Unit 1. Leaving a message

SITUATION   Mr Lee at Central Trading Company (CTC) in Hong Kong wants to speak to Lisa Bond at Sydney Fashions. She is not available when he calls, so he leaves a message for her to call him back.

DIALOGUE

Secretary	Lisa Bond's office.
Mr Lee	Lisa Bond, please.
Secretary	I'm sorry, Mrs Bond's in a meeting right now. May I take a message?
Mr Lee	Well, I do need to speak to her. Do you know when she'll be free?
Secretary	She should be free later this afternoon.
Mr Lee	I see. Well, this is Mr Lee of Central Trading Company in Hong Kong. I wonder if you could have her call me back?
Secretary	Certainly. What was your name again, please?
Mr Lee	My name is Mr Lee from Central Trading Company in Hong Kong.
Secretary	And what number are you on, Mr Lee?
Mr Lee	My number is 8872140. The code for Hong Kong is 852.
Secretary	Right. So that's Mr Lee of Central Trading Company in Hong Kong and Mrs Bond can reach you on (852) 8872140. Is that right?
Mr Lee	Yes, that's right. I'll be in all afternoon.
Secretary	Fine, I'll give her the message, Mr Lee.

reach, v – связаться, установить контакт по телефону

KEY EXPRESSIONS

TAKING THE CALL	MAKING THE CALL
Answering an extension	Asking for a return call
Lisa Bond's office. Lisa Bond's secretary.	I wonder if you could have her call me back?
Lisa Bond's phone.	Could you ask her to call me as soon as possible?
Saying someone is not available	Giving your name
Mrs Bond isn't at her desk at the moment.	My name is Mr Lee from Central Trading Company in Hong Kong.
I'm sorry, Mrs Bond's in a meeting right now.	It's Mr Lee of CTC in Hong Kong.
Saying when someone will be free	Giving your number
She should be free later. She'll be free in an hour.	My number is 8872140. The code for Hong Kong is 852.
She won't be available until 5 p.m.	My number here is 8872140.
Checking a caller's name and number	You can reach me on Hong Kong 8872140.
What was your name again, please? Could you spell your name, please?	Confirming your message That's it. I'll be here till 3 p.m.
Could I have your name again? What number are you on?	Yes, that's right. I'll be in all afternoon. That's correct.
Does Mrs Bond have your number?
Confirming you'll pass on the message
Fine. I'll give her the message. I'll make sure that she gets the message.

ACTIVITIES

Exercise 1. Listen to the dialogue and complete the telephone message at the beginning of this section.

Exercise 2. Practise leaving messages for people to call back. Work in pairs using the role cards given below.

ROLE CARD A MAKE CALL 1: You are Vernon Law. You want to speak to Lisa Bond at Sydney Fashions. The switchboard operator is putting you through. TAKE CALL 2: You work with Peter Findley at Lex International Bank. He's on the other line and won't be free for a while. Take any messages for him.

ROLE CARD B TAKE CALL 1: You are Lisa Bond's secretary at Sydney Fashions. She's in a meeting at the moment, but she'll be free later. Take any messages for her. MAKE CALL 2: You are Roberst Booth and you want to speak to Peter Findley at Lex International Bank. The switchboard operator is putting you through.

switchboard operator – телефонистка

be on the other line – говорить по другому телефону

for a while – на (какое-то) время, ненадолго

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