听力原文：W: Hello, Gary. How're you？M: Fine! And yourself？W: Can't complain. Did you have

听力原文：W: Hello, Gary. How're you？

M: Fine! And yourself？

W: Can't complain. Did you have time to look at my proposal？

M: No, not really. Can we go over it now？

W: Sure. I've been trying to come up with some new production and advertising strategies. First of all, if we want to stay competitive, we need to modernize our factory. New equipment should've been installed long ago.

M: How much will that cost？

W: We have several options ranging from the hundred dollars all the way up to half-million.

M: OK. We'll have to discuss these costs with finance.

W: We should also consider human resources. I've been talking to personal as well as our staff at the factory.

M: And what's the picture？

W: We'll probably have to hire a couple of engineers to help us modernize the factory.

M: What about advertising？

W: Marketing has some interesting ideas for television commercials.

M: TV？ Isn't that a bit too expensive for us？ What's wrong with advertising in the papers, as usual？

W: Quite frankly, it's just not enough anymore. We need to be more aggressive in order to keep ahead of our competitors.

M: We'll be able to afford all this？

W: I'll look into it, but I think higher costs will be justified. These investments will result in higher profits for our company.

M: We'll have to look at the figures more closely. Have finance draw up a budget for these investments.

W: All right. I'll see to it.

(29)

A．The benefits of strong business competition.

B．A proposal to lower the cost of production.

C．Complaints about the expense of modernization.

D．Suggestions concerning new business strategies.