Student’s Book: Teaching notes, keys and audioscripts Unit

Audioscript

Interviewer Today we’re talking to Britishborn Alex Hall who spent six months doing what was advertised as the best job in the world. So, what was the job Alex?

Alex I was caretaker of Australia’s Hamilton Island, which is off the coast of Queensland in Australia.

Interviewer Wow! How did you get such an amazing job?

Alex Back in 2018 I applied for the job along with another 34,684 candidates from over 200 countries… and I was lucky enough to be selected as the official caretaker of Australia’s Hamilton Island for six months.

Interviewer So who employed you?

Alex The Queensland Tourist Board – it was part of a big publicity campaign for them.

Interviewer And was it the best job in the world? What was a typical day at work like for you?

Alex Ha! Ha! It was the best job in the world, but it was a very busy job too. Every morning I got up and went for a run. Then I did whatever the tourist board wanted me to do. So, during the six months there I traveled along the whole Great Barrier Reef using different modes of transportation: boat, seaplane, train, motorbike and car. I visited 60 of the tiny islands there and stayed on each one for about three days… sometimes in a luxury hotel with other people and sometimes in a tent all on my own.

Interviewer But what did the tourist board pay you to do exactly?

Alex Basically they paid me to record everything I saw and publish it on the Internet. So, I took lots of pictures and made short films of everything I saw. Then every evening I wrote my blog and edited videos, before posting them online and finally getting to bed at around midnight.

Interviewer That sounds awesome but very tiring Alex!

Alex Yes, it was! In total I wrote 60 blogs, posted 2,000 photos, 47 video diaries and 1,500 tweets, and I presented a six-part National Geographic series. I even did 124 media interviews in just one day. I think that’s probably a record of some kind.

Interviewer I have to ask Alex, I know there were some difficult moments and once you nearly got killed. What happened?

Alex Just two days before the end of my contract. I was climbing down from a jetski, when I got stung by an Irukanji jellyfish. They are very difficult to see in the water, but they can kill you. It was a horrible experience… I was shaking all over and my muscles tensed up, but they quickly gave me an injection and I was OK after that.

Interviewer And what have you done since finishing the job? Have you had such exciting experiences?

Alex Living on the island was a unique experience, but I’ve done lots of exciting things since then. I have run 19 marathons, in 2020 I traveled from Singapore to London without flying with my wife, Sophie. Oh and we had a baby boy called Aron in 2021!

Interviewer Do you have any advice for other people applying for the best job in the world?

Alex It is important that you have a good plan for what to do after the job, as it’s hard getting back to living a normal life!

Interviewer Well Alex, thank you so much for this interview, I’m sure it’ll inspire a lot of people.

Alex Thank you for having me.