Practice Listening English Exercises for B2 – Good business

1 what you love to do

2 listen to criticism

3 balance work and family life

4 people for who they are, not for their titles

Audioscripts in B below

1 his grandmother; when he was ten years old

2 her teacher; in elementary school

3 his father; ten years ago

4 her best friend; several years ago

Audioscripts

1

Host:   Hello. This is Donald Vaughn for Business Nightly. Tonight we have some very successful business people on the show. We’re going to ask what advice has helped them become successful, and they’ll share their secrets of success. Let’s start with our youngest guest, Dan Doppel: owner of Doppel Delights, the well-known bakery business. Dan, could you tell us the best business advice you have ever received?

Dan:   Well, I think the main key to my success is just enjoying my work. When I was little, my grandmother lived with us. She was an excellent baker. I always loved helping her make pies and cakes for holidays with the family. When I was about ten years old, my grandmother gave me this advice. She said, “Do what you love to do.” So, I did. I started my bakery five years ago, and I’ve never forgotten that advice. I think about it every day.

2

Host:   Next, let’s hear from Nina Lottman, CEO of Nina International. You’re a high-powered fashion executive, Ms. Lottman. Could you tell us what’s behind your success?

Nina:   Well, a lot of people have given me advice over the years. But I think the best advice came when I was in elementary school. See, when I was a kid, I was very shy. I didn’t have many friends. The other kids used to tease me, and I was miserable. One day, I was feeling really down, and I guess my teacher must have noticed. After school, she stopped me on my way out of the class. She gave me this advice: “Don’t listen to criticism, Nina.” She told me I just needed to believe in myself. I still remember that day. That advice has helped me through a lot of tough times.

3

Host:   All right. And now for our next guest: Jim Patterson, founder of Patterson Family Toys. Mr. Patterson, tell us the key to your business’s growth and popularity.

Jim:   Well, we started out as just a little company. I took over my father’s toy store when he retired. When I started out, I was really ambitious. I worked a lot of long hours and got home pretty late. Sometimes I’d even work weekends. After a while, I realized I hadn’t been spending much time with my wife and kids. I missed them. One day, I told my father how I was feeling, and he gave me the best advice I’ve ever received. He said, “Try to balance work and family life.” That was about ten years ago. Since then I’ve made an effort to make time for both work and family, and I’m a lot happier.

4

Host:   And for our last guest tonight: Maura Brown, co-owner of Brown and Rogers Bookstores. What advice has helped you?

Maura:   Well, you can’t have a good business without good people. Business is all about people. That’s the best part. I guess I didn’t always think that way. When I was starting my business several years ago, my best friend, Carla Farnsworth, gave me this advice. She said, “Respect people for who they are.” She meant whether it’s the president of the corporation, an important customer, or a part-time employee, everybody deserves to be treated with the same amount of respect. I loved that advice, and I still believe it.

Host:   And that’s all the time we have tonight folks. Thanks very much to all of our guests …

(top row) 5, 1, 6

(bottom row) 3, 4, 2

Audioscripts in B below

1 Seattle, Washington; Pike Place Market; character

2 Starbucks Corporation; 17

3 Seattle; 116

4 300; Japan; 4,709

5 wireless Internet; 6,193

6 cards; children’s; 9,671

Audioscripts

1

Man:   Starbucks is a famous coffee company. In big cities, you see Starbucks stores near train stations, in shopping malls, and on many street corners. Starbucks began in nineteen seventy-one in Seattle, Washington, at Pike Place Market. The company was named after a character in the famous book Moby Dick. Today, one of Starbucks’ main business principles is “Recognize that profitability is a key to our future success.” But back in nineteen seventy-one, no one knew just how profitable this little coffee company would become.

2

Man:   In nineteen eighty-seven, Howard Schultz acquired Starbucks and changed its name to Starbucks Corporation. As he expanded the company, Schultz wanted Starbucks to be a place where people would enjoy working. He wanted the employees to be happy. An example of how Schultz tried to achieve this is another of the company’s principles, which says, “Provide a great work environment, and treat each other with respect and dignity.” When Schultz took over, Starbucks had just seventeen stores.

3

Man:   The new owner of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, was influenced greatly by a business trip he took to Italy. He wanted the taste of the coffee and the look of the cafés to match a coffee bar he had visited in Milan. He thought that serving delicious, high-quality coffee would make Starbucks a successful business. This is demonstrated by the Starbucks company principle “Apply the highest standards of excellence to the coffee.” Schultz’s plan worked, and Starbucks stores began opening in many locations. In nineteen ninety-one, Starbucks opened its first airport location at Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle. By that year, the number of Starbucks stores was one hundred and sixteen.

4

Man:   Ten years later, in two thousand and one, Starbucks opened its three-hundredth store in Japan. It now had shops in seventeen countries including Kuwait, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The international popularity of Starbucks is one result of the company principle that says, “Make diversity an important part of the business style.” By selling a wide variety of products that appealed to a variety of people’s tastes, Starbucks gained success quickly. Between its U.S. and international stores, Starbucks now had a total of four thousand seven hundred and nice store locations.

5

Man:   One year later, in two thousand and two, Starbucks launched a new service that added to its popularity. It introduced its own wireless Internet connection and made it available to customers in its cafés. Soon, people started going to Starbucks not just to drink coffee, but to do Internet research, send e-mails, and surf the Web on their own laptop computers. This is one example of the company principle
Develop satisfied customers all of the time.” Since the previous year, Starbucks had added almost fifteen hundred stores around the world for a total of six thousand one hundred and ninety-three stores.

6

Man:   Starbucks is proud of its socially responsible business style. The company’s final business principle is “Contribute to the community and our environment.” In order to do this, the company makes efforts to reduce overall waste at its stores by recycling and using recycled products. The company also donates to various charities. In two thousand and five, Starbucks sold a pre-paid card featuring the image of Ichiro Suzuki, a well-known player for the Seattle Mariners baseball team. The money from the card was to benefit children’s charities. The total number of Starbucks stores in two thousand and five reached nine thousand six hundred and seventy-one. And Starbucks is still growing today.

1 offers health insurance

2 cares about the environment

3 offers an opportunity to travel

4 gives regular pay raises

5 allows a balance of work and family life

Audioscripts in B below

1 b   2 c   3 a   4 c   5 b

Audioscripts

1

Woman:   I’m taking the job at Glendale Books. It’ll be good experience to work for a publishing company.

Man:   How are the benefits?

Woman:   There’s an excellent health plan. The company pays ninety percent of employees’ health insurance. And it gives everyone free health club memberships.

Man:   That’s amazing! Congratulations!

2

Man:   I just read about this great ice cream company that is very socially responsible.

Woman:   In what way?

Man:   Well, the owners give a lot of money to charity. And a few years ago, the company closed one of its factories because it was polluting the air. The owners also encourage employees to save electricity and other energy sources.

Woman:   That does sound like a great company.

3

Man:   Did I tell you I’m changing jobs?

Woman:   No. Why? I thought you liked your company.

Man:   Oh, I’m not leaving. I’m just moving to the sales department so that I’ll have more opportunities to travel.

Woman:   Wow! You already travel a lot, don’t you?

Man:   Yeah, and I really enjoy it. That’s why I love my company.

4

Woman:   I got a raise today.

Man:   Another one?

Woman:   Yeah. At my company, we get a raise every year, as long as our supervisor approves it. It’s a terrific system.

5

Man:   Welcome back, Brianna. How’s the new baby?

Brianna:   Oh, he’s doing great, thanks.

Man:   Did you have to hire a full-time baby-sister when you came back to work?

Brianna:   No, the company is letting me work part-time for a few months – until the baby gets a little bigger. Then I’ll come back full-time.

Man:   Oh, that’s good.

Brianna:   Yeah. I’m so lucky to work for this company. Nowadays it’s hard to find an employer that makes it easy to balance work and family life.