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The phone rings. It’s a friend who wants to tell you his or her latest health problems. You hate to be impolite and cut your friend off, but what can you do? Stephanie Winston, author of Stephanie Winston’s Best Organizing Tips, offers his advice:
Don’t ask questions like “What’s new?” They give the information that you have time to talk. After “hello”, get right to the heart of the matter.
Time your calls wisely. If you make a call right before lunch or dinner, or at the end of the workday, people chat less.
Set a time limit. Start with, “Hi, I’ve only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about….” Or, “Gee, I’d love to talk more, but I only have a couple of minutes before I have to leave.”
Jump on a pause. Even the most talkative caller has to pause now and then. Quickly say, “It has been great talking with you.” Then end the conversation.
Forget niceties. Some people just don’t take a hint. Cut your caller off and say, “I’d like to talk to you longer, but I’m afraid I have no enough time. Good bye.” Then hang up.
Find “a partner in crime”. If nothing else works, ask someone in your home to help you. For example, one woman gives a sign to her husband, who shouts, “Jane, I think the roast chicken is burning.”
Avoid the phone completely. Use an answering machine to screen calls. If you have an important message for a chatterbox, leave the message when he or she isn’t in.
1.What’s the good time to make a call so that people can chat less?
A. After lunch or dinner.
B. In the middle o
f the workday.
C. Before lunch or dinner.
D. At the beginning of the workday.
2.“Finding a partner in crime” means ______.
A. finding someone to answer the call
B. getting right to the heart of the matter
C. telling the caller you are just cooking
D. asking someone to help you end the call
3.What’s Winston’s advice about?
A. How to talk on the phone.
B. How to make calls wisely.
C. How to make a phone call.
D. How to keep phone calls short.
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Dad, the phone is ringing. I guess either you or Mum on the phone.
A. want B. wants C. are wanted D. is wanted
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Dad, the phone is ringing. I guess either you or Mum ________ on the phone.
A. is wanted B. are wanted C. wants D. want
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Dad, this phone is ringing, I guess either you or Mum on the phone.
A. want B. are wanted
C. wants D. is wanted
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Mom, the telephone is ringing. I guess either you or Dad on the phone.
A．is wanted B．are wanted
C．want D．wanted
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—Dad, the phone is ringing.
—I guess either you or your mom _________ on the phone.
A.was wanted B.is wanted C.wanted D.wants
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Mum, the phone is ringing, I guess either you or Dad ___________ on the phone.
A. are wanted B. is wanted C. wants D. want
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Most people will answer a ringing phone. Usually you don’t know who is phoning or how urgent their business is, so a ringing phone is difficult to ignore. In one experiment, a researcher wrote down the numbers of several public phones in stations and airports. Then he called the numbers. Someone nearly always answered. When he asked why, people usually said, “Because it rang.”
A few years ago in New Jersey, a man with a gun killed 13 people. Armed police surrounded his house but he refused to come out. A reporter found out the phone number of the house and called. The man put down his gun and answered the phone. “What do you want?” he said, “I’m really busy right now.”
Imagine you’re at work and the phone is ringing in someone else’s office. Do you answer it or not? In one survey on telephone use, 51% of participants(参与者) told researchers that they did. We can’t ignore the phone and for that reason, it forces its way into our lives. It interrupts（打扰） what we are doing and on top of that, the caller is often someone we don’t really want to talk to. However, in the survey, 58% said they never turned off the phone, and 67% didn’t mind if someone called during a television program. For 44% it wasn’t a problem if someone rang during a meal, while only 28% were angry. If someone phoned in the middle of the night, 40% told researchers that they got nervous or frightened, while around 30% got angry.
Of course, when someone is really angry, you can choose to hang up on them. This is in fact one of the rudest things you can do on the phone, but 79% said they were prepared to do it in some cases. Only 6% told researchers they never hung up on people.
1.The gunman answered the phone because ____.
A. he decided to give in to the police
B. it was difficult to ignore a ringing phone
C. he was angry at the ringing phone
D. he decided to be friendly with the media
2.How do people feel while someone rings during a meal?
A. 67% of the participants got angry.
B. 44% of the participants didn’t mind.
C. 40% of the participants got nervous or frightened.
D. 30% of the participants got angry.
3.What does the sentence “79% said they were prepared to do it in some cases” (in
the last paragraph) mean?
A. They were angry with the rude callers.
B. They were prepared to become those rude callers.
C. They were likely to hang up on annoying callers.
D. They never hung up on others because it was rude.
4.The purpose of the survey is to find out ____.
A. how the phone helps people’s work
B. what role the phone plays in people’s lives
C. why people mind a ringing phone sometimes
D. when the phone communication is more welcome
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一Hi，Kate，you were wanted on the phone a moment ago．The boss to ask you to go to his office．
一Thank you．I will．
A．has called B．had called
C．was calling D．called
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－Dad, the phone is ringing. I guess you ___________ on the phone.
－Wait a minute.
A. is wanted B. are wanted
C. wants D. want
f the workday.