UNIIT 1 Using the Telephone

Warming Up

The following questions may help you understand what you are going to learn in this unit. Work in pairs or groups and try to answer the following questions：

1. Is it very important to use the telephone? Why？

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using telephone compared with other means of communication？

3. Can you think of any commonly used phrases and expressions in telephone conversations？

4. Do you know any professional telephone etiquettes？

Part 1 Telephone inquiries

Tony Smith, anemployee from AuchanGroup in Paris, iscalling Wuhan ProStar ElectronicsCo., Ltd.inWuhan, China, asking for prices fornotebook computers, Series A45 E.The latter agrees to send the catalogue and price lists by email to Tony Smith.

Operator: Good morning.Wuhan ProStar Electronics.Can I help you？

Tony: Good morning. Can I speak to someone in Sales Department, please？

Operator: Please hold the line. I'm connecting you.

Tony: OK. Thank you.

（A few seconds later）.

Operator: The number is ringing for you now.

Tony: Thank you for your help.

Mary: Sales Department. Mary Wong is speaking. What can I do for you？

Tony: This is Tony Smith from Auchan Group in Paris. I've read your advertisement on the Internet and I'm very interested in your notebook computers. Can you send me your latest catalogue and price lists of your notebook computers, Series A45E？

Mary: Certainly.Mr.Smith.I'll send you right away.But where shall I send them?

Tony: Can you send them to me by email? My email address is:tonysmith@auchan.com.

Mary: Okay…tonysmith@auchan. com. So the name of your company is Auchan Group.

Tony: Yes, that's right. Auchan Group S. A. in Paris, France.

Mary: All right. Mr. Smith. I'll send you by email our latest catalogue and price lists of our notebook computers, Series A45E.

Tony: Thank you for your help. Goodbye.

Mary: You're welcome and thanks for calling. Goodbye.

Target Vocabulary

Sales Department銷售部

hold the line別掛電話，請勿收線

connect給…接通電話

notebook computer筆記本電腦

series系列

catalogue產品目錄

price list價目表

Notes

1. Good morning. Wuhan ProStar Electronics. Can I help you？

當接聽電話時，除了要問候對方外，還要立即告知對方接電話人的姓名或公司名稱或所在部門名稱或電話號碼，以示禮貌。所以這里公司的接線員報出了公司的名稱Wuhan ProStar Electronics。而在對話的后半部分銷售部的人接電話時，報上自己的部門名稱和姓名，她說：Sales Department.Mary Wong is speaking.What can I do for you？

2. Can I speak to someone in Sales Department, please？

我能找一下銷售部的人嗎？/我能跟銷售部的人通電話嗎？

這里法國公司的人是第一次打電話來咨詢產品的信息，還不太確定要跟誰通話，所以用了someone一詞，表明了通話的對象是銷售部的某人。

通過電話要找某人可以說：Can I speak to…? /May I speak to…? /Can I talk to…? /I'd like to speak to…．還有一些比較隨意的表達法，比如：Is Andy in? Is Jackson there？如果需要轉接到某人或某部門的話，還可以說Would you like to put me through to…？比如Would you like to put me through to the General Manager's office？如果知道分機號的話，也可以直接報上分機號，比如：Extension 426, please.

3. Please hold the line．不要掛電話。

接電話的人要為打電話的人轉接或叫某人的話，可以請打電話的人別掛電話或稍等。類似的表達法還有Hold on, please./Just a second, please. I'll get him./Hang on one second./Please hold and I'll put you through to his office./One moment please．等

4. I'm connecting you．我把電話給你接過去。

轉接電話還可以說 "I'll put you through。”

5. This is Tony Smith from Auchan Group in Paris．我是巴黎歐尚集團的托尼·史密斯。

電話接通后，打電話的人通常會主動講明自己的身份，一般不用“I am…”而要說“This is…”或“it' s…”如：Hello, this is Julie Madison calling./Hi, it's Gerry from the dentist's office here．接電話的人有時會主動問詢來電者的身份，可以說：May I know who is calling, please？

Comprehension Questions

1. Why does Tony Smith make this phone call？

2. In what way does Mary Wong send Mr. Smith the information he wants？

Part 2 Leaving a message on the phone

Franck Ribery, Purchasing Manager from Auchan Group S.A.in France, is calling Mr.Lee, Sales Manager of Wuhan ProStar Electronics Co., Ltd.SinceMr.Lee is not available at the moment, Mr.Ribery leaves a message.

Receptionist: Good morning! Wuhan ProStar Electronics Co., Ltd. How may I help you？

Ribery: Good morning! This is Franck Ribery calling from Auchan Group S. A. in France. I'd like to speak to Mr. Lee in Sales Department.

Receptionist: OK. Hold the line, please. I'll put you through.

Ribery: Thank you.

Linda: Hello, Mr. Lee's office. Who is calling please？

Ribery: Hello, this is Franck Ribery calling from the Purchasing Department of Auchan Group S. A.. May I speak to Mr. Lee？

Linda: I'm afraid Mr. Lee isn't available now. Would you like to leave a message？

Ribery: Yes.Please tell him that we are interested in your notebook computers, Series A45E, and we've got your price lists.But we'd like to know if there is any discount on large orders.Could you ask him to call me back?

Linda: Sure.May I have your number please？

Ribery: Yes, my number is（00）33-1-48168097.

Linda: And would you like to spell your name, please？

Ribery: Yes, f-r-a-n-c-k, Franck, r-i-b-e-r-y, Ribery.

Linda: OK, Mr. Franck Ribery from Auchan Group S. A. in France, and the number is（00）33-1-48168097. Is that right, Mr. Ribery？

Ribery: Yes, that's right.

Linda: OK.I'll give him the message.

Ribery: Thank you for your help.

Linda: You're welcome. Goodbye！

Target Vocabulary

put through接通電話

Purchasing Department采購部

available可取得聯系的；空閑的，有時間的

leave a message留言，留口信

discount（價格、貨款、債款等的）折扣

order訂單，訂貨

Notes

1.Who is calling please？請問您是哪一位？/請問怎么稱呼您？

類似的表達還有：

May I ask who is calling, please？

May I know who is calling, please？

Who shall I say is calling, please？

Can I ask who's calling？

Whom am I speaking with？

Whom am I talking to？

And you are？

2. I'm afraid Mr. Lee isn't available now．對不起，李先生現在不在。

這一句是非常籠統地表明要找的人不在，還可以給出一些非常具體的理由，如：

I'm afraid she's in a meeting.

I'm afraid she's on holidays.

3. Would you like to leave a message？

您愿意留言嗎/你愿意留個信息嗎？你愿意留個口信嗎？

如果打電話的人要找的人不在，或忙著不能接電話。接聽電話的人可以提議讓對方留言，還可以說：

Can I take a message for him？

打電話的人也可以請求留言，但說法不同：

Could I leave a message？

Could you take a message？

當然，如果打電話的人要找的人不在，或暫時忙著不能接電話，打電話的人也可不必留言，而選擇換個時間再打過來，可以這么說：I'll call back later.

4. May I know your number？能告訴我你的電話號碼嗎？

還可以這么說：Could you tell me your number？

5. And would you like to spell your name, please？您能拼讀一下您的名字嗎？

在打電話時，特別是要做電話記錄時，對電話號碼、人名、公司名、時間地點等重要信息要務必弄清楚，如果不太確定，可以請求對方告知，或拼讀，或重復，或提高聲音，下面是在這些情況下的表達方法：

Would you mind spelling that for me？

Could you please repeat that？

Could you speak up a little please？

Can you speak a little slower please？

Can you call me back? I think we have a bad connection.

6. OK, Mr. Franck Ribery from Auchan Group S. A. in France, and the number is（00）33-1-48168097. Is that right, Mr. Ribery？

這里是Linda重復Mr. Franck Ribery的主要信息，以確認她的的記錄沒有錯誤。當來電者講完自己的留言內容后接聽電話的人一般要重復一下主要內容，以保證記錄或理解沒有錯誤。

Comprehension Questions

1. What's Franck Ribery's purpose of making this phone call？

2. What does each part of the phone number（00）33-1-48168097 represent？

Oral Practice

Individual Work

1. Substitution Exercises

Drill 1 A: I'd like to speak to Mr.Smith, please.

B：________________________

Complete the above dialogue by using the following：

—Hold the line, please.I'll put you through.

—Hang on, please. I'm connecting you.

—Just a moment, please. I'll get him for you.

Drill 2 A：________________________

B: This is Mr. Fox from United Textiles.

Complete the above dialogue by using the following：

—May I ask who is calling, please？

—May I know who is this speaking？

—Who shall I say is calling, please？

Drill 3 A：________________________

B: This is Mr. Smith speaking.

Complete the above dialogue by using the following：

—Mr.Smith, please.

—Is Mr. Smith there？

—Is Mr. Smith in？

Drill 4 A：________________________

B: Certainly.

Complete the above dialogue by using the following：

—May I leave a message？

—Could you give him a message？

—Could you tell him Mr. Smith called？

Drill 5 Could you put me through to…？

Complete the above sentence by using the following：

—the Finance Department

—the manager's office

—the extension 506

2. Practice Sentences

1）I'm sorry. Mr. Smith is not in at the moment.

2）Mr. Smith, Mr. Li from United Textiles wants to speak to you.

3）I don't expect him to be available until 2:30.

4）Shall I ask him to call you when he returns？

5）Yes. Please tell him to call Mr. Zhang at 231-4567.

6）Sorry I can't hear you clearly. Would you please speak a little louder？

7）The line is bad. Would you please say that again？

8）Sorry.Something is wrong with the phone.It's not clear.Please repeat that.

9）Please ask him to give me a call as soon as he returns.He has my number.

10）I'm afraid he's stepped out.Would you like to leave a message？

3. Oral Translation Exercises

1）你好，請幫我接裘德先生。

2）請轉234分機。

3）請稍等（請別掛斷）。我這就給您轉過去。

4）對不起，電話占線。您是等一下還是過會兒再打來？

5）我想留話給裘德先生，讓他給我回電話。我的號碼是580-4329轉234分機。

6）對不起，這里沒有叫史密斯的人，您肯定是撥錯電話了。

7）安德森先生，有你的電話。

8）我是安德森，請問您是哪位？

9）您能聲音大一點嗎？我聽不清楚。

10）史密斯先生現在脫不開身。您愿意留個言嗎？

Pair Work

Work in pairs.Construct dialogues based on the following situations.

Task 1

Student A: You are calling M & M and want to speak to Ms Grunwald.If Ms Grunwald isn't in the office, leave the following information：

● Your name

● The name of your company

● Your telephone number:8677-8910（or use your own）

● Ask Ms Grunwald to call you back. You can be reached until 5 o'clock at the above number. If Ms Grunwald calls after 5 o'clock, she should call 8458-2416

Student B: You are a receptionist at M & M.Student A would like to speak to Ms Grunwald, but she is out of the office.Take a message and make sure you get the following information：

● Name and telephone number—ask student A to spell the surname

● Message student A would like to leave for Ms Grunwald

● How late Ms Grunwald can call student A at the given telephone number

Task 2

Student A: You need to purchase ten new computers for your office.Call JA's Computer World and ask for the following information：

● Current special offers on computers

● Guaranty

● Possibility of discount for an order of six computers

Student B: You work at JA's Computer World and now answer student A's questions using the following information：

● Two special offers:Multimedia Monster—4,500 yuan; and Office Taskmaster—4,200 yuan

● One year guaranty on all computers

● Discount of 5% for orders of more than five computers

Group Work

Students will work in groups of 5～6 and have a discussion on the following questions：

1. When answering the phone call, what should be paid attention to？

2. When making a phone call, what should be paid attention to？

3. When taking a telephone message, what should be paid attention to？

4. When leaving a telephone message, what should be paid attention to？

Cultural References

The telephone is an amazing invention, allowing people to communicate over any distance. Especially nowadays, with the invention of the cellphone, people can talk to the others at any place. And with the globalization, making or receiving international calls is also very common. When you pick up the phone, what you should say and how you should speak to the other side are all very important, because that may not only represent yourself, it may also represent your company or decide whether you are providing a quality service. And yet many people have trouble in using it for effective communication, something which is especially important in the business world. Therefore, learning how to communicate well on the telephone is one of the top priorities for many students who need to use English at work.

In this unit, we've already tried to introduce some basic expressions used in making or receiving a phone call. Knowing some telephone etiquettes and telephone communication skills may also be very important.

Telephone Etiquettes

● Before answering the phone call

1. Turn away from you computer or other work

2. Have pens, pencils and notepaper at hand

● When answering the phone call

1. Answer the calls promptly, by the second or third ring

2. Make sure your greeting is professional

3. Identify yourself and your company/department/unit

4. Keep a happy mood

5. Always sound polite, professional, understanding, helpful, and friendly

6. Avoid putting callers on hold for too long time

7. Be an "active" listener

8. End the call appropriately: recap what you discussed; ask the caller if there is anything else you can help with before hanging up; let the caller hang up before you do

● When leaving a telephone message

1. Do not speak too fast

2. Pronounce your name clearly

3. Slow down when saying your telephone number

4. Give your company name, your title and why you are calling

5. Let them know when to call you back

6. Always sound professional