Employees who spend too much time in the toilet will be punished

Why would workers spend too much time in the bathroom?

Did your teacher at high school have rules about bathroom breaks?

A workplace bathroom sign tells workers that they must adhere to a strict time limit or else face a “smell check” is raising eyebrows.

The bizarre sign, is to stop workers from taking very long toilet breaks. It was posted on the bathroom door of a business.

One part of the sign says, “If in bathroom for more than 10 minutes, a smell check will be completed to ensure employees are not sitting on phone.”

It also says, “If it does not stink, the employee's name will be reported to the office.”

One online comment said “who has this terrible job to smell toilets?”

Another made a joke: “I'd stop flushing just in case.”

One online person asked for clarification. “Wait, so if it stinks then you don't get in trouble but if it doesn't you do... ?”

“This is an obvious joke?” People could not believe what they are reading. What employer would do this?

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=2, B=8, C=1, D=7, E=4, F=6, G=3, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. The weather this year is bizarre. We had snow in April.

2. She had to face the knowledge that she was not good at piano.

3. The actor raised eyebrows when he said he wanted to become the president of Korea.

4. When you join the military you must adhere to strict rules.

5. Ensure you take an umbrella tomorrow. It is going to rain.

6. Take a warm jacket just in case it is cold.

7. Please clarify what time we need to arrive.

8. It is obvious that if you do nothing you will fail.

    

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. What bizarre rules do/did you have to adhere to? What rules do you think are bizarre?

2. Did today’s story raise your eyebrows? Would it raise eyebrows where you work or study?

3. If you were the manager of this company in the story, how would you ensure workers were not taking too much time in the bathroom?

4. Do you take your phone to the bathroom just in case you get a text? Or do you want to be free from calls and texts?

5. If you don’t understand a rule, how do you clarify why it is a rule?

6. Do you think it is obvious that someone is cheating on a test? How can you know?

7. What are some difficult things you must face each day?