Maria worked as a project manager at a software company. She had an important project with a deadline on Friday. On Monday morning, she looked at her task list and felt worried. There was too much work to finish in four days. The client had added new features last week. These changes made the project much bigger than expected. Maria needed to ask her manager for more time. She was nervous because she had never asked for an extension before. Her manager, Thomas, was known to be strict about deadlines. Maria decided to prepare her request carefully. First, she made a list of all the new tasks. Then, she calculated how many hours each task would take. She also thought about a new deadline that would be realistic. After lunch, Maria walked to Thomas's office. She knocked on the door and waited. 'Come in,' Thomas said. Maria entered the office and sat down in the chair across from his desk. 'Thomas, do you have a few minutes to talk?' she asked. 'Of course, what is it about?' Thomas replied. 'It is about the Henderson project,' Maria began. 'As you know, the deadline is this Friday.' Thomas nodded and looked at her. 'However, the client added several new features last week,' Maria continued. 'These changes added about thirty hours of extra work.' She showed Thomas a paper with her calculations. Thomas studied the paper for a moment. 'I see the problem,' he said. 'What solution do you suggest?' Maria took a deep breath before answering. 'I would like to ask for an extension until next Wednesday,' she said. 'That would give us five extra working days.' Thomas leaned back in his chair and thought about it. 'Have you talked to the client about this?' he asked. 'Not yet,' Maria admitted. 'I wanted to discuss it with you first.' 'That was the right thing to do,' Thomas said with a small smile. 'I appreciate that you came to me with a clear plan.' Maria felt relieved to hear those words. 'However, I need to check with the client first,' Thomas added. 'Let me call them this afternoon and I will get back to you.' 'Thank you, Thomas,' Maria said. She returned to her desk and tried to focus on her work. Two hours later, Thomas came to her desk. 'I have good news,' he said. 'The client agreed to the new deadline.' Maria smiled widely. 'That is wonderful! Thank you so much.' 'They understand that adding new features takes more time,' Thomas explained. 'But they asked for weekly progress updates until the project is finished.' 'I can do that,' Maria agreed immediately. 'Good. Now you have until next Wednesday to deliver excellent work,' Thomas said. Maria nodded confidently. 'I will not let you down.' That evening, Maria felt proud of herself. She had been nervous about asking for help. But she learned that it was better to communicate early than to miss a deadline. Her colleagues also noticed her professional approach. One week later, Maria finished the project on time. The client was very happy with the results. Thomas congratulated her in front of the whole team. 'This is how we handle challenges,' he said to everyone. 'We communicate openly and find solutions together.' Maria smiled and felt grateful for the experience. She had learned an important lesson about asking for help at work.
English Story (A2)Asking for a Deadline Extension
This A2 English story is designed for elementarys learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
Maria, a project manager, needs to ask for a deadline extension when a client adds new features to a project. She prepares her request carefully with calculations and presents it professionally to her manager Thomas. After Thomas checks with the client, the extension is approved. Maria delivers the project on time and learns the importance of communicating early about challenges at work.
Translations in English
Linked wordUnderlined wordOther words
Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
Why did Maria need to ask for a deadline extension?
2
What did Maria do before talking to her manager Thomas?
3
What was the new deadline that Maria requested?
4
What did the client require in exchange for agreeing to the extension?
Vocabulary
30 words from this story
