MML Computer-Assisted Translation

Ab initio German exam 2005 English passage

Silke Mentchen

Many experts state [1] that in future the world of work will be [2] very different from what it is now. The arrival of the personal computer has made teleworking possible. This means that workers no longer have to go [3] to their offices daily [4] , but will be able to work from home . Teleworkers can read their email from home, and so communicate with colleagues and their boss by computer. They don't lose valuable time commuting to work [5] and they themselves determine when they work during the day.

Especially in Germany [6] , where the school day still ends at midday, this will help [7] women to have a job, when in the past they would have had to stay [8] at home looking after their children.

The flexibility of teleworking is seen [9] as its biggest advantage, but employers also find it attractive that the costs of running an office can be reduced [10] and that cheaper jobs can be created [11] . Some firms even believe that they don't need an office at all: they exist only in 'virtual' form and distribute information about their work with the help of clever software.

While teleworking has been a great success in America in the last ten years or so, [12] German employers are still sceptical. There are far fewer teleworking jobs in Germany than [13] in the United States. Many Germans [14] still believe that workers should be in an office and that they should have a boss who checks that they are there and are doing their work.