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Monday, May 14, 2012

Office Conversation



A. Talking about Jobs

  • I’m a trainee.
  • I work for a large company.
  • I do the sales ledger.
  • I’m in the accounts section.
  • I’ve been there for six years
  • I don’t like my job.
  • It’s a good job/interesting/well paid.
  • What do you do?
  • What’s your job?
  • What do you do for a living?
  • Who do you work for?
  • Is it interesting/hard work/well paid?

B. Talking about work routines

  • We start at 8:30 and finish at 4:30
  • We normally work from 8 till 5
  • We don’t work on Saturdays
  • We have forty minutes for lunch
  • I do a lot of travelling.
  • I spend a lot of time on paper work.
  • We are busy at the end of the month.
  • We get four weeks holiday a year.
  • Where do you work?

C. Talking about personnel

  • My boss is the sales manager.
  • I work under him.
  • There are six of us in my department.
  • The others are mostly women.
  • It’s a (friendly) department/section.
  • There are 600 people in all.
  • The company has 600 employees.
  • (He’s) out of work/unemployed.
  • There are a thousand skilled workers here.
  • She’s looking for a job.

D. Talking about Quitting and Finding Jobs

  • How did you find your new job?
  • I went to an employment agency
  • Was it worth it to do it that way?
  • Yes. They were able to get me something good right away.
  • I think I’m going to change jobs.
  • What do you want to do that for?
  • There’s not enough chance to get ahead here.
  • But don’t forget you’re getting a pretty good salary.
  • Did it take you long to apply for a job?
  • Too long in my opinion.
  • What did you have to do?
  • Speak to people, fill out forms, and wait.
  • Is Mary going to quit  her job next month?
  • No. She’s going to quit next April.
  • Are her parents going to support her then?
  • No. She isn’t going to ask them for any money.

E. Office Conversations

  • Do you receive many enquiries about your product?
  • Yes. There are a good number every day.
  • You can’t answer all of them personally, can you?
  • No. Unless they’re obviously important, we send back a formal letter.
  • What did you spend all your time on today?
  • Checking the annual report.
  • Was everything in it all right?
  • No. I discovered several errors.
  • How is the mail handled?
  • The executive secretary opens it and sorts it out.
  • Is any record kept of incoming mail?
  • Yes. Everything is entered in the mail register.
  • I’d like to dictate a letter to the Reliance Company.
  • Just a moment please, while I get my shorthand notepad.
  • Would you also bring me the previous correspondence with them?
  • I’ve already placed the file on your desk.
 

SPOKEN ENGLISH