The language we’re going to study in this Business English Podcast lesson will be useful for anyone who needs to host visitors. No matter whether we are giving journalists a demonstration of a factory, or introducing potential customers to your work site, or giving government officials a tour of a project, we need to show people around and point out areas of interest.

In the listening, Stanley Wang 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 being built. Matt and Paula – who work for a small engineering company called TunnelTech – are visiting potential customers in China. As the dialog begins, Stanley is getting ready to take them into the tunnel for a look around.

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Study Notes	Phrases & Practice	BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Listening Quiz BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Gap-fill Exercise BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Dialog & Vocabulary BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Preliminary Formalities BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Introducing the Project BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Highlighting Points of Interest BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Vocabulary Review BEP 84 INT – Site Visit – Flashcards

Listening Questions:

1) What does Stanley point out in the tunnel? What language does he use to draw everyone’s attention to it?

Stanley points out the new Aliva shotcrete concrete (UK grout) sprayer. Stanley says, “and do you see that over there?”

2) What are the advantages of the machine that Stanley describes?

“It gets the job done in half the time”; also, “flow control” (the rate and density the concrete is applied) is really what “sets it apart,” that is, distinguishes it from the competitor’s products.

3) Stanley mentions two safety hazards. What are they?

Unstable rock and groundwater are the two hazards Stanely mentions. He points out the scaffolding (supporting framework) at the end of the tunnel. This is supporting newly exposed rock which is unstable and may fall. The second and most important hazard is groundwater. This is water contained within the ground (i.e., the soil or rock). At greater depths the water pressure increases and there is a danger water could flood the tunnel.

4) What is the question that Paula asks Stanley about the hazards?

Paula is interested in the stability of the rock and groundwater. As we will see in BEP 85, the follow-on episode to this show, Paula is interested in these aspects of tunnel because of the product he and Matt are selling.