Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Work

A

A   Yahoo employees get a free bus ride to work.

B   Yahoo employees watch movies together once a month.

C   Pontiflex provides a nap room for its employees.

D   At one company, the boss writes thank-you notes to employees.

B

At Yahoo, there’s a dentist and a hairstylist at the office.

At Google, lunch is free, and you can get a cheap massage at the office.

At another company, the staff does a job swap two days a year.

Audioscript

M = Man     W = Woman

M:   Today we’re looking at how companies motivate their staff. Sarah, can you tell us more?

W:   Absolutely. Internet companies are famous for this type of thing. At Yahoo there’s a free bus ride to work for employees. There’s also a dentist and a hair stylist at the office.

M:   Makes life easier for employees …

W:   Exactly. And, wait for it, one day a month the employees watch movies together.

M:   Great ideas.

W:   Yep. Now at Google, lunch is free, and you can also get a cheap massage at the office.

M:   Wow.

W:   And other companies are bringing in new ideas, too. A company called Pontiflex in New York created a nap room where employees could sleep for 15 minutes.

M:   Nice idea.

W:   At several companies, we’re hearing that the relationship between bosses and employees is changing. At one company, the boss writes thank you notes to employees. At another, the staff does a job swap two days a year. So a senior manager might clean floors for the day, and the cleaner can sit in an air-conditioned office.

M:   Does that motivate everybody?

W:   Well, it helps employees to see what everyone else is doing in the company, which I think is … very valuable and of course …

A

1 choosing a CD   2 studying   3 checking emails

B

1   The employees at the music store get free coffee at Kinko’s.

      The employees at Kinko’s get one free CD a week from the music store.

2   It pays for employees to take courses.

3   Because the company has flexible hours.

Audioscript

I = Interviewer     M = Man     W = Woman     E = Employee

Conversation 1

M:   Hi. I work at Kinko’s coffee store across the street. But, at the moment I’m taking a break here in the music store.

I:   And what are you doing on your break?

M:   I’m choosing my free CD for the week.

I:   Free CD? Can you tell us a bit more? Why are you doing this?

M:   Sure. Kinko’s, the coffee shop, has an agreement with the music store. The employees at the music store get free coffee at Kinko’s. They all come in during their break. And we get one free CD a week from the music store.

I:   Great!

M:   We all know each other, and it works really well.

Conversation 2

W:   So, this is the clothing store. And this is the study area.

I:   Right. So you have a study area?

W:   Yeah. As you can see, David, over there, is studying. And these two are taking an online course.

I:   And this is during work hours? Does the boss know about this?

W:   It’s the boss’ idea. The company pays for employees to take courses. So, during our breaks or after seven when the store closes, we can stay on and study.

I:   That’s excellent. And are you studying at the moment?

W:   Yeah, but I’m not studying anything related to fashion.

I:   What are you studying?

W:   I’m studying history.

I:   And the company pays?

W:   The company pays. It pays for about six of us. I think six of us are taking online courses.

I:   Awesome!

Conversation 3

E:   Hi there. I work for a software company.

I:   And what are you doing now?

E:   Well, I’m checking my emails at the moment because I need to see what work I have to do today.

I:   At one o’clock?

E:   Well, the company has flexible hours. You can arrive when you want and go home at any time.

I:   That sounds good.

E:   It’s great. We get a salary for good work, not for the time we spend in the office. So, really, the important thing is to do your job well. That’s what the boss says, anyway!

A

He’s a marine biologist. He likes working outside, traveling, working alone and learning new things, being his own boss.

B

1 working   2 sitting   3 traveling   4 working

5 getting   6 learning   7 working   8 working

Audioscript

I = Interviewer     M = Man

I:   Can you tell us a little about what you do and what you like about your job?

M:   Yes. I’m a marine biologist. I work mainly in the ocean and also in the lab. One good thing about my job is that I like working outside.

I:   I see.

M:   In fact, I can’t stand sitting at a desk all day. Um. What else?

I:   Maybe you get to travel …

M:   I travel a lot, and I absolutely love traveling, particularly in South America and Australia.

I:   And what about your colleagues, people you work with?

M:   Actually, most of my time is spent alone, which kind of suits me. I don’t like working on a team. I prefer working alone.

I:   Really? And what about the type of work?

M:   It’s interesting—there’s a lot of lab work, but it’s a very practical job. You’re working with animals and plant life the whole time. And, y’know, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. That’s important. Also, I’m interested in learning new things —and you do learn all the time in this job. You’re always discovering new things.

I:   That’s great. It sounds wonderful.

M:   I couldn’t do an office job because I hate working under pressure. And I’m not very interested in working for a company. I just want to be my own boss.

I:   So, you found the right job for you.

M:   I found the right job for me, yes.

Yes, she has a good work/life balance.

Audioscript

A = Alistair    Z = Zeinab

A:   Zeinab, can I ask you a few questions about your work/life balance?

Z:   Of course.

A:   OK. First question: how much time do you spend sleeping?

Z:   Lots! Probably about eight or nine hours a night!

A:   Really?!

Z:   Yep.

A:   OK. And what about studying?

Z:   Well, I suppose usually about five or six hours a day, although it depends. I mean, if I have a test coming up or something, it’s probably more.

A:   And do you ever take a vacation?

Z:   Oh, yeah. Probably twice a year I try and go abroad and just completely relax.

A:   OK. What about your weekends? Do you ever study on the weekend?

Z:   Not usually, but once in a while I open a book!

A:   Right. And do you think you have a good work/life balance?

Z:   I think so, yeah. I’m not too stressed or anything.

A:   Easy life being a student.

Z:   Oh, yeah!

A

2 safari guide   3 male elephant   4 pool   5 tourists

B

1   Story 1: a safari guide

      Story 2: a tourist

2   Because an elephant charged at them.

3   They escaped in the bus. No one was injured.

C

3 Story 1   4 Story 2   5 Story 1   6 Story 2

Audioscript

1

I work as a safari guide. I take tourists to see the animals. Everyone thinks my job is dangerous, but I don’t think so. Well, I didn’t think so until last month. So, what happened? Well, I had a bus full of tourists. There were fifteen of them. It was a beautiful, clear evening, and, at about seven o’clock, we saw some elephants. Everyone wanted to take photos, so I told them they could get off the bus for a few minutes. So there we were, these tourists taking photos of the elephants. Then suddenly, the male elephant turned. It looked at us. And I could see that it was angry. So I told everyone to stand still. “Don’t move!” Well, the elephant continued looking at us, and I thought that it was going to charge, you know, to run at us. I told the tourists to walk very slowly back to the bus. Then the elephant charged at us. I jumped into the bus and started driving as fast as possible. The elephant came very close, and the tourists were all shouting and screaming. But it was OK in the end. We escaped.

2

I was on a safari holiday. It was a really beautiful place, very quiet. One evening, at about six o’clock, we went for a drive in the tour bus. There were twenty of us tourists. Well, we soon saw some elephants. They were drinking at a pool. So we got out of the bus to take photos. Anyway, suddenly, this large male elephant started looking very angry. Then it walked towards us. The guide told us to run back to the bus as fast as possible. So we did. This was a really bad idea because the elephant followed us. Then the guide got into the bus and drove away very fast. We were really quiet and calm because we didn’t want to frighten the elephant. But it wasn’t a nice experience, and we were happy to get back to the hotel that night.