Any Vacancies?
Mari, a woman from the United States, looks for an apartment in Sydney, Australia.
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Shirley
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Mari
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Shirley: Good afternoon, may I help you?
Mari: Hi, I just saw the sign outside. You said you have some apartments?
Shirley: Oh, umm...oh flats, right. Yes! We have some flats available. Are you looking for some accommodation?
Mari: I am.
Shirley: Okay, well we’ve got one three bedroom flat up on the 10th floor and we’ve got two one bedroom flats available as well.
Mari: I’m looking for a one bedroom.
Shirley: Okay. Well, let me tell you a little bit about them. We’ve got a smaller one which has a dining kitchen area, and a bathroom with a toilet in the bathroom in sort of the ante room area.
Both flats are actually partly-furnished so there is a lounge and a refrigerator, a stove, a washing machine in them. The smaller apartment actually has a really beautiful view looking over the bay and the other apartment which is a little bit bigger has a dining lounge area as well as the kitchen so it’s a little bit more spacious.
Mari Goes to Australia
Part 1: Any Vacancies?
Part 2: About the Apartment
Part 3: Money Details
Part 4: Getting Connected
Part 5: Quiet Foo-foo!
Part 6: Dinner
Part 7: Leaving
Mari: Can you tell me the prices?
Shirley: Yeah, well the one that is looking out over the bay it’s a gorgeous view...
Mari: This is the smaller one?
Shirley: It’s a little little bit smaller, yes, yes. That’s actually $900 a month and the other one is $800 a month. It’s got a view out over the city skyline.
Mari: Okay. I’m going to need some time to think about it.
Shirley: Okay, of course. Would you like to leave me your contact details or would you like to get back to me?
Mari: I’ll leave you my contact details but when do you want to know by?
Shirley: Okay, well we’ve had several offers for the one bedroom apartments. They are very sort of popular in this area being so close to the city so probably the sooner you get back to me, the better. You can actually contact me by phone from 9 to 5. I’ll give you the number. And after 5 o’clock you can contact me on my mobile.
Mari: Okay, can I have your contact information?
Shirley: Sure, okay. The landline is 02-5789-6122 and my mobile is 090-7861-5551.
Mari: Okay, thank you.
Shirley: Okay, I hope to hear from you. Bye.
Mari: Bye.
flats
We have some flats available.
A flat is an apartment. British and Australian English uses the word flat more commonly than the word apartment.
In American English, a flat usually is an apartment with no walls that is one big open space. Notice the following:
- I rent a flat for 600 pounds a month.
- I just moved into a new flat downtown.
partly-furnished
Both flats are partly-furnished.
When a house or apartment is partly furnished, that means it has some furniture the residents can use, such as a bed or washing machine. Notice the following:
- A partly-furnished apartment is always cheaper than a fully-furnished one.
- He rents a partly-furnished vacation home in the country.
look out over
There is a nice view looking out over the bay.
When you look out over something that means you can look far into the distance and see a wide open space.
You can look out over a large body of water, like an ocean, or you can look out over a large area of land like the desert. Notice the following:
- We had a great view looking out over the valley.
- From the hotel, you can look out over the sea.
get back to me
Would you like to get back to me?
When you get back to someone, you call them or meet at a later date to give information you did not have previously.
Notice the following uses of 'get back to me':
- I don't have the information now. Can I get back to you with that?
- Please get back to me when the details are complete.
landline
The landline is 89-6122
A landline is a phone that is connected by a line of cable. Notice the following:
- Does your house have a landline?
- My landline bill is always lower than my mobile bill.
Keep Listening
Here are some more great lessons!
Vocabulary Challenge
landline • partly-furnished