The Intern (1)

The Video Cover Letter

Part 1 Comprehension Answer the questions after you watch the video.

1. What does Ben say about himself?

2. Where does he go in the morning?
3. What activities has Ben tried in order to keep busy? (Think of at least five.)
4. Why does Ben go to San Diego?
5. What are the requirements for the intern job?
6. What type of company is it?
7. How can he apply for the job?
8. What does Ben think he will have the most difficult with?

Part 2 Language Review Choose the word or expression from the video that best matches the
highlighted expressions.

1. At first, I admit I enjoyed the [ newness ] of it. (It) sort of felt like I was [ skipping school ].

2. I realized the key to this whole deal was to keep moving. Get up, get out of the house, and go
somewhere. Anywhere. [ In good or bad weather ] I'm at my Starbucks by 7:15.

3. The only traveling I do these days is out to San Diego to visit my son and his family. They're great. I
love them [ a lot ]. But to be honest, I think I probably relied on them [ a lot ] more than I should.

4. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an unhappy person. Quite the [ opposite ]. I just know there's a hole in
my life, and I need to fill it. Soon.

5. Which brings me to today when I was leaving the market and caught your [ paper advertisement ]
[ beside me/in my peripheral vision ].

6. Let me see. Applicants must be over 65 years of age, have organizational skills, a genuine interest in
e-Commerce," Whatever that is? "And a [ hardworking ] attitude.

7. And I love that you're right here in Brooklyn. I've lived here all my life, and lately I feel I may not be
[ cool/modern ] enough to live in Brooklyn. So this could help with that, too.

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Part 3 Discussion Discuss these questions with your partner or group.

1. Can you remember six things that Ben did after his wife died? Which ones would you be interested in
trying? Which ones seem boring?
2. Do you like the idea of a video resume (or cover letter)? How is it better than a paper resume for the
employer/company? How is it worse?
3. How is it better than a paper resume for the applicant? How is it worse?
4. From what you know so far, would you hire Ben for an Internet clothing start-up? What are his
strengths and weaknesses?
5. What is the ideal retirement age? At what age do you want to retire? Why?
6. What things do you want to do after you retire? What's on your bucket list when you retire?

Part 4 Sentence Building Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can
change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order. Use a present time frame
(tenses).

E.g. Ben / wife / die / three / half / year / ago

Ben’s wife died three and a half years ago.

1. first / he / enjoy / retire

2. he / go / Starbucks / every / day / 7:15 / come / rain / shine

3. Ben / feel / there / hole / life / he / need / fill

4. Ben / see / flyer / Internet / company / advertise / senior / intern

5. job / be / for / company / sell / clothing / online

6. Ben / think / job / good / idea / because / he / want / more / excitement / life

7. Ben / think / he / might / not / hip / enough / live / Brooklyn

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Script .

Ben: Freud said, "Love and work. Work and love. That's all there is."
Ben: Well, I'm retired, and my wife is dead. As you can imagine, that's given me some time on my hands.
Ben: My wife's been gone for three and a half years. I miss her in every way.
Ben: And retirement? That is an ongoing, relentless effort in creativity.
Ben: At first, I admit I enjoyed the novelty of it. (It) sort of felt like I was playing hooky.
Ben: I used all the miles I'd saved and traveled the globe. The problem was, no matter where I went, as soon as
I got home, the "nowhere-to-be" thing hit me like a ton of bricks.
Ben: I realized the key to this whole deal was to keep moving. Get up, get out of the house, and go somewhere.
Anywhere. Come rain or shine, I'm at my Starbucks by 7:15.
Man: Excuse me, mind if we join you?
Ben: I can't explain it, but it makes me feel part of something.
Ben: How do I spend the rest of my days? You name it. Golf, books, movies, pinochle. Tried yoga, learned to
cook, bought some plants, took classes in Mandarin.
Ben: Xiang xin wo, wo shen me dou shiguo le. Translation: "Believe me, I've tried everything."
Ben: And then, of course, there are the funerals. So many more than I could imagine.
Ben: The only traveling I do these days is out to San Diego to visit my son and his family. They're great. I love
them to pieces. But to be honest, I think I probably relied on them way more than I should.
Ben: Don't get me wrong, I'm not an unhappy person. Quite the contrary. I just know there's a hole in my life,
and I need to fill it. Soon.
Ben: Which brings me to today when I was leaving the market and caught your flyer out of the corner of my
eye.
Ben: Hmm. Seniors, be an intern.
Patty: Ben, I thought that was you. Hi.
Ben: Hey.
Patty: What'd you find?
Ben: I think an Internet place is looking for senior interns. Am I reading this right?
Patty: Let me see. "Applicants must be over 65 years of age, have organizational skills, a genuine interest in e-
Commerce," Whatever that is? "And a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude."
Ben: About the fit.com, isn't that the outfit that was...
Patty: Yeah, yeah, yeah. They bought one of those old factories in red hook. My daughter says they sell clothes
on the internet. How that works, I have no idea.
Ben: Well, you have to upload the application. That could be challenging. Listen to this. "Cover letters are so
old-fashioned. Show us who you are with a cover-letter video. Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo
using .mov, .avi, or a .mpg file.
Ben: So here I am, applying to be one of your interns Because the more I think about this idea, the more
tremendous I think it is. I love the idea of having a place I can go every day. I want the connection, the
excitement. I want to be challenged, and I guess I might even want to be needed.
Ben: The tech stuff might take a bit to figure out. I had to call my 9-year-old grandson just to find out what a
USB connector was. But I'll get there. Eager to learn.
Ben: Also, I want you to know I've been a company man all my life. I'm loyal, I'm trustworthy, and I'm good in a
crisis. And I love that you're right here in Brooklyn. I've lived here all my life, and lately I feel I may not be
hip enough to live in Brooklyn. So this could help with that, too.
Ben: I read once musicians don't retire, they stop when there's no more music in them. Well, I still have music
in me, absolutely positive about that.

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Answers .

Part 1
1. He is a widower. (His wife has passed away.) He is retired. He enjoyed retirement at first, but now he is bored.
2. To Starbucks
3. Travel, golf, reading (books), movies, pinochle (a card game), yoga, cooking, horticulture (plants), Mandarin
(learning Chinese)
4. To visit his son’s family
5. Over 65, have organizational skills, interested in e-Commerce, hardworking (a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude)
6. Fashion e-commerce (They sell clothes on the internet.)
7. With a video cover-letter
8. The tech stuff

Part 2
1. At first, I admit I enjoyed the [ novelty ] of it. (It) sort of felt like I was [ playing hooky ].
2. I realized the key to this whole deal was to keep moving. Get up, get out of the house, and go somewhere.
Anywhere. [ Come rain or shine], I'm at my Starbucks by 7:15.
3. The only traveling I do these days is out to San Diego to visit my son and his family. They're great. I love them
[ to pieces ]. But to be honest, I think I probably relied on them [ way ] more than I should.
4. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an unhappy person. Quite the [ contrary ]. I just know there's a hole in my life,
and I need to fill it. Soon.
5. Which brings me to today when I was leaving the market and caught your [ flyer ] [ out of the corner of
my eye ].
6. Let me see. Applicants must be over 65 years of age, have organizational skills, a genuine interest in e-
Commerce," Whatever that is? "And a [ roll-up-your-sleeves ] attitude.
7. And I love that you're right here in Brooklyn. I've lived here all my life, and lately I feel I may not be [ hip ]
enough to live in Brooklyn. So this could help with that, too.

Part 4
1. At first, he enjoyed being retired.
At first, he enjoyed (his) retirement.
2. He goes to Starbucks every day at 7:15 come rain or shine.
3. Ben feels (that) there is a hole in his life (that) he needs to fill.
4. Ben sees a flyer for an Internet company (that is) advertising for senior interns.
5. The job is for a company [that/which] sells clothing online.
6. Ben thinks (that) the job is a good idea because he wants more excitement in his life.
7. Ben thinks (that) he might not be hip enough to live in Brooklyn.

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