MARTHA: Hi Alex. It’s Martha Clines here. James White gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind me calling you.

玛莎：嗨,亚历克斯。我是玛莎克莱恩斯。詹姆斯怀特给了我你的号码。希望你不会介意我打电话给你。

ALEX: Of course not. How are you, Martha?

亚历克斯：当然不会。最近怎么样，玛莎？

MARTHA: Good thanks. I’m ringing because I need a bit of advice.

玛莎：近来还不错，谢谢。我给你打电话是因为我需要一些建议。

ALEX: Oh yeah. What about?

亚历克斯：没问题。关于什么呢？

MARTHA: The training you did at JPNW a few years ago. I’m applying for the same thing.

玛莎：听说几年前你在JPNW参加过培训。我现在也在申请这个。

ALEX: Oh right. Yes, I did mine in 2014. Best thing I ever did. I’m still working there.

亚历克斯：对，是的。我在2014年参加了培训。那是我做过的最好的事情，并且我现在还在那里工作。

MARTHA: Really? What are you doing?

玛莎：真的吗？你在做什么？

ALEX: Well, now I work in the customer services department but I did my initial training in Finance. I stayed there for the first two years and then moved to where I am now.

亚历克斯：我现在在客户服务部工作，但最初的培训是关于财务方面的。前两年我在财务部工作，然后变动到了现在的部门。

MARTHA: That’s the same department I’m applying for. Did you enjoy it?

玛莎：我现在申请的是同一部门。你喜欢这个部门吗？

ALEX: I was pretty nervous to begin with. I didn’t do well in my exams at school and I was really worried because I failed Maths. But it didn’t actually matter because I did lots of courses on the job.

亚历克斯：刚开始的时候，我非常紧张。我在学校的考试中表现不佳。因为我的数学考试不及格，所以我真的很担心。但实际上那并不重要，因为我在工作上做了很多功课。

MARTHA: Did you get a diploma at the end of your trainee period? I’m hoping to do the one in business skills.

玛莎：你在实习期满时获得证书了吗？我希望参加商业方面的培训。

ALEX: Yes. That sounds good. I took the one on IT skills but I wish I’d done that one instead.

亚历克斯：是的。听起来不错呢。我选了IT技术的那一门，但真希望我当时选了（商业）那一门。

MARTHA: OK, that’s good to know. What about the other trainees? How did you get on with them?

玛莎：好的，很高兴了解到这些。其他学员呢？你和他们相处的怎么样？

ALEX: There were about 20 of us who started at the same time and we were all around the same age - I was 18 and there was only one person younger than me, who was 17. The rest were between 18 and 20. I made some good friends.

亚历克斯：我们大约20个人同时开始培训，我们都在同一个年龄段内--我18岁，只有一个比我小的人，17岁。其余的人在18到20岁之间。我交到了一些好朋友。

MARTHA: I’ve heard lots of good things about the training at JPNW. It seems like there are a lot of opportunities there.

玛莎：我听说了很多关于JPNW培训的好消息。似乎那里会有很多机会。

ALEX: Yeah, definitely. Because of its size you can work in loads of different areas within the organisation.

亚历克斯：当然是的。由于它的规模（很大），你可以在公司内部不同区域工作。

MARTHA: What about pay? I know you get a lower minimum wage than regular employees.

玛莎：薪水怎么样？我知道你的最低薪水比正式员工要低。

ALEX: That’s right - which isn’t great. But you get the same number of days’ holiday as everyone else. And the pay goes up massively if they offer you a job at the end of the training period.

亚历克斯：的确--这一点不是很好。但是，你能获得与其他人一样的假期天数。如果他们在培训期结束时为你提供工作，那么工资就会大幅增加。

MARTHA: Yeah, but I’m not doing it for the money - it’s the experience I think will be really useful. Everyone says by the end of the year you gain so much confidence.

玛莎：明白了，但是我不是为了钱才加入的--我认为真正有用的东西是经验。大家都说这一年结束时你就会变得非常地自信。

ALEX: You’re right. That’s the most useful part about it. There’s a lot of variety too. You’re given lots of different things to do. I enjoyed it all - I didn’t even mind the studying.

亚历克斯：没错，是这样的。这就是最有用的地方，而且它有多样性。你会有很多不同的任务要做。我很喜欢这些--我也不介意学习（的过程）。

MARTHA: Do you have to spend any time in college?

玛莎：那你必须在学校待一段时间吗？

ALEX: Yes, one day each month. So you get lots of support from both your tutor and your manager.

亚历克斯：是的，每个月一天。所以你能得到来自导师和经理双方面的支持。

MARTHA: That’s good. And the company is easy to get to, isn’t it?

玛莎：很棒。公司（交通）方便吗？

ALEX: Yes, it’s very close to the train station so the location’s a real advantage.

亚历克斯：是的，它离火车站很近，所以这个位置真的很有优势。

ALEX: Have you got a date for your interview yet?

亚历克斯：你的面试日期确定了吗？

MARTHA: Yes, it’s on the 23rd of this month.

玛莎：确定了，这个月的23日。

ALEX: So long as you’re well prepared there‘s nothing to worry about. Everyone’s very friendly.

亚历克斯：只要你做好充分的准备，就没什么可担心的了。每个人都非常友好。

MARTHA: I am not sure what I should wear. What do you think?

玛莎：我不知道应该穿什么。你觉得呢？

ALEX: Nothing too casual - like jeans, for example. If you‘ve got a nice jacket, wear that with a skirt or trousers.

亚历克斯：不要过于随意--例如牛仔裤。如果你有一件好看的夹克，搭配裙子或裤子就很不错。

MARTHA: OK. Thanks. Any other tips?

玛莎：好的。谢谢你。还有其他建议吗？

ALEX: Erm, well I know it’s really obvious but arrive in plenty of time. They hate people who are late. So make sure you know exactly where you have to get to.

亚历克斯：嗯，显然你要到早一些。他们讨厌迟到的人。所以一定要知道你具体去哪儿。

And one other useful piece of advice my manager told me before I had the interview for this job - is to smile. Even if you feel terrified. It makes people respond better to you.

我的经理在面试前告诉我的另一条有用的建议是--（要）微笑，即使你感到害怕，（但是）这会让人们给你更好的回应。

MARTHA: I’ll have to practise doing that in the mirror!

玛莎：我会在镜子里练习这样做的！

ALEX: Yeah - well, good luck. Let me know if you need any more information.

亚历克斯：没错。祝你好运。如果你需要更多信息，联系我。

MARTHA: Thanks very much.

玛莎：非常感谢。