A week at work:
A taste of success
Wer eine neue Stelle antritt, sieht sich einer Vielfalt von Aufgaben gegenüber. Manche davon lassen sich einfach erledigen, andere sind vielleicht Neuland. Testen Sie mit diesen Übungen, wie Sie unterschiedliche Arbeiten bewältigen.
1. Day one (10 points)
It’s Monday morning, Nora’s first day in her new job. She is at reception and is going through her check-in list with Claire, the receptionist. The words in bold are not where they should be. Put them where they belong.
Nora: Good morning, my name’s Nora, Nora Summers. I’m starting work today. Claire: Welcome, Nora. I’m Claire. I’m sure you’d like to check in with me and get that job ticked off your list. Well, first of all, here’s your (A) phone extension
and your (B) canteen card .
Nora: Do I need a (C) signature for the building and the underground parking?
Claire: No, you don’t. Just enter the (D) name badge that’s in this envelope here marked “Confidential”. Nora: And how do I log in to the computer? Claire: To have access, enter your (E) key
— this one is not a secret, as it’s the same system for all our employees: first name, dot, family name. The (F) dongle is allocated by our IT department. It should be in the envelope, too.
Nora: Is there anything else I need at the moment?
Claire: Oh, I almost forgot. Here’s the (G) business card for the photocopier and the (H) user name
that you can use for food and drink.
Nora: And what’s my (I) four- digit code
?
Claire: It’s here, on this sheet of paper: 241. And your email address is here, just below the phone number.
Nora: I see. But there’s a typo in the email
(J) password . My first name is spelled “Nora”, not “Norah”.
Claire: Oh, sorry about that. I’ll have it corrected right away.
Nora: OK. I’m ready to start now!
2. A change of schedule (6 points)
Nora’s boss, Charles Hunter, has asked her to change an appointment with a supplier. Choose the appropriate option.
Nora: Good morning, this is Nora Summers from Feeding You Best. May I (A) talk at / speak to Janet Brown, please?
Janet: (B) Speaking/Talking. Ms Summers, what can I do for you?
Nora: Hello, Ms Brown. I’m Mr Hunter’s new assistant. I’m calling about your appointment with him on Friday at 10 a.m. Would it be possible to (C) postpone/ prepone that meeting to the afternoon or to the following Friday?
Janet: Let me just check my agenda. Hmm… (D) I’m afraid / I fear I won’t be in next week, and I’ve got another appointment on Friday afternoon. How about Thursday? I’ll be (E) available / disposable all day then.
Nora: Let me just check with Mr Hunter, then I’ll (F) speak / call you back.
Janet: Thanks, Ms Summers.
Nora: You’re welcome. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.
3. Meeting a new customer (8 points)
On Wednesday morning, a potential new customer is visiting the company for a meeting with Nora and Mark from customer care. Put their statements in the correct order.
4. Solving problems (8 points)
Docs’ Clinics, a private hospital operator, has complained about the poor quality of the meals it received from Feeding You Best. Nora is discussing the complaint with Diane and Henry from quality management. Complete the sentences with the correct tense of the verbs in brackets.
Nora: Henry, thanks for forwarding the email from Docs’ Clinics to me. I see they have complained about the quality of our products. Meals were cold; the apricots were spoiled; yogurts were sour; bread and rolls were dry… It’s quite a list.
Henry: Yes, I’m not entirely surprised. We’ve had trouble with them before. But if they insist on having the meals delivered at 8.30 a.m., of course, they (A) (be cold) by lunch time. And, of course, if they (B) (not store) the fruit and yogurt properly, they’ll spoil. As for the baked goods, they’ll get dry if you (C) (leave) the boxes open for hours.
Diane: Quite. If they had put the yogurt in the fridge, it (D)
( not spoil). And the apricots wouldn’t have become bruised if they (E) (take) them out of the bags. And…
Nora: I understand. So, what can we do to solve these problems? Couldn’t we talk to them and see if we can find a better solution? After all, we want them to be satisfied.
Henry: True. If they (F)
(change) their internal workflows so that we could deliver later, possibly around 11 a.m., the meals would still be warm enough when served for lunch. Nora: How about the bread and rolls? If we (G) (deliver) them twice, for breakfast and for supper, would that be an option?
Diane: If they hadn’t rejected this option several times, I (H)
(negotiate) new delivery schedules with them. But they are not willing to change anything…
Nora: Well, maybe we should suggest it again. Perhaps they’ll be more flexible now.
5. Making contact by email (6 points)
Nora is drafting an email to the company’s most important business partners to introduce herself. Unscramble the words in bold.
Dear…
I’d like to introduce myself to you. My name is Nora Summers and I’m the
(A) “e w b i e n ” at Feeding You Best. I’m Mr Hunter’s new assistant and, in addition, I’m in charge of coordinating daily business. One of my
(B) tudesi is to keep in touch with you, our suppliers and customers. This is very important to me. So, whenever there is a problem, please do not (C) atehiset to contact me. I’ll be glad to help you.
Please find (D) adettach our catalogue for next year. I’d particularly like to draw your attention to page 78, where you’ll find a list of our special
(E) tsisdcoun . I’m also attaching a questionnaire asking for your suggestions on how we can make our services work better for you. I would be
(F) fulragte if you could fill it out and send it back to me by 12 December. Thank you very much in advance.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
6. The presentation (7 points)
Nora is checking with her colleague Christine whether everything is OK with her presentation for the company outing on Saturday. Complete the sentences with the right word from the box. There are two words that you do not need.
Nora: Christine, could we just check whether everything is ready for the presentation? I hate unpleasant surprises!
Christine: OK. Let’s start with the devices. We’ve brought our own (A) and it’s already been set up.
Nora: How about the (B) ?
Christine: You can retract it from the ceiling. And the (C) can be adjusted by using the switches over there. Nora: Great! Could we also have a quick look at some of my (D) ? Number five here shows the sales figures for the last full (E) , that is, from July to September. What do you think about this (F)
chart?
Christine: I like it. It illustrates the figures very clearly.
Nora: By the way, could all those chairs be removed? They’re blocking the view of the screen.
Christine: I think they’ll be needed for the (G) discussion after your presentation. I’m sure we could move them temporarily, though.
Nora: Thanks, Christine.
7. Hi, I’m… (5 points)
It’s Sunday, the last day of Nora’s first week in her new job. The company outing is a good opportunity to get to know some of her new colleagues. Complete the sentences with the missing words or phrases. The first two letters are given.
Nora: Hello, I’m Nora, the “newbie”. May I join you?
David: Hi, Nora, I’m David. I’m in
(A) ch purchasing everything the cooks need to prepare the meals.
Claire: And we already met, Nora. I’m Claire and, as you know, I (B) wo at reception. Anyone who wants to access the premises has to get past me!
Henry: And we also met — on Thursday. I’m Henry and I take (C) ca the quality of our products.
Meryl: Hi, Nora! I’m Meryl. I’m David’s assistant and am also (D) re for creating the menus.
Susan: And I’m Susan from customer care. One of my main tasks is building (E) ra with customers.
Nora: And I’m Nora, and it’s really nice to be here with you all!