Joy English
Joy English
← Back to the lesson

Joy English · Level B2 · Workjoy-english.com

Cutting the budget

Name:Date:

Understand suggestions and objections in a business discussion.

Listen to each sentence and write what you hear.

Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/cutting-the-budget

Words to know

budget
A plan for how much money will be spent.
postpone
To move an event to a later time.
upgrade
A newer, better version of something.

Answer key

  1. We've been asked to reduce our budget by ten percent.“We’ve” is “we have”. “10%”, “per cent” and “percent” are all accepted.
  2. That will be difficult without affecting our customers.“Affect” is the verb; “effect” is usually the noun. The -ing form follows “without”.
  3. Could we postpone some of the planned software upgrades?The stress in “postpone” is on “pone”.
  4. That's possible, but the old system is already very slow.Listen for both words in “already very”.
  5. Let's present both options to the director on Friday.As a verb, “present” is stressed on “sent”.

Joy English · free English practice · https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/cutting-the-budget