Read the conversation in pairs and do the tasks below.

Mr. Power (P): Yes, Miss Wright? What is it?

Miss Wright (W):Mr. Hudson wants to speak to you, sir.

P: I’m very busy at the moment. Ask him to ring later.

W: Yes, sir.

P: Oh, and Miss Wright? Tell Chris to photocopy the Director’s report.

W: Yes, sir. Anything else, sir?

P:Yes. Tell Miss Davis not to ring her boyfriend on the office phone.

W: Yes, sir. Hello? This is Mr. Power’s secretary …

Mr. Hudson (H): Yes … Hudson, here.

W: I’m afraid Mr. Powers busy at the moment. Can you ring later?

H: All right… what about this afternoon?

W: Yes, that’ll be all right.

W: Oh, Chris?

Chris (C): Yes, Miss Wright?

W: Mr. Power wants you to photocopy this report.

C: Oh, yes… I’ll do it later.

W: No, Chris… do it now… I know it’s important.

W: Miss Davis! Did you ring your boyfriend on the office phone yesterday?

Miss Davis (D): Well, yes… I did… but it was urgent.

W: Hmm… I think Mr. Power heard you. He wasn’t very pleased about it. Don’t use the office phone for personal calls.

D: No… no, Miss Wright… I won’t do it again… I’m sorry.

P: Miss Wright? Did you speak to Mr. Hudson?

W: Yes, I did. I asked him to ring later. He says he’ll ring you this afternoon.

P: That’s fine. Has Chris photocopied that report yet?

W: Not yet… but I told him to do it immediately. I think he’s doing it now.

P: Good. Did you tell Miss Davis not to ring her boyfriend from here?

W: Oh, yes… I told her not to use the office phone for personal calls… she says she won’t do it again. I’m sure she won’t.

P: I hope she won’t … her boyfriend lives in Australia!

Ex. 1. Answer the following questions.

1. How can you prove that it was really a busy office?

2. Why didn’t Mr. Power want Miss Davis to ring her boyfriend on the office phone?

3. Mr. Power was an efficient boss, wasn’t he? How can you prove it?

4. Was Miss Wright an efficient secretary? Why do you think so? What are her duties?

Ex. 2. Act out a similar dialogue. Use the information about secretarial duties from Translation В.

Telephoning: Getting Through

Monique Dumont works for Execo in France. She wants to speak to David Payton, a customer in Sydney. His assistant answers the call. Read the telephone conversation below in pairs. Then do the tasks that follow.

A: Hello.

M: Hello. Could I speak to David Payton, please?

A: Certainly. Who’s calling, please?

M: This is Monique Dumont, from Execo.

A: Hold on one moment, please…

Hello, I’m afraid David’s in a meeting at the moment. Can I take a message?

M: Yes, could you ask him to call me back? It’s about his trip to France.

A: Yes, of course. Could you tell me your number?

M: Yes, it’s 33 – that’s the code for France – then 2-51-89-74.

A: 89-74. OK. I’ll give him the message.

M: Thank you for your help. Goodbye.

A: Thank you for calling. Goodbye.

Ex. 1.Scan the conversation above carefully to find the phrases used for

- identifying the caller,

- giving a reason for the call,

- asking the caller to wait,

- giving reasons for absence,

- leaving a message,

- closing.

Ex. 2.David Payton returns Monique’s call. He speaks to her assistant. Work with a partner and use the prompts below to help you have the conversation.

Ex. 3.Now change the roles. Repeat the same dialogue, but use your own names.