Read the passage carefully before attempting Exercise 1 (Multiple Choice) and Exercise 2 (Fill in the blanks dropdown) below.
Every Thursday evening, while most of her classmates are relaxing in the university café, Priya is already at her second location for the day — a busy Italian restaurant in central Bristol, where she has been working as a waitress for the past eighteen months. Priya is twenty-two, studies Business Management, and like thousands of other students in the UK, she works part-time to help pay her rent and living costs. “It’s exhausting sometimes,” she admits, “but I honestly don’t think I could manage without the extra income.”
For many students, working part-time has real advantages beyond just earning money. Priya says that her job has taught her how to deal with difficult customers, manage her time carefully, and stay calm under pressure — skills that no university lecture has ever given her. Her employer has also noticed her reliability and recently offered her more shifts during the holiday period. However, balancing work and studies is not always straightforward. Last semester, Priya missed a study group because her manager needed her urgently, and as a result, she felt unprepared for an important presentation the following week. “If I had more control over my schedule, things would definitely be easier,” she says.
Students who work more than fifteen to twenty hours a week often report lower academic results, according to research from several UK universities. Because of this, student advisors generally recommend keeping working hours limited, particularly during exam periods. Priya has already decided to reduce her shifts next term when her final assessments begin. She is also planning to speak to her manager about a more flexible arrangement. Despite the difficulties, Priya feels that her experience has made her stronger and more independent than she would have been otherwise. “When I graduate,” she says with a smile, “I’ll have a CV that actually shows something real.”
Exercise 1
Read the passage about working while studying carefully, then choose the correct answer for each question based on the information in the text.
Example: Why do some students decide to work part-time while they are studying?
Answer: Some students work part-time to earn money and gain work experience.
Working While Studying: Balancing Two Worlds
Have you ever tried to write an essay at midnight after a long shift at work? Many students around the world face this challenge every day. Before you read, think about these questions: What are the biggest challenges of working and studying at the same time? And do you think the benefits outweigh the difficulties? Keep these ideas in mind as you read the article below.
Reading Passage: Two Jobs, One Goal
Every Thursday evening, while most of her classmates are relaxing in the university café, Priya is already at her second location for the day — a busy Italian restaurant in central Bristol, where she has been working as a waitress for the past eighteen months. Priya is twenty-two, studies Business Management, and like thousands of other students in the UK, she works part-time to help pay her rent and living costs. "It's exhausting sometimes," she admits, "but I honestly don't think I could manage without the extra income."
For many students, working part-time has real advantages beyond just earning money. Priya says that her job has taught her how to deal with difficult customers, manage her time carefully, and stay calm under pressure — skills that no university lecture has ever given her. Her employer has also noticed her reliability and recently offered her more shifts during the holiday period. However, balancing work and studies is not always straightforward. Last semester, Priya missed a study group because her manager needed her urgently, and as a result, she felt unprepared for an important presentation the following week. "If I had more control over my schedule, things would definitely be easier," she says.
Students who work more than fifteen to twenty hours a week often report lower academic results, according to research from several UK universities. Because of this, student advisors generally recommend keeping working hours limited, particularly during exam periods. Priya has already decided to reduce her shifts next term when her final assessments begin. She is also planning to speak to her manager about a more flexible arrangement. Despite the difficulties, Priya feels that her experience has made her stronger and more independent than she would have been otherwise. "When I graduate," she says with a smile, "I'll have a CV that actually shows something real."
Key Vocabulary in Context
| Word / Phrase | Part of Speech | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| exhausting | adjective | making you feel extremely tired | Working a double shift and then studying is completely exhausting. |
| income | noun | money that you earn regularly from work | Her part-time income helps her pay for food and transport. |
| reliability | noun | the quality of always doing what is expected and on time | His employer valued his reliability because he was never late. |
| straightforward | adjective | simple and without complications | Balancing a social life with study and work is rarely straightforward. |
| urgently | adverb | needing immediate attention or action | Her manager called her urgently because another staff member was sick. |
| assessments | noun (plural) | tests or assignments used to measure a student's progress | She plans to study full-time during the week of her final assessments. |
| flexible | adjective | able to change easily to suit different situations | A flexible work schedule allows students to attend all their classes. |
| arrangement | noun | a plan or agreement made with another person | They made an arrangement so she could leave work early on exam days. |
Reading Strategies & Comprehension Tips
Skimming for the Main Idea
Read the first sentence of each paragraph quickly. This will help you understand the overall message of the article before you focus on the details. Ask yourself: What is this article mainly about — a person's story, general advice, or a combination of both?
Scanning for Specific Information
If a question asks about a specific fact — such as how many hours students should work, or what happened last semester — scan the text quickly for numbers, dates, or key words related to the question. You do not need to re-read the whole passage.
Understanding Opinions vs. Facts
Notice when the writer reports what Priya says (her personal opinion) versus what research shows (factual information). These are different types of evidence, and exam questions often test whether you can tell them apart.
Making Inferences
The text does not always state everything directly. For example, Priya says her CV will "show something real." Think about why she says this — what does it suggest about her feelings towards students who have not worked during their studies?
Common Reading Pitfalls & Traps
Trap 1: Confusing the Main Character's Situation with General Research
The article mentions research that says working more than fifteen to twenty hours causes lower academic results. However, the text does not say that Priya herself has poor academic results. Do not mix up general statistics with details about the individual.
Trap 2: Misreading Negative Consequences
Priya missed a study group because her manager needed her urgently — not because she forgot or was disorganised. Cause-and-effect questions are common in reading tests, so always check why something happened, not just what happened.
Trap 3: Assuming She Wants to Quit Her Job
Priya plans to reduce her shifts during exam time — she is not planning to stop working completely. Be careful with words like reduce, limit, and stop, which have very different meanings.
Trap 4: False Friends with "Straightforward"
Some learners confuse straightforward with straight (a direction) or think it means "honest." In this context, it means simple or easy to manage. Always use the surrounding sentences to check the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Quick Summary
This article follows Priya, a Business Management student in Bristol who works as a waitress to support herself financially. It explores both the real-life benefits of working while studying — such as developing professional skills and earning money — and the genuine difficulties, including tiredness, missed commitments, and the risk of lower grades. The article presents a balanced and realistic picture, grounded in one student's honest experience and supported by research findings.
Now read the passage carefully and complete Exercise 1 (Multiple Choice) and Exercise 2 (Fill-in-the-gap dropdown) below.
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