Free Daily English · Level A2 (Elementary) · Topic: a first day at work
Priya's First Day
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________
It is Priya's first day at her new job. She feels excited and a little nervous. She arrives at the office early and looks around. The office is busy and there are a lot of people. A man comes over and smiles at her. "Hello, I'm David, your manager," he says. "Welcome to the team." Priya smiles and says, "Thank you, I'm happy to be here." David shows her to her desk and gives her a laptop. "We start work at nine," he says. Priya sits down and takes a deep breath. In the morning, Priya meets her colleagues.
They are friendly and helpful. A woman called Sara sits next to her. "Don't worry," Sara says. "Everyone feels nervous on their first day." Priya laughs and feels a little better. Sara shows her how to use the computer system. It is not very difficult but there is a lot to learn. At lunchtime, Sara invites Priya to eat with the team. They go to a small café near the office. Priya listens and asks questions. She is starting to feel more comfortable. In the afternoon, Priya has her first real task.
David asks her to write a short report. She works carefully and checks everything twice. She finishes the report before five o'clock. "This is really good work," David says, and he looks pleased. Priya feels proud of herself. At the end of the day, she says goodbye to her new colleagues. Sara says, "See you tomorrow!" On the way home, Priya thinks about the day. It was not easy, but it was good. She is already looking forward to tomorrow.
Key vocabulary
| excited (adjective) | feeling very happy because something good is happening“She is excited about her new job.” |
| nervous (adjective) | worried or a little frightened about something“He feels nervous before the interview.” |
| colleague (noun) | a person you work with“My colleagues are very helpful.” |
| friendly (adjective) | kind and pleasant to other people“The team is very friendly.” |
| system (noun) | a set of things that work together“I need to learn the computer system.” |
| invite (verb) | to ask someone to come somewhere or do something“She invites me to have lunch with her.” |
| comfortable (adjective) | feeling relaxed and at ease“I feel comfortable in my new office.” |
| task (noun) | a piece of work you need to do“My first task is to write a report.” |
| carefully (adverb) | giving attention to what you are doing“She checks her work carefully.” |
| proud (adjective) | feeling pleased about something you have done“He is proud of his work.” |
Useful phrases
- Welcome to the team! — we say this to greet someone who is new to a group“This is Ana, she's joining us today. Welcome to the team, Ana!”
- Take a deep breath. — we say this to help someone feel calm“Don't worry, just take a deep breath.”
- There is a lot to learn. — we use this when something is new and complex“It's my first week — there is a lot to learn.”
- Feel more comfortable. — we use this when someone starts to relax in a new situation“After lunch, I started to feel more comfortable.”
- Look forward to something. — we use this when we are happy about something that will happen“I'm looking forward to my first day.”
Word search
Find all 10 key words from the story. They can read forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | S | C | O | Y | L | L | U | F | E | R | A | C |
| 2 | V | L | Y | K | H | M | N | E | R | V | O | U | S |
| 3 | I | H | S | S | E | T | I | V | N | I | H | R | R |
| 4 | H | A | T | O | T | L | Y | Z | F | N | C | W | W |
| 5 | T | W | F | Y | Z | E | R | J | S | H | O | X | X |
| 6 | K | F | U | Z | P | J | M | D | G | Z | L | J | H |
| 7 | E | J | Y | L | D | N | E | I | R | F | L | D | H |
| 8 | C | O | M | F | O | R | T | A | B | L | E | S | R |
| 9 | T | A | E | L | F | A | E | F | X | T | A | K | J |
| 10 | J | T | D | U | O | R | P | O | I | P | G | F | T |
| 11 | C | R | U | V | W | H | H | C | G | M | U | S | M |
| 12 | N | X | Q | N | K | P | X | F | O | X | E | T | M |
| 13 | Z | E | C | H | E | E | D | H | D | W | S | S | H |
Word search answer key (A2 (Elementary))
Columns are lettered from the left, rows numbered from the top. The arrow shows the reading direction from the word's first letter.
carefully: M1 ← · colleague: K4 ↓ · comfortable: A8 → · excited: F13 ↗ · friendly: J7 ← · invite: J3 ← · nervous: G2 → · proud: G10 ← · system: B1 ↘ · task: A5 ↗