Joining a gym

Listen to the conversation about joining a gym to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Receptionist: Hello, welcome to Shake it Off Fitness. How can I help you?

Customer: Yes, thanks. I've been meaning to come in and find some information about here for some time. I was wondering if you could help me?

Receptionist: Sure, of course. What would you like to know?

Customer: I saw on the sign outside that you have the best budget membership in the city. Is that right?

Receptionist: You've got that right, yes. If you find a better rate, then we'll match it. Also, we don't have any sign-up fees or cancellation fees.

Customer: Sorry, what was that last bit?

Receptionist: Cancellation fees. Some gyms charge you money if you leave before a minimum number of months or something like that. We don't do that.

Customer: That's useful to know. Ummm, what times do you have?

Receptionist: We open at 5 a.m. and close at midnight.

Customer: Not 24 hours then, I see.

Receptionist: No. Almost, though! We tried doing the 24-hour thing, but there really weren't a lot of people who wanted to do exercise at 2 in the morning.

Customer: Makes sense. Another question: do you have trainers? Like, will you do a personalised evaluation of me?

Receptionist: Sure we do. As we say on our brochure, we can show you what to do, how to do it and why you're doing it. Have you worked with a personal trainer before?

Customer: Err, no. No, I haven't. No.

Receptionist: So, it's very easy. For your first visits we'll assign you one of our expert personal trainers. He or she will design an exercise plan that's just right for you and show you exactly what to do. We even include nutrition advice in the plan.

Customer: Let me get this straight. All of this is included in the price?

Receptionist: Yes, it is. If you want to continue with your trainer after the first few classes, we can talk about that. It does cost extra though. OK?

Customer: Yeah. Sounds ... great.

Receptionist: Do you have any other questions?

Customer: Hmmm, yeah. Um, OK. Why should I choose here instead of any of the other gyms in the city?

Receptionist: What, you mean apart from our competitive rates and personalised attention?

Customer: Yeah, I guess.

Receptionist: Listen, here's a free day pass. Why don't you drop by and see for yourself? That way you can talk to other members, see the facilities and our staff.

Customer: OK, I'll do that. Thanks very much!

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

What do you look for in a gym?

Download

Worksheet79.06 KB

Try another listening

Language level

B2 - Upper intermediate

Topics

sport and exercise

Do you need to improve your English listening skills?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English listening skills with our online courses.

Find out more

What I look out for in a gym is getting fit to keep my body and system in perfect condition.

Hello ZahraMashama

Regarding Task 1 question 5, you have to look at what is said in the conversation: 'For your first visits we'll assign you one of our expert personal trainers. He or she will design an exercise plan that's just right for you and show you exactly what to do. We even include nutrition advice in the plan.' It's true that who creates the plan is not specified, but since no nutritionist is mentioned at any time, 'True' is a better answer.

As for question 6, it seems to me that what you say means you think the answer should be 'False', which it is, because you have do have to pay to join the gym. Or have I misunderstood you?

As for question 7, the customer says 'Yeah, I guess', which doesn't show commitment. He does agree to look at the gym more, but it's not clear that he is convinced he will join.

As for question 8, the 'free day pass' is what gets you a sample visit.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

yep bro me too. I usually also got problems with some of their questions.

I look for a gym because there is very good for my health. When our bodies are normally active, our body's processes of metabolism can function effectively. After practicing sports, your mind will be more flexible and alert and you can learn anything faster. You will have a relaxed spirit. In addition, your body will be perfect. How beautiful your body is when it's symmetrical and not fat.

I tend to search for inexpensive gyms nearby my home, in the first place. As a matter of fact, I am willing to walk max 10 mins to get there. Naturally, it is vital to be well-equipped as well. It is also crucial to have many enough tools when I am working out there. Eventually, there are many gyms where you can listen to awful music during your training so music is another important factor for me.

initially the gym must be near to my house that i can walk all the way to there and i prefer use locker to keep the stuff safe also the gym must under cover by security cameras dispute that security guide present during the days. clean and tidy facilities as a shower, toilet and workout equipment.

If i considered registering at a gym i will probably make sure about the cleanliness of the place and the price of registering of course plus the area needs to be close enough to my house.

What I look for in a gym is space and equipments, It must have variety in equipments that allows us to work out all my muscles with different routines.

Hello, Dear teacher Could you explain, please? What does drop by mean? and is it nessesary to say "does" in the sentences above "it does extra cost though." and In the sentences "Almost, though" how can i understand "though" does it mean "but"? Thank you. Rakhmet. In Kazakh Rakhmet means thank you very much.