Text 14

Read the leaflet about complaints. Choose the most suitable heading from the list (A-H) for each space (1-6). There are two extra headings.

A. Be polite but firm

B. Complain as soon as possible

C. How to complain about goods

D. How to complain about services

E. Know what you want

F. Make your complaint to the right person

G. Manufacturer or retailer?

H. Take a receipt

1. A typical example: you buy a pair of shoes in a sale. A week later a strap comes right away making the shoes unwearable. What should you do?

2. Although there is no obligation on you to return the goods, it is best to take them back as soon as you discover the defect. It is impractical for you to return to the shop at once, perhaps because you live a long way off, or because the goods are bulky, write to say that you are dissatisfied with the product and ask for collection arrangements to be made. Any unexplained or unreasonable delay will weaken your case.

3. Many people believe that the initial complaint about faulty goods should be made to the manufacturer. This is not the case. Your contract is with the retailer, the party who sold you the goods, and so it is to him that your complaint should be made.

4. It is always a good idea to ask for the manager in a shop or the department manager in a large store. In asking for a person in authority you also show that you mean business right from the start. Don’t be fobbed off with the common response that the manager is ‘in a meeting’ or ‘away’. Insist that someone must have been left in charge and that you’ll see that person. Failing that, register your complaint with the assistant and make an appointment to call back and see the manager at a mutually convenient time.

5. When making your complaint it is important that you adopt the right tone. The last thing you want to do is antagonize the person you are dealing with. You should try to be polite but firm and give a generally businesslike impression. Maintain this approach and avoid having a row.

6. It is remarkable how many people return faulty products to the seller not having the faintest idea what they want to happen. Do you want a full refund, a repair, a credit note or an exchange? You may not get what you want but you should decide beforehand.

Text 15

Read the article about a woman who works for the film industry. Choose the most suitable heading from the list (A-I) for each part (1-8). There is one extra heading.

A. Initial career move

B. The purpose of an audition

C. Huge effort to attend auditions

D. Determination is essential

E. Looking good on the screen

F. Choosing an alternative career

G. Chance of stardom in future

H. Turning down promising actors

I. The pressures in holding auditions

1. I studied Theatre Arts at university and had intended to end up working as a stage manager in a theatre. However, during one summer holiday I did some voluntary work with a children’s theatre group and I met a number of casting agents – people whose job it is to look for children to take part in any new production. They do this by holding auditions – which are rather like interviews – where they can assess a child’s acting ability.

2. It was fascinating sitting in on the auditions. Children whom I thought were brilliant, who could sing and dance and had such confidence were not always the ones who got the parts. The casting agents would explain that one of the things they were looking for was how photogenic the child would appear in front of the camera, so each audition is videoed and watched on a monitor at the same time as the child is performing live.

3. Three people usually sat in on each audition and the director made the final decision. The schedule was always very tight and auditions were held in a different place each day for a period of up to two weeks at a time. So they were constantly on the move and might audition up to a hundred young hopeful in one day. I spent two days accompanying children to these auditions, and it was that experience that attracted me to the profession.

4. However, when I first left university I worked as a personal assistant to the Production Manager of a children’s animation and cartoon company. It was my job to look after his diary, arrange meetings, book actors and musicians for recording sessions and so on and in that way I met hundreds of different people. Then one day I heard that a TV company was looking for a casting agent and I applied for and got the job.

5. I was prepared for the hard work and the travel but one thing that I was completely unprepared for was the emotional strain of the job. You arrive at the hall where the auditions are being held to be greeted by hundreds of young people all desperate to be chosen. And sometimes, however good they are, they are simply not right for the point, so you end up disappointing the vast majority of these kids.

6. Obviously they’ve all worked and rehearsed enormously hard to get as far as the first audition. Most of them are accompanied by their teachers or a parent, they may have travelled miles to reach the place on time and spent money on fares and new clothes and so on. And they’ve got probably no more than five minutes to show us what they can do. Some of them are so nervous they just freeze, others are over-confident and burst into tears when you have to tell them they are not what you’re looking for.

7. In an ideal world you’d like to be able to offer everyone a job. But it is a very competitive world and if you can’t survive these knocks early on when you are still a teenager, the chances are you’ve picked the wrong profession. But if you believe in yourself and you can cope with these setbacks, it is worth auditioning over and over again. Sometimes people wait years before they get through an audition and there are no guarantees that you’ll succeed in this business.

8. But on the positive side there’s enormous job satisfaction to be gained from choosing the right actors for a new production. I know that all the hours I’ve spent this last month will have been worth it when the first episode of this new soap is broadcast, and perhaps some of these new young faces will go on to become big names in the years ahead.