← Back to C1 General contentsWorkbook · 5A. No time for anything
Home practice · distancing devices & time-expressions · answer key included
1 · Distancing — choose the best option
She ______ resigned last week, though the company hasn't confirmed it.
It ______ that the numbers were wrong all along — three analysts are now checking them.
The company appears ______ heading for a very difficult second quarter.
He ______ in his prime, though he's just turned forty-nine.
That ______ well account for why she never answered the email.
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2 · Complete with a time-expression from the box
- He arrived drop , seconds before the doors closed.
- This washing machine is nine years old and rattles — it's drop .
- Can you cover Friday's shift drop ? I know it's very last-minute.
- We're working drop to submit the paper before midnight.
- After a year without seeing them, we spent the weekend trying to drop .
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3 · Rewrite using the structure in brackets
People say that meditation makes you more productive. (passive with 'is said to')
It seems that he has left the company. (using 'appear + to have')
According to the rumours, she got the promotion. (using 'apparently')
I think that could be the reason for the delay. (using 'could well')
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4 · in / on / at / from / ahead of + time
- in time (for)drop or tap here…
- on timedrop or tap here…
- at the timedrop or tap here…
- from time to timedrop or tap here…
- ahead of timedrop or tap here…
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5 · Podcast · An attention-management problem
Listen to a British man in his forties on a podcast, reflecting honestly on why his days keep disappearing.
📄 Show transcript
Speaker: I used to wonder where my days went. I mean, they just vanished. I’d be at my desk by seven, but by midday, I’d have done nothing really productive. For ages, I thought it was a time-management problem. But it’s not. It’s an attention-management problem. I was so reactive, letting everyone else’s urgency dictate my morning.
My first small step was ridiculously simple: no checking messages before 8 am. I honestly expected no difference, but within a week, my mornings felt, genuinely, twice as long. It was incredible. So, I added a few more rules. First, no meetings before 10. Second, absolutely no notifications on my personal phone – that was a game-changer. And finally, I started each day with just one piece of paper, listing only three priorities. Not thirty, just three.
It’s interesting, people often ask if I’m less busy now. And the answer is no, not at all. My workload hasn't shrunk. But I’ve got my time back, and that’s not the same thing as having more of it. It’s about control.
- What does he say his real problem is — and how does he distinguish it from a 'time-management problem'?
- What small change did he make first, and what unexpected effect did it have?
- What are the three rules he now follows?
- What is his final distinction between 'less busy' and 'having your time back'?
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6 · A short reflection (180–220 words)
Write a short first-person reflection titled: "The thing I keep telling myself I have no time for". Use at least three distancing devices and two idiomatic time-expressions. End with an honest, unheroic decision — nothing motivational.
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