Section 1. You will hear a telephone conversation between a receptionist who works at a house-renting agency and a man. First, you'll have some time to look at questions 1 to 4. You will see there is an example that has been done for you. On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first.
Hello, how can I help you today? Ah yes, hello. I'm just phoning you as I have seen an advertisement on your website for a property that I'm interested in renting. If possible, I'd like to find out some more information before I organise a viewing.
No problem at all. What is the address of the property that you'd like to enquire about? It's 21 North Avenue. OK.
The address of the property is 21 North Avenue. So, 21 North has been written in the space. Now we shall begin.
You should answer the questions as you listen because you will not hear the recording a second time. Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 4. Hello, how can I help you today? Ah yes, hello. I'm just phoning you as I have seen an advertisement on your website for a property that I'm interested in renting.
If possible, I'd like to find out some more information before I organise a viewing. No problem at all. What is the address of the property that you'd like to enquire about? It's 21 North Avenue.
OK. What is it that you'd like to know? First of all, I'd like to know what facilities the office has as I need to make sure that it will be suitable for my advertising company. I see.
The office contains a large open plan space with a wide frontage onto a busy street with lots of passers-by. So your business would have a really good street presence. There is also a toilet and newly refurbished kitchen equipped with a dishwasher and oven.
Wow, that sounds great. I'd definitely like to register my interest. OK, perfect.
I just need to take some details from you if that's OK. What is your full name? Jonathan Smith. And what position do you hold in your company, Jonathan? Until recently I was Sales Manager.
However, I've recently been promoted to Regional Manager. So I'll be in charge of running our new office. Can I ask where the office is located? Yes, of course.
It's located downtown, just around the corner from Royal Square Shopping Centre. Hmm, that's a bit too far out of the centre for my liking. I'd much prefer to be located in close proximity to the station.
Do you have any property located in that vicinity? It would help me to narrow down the results if you could tell me how many employees you intend to have working in the office. Our branch is made up of 30 employees and we'd like some extra space for meetings and presentations. Most average office spaces are around 8,000 square feet.
But it sounds like you would need more space than that. I think that 10,000 square feet would be more suitable for your needs. Now, let's see, we have 10 properties that match those criteria.
So let's try and narrow it down. Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 5 to 10. Now listen and answer questions 5 to 10.
Do you have any other requirements? Well, we'll need access to the office 12 hours a day, but security should be 24 hour. We don't hold any money on the premises, but it's crucial that we protect our customer information against theft. OK, anything else? Yes, ideally I would prefer the new office to be split over two levels, so that the working office area is kept separate from street level.
That will enable us to locate a reception of ground floor level to welcome customers when they arrive. And are there any particular facilities that you need? Our employees work very hard throughout the day and I want to make sure that they're well nourished. It would therefore be ideal if I could provide them with a kitchen to cook hot meals at lunchtime.
Would you want the kitchen to be located at first floor level with the office? No, I don't want the office to be filled with the smell of food. It would be better if the new office had a basement where we could locate the kitchen and staff room area to keep it at arm's length from the workspace. OK, I have now narrowed the search to two available properties.
Do you have any other requirements that could narrow our search down to one result? All of our office staff will be working at desktop computers, so I'll need the office to be equipped with at least 40 power sockets if possible. Anything else? Studies have shown that exercise is very important for maintaining happiness and healthy brain function. In an office environment, it's very difficult to get sufficient daily exercise, so it would be great if they had access to a nearby exercise area.
One of the available offices is located next door to a gym. Would this be suitable? Yes, absolutely. A gym is exactly what I was thinking of.
Brilliant. Do you need the office to be furnished? I don't think so. I already have some furniture, so I would prefer to bring this myself.
That's no problem at all. Ah, and before I forget, we will definitely require Wi-Fi access as much of our work and customer recruitment is carried out online. No problem.
It sounds like the property will suit your needs perfectly. I've taken the liberty of booking you a viewing at 3pm on Thursday so you can see it for yourself. Is there anything else I can help you with today? No, I think that's all the information I need.
Thanks very much for your help. No problem. It's been my pleasure to be of assistance.
Goodbye. That is the end of section 1. You now have half a minute to check your answers.