Hi everyone, this week we continue together with Anna’s challenging workdays through the listening piece “The Queen of Sheba” in the BBC Learning English – English at Work series! The listening starts with Paul asking Anna to help find some documents (FILE) related to a supplier (SUPPLIER) for an upcoming meeting. For a new employee like Anna, where everything is still quite unfamiliar, even accessing the system (SYSTEM) to find documents can be a challenge. Throughout the initial process (AT THE BEGINNING) in a new environment with many strange things, continuously asking questions and seeking help from others is quite natural (NATURAL). However, knowing how to ask for help to receive assistance is an art form in itself. For Anna, still struggling with Paul’s request, she turns to Denise, but it seems like Anna has upset Denise (UPSET). Denise openly shows her dissatisfaction, muttering “She thinks she’s the Queen of Sheba!” The Queen of Sheba that Denise is referring to here is a very powerful and noble character often mentioned in the Bible. When talking about someone behaving like “the Queen of Sheba”, it means that person is putting on airs, acting superior. It turns out that just adding “please” to a request is not only insufficient but can also come off as somewhat rude (RUDE). Instead, a question like “Could you please…?” or “Would you mind…?” can make us much more polite and refined. Everyone, let’s listen carefully to the piece to see how a little change in our language can alter the attitudes of those around us!