OFFICER: Good morning. What can I do for you?

LOUISE: I want to report a theft. I had some things stolen out of my bag
yesterday.

OFFICER: I’m sorry to hear that. Right, so I’ll need to take a few details. Can
I start with your name?

LOUISE: Louise Taylor. (Example)

OFFICER: OK, thank you. And are you resident in the UK?

LOUISE: No, I’m actually Canadian (Q1). Though my mother was British.

OFFICER: And your date of birth?

LOUISE: December 14th, 1977.

OFFICER: So you’re just visiting this country?

LOUISE: That’s right. I come over most summers on business. I’m an

interior designer and I come over to buy old furniture (Q2), antiques you know.
There are some really lovely things around here, but you need to get out to the small
towns. I’ve had a really good trip this year, until this happened.

OFFICER: OK. So you’ve been here quite a while?

LOUISE: Yes, I’m here for two months. I go back next week.

OFFICER: So may I ask where you’re staying now?

LOUISE: Well at present I’ve got a place at Park (Q3) Apartments, that’s on
King Street. I was staying at the Riverside Apartments on the same street, but the
apartment there was only available for six weeks so I had to find another one.

OFFICER: OK. And the apartment number?

LOUISE: Fifteen.
 LOUISE: Right.

…………………………………………..

OFFICER: Now, I need to take some details of the theft. So you said you had
some things stolen out of your bag?

LOUISE: That’s right.

OFFICER: And were you actually carrying the bag when the theft took place?

LOUISE: Yes, I really can’t understand it. I had my backpack on. And I went
into a supermarket to buy a few things and when I opened it up my wallet wasn’t
there.

OFFICER: And what did your wallet have in it?

LOUISE: Well, fortunately I don’t keep my credit cards in that wallet – I

keep them with my passport in an inside compartment in my backpack. But there was
quite a bit of cash there … about £250 (Q4) sterling, I should think. I withdrew £300
from my account yesterday, but I did a bit of shopping, so I must have already spent
about £50 of that.

OFFICER: OK.

LOUISE: At first I thought, oh I must have left the wallet back in the
apartment, but then I realised my phone (Q5) had gone as well. It was only a week
old, and that’s when I realised I’d been robbed. Anyway at least they didn’t take the
keys to my rental car.

OFFICER: Yes. So you say the theft occurred yesterday?

LOUISE: Yes.

OFFICER: So that was September the tenth (Q6). And do you have any idea
at all of where or when the things might possibly have been stolen?

LOUISE: Well at first I couldn’t believe it because the bag had been on my
back ever since I left the apartment after lunch. It’s just a small backpack, but I
generally use it when I’m travelling because it seems safer than a handbag. Anyway, I
met up with a friend, and we spent a couple of hours in the museum (Q7). But I do
remember that as we were leaving there, at about 4 o’clock, a group of young boys ran
up to us, and they were really crowding round us, and they were asking us that time
(Q8) it was, then all of a sudden they ran off.

OFFICER: Can you remember anything about them?

LOUISE: The one who did most of the talking was wearing a T-shirt with a
picture of something … let’s see … a tiger.

OFFICER: Right. Any idea of how old he might have been?

LOUISE: Around twelve years old?

OFFICER: And can you remember anything else about his appearance?

LOUISE: Not much. He was quite thin …

OFFICER: Colour of hair?

LOUISE: I do remember that – he was blond (Q9). All the others were dark-
haired.

OFFICER: And any details of the others?

LOUISE: Not really. They came and went so quickly.

OFFICER: Right. So what I’m going to do now is give you a crime reference
number so you can contact your insurance company. So this is ten digits: 87954 82361
(Q10).

LOUISE: Thank you. So should I …

 TIM: Good morning. You’re through to the tourist information office, Tim
speaking. How can I help you?

JEAN: Oh hello. Could you give me some information about next month’s
festival, please? My family and I will be staying in the town that week.

TIM: Of course. Well it starts with a concert on the afternoon of the 17th.

JEAN: Oh I heard about that. The orchestra and singers come from the USA,
don’t they?

TIM: They’re from Canada. They’re very popular over there. They’re going to
perform a number of well-known pieces that will appeal to children as well as adults.

JEAN: That sounds good. My whole family are interested in music.

TIM: The next day, the 18th, there’s a performance by a ballet company called
Eustatis. (Q1)

JEAN: Sorry?

TIM: The name is spelt E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S. They appeared in last year’s festival,
and went down very well. Again, their programme is designed for all ages.

JEAN: Good. I expect we’ll go to that. I hope there’s going to be a play during
the festival, a comedy, ideally.

TIM: You’re in luck! On the 19th and 20th a local amateur group are
performing one written by a member of group. It’s called Jemima. That’ll be on in the
town hall. They’ve already performed it two or three times. I haven’t seen it myself,
but the review (Q2) in the local paper was very good.

JEAN: And is it suitable for children?

TIM: Yes, in fact it’s aimed more at children than at adults, so both
performances are in the afternoon.

JEAN: And what about dance (Q3) ? Will there by any performances?
 TIM: Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening. A professional company is
putting on a show of modern pieces, with electronic music by young composers.

JEAN: Uh-huh.

TIM: The show is about how people communicate, or fail to communicate, with
each other, so it’s got the rather strange name, Chat. (Q4)

JEAN: I suppose that’s because that’s something we do both face to face and
online.

TIM: That’s right.

———————-

TIM: Now there are also some workshops and other activities. They’ll all take
place at least once every day, so everyone who wants to take part will have a chance.

JEAN: Good. We’re particularly interested in cookery – you don’t happen to

have a cookery workshop, do you?

TIM: We certainly do. It’s going to focus on how to make food part of a
healthy (Q5) lifestyle, and it’ll show that even sweet things like cakes can contain
much less sugar than they usually do.

JEAN: That might be worth going to. We’re trying to encourage our children to
cook.

TIM: Another workshop is just for children, and that’s on creating posters (Q6)
to reflect the history of the town. The aim is to make children aware of how both the
town and people’s lives have changed over the centuries. The results will be exhibited
in the community centre. Then the other workshop is in toy-making, and that’s for
adults only.

JEAN: Oh, why’s that?

TIM: Because it involves carpentry – participants will be making toys out of

wood (Q7), so there’ll be a lot of sharp chisels and other tools around.

JEAN: It makes sense to keep children away from it.

 TIM: Exactly. Now let me tell you about some of the outdoor activities.
There’ll be supervised wild swimming …

JEAN: Wild swimming? What’s that?

TIM: It just means swimming in natural waters, rather than a swimming pool.

JEAN: Oh OK. In a lake (Q8), for instance.

TIM: Yes, there’s a beautiful one just outside the town, and that’ll be the venue
for the swimming. There’ll be lifeguards on duty, so it’s suitable for all ages. And
finally, there’ll be a walk in some nearby woods every day. The leader is an expert on
insects (Q9). He’ll show some that live in the woods, and how important they are for
the environment. So there are going to be all sorts of different things to do during the
festival.

JEAN: There certainly are.

TIM: If you’d like to read about how the preparations for the festival are going,
the festival organizer is keeping a blog (Q10). Just search online for the festival
website, and you’ll find it.

JEAN: Well, thank you very much for all the information.

TIM: You’re welcome. Goodbye.

JEAN: Goodbye.
 Hello, this is the Oxford Orientation Summer Course booking office. How can I
help you?

I'd like to book a place on a summer course this summer.

Certainly, let me take some details and then I'll reserve a place for you. What is
your full name?

It's Maria Bueno.

So that's Maria Beno - BENO?

No, actually it's BUENO.

When were you born?

I was born on September 12th, 1985.

And which country do you come from?

I'm from Spain.

Well, we've got two different courses this summer. We've got the orientation for
art history and museums and also one for photography. Which one would you like
to book for?

The latter, please.

And is that just the one place for the photography course?
 Yes, that's right.

The course you're interested in runs twice this summer, from June to July and again
from August to September. Which one suits you best?

I think the August to September.

That's fine. Just a few more details and then we're done. The accommodation we
offer on the course is all shared so you can choose from a shared room, a shared flat or
a shared house.

Oh definitely not the shared room. I'd prefer the shared flat if you have one. OK.
What I need now are your flight details and also your email address. Well, I'm coming
on Iberia Lines flight IB316 arriving on July 29th. And my email address is
[email protected].

Well, that's you booked then for a summer course starting in August. Is there
anything else I can do for you?

No, that's all. If you could just email me confirmation of my booking, that's would
be great.

I will do. Thank you. Goodbye.