The Office - I need an assistant!            (C0004) 

 A:    ...like I told you before, we just don’t have the re- 
       sources to hire you an assistant. 
 B:    I understand     that,   but  the  fact  is  we’re   under- 
       staffed. 
 A:   The timing is just not right.  The economy is bad, 
       and it’s too risky to take on new staff. 
 B:   Yeah, I guess you’re right....  here’s an idea, what 
       if we hire an intern?  She would take some of the 
      weight off my shoulders. 
 A:    She? 
 B:   Yeah,  you  know,  a  recent  graduate.          She  could 
      give me a hand with some of these projects and 
      we could keep our costs down. 
 A:    That sounds reasonable...  let me see what I can 
       do. 
 A:    Tony,  I’d like to introduce you to your new assis- 
       tant. 
 B:    OK, great! Let’s meet her! 
 C:    Hi, I’m Adam. 
 B:    Oh... hi... I’m Tony... 
 
Key Vocabulary 
  resources                common             money 
                           noun,    plu- 
                           ral 
  understaffed             Adjective          not enough people to do 
                                              the job 
 the    timing    is       phrase             it is  not  a good   time 
 just not right                               now 
 weight  off  my           phrase             remove     pressure    or 
 shoulders                                    stress 
 give      me      a       phrase             help 
  hand 
 that      sounds          phrase             is OK 
  reasonable 
  
Supplementary Vocabulary 
  recruit                  principle          hire 
                           verb, infini- 
                           tive 
 overworked                Adjective          working too much 
 short staffed             Adjective          not enough people to do 
                                              the job 
 cut costs                 phrase             reduce spending 
 overstaffed               Adjective          having   too  many    employees