听力文本如下:
In the informal meeting, Shawn begins by thanking everyone for coming and then asks if everyone has a copy of the handouts, or the pieces of paper that have some of the information that will be presented.
Then Shawn says, “Let's start by taking a look at what we're going to cover today.”
“Let's start,” or let's begin, “by taking a look at,” or examining, “what we are going to cover today.”
The verb “to cover” (cover) here means to talk about or to discuss.
This lesson covers the vocabulary for beginning a presentation.
Your English class probably covers - if you have one - grammar, vocabulary, conversation, listening, and so forth.
Shawn says that he'll “start off by talking about how our market share has been falling.”
“To start off” is an informal way of saying “to begin.”
For example, when you start off studying English, you should use a basic textbook.
So Shawn's presentation is going to start off, or begin, by talking about the falling, or decreasing - declining, market share.
He says that “after that,” Hannah will talk about the focus groups.
The phrase “after that” means next, or once something else has finished.
In other words, after Shawn finishes talking about the falling market share, Hannah will begin talking about the focus groups that she conducted.
To “conduct” (conduct) something means to organize and lead something, or to arrange or do something.
Hannah conducted the focus groups, meaning that she organized them, invited people to them, and led the discussion.
Shawn says that Hannah will also “share her ideas” about the target market.
“To share one's ideas” means to say one's ideas, or your thoughts and opinions, in front of other people.
In class, your teacher might ask you to share your ideas about what you read the night before.
Shawn says that Chris will “finish off.”
To “finish off” something means to end something or to finish doing something.
We often finish off our phone calls by saying, “talk to you later.”
In this case, Chris is going to “finish off,” or end, the presentation by talking about how his team has been able to change the product so that it has more appeal to the customers.
“Appeal” (appeal) is the ability to attract people, or a pleasantness - a niceness - that other people like.
The appeal of going to a restaurant is that you don't have to cook at home.
The appeal is what makes me want to go - it attracts me there.
The appeal of a dishwasher might be that it makes your life easier because you don't have to spend as much time washing dishes.