Academic English

Listen to the recording and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Randall: Hi Faith. Do you have a minute?

Faith: Sure. What’s up?

Randall: Well, I just wanted to go over the schedule for Wednesday’s orientation meeting to make sure everything is ready.

Faith: Okay. Here’s a copy of the tentative schedule. [Okay.] Now, the registration starts at 8:30 [Alright] and goes until 9:15. Then, the orientation meeting will commence at 9:30.

Randall: Okay. Now, we had planned originally for the meeting to go until 10:30, but now we have someone from the international center coming to speak to the students on extracurricular activities, so how about ending the meeting around 11:00?

Faith: Fine. And, uh, then students will take the placement tests from 11:15 until noon [Okay.], followed by a twenty-minute break before lunch. [Okay.] And, immediately after lunch, we have reserved a campus shuttle to give students a forty-five-minute tour starting at 1:30. [Oh. Okay.] We want to show students around the university, including the union building, the library, and the student services building.

Randall: Great. Now, how about the oral interviews?

Faith: Well, we’re planning to start them at two fifteen.

Randall: Oh, well, teachers are going to be up to their ears in preparations, and they’ll be hard-pressed to start then.

Faith: Okay, let’s get things rolling around 2:45.

Randall: Okay, here, let me jot that down. Uh, could you grab a pen off my desk?

Faith: Right. Finding anything on your desk is like finding a needle in a haystack. [Oh, it’s not that bad.] Here, use mine.

Randall: Okay. And we’ll need 150 copies of this program guide by then.

Faith: Hey. That’s a tall order on such short notice! How about lending me a hand to put things together by this afternoon[Okay] so we don’t have to worry about them?

Randall: Okay. And I think the manager has given the green light to go ahead and use the more expensive paper and binding for the guides this time.

Faith: Okay. So the interviews will go from two forty-five until, let’s say, 4:30. [Okay.] I hope we can wrap things up by 5:00.

Randall: Great. And I think the bottom line is to keep things running smoothly throughout the day.

Faith: I agree. I’ll pass this schedule by the director for a final look.

• go over (verb): review
  – We still need to go over the final proposal before Friday.
• tentative (adjective): not certain, not finalized, still in review
  – Here are our tentative travel plans for next week’s trip.
• commence (verb): begin, start
  – The meeting was supposed to commence at 9:00 AM, but it was postponed until tomorrow.
• originally (adverb): in the beginning, in the first place
  – We were scheduled originally to go over the proposal today, but let’s review it later.
• extracurricular (adjective): outside the regular curriculum
  – Several extracurricular activities are being organized for the students this semester.
• placement (adjective, also noun): the act of placing something in a particular order or level
  – The results of the placement tests will determine which level you should be in.
• shuttle (also noun): in this case, a bus that carries passengers from one point to another
  – The shuttle should arrive in 10 minutes.
• to be up to your ears in (verb phrase): to be extremely busy
  – I’ll try to complete that report by 5:00 PM, but I’m up to my ears in other paperwork, so I can’t guarantee it will be finished.
• to be hard pressed (verb): to have difficulty doing something, especially because there is not enough time 
  – I’m going to be hard pressed to complete the presentation this evening.
• get things rolling (verb phrase): to start something 
  – If you help, we can get things rolling and complete the assignment by tomorrow.
• jot down (verb): to write down a quick note
  – Let me jot down your phone number so I don’t forget it.
• to find a needle in a haystack (verb phrase): extremely difficult or impossible to find something 
  – Locating the report in this filing cabinet like finding a needle in a haystack.
• tall order (noun): something difficult to do
  – Completing this work order by noon is a real tall order.
• to lend a hand (verb phrase): to help
  – Could you lend me a hand to move these boxes?
• to give the green light (verb phrase): to give the okay or permission to 
  – The president of the company must give the green light before we proceed with the plan.
• to wrap things up (verb phrase): to complete or finish 
  – Since everyone lent a hand to the project, we were able to wrap things up in time for the party.
• bottom line (noun): the most important point
  – We want to emphasize that the bottom line in our business is great customer satisfaction.