Dialogue B

(A：Tom B：Sue)

A：Hello，Sue．It's Tom．

B：Hi，Tom？

A：I've been trying to get hold of you forever．

B：Really？I've being stayed at home all day long．

A：But your line is always busy．

B：Oh．May be the receiver is off the hook．

A： I see．I'm calling to invite you to dinner tonight．

B：What？I can barely hear what you are saying．

A：I'm calling to invite you to dinner tonight．

B：The connection is too bad．We must have gotten our linescrossed．

A：Why don't we hang up and try again．

B：Good idea．

(Ringing)

A：Hello，It's me，again．

B：Oh，Tom．You said a dinner，tonight？

A：Yes．

B：I can't tonight，mother has a cold，I must stay at home andlook after her．But I'd love to some other night．

A：Oh，what's a pity！You'd better set up an appointment to seea doctor as soon as possible．

B：Yes．Thank you．

A：I'll call you back later，Bye-bye．

B：Bye．

Dialogue C

(A：Operator B：Li Ming)

A：Hello．How can I help you？

B：Hello．Look，I think my phone is out of order．

A：What seems to be the problem？

B：I've been trying to get through to a number for the past fifteenminutes，but I keep getting a funny noise．

A：Are you sure it's the right number，sir？

B：Yes，I've checked in the telephone book．Are the lines over-loaded？

A：What kind of sound is it making？

B：A continuous beeping sound．And I can't get a proper dialingtone．I'm calling from another line．

A：You may have a fault on your line．I'll report it to the engi-neers．

B：Thank you very much for your help．

A：Don't mention it．Bye-bye．

B：Good-bye．

Words and Expressions

connection n．连接；联系；关系

echo n．回首；回声；反响

awfully ad．异常，非常

doubt n．怀疑，疑问，疑惑

fault n．缺点，毛病

engineer vt．设计；建造

n．工程师

check n．支票；账单；核对

mini a．微小的

forever ad．永远，总是

hook n．钩，钩状物

barely ad．勉强，几乎没有

cross n．交叉

look after 照顾

pity v．／n．怜悯，惋惜

setup 创立，建立

appointment n．约会；任命；选派

as soonas 一……就

funny a．滑稽的，可笑的

overload v．超负荷

continuous a．连续的，继续的

mention vt．说到，谈到