مکالمه ی دوم

Conversation 2:

Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee in the housing office.

Employee: Hi, ready to check out? I’ll just need your key.

Student: Actually, there was a problem, so I’m not checking out yet.

Employee: Okay. Remember you have to clear out of your dorm by 4 p.m. today.

Student: Okay. But the thing is, I just got a couple of fines from the housing office that I’m supposed to pay.

Employee: Yeah, we just did inspections yesterday afternoon.

Student: Okay. But I don’t really agree with the fines, so I wanted to come here and see if you can help me understand what’s going on and if I really need to pay them.

Employee: Okay. Maybe I can help. So why exactly were you fined?

Student: Well, for one thing, I had a really messy roommate, so the dorm room wasn’t exactly in great condition. So…

Employee: I know it may seem unfair, but the policy is that both roommates are responsible for the condition of the dormitory room. The university has this policy because there were so many cases in the past where neither person would admit to damages, making it hard for us to resolve these situations. Both parties are responsible. So even if your roommate was the one who messed the room up… Student: Okay. Well, I’m not sure that’s the fairest policy in the world, but it makes sense, so I’ll pay that fine. No problem.

Employee: Okay. So was there something else?

Student: Right. The real problem is with another fine for a piece of missing furniture, a chair.

Employee: Well, yeah, if there’s a piece of furniture missing, the university is going to have to charge you for that.

Student: But the thing is, I never had a chair. I borrowed one from the lounge for the year and then returned it yesterday morning. You know, I have a friend who lives in another building and his dorm room also had a chair missing, but he didn’t get a fine.

Employee: Okay. But there might be differences between your situation and your friend’s. Did you let your floor supervisor know that you had a missing chair?

Student: I told her about it the day I moved in.

Employee: And then?

Student: And then…

Employee: Did she fill out a form about this? You would have gotten a copy.

Student: I never saw a form.

Employee: Okay. I think this is why we are having a problem here.

Student: I need to have a paper record that your dorm room was missing a chair, just telling the floor supervisor…

Employee: But, honestly, I was expected to know that? that someone had to fill out a form?

Employee: No, actually, it was the responsibility of the floor supervisor to get that form to you when you informed her that your dorm room was missing a chair.

Student: Ah, okay. So what about the fine?

Employee: Well, I’m gonna have to talk to my manager, but I guess you are not going to have to pay that fine. Don’t write this in stone, but I’d imagine you are going to be okay. Floor supervisors have responsibilities too.

forgot about everything else.