1. Old Pima county courthouse
2. Historic architecture: St. Augustine Cathedral, Fort Lowell, the Owls club, Steinfield mansion, Casa Del Gobernador, La Casa Cordova, J. Knox Corbett house, Edward Nye house.
3. University of Arizona
4. Pima air museum
5. Titan missile museum
6. Mission San Xavier Del Bac
7. Saguaro National Monuments
8. Sabino Canyon
9. Mt. Lemmon
10. Santa Catalina mountains
11. Old Tucson Studios
12. Tohono Chul Park
13. Biosphere 2
14. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
15. Kitt Peak
16. Mission in the Sun
17. Colossal CaveReid Park Zoo
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Making Telephone Calls
Communicating in English on the phone can be difficult. But it will be easier if you become familiar with some common expressions. Also, remember that most Westerners follow certain rules of politeness when talking on the phone. The following are some guidelines for American telephone manners.
1. When you call someone, introduce yourself first. Even if you know the person, don’t expect him or her to recognize your voice.
2. After introducing yourself, you might ask, “Are you busy right now?” If it is a business call, you can say, “Is this a convenient time to call?”
3. If the person is busy, you can say, “What time should I call back?”
4. When you answer the phone at home, you can simply say “Hello.” At an office, you should identify the name of your company. For example: “Formosa Plastics, may I help you?”
5. If you dial a wrong number, it is not polite to say, “What number is this?” Instead, you can say, “I’m sorry. Is this 2595-2345?”
6. When you want to end a phone conversation, you can say, “Thanks for calling” or “It’s been nice talking to you.” To be more direct, you can say, “I’m sorry. I have to go now.”
(From Far East English Reader)
Dialogeues:
1. A student in Taiwan is calling a school in the United States.
Operator: University of Oregon.
Student: Could I have the Language Training Center, please?
Operator: One moment, please.
Secretary: Language Center. May I help you?
Student: Hello, I’m calling from Taiwan. I’d like to get some information about your program.
Secretary: Just a minute. I’ll connect you with Ms. Barnes.
2. A man calls the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) AIT has a recorded phone message.
Recording: This is the American Institute in Taiwan. If you know the extension you want, please dial it now. If you need other information or want to speak to an operator, dial 0.
Operator: AIT. May I help you?
Caller: Could I have the visa office, please?
Operator: One moment.
3. Hua-ming makes a personal call to his friend Steve.
Steve: Hello.
Hua-ming: Hello, is Steve there?
Steve: Speaking.
Hua-ming: Hi, Steve. This is Hua-ming.
Steve: Hua-ming! How’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you for ages!
Hua-ming: I’ve been great. How have you been?
4. Mei-ling calls her classmate Ruth, who has an answering machine.
Recording: you have reach 2333-6633. We can’t answer the phone right now. Please leave your name and number after the tone.
Mei-Ling: Hi, Ruth, this is Mei-ling. Please call me back when you get home. My number is 2264-8878.
5. Amy calls her classmate Peter, but she dials the wrong number.
Answerer: Hello.
Amy: Hello, could I speak to Peter?
Answerer: I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.
Amy: Oh? Is this 2718-3357?
Answerer: No, it’s not. I’m afraid you have the wrong number.
Amy: Sorry!
Idioms and Phrases:
1. Even if: in spite of the fact that.
Even if you can do it by yourself, you’d better discuss it with us first.
2. Hear from: to receive a letter or telephone call from.
3. For ages: for a long time.
We haven’t seen each other for ages.
1. When you call someone, introduce yourself first. Even if you know the person, don’t expect him or her to recognize your voice.
2. After introducing yourself, you might ask, “Are you busy right now?” If it is a business call, you can say, “Is this a convenient time to call?”
3. If the person is busy, you can say, “What time should I call back?”
4. When you answer the phone at home, you can simply say “Hello.” At an office, you should identify the name of your company. For example: “Formosa Plastics, may I help you?”
5. If you dial a wrong number, it is not polite to say, “What number is this?” Instead, you can say, “I’m sorry. Is this 2595-2345?”
6. When you want to end a phone conversation, you can say, “Thanks for calling” or “It’s been nice talking to you.” To be more direct, you can say, “I’m sorry. I have to go now.”
(From Far East English Reader)
Dialogeues:
1. A student in Taiwan is calling a school in the United States.
Operator: University of Oregon.
Student: Could I have the Language Training Center, please?
Operator: One moment, please.
Secretary: Language Center. May I help you?
Student: Hello, I’m calling from Taiwan. I’d like to get some information about your program.
Secretary: Just a minute. I’ll connect you with Ms. Barnes.
2. A man calls the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) AIT has a recorded phone message.
Recording: This is the American Institute in Taiwan. If you know the extension you want, please dial it now. If you need other information or want to speak to an operator, dial 0.
Operator: AIT. May I help you?
Caller: Could I have the visa office, please?
Operator: One moment.
3. Hua-ming makes a personal call to his friend Steve.
Steve: Hello.
Hua-ming: Hello, is Steve there?
Steve: Speaking.
Hua-ming: Hi, Steve. This is Hua-ming.
Steve: Hua-ming! How’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you for ages!
Hua-ming: I’ve been great. How have you been?
4. Mei-ling calls her classmate Ruth, who has an answering machine.
Recording: you have reach 2333-6633. We can’t answer the phone right now. Please leave your name and number after the tone.
Mei-Ling: Hi, Ruth, this is Mei-ling. Please call me back when you get home. My number is 2264-8878.
5. Amy calls her classmate Peter, but she dials the wrong number.
Answerer: Hello.
Amy: Hello, could I speak to Peter?
Answerer: I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.
Amy: Oh? Is this 2718-3357?
Answerer: No, it’s not. I’m afraid you have the wrong number.
Amy: Sorry!
Idioms and Phrases:
1. Even if: in spite of the fact that.
Even if you can do it by yourself, you’d better discuss it with us first.
2. Hear from: to receive a letter or telephone call from.
3. For ages: for a long time.
We haven’t seen each other for ages.
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