Woman: The production department have got their best people working on it, but it means we won't be able to meet the target for the European launch that was supposed to be next month.
Man: Next month! That's close.
Woman: It certainly is. There's an emerging plan to try to save the programme, and they've set up a task force based in Berlin. I'm part of it, so I've got to go out there. Man: Right. I'll tell Jamie.
Woman: Good. I'll be in touch as soon as I can, but he must try to hold everything for now. Man: OK. Good luck.
Woman: Thanks. I'll need it.
Test2-Part One(3) （第14期）
Conversation Three.
Woman: Leon, it's Emily. About the web development, we had a meeting while you were away ... Man: Yuh.
Woman: Actually, it was interesting to find out the current situation. The website is still underused. It's getting some hits from customers, though not as many as from agents abroad. Man: Oh?
Woman: Don't worry. Customers will come on board as the net grows. But what we have to concentrate on is making the site more appealing to suppliers, so they have a better picture of what we are about. Man: More inclusive ...
Woman: There's a working party looking into that. Meanwhile, there's a couple of small changes.
Since the brochures are going out with the new logo on them, we thought that it should be posted on the site too. Man: Makes sense ...
Woman: And the present set of links, group companies and international businesses news bulletin, will also include the Enterprise Board. It's a two-way process，so we should get hits from there too.
Man: Yes . . . I'd also wondered about...
Test2-Part Two(1) （第15期）
Thirteen
Once I needed to replace our office chairs, so I compared products in several manufacturers' brochures, chose the model that best suited our purposes, and ordered ten of them. Well, they were supposed to be delivered within twenty-eight days, and when they finally arrived, practically at the last minute in fact, we found that the description in the brochure had given quite a false impression of them. We sent them back, and had a lot of trouble with the manufacturer. Fourteen
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I run a small beauty salon, just the one site, so my orders are quite small quantities compared with the big chains. But I still expect my suppliers to provide a high level of customer service. And with all the packaging that's available these days, it should be easy enough to ensure consignments are properly protected, but more than once I've had to return goods because when they arrived they weren't in a fit state to be used. Fifteen
We're a small printing firm, so of course we get regular supplies of ink and paper. The way it works, we sign a contract with a supplier for a year at a time, and they send the same quantity each month,unless we phone to change it, of course. Well, one year we didn't renew the contract with our regular ink supplier, but the month after it expired, they sent the usual order. We weren't impressed. I must say. Sixteen
I'm responsible for centralised ordering for a multi-site organisation we're a chain of builders' merchants and it's amazing how often suppliers get confused. Of course we double check the paperwork before sending it to them, but even so, things happen like the time bathroom equipment arrived at head office instead of one of the branches, which was desperate for the goods. And once, boxes of mouse mats meant for head office turned up along with window frames and bricks. Seventeen
I'm a store manager in a chain that sells arts and crafts equipment. Our central warehouse orders goods boxed up in small amounts ready to go straight onto the shelves of the stores. For example, poster paints usually come in boxes of ten. Everything's then distributed to the branches when it's required. But in the last delivery, the warehouse received the right number of pens, but in boxes of a thousand! It took ages to sort it out.
Test2-Part Two(2) （第16期）
Eighteen:
I can tell you from my own experience that the most important thing in project management is not to try to do everything yourself. That'll lead to problems sooner rather than later. You must plan which tasks you really need to do yourself and then delegate responsibility for each of the other tasks to others. You should of course, make sure the members of your team have the initiative and flexibility necessary for such responsibilities. Nineteen:
I think, it's absolutely crucial that all the people to whom you've delegated responsibilities should get together at least once a month so that you can all share information about how your own bits of the project are going. If you don't do that, then it's easy to assume something has been done by someone else when it hasn't after all，not everyone has the same level of motivation. Email contact is great, of course, but nothing beats face-to-face communication. Twenty:
You have to get off to a good start which means you have to be absolutely clear about what your aims are right from the start. These should be discussed with the team and should be put in writing so that everyone shares full knowledge about the precise parameters of the project. I know from several projects I've been involved with that confusion about goals often leads to problems early on，problems which could very easily have been prevented.
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Twenty-one:
When you're working on a new project，you have to delegate, of course. But, if anything starts to go wrong you should handle it yourself. As project manager, it is up to you to keep a close eye on how things are progressing. You should try to predict any difficulties and sort them out immediately so the project can move on. There are many tasks that can be handed over to other people, but not this. Twenty-two:
Planning things in detail is，of course, vital. However, it makes sense to ensure that your initial plan incorporates a degree of adaptability. You and your project team can't assume that circumstances will stay the same for ever, and so it makes sense for your plan not to be so rigid that it cannot take account of any developments and changes in circumstance. It should not, of course, need to stray from its basic objectives.
Test2-Part Three(1) （第17期）
Good afternoon, Donald. Your book. The Successful Board Meeting, will, I'm sure, soon be compulsory reading for directors. Please tell us first what you see as the chief role of the board meeting. Do people attending them really play the power games we see in TV dramas? That can happen, of course. Certainly, people who don5t attend them are often cynical about board meetings. The tendency is to see them as a place where fat cats congratulate each other on their success. But that public perception is false they're actually far more frequently used as the place where new strategic ideas are discussed.
So what advice would you give a company wanting to make board meetings more successful? Is it just a matter of making sure the right people are on the board?
That's certainly important. As well as having someone who is skilled at chairing meetings effectively. But, I'm with a chairman I heard about the other day - he cancelled a board meeting because the papers weren't ready. It is no good inviting people to a meeting when they haven't got time to consider the issues in advance. Then the meeting will be more effective, won't it?
That's right. It also saves time as the presenters at the meeting don't have to formally present the conclusions of their report and can instead focus on fielding any questions that arise. This means there'll be more time for the chair to lead a more productive discussion of any issues raised by the report in general.
Test2-Part Three(2) （第18期）
You've mentioned the chair several times. Obviously the choice of chairperson is crucial to a board's effectiveness.
Who do you think makes the best chair?
The role of the chair is to support the chief executive and help him do the best job possible but not to do it for him.
Often an outgoing executive takes on the role of the chair,
but they can find it a difficult part to play if they are not really ready yet to give up the reins so I'd go for someone who's heading for the top.
An inexperienced business person, though, is a bit of a risk as the skills needed by a chair do have to be learnt.
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What qualities and skills does the chair need then?
It has to be someone who can resist the desire to impose his own will on the board.
He must ensure all opinions are covered and must be able to keep people calm at stressful moments.
He should be able to point out the strengths in any argument and help the board come to the best decision possible.
I suppose the agenda is another important factor in running a successful meeting?
Yes, it's extraordinary how little time is devoted to prioritising what goes on the agenda. It's often drawn up by a secretary from a standard list because the people attending the meeting are supposedly spending their time focusing on more important matters.
Test2-Part Three(3) （第19期）
I think many senior executives think it's an administrative matter that is beneath them. So what's you suggest?
Well, for a start, it can be more sensible to think through agendas on an annual rather than an individual meeting basis
so that routine issues are on the agenda for just a couple of the year's meetings rather than for every one of them.
A lot of routine points are there because they are always there and people then get bogged down discussing those with the result
that there isn't enough time to discuss what really needs to be talked through at this high level.
Any other key advice you'd give?
Well, yes, I'd remind people that what happens after the meeting is of great importance too. A meeting is only as good as its follow-up.
Ideally, minutes should be distributed within twenty-four hours of the meeting both to people who were at the meeting and those who were not able to attend.
Otherwise people who were there won't be able to check whether the minutes represent a true and accurate version of what was said.
And they must be accurate so they can be signed off quickly at the next board meeting. Thank you.
Test3-Part One(1) （第20期）
Woman： Hello. Jackson's Associates. Man: Oh, hi! It's me, James. James Horrocks. Woman： Oh, James! Where are you?
Man: I'm on the train but I'm still in London! There's been a long delay and I'm going to be very late, so I'm going to have to reschedule my morning. Could you deal with it all for me? Woman： Sure.
Man: I've got a meeting at half past ten with John Row of APF.
Woman： What do you want me to do about it? Shall I try to get him to come later? Man: That meeting will have to be cancelled or the whole morning's schedule will be impossible. Woman: Right.
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Man: Now, I'd also called a marketing meeting for eleven thirty. Could you give everyone a later time? Um，let's make it twelve thirty.
Woman: OK then.
Man: And as it'll be lunch time，could you call Jim Davis to arrange a lunch venue? People won't mind a late meeting if we offer them food! Woman： OK.
Man： Oh, and, um, also, I won't have time to see Freda Bell when I finally get into the office. Could you email her for me? Otherwise, she'll think I've forgotten. Woman: Fine. OK. Anything else?
Man： Nothing at the moment. See you soon，I hope. Woman: OK. Bye.
Test3-Part One(2) （第21期）
Hello, John, it's Christine. I've just looked through the revised slides for your presentation, and they're now much better. I've got a couple of general comments.
You thought there might be too many slides. I don't think that's a problem, though several would be improved if you replaced the statistics. A few words would be easier to take in. Then don't the slides strike you as looking rather dull and predictable? The content is fine, but the design needs some variety. Maybe adding a few animations would help.
And two quite specific points. Something seems to have gone wrong in slide three. The graph is fine, but I can't make sense of the bar chart. It doesn't bear any relation to what's gone before, or after.
And finally, I remember we discussed the grammar mistake you had in slide six, and youVe dealt with that, but if you have another look, I'm sure you'll notice the spelling error that's crept in.
OK, once you've dealt with that, it'll be fine. Goodbye.
Test3-Part One(3) （第22期）
Woman: Hello?
Man: It's Peter here from Personnel. The applications for the Publicity Co-ordinator post how do you want us to sort them?
Woman: First, could you look at the qualifications, and reject those who haven't done media studies. We can do IT training ourselves if necessary. Man: Right.
Woman: Then the second time around, take a look at the Previous Experience section. Man: Yes.
Woman: And pick out the ones who've worked as part of a project team before. Man: In a similar company?
Woman: At this stage it doesn't matter whether it's in a service industry or any other kind. Man: OK. And did you want me to arrange interview dates yet? I'll need to book the rooms well ahead.
Woman: I'll do that when you've decided on the final list. Before the interviews, can you get references for each of the candidates? Don't bother asking for copies of their certificates yet. Man： No problem. and what shall I do with their applications?
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Woman: Can you forward them to section heads? They'll probably sort them a bit more before they go to the marketing manager. Man: I'll do that before I.
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