BEC初级商务口语:Telephone用语

　　Multi-word verbs一些电话词汇
　　One thing you can do to improve your telephone skills is to learn some of the multi-word verbs that are commonly used in telephone conversations. Most of them are featured in this module.
　　（1）Hold onmeans 'wait' – andhang onmeans 'wait' too.
　　Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up!Hang upmeans 'finish the call by breaking the connection' – in other words:'put the phone down.'
　　记住：hold on = hang on=wait
　　hang up=put the phone down=finish the connection
　　（2）Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up isring off. The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call. And if youpick up the phone, (or pick the phone up) you answer a call when the phone rings.
　　记住：hang up=ring off=finish the connection
　　ring up = make a phone call
　　pick up the phone=answer the phone
　　"Hang on a second..."
　　（3）If you are talking to a receptionist, secretary or switchboard operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through –put through转 接电话means to connect your call to another telephone. With this verb, the object (you, me, him, her etc.) goes in the middle of the verb: put you through.
　　But if you can'tget through to(contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able toleave a messageasking them to call you back.Call backmeans to return a phone call – and if you use an object (you, me, him, her etc.), it goes in the middle of the verb: call you back.
　　Level of formality打电话的正式程度
　　Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality. It's important to use the right level of formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!
　　（1）一些正式用语Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context,you should use could, can, may or wouldwhen you make a request:'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?'.You should also useplease and thank you or thanks very muchwhenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.
　　（2）一些非正式用语It's important to show politeness by using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English - short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye - in other words - everyday English!So phrases likeI'm off to a conference...,no problem, bye!andhang on a momentandI'll put you throughare perfectly acceptable,as long as the overall tone of the conversation is polite.
　　（3）当你不明白的时候一定要请求重复 One last tip - it's better to ask for help or clarification when you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like'Could you repeat that, please?' 'Couldyou speak a little more slowly, please?' and'would you mind spelling that for me please?' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successful phone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say thatthe line's very bad today if you can't hear very well.And it's also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!