Script:
Listen to a conversation in a university housing office.
M: Hi. Um ... I live in Tower One ... and I was ... um ... I’d kind of like to live in a smaller building. I’m thinking of moving next semester.
W: Do you know about the villages? They′re on the other side of campus from the towers.
M: Uh huh. I’ve seen them—1 mean, from the outside. What’s the rent like? I mean, compared to the towers.
W: The rent depends on the situation, like how many people arc in the suite.
M: Suite? What’s that?
W: It’s a unit for either four, six. or eight people. They’re like apartments.
M: Oh. Aren’t there any private rooms?
W: No, not in the villages. It’s all suites. The bedrooms are for two people—that part′s kind of like in the dormitories. You have to share a bedroom with another student. The suites have two to four bedrooms, one or two bathrooms, and a kitchen with a stove and a microwave, and a full refrigerator. Some of them also have a big living room.
M: Oh. That sounds kind of nice. So ... what′s the rent like?
W: I’ve just been checking in the computer. It looks like there′s going to be a couple of openings next semester, but there’s also a waiting list with about twenty - something people on it.
M: Oh.
W: Yeah. A lot of people want to live in the villages. I lived there for two years myself before I moved to a house off campus.
M: Uh huh. So what is the rent?
W: Oh. Sorry. Um … OK. The buildings in Swanson Village all have four-person suites. Those are 900 dollars a semester.
W: Wow.
M: And the other villages ... let me see ... they’re anywhere from eight-fifty to a thousand. It depends. The six- and eight-person units are usually a little less. The ones with living rooms are a little more.
M: Wow. That’s more than I expected.
W: The cheaper ones are less than the dorms in the towers.
M: Yeah, but I was hoping it’d be a lot less. But still ... I′d kind of like to get out of the towers. Um … How do I get on the waiting list?
W: I can add your name now, if you like.
M: OK. It’s Ian Jacobs.
W: Ian Jacobs. OK, Ian. I’ve added you to the waiting list. What we’ll do is send you a notice by e-mail if something opens up in the villages. Your name is uh ... number twenty-seven on the list.
M: Number twenty-seven ... oh ... wow.
W: You’d be surprised. Sometimes people change their minds, so people further down the list get a chance. You’ll get in the villages eventually, maybe next semester.
M: OK. Thanks for your help.
W: No problem. Have a nice day!