General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on hotel reservations and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Guest: Hi. I have a reservation for tonight.

Hotel Clerk: And your name?

Guest: It’s Nelson. Charles Nelson.

Hotel Clerk: Okay. Mr. Nelson. Okay. That’s a room for five, and . . .

Guest: Excuse me? You mean a room for five dollars? I didn’t know the special was so good.

Hotel Clerk: No, no, no. According to our records, a room for five guests was booked under your name.

Guest: No. No. Hold on. There must be some mistake.

Hotel Clerk: Okay. Let’s check this again. Okay, Mr. Charles C. Nelson for tonight . . .

Guest: Ah. There’s the problem. My name is Charles Nelson, not Charles C. Nelson. [Uhh] You must have two guests under the same name.

Hotel Clerk: Okay. Let me check this again. Oh. Okay. Here we are.

Guest: Yeah.

Hotel Clerk: Charles Nelson. A room for one for the 19th . . .

Guest: Wait, wait! It was for tonight. Not tomorrow night.

Hotel Clerk: Hum. Hum. I don’t think we have any rooms for tonight. There’s a convention going on in town, and uh, let’s see. Yeah, no rooms.

Guest: Ah come on! You must have something. Anything.

Hotel Clerk: Well. We do have some rooms under renovation with just a roll-a-way bed. [U-hh] None of the normal amenities like a TV or working shower or toilet.

Guest: Ah man. Come on. There must be something else.

Hotel Clerk: Well. Let, let me check my computer here. Ah!

Guest: What?

Hotel Clerk: There has been a cancellation for this evening. A honeymoon suite is now available.

Guest: Great. I’ll take it.

Hotel Clerk: But I’ll have to charge you two hundred fifty dollars for the night.

Guest: Ah. Man. I should get a discount for the inconvenience.

Hotel Clerk: Well. The best I can give you is a ten percent discount plus a ticket for a free continental breakfast.

Guest: Hey. Isn’t the breakfast free anyway?

Hotel Clerk: Well, only on weekends.

Guest: I want to talk to the manager.

Hotel Clerk: Wait, wait, wait Mr. Nelson. I think I can give you an additional 15 percent discount and I’ll throw in a free room for the next time you visit us.

Guest: That’ll be a long time.

• book (verb): to reserve in advance, for example, a plane ticket or a hotel room
  – You’ll need to book a room at least a month in advance.
• convention (noun): a large formal assembly or group of organized meetings held over several days
  – Participants can receive a discount if they register early for the convention.
• renovation (noun): the condition of being restored to its former good condition
  – The convention center is under renovation to repair damage caused by the tornado.
• amenities (noun): things that make one comfortable and at ease
  – My son had a difficult time adapting to life in the wilderness because of the lack of amenities he was used to.