Unusual jobs – the Funeral Director

Группа Learning English. Транскрипт: [bad word] /downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/people_and_places/pdfs/people_funeral_director_070705.pdf

Andrea: Welcome to "People and Places" – where we meet interesting people and find out
about more about them – right here on [bad word]  Hello, I'm Andrea
Rose.
Emma Sparre-Slater
My name is Emma Sparre-Slater. Essentially I am a senior funeral director.
Andrea: That’s Emma Sparre-Slater and she has a very interesting and different job. Emma
is a funeral director. That means she runs or directs funerals. She arranges the
burial or cremation of people in the Christian faith. How fascinating! So how did
she come to do this job? Emma explains.
Emma Sparre-Slater
I can only assume because my father is a vicar that as a child I had an understanding that funeral
directors existed. Most children won’t have any contact with funeral directors or know that the
job exists, so I can only really put it down to that. For me, my feeling is it is as much of a
vocation for me as people wanting to be doctors or teachers and I don’t really know where it’s
come from – none of my other brothers or sisters have had the urge to become funeral directors.
Andrea: Emma’s father is a vicar or a priest. So that might be one reason she became a
funeral director. She says that most children otherwise wouldn’t know that the job
even existed. So perhaps it was through her father’s work. She says that she ‘can
only really put it down to that’. That means, that is the only way she can explain
how she came to do this job. But she believes that it’s like any other vocation or
career. It’s just like being a doctor or a teacher. But none of her brothers or sisters
do a jobs like hers. So she really isn’t totally sure why she chose to do this
particular job. But one thing’s for sure - it’s very rewarding. 
Emma Sparre-Slater
It’s just such a rewarding thing to do and I know that it’s quite a powerful thing to do in the
sense that I am aware that somebody has entrusted their most precious loved one into my care
and I get to see the faces of all those people, I am the last person to see the faces of a great many
loved people – you know it’s quite a moving thing and I think one day, it’s going to be me and I
would like somebody to be taking that sort of care and looking after me and looking after my
family in way that myself and my colleagues do.
Andrea: Did you catch some of the words Emma used to describe her job? She says it’s
rewarding – it makes her feel satisfied. She also describes her job as powerful.
And finally she talks about it being moving – it makes her feel quite emotional.
Let’s listen again to Emma’s description of how her job makes her feel.
Emma Sparre-Slater
It’s such a rewarding thing to do and know that it’s quite a powerful thing to do in the sense that
I am aware that somebody has entrusted their most precious loved one into my care and I get to
see the faces of all those loved ones, I am the last person to see the faces of a great many loved
people – you know it’s quite a moving thing and I think one day, it’s going to be me and I would
like somebody to be taking that sort of care and looking after me and looking after my family in
way that myself and my colleagues do.
Andrea: So what exactly does Emma’s job entail? What does she do as a funeral
director?
Emma Sparre-Slater
The job of a funeral director, it’s very varied. The part of the job that most people would
recognise is on the day of the funeral, when certainly in Britain, the funeral director walks in
front of the hearse, normally wearing a top hat, even as a woman I would wear a top hat. And we
walk – we call it paging – so we page in front of the hearse as a mark of respect. And then on the
day of the funeral we are there sort of as the master of ceremonies, we are there to make sure the
family’s wishes are carried out. 
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