42 Socializing 1: nice to meet you

A At the airport
Rebecca: Excuse me. Are you Kate Thomas?
I’m Rebecca Melesi.
Kate: Hello. Nice to meet you.
Rebecca: Hello. Nice to meet you too. How
was the flight?
Kate: Very good, thanks. No problems
at all.
Rebecca: I’ll take you to your hotel and
then we’ll go out to dinner.
Kate: Thank you. That would be nice.

B At the office
Rebecca: Good morning, Kate. How are
you?
Kate: Very well, thanks. And you?
Rebecca: Fine, thanks. Take a seat. Would
you like something to drink?
There’s coffee, tea and orange
juice.
Kate: Juice, please.
Rebecca: Here you are.
Kate: Thank you.
Rebecca: Steve, this is Kate Thomas from
Adventure Travel in London. Kate,
this is Steve Smith, our marketing
manager.
Kate: Hello, Steve. Pleased to meet you.
Note

You say Have you been to Botswana

Steve: Nice to meet you, Kate. Have you before?, but you don’t say ‘Have you
been to Botswana before? been to here before.’ You say Have
Kate: No, this is my first time. you been here before?
Steve: Where are you staying? What’s it
like?
Kate: At the Intercontinental. It’s very
comfortable, thanks.

C Saying goodbye
Steve: It was nice meeting you, Kate.
Kate: Nice meeting you too, Steve.
Steve: Have a good trip back to London.
Note

Kate: Thanks. I’ll be in touch soon. You say Nice to meet you when
Steve: I look forward to seeing you next time. you meet someone for the first
Kate: Yes, me too. Bye. time, and Nice meeting you
when you say goodbye.
Steve: Goodbye.

100 Business Vocabulary in Use Elementary to Pre-intermediate

42.1 Look at A, B and C opposite. Choose the correct response (a or b) in each of the exchanges (1–7).
1 Nice to meet you. a Nice to meet you too.
b Fine, thanks.
2 How was the flight? a That would be nice.
b Very good – no problems at all.
3 I’ll take you to your hotel and then we’ll go a Fine, thanks.
out to dinner. b Thank you. That would be nice.
4 Would you like something to drink? a Coffee, please.
b Here you are.
5 Have you been to Botswana before? a No, this is my first time.
b Pleased to meet you.
6 This is my first time. a Where are you staying?
b Where are you living?
7 This is Adrian from Ginnel Studios in York. a Nice meeting you.
b Pleased to meet you.
8 It was nice meeting you. a Very well, thanks.
b Nice meeting you too.

42.2 This conversation is between a visitor to a company and two people who work there. Complete
what they say with expressions from B opposite.
1 Leslie: Take a . Would you like to drink?
coffee, tea and apple juice.
2 Leslie: Brian, is Georgina Osborne from SPL in Dublin. Georgina, this is
Brian, our production manager.
3 Brian: Nice to meet you, Georgina. you to Melbourne
before?
4 Brian: are you staying?
5 Brian: What’s it ?

42.3 Look at B opposite and match Georgina’s answers with the questions in 42.2 above.
a At the Hilton.
b Pleased to meet you.
c Tea, please.
d Very comfortable, thanks.
e Yes, I was here about ten years ago.

El[hjeoek
A visitor comes to your office. You introduce the visitor to a colleague. Write the conversation.

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43 Socializing 2: at the restaurant
A Choosing and ordering

Rebecca: A table for two, please.

Waiter: Where would you like to sit? Near the window?
Rebecca: That’s fine.
(Rebecca and Kate look at the menu.)
Kate: What do you recommend?
Rebecca: The fish is very good. Do you like fish?
Kate: No, I’m not keen on seafood – I don’t like it very much. What are you going to have?
Rebecca: I think I’ll have the risotto. That’s a type of rice with vegetables.
Kate: That sounds good. I’ll have the same.
Waiter: Are you ready to order?
Rebecca: Yes, I think so.

B Small talk
Small talk is when people talk in a friendly way about things that are not important.
Rebecca: Do you live in London?
Kate: No, I live in Brighton, on the south coast, about an hour from London. I commute.
What about you?
Rebecca: I commute too. It takes about 20 minutes by car. Do you mind commuting?
Kate: It’s OK if the train isn’t late. I read and I listen to music. And you?
Rebecca: It’s fine if there isn’t too much traffic. What do you do in your spare time?
Kate: I play a lot of golf.
Rebecca: Really? I play golf too. How about a game tomorrow after our meeting?
Kate: Good idea.

C Thanking
Kate: That was delicious.
Rebecca: I’m glad you liked it. Would you like a dessert?
Kate: No, thanks. I’ll just have a coffee.
Rebecca: Two coffees, please. And could we have the bill?
Waiter: Certainly.
(The bill arrives.)
Rebecca: I’ll get this.
Kate: Thank you.
Rebecca: My pleasure.

102 Business Vocabulary in Use Elementary to Pre-intermediate

43.1 Look at A opposite. Put this conversation into the correct order. Look at the examples before
you begin.
1 a 2 3 4 5 6 7 g
a Roxanne: What do you recommend?
b Francesca: I think I’ll have a salade niçoise.
c Francesca: It’s a type of salad with vegetables, eggs and tuna in it.
d Francesca: The steak is very good. Do you like meat?
e Roxanne: I’m not keen on meat. What are you going to have?
f Roxanne: What’s that?
g Roxanne: That sounds good. I’ll have the same.

43.2 Look at B opposite. Match the questions (1–4) with the answers (a–d).
1 Do you live in Tokyo? a Good idea.
2 Do you mind commuting? b No, I live in Yokohama, about 30 minutes
3 What do you do in your spare time? from Tokyo on the coast.
4 How about a game this evening? c It’s OK. I do a lot of work on the train.
d I play squash.

43.3 Look at C opposite. Then write the conversations.

Alain: 1 (Ask Bengt if he wants a dessert.)
Bengt: 2 (Say you would like ice cream.)
Alain: 3 (Ask the waiter for two ice creams.)
Bengt: 4 (Say you liked the meal.)
Alain: 5 (Reply.)
Alain: 6 (Ask for the bill and tell Bengt that you will pay.)

Bengt: 7 (Thank Alain.)

Alain: 8 (Reply.)

El[hjeoek
You are at a restaurant with a visitor to your country. Write a conversation between yourself
and the visitor.

Business Vocabulary in Use Elementary to Pre-intermediate 103

44 Socializing 3: networking
A Business or pleasure?
Rebecca and Kate are at the golf club.
Kate: Thanks for the game. It was great.
Rebecca: I enjoyed it too. Hi, Charlene, how are
you? I haven’t seen you for some time!
Charlene: Rebecca, hi. I’m fine, thanks.
Rebecca: Charlene, this is Kate. She’s here from
England.
Charlene: Hello, Kate.
Kate: Nice to meet you, Charlene.
Charlene: Are you here for business or pleasure?
Kate: Business, actually. I’m in the travel
business, like Rebecca.
Rebecca: I have to get back to the office. I’ll see
you later, Kate. Bye, Charlene.
Kate: Bye. See you later.
Charlene: Bye.

B Here’s my card
Charlene: Have you been to Botswana before?
Kate: No, this is my first time. The weather’s better than in London, that’s for sure.
Charlene: Yes, spring is a nice time of year here. What do you do?
Kate: Our company sells African adventure trips. I wanted to see things for myself – the
country, the hotels …
Charlene: That’s interesting. I’m in the hotel business. My company owns ten hotels in
Botswana and South Africa.
Kate: Really?
Charlene: Here’s my business card.
Kate: And here’s mine. Perhaps we can do business together. It’s great to have the chance to
do some networking like this!
Charlene: Yes, I’m sure there are some great opportunities for us to work together.
For more on business cards, see Unit 14.

C Saying the right thing

Asking the right questions and giving the right sort of answer are important.
a
What was summer like this year here? Pretty wet – not really beach weather!

b
Do you have children?

c
How’s business?

d
Do you play tennis?

e
Do you come here often?

104 Business Vocabulary in Use Elementary to Pre-intermediate

44.1 Match the two parts of these exchanges.
1 Thanks for the game. a No problem. Do you have any questions?
2 Thank you for the meal. b It’s nice to get out of the office to a café
3 Thanks for the coffee. sometimes.
4 Thank you very much for c It was great, but you play better than me.
your presentation. d I’m glad you liked it. The food here is always
good.

44.2 Look at A opposite. Put this conversation into the correct order. Look at the examples before
you begin.
1 j 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 h
a Bunzo: Bye. See you later.
b Bunzo: I’m fine thanks.
c Bunzo: Nice to meet you. Are you here for business or pleasure?
d Carlos: Bunzo, this is Graciela. She’s here from Brazil.
e Carlos: I have to get back to the office. I’ll see you later, Graciela. Bye, Bunzo.
f Carlos: My pleasure. I enjoyed it too. … Hi, Bunzo, how are you? I haven’t seen you for
some time!
g Graciela: Business, actually. I’m in the oil business, like Carlos.
h Graciela: Bye.
i Graciela: Hello, Bunzo.
j Graciela: Thanks for the meal, Carlos. It was delicious.

44.3 Look at B opposite. Choose the appropriate response (a or b) in each of the exchanges (1–5).
1 Have you been here before? a No, and I don’t want to come back.
b Yes, I was here about 20 years ago when I was a
student. It’s changed a lot!
2 The weather’s better here than a Yes, the summers here are very nice, not too hot.
at home. b Yes, the weather here is much better than
anywhere else in the world.
3 What do you do? a I’m in the construction business.
b Why do you want to know?
4 I’m in the advertising business. a I know nothing about advertising.
b That’s interesting.
5 Perhaps we can do business together. a I’m sure there are some opportunities to work
together.
b I don’t think so.

44.4 Relate the questions in C opposite to these subjects.

1 Family 3 The person’s company 5 Spare time
2 Weather 4 The place where the people are

El[hjeoek
Charlene and Kate talk about the weather. Which of these subjects is it acceptable to talk
about when you meet someone: a) for the first time, and b) when you know them better?
r
politics
r
the economic and business situation in general
r
your families

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