Easy English Podcast

IELTS Listening #150_Transcript

PART 1

Barbara: Sunrise Hotel. Good morning. Barabara speaking.

Mr. Griffin: Hello, my name is John Griffin. I'd like to make a booking for tonight, please.
Are there any rooms still available?
Barabara: Yes, there are few left. What were you wanting?
Mr. Griffin: Well, I'm on a business trip, so I only need a single room.
Barabara: I don't think that will be a problem. Let's look. Yes, there's one single room left.
Should I book it for you?
Mr. Griffin: Yes, please. That would be great.
Barabara: Right then, let me get a pen. So what's your name again, please?
Mr. Griffin: John Griffin. That’s J-O-H-N G-R-I-F-F-I-N
Barabara: But okay, I've got that down. Wait a minute, you've been here before, haven't
you?
Mr. Griffin: Yes, that's right. I stayed with you twice.
Barabara: Well, we should have your details already. Let's look at the cards. Here we are.
So John Griffin from Sydney, right?
Mr. Griffin: Yes, that's right.
Barabara: So tell me if I'm wrong. John Griffin, Passport number 87637489830.
Mr. Griffin: Yes, that's right.
Barabara: So it's a single room for two nights. Is your credit card number the same to
confirm the booking?
Mr. Griffin: Yes, it's the same. But I want you to forward the bill to my company again, if
that's ok?
Barabara: Oh yes, Mr. Griffin, that's no problem at all. Your company always settled very
promptly in the past. And what time can we expect you tonight, Mr. Griffin?
Mr. Griffin: Well the plane lands at 9:15 p.m. so by the time I get through for the
formalities, that should take about 20 minutes, I should be at your place at 10. Will the
restaurant still be open at that time as I'll be hungry. I hate the plane food.
Barabara: I'm afraid it'll be close by then, Mr. Griffin. Can I organize some snacks to be
left in your room: a burger, fries, sandwiches?
Mr. Griffin: Yes, that would be great. How about a cheese sandwich with fries?
Barabara: No problem, sir. I'll see to that. Oh, the fries might be cold when you get it.
Mr. Griffin: Oh yes, just a sandwich then.
Barabara: No problem. Anything else, Mr. Griffin?
Mr. Griffin: No, that's all. Thank you. See you tonight.
Barabara: See you tonight, Mr. Griffin. Goodbye.
Mr. Griffin: Goodbye.
Barabara: Oh Mark, that was Mr. Griffin. You knew that nice man from Sydney who's
been here a couple of times before. He's booked a single room for two nights from tonight.
Mark: Oh good. Wait a moment. Um which room have you put him in?
Barabara: Uh, I put him in number 22. Is that okay?
Mark: I think, so let me just check. Oh blast, there was a booking earlier this morning. All
the singles are now gone.
Barabara: Oh dear, I'm so sorry I didn't realize.
Mark: Don't worry, it's not a problem. We'll stick him in number 34. It's a double room,
but it shouldn't matter.
Barabara: What about the price? The double is 150 dollars a night and he's going to be
expecting $100 a night for the single.
Mark: Well, we don't want to upset him, we want him to come back. Make a note that will
give him the single rate and that he's got a free upgrade.
Barabara: I'm so sorry, Mark. I should have let him know that there weren't any singles
left.
Mark: No, it's not your fault. I took the booking earlier, but the computers were down. I
should have made a note of the booking, so that everyone knew. It's my fault.
Barabara: Mr. Griffin has ordered a cheese sandwich to be left in his room too as the
restaurant will be closed when he gets in.
Mark: That's no problem. Just leave a message for my wife in the order book there. She'll
make sure that it's prepared by the kitchen staff and then room service can take it to his
room just before he arrives.
Barabara: How much should I charge him for the sandwich?
Mark: What is it again? Oh yes, cheese. Well, beef and chicken are about $10 and salad is
$8, just make it $9. That should be okay.
Barabara: Okay. Thanks, Mark.

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PART 2

Good morning and welcome to 2RC, your local radio news service for the Wesley
area, and here are your headlines for this morning. More news from the police into the
jewelry robbery that occurred last Tuesday in the center of town, CompTech, the local
computer hardware manufacturer has announced that it must cut 40 jobs, new routes open
up at the Wesley International Airport, plans for the redevelopment of the Oakley woods
have been shelved, a local cricket team make it to the regional finals and get set for a heat
wave.
First of all, police have released two descriptions for the two men wanted in
connection with the robbery at the local jewelry store Nichols in the center of town last
Tuesday. At 9:00 a.m., just when the store was opening, two men burst through the door
and demanded bags to be filled up with jewelry. Although the two men were armed with
baseball bats, the shopkeepers bravely attacked them and beat them off. Although the two
men had motorcycle helmets on. These were knocked off during the scuffle, and the
shopkeepers were able to get a good look at them.
The first man is said to be about 6 footin height, slight build, dark hair and a small
moustache. He was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. The
second man is much shorter, around five foot eight, with a fat build and red hair and clean-
shaven. He was wearing a dark blue sweater and black jeans. They are both probably in
their early 20s. The police hoped to issue photo fit pictures later today. The public are urged
to call Wesley police if they think they recognize either of the two men.
CompTech last night announced that they must release 40 workers. This was blamed
on a downturn in sales and increased competition. The jobs to be lost will be a mixture of
early retirement offerings and a spread from all departments in the company.
Wesley International airport has been awarded by cheap air the new low-cost carrier
for new routes into Europe. The new routes will be into four European countries, though
the details have not yet been released. When the deals have been finalized, this will lead to
a significant number of jobs. Environmentalists were delighted this morning by the news
that plans by the local council to develop the Oakley woods area have been shelved. The
woods were to have been developed into a shopping area, but opposition from local
residents and local environmental groups has led to a turn around by the local council and
they will now look for an alternative site. Wesley Green, a local pressure group says they
are ecstatic that the council has bowed to the wishes of people in the area. Mr. George
Finchley, mayor of Wesley made the announcement and said that the committee
responsible took all available information into account before taking the decision and he
hopes that Wesley residents are happy that the local council are sensitive to their wishes
when making decisions.
East Moors CC, a local league Cricket Club has made it to the finals of the Sunday
League knockout cricket competition. They will play the final at home on Sunday 30th of
August against Newberry CC. Go along and support if you're around that day as you'll be
assured a great Sunday afternoon sport.
And finally, get set for a heatwave for the remainder of the month of August.
Weather experts have assured us that we will have three weeks of unbroken sunshine till
the end of the month. Great news but those of us who are experienced with the British
weather, will most likely greet this news with let's wait and see.
PART 3

Tutor: Hello there. It's Robert Johnson, isn't it?

Robert: Yes, that's right.
Tutor: First of all, thanks for coming to this interview and thanks for replying to the
engineering department of West Lee University. This is a fairly informal interview where I
just get to know you and find out what kind of person you are. There won't be any technical
questions as we've got all your educational background from your application form.
Robert: Oh that's good.
Tutor: Now I know you've applied to us to study civil engineering. So can you tell me why
you chose this field?
Robert: It's a mixture of reasons really. First of all, I've always been fascinated by building
things. Whenever the family was on the holiday, I would always be interested in the local
bridge and all that. My father is a civil engineer too. So he'd always be able to explain
things, and it was he I suppose who really fostered my interest. I'm lucky as well because
my best subjects at school were maths and physics, which are the ones that are particularly
used for engineering.
Tutor: So you'll be keeping it in the family then?
Robert: Yes. My brother wants to do the same thing as well. So you probably get an
application from him in another two years.
Tutor: Great. Now then, I noticed from your application form that you took a year off
between school and university. What do you do during this year?
Robert: What I'd like to say is I got plenty of work experience but what it did was travel. I
went to Australia for the year and spent the time traveling and working all around the
country. At the end, I went to New Zealand and travelled around there for a couple of
months.
Tutor: What kind of work did you do out there?
Robert: It was fairly menial stuff. I delivered furniture, worked in a pub, worked in a hotel
and worked on a building site for a couple of months.
Tutor: Working on a building site must have been a good experience for engineering.
Robert: I suppose so. I mean it was interesting to see the brasstacks side of things and a
good engineer has to get his hands dirty, my father says.
Tutor: He's absolutely right as well. Now why did you choose Wesley University to study
civil engineering?
Robert: Well, first of all, I know that the department has a very good reputation in this
field and before applying I checked out the stats and saw the percentage of graduates going
straight into industry was very good.
Tutor: Yes, we're very proud of that.
Robert: I'm also very interested in mountaineering and your campus here in the Midlands
is within regional distance of Snowdonia so I'll be able to go hiking at weekends when
working alone.
Tutor: That's good. It's very important for students to have interests outside of their
studies. It helps deal with the stress.
Robert: I also play a lot of football and the university runs quite a few teams in the local
leagues. so I'd like to get into that.
Tutor: Is there anything you'd like to ask me about the course?
Robert: Yes, the information in the prospectus wasn't very clear about assessment. How
will I be assessed over the four years of the course?
Tutor: Well, as it's a sandwich course you'll be working in industry for the third year and
there won't be any exams for that year. In the first year, you'll have exams at the end of
May. You'll probably have five papers to sit on then. The second year is identical to the
first year. You have to pass the exams in these years but they won't actually be part of your
degree. In the fourth year, you'll have to write a dissertation with minimum 15,000 words
and most people use their time in the third year when they're working to use it as a basis for
their dissertation. So the third year can be spent doing the hard work for the dissertation,
leaving the fourth year to polish it and study for your finals.
Robert: What we'll have to do for the final?
Tutor: There will be eight papers in all during June. And these will be based on work done
throughout the entire course. It's hard and a stressful time, but students usually cope with it.
Anything else?
Robert: Yes, I'd like to…

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