W: Oh, really? What happened?
M: Well, I had some of the guys over Friday night to watch a basketball game on TV, but one of them got all excited, and started going around, waving his arms, and he accidentally knocked over my wife’s 250-year old porcelain vase given to her by her grandmother, and broke it beyond repair.
W: Man, have you tried…
M: Super glue? Yup, but she would be able to tell in a second.
W: Oh, wow. You’re in hot water now.
M: If it had been only that.
W: Oh, there’s more?
M: Yeah, you see, the water from the vase spilled all over the manuscript of a book my wife has been writing for the past two years. It blurred the ink over many of the pages. And so one of the guys had the bright idea of drying the pages by the fire while we watched, uh, the rest of the game, but a spark from the fire must have blown out and burned the manuscript to a crisp.
W: But what about an electronic file copy? She had one, didn’t she?
M: Well, actually, her computer crashed the day before while I was playing some computer games, and I haven’t been able to get it to work since.
W: Man, you are in trouble now. You’re going to have a hard time digging yourself out of this one. Ah, so I get it now. You’re buying the flowers for her as a part of some kind of peace offering, right?
M: No, not at all. They’re for my funeral.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. What was the man doing on Friday night when his problems started?
20. What did the man do with the vase?
21. How did the manuscript of the book become totally ruined?
22. What sort of reaction does the man expect from his wife about his misfortunes?
Conversation Two
W: Excuse me, I came to look at the apartment you have advertised in the paper.
M: Fine. Do you smoke or drink?
W: No. Why?
M: We don’t allow that in our apartment. Do you have a job?
W: I have a part-time job but I’m a student. My parents are going to pay the rent.
M: OK. Let’s go to take a look. We have two actually, 102 and 213. They’re both two-bedroom apartments.
W: Oh, I didn’t notice that in the ad… I’m going to be living alone so that’s too big.
M: We do have a one-bedroom that will be empty in a couple of weeks, 201.
W: Can I see that one now?
M: I think it’s OK. Miss Smith is out.
W: How much does the apartment rent for?
M: $145.00 a month. And there’s a one-month deposit. Of course you get that back if the apartment is in good condition when you move out.
W: That’s a little more than I was planning on paying. I was thinking of $120.00 or $125.00 a month.
M: Here we are. Come on in.
W: Oh, say. This is very nice. And it’s really bright in here.
M: The phone, store and fridge go with the apartment. You have to pay the bills of course, though.
W: I really like it.
