A request from your boss

Presenter: This all sounds great. So, how did you come up with the idea?
Anna: Well, as you might guess, I was one of those parents I described earlier. I really wanted to help my son with his homework, but I was either too busy with work or I didn’t actually know anything about the subjects he was having difficulty with. Also, we live in an area where there aren’t many tutors and the ones that are there are either very expensive or have long waiting lists.
Presenter: Yes. I can understand your predicament. Well, it sounds like a very useful app that is clearly meeting a need. And its popularity obviously speaks for itself.
Anna: Thank you.
Presenter: So, do you have plans for the future?
Anna: We’ve just secured some funding and hope to expand the range of services we offer using the app.
Presenter: We wish you the best of luck. Thanks again for coming in. That was Anna Oliveira, founder of the tutoring app HomeworX (with an ‘x’, don’t forget!), which is available for both Apple and Android devices. Join us again next week for another business interview. Have a great week, everyone.
Listening: B2

A design presentation

Listen to the presentation about a new product design to practise and improve your listening skills.

Before listening

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation task

Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).

Vocabulary Definition

1. 
   …… to unveil
   
2. 
   …… appealing
   
3. 
   …… a phase
   
4. 
   …… target market
   
5. 
   …… a Gantt chart
   
6. 
   …… to launch
   
7. 
   …… an imitation
   
8. 
   …… a gadget
   
   1. 
      interesting or attractive
      
   2. 
      a small and useful machine or tool that does something specific
      
   3. 
      to show people something or tell them about it for the first time
      
   4. 
      something that is designed to look like something else
      
   5. 
      to bring a new product or service to the market
      
   6. 
      a stage within a process or project
      
   7. 
      a table which shows the different stages of a project
      
   8. 
      the group of consumers that a product is aimed at