Phillip: So, have you heard the news?
Mary: No, what's up?
Phillip: I just heard that the company is planning to lay off 20 percent of the employees in the next two months.
Mary: You're kidding! I knew they were looking for some way to cut costs with the lower profits this quarter, but I didn't think that they would start laying people off.
Phillip: Yeah, it's hard to believe. That'll be hundreds of people losing their jobs. It's not just the salary. It means losing benefits, too. You know, I hope it's not going to be Sebastian. With three kids and a wife who's sick, that would really be a blow.
Mary: When will we know who's getting axed?
Phillip: I don't know if we'll get any warning. We might just get a pink slip on a Friday afternoon. Well, I'm going to start job hunting right now.
Mary: That's a good idea. The first thing I'm going to do is to call all of my friends and business contacts to let them know I'm on the market. Hopefully, I'll get a line on something soon. Thanks for letting me know.
Phillip: Sure. If I hear anything else, I'll let you know.
Mary: Thanks. I'll do the same.
背景链接：地道美语听力播客English as a Second Language Podcast (ESLPod)，是一家位于美国加州洛杉矶的英语教育研究机构推出的英文听力会话，于2005年7月23日首播， 主播Dr. Jeff McQuillan为南加州大学的语言学博士， 现专注于外国语学生的英语学习研究。该播客在iTunes store播客的教育子分类中，与Grammar Girl Just Vocabulary常居前三甲.
