第八期 2010年6月真题 长对话(3/6)

Conversation One

W: What sort of hours do you work, Steve?

M: Well, I have to work very long hours, about 11 hours a day.

W: What time do you start?

M: I work 9:00 to 3:00, then I start again at 5:30 and work until 11:00, six days a week.

So I have to work very unsocial hours.

W: And do you have to work at the weekend?

M: Oh, yes, that's our busiest time. I get Wednesdays off.

W: What are the things you have to do and the things you don't have to do?

M: Uh, I don't have to do the washing-up, so that's good.

I have to wear white, and I have to keep everything in the kitchen totally clean.

W: What's hard about the job?

M: You are standing up all the time. When we are busy, people get angry and sharp, but that's normal.

W: How did you learn the profession?

M: Well, I did a two-year course at college.

In the first year, we had to learn the basics, and then we had to take exams.

W: Was it easy to find a job?

M: I wrote to about six hotels and one of them gave me my first job,so I didn't have to wait too long.

W: And what's the secret of being good at your job?

M: Attention to detail. You have to love it. You have to show passion for it.

W: And what are your plans for the future?

M: I want to have my own place when the time is right.

Conversation Two

W: Now you've seen this table of figures about the pocket money children in Britain get?

M: Yes. I thought it was quite interesting, but I don't quite understand the column entitled Change.

Can you explain what it means?

W: Well, I think it means the change from the year before.

I'm not a mathematician, but I assume the rise from 72p to 90p is a rise of 25%.

M: Oh, yes, I see. And the inflation rate is there for comparison.

W: Yes. Why do you think the rise in pocket money is often higher than inflation?

M: I am sorry. I've no idea. Perhaps parents in Britain are too generous.

W: Perhaps they are.But it looks as if children were a lot better off in 2001 than they were in 2002.

That's strange, isn't it? And they seem to have been better off in 2003 than they are now.

That's strange, isn't it? And they seem to have been better off in 2003 than they are now.

I wonder why that is.

M: Yes, I don't understand that at all.

W: Anyway, if you had children, how much pocket money would you give them?

M: I don't know. I think I'll probably give them￡2 a week.

W: Would you? And what would you expect them to do with it?

M: Well, out of that, they have to buy some small personal things,

but I wouldn't expect them to save to buy their own socks, for example.

W: Yes, by the way, do most children in your country get pocket money?

M: Yeah, they do.