[pause]</p>Now listen to the recording again.
" Q" S# N$ T% v7 @* Y1 ^6 Q+ y[pause]
C$ Y4 _* ?4 S$ p+ S' VThat is the end of Part One. You now have 20 seconds to check your answers.
/ S6 S1 e) j1 i v9 Y[pause] E; s% f# f. T: E0 k& i* s( q0 Z
: @& b8 J9 f5 D5 N( yPart Two. Questions 13 to 22.You will hear five different people talking about the companies they work for.5 ~7 \0 d( T# T0 K
For each extract, there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question, 13-17, choose the recent change in the company the person mentions, from the list A-H. Now look at Task Two. For each question, 18-22, choose the strength of the company the person mentions from the list A-H.
3 l' D0 _& [9 [& D+ nAfter you have listened once, replay the recording.
) @6 m8 o6 ]1 s m0 m: e/ F4 rYou now have 30 seconds to read the two lists.
. N$ @( a* d4 J. k5 F; j[pause]
, x G U1 [2 y7 \' JNow listen, and do the two tasks.; d# o$ q% G, Q
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Speaker One
* s) q. e/ X' u1 [- p j0 z: CMan: There seem to have been so many changes already this year.., it’s hard to keep up, to keep taking things on board. The CEO’s nothing if not dynamic, that’s for sure! Well, they say this new system will work better, compared to the previous one, with its habit of crashing the network on a weekly basis. It’s certainly been tough, battling to meet our performance targets, only to find your PC can’t access anything all afternoon. It’s just so frustrating! So let’s hope it proves to be one innovation that’s of real benefit, that helps us help clients with what they need.., because that’s what we’re best at, the front line, and I hope we never lose sight of that. Satisfying them is what’s rewarding, after all.
' X, x2 D' J) r6 jSpeaker Two
7 v0 \$ q7 M }- A8 c. T. t; \Woman: It always comes down to people in the end, and that’s why keeping staff happy is so crucial to success. We have to have a culture of creativity, of imagination, to keep improving. Our growth and profits come from our ability to keep bringing out new models, new features, that keep us ahead, and of course, those ideas all come from people. That’s why I think this latest in-company development makes sense. Instead of having different people spread about in different departments all over the company, while trying to think in related ways, it’s much better to group them in one section, especially since we’ve got the space. I think it’s a good example of intelligent management - proper strategic thinking at its best. I’ll be very interested to see what fresh angles come out of the new set-up.9 h& W8 |/ E5 ?+ v. X7 T
Speaker Three
& i! L1 ^5 M) E" vMan: Well, yes, it’s very much in line with the way we usually go about things, so I’m sure it’ll prove to be a change for the better. I mean, if we’re saying we want to monitor things, to relate achievement to targets and so on, then of course we should be looking to have more aspects tied in and programmed. It’s only fair that the sales staff should become involved in the setting of targets in the first place, so that’s a useful improvement, which’ll make them feel more accountable for results. I also think it could have an impact on how they deal with their customers, because they’ll have more of a stake. We’ve always been good at bringing staff on, providing attractive career paths, quarterly bonuses and so on, that keep them motivated.1 N+ d0 |& f, ], d' C$ E% i' s
Speaker Four7 C" z, i* g( W' q: P# ?( G' |
Woman: Well, in a small company like ours, everything has to count for something, otherwise we’ll sink.., competition’s so tight now, we have to be sure that we’re doing the right thing. Without scale, we’re never going to be able to compete on price - that’s just a fact of life - but where we’ve always been good, I think, is on getting our name noticed out there. Ingenious promotions, placements, high-profile local sponsorship, that kind of thing.., it all adds up. And I think they’ve put the right person in charge this time. John’s skills will transfer very well from his old section, and his IT knowledge is second to none, which will come in very handy here as we battle away with our rather antiquated computers!3 L" o' V2 f9 u* v# M6 Z' p( o6 J
Speaker Five |