Т. Шелкова - Can You Speak Over the Telephone. Как вести беседу по телефону

Joe: Yes.

Bob: And he’d never do anyone a bad turn [99] do anyone a bad turn : harm anyone , but…

Joe: He’s a stick-in-the-mud [100] a stick-in-the-mud : someone lacking in enterprise and averse to change. It is a classic instance of the kind of English “idiom” which used, to be collected in phrase books; and it sounds rather odd and a little old-fashioned as so many phrase-book idioms do, probably because they are not used very much nowadays. The most famous of all is perhaps “It’s raining cats and dogs” which no Englishman would ever be likely to say any longer unless he was trying to be funny. .

Bob: Well no, not exactly, but he’s very slow to respond to new ideas. He will accept changes, but it takes him so long to come round to a new idea that by the time he’s trying it out it’s not new any longer.

Joe: And that doesn’t suit you.

Bob: Well it doesn’t really bother me, but, I mean, you’ve got to move with the times [101] move with the times : keep pace with current thinking. Another idiom that to some people might sound a little old-fashioned. these days or you’re soon left behind.

Joe: Too true [102] Too true : an emphatic way of agreeing’ .

Bob: So, anyway, I thought I’d have a bash [103] have a bash : have a try’ .

Joe: Good for you [104] Good for you : a common way of expressing approval of someone’s action . I hope you fed [105] fed : gave them all that guff [106] guff : a colloquialism for “information”, often used with the implication of irrelevance about your qualifications and experience in your application.

Bob: Oh yes, of course.

Joe: But you didn’t lay it on too thick [107] lay it on too thick : exaggerate , did you? They can go off [108] go off : take a disliking to if you make yourself sound too good, you know.

Bob: Well, I don’t think I did. I just tried to be factual and emphasise the most important points.

Joe: I bet you’ll cake walk it [109] cake walk it : the sense here is “get the job easily”. A “cake walk” is a simple undertaking. . I’ll keep my fingers crossed [110] keep my fingers crossed : the reference is to the traditional belief that crossing one’s fingers is a way of guarding against bad luck for you, at any rate.

Bob: Thanks, I’ll need it.

Joe: But what about the prospect of going South? Does that bother you at all?

Bob: Well, I know it’s got its disadvantages. Housing’s very expensive and travelling in the rush hour can be a bit of a bind [111] a bit of a bind : a nuisance . But no doubt it’s got its compensations, too, and if you want to get on you’ve got to be prepared to move around, haven’t you?

Joe: Well, that’s true. But you’ve always lived in Yorkshire and you’ll find things very different in London. No more Sunday mornings on the moors [112] the moors : вересковая пустошь, охотничье угодье (there are a great deal of open moorland in Yorkshire within easy reach of the large towns, and Sunday mornings walks there are popular) .

Bob: Hey, steady on [113] steady on : a means of asking someone to be slower or more cautious in their behaviour or statements ! I haven’t got the job yet.

Joe: No, but if you do get it you won’t be able to pop out [114] pop out : go out of the back door and run up a mountain.

Bob: True. That is something that I’d miss. That’s one thing about these parts — you’re never very far from some real country. Still, I suppose I could get used to country lanes in the Home Counties [115] the Home Counties : the counties adjacent to London if I had to.

Joe: Ugh! You don’t call that walking, do you?

Bob: Well, no, not really, but you can’t have everything, so I’d have to amuse myself in other ways. They do have a few more theatres and museums than we do, you know.

Joe: You’ll get fat, middle-aged and civilised. What a fate.

Bob: I’ll have to ring off now. I’ve got one or two things to do before I turn in [116] turn in : go to bed .

Joe: О. K. But don’t forget to let me know if you get an interview.

Bob: I will. Cheerio.

Joe: Cheerio, Bob. Thanks for ringing.

I. Define the meaning of these words and phrases. Make up sentences using them.

to organise oneself a suitable hotel, to do smth. the hard way, to be a great one for smth., with one’s lot, to put up smb., to put up with smb. (smth.), masses of adverts, to be a dead loss, to scrabble in the sand, to pop into the sea, to overlook the beach, to keep half an eye on smb., to manage a quiet snooze, facilities, to allow for a bit of exaggeration, over the road, to pop around, what with the children and the holiday traffic, to rattle on, to apply for a job, light engineering, to put smb. in with a chance, to get shortlisted, to feel at one’s best, to feel off balance, to be in the hot seat, an applicant, the pay, to be loaded, to have more scope for smth., a stick-in-the-mud, to move with the times, to be left behind, to have a bash, to go off smth., to keep one’s fingers crossed for smb., a bit of a bind, to amuse oneself, to turn in

II. Rephrase these sentences.

1. I can’t be very much help to you. 2. I’ve always taken a tent and done it the hard way. 3. Great one for the open air. 4. They will put up with noisy kids. 5. I’m a dead loss. 6. Sounds too good to be true. 7. You know, even allowing for a bit of exaggeration in the advert, it seemed to have a lot to offer. 8. They are bound to say that. 9. Strange as it may seem, the kids are very good in the car. 10. If you go by train you are sort of insulated from all the lovely places you are passing. 11. It really is very kind of you to go to all this trouble. 12. I’ve decided to apply for that job. 13. My training and experience have put me in with a chance. 14. I feel reasonably optimistic about getting short-listed. 15. I don’t feel at my best in interviews. 16. I feel off balance when I’m in the hot seat myself. 17. I shoudn’t think they’ll get many applicants with your qualifications. 18. “What’s the pay like incidentally?” “Nearly twice what I’m getting now”. 19. The rates tend to be a lot higher there, anyway. 20. You’ll be loaded! 21. I should need a damned sight more than twice my present wages to be loaded. 22. He’d never do anyone a bad turn. 23. He’s a stick-in-the-mud. 24. He’s very slow to respond to new ideas. 25. I hope you fed them all that guff about your qualifications and experience in your application. 26. I thought I’d have a bash. 27. But you didn’t lay it on too thick. 28. They can go off you. 29. I bet you’ll cake walk it. 30. Travelling in the rush hour can be a bit of a bind. 31. I’ll have to ring off now.

III. Fill in the missing remarks in these snatches of telephone conversation (see Conversations 1 and 2).

1. C: Two-six-two four-three-double four. Charles Farmer speaking.

J.: …

2. C.: Hello, Joan, how are you?

J.: …

C.: Oh, not so bad, you know.

3. C.: But I’ve always taken a tent and done it the hard way.

J.: …

4. J.: …