Practice Listening Business English Exercises for A2 – Competition

A

battery life, memory, security software, speed

B

Karim

Good: Battery, Size and weight; Bad: Speed, Security;

Misako

Good: Battery, Size and weight, Security; Bad: Speed

Audioscript

M = Misako   K = Karim

M:   What do you think of your new laptop, Karim?

K:   I don’t know. It’s not as fast as I expected. It’s got a larger memory than my old one, but it feels slower. It’s got a really good battery, though, and it’s really light. I can carry it anywhere.

M:   I know. It’s so light! But for me, the main thing is the battery – it lasts for a really long time. I know what you mean about the memory. It takes a long time to open some video ­ les. I don’t think it’s that large.

K:   You’re right, Misako. And I don’t know about the security software. Waiwex says it has more advanced security software and should be more secure than older models, but I got a virus in the first week of using it.

M:   Really? I think it’s much more secure than my old one. It was probably your fault, Karim.

K:   Well, only two years until the company gives us new ones again!

A

They decide to use Jones if they are cheaper overall.

B

1 London   2 six   3 three   4 professional

5 interviews   6 10–15%   7 399   8 additional

C

1 T   2 F   3 F   4 F   5 T

Audioscript

E = Ellie   T = Tom

E:   Hi, Tom. Thanks for your email on the recruitment companies.

T:   No problem. So which agency do we want to use? We’re recruiting for two jobs at the Manchester office and one in London.

E:   I’m not sure. All Recruit has a London office, and Jones doesn’t. Is that a problem?

T:   I don’t think so, Jones is bigger. And they have offices near London.

E:   Yes, that’s true. But I can see that All Recruit offers a six-month guarantee on candidates.

T:   Yes, that means, if the candidate leaves the company in the ­first six months, All Recruit will not charge us any fees. Jones only offers a three-month guarantee.

E:   Right, and it says here All Recruit do background checks on candidates as well – does that mean a check on job history and their use of social media, that kind of thing?

T:   That’s correct, although Jones can also do that.

E:   Ah, Yes, I can see that. But All Recruit also searches for candidates on professional networking sites …

T:   … Yes, that would be useful.

E:   … and then do candidate interviews with their expert consultants. So they will do everything for us and probably ­find the right people.

T:   Yes, they will. The problem might be the cost.

E:   Hmm. Good point. So, All Recruit charges a fee of 10–15 percent of the candidates ­first-year salary. So, that’s around 3,000 on a 30,000 salary. That could be expensive, you’re right.

T:   Well, the alternative is Jones. They charge a ­fixed fee of £399 for their standard service. It includes advertising and selection of CVs, but obviously no interview for that fee. They can do background checks for an additional fee.

E:   OK. Maybe we just need the agency to advertise the job, check the candidate’s background and then give us a list of ten candidates. We can do the interviews. I’d like to meet the candidates anyway.

T:   Yes, exactly. But ­first, we need to know Jones’ fee for background checks. I’ll phone them now.

E:   Great. If Jones are cheaper then All Recruit overall, let’s use them.

T:   OK, that sounds good. I’ll let you know what they say.

A

1   The cleaning service can’t come this week.

2   They choose Spotless Cleaning Service.

B

1 T   2 T   3 F   4 F   5 F   6 T   7 T   8 F

Audioscript

T = Tina   I = Ian

T:   Hi, Ian. Is everything OK?

I:   No, our cleaning service called to say they can’t come this week.

T:   Oh, no! We have a client meeting on Thursday.

I:   Yes, we need to ­find someone as soon as possible.

T:   Yes, we do!

I:   So, I looked at a couple of agencies. Have a look.

T:   Mm … Spotless Cleaning Service or Parkwood. What do you think, Ian?

I:   Well, on these websites, Spotless look better, more professional …

T:   Yes, they offer a very wide range of services – like window and carpet cleaning.

I:   Exactly, and we need that. They’ll probably clean furniture too.

T:   Yes, and the cleaners from Parkwood might be worse, less experienced.

I:   But Parkwood is cheaper – they offer a complete service for a ­fixed fee. That might include carpets too.

T:   Mm … But I think the quality of the cleaning might be lower.

I:   But we don’t need expert cleaners. And Parkwood can come any day of the week, very early and very late. I don’t think the quality of the cleaning will be worse.

T:   Mm … I’m not sure. I think I like Spotless more. Look, they supply eco cleaning products, too. I think it’s better to pay a bit more for higher quality cleaning. And they can do our windows as well!

I:   Yes, OK … It’s true, it isn’t always a good idea to choose the cheaper option. Let’s call Spotless then.

a 2   b 6   c 4   d 1   e 5   f 3

Audioscript

So, good morning everyone. I’m Theo Robson, Sales Director at Lucy’s Luxury Leather.

Thank you for attending this presentation.

The aim of today’s presentation is to introduce our new product range.

First, I’ll tell you about our traditional product range.

Then, I’ll explain our new range and how you can present it to our customers.

Finally, we’ll have a question and answer session.

1 with   2 biggest   3 based   4 provide

5 move onto   6 about   7 can   8 We’ll

Audioscript

Let’s start with more information about our traditional product range.

Lucy’s Luxury Leather started in 1972 and we are the biggest provider of traditional leather bags in the country.

We’re based in Worcester, UK, and we also have offices in Spain and Portugal.

We provide a range of leather goods including purses, wallets, belts and bags. Let’s look at some of our best-sellers now. Here, for example, are the Kensington belt and the Luxury bag …

So that’s the traditional range. Now, let’s move onto our new range aimed at a younger customer.

Let’s talk about our typical younger customers.

We can create a range for this group and grow the business. We’ll offer an original and modern range of leather goods for young customers. We think the Graduate wallet and the Casual belt will be very popular.

1 good morning   2 aim of   3 First   4 Then

5 ’ll explain   6 Finally   7 let’s

Audioscript

So, good morning, everyone. For staff who are new to the company, I’m Sophie Dean, Marketing Director here at Lucy’s Luxury Leather. The aim of this presentation is to introduce our new online shop. First, I’ll talk about our present system and tell you about why we need to improve it. Then, I’ll explain our new system and how it can help you. Finally, we’ll have a question and answer session at the end.

So, let’s start with our present online shop …

1 £12,000   2 kitchens   3 month   4 £300

5 cleaning products

Audioscript

M:   Good morning, Magna Clean.

F:   Oh, good morning. I’m looking for a new cleaning company for our offices.

M:   We offer a wide range of cleaning services. What do you need?

F:   Well, we need our offices cleaned this week, as soon as possible. But we’re thinking about a weekly service.

M:   Well, we can send someone to your office this week. Our usual cleaning fee is £5 per metre for just one visit. How big is the office?

F:   It’s only 60 metres.

M:   OK, well, we can charge a monthly fee or if you sign an annual contract, it’s cheaper.

F:   The annual contract sounds good. How much is that?

M:   For an office your size, let me see. It’s £12,000 per year.

F:   OK, that sounds good. We paid more than that for our last company.

M:   Do you have an office kitchen? There’s an additional fee for kitchens.

F:   No, we don’t. 

M:   OK, well, I think you’ll be very happy with our standard service.

F:   How often do we have to pay?

M:   You can pay monthly, at the beginning of the month.

F:   And is there a fee if we cancel the contract before the year ends?

M:   Yes, there’s a £300 fee for early cancellations.

F:   OK, that’s sounds fair. And one last question. Do the fees include all of the cleaning products?

M:   Yes, our team can bring the products with them. Everything is included in the fee.

1   F – they only have an office in one city

2   T     3   T

4   F – they charge 10% of the first annual salary of the candidate

5   F – there are no additional fees

Audioscript

M:   OK. We need to choose a new recruitment company.

F:   OK, we have some information on Hire Now.

M:   They only recruit people in sales and marketing.

F:   Well, they only have one speciality area, but it’s very important for us.

M:   I agree. Hire Now only have one office in the country.

F:   Yes, but it’s here in our city.

M:   I think that’s a problem.

F:   Well, they also put all of their job advertisements online. A lot of people only look on the internet. I don’t think they need more offices.

M:   We have a lot of temporary workers here. Do they recruit temporary staff?

F:   Erm, let me see. It says they don’t provide temporary jobs, just permanent ones.

M:   That’s not good for us.

F:   That’s right. It means that we need a second recruitment company for those roles.

M:   How much do they charge?

F:   They charge 10 percent of the candidate’s first annual salary.

M:   OK, but a standard service fee is better for us.

F:   I agree, but the fee includes everything. There’s no additional fee for online searches or background checks.

M:   We can look at other companies, too. There might be some better ones.

F:   I think you’re right.