Page 75 - Complete First B2 (third edition) Workbook

Expressing obligation and permission Sometimes people expect you to know everything about a building.
I once had a couple who were very interested in an apartment I was
2 showing them in the city centre. They had the electrics checked,
1 I don’t let my children 5 shouldn’t and those did need some work before the purchase, but two
2 don’t have to 6 weren’t allowed to months ater they’d moved in they had problems with the plumbing
3 needn’t have planted 7 can’t and expected me to take care of it. It took a lot of explaining before
4 are not supposed to 8 are allowed to they understood it wasn’t actually my responsibility. The most
expensive place I’ve sold was a huge beachside residence, but
that needed a lot of work doing to it, so it took a long time to sell.
Vocabulary Eventually the right buyer came along and we did the deal. I was
Describing where you live thrilled because the agency’s record for a sale was 2 million and I
managed to close for 2.5 million. It was still a bargain for the buyers
1 because the property was originally listed for 3 million before I
1 residential 2 central 3 neighbours 4 outside 5 peaceful talked the owners into dropping the price.
6 en-suite 7 open-plan 8 balcony 9 links 10 amenities I think that the most dificult part of being an estate agent isn’t
dealing with the homeowners, or even with the sometimes very
demanding buyers, but the people that work for them. The banks
space, place, room, area, location and square
can be very hard to deal with, but the toughest are the lawyers who
2 inspect the contracts. They always want to change something,
1 area 2 room 3 space 4 place which means we need to get legal advice, too. But there isn’t
5 location 6 square 7 place 8 space anything I can’t manage – I love matching people with their perfect
home and can’t see myself ever doing a diferent job.
Listening Part 2
Writing Part 2 (An article)
1 mother 2 training 3 certiicate 4 honesty 5 inancial situation
6 (current) owners 7 patience 8 plumbing 9 2.5 million 10 lawyers 1
1 No, the title is not catchy or interesting as it repeats the words in the
Track 14 question.
2 ✓ (It includes a question in the irst paragraph.)
Narrator: You will hear a woman called Julie Marshall talking about her 3 ✓
work as an estate agent selling houses and other properties. 4 ✓
For questions 1 to 10, complete the sentences with a word 5 ✓ It gives an opinion in the third paragraph, but there could be a better
or short phrase. balance between comment and description.
Speaker: Hello, my name is Julie Marshall and I’m here today to talk about 6 ✓
my job as an estate agent. I’d oten thought about doing the same
kind of work as my father – he was an estate agent for 30 years – 2 PDF from sachtienganhhanoi.com
but it was when we were selling the house that belonged to my 1 E 2 C 3 B 4 A 5 D
grandmother that my mother convinced me I’d be really good at
it. Some people are in it for the money, of course, and that can be
a great part of the job, but I was initially interested in my company Reading and Use of English Part 5
because they provided training, which meant I wouldn’t have the
expense of going to university. Ater just 12 months, I inished my 1 C 2 B 3 D 4 A 5 C 6 A
course and passed all my exams. The company was really pleased
with my performance and my boss hung my certiicate on the wall
in the ofice. This gave me the incentive to try for a bonus by selling Unit 14 Fiesta!
properties for higher than the expected price.
The thing I love most about working with my colleagues in the Grammar
agency is that we have such good communication. They’re always
teaching me new sales techniques and better ways to work with The passive
clients. And honesty with clients will always work in your favour.
People will come back to you the next time they want to buy or sell 1
a house because they have that connection. Sometimes I need 1 has been held 9 were worn
information from clients that can be quite private, but thankfully 2 is surrounded 10 were hidden
personal questions about their profession are largely irrelevant 3 was set up 11 are still worn
nowadays. One thing I can’t avoid, though, is enquiring about their 4 was built 12 is attended
inances if I want to show them houses they can aford. 5 be cultivated 13 are sold
When I’m showing the houses, I’m always amazed by what the 6 were grown 14 are also crushed
buyers want to know. Apart from the value of the home, you’d think 7 were employed 15 has now been converted / is now converted
they’d want to know about the condition of the house, but usually 8 is still held
they want to know about the current owners. Some people spend
ages deciding which house they want to buy and oten ask to go
back for multiple viewings. I understand that. Ater all, buying a The passive with reporting verbs
house is the biggest expense most people have in their lives and 2
they want to make the right decision. So patience is something I 2 It is believed that the escaped prisoner is still in the area. / The escaped
have to have a lot of, even if I don’t always have the enthusiasm. prisoner is believed to still be in the area.
If you pressure people to make a decision too early, they might 3 It is expected that unemployment will fall next year. / Unemployment is
decide to go to another agency instead.
expected to fall next year.
4 It is thought that storms will probably hit the coast on Sunday.
5 Maria Callas is considered to be the most popular opera singer ever.
6 It has been conirmed that a man (who has been) missing for 10 years has
been found on a desert island. / A man missing for 10 years is conirmed to
have been found on a desert island.

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