B1 · Neighborhood and Community Issues
Negotiating and Recording Upstairs Night Construction Noise
- CEFR level:
- B1
- Sentences:
- 12
- Duration:
- 1 min
- Speakers:
- Tom & Emma
"Negotiating and Recording Upstairs Night Construction Noise" is a B1-level English conversation about neighborhood and community issues, 12 lines long (about 1 minute) between Tom & Emma. Read the full script below with the translation next to each line, then try speaking one of the roles out loud.
Dialogue script
Each entry shows the English sentence first, with the translation on the line below it. To practise speaking, cover the translation and repeat after the audio.
- Line 1Tom 0:00
Upstairs renovation continues past midnight, and sleep is impossible.
- Line 2Emma 0:05
Have you logged dates and contacted them directly once?
- Line 3Tom 0:08
I spoke once politely, but noise resumed two days later.
- Line 4Emma 0:12
Then combine neighbor dialogue with formal property reporting.
- Line 5Tom 0:17
They claim daytime jobs force them to work at night.
- Line 6Emma 0:20
We can acknowledge that and still insist legal quiet hours.
- Line 7Tom 0:25
I'll send a respectful message proposing cutoff at 9:30 p.m.
- Line 8Emma 0:29
Also submit recordings to property with exact timestamps.
- Line 9Tom 0:33
If needed, we'll request weekday schedule posted publicly.
- Line 10Emma 0:37
Good, transparency reduces surprise conflicts for everyone.
- Line 11Tom 0:42
If violations continue, I'll call district complaint hotline.
- Line 12Emma 0:47
Reasonable next step. You already tried cooperative steps first.
Native audio, line-by-line recording and pronunciation scoring for this dialogue are in the EngTalk app.
Key vocabulary
Content words from this dialogue, ranked by the CEFR level at which they appear across the whole 500-dialogue library. Function words and proper nouns are excluded.
- combine /kəmˈbaɪn/ verb
to join or mix together into a whole
- claim /kleɪm/ verb
to state something as a fact without proof
- jobs /dʒɑbz/ noun
paid positions or particular tasks
- insist /ɪnˈsɪst/ verb
to say firmly that something is true or necessary
- legal /ˈliɡəl/ adjective
allowed by law or connected with law
- respectful /rɪˈspɛktfəl/ adjective
showing respect
- transparency /trænˈspɛrənsi/ noun
openness and clarity
- reduces /rɪˈdusɪz/ verb
makes smaller, lower, or less
- surprise /sərˈpraɪz/ noun/verb
an unexpected event or to make someone feel amazed
- complaint /kəmˈpleɪnt/ noun
a statement that something is unsatisfactory or unacceptable
- reasonable /ˈrizənəbəl/ adjective
fair, sensible, or not excessive
- cooperative /koʊˈɑpərətɪv/ adjective
involving mutual assistance in working toward a common goal; willing to help