🥳🏖️🪷Teamwork in my hotel job – memories (A2, past simple, exercises, sound files)🪷🏖️🥳

It might be a good idea
to do that story first
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Salas is a general manager of a five-star hotel, looking back at his time when he worked in a team – memories:

I worked with reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. We helped each other every day. I learned that teamwork was very important.

I always helped my co-workers when they had a lot of work. I was friendly and polite. I listened to other people and respected their ideas.

I used kind words. I said good job and thank you many times. I saw that people felt happy and worked better.

When problems happened, I stayed calm. I talked with my team. We found solutions together. Communication helped us a lot.

I also tried to improve team spirit. We talked more during breaks. We got to know each other better.

We had short meetings. We shared ideas and problems. Sometimes we did small team activities after work.

Now I remember that small things made a big difference. Teamwork helped us give good service and make guests happy. I felt happy when the team worked well. I saw that guests were happy too. I learned that small kind words helped a lot. I believed teamwork was the key to success. We always tried to help each other every day. I remember that problems became smaller when we talked. We also shared tasks to make work easy. I learned to listen more and speak less. I saw that respect made the team stronger. I am proud of my past work in the hotel.

Now I use all these ideas as a general manager. I try to make a good team in my hotel every day. I still say thank you and I still help people. I think teamwork always stays very important for me. It helped me grow as a leader.

___________________

Vocabulary:

• to look back at something — to think about something that happened in the past
• memories — things you remember from the past
• to be polite — to speak and behave in a kind and respectful way
• to respect others’ ideas — to listen to and accept what other people think
• kind words — nice and friendly words
• to stay calm — to remain relaxed and not angry or nervous
• to find a solution — to solve a problem
• communication — talking and sharing information with other people
• to improve team spirit — to make the team feel happier and work better together
• a break — a short time to rest from work
• to share ideas — to tell other people your thoughts or opinions
• a key to success — something very important for success
• to share tasks — to divide work between people
• respect — feeling and showing care for other people
• to grow as a leader — to become a better leader over time

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Match word and definition:

1. to look back at something
2. memories
3. to be polite
4. to respect others’ ideas
5. kind words
6. to stay calm
7. to find a solution
8. communication
9. to improve team spirit
10. a break
11. to share ideas
12. a key to success
13. to share tasks
14. respect
15. to grow as a leader

Definitions:

a) to solve a problem
b) to divide work between people
c) nice and friendly words
d) to think about something that happened in the past
e) talking and sharing information with other people
f) to make the team feel happier and work better together
g) things you remember from the past
h) feeling and showing care for other people
i) to become a better leader over time
j) to remain relaxed and not angry or nervous
k) to speak and behave in a kind and respectful way
l) to tell other people your thoughts or opinions
m) something very important for success
n) a short time to rest from work
o) to listen to and accept what other people think

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Answers:
1-d, 2-g, 3-k, 4-o, 5-c, 6-j, 7-a,
8-e, 9-f, 10-n, 11-l, 12-m, 13-b, 14-h, 15-i

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Basics in past simple:

Past Simple – Regular Verbs

Rules:

• Most verbs: add -ed
  play → played
• Verbs ending in -e: add -d
  live → lived
• Verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to i and add -ed
  study → studied
• Short verbs ending in vowel + consonant: double the final consonant and add -ed
  stop → stopped
• List of irregular verbs => LINK

Use:
The past simple is used to talk about finished actions in the past.

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Verbs in text:

Infinitive	Past	Definition
work	worked	to do a job or activity
help	helped	to do something for someone to make it easier
learn	learned	to get knowledge or skill
be	was / were	to exist or to be
feel	felt	to have emotions
say	said	to speak words
see	saw	to look with your eyes
listen	listened	to hear carefully
respect	respected	to treat someone in a polite and kind way
use	used	to do something with a tool or method
stay	stayed	to remain in a place or state
talk	talked	to speak with someone
find	found	to discover or get something
improve	improved	to make something better
share	shared	to give part of something to others
get	got	to receive or obtain something
have	had	to possess or own
make	made	to create or produce something
believe	believed	to think something is true
try	tried	to attempt to do something
remember	remembered	to keep information in your mind
become	became	to start to be something new
grow	grew	to become bigger or better
think	thought	to have ideas or opinions

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Fill in the correct form of the verb in past simple:

I ________ (work) in a hotel and ________ (help) reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. We ________ (learn) to work as a team, and I ________ (be) friendly and polite.

I ________ (listen) to others and ________ (respect) their ideas. I ________ (use) kind words and ________ (say) thank you often. I ________ (see) that people ________ (feel) happier when we worked together well.

When problems ________ (happen), I ________ (stay) calm and ________ (talk) with my team. We ________ (find) solutions together and ________ (share) ideas. Communication ________ (help) us a lot.

We ________ (try) to improve team spirit. We ________ (have) breaks together, ________ (share) tasks, and ________ (get) to know each other better. We also ________ (remember) that small things ________ (make) a big difference.

We ________ (believe) teamwork was the key to success. I ________ (think) about this often and ________ (become) a better leader. I ________ (grow) as a manager because I ________ (learn) from every situation.

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Correct version:

I worked in a hotel and helped reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. We learned to work as a team, and I was friendly and polite.

I listened to others and respected their ideas. I used kind words and said thank you often. I saw that people felt happier when we worked together well.

When problems happened, I stayed calm and talked with my team. We found solutions together and shared ideas. Communication helped us a lot.

We tried to improve team spirit. We had breaks together, shared tasks, and got to know each other better. We also remembered that small things made a big difference.

We believed teamwork was the key to success. I thought about this often and became a better leader. I grew as a manager because I learned from every situation.

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Short answers, past simple, basics:

Example Sentence	Yes	No
I learned letters.	Yes, I did.	No, I didn’t.
You read signs.	Yes, you did.	No, you didn’t.
He spoke English.	Yes, he did.	No, he didn’t.
She watched TV.	Yes, she did.	No, she didn’t.
It helped me.	Yes, it did.	No, it didn’t.
We used an app.	Yes, we did.	No, we didn’t.
You read words.	Yes, you did.	No, you didn’t.
They made mistakes.	Yes, they did.	No, they didn’t.

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Questions (Past Simple)

Question	Yes	No
Did I learn letters?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn’t.
Did you read signs?	Yes, you did.	No, you didn’t.
Did he speak English?	Yes, he did.	No, he didn’t.
Did she watch TV?	Yes, she did.	No, she didn’t.
Did it help me?	Yes, it did.	No, it didn’t.
Did we use an app?	Yes, we did.	No, we didn’t.
Did you read words?	Yes, you did.	No, you didn’t.
Did they make mistakes?	Yes, they did.	No, they didn’t.

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Was / Were

Question	Yes	No
Was I happy?	Yes, I was.	No, I wasn’t.
Were you happy?	Yes, you were.	No, you weren’t.
Was he happy?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn’t.
Was she happy?	Yes, she was.	No, she wasn’t.
Was it good?	Yes, it was.	No, it wasn’t.
Were we happy?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren’t.
Were you happy?	Yes, you were.	No, you weren’t.
Were they happy?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren’t.

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Provide short answers:

1. The writer helped only guests and did not work with staff.
   
   YOU WRITE:
   No, he didn’t.
   
2. The writer was friendly with co-workers.
3. The writer learned that teamwork was very important.
4. The writer always got angry when problems happened.
5. The writer worked in a hotel.
6. The writer stayed calm when problems happened.
7. The writer ignored other people’s ideas during work.
8. The writer became a general manager later.
9. The team worked without any meetings or discussions.
10. The writer used kind words with co-workers.
11. The writer worked in a hotel and only cleaned offices in the morning.
12. The writer listened to other people’s ideas.
13. The writer was responsible for managing the whole hotel alone.
14. The team had short meetings during work.
15. The writer helped reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters.
16. The writer never used polite words at work.
17. The team talked together to find solutions.
18. The writer learned that working alone was better than teamwork.
19. The writer stayed calm when problems happened.
20. The writer was friendly with co-workers.

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Correct version:

1: The writer helped only guests and did not work with staff. — No, he didn’t.
2: The writer was friendly with co-workers. — Yes, he was.
3: The writer learned that teamwork was very important. — Yes, he did.
4: The writer always got angry when problems happened. — No, he didn’t.
5: The writer worked in a hotel. — Yes, he did.
6: The writer stayed calm when problems happened. — Yes, he did.
7: The writer ignored other people’s ideas during work. — No, he didn’t.
8: The writer became a general manager later. — Yes, he did.
9: The team worked without any meetings or discussions. — No, they didn’t.
10: The writer used kind words with co-workers. — Yes, he did.
11: The writer worked in a hotel and only cleaned offices in the morning. — No, he didn’t.
12: The writer listened to other people’s ideas. — Yes, he did.
13: The writer was responsible for managing the whole hotel alone. — No, he wasn’t.
14: The team had short meetings during work. — Yes, they did.
15: The writer helped reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. — Yes, he did.
16: The writer never used polite words at work. — No, he didn’t.
17: The team talked together to find solutions. — Yes, they did.
18: The writer learned that working alone was better than teamwork. — No, he didn’t.
19: The writer stayed calm when problems happened. — Yes, he did.
20: The writer was friendly with co-workers. — Yes, he was.

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Correct the statements, short answer first:

1. The writer was responsible for managing the whole hotel alone.
   
   YOU WRITE:
   No, he wasn’t. He worked with his team and shared responsibilities.
   
2. The writer worked in a hotel and only cleaned offices in the morning.
3. The writer ignored other people’s ideas during work.
4. The writer never used polite words at work.
5. The team worked without any meetings or discussions.
6. The writer helped only guests and did not work with staff.
7. The workers were all from different companies and never worked together.
8. The writer always got angry when problems happened.
9. The team solved problems without talking together.
10. The writer learned that working alone was better than teamwork.

___________________________

Correct answers:

The writer was responsible for managing the whole hotel alone.
No, he wasn’t. He worked with his team and shared responsibilities.

The writer worked in a hotel and only cleaned offices in the morning.
No, he didn’t. He worked with reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters.

The writer ignored other people’s ideas during work.
No, he didn’t. He listened to other people’s ideas.

The writer never used polite words at work.
No, he didn’t. He used kind and polite words with co-workers.

The team worked without any meetings or discussions.
No, they didn’t. They had short meetings and discussed ideas.

The writer helped only guests and did not work with staff.
No, he didn’t. He helped different hotel staff every day.

The workers were all from different companies and never worked together.
No, they weren’t. They worked together as one team.

The writer always got angry when problems happened.
No, he didn’t. He stayed calm when problems happened.

The team solved problems without talking together.
No, they didn’t. They talked together to find solutions.

The writer learned that working alone was better than teamwork.
No, he didn’t. He learned that teamwork was very important.

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Past simple – basics

Personal Pronoun	Verb (Past)	Object
I	ate	apples
You	ate	apples
He	ate	apples
She	ate	apples
It	ate	apples
We	ate	apples
You (plural)	ate	apples
They	ate	apples
I	played	football
You	played	football
He	played	football
She	played	football
It	played	football
We	played	football
You (plural)	played	football
They	played	football

Personal Pronoun	Verb (Past Negative)	Object
I	did not eat	apples
You	did not eat	apples
He	did not eat	apples
She	did not eat	apples
It	did not eat	apples
We	did not eat	apples
You (plural)	did not eat	apples
They	did not eat	apples
I	did not play	football
You	did not play	football
He	did not play	football
She	did not play	football
It	did not play	football
We	did not play	football
You (plural)	did not play	football
They	did not play	football

Did + Pronoun	Verb	Object
Did I	eat	apples?
Did you	eat	apples?
Did he	eat	apples?
Did she	eat	apples?
Did it	eat	apples?
Did we	eat	apples?
Did you	eat	apples?
Did they	eat	apples?
Did I	play	football?
Did you	play	football?
Did he	play	football?
Did she	play	football?
Did it	play	football?
Did we	play	football?
Did you	play	football?
Did they	play	football?

Didn’t + Pronoun	Verb	Object
Didn’t I	eat	apples?
Didn’t you	eat	apples?
Didn’t he	eat	apples?
Didn’t she	eat	apples?
Didn’t it	eat	apples?
Didn’t we	eat	apples?
Didn’t you	eat	apples?
Didn’t they	eat	apples?
Didn’t I	play	football?
Didn’t you	play	football?
Didn’t he	play	football?
Didn’t she	play	football?
Didn’t it	play	football?
Didn’t we	play	football?
Didn’t you	play	football?
Didn’t they	play	football?

Forms of ‚to be‘

Personal Pronoun	Positive	Negative	Question
I	I was happy.	I was not happy.	Was I happy?
You (singular)	You were excited.	You were not excited.	Were you excited?
He	He was at home.	He was not at home.	Was he at home?
She	She was tired.	She was not tired.	Was she tired?
It	It was cold.	It was not cold.	Was it cold?
We	We were at the party.	We were not at the party.	Were we at the party?
You (plural)	You were friends.	You were not friends.	Were you friends?
They	They were in the garden.	They were not in the garden.	Were they in the garden?

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_____________________

Write as shown in 1:

1. The writer was a hotel worker.
   
   YOU WRITE:
   Negation: The writer was not a hotel worker.
   Question: Was the writer a hotel worker?
   Negatove question: Wasn’t the writer a hotel worker?
   
2. The writer had many co-workers in the hotel.
3. The writer helped different hotel staff every day.
4. The writer said kind words to co-workers.
5. The writer saw that teamwork was important.
6. The team were busy during working hours.
7. The writer took part in short meetings.
8. The writer made the team stronger.
9. The writer found solutions when problems happened.
10. The writer became a general manager later.

_______________________

Correct version:

1. The writer was a hotel worker.
   Negation: The writer was not a hotel worker.
   Question: Was the writer a hotel worker?
   Negative question: Wasn’t the writer a hotel worker?
2. The writer had many co-workers in the hotel.
   Negation: The writer did not have many co-workers in the hotel.
   Question: Did the writer have many co-workers in the hotel?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer have many co-workers in the hotel?
3. The writer helped different hotel staff every day.
   Negation: The writer did not help different hotel staff every day.
   Question: Did the writer help different hotel staff every day?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer help different hotel staff every day?
4. The writer said kind words to co-workers.
   Negation: The writer did not say kind words to co-workers.
   Question: Did the writer say kind words to co-workers?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer say kind words to co-workers?
5. The writer saw that teamwork was important.
   Negation: The writer did not see that teamwork was important.
   Question: Did the writer see that teamwork was important?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer see that teamwork was important?
6. The team were busy during working hours.
   Negation: The team were not busy during working hours.
   Question: Were the team busy during working hours?
   Negative question: Weren’t the team busy during working hours?
7. The writer took part in short meetings.
   Negation: The writer did not take part in short meetings.
   Question: Did the writer take part in short meetings?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer take part in short meetings?
8. The writer made the team stronger.
   Negation: The writer did not make the team stronger.
   Question: Did the writer make the team stronger?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer make the team stronger?
9. The writer found solutions when problems happened.
   Negation: The writer did not find solutions when problems happened.
   Question: Did the writer find solutions when problems happened?
   Negative question: Didn’t the writer find solutions when problems happened?
10. The writer became a general manager later.
    Negation: The writer did not become a general manager later.
    Question: Did the writer become a general manager later?
    Negative question: Didn’t the writer become a general manager later?

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Form questions in past simple:

1. he / work / reception workers?
2. they / help / each other?
3. he / learn / teamwork?
4. he / be / friendly and polite?
5. he / use / kind words?
6. they / solve / problems together?
7. he / listen / other people’s ideas?
8. they / have / short meetings?
9. he / improve / team spirit?
10. he / stay / calm in problems?
11. they / share / ideas?
12. he / become / a general manager?
13. he / feel / happy at work?
14. they / talk / during breaks?

_____________________

Correct answers:

Did he work with reception workers?

Did they help each other?

Did he learn teamwork?

Was he friendly and polite?

Did he use kind words?

Did they solve problems together?

Did he listen to other people’s ideas?

Did they have short meetings?

Did he improve team spirit?

Did he stay calm in problems?

Did they share ideas?

Did he become a general manager?

Did he feel happy at work?

Did they talk during breaks?

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Match the two halves:

1. The writer worked in a hotel
2. The writer helped reception workers
3. The writer learned teamwork
4. The writer stayed calm
5. The writer used kind words
6. The team had short meetings
7. The writer listened to others
8. The team talked together
9. The writer improved team spirit
10. The writer became a general manager

a. with cleaners, cooks, and waiters
b. to understand it was very important
c. when problems happened
d. and said thank you often
e. to share ideas and solve problems
f. and respected their ideas
g. during breaks at work
h. and became a general manager later
i. to make the team stronger
j. and worked well as a team

___________________

Answers:
1-a, 2-g, 3-b, 4-c, 5-d,
6-e, 7-f, 8-j, 9-i, 10-h

__________________

1. The writer worked in a hotel with cleaners, cooks, and waiters.
2. The writer helped reception workers during breaks at work.
3. The writer learned teamwork to understand it was very important.
4. The writer stayed calm when problems happened.
5. The writer used kind words and said thank you often.
6. The team had short meetings to share ideas and solve problems.
7. The writer listened to others and respected their ideas.
8. The team talked together and worked well as a team.
9. The writer improved team spirit to make the team stronger.
10. The writer became a general manager later and became a general manager later.

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Fill in, words below:

communication – grew – listened – improve –
reception – breaks – calm –
kind – difference –
solutions

I worked in a hotel and helped __________ workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. I learned that teamwork was very important. I was friendly and polite with my co-workers. I __________ to other people’s ideas and respected them. I used __________ words and said thank you often. I saw that __________ helped us solve problems. When problems happened, I stayed __________ and talked with my team. We found __________ together. We shared ideas during short meetings and tried to _________ team spirit. We also had __________ together and got to know each other. Small things made a big __________. I became a general manager and __________ as a leader.

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Correct version:

I worked in a hotel and helped reception workers, cleaners, cooks, and waiters. I learned that teamwork was very important. I was friendly and polite with my co-workers. I listened to other people’s ideas and respected them. I used kind words and said thank you often. I saw that communication helped us solve problems. When problems happened, I stayed calm and talked with my team. We found solutions together. We shared ideas during short meetings and tried to improve team spirit. We also had breaks together and got to know each other. Small things made a big difference. I became a general manager and grew as a leader.

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