Question

Good phone manners are important both at work and at home. If you want to leave a good impression, talking in a polite way is always the most important thing to do. Here are some common practices that will make you sound polite.

When you answer the phone

Most companies and people would like to answer the phone by saying “You’ve reached the John Smith Company” or “Hello, this is John Smith” when they pick up the phone. Unless you are asked to answer the phone in a special way, choose a way that’s comfortable for you and polite to others. Just remember not to make the person on the other end feel uncomfortable.

If you need to take messages

　 If you answer for someone who is busy or for someone who is not around, you should always offer to take a message. This can be as simple as saying “I’m sorry. He’s busy at the moment. May I take a message?” If the person who is calling asks you to help out instead, but you don’t know how to solve the problem, it is always polite to say, “I’m sorry I don’t know, but I’d be happy to pass the message on to John.”

If you have to interrupt others

　 If you need to use the phone or talk to someone who is on the phone, you should wait until he finishes his phone conversation. However, if it’s so urgent that you can’t wait anymore, you can say “Excuse me, may I talk to you for a second?” or “I’m sorry, but I need to make an urgent call. Do you mind if I use the phone?”

1. From the passage we can learn that ______________ is the most important thing to leave a good impression when talking on the phone.

A. speaking slowly　　　　 B. giving as much information as possible

C. speaking politely 　　　 D. making yourself feel comfortable

2. When answering the phone, most companies like to _____________ as soon as they pick up the phone.

A. let the caller know who he or she has reached　　　 B. ask the caller’s name

C. wait for the caller to introduce himself or herself　　 D. ask what the caller is calling for

3. The underlined word “urgent” means “_________________”.

A. making you feel proud 　B. very strange

C. very difficult 　　　　　 D. needing to be done at once

4. The passage is written mainly to __________________.

A. teach some good communication skills　　　　 B. teach some good phone manners

C. show the importance of good phone manners　 D. tell people good manners are important

 

Answer 1

CABD