English vocabulary for parts of an office exercise part 2

In this second of two online exercises on parts of an office, you'll learn and remember the names in English of more parts of offices and objects which are commonly found in them.

If you haven't done the first part of this exercise, I recommend that you do this first.

Exercise: Showing a visitor around an office continued

In the following conversation Jane continues to show a visitor, Simon, around the the office where she works.

From the context, try to guess what the object or place is in an office of the words in bold below. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Jane:'Through these door is our department. As you can see on this floor of the office the design/layout is open plan. It is just one big room with no walls/barriers between all the desks.'

Simon:'Is it like this on every floor in the office?'

Jane:'On most it is. But in the customer services department on the floor above us, each member of the department works in a cubicle, where staff are separated/surrounded by a thin wall from each other to reduce noise and have some privacy.'

Simon:'Are there no offices?'

Jane:'Yes, there are a few offices on each floor. These separate and private rooms are only for the managers of each department.

On this floor there are 3 different departments. So the floor is divided into three different sections. The section for the marketing department where I work is to the right of us. Can you see the sign with marketing on it?'

Simon:'Yes.'

Jane:'Well, that's the section for the marketing department.

So, let's go up to the fourth floor where we are having the meeting. It's quicker to take the stairs and walk up from here.'

1 minute later

Jane:'So this section of the floor is for meetings and training. As you can see there are separate rooms. This one is a training room, where we do training and teach people courses.'

Simon:'It's like a classroom in a school. What's that room?'

Jane:'That's the server room, where the computers which run the computer network in the office are.

And this one is the meeting room where we will be having today's meeting in.'

Simon:'Where are the toilets? I think I need to go before the meeting starts.'

Jane:'There are on the corridor in front of the lift.'

Click to see more general business English exercises

Quiz:

Below is a photo/picture of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text. Now choose the word/phrase from the question's selection box which you believe matches the photo/picture. Only use one of the words/phrases once. Click on the "Check answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the question which you can press/click on. In the first icon, , you can find extra information about the word/phrase (e.g. when, where and how to use etc...) and a Spanish translation. In the second, , is where you can listen to the word/phrase.

1. office exercise photo

This room is called a/an

Training room:
(noun) These are rooms in offices where training and classes are done for staff/employees.

In Spanish: "sala de formación".

Training room:

2. office exercise photo

Rooms like these are called

Offices:
(noun) An 'office' in an office or house is a room where one person works (in private and quiet). Normally, 'offices' are only for managers.

In Spanish: "despachos".

Offices:

3. office exercise photo

Offices with this layout are called

Open plan:
(adjective) An 'open plan office' is a design/layout of an office where there is no separation (no walls) between all the desks. It's basically a room with desks.

In Spanish: "oficina de planta abierta".

Open plan:

4. office exercise photo

This room is called a/an

Meeting room:
(noun) These are rooms in offices where meetings are performed/held. In some companies, they call a luxurious 'meeting room' a 'conference room'.

In Spanish: "sala de reunión".

Meeting room:

5. office exercise photo

Office floors can be separated into

Sections:
(noun) In large offices, different departments or teams often work on the same floor. To help people find a department or team, floors are often divided into different 'sections' (e.g. the marketing section, the IT section etc...).

Often the different 'sections' of a floor have a sign hanging from the ceiling to tell people which 'section' it is.

In Spanish: "secciones de la planta".

Sections:

6. office exercise photo

These places are called

Toilets:
(noun) In America these are sometimes called 'restrooms'.

In Spanish: "aseos".

Toilets:

7. office exercise photo

This room is called a/an

Server room:
(noun) This is a room in an office where the servers and other IT equipment which run the office's computer system are kept.

In Spanish: "sala de servidores".

Server room:

8. office exercise photo

Each of these is called a/an

Cubicle:
(noun) This is a type of workspace in an office where a desk is surrounded by a type of wall. 'cubicles' are used to reduce the amount of noise and give people privacy.

In Spanish: "cubículo".

Cubicle:

Click to see more general business English exercises

Practice

Now that you understand the new vocabulary, practise it by creating your own sentences with the new words/phrases.

This is me, Chris Clayton, the owner and main writer for Blair English. I'm also a part-time English teacher in sunny Spain. I have a love of history and the web. I hope you find the website useful.