Part II Giving and receiving phone calls

     Most of the time, when you dial a telephone number, your call goes through with no problem. Sometimes, however, you are not able to get through and the reason is given by a recorded message.

A. In this section you are going to hear some recordings that the telephoone company uses to tell you why your call did not go through. Listen carefully and write down all the telephone numbers you hear and the reasons why the calls did not go through.

    Telephone numbers             Reasons

1. 3582818                    disconnected

  2. 4912386                    temporarily out of order

  3. 5240034/7828249             number changed

  4. 2650325                    temporarily disconnected

  5. 3587202                    changed to an unpublished number

Tapescripts:

The first call: The number you have reached, 3582818, has been disconnected. 3582818 has been disconnected.

The second call: We’re sorry. The number you have reached, 4912386, is temporarily out of order. 4912386 is temporarily out of order.

The third call: The number you have reached, 5240034, has been changed. The new number is 7828249. Please make a note of it. 5240034 has been changed. The new number is 7828249.

The fourth call: The number you have reached, 2650325, has been temporarily disconnected. 2650325 has been temporarily disconnected.

The fifth call: The number you have reached, 3587202, has been changed to an unpublished number. 3587202 has been changed to an unpublished number.

B. In this section you are going to hear some recorded phone calls for Mr. Turner.

  1. First listen to some names:

    Brown   Thompson   Jeremy   Mary Roberts

2. Now listen to the calls. While listening for the first time, focus on the key words, add more key words if you can in the left-hand column. After the second listening, complete the messages in the righ-hand column with the help of the notes.

C. Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the calls.

Tapescripts:

1. Man: Oh! It’s rather important, so could you give him a message as soon as he comes in? Tell him Jeremy rang to tell him that Harold Scott is retiring at the end of the month so there will be a job going if he’s interested. OK? Thanks very much.

2. Man: Out? What on earth is he doing? Well, when you see him, tell him that Thompson is hopping mad and he’d better get in touch with him as soon as possible.

3. Secretary: Mr. Turner’s office.

   Woman: Hello. I’d like to speak to Mr. Turner, please.

  Secretary: I’m sorry. He’s in a meeting right now. May I take a message?

   Woman: Ah, yes. This is Mary Roberts from the First National Bank.

  Secretary: Hm…

   Woman: Would you ask hime to call me at 7721852?

  Secretary: OK. That’s 77218…

   Woman: …52. He can reach me at this number until, say, 12:30, or between 2 and 5 this afternoon.

  Secretary: That’s fine, Miss Roberts. I’ll tell him. I’ll give him your message.

   Woman: Thank you very much. Good-bye.

  Seretary: Good-bye.

4. Secretary: Mr. Turner’s office.

      Man: Yes, hello. Is Mr. Turner in, please?

  Secretary: No, I’m sorry. He is in a meeting right now. May I take a message?

      Man: This is Mr. Brown calling. I have a lunch appointment with Mr. Turner for tomorrow noon that I have to cancel. I’m going to be out of town for a while. Would you offer my apologies toMr. Turner and have him call me please to reschedule? My number here is 7439821.

  Secretary: OK, Mr. Brown. I’ll make sure he gets the message.

      Man: Thank you so much.

  Secretary: You’re welcome.

      Man: Bye-bye, now.

  Secretary: Bye-bye.