Listening Exercises B2 – Shopping

a   SatNav system

b   digital camcorder

c   plasma TV

d   laptop/notebook computer

e   all-in-one printer

a   maps, plan your route, touch screen

b   portable, on vacation, record video, take pictures

c   a 50-inch screen, picture quality, watching movies, living room

d   wireless, light, 80 gigabyte hard disk, 3 gigahertz processor, screen, software

e   24 pages a minute, black and white, a fax, can make copies

Transcript

a  

Customer:     So it’s got maps of the whole of Europe?

Assistant:     That’s right. You can plan your route to wherever you want to go. It’s touch screen, too, so it’s very easy to use

b  

Customer:     It’s quite light, isn’t it?

Assistant:     Yeah. It’s very portable. Perfect for carrying around with you on vacation. You can record up to three hours of video onto the hard disk, with audio, and take still pictures too, of course

Customer:     That sounds great.

c  

Assistant:     This one has a 50-ich screen. The picture quality is amazing, especially if you’re watching in high definition.

Customer:     Yeah, I love watching movies so this will be great. I just hope it will fit in my living room!

d  

Customer:     It’s wireless, isn’t it?

Assistant:     Sure, and it’s very light. It has an 80 gigabyte hard disk, and a 3 gigahertz Intel processor, which is really fast. The screen’s big, too … 17 inches, and it’s got all the latest software of course.

Customer:     Wow. That’s pretty cool

e  

Assistant:     It can do 24 pages a minute in black and white, and it’s a fax, so you can send documents too, if you like.

Customer:     Great. And can I make copies as well, yeah?

Assistant:     Yeah. Just lift this lid and put what you want to copy in here.

a   looking for

b   interested in

c   you tell me what

d   what does

e   tell me about

f   like to know

g   What’s; like

1 c, d   2 e, f, g   3 a, b

organize appointments   1

take notes and write documents   3

store addresses and contacts   2

surf the Internet   6

read and send email   5

listen to music   9

take photos and videos   7

watch TV   10

download video games   8

transfer files to your computer   4

a   You can connect to the Internet without having to plug into a computer.

b   A ‘hotspot’ is an area where you can connect to the Internet.

Transcript

Assistant:     Can I help you?

Paola:     Yes, please. I’m looking for a smart phone, but erm, I don’t know much about them.

Assistant:     Right, well with a smart phone you can install software and use it, you know, for your appointments, as an address book for your contacts, that kind of thing … you can take notes and write documents, and link it to your computer and transfer files.

Paola:     I see. I’m interested in this one. Is it a good one?

Assistant:     This one? Yes, it’s pretty popular. It’s got all the features you’d expect … a nice screen, a word processor, wireless internet …

Paola:     Can you tell me what wireless internet is?

Assistant:     Well, it means you can connect to the Internet without have to plug into a computer.

Paola:     Right. So I can check my email, can i?

Assistant:     Yeah, you can read and send email, and surf the Internet too, as long as you’re near a hotspot of course.

Paola:     Sorry, what does, erm, ‘hotspot’ mean?

Assistant:     That means an area where you can connect to the Internet.

Paola:     Hmm. It’s got a camera, hasn’t it? Could you tell me about that?

Assistant:     Yeah, it really good. Five megapixels. You can take photos or video.

Paola:     And it’s got, er, a touch screen. I’d like to know more about that, please.

Assistant:     Sure. You just press the feature on the screen you want to use, like this … messages, or whatever … and there you go.

Paola:     I see. That’s clever.

Assistant:     You can download video games, and it’s got an MP3 player for your favourite songs. You can even watch TV.

Paola:     Wow!

Assistant:     Yeah. It’s very easy to use.

Paola:     Oh, I nearly forgot. What’s the battery life like?

Assistant:     Not so great, but it comes with two batteries.

Paola:     What happens if I press this button here?

Assistant:     Er, nothing. You’ve got to turn it on first!

Special payment terms, an extended warranty and delivery.

The special payment term cost an extra $60. The extended warranty is $49.99, and the delivery charge is $40.

He buys the extended warranty. He does not have to pay for delivery.

Transcript

James:     I’d like this DVD recorder, please.

Assistant:     Sure. Er, we have a special offer on this at the moment … pay $50 now and then just 20 a month for 12 months.

James:     That makes it, what … $290? It only costs 230. That’s $60 more.

Assistant:     Yes, but it’s for people who want to spread the payments, you know.

James:     No thanks. I’ll pay in full now.

Assistant:     Fine. By the way, the manufacturer’s warranty is a year, but for an extra 49.99 you can have our three-year instant replacement guarantee. That means if anything goes wrong, just bring it in and we’ll exchange it for an equivalent model, no problem.

James:     Hmm. No thanks. Oh, I nearly forgot. I don’t want to carry this around all day … Do you deliver?

Assistant:     Yes, our standard delivery charge is $40.

James:     Oh, I see. Er, well … if you give me free delivery, then I’ll take the extended warranty option. How’s that?

Assistant:     Hmm. OK. I think we can work something out here. 

an all-in-one printer Pete

a computer game Henri

a mobile phone Karen

an MP4 player Jane

Jane       She never listen to music

Henri     He already has this one

Pete       It’s faulty. The paper gets stuck and the fax doesn’t work.

Karen     It crashes while on the Internet, and sometimes when she makes a call she can’t hear anything.

Transcript

Jane:     Hello, I got this for my birthday a couple of months ago but the thing is I never really listen to music. I wonder if I can change it for something else? I haven’t even opened it.

Henri:     This was a present but the problem is I already have this one. Can I to exchange it, please, for a different game? I haven’t played it.

Pete:     Yes, I got this last week but I’m not sure it’s working properly. The problem seems to be mechanical – the paper gets stuck all the time. I can’t use the fax function, either.

Karen:    I’ve only had this a few months but I don’t understand why it keeps crashing all the time when I’m on the Internet, and sometimes when I make a call I can’t hear anything. I’d like a refund please.