First Day at the Office

Robert Hello, Claudia. I’m Robert. Welcome to our company!

Claudia Hello, Robert. It’s nice to meet you.
Robert This is your desk. That’s the closet for your coat. Let me show you
around.
5 Claudia Thanks.
Robert Ofice supplies, like paper, folders, and CDs, are in those cabinets over
there. The printers are here, and this is the only copy machine. The
paper is in these drawers below the printers.

Claudia Thanks. That’s good to know.

10 Robert Now, let me introduce you to Keung. He’s on your team. Keung, this is
Claudia. She’s our new sales manager.
Keung Nice to meet you, Claudia.
Claudia Nice to meet you, Keung. Those photographs are beautiful. Are you a
photographer?
15 Keung Well, photography is my hobby. Those pictures are from my trip to
Thailand.
Claudia That photograph on the left is great. What is it?
Keung It’s the Royal Palace in Bangkok, my favorite place.
Claudia That’s a great picture, too.
20 Keung Those little girls are my sister’s children. She lives in Bangkok.

Robert Sorry to interrupt, but we have a management meeting in 10 minutes.

It’s in the conference room. It’s this way, down the hall. Let’s get some
coffee before the meeting.
Claudia OK. See you later, Keung.
25 Keung Wait. Robert, are these your reports?
Robert Yes, they are. Thanks. I need them for the meeting.
B Comprehension Check Match the two parts of the sentences about the
conversation.
1. Claudia a. are in the cabinets.
2. Keung b. are his sister’s children.
3. The little girls in the photograph c. is a new employee.
4. Office supplies d. is in the conference room.
5. The meeting e. is on her team
PRACTICE
A. Put in this, that, these, those:
1. Why am I doing _______________ exercise?
2. Get me ____________ dictionary from the table.
3. Is _______ bike over there Betty’s?
4. Ugh - __________ potatoes taste burnt!
5. Who are ____________ students over there?
6. “What kind of planes are _________?” “I don’t know. They are too far away.
7. “________ is a great party, isn’t it?” “Yes, I’m really enjoying it.”
8. Are ________ T-shirts here yours?
9. Come ________ way, please.
10. Did you hear _________ thunder last night?

B. Two people are sitting on sunbeds by a hotel swimming pool in

Spain. Complete their conversation, using this/these/that or those.
This
STEVE: (1) ............... hotel’s good, isn’t it?
TONY: Yes, it is. And (2) …….........…… sunbeds are very comfortable. Have you stayed in
(3) …….........…… hotel before?
STEVE: No, we came to Benidorm last year but we stayed in one of (4) …….........…… big hotels by the beach.
TONY: Where’s your room?
STEVE: We’re on the top floor of (5) …….........…… block over there.
TONY: One of (6) …….........…… rooms with the balconies?
STEVE: Yes, (7) …….........…… room at the end.
TONY: What are you doing (8) …….........…… evening?
STEVE: We’re going to a restaurant called Pepe’s. It’s near (9) …….........…… clock tower in the centre of town. Do you
want to come with us?
TONY: No, (10) …….........…… is our first night so I think we’ll eat in the hotel, thanks.

We use this (Singular) or these (Plural):

1. to talk about things/people near us;
2. to introduce or identify people; e.g. Mummy, this is John my boyfriend.
3. to start a conversation on the phone; e.g. Hello. This is Ana Costa – Pedro’s teacher.

We use that (Singular) or those (Plural):

1. to talk about things / people not so near us;
2. to check the identity of someone we cannot see; e.g. Is that Pedro’s mother?
The Workplace 51