Exit Test Audio Script

Track 7
1

A Head office say they want the sales information for all our subsidiaries as soon as possible.
B Well, so far I’m afraid I have only been able to get sales figures for Europe.
A Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you realise how important this is?
B I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was that urgent.
A Look. Could you just tell me when you’ll have it ready by?
2

A Shall we go over these figures again before we send them to the accounts department?
B I don’t think that’s really necessary. They look pretty good to me.
A Well, I’m not so sure about that. I’d like to be certain that there are no major errors.
B I’m afraid I don’t have the time to do that right now. Why don’t you check them yourself?
3

A We still haven’t found what’s causing the system to fail like that. We’ve tried everything.
B That’s too bad. It’s already caused us a lot of delays.
A Yeah, I understand that. So, what would you advise me to do?
B I don’t know. How about arranging a meeting with the people who installed the software?
A Good idea. I’ll do just that.
4

A I have to make a presentation to the directors about how we can improve our information
system.
B Well, there’s plenty to say about that.
A I know. That’s exactly the problem. If you were in my position, what would you say?
B I think I’d just focus on the plans for the new network. I’d show them that chart we
prepared.
A Oh, right. Do you have any idea what we did with that?
B I have a copy on my computer. I’ll send it to you.

Track 8

I wouldn’t say that the Google IPO was really all that successful even if they did raise $1.7 billion
from the sale of almost 20 million stocks. Because you have to remember that initially the company
had hoped that its IPO would bring in almost $3.7 billion and they were expecting to sell 26 million
stocks on the market. So, if you compare the price they actually sold for, $85, with what the
company had projected, which was between 108 and $135, then you can see that it didn’t really

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 1

work out that well. You know, I think the management team made quite a few mistakes and that’s
why they didn’t make their target. Probably the most serious was with the timing of the IPO – it was
set for August and that’s not the best time to get the financial community on board because it’s right
in the middle of the summer vacation. Secondly, there was the attitude concerning the disclosure of
the company’s plans. These were never published in sufficient detail and investors were left in some
doubt about what the company was planning. Lastly, the actual process of the auction was
complicated and, if anything, instead of simplifying things, it really made it more difficult for
investors to buy the shares. However, having said that, I should add that for investors, the Google
IPO was a really great opportunity: they could buy at a relatively low price and within a few days
the shares had risen to $125.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2006 Pearson Longman ELT 2