You're listening to Business English Pop, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Before we get started, I'd just like to remind you that you can sign up for a free trial of the learning resources and get special coupons to save on our premium membership packages.
Just head over to the website at www.businessenglishpod.com.
Registering costs nothing and you'll be able to explore all the online activities in the Learning Center.
There are many different kinds of sites.
We often speak of construction sites, a site where something is being built, such as buildings roads bridges, airports and so on.
But a site can also be a completed structure, like a factory, or even sometimes an office.
In a site visit, visitors come on site to have a look around.
Someone in your company will usually play host and give them a tour.
This is often part of the sales process.
Sometimes it's the visitors who are selling something to the host, and sometimes it's the other way around.
The language we're going to study in this episode will be useful for anyone who needs to host visitors.
No matter whether we're giving journalists a demonstration of a factory or introducing potential customers to our worksite, or giving government officials a tour of a construction project.
We need to show people around and point out areas of interest.
In the listening, Stanley Wong works for China Western Railroad Construction Company.
He is the site agent, that is, the person in charge of a construction site for a railway tunnel that is currently being built.
Matt and Paula work for a small engineering company called TunnelTech, and they are visiting potential customers in China.
As the dialogue begins, Stanley is getting ready to take them into the tunnel for a look around.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
The answers will be posted in a few days on the website.
First, what does Stanley point out in the tunnel?
What language does he use to draw everyone's attention to it?
Second, What are the advantages of the machine that Stanley describes?
Third, Stanley mentions two safety hazards.
What are they?
And finally, what is the question that Paula asked Stanley about the hazards?
Okay, here are your tokens.
Thanks.
We'll get those back when you come out.
I see you brought your hard hats, so we're good to go.
Okay, let me tell you a little about this project.
This side of the tunnel is now over a mile long.
So far, we've pulled out over half a million cubic meters of rock.
Really?
That's quite a pace.
Indeed.
And do you see that over there?
Yeah?
That's one of the new Aleva shotcrete sprayers.
Right.
I heard about them.
They just came out on the market, didn't they?
Yep.
It gets the job done in half the time, but the flow control is what really sets it apart.
Interesting.
Just a friendly safety warning here.
You see that scaffolding to the right?
Yes.
It's best not to go back further than that.
Where the roof of the tunnel is exposed, sometimes we get falling rock.
So the rock isn't very stable here.
Well, no cave-ins.
But in another tunnel nearby, we've had some problems with stability.
Here it's mainly groundwater.
Really?
Groundwater?
Yes, I can show you the pump system over here.
Well, I hope you both enjoyed your look around.
Yes, thanks.
Fantastic, thank you.
Okay.
I'll look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight.
But if you'll excuse me, I've got a few things to attend to before then.
Stanley has done a great job of pointing out the areas of interest to Matt and Paula.
Let's examine the language that he uses.
How does the dialogue begin?
Okay, here are your tokens.
Thanks.
We'll get those back when you come out.
Stanley starts by giving Matt and Paula tokens little round chips like coins that are handed out to anyone entering the tunnel.
This is a safety precaution often used in underground construction sites.
Counting the tokens lets the tunnel staff know how many people are in the tunnel and how many people came out.
I see you brought your hard hats, so we're good to go.
Matt and Paula brought their own hard hats, another safety precaution.
These are the tough plastic helmets that people wear on a construction site.
We're good to go is an idiom that means we're ready to begin.
It's slightly informal.
By using an idiomatic expression, Stanley is striking a more casual, friendly tone with the visitors.
Tokens, hardhats, getting good to go, these are all part of the preliminaries before going on site.
What are some other things the host might need to say before the visit begins?
How was your ride out here?
Uneventful, I hope.
Do you guys have everything you need?
The bathrooms are over there.
Can I get you guys something to drink?
Maybe a glass of water?
Next, Stanley, Matt, and Paula get in a truck and drive into the tunnel.
Okay, let me tell you a little about this project.
This side of the tunnel is now over a mile long.
So far, we've pulled out over half a million cubic meters of rock.
Really?
That's quite a pace.
Stanley's company is using explosives to blast a hole in the side of the mountain, then removing or pulling out the rock to form a tunnel.
How does Stanley introduce the project?
First, he says OK to get Matt and Paula's attention.
He could also say so or right.
Next, Stanley uses a standard phrase.
He says OK.
Let me tell you a little bit about this project.
What are some other phrases he could have used?
Okay, I'd just like to give you a brief overview of the project.
So far we've been working for 187 days.
With a crew of 30, we're at about 80,000 man-hours.
So, this project started in July 2007.
Right.
From here you can see the whole assembly line.
We operate 24 hours a day and we can produce over 30000 finished products in that time with a close to zero defect rate.
You'll find definitions and example sentences for vocabulary such as crew man, hours and defect rate in the study notes at wwwbusinessenglishpodcom.
Often, when we're showing someone around a site, we'll want to point out an item of interest, perhaps some heavy equipment or a part of the assembly line, a special feature or a unique aspect of the construction.
What does Stanley point out?
Do you see that over there?
Yeah.
That's one of the new Aleva shotcrete sprayers.
Stanley draws everyone's attention to a piece of heavy equipment, a large machine.
Aleva is the brand name.
Shotcrete is a type of concrete that is sprayed or shot through a jet onto a wall or other surface to coat it.
In Stanley's tunnel.
After the rock is blasted out, the exposed surfaces are sprayed with an even layer of concrete.
The machine that does this is called a concrete or shotcrete sprayer.
After the sprayed concrete dries, it leaves a smooth, round tunnel surface.
To point out this equipment of interest.
Stanley says Do you see that over there?
And points with his hand.
What are some other phrases he could use to point something out?
Can you see where I'm pointing?
On the other side of the building over there, about 10 meters up.
See it?
Have a look at this.
Let me just point something out.
Look over there at the test bench.
About 50 meters past that crane, you'll see a little row of buildings.
Matt and Paula are interested in the concrete sprayer.
It's one of the newest of its type on the market.
Right.
I heard about them.
They just came out on the market, didn't they?
Yep.
It gets the job done in half the time, but the flow control is what really sets it apart.
Interesting.
Stanley is highlighting points of interest.
To do this.
He says what really sets it apart is that is what distinguishes it from other machines is
Depending on whether we're hosting a visit to an assembly line or an office or a construction site.
There is a wide variety of language we might use to highlight points of interest.
Let's listen to a few more examples.
The most interesting thing about this assembly line is that we have a totally clean and static-free environment.
What's really amazing about the network we have going in and out of this building is the bandwidth.
We have four OC48s yielding together almost 10,000 megabytes per second.
The thing I'd most like to draw your attention to is the sheer scale of this project.
After they reach the end of the tunnel, the group gets out of the truck to have a look around.
Stanley offers a friendly safety warning to his guests.
Just a friendly safety warning here.
You see that scaffolding to the right?
Yes.
It's best not to go back further than that.
Where the roof of the tunnel is exposed, sometimes we get falling rock.
Scaffolding refers to a supporting framework of metal that allows workers to reach high areas.
Stanley means that past the scaffolding at the end of the tunnel the rock is exposed or hasn't been covered in concrete, so it could be dangerous.
Just a friendly safety warning is a useful phrase for drawing attention to a safety precaution.
What are some other expressions we can use?
There are just a couple of things we need to watch out for.
Keep your eyes peeled for holes in the ground.
Be careful not to get your hands near any of the machinery.
It's best to keep your hard hats on just as a safety precaution.
Paula and Matt are quite interested in Stanley's mention of falling rock.
Paula asks Stanley a question.
So the rock isn't very stable here.
Well, no cave-ins, but in another tunnel nearby, we've had some problems with stability.
Here it's mainly groundwater.
Really?
Groundwater?
Yes, I can show you the pump system over here.
Stability basically refers to the strength of a structure.
If the rock is not stable, cave-ins might follow.
That is, the roof of the tunnel might collapse.
However, the major safety concern at this site is groundwater, which refers to underground water in the rock and soil.
As we'll find out in the follow-on to this episode, Product Presentations, Paulo and Matt have a professional interest in groundwater.
Their product can be used to detect, or find, water in the rocks surrounding the tunnel.
As good sales engineers, Paulo and Matt are asking strategic questions during the site visit that will help them to sell their product.
Back outside the tunnel entrance.
Stanley, playing a good host, has some polite words to finish off the visit.
Well, I hope you both enjoyed your look around.
Yes, thanks.
And in the evening, Stanley will be having dinner with Matt and Paula, together with managers from Western China Railroad, to discuss possibilities for future cooperations.
But, in the meantime, Stanley has some things to do.
To finish up the visit, Stanley excuses himself politely.
Okay, I'll look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight.
But if you'll excuse me, I've got a few things to attend to before then.
There are many other phrases you can use to excuse yourself at the end of a visit.
Let's review a few.
Thanks for having a look around.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
It was a pleasure to show you around.
We'd be very interested in your feedback on this project.
Before we finish up, do you have any questions?
Now, Ms.
Lee, our communications manager, can answer any questions you have about our operation.
Ms.
Lee?
Before we finish this episode, let's practice some of the language we learned today.
First, we'll focus on pointing something out.
Imagine you're hosting a visit to your site.
You'll hear a series of cues.
Each cue consists of something you want to point out, followed by a beep.
After the beep, use one of the phrases we've learned today to make a sentence.
For example, if you hear, those rocks, you might say, can you see those rocks over there?
Other language you might use are, can you see where I'm pointing?
Or, have a look over there.
Or, let me just point something out really quickly.
Let's give it a try.
Ready?
Testing area there.
Pump here behind scaffolding.
Now listen to some example answers.
Of course your answers may differ from these.
Testing area there answer.
Let me just point something out really quickly.
Do you see the testing area over there?
Pump here.
Answer, have a look at the pump over here.
Behind, scaffolding.
Answer, can you see where I'm pointing?
Right there, behind the scaffolding.
For the second practice, let's review some key phrases that we covered today.
You'll hear a series of sentences.
One word is blanked out with a beep.
Repeat the sentence, but say the missing word.
For example, if you hear, Can you see where I'm... You'll say, Can you see where I'm pointing?
This is a great way to review key vocabulary.
Let's give it a try.
I see you brought hard hats.
So were... to go?
I see you brought hard hats, so we're good to go.
Okay.
First, I'd just like to give you a brief of the project.
Okay.
First, I'd just like to give you a brief overview of the project.
Let me just something out.
Answer.
Let me just point something out.
The thing I'd most like to your attention to is Answer.
The thing I'd most like to draw your attention to is, If you'll excuse me, I've got a few things to attend to before then.
That concludes this episode on conducting a site visit.
No matter what kind of work site you have, whether a factory, an office building or a construction site we're sure that the language we studied today will be useful to you for hosting visits and showing people around.
In the next lesson product presentation we'll learn more about Matt and Paula's product and examine how they present it over dinner to their potential customer.
Of course, in many industries and countries around the world, this type of informal product presentation is more important to sales than formal presentations conducted in a meeting room.
You'll find the full transcript and vocabulary explanations for this and other episodes in the study notes at wwwbusinessenglishpodcom.
If you haven't already, Don't forget to sign up for a free trial.
Thanks for listening.
Want to get more out of Business English Pod?
Then go to www.businessenglishpod.com and sign up as a premium member.
Premium members can access detailed study notes and the new phrase cast to practice all the useful language we featured today.
