Olivia: Joe! Can you stop that please! Can you please come here and sit down!
Magda: Hello there, Olivia. Who’s this?
Olivia: This is Joe – he’s my nephew.
Magda: Nephew?
Olivia: My sister’s son.
Magda: Oh! I see. He’s lovely! I love children...
Olivia: Yeah, they’re great until you have to look after them...
Magda: You’re looking after him?
Olivia: Yeah, just for today, fortunately. My sister can’t get a babysitter. But Joe comes to my shop quite often. He loves it there...unfortunately!
Magda: Why’s that ‘unfortunate’?
Olivia: Because he’s a pest, that’s why...
Magda: What’s a ‘pest’?
Olivia: Somebody or something which makes you angry...
Magda: No!! I don’t believe it! He’s so sweet! How old is he?
Olivia: Four, nearly five.
(enter Fadi)
Fadi: Whoooaaaa! Slow down there, little man! Who’s this?
Olivia: Fadi, meet Joe.
Magda: He’s Olivia’s nephew. And a sweet little pest!
Fadi: Oh really! I didn’t know you were Aunt Olivia!
Olivia: Thank you very much Fadi. You make me feel old. Listen, have you had a chat with Harry yet?
Fadi: About work?
Olivia: Yeah.
Fadi: No, not yet, but I’m supposed to talk to him today. He said he’d be in here later.
Olivia: Listen, though, it’s not true what Harry was saying...
Fadi: About what?
Olivia: About me being upset if he can’t do the website for my shop...I don’t mind if he can’t do it! He wanted far too much money. I could never have afforded it. Now it’s ok, because he thinks he’s turning me down...I don’t have to offend him by saying ‘no’! A happy result all round!
Fadi: I see...so I don’t have to bail you out, after all?
Olivia: No!
(crashing noise in background)
Olivia: Joe, can you stop that please? Come over here!
(enter Harry)
Fadi: ...and here he is!
Harry: Alright mate! Alright Olivia, Magda...who’s this young man?
Olivia: My nephew, Joe.
Harry: Hello Joe!
(sound of something breaking)
Harry: He’s very...erm...what’s the word...energetic?
(laughter)
Olivia: I just call him “trouble”!
Harry: So, Fadi, you wanted to talk business?
Fadi: Yeah, finally...well, I’ve got the all clear from my uncle, so we’re on.
Harry: Great.
Fadi: But...
Harry: There’s always a “but”!
Fadi: You’re going to have to do us a favour and come down on the price, mate...
Harry: What price did I quote you?
Fadi: Two thousand five hundred.
Harry: Well, seeing as you’re a friend, I could come down to two thousand four hundred, but not less than that.
Fadi: We can offer two thousand. That’s our top limit. We don’t have a bigger budget than that.
Harry: Come on! You’re joking!
Fadi: Sorry mate. It’s two thousand, or nothing.
Harry: No way. Can’t be done. I’ve got to go now...got to go and see Johnny – he’s offered me a real job...bye all!
Fadi: Oh no, do you think he’s really upset now?
Olivia: I don’t think “upset” is the word....
Fadi: We can go a bit higher actually...I was just trying to be a tough negotiator.
Magda: A bit too tough, I think.
Olivia: You should never mix work and friendship, anyway.
Magda: And you probably shouldn’t have a business meeting in a café!
Fadi: Oh no. What a mess. I’d better go. Hang on..where’s my...where are my....I can’t find my mobile! Or my keys! Has anyone seen them?
Magda: Let’s look under the seats...they must be here somewhere...
Fadi: I can’t see anything.
Magda: No sign.
Olivia: How strange...hang on a minute, my nephew’s been terribly quiet for the last five minutes...what’s he up to...Joe!!!
Glossary
Fortunately (adverb) With luck
I lost my bag but fortunately my neighbour found it
Upset (adjective) Disturbed emotionally
He was upset when he heard the bad news
Mate (noun) Friend - colloquial
He’s my best mate; we do everything together
Energetic (adjective) Full of energy
Children are usually very energetic, they are hard work!
Trouble (noun) Disorder or disturbance
There’ll be trouble if Mum finds out you weren’t at home last night
Quote (verb) To state a price
She quoted five hundred pounds and I accepted
Negotiator (noun) A person who arranges a transaction
We need a good negotiator to make the best business deal
Mess (noun) A dirty or disordered condition
You’ll have to clean up this mess before Mum comes home!
Vocabulary one - adjectives
Find a word in the tapescript that means the opposite of:
1 horrible
2 fast
3 young
4 earlier
5 sad
6 lazy
7 lower
8 loud
Vocabulary two – family words
Write the missing words in the table:
male female
Uncle
Niece
Brother
Mother
Grandson
Sister-in-law
Stepfather
Comprehension one
Choose the correct word(s):
1 Olivia is Joe’s nephew / aunt
2 Joe is well / badly behaved
3 Joe is four / five years old
4 Olivia wants / doesn’t want Harry to do her website
5 Fadi’s uncle has agreed to pay exactly / more than two thousand pounds
6 Olivia thinks it is a bad / good idea to do business with a friend
Comprehension two
Fill the gaps with the names in the box
[open box]
Magda (x2) Harry Joe
Olivia Fadi
[close box]
1 …………. is Olivia’s nephew
2 …………. likes children
3 Joe visits ………..’s shop
4 ……… has arranged to meet Harry at the café
5 ………… thinks it is a bad idea to talk business in a café
6 ……….. leaves the café upset
Grammar – phrasal verbs
Fill the gaps with a verb from the box
[open box]
turn bail slow
sit come look
[close box]
1 I can’t come out tonight, I have to …….. after my brother
2 Please …….. down, I can’t understand what you are trying to say
3 ……….. here for a moment and help me please
4 I had to ……… the job offer down because I don’t want to travel so far
5 If you get into trouble, don’t expect me to ……… you out!
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