Telephone

The most convenient mean of communication is telephone. If you want to ring somebody up you must pick up a receiver, dial the number and wait for an answer. If the line is engaged, you'll hear frequent buzzing. If it is free, you will hear long buzzing.

In real life people prefer to use an ordinary phone regularly. Some of them spend a lot of time on the phone. Some peopledon’t enjoy chatting and their calls are often short and to the point. From time to time we get annoyed while talking on the phone. The problem is that the line is engaged. In other words, someone is already on the phone (= using the phone). Quite often we’ve got the wrong number and a strange answer. Very often we are frustrated because the line is bad. We can hardly (scarcely) hear each other and there’s some background noise interfering and often we are cut off and try to get a person over the phone again and again. That’s why people use mobile phones or leave a message on an answer phone.

If you use a public phone, you must have a card to put it into the slot before picking up a receiver. If the line is engaged, you must make another call in 3 or 4 minutes. If you want to communicate with another town you must make a long-distance call.

Telephone etiquette The techniques of telephoning is very much the same in all countries. Only remember your good telephone manners:

1. When talking on the telephone – speak clearly. Do not shout and take your cigarette out of your mouth.

2. Make sure that your conversation with a busy person is as brief as possible.

3. When calling a friend who does not recognize your voice - don't play: "Guess who?" Announce yourself promptly.

4. When you get a wrong number don't ask: "What number is this?" It is a good manner to ask: "Is this two-three-four-five-six?" If not - apologize.

5. If a wrong number call comes through, don't lose your temper. Simply say: "Sorry, wrong number", - and hang up. Don't bang the receiver.

6. Always identify yourself when making a call, especially if you are calling on business, e.g. "This is Mr.Volkov of the Russian Trade Mission. Could I speak to Mr. Jones...?"

7. If you have a visitor, do not carry a long chat when your visitor tries hard to avoid listening to your conversation. The best thing to do is to say you are busy at the moment and ... "May I call you back in a little while?" But don't forget to do so.

8. When inviting friends to a party do not ask: "What are you doing on Saturday night?" or "Will you be busy on Saturday night?" The correct way is to say: "We'd like to have you over for dinner on Saturday."

9. Finally, remember: if you make the call, you should terminate it yourself. Do not "Drag it out".

A modern office

We arrived at Richard's head office in downtown Manhattan. It was on the twenty-fifth floor of a skyscraper. I saw a plaque in the lobby that said MEDEQ Inc. I guessed that MEDEQ stood for Medical Equipment.

Richard showed me his office. I was really impressed with the up-to-date office equipment. It was very expensive but it was worth it. Everybody worked on a PC (personal computer). Each personal computer was connected to a scanner and to a laser printer. There was a xerox machine (photocopier) which made copies in colour. The office also had a fax and an answering machine. I noticed a strange looking machine in the corner. It was a shredder. The filing cabinets were next to a shredder. There were some desks and chairs in the office. I saw some internal and external phones on one of the desks. On the wall one could see a notice board and shelves. There were some books and a pot plant on the top shelf and a coffee pot with cups on the bottom shelf. In front of the bulletin board there was a special table for the television and the DVD. On the wall in the meeting room I could see a screen and a whiteboard. On the table there was an overhead projector, a transparency, an inkjet printer, a mobile phone and some business cards.

The office workers were very efficient. They knew how to run every piece of equipment. And they worked very fast. Richard introduced me to the staff. Everybody was very friendly.