workers. Europeans typically have
four to six weeks of vacation a year, whereas the average American worker has only about two
weeks. Workers in some European countries are actually more productive than American workers
per hour of work. This higher rate of productivity might be because European workers are less
stressed than U. S. workers.

Yes, U. S. productivity has greatly increased over the last thirty years. However, workers have not
seen their wages rise at the same rate. A group of sociologists in their book “Inequality by Design”
point out that there is a growing gap between rich Americans and everyone else in the United States.
That is, real wages moved up just a little or not at all. So, where does all the money generated go
then? According to the authors of this book; the money goes to the salaries for CEOs, to the stock

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market, and to corporate profits. In other words, CEOs' salaries, the stock market, and corporate
profits go up as work productivity goes up, but workers’ wages don’t go up.

There are two reasons why U. S. workers have to work longer hours, have fewer vacations days, and
see their wages do not rise at the same rate as productivity? The first is that labour unions in the
United States have lost great power since the beginning of the 1980s, and the second is that the
government has passed laws that favour the rich and weaken the rights of the workers. But, I see our
time is up. So, I’ll see you next time.

Source: Noteworthy 2