make phone calls in a foreign language

A lot of people find it difficult to make phone calls in a foreign language – and that's understandable. You can't see the person you are talking to, their voice might be unclear, and you might find it difficult to find the right words.

很多人都觉得用一门外语打电话是非常困难的，可以理解。你看不到对方，他们的声音听起来了可能不清楚，你也可能找不出合适的词。

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 module¹. Hold on（不挂断）means 'wait' – and hang on（不挂断）means 'wait' too. Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up（挂断电话）! Hang up means 'finish the call by breaking the connection' – in other words: 'put the phone down.' 

Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up is ring off（挂断电话）.  The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call.  And if you pick up the phone, (or pick the phone up) you answer a call when the phone rings.

"Hang on a second..."

If you are talking to a receptionist,（接待员）secretary or switchboard（电话接线员）operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through – put through 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't get through to (contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able to leave a message asking them to call you back. Call back means 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.

Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality（礼节，程序，拘谨）. 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!

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context², you should use could, can, may or would when you make a request: 'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?'. You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.

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 like I'm off to a conference..., no problem, bye! and hang on a moment and I'll put you through are perfectly³ acceptable⁴, as long as the overall⁵ tone⁶ of the conversation is polite.

One last tip - it's better to ask for help or clarification（澄清，阐明） 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?' 'Could you 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 that the 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!

(本文由在线英语听力室编辑整理)

1 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

2 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

5 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

6 tone   

n.语气，音调，气度，色调；vt.（up）增强

参考例句：

• There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
• Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。