托福TPO16 Conversation1

TPO 16 Conversation1 Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a Student and a facilities Manager at the university. Student: Hi. I’m Melanie, the one who’s been calling. Manager: From the singing group, right? Student: From the choir. Manager: Right, the choir. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. So, you are having problems with... Student: Noise. Like I explained on the phone we’ve always had our rehearsals in the Lincoln Auditorium every day at 3 o’clock and it’s always worked just great. But the past few weeks with the noise, it’s been a total nightmare since construction started next door on the science hall. Manager: Oh, that’s right. They’re building that addition for new laboratories. Student: Exactly. Anyway, ever since they started working on it, it’s been so noisy we can barely hear ourselves think. Manager: Let alone sing. Student: Forget about singing. I mean, we keep the windows down and everything, but once those bulldozers get going, I mean those machines are loud. We’ve already had to cut short two rehearsals and we’ve got a concert in 6 weeks. Manager: Well, that’s not good. I’m assuming you’ve tried to reschedule your rehearsals. They don’t do construction work at night. Student: I ran that by the group, but there were just too many... I mean evenings are really hard. It seems like everyone in the choir already has plans and some even have classes at night. Manager: And what about the music building? Student: You know, originally we were booked in one of the rehearsal rooms in the music building, but then we switched with the jazz ensemble. They’re a much smaller group and they said the acoustics, the sound in that room, was better for them. So having us move to a bigger space like the Lincoln Auditorium seemed like a reasonable idea. Manager: But now... Student: All that noise. I don’t know. I just wonder if the jazz ensemble knew what was going to happen. Manager: Well, that wouldn’t be very nice. Student: No. But it really was quite a coincidence. Anyway, now the music building’s fully booked, mornings, afternoons, everything, we just need a quiet space. And it has to have a piano. Manager: A piano. Of course some of the other auditoriums have pianos, but that’s not going to be easy. Student: You think they’re pretty booked up? Manager: Probably. But it can’t hurt to check. What about Bradford Hall? I remember a piano in the old Student center there. Student: At this point, we’d be grateful for any quiet place. Manager: Can you... How flexible can you be on times? You said no evenings, but what if can’t find something open at 3 o’clock? Can you move earlier or later? Student: I wish I could say another time would be okay, but you know how it is, everybody’s already got commitments for the whole semester. 2:30 or 3:30 would probably be okay, but I don’t think we could go much outside that Manager: Well, check with me tomorrow morning. I should’ve found something by then. It might not be ideal... Student: As long as it’s got a piano and nobody’s putting up a building next door, we’ll be happy.