Practice Listening Business English Exercises for B1 – Design and innovation

A

features: Kendra; benefits: Paolo

B

1   a portable, heated chair

2   Possible answers: sports fans, concert-goers, campers, people sitting in their garden – because it would make them warmer and more comfortable in cooler conditions

C

1 940   2 1,050   3 blue, green   4 seat   5 cover   6 handles

D

1, 3, 5, 7 and 8

Audioscript

Kendra

Good morning. Today, I want to introduce you to the new ZX3 Hot-Seat. The ZX3 Hot-Seat is a portable, heated seat. It’s designed for sitting outside, especially in cold weather, either in the park or at a music or sports event.

So ­first, let me talk you through the product speci­fications. As you can see from the slide, the ZX3 seat is made of memory foam that automatically moulds to your body shape and is designed to be extremely comfortable. It has a removable, washable cover made of a water-resistant nylon mesh that comes in a choice of three colours – red, blue and green.

The ZX3 Hot-Seat measures 940 by 480 mm, and weighs just 1,050 g. As you can see, it comes with retractable arms to provide maximum comfort. Each arm measures 300 by 125 mm, weighs 45 g, is made of lightweight plastic and comes in black or grey. As well as two USB ports, the ZX3 also has an optional plastic container used for holding hot or cold drinks. Finally, the heavy-duty rubber handles and padded straps are designed to make transportation easier …

Paolo

So you’ve heard Kendra telling you about the features of the ZX3 Hot-Seat. It’s a great product, but what’s in it for your customers?

How many football fans in the audience today? Quite a few. You must agree nothing beats watching your favourite team play at the stadium. But when it’s cold and wet, wouldn’t you rather be in the warmth and comfort of your living room?

Well, the ZX3 Hot-Seat is the solution. For example, its heated seat means you can combine the excitement of the stadium with the comfort of home. For added comfort, there are optional armrests which allow you to sit back and relax as you watch the game, while the plastic cup-holder lets you enjoy your favourite drink at the same time.

The Hot-Seat has a washable cover so it’s easier to clean, plus the lightweight seat with handles and straps make it easier to carry.

Kendra mentioned the Hot-Seat has two USB ports, so you can recharge your mobile devices if you need to. In today’s instant world, we know how important this will be, especially for younger customers. This also lets you post pictures on social media of those all-important goals, as they happen.

A

1 have already   2 think   3 have a few

B

Positive feedback: looks amazing, really cool, good for being seen (cycling)

Negative feedback: feels like rough plastic, really uncomfortable, smells strange/weird, difficult to wash

Suggestions: good for safety clothing, curtains, wallpaper

Audioscript

R = Researcher   F1 = Female 1   F2 = Female 2   M1 = Male 1   M2 = Male 2

R:   I’d like to thank you all again for taking the time to help us out with our market research. We think smart fabric is going to be the next big thing in fashion, but we need your help to get it right.

So, you’ve all been given a T-shirt to try out – everyone had a chance to wear it, at least for a few hours?

OK, you’ve all ­filled out some written feedback as well, but I’d really love to hear what you thought.

So … who will start?

F1:   The shirt looks absolutely amazing.

M1:   Totally. My girlfriend couldn’t believe it – how cool it was.

F2:   That’s completely true, but was I the only one who … I thought it felt like – like plastic on my skin, but kind of rough …

M2:   I think that’s the big disappointment. After about two hours, I had to take it o‑ . It was actually really uncomfortable.

F1:   You’re right. And it smells strange, too …

F1:   But, … so … I’m a keen cyclist – I go everywhere by bike. My shirt had the lighting-up option. A couple of times, I put it on over another T-shirt, and I wore it cycling. So I think this could be a great piece of safety equipment, maybe – if it were brighter? It’s good for being seen!

M1:   Right, right – good for safety, but just really uncomfortable – it feels kind of horrible to touch it – and it smells really weird.

R:   Right, OK. So what I hear is that nobody really wants to wear this next to their body.

F2:   The other thing – what’s the washing like? You told us not to wash the T-shirt.

M2:   I wondered the same thing. Are there special washing instructions?

R:   Yes, it de­finitely can’t just go in the wash with other clothes.

F1:   That’s a huge problem. A T-shirt, especially, needs to be easy to wash.

M1:   It’s so cool, the fabric, but you want to do something with it where you don’t need to wash it.

F2:   Right. I’m thinking … I don’t know, curtains?

M2:   Curtains are a great idea. Or wallpaper?

F1:   Yeah – you could change the colour of your wallpaper without changing the wallpaper. That would be so cool.

M1:   Or back to the idea of clothing – could this be a good material for road workers to wear – like on a safety jacket? It would make them easy to see.

F2:   And you could even have words, right? Like ‘slow down’ on the back of a safety jacket.

R:   OK, yes, those are some great ideas. I’d like to just go back to …

A

a safety vest for cyclists

B

Product: cycling safety vest

Target market: not serious racing/sport cyclists – people who cycle to work

Promotion: lifestyle magazines, online, social media

Place: online, in bike shops, department stores

Price: more than forty euros

Audioscript

M = Man   W = Woman

M:   It’s obvious that the smart fabric has great potential – we just need to ­figure out the marketing mix.

W:   OK, so the products we have on the list so far: cycling safety wear, road-worker safety wear, curtains, wallpaper. So two basic categories – safety clothing and home decoration.

M:   Right. So let’s look at cycling safety wear ­first. The product would be …

W:   To begin with, it would be a cycling safety vest. This would work because it wouldn’t be worn next to the skin, and because it makes great use of the smart fabric.

M:   Right, OK. So it would be practical – it lights up, so it’s safe – but also we could bring fashion to it, too, right?

W:   Exactly. At the moment, there isn’t a safety vest for cycling that’s also fashionable. In the market, safe and fashionable are two very different ideas. So we could bring those together in a great new product.

M:   OK, great. So who wants to buy that?

W:   Well, I think this one probably isn’t for serious racing cyclists, or sports cyclists – they don’t usually wear safety gear like that. But people who cycle to work – commuters – who in fact are often very serious about cycling, they’re out in traffic every day – they’re probably the target market.

M:   OK, agreed – at least to begin with. So that means we probably don’t want to promote it in serious cycling magazines, but maybe we do want to push it in … I don’t know, lifestyle magazines – travel, women’s magazines, men’s magazines … ?

W:   Yeah, OK. And probably online. Social media …

M:   De­finitely, if we’re selling online – which of course we will. But what about bike shops?

W:   Distribution is expensive – shipping is getting more expensive all the time. That’s a big consideration. But I think if people actually see the product in a bike shop, they’ll want one.

M:   That’s true. So that’s an obvious placement, but also a big opportunity for promotion. So what about price?

W:   It won’t be easy. The smart fabric isn’t cheap to produce, but a cycle safety vest isn’t really a premium product.

M:   Well, the usual bright orange and bright green ones aren’t, but we’re selling something special here. The basic ones are about ­five euros, and some of the nicer ones are about twenty euros. Our cost, per vest, at least at ­first, will be about twenty-two euros, so we’re looking at a retail price of over forty euros.

W:   Forty euros …

M:   I know. It’s high. But then … if we price it as a premium product – a fashion safety vest …

W:   … we might place it in some of the more expensive department stores, not just cycle shops.

M:   I like that idea! And who knows, if the vests are popular, we might develop a whole range of cycling products.

A

1 b   2 c   3 b   4 c   5 c   6 c   7 b   8 a

B

1 luxury   2 safely   3 dependable   4 bad   5 assurance

6 standard   7 solutions   8 meal

Audioscript

I = Interviewer   S = Steven Walker   P = Penny Tranter

I:   Welcome again to The World at Work. Today we’re going to be talking to people with some of the best jobs in the world – product testers. They get the chance to try food, clothes, make-up or gadgets long before the rest of us. I have two guests with me, both of whom spend a lot of time testing. My first guest is Steven Walker. Good evening, Steven. What is your job?

S:   I’m a luxury car test driver.

I:   Wow. Is that a full-time position?

S:   Yes, it is. I work for a major car company and my job is to try out the new cars.

I:   How did you get the job?

S:   I was already with the company working as an engineer. I’ve always wanted to be a test driver since I was at school so when our test driver retired, I applied for the job.

I:   And what do you do exactly?

S:   I drive the cars on our own circuit and check that they work well and safely.

I:   What sort of things do you check?

S:   Everything. These cars are top-of-the-range so they need to be very comfortable, very fast and very dependable. I need to make sure you can use all the equipment and drive safely. I also need to check that they are easy to drive in bad weather.

I:   Do you ever have accidents?

S:   Not very often. Actually, the last one was useful because we then changed a couple of things to make the car even safer!

I:   I suppose you can’t keep the car after testing?

S:   Unfortunately, not. They haven’t let me keep one yet! I drive home in my boring old family car.

I:   Thanks, Steven. My other guest is Penny Tranter. What do you test, Penny?

P:   My job is a dream job. I test food!

I:   So, you work in a kitchen?

P:   Not exactly. I work in quality assurance for a restaurant chain. I don’t actually cook at all but I test it to see if it tastes right. I’m very good at tasting flavours but I’m actually not very good at cooking! In fact, at home my husband always does the cooking.

I:   And this is a full-time job?

P:   Yes. They use me when they’re developing new dishes and to check the food in our restaurants. I make sure it is up to standard.

I:   So, what do you do?

P:   Well, with new dishes I’m involved at all stages from the idea to the final dish. As I said, I don’t cook. We start with a prototype and ask a group of people to eat it and comment. We take the feedback and our group of chefs develop the best possible dish. When it is finally on sale, I will then test it to make sure it is the same everywhere. I spend a lot of time on the road going to our different restaurants.

I:   And if there is a problem?

P:   I call my boss and we try to find a solution. But that rarely happens.

I:   Do the chefs recognise you when you arrive at their restaurant?

P:   Of course. I know them all. But a few times each year, I send mystery shoppers.

I:   Who are they?

P:   Just normal, average people. We off er them free meals in return for an honest report about our food.

I:   That sounds interesting. How do I apply?

1 b   2 c   3 a   4 a   5 b

Audioscript

1   Tell us about your previous job.

      a   Yes, it was.

      b   I worked as a supervisor.

      c   I worked before.

2   Have you ever worked as a designer before?

      a   My design was in a large company.

      b   I have worked there before.

      c   No, I haven’t.

3   What’s wrong with the computer?

      a   It keeps crashing.

      b   Something’s wrong.

      c   Yes, it is.

4   Can you get back to us by Monday?

      a   I think we’ll have an answer by then.

      b   We’ll return on Monday.

      c   We won’t be back on Monday.

5   How long will it take to finish the report?

      a   No, it won’t.

      b   I don’t know.

      c   The report will finish.

1 b   2 b   3 a   4 c   5 c   6 a   7 b   8 c

Audioscript

1   What has been the main benefit of the new system?

A:   The automated system is working well. Customers choose what they want from a screen and robots bring them the goods.

B:   Has it brought costs down?

A:   Not yet. It was expensive to install. We’ll see the benefits in the future.

B:   The best thing about it at the moment is that we’ve had fewer complaints from customers.

A:   Is that because it’s quicker?

B:   Actually, no. It’s because there are fewer mistakes.

2   What device is the woman talking about?

A:   Can you help me, Guy? I can’t seem to access my emails.

B:   What, on your computer?

A:   No, that seems to be working. It’s my tablet. For some reason, I am unable to me see the emails.

B:   You had problems with your phone last week, didn’t you?

A:   Yes, I did but you fixed that, too.

B:   I’m afraid your email account might have a bug in it. Let me have a look.

3   What does the man say about his job?

A:   I work in IT, which some people find very boring. But I find it’s the complete opposite. Every day is different, which is great for me.

B:   What do you do exactly?

A:   I fix problems with video games.

B:   What kind of games?

A:   Ones which challenge people to think logically. The games are really to train your brain to work as well as possible. It’s always great fun and the money’s quite good as well.

4   What has the company just bought?

Our company continues to do amazingly well. Last year we bought an executive jet for staff to use for visiting customers around the world. So you might be wondering what we’ve bought this year. A fleet of Rolls Royces, a luxury holiday home, or a super yacht? We considered all three and finally decided to buy a place for staff on a tropical island – somewhere nice for them to go for a short break, team-building or training.

5   What do they decide to do with the new product?

A:   We should change the colour.

B:   Why?

A:   Research shows red has a negative effect.

B:   Ridiculous. What about the packaging? I don’t like that.

A:   Well, the focus groups liked it, especially as it’s recycled material.

B:   So you don’t think we should change it?

A:   No. We also need to talk about another factory.

B:   Really. Why?

A:   There’s been a fire at the manufacturer’s and they can’t meet our demand.

B:   We’d better look for another manufacturer then.

6   Where do they decide to manufacture the suitcase?

A:   Will the suitcases be manufactured in Italy as usual?

B:   I’ve looked at manufacturers in India and China, and they can offer very high quality at a cheaper price. I think India is better for us.

A:   The quality’s got to be the same as in Italy. Could we negotiate a better price with our Italian manufacturers?

B:   They can’t match the Indian or Chinese prices.

A:   I guess you’re right. We’ll go with your choice then.

7   What is the shopping bag made of?

I’d like to introduce you to our new shopping bag. Unlike the previous plastic version, the new design is made of a material which can be thrown into the washing machine. Although nylon mesh bags have been very popular, nylon is a kind of plastic and isn’t eco-friendly. The new product is made of recycled material and is very eco-friendly.

8   What does the woman dislike about her new phone?

I just bought this new phone because a friend recommended it to me as being good value for money. It’s got all the latest features, though I don’t really need them. I also like that it’s not too big to fit into my pocket. But the phone takes ages to show things on the screen and it’s difficult to move from app to app.