Business meeting.

Mr.Blake: Good morning, Mr. Smirnov.

Mr. Smirnov: Good morning, Mr. Blake. I haven’t seen you for ages. Where are you staying?

Mr. B: At the Rossia Hotel. We’re very comfortable there.

Mr. S: How long are you going to stay there?

Mr. B: It will depend on our talks. Mr. Smirnov, I think we can get down to business. We’ve studied your offer and your draft contract for the delivery of complete equipment very carefully.

Mr. S: What do you think of it?

Mr. B: The equipment suits us, we need it very much. We are ready to place a big order.

Mr. S: Glad to hear it, Mr. Blake.

Mr. B: But we’d like to clear up several points first.

Mr. S: Well, what shall we take up?

Mr. B: You see, Mr. Smirnov, your prices are too high, I’m afraid. Can you reduce them?

Mr. S: I don’t think we can. Our equipment is in great demand. We’ve sold the equipment at these prices to many customers this year.

Mr. B: We know that the world prices have recently gone up. But still your prices are too high.

Mr. S: Well, Mr. Blake, we’ll think it over and see what we can do.

Mr. B: Thank you, Mr. Smirnov. We’ve done business with you for more than 10 years and I hope you’ll meet our request.