Can You Speak Over the Telephone. Как вести беседу по телефону - страница 25

Operator: Trunk service. Number, please?

G.: Victoria 2904. I say, operator, will you hurry it up for me as I have to catch a train in a few minutes.

O.: Unless your number is engaged, I can put you through almost at once. Drop your coin, please, and press button A as soon as your number answers.

(The gentleman drops a coin and presently hears a high-pitched sound at the other end, the engaged signal.)

O.: I’m sorry, sir, your number is engaged. Will you press button В to get your money back? I suggest you try again in a minute or two.

G.: All right.

(After a while he rings the exchange once more.)

O.: Trunk service.

G: Will you try Victoria 2904 once more for me, please?

O.: Drop your coin, please. I have got your number! Hold the line, please.

G. (hears a voice): Are you there?

Voice (at the other end): This is Mr Jones’ house, 24 Strethem Road.

G: Oh, it’s you, Mary. Will you fetch Mrs Jones as quickly as you can.

Mrs Jones: Is that you, George, dear? How are you? So happy to hear your voice again! When will you be home again?

G.: I can’t hear you, dear. Your voice is ever so faint. There’s some background noise interfering.

O.: Can you hear your number all right?

G: No, I cannot, operator. Will you try and clear the line for me, please?

O.: Hold a minute, please. I think that’s better now.

G.: Are you there? Is that you, Lucy, dear? I say, can you hear me?

Mrs Jones: Yes, dear, I can.

G.: I’m arriving at Victoria at 5.40 this afternoon. Will you come to meet me there?

Mrs Jones: Certainly, dear.

O.: Your time is up. If you want to speak on drop another six-pence, please.

G: All right, dear, so long.

I. Read these dialogues and reproduce them as close to the text as possible.

II. What would you say on the phone in reply to these remarks or questions?

1. Nick had a bad case in the flu and he was taken to the hospital. 2. The train from Liverpool is delayed. 3. Your number doesn’t answer. 4. I am having my birthday party next Saturday. I wonder if you and your wife would care to come. 5. Would you like to make a personal call or a station-to-station call? 6. There is no direct service between Washington and Madison, but let me see what the best connecting point is. 7. We would like you to confirm your reservation in writing. 8. I’m calling you to inquire about books by Soviet contemporary writers. Where can I get them? 9. Then could you manage to come over on Monday at eleven o’clock? 10. I was delighted to hear of your promotion. Congratulations!

III. In what situations would you say the following?

1. Sorry to have caused you this inconvenience. 2. Say hello to your wife, please. 3. I’m afraid he won’t be able to attend the conference. 4. I wonder if Flight 753 is due to get to London on schedule. 5. The aircraft bound for Moscow has been diverted to Amsterdam. 6. I wonder if you would be so kind as to give me a ring when you come to know the date of his departure. 7. I’m pretty sure we’re free on Sunday but I’ll have to check with my wife. 8. My call is really urgent. 9. No, thank you. I’ll call back later. 10. How long will it take to have my suit pressed? 11. Could you tell me when you have flights from here to Moscow? 12. You hit the spot with your gift.

IV. Make calls according to these assignments:

1. You had your TV set repaired. But it does not work well. Report your complaint to the TV repair shop. 2. Thank your friends who sent you a birthday card and a gift. 3. Your colleague has been taken ill. Ask after his health. 4. Ask the Deliveries Department to send you foodstuffs. 5. The delegation which was due to be in London on Monday is delayed. Call off the meeting with the President of the Steel Corporation.

Read the dialogues aloud working in groups of two.

The language used for speaking on the telephone is basically very similar to that of ordinary conversation, but limited in certain important respects by the special situation, which imposes a number of restrictions. Attention may be called to some of the chief differences between formal and informal telephone conversations. The most notable difference is that a formal telephone conversation is conducted at a much more formal level because the people speaking are taking care to maintain the high level of politeness usually felt appropriate in this kind of discussion. Another difference is that the formal discussion is very precise and factual, keeping to the point and never straying off into the chatty vagueness which is found at times in informal telephone conversations. Finally, there is of course a considerable difference in the vocabulary, with more technical terms than one would expect to find in the average informal telephone conversation, and a mixture of formal and informal words and phrases. Informal chatty telephone calls usually take place between friends who have nothing in particular to discuss and are simply engaging in a bit of social pleasantness. In this kind of telephone conversation there is a great deal of informal idiom.