英语听力精选进阶版 14794

English at Work 

Episode¹ 8: Room 301 

Giving praise 

Paul:  Good afternoon. 

Anna & Tom: Hi, good afternoon. 

Paul:  Anna, Tom, room 301 please. Now. 

Narrator:  Welcome back to Tip Top Trading, where things are a teeny bit tense 

today. Paul has called Tom and Anna into room 301, the place where 

difficult conversations happen. Perhaps Paul has found out about 

yesterday's unhappy clients. 

Anna:  Oh dear. 

Narrator:  You should be okay Anna. After the way you coped with Mr Lime², you 

should be praised. 

Anna:  Really? What do you think Paul will say? 

Narrator:  Well, if he is pleased, he'll say things like: 

 Well done.  

  You handled it well. 

  Great job.  

  I'm really impressed. 

Anna:   And if he's not? 

Narrator:  Well, I suppose – oop. Here’s Paul now!  

Paul:  Well, Tom, Anna... Yesterday was not a great day. Two clients came in with 

serious complaints. Mrs Kumquat received a delivery of imitation³ bananas 

that were purple, not very convincing. And Mr Lime ordered grapefruits, 

but got pineapples. Tom. 

Tom:  Yes. 

Paul:  Were you responsible for these errors? 

Tom:  Well... yes, but… 

Paul:  Look, mistakes happen. But it seems that Mrs Kumquat left our offices 

even angrier than when she came in and she says she will never use Tip 

Top Trading again. 

Tom:  I tried my best. 

Paul:   Hmmm. I understand you told her to spray-paint the bananas and to 'stop 

being such a miserable⁴ old witch'.  

Tom:  Yeah, well look, she'd been very rude to me. 

Paul:  If you weren't such a good salesman I would fire you for that. Anna. 

Anna:  Yes. 

Paul:  Well done. Not only was Mr Lime satisfied that his problem would be 

resolved, but we might even get some extra business from him, thanks to 

your Imperial⁵ Lemon proposal.  

Anna:  I hope so.  

Paul:  You were in a difficult situation and you handled it well. You remained 

calm, friendly and professional. So, great job. I'm really impressed. I'm 

going to… 

(phone rings) 

Paul:  Who's that? Oh no. It's a call from the USA. 

Tom:  Oh god! 

Anna:  What? 

Tom:  It’s the boss! 

Anna:   Whose boss? 

Tom:   Ours! The big, big boss, based in America. 

Paul:   Shhhh! (on the phone) Hellooo? Ah, good afternoon Mr Socrates, I mean, 

er- morning, ha ha, where you are it's … yes, no, n-yes …. I'm not sure. 

Mrs Kumquat … did she? … well, it was very unfortunate …. purple, yes …. 

totally unacceptable …. I will. If you'd like I could …. Mr Socrates? Hello? 

Mr Socrates? Oh, he's gone. 

   Right where was I? Tom, great work. Anna, I'm disappointed. No, no, 

Anna, great work, I want you to take charge of the Imperial Lemon 

presentation. Tom, if you speak to a client like that again there will be 

disciplinary action. Mrs Kumquat was so angry she even emailed Mr 

Socrates. Ok, that’s it. 

Narrator:  Phew! What a relief for Anna. Let's listen again to some of the phrases Paul 

used to praise her: 

Well done.  

You were in a difficult situation and you handled it well.  

So, great job. I'm really impressed. 

  He also explained why he thought Anna had done a good job: 

You remained calm, friendly and professional.   

  Excellent work Anna. But Tom's mistakes have given everyone a lot of  

  work to do tomorrow. 

Paul:   First thing tomorrow we need to sort this mess out. Tom, I want you to 

phone every single client and check the orders. Anna, you can go to the 

warehouse⁶ and find out what's going on in there!   

·  Listening comprehension question 

In which country is the ‘big boss’ of Tip Top Trading based? 

America / United States 

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 lime   

n.石灰，酸橙，酸橙树，粘鸟胶，钙；vt.施石灰，涂上粘性物质，沾上粘鸟胶

参考例句：

• Lime exists in many soils.许多土壤中都含有石灰。
• A broad avenue of lime trees led up to a grand entrance with huge oak doors.一条栽有酸橙树的宽阔林阴道通向巨大的橡木门的雄伟入口。

3 imitation   

n.模仿；仿制，仿制品；赝品

参考例句：

• It's not real leather;it's only an imitation.那不是真皮，只不过是仿制品。
• Young children learn how to speak by imitation.儿童通过模仿学说话。

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 imperial   

adj.帝王的，至尊的；n.特等品

参考例句：

• They made an objection to the imperial system with resolution.他们坚决反对帝制。
• The Prince Imperial passed away last night.皇太子昨晚去世了。

6 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。