Practice English Listening C1 Exercises – So you think we should break up?

A

a client of TSW Media

B

1   her working relationship with Artur; the customer service

2   The main reason is because they’re offering her company a 20% discount. They’ve also promised they will provide personalized service and have assigned an experienced designer to their account.

3   He offers to sweeten the pot by providing a 10% discount on all projects. He reminds her of their strong working relationship, and good customer service. He is polite, and not too pushy. He offers to speak with her again should things not work out with the new company.

Artur:   Hello, Amy. I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.

Amy:   Sure, Artur. It’s the least I can do, considering the situation. I’ve been working with you and with TSW Media for ten years!

Artur:   Yes, well actually, that’s why I wanted to meet. I know you said that you’d made up your mind about going with another design company, but I’m hoping there is some way I can persuade you to reconsider.

Amy:   I wish I could say yes, but I’m afraid this is out of my hands. You know I’ve always enjoyed working with you.

Artur:   That’s why I was so surprised by your decision. I’m wondering if there is anything we can do to sweeten the pot.

Amy:   In the end, it really came down to one simple factor: cost. The new agency is charging us 20% less.

Artur:   Well, I’ve spoken to our director, and we do have some wiggle room on pricing. We’re prepared to offer you a 10% reduction on all projects.

Amy:   That’s very generous of you, but I’m afraid we’re still too far apart. Even with the discount, our cost would be 10% more if we stayed with you.

Artur:   Yes, but what about customer service? I think you’ll agree that we have top-notch service.

Amy:   I couldn’t agree more, and I raised that with the new agency. They’ve assured us that they will provide personalized service. In fact, they’ve already assigned a very experienced designer to our account.

Artur:   I see.

Amy:   I’m sorry, Artur, you know how much I’ve enjoyed working with you, but I’m afraid you’re not going to be able to talk us into staying. It‘s simply a question of money.

Artur:   OK, if there’s really nothing more we can do, I’m not going to twist your arm.

Amy:   I appreciate you not doing that! That would hurt! Seriously, though, I am sorry. From my perspective, not being able to work with you is the worst thing about all this.

Artur:   Thanks for saying that. And thanks again for talking to me today. If things don’t work out, you know where to reach me.

Amy:   Thanks, Artur. Take care.

Artur:   You too, Amy.

A

b

B

A:   Good morning. On today’s episode of Love in the 21st Century, we’re sharing our worst breakup stories. Do you have a story to share? Give us a call or text us your story of love gone bad. First up, we have Lena. Hi, Lena, what’s your story?

B:   So I met this guy Lucas on an online dating service. I’d gone out with him a couple of times, but it just wasn’t working for me. I wanted to let him down easy…you know, I didn’t want to be a jerk, but I couldn’t think of what to say, so I asked a good friend for advice. Having had tons of experience with online dating, she told me what always worked for her. She would message them and say, “I don’t think I’m the right person for you.” That sounded a little wishy-washy to me, but I figured she had more experience, so I went for it. Almost immediately, Lucas shot me an angry text, asking me how I could possibly know what was best for him!

A:   So, what did you do?

B:   I wrote him back saying, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear. In fact, I am sure that you are not the right person for me.”

A:   So much for letting him down easy! So that’s Lena’s story, about the perils of dating apps. Up next is Max. You’re on the air.

C:   OK, so I had this girlfriend Sara who was really into pottery—you know, making pots and plates and stuff. I always thought her pottery was really, really ugly. But, you know, I loved her, so I had her stuff all over my apartment. Anyway, one day she leaves me for another guy. I was furious, and to get back at her, I took all those hideous plates and pots and threw them onto my patio. Well, you won’t believe this, but not a single one broke! So, I didn’t even get the satisfaction of smashing that stuff up! Unlike our relationship, it turns out they were unbreakable.

A:   That’s a good one, Max. OK, up next is Trudy. What’s your story?

D:   Well there was this guy, Dan, who I thought was just a good friend, you know, someone to hang out with? We did some stuff together, but nothing romantic or anything, just friends, you know? Well one day he calls me all serious and asks me to go for a walk on the beach. I thought maybe he wanted to talk to me about girl trouble, or something. But when we get to the beach, he tells me things aren’t working out for us. He really wants to stay friends, but he needs to break up with me.

A:   Wait a minute—I thought you said you weren’t going out with him?

D:   Exactly! That’s what I thought, but somehow he had the idea we were dating. The girl trouble was me!

A:   So you got dumped by someone you weren’t even dating?

D:   You’ve got it!

A:   Wow, that’s a good one! A story about having been dumped without even knowing you were going out…

A

Possible answer: It’s time to break up the world’s largest tech companies. They’re killing growth, stifling innovation, affecting the global job market, lowering wages, and breaching our privacy.

B

C

The speaker is arguing against monopolization in the technology industry.

Techniques used to make the argument persuasive include: Rule of three—The speaker gives three clear examples to emphasize her argument. These are explained in detail and listed concisely in the concluding paragraph.

Rhetoric—The speaker uses rhetorical questions, such as “Guess who’ll be lobbying against those bills?”, to provoke an emotional response from the listener.

Direct address— The speaker uses inclusive pronouns, as in “…and perhaps the one that affects all of us the most in our day-to-day lives.” This makes the listener feel involved and personally affected by the issue.

Fair and Healthy Competition

The fortunes of big, U.S.-based tech companies have a huge effect on economies and everyday lives, not just in the U.S., but around the world. Today, I want to talk about why these companies should be broken up. Before I get to that, though, I want to talk a little about competition in business. Let me ask you this. Why does competition matter?

Well, competition is important because it leads to innovation. New companies come along with new ideas, which prompts older firms to innovate, or risk losing their market share. In the U.S., there are laws meant to protect this process by ensuring that power is distributed and that healthy competition is promoted.

These laws have worked well in some industries, but have failed in others, most notably the technology industry, where only a few corporations monopolize global markets. The largest social media company, for instance, has nearly a 70% share of the market. When it comes to internet browsers, the largest has a 92% market share. That’s worldwide. This level of monopolization is damaging not just to the U.S., but to the global economy.

The problem is that these monopolies are powerful enough to stifle competition. The average number of start-ups created each year has almost halved since 1980, while the average size of tech businesses has increased. Because small startups tend to create new jobs, this can negatively affect employment rates. According to labor economists, the lack of new startups also affects salaries. They reported a correlation between market competition and working conditions. When companies don’t have to compete for workers, people earn less and are deterred from switching jobs. Monopolies create these conditions.

But what happens to the small number of startups that do get off the ground? Well, they get bought. Big companies use their economic clout to buy out potential competitors. One of the world’s largest internet firms has acquired more than 200 startups since it was founded. As a result, these large tech firms own the patents to most innovations in the industry. They can dictate how, and when, markets evolve, and they benefit financially from any changes.

1. Monopolies—and the resulting lack of competition—affect working and market conditions. What else? Well, to me, this is the most frustrating thing: They don’t play by the rules. As I mentioned earlier, the U.S. has laws meant to prevent unfair practices such as takeovers or mergers that would lead to monopolization. The trouble is, when the U.S. government tries to regulate these companies, they’re able to exert power by lobbying. That is, they try to influence government decisions for their own benefit. Last year, tech firms spent $64 million lobbying the U.S. government, fighting against regulations which would not work in their favor. In my opinion, these firms are manipulative and controlling, and at times they act unethically.

That brings me to my final point, and perhaps the one that affects all of us the most in our day-to-day lives. Tech companies gather an immense amount of data from their global users. Recently, one company harvested the data of nearly 80 million people and targeted them with political ads. But, companies have a responsibility to protect the data they gather, don’t they? Well, policymakers are working on regulations to protect people’s personal data, but guess who’ll be lobbying against those bills?

I believe it’s simply time to break up the world’s largest tech companies. They’re killing growth, stifling innovation, affecting the global job market, lowering wages, and breaching our privacy. Fair and healthy competition benefits everyone, but there’s nothing fair and healthy about monopolies.

A

Possible answer: It might be an article from a charity website. It might explain what the plastic crisis is, and perhaps what the charity is doing to deal with the crisis. I expect to read statistics about how bad the plastic waste crisis is.

B

1   One of the major causes is plastic produced for packaging, such as plastic bags.

2   The environmental impacts of landfills, such as air pollution, makes them unsuitable for disposing of plastics in the long term. In addition, they don’t prevent plastics from entering the oceans in the first place.

3   cups, bowls, straws, packaging

4   carry a water bottle; use reusable bags for shopping; avoid using disposable utensils and kitchenware; avoid any single-use products (i.e., disposable pens)

PLASTIC POLLUTION EMERGENCY

The global plastic waste crisis is much worse than you think. Imagine 700 plastic bags being produced every year for every single person on the planet. Imagine the amount of plastic outweighing the number of fish in the ocean by the year 2050. It’s almost unimaginable, but it’s happening.

Around 9 million tons of plastic finds its way into the ocean every year. Nearly 700 species of plants and animals have been affected by this, including some endangered species. The Great Pacific Garbage patch, a spiral of floating marine debris full of plastic waste and trash, is currently estimated to cover over 1,550,000 square kilometers of ocean. That is three times the size of Thailand. The damage is profound. This is not a problem that will go away on its own. But we do have some viable options to combat this threat to our oceans.

Collecting plastics is one option, and cleanups are happening daily. However, this doesn’t prevent plastic from entering the world’s oceans in the first place. Another complication is that collecting plastics can increase the need for landfills. Experts highlight that the environmental impact of landfills, such as air pollution, makes them unsuitable in the long term.

Recycling plastics is another option. Institutions, governments, and organizations are already working together to introduce initiatives that promote public recycling. These range from small-scale changes like creating green office spaces to creating policies that ensure companies mitigate any environmental harm they cause due to plastic waste.

But perhaps a better approach to dealing with the crisis involves rethinking our attitude towards plastic overall. If people opt to use biodegradable and reusable plastics, then the global plastic crisis may become manageable, with only minimal changes to our own lifestyles.

Various companies have produced plant-based plastics, or bioplastics, for use around the world. Avani Eco, a company based in Bali, has received publicity for its production of plant-based bioplastic bags, which are fully biodegradable. Minima, Asia’s leading provider of bioplastics, produces a whole range of goods, such as cups, bowls, and straws, using only naturally derived polymers. The Thai-owned company NatureWorks™ uses greenhouse gases as the raw material for plastic production.

When it comes to dealing with the plastic crisis, any action is better than none. However, it may be that the long-term solution lies in the production of bioplastics as an alternative to single-use plastics that cannot be disposed of easily.

1 to have upset   2 to have stayed

3 having dated Tim   4 having been dumped by

5 to have traveled   6 to have been fired

1

A:   What’s up with Min-ji and Eric?

B:   Who knows? They were talking this morning. I guess he said something that upset her, and now she’s refusing to answer his calls.

2

A:   How was the movie, Rita?

B:   It was a silly romance. I didn’t like it very much. I wish I had just stayed home.

3

A:   Hey, Jessica. Sorry to hear about your breakup.

B:   It’s OK. Tim will always be a good friend. I don’t regret our relationship, but I feel bad about hurting his feelings.

4

A:   I heard Omar and Heidi broke up. Omar seems really upset about it.

B:   I don’t think he wanted to be in the relationship. He’s just angry because she broke up with him first.

5

A:   When did you and Mateo get married, Sara?

B:   Back when we were in college. I don’t regret marrying Mateo, of course. But I wish I had waited a little longer and spent more time traveling during my university years.

6

A:   Are you concerned at all about this new manager?

B:   Well, yes, everyone is. Did you hear she just fired Caleb? That’s the third person she’s fired this week!