You will hear the manager of a shop talking to a new employee called Penny.
(Knocking)
Manager: Come in. Good morning. It's ...
Penny: Penny Marne.
Manager: Ah yes ... Penny. Do sit down. Now I know a lot of things emerged during your interview last week, but I thought it was worth going over the essential stuff again.
Penny: Yes, absolutely. That'll be very helpful.
Manager: The first thing is that given your interest in fashions we've decided to put you in the Dress Department.
Penny: Oh that's great. Is that next to the children's section?
Manager: Yes. Now we've given the section a new name actually. From next week it's going to be called the Young Set.
Penny: Youngster?
Manager: No. Two words - the Young Set.
Penny: Right, sorry.
Manager: Now, you'll be required to work a five and a half day week. We're closed on Wednesday afternoon and Sunday, of course.
Penny: Do we get overtime for Saturday?
Manager: Well, actually, we used to give an extra $2 an hour, but then we decided to make it a flat rate of $6.50 an hour.
Penny: OK fine. And the actual hours?
Manager: 9 - 5 with an hour for lunch and 15 minute coffee breaks.
Penny: And what about holidays?
Manager: Well, it's three weeks in the first year and that rises to four weeks in your third year with us. Now we do give you on-the-job training which we conduct during normal hours, so you'll be paid for that.
Penny: Which day?
Manager: It's on the first Tuesday of every month.
Manager: Now, in addition to your basic pay I should explain that you're entitled to some staff perks which our assistants do find a valuable benefit.
Penny: Do we get a discount?
Manager: That's right - 25% off everything in the store, although we do make an exception for sale goods, which I'm afraid have no discount.
Penny: Yeah, fine. And I was wondering about pension arrangements?
Manager: You get a good company pension, which our Personnel Manager will be able to explain to you in detail. She's in Room 12 - worth going along to see her.
Penny: And who will I be working under - Mr Appleby?
Manager: The manager of your section is Mrs Waddell. That's W-A-D-D-E-double L ...
Penny: Mrs Waddell. OK, and apart from serving the customers, will I have any other duties?
Manager: Good question. We do ask you to do the window dressing.
Penny: Oh, I'll enjoy that.
Manager: And one of the biggest worries in the boutique is shoplifters, so you have to check for them.
Penny: Will I receive training on that?
Manager: Yes, certainly. That'll be one of the sessions next month. Oh, and we'll be asking you to check stock.
Penny: Right ... yes, course. And is there a particular dress code in the shop?
Manager: Right ... well, we're quite flexible, but what we'd do is ask you to wear a black skirt and the shop will give you a red blouse. We'll also give you a name badge which you must wear all the time.
Penny: Yeah, of course.
Manager: Right. Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?
Penny: No, that's very comprehensive. Thank you.
Manager: Good. So we'll see you on Monday.
Penny: Yes, thank you. Goodbye.
Manager: Goodbye.
You will hear a recorded message giving information about an English hotel.
Welcome to the Bridge Hotel Information Line. The Bridge Hotel is part of the Compact Group, which is a large association of family-owned hotels offering a warm friendly atmosphere and high quality service at competitive prices. All of them cater for a wide range of people - from business to leisure clients.
Set in a quiet residential area on the attractive outskirts of Belford, about three miles from the city centre, the Bridge Hotel is a popular choice for conferences. After recent refurbishment and expansion, it now has 25 double rooms and 20 singles. All 45 are en suite with TV and coffee- and tea-making facilities.
The Bridge Hotel is set in three and a half hectares of grounds with an open-air swimming pool and four tennis courts. There is also a newly opened gym with fitness suite, which is considered one of the best equipped in the area. Non-resident membership is available.
We have a fully licensed restaurant for residents and non-residents, which provides a wide range of dishes with a particular focus on dishes from around the world.
For the discerning business customer, we have designated business rooms with phone links allowing full internet access. Our conference facilities cater for up to 200 delegates and we are able to offer transport to guests to and from Birmingham Airport at a small extra cost.
There now follows information about short break packages.
Welcome to the Bridge Hotel Short Breaks Information Line. We offer three packages: 2-day, 3-day and 5-day.
The 2-day costs £75 per person per night and includes full cooked breakfast and evening entertainment. Very popular for weekend getaways.
The 3-day break costs £60 per person per night and in addition to offers for the 2-day break, includes one 4-course dinner. This allows guests to enjoy the full range of hotel facilities.
The 5-day break costs £52 per person per night and, in addition to offers from the 2- and 3-day breaks, includes free beauty therapy on two days and a full-day pass to a golf club. This package is particularly popular with couples who want a completely relaxing break.
If you would like more information about these special packages, call extension 3469 to speak to our Customer Service Manager, John Martin.
Thank you for calling the Bridge Hotel Information Line.
You will hear two students called Katy and Harry, discussing a project they are both working on.
Katy: Hi, Harry.
Harry: Katy, hi. Look, let's sit down and work out what we've got to do for this next project we've got for the geography course. I'm glad we're doing it together. We should be able to split it between us so it's not too much work!
Katy: Yes, Harry - I had quite a long chat about it with Dr Smith yesterday, so I've got quite a good idea of how we should be organising it. Now, he said we've got to move on from the general project we did on soil erosion and look specifically at coastal change. I think that'll be interesting, don't you?
Harry: Yeah. I was thinking about it last night because we'll have to make sure we pick our days to visit the beaches. It seems there's a reasonable train service to White Sands Bay but the weather could stop us from getting all the samples we need. It could take us longer than we think.
Katy: Hmmm - yeah, but we could save ourselves some time if we try to get hold of any information that's already been collected. I know several post-graduates who have done stuff in White Sands Bay this year, though on other topics. We could check out what the Marine Biology Unit have got - they're bound to have something we could use.
Harry: OK - let's do that this week and arrange to go to the beach next week. I think we'll need about three days. If we book ahead, we can probably stay in the University lodge when we're down there. The other thing is, we must go to the Environment Agency and get permission to take the samples, just in case anyone challenges us when we're down there. I think we'll have to fill out a form or something.
Katy: Right, Harry, now let's work out who's going to do what first, because we have to get it done by the end of this month. I think we ought to divide up the data collection between us.
Harry: What? So only one of us goes to the beach, do you mean?
Katy: No, I think we both ought to get a picture of what's involved, but there's no need for us both to do everything. I mean, when we're at the beach you could go to both ends and make sure we have the set of shots we need to illustrate where erosion has taken place.
Harry: OK, fine.
Katy: And I'll move up the beach and pick up the different stones and put sand in bags. Does that seem fair to you?
Harry: Yeah. OK. Then what about the other stuff? Do you want me to go and do the questionnaires while you're on the beach? We'll get more people that way. Or is it better if we do them together?
Katy: I think that would be better. We could set aside a whole day for it.
Harry: What about the lab work - looking at what we've collected and testing it?
Katy: I don't mind doing it, but I'm pretty slow.
Harry: OK. You can leave that to me.
Katy: Fine.
Harry: Then that leaves us two weeks to write it up ready for the presentation to the class on the 29th. Shall we do the presentation together? Like you do the first bit and me the second? Actually, no - I think that can be a bit muddling for the class. I'd like to do the presentation, if you don't mind.
Katy: Fine by me.
Harry: It's just that it won't affect the marks that you get - I mean it's not like I get more for actually doing it - the tutor will judge it as a whole. But I think I remember them saying at the beginning of the year that we were expected to do three before the end of the year in order to get a satisfactory mark, and I'm one behind, whereas you've already done yours, haven't you? I can see why they put them into the course, because most interviews for jobs demand you do a presentation nowadays.
Katy: Yeah. Does that mean I have to write it up? I think it'll be impossible to do that together.
Harry: Yes. You're very good at that.
Katy: Oh yes! Typical that I get landed with it as usual. Actually, I don't mind. I know we haven't got very long but that's OK. Often I write better when I'm pushed for time - it focuses the mind! But I'll have to have a think about how we present the data, because that won't be straightforward like the rest, so I'd like a bit of help with that ...
Harry: Yeah, sure. Anyway, I was thinking - after we've done the presentation I think it'd be a good idea if we asked our classmates to tell us what they think of our conclusions.
Katy: Well, I dunno. They won't have done the research, so whatever they say would be uninformed.
Harry: I don't agree. I mean, they've all worked on something similar, so they know what's involved and it would be useful to see how they think ours stands up. We'll have to be sure of our ground - make sure we don't make any mistakes in our results or whatever. I don't mean I think they're going to tell us anything new - just give us their thoughts on the process.
Katy: OK. Then I'll deal with the questions at the end. Dr Smith said we would have to prepare thoroughly for this and I'll probably get lots of background stuff in the process of writing up, so I'll be prepared for any surprises! If he's impressed by your presentation then we should do well.
Harry: Right.
You will hear a talk by a university lecturer in Australia on a type of bird called a peregrine falcon.
I'm Professor Sam Richards, and I've come as the third guest lecturer on this course in Australian birds of prey. My job is to keep a watchful scientific eye on the state of Tasmanian peregrines, so I'll start by giving you some background to these magnificent birds of prey before I speak briefly on my own project.
Peregrine falcons are found on all continents with the exception of Antarctica. So don't go looking for them at the South Pole. They are found almost everywhere in Australia and it's interesting to note that the name, peregrine, implies that they are wanderers - that they move from place to place following the seasons - and indeed, in most parts of the world they are migratory birds. But not in Australia, however, where they prefer to stay in one place.
They are known to be the world's fastest creature and they have been tracked by radar diving down towards the ground at 180 km an hour. However, a number of textbooks claim that their flight speed can go as high as 350 km an hour, so there is still some dispute about just how fast they can actually fly.
Female peregrine falcons, like all other Australian falcons, are larger than their male counterparts; in fact the female is almost a third larger than the male in the case of peregrines. While she stays close to the nest to protect the eggs and the young chicks, the male is mostly occupied looking for food.
Peregrines typically lay two or three eggs per nest and, after the eggs have hatched, when the chicks are about 20 days old, they start to fly. So they fly at a very young age. By the time they are just 28 days old, they have already reached full adult size; in other words, they are fully grown. Soon after this, at about two months after hatching from the egg, they leave the nest for good. From this point on they're on their own. Unlike their parents, which have learned how to hunt, the young falcons are not good at feeding themselves and so during the first year about 60% of them die. Once the birds have managed to live to breeding age, at two years old, they generally go on to live for another six or seven years.
When we come across nests with young chicks, the first thing we do is catch the chicks before they are able to fly. We have to catch them at an early age. We then attach identification rings to their legs. These rings are made of colour-coded aluminium and they allow us to identify the birds through binoculars later in their lives. Thirdly, because we need to know how many males and how many female chicks are being born, we note the sex of the chicks. Noting the sex of the birds is a vital part of our research, as I will discuss later. The next thing to do is to take a blood sample from the chicks. We take the blood sample so that we can check the level of pesticide in their bodies. Peregrine falcons can build dangerous quantities of pesticides in their blood stream by feeding on smaller mammals which in turn feed on crops, grown on farms where pesticides are used. Finally we check the birds thoroughly, really checking the birds for their general health. This whole process only takes a few minutes; in fact, most of our time in the field is actually spent trying to find the nests, not on the data collection itself.
Well, that's all I have for you today. If you'd like to do some further reading ...