6.Handling Office Calls The phone is ringing at the other end of the line and it clicks as it is being answered A voice says quickly."Hello.Will you hold,please?"Then there is another click. followed by silence.It seems like hours before someone comes back on the line--that is,ifyou don't hang up first. perhaps.the most difficult and the most important part of a secretary's work.The first impression that a client receives about a business is very often through a telephone contact.A caller who is left hanging on "hold"will get the feeling that he or she has been forgotten or ignored.If a call is answered rudely,the caller may become angry.And if the call is not routed directly to the righ person,the caller may feel that heor she is getting the"runaround. Laura Needham is a secretary in the executive offices of a large manufacturing company.As a good office secretary,Laura knows that all phone calls must be answered promptly and handled efficiently.She knows that a secretary must be pleasant and helpful.no matter how busy she is or what kind of mood she may be in.She knows she must keep calm if a caller gets impatient or becomes ar also,of course,she knows not hav mion the caller asks for,she must know who does have the information.Finally,she knows that one of her most important responsibilities is to"screen"telephone calls and to know which calls to refer to other people,and which calls to handle herself. A well-handled telephone call will give the caller a good impression of the comp he or she is dealing with.For this re anhandle telephon calls cheerfully,tactfully,and efficiently is valuable asset to any organization (4 5 minutes 328 words) 1.Good secretaries find it to handle office calls well a extremely difficult b.quite necessary c.very important d.very boring 2.It is frequently through that a customer receives his first impression about a busines a.telephone contacts b.newspaper advertisements c.telegrams d.person -to-p rson contacts 3."Runaround"here means a."an unple b."a flat refusal c."a not-so-warm welcome' d.“an unhelpful response
11 6. Handling Office Calls The phone is ringing at the other end of the line and it clicks as it is being answered. A voice says quickly, “Hello. Will you hold, please?” Then there is another click, followed by silence. It seems like hours before someone comes back on the line --- that is, if you don’t hang up first. Office calls are, perhaps, the most difficult and the most important part of a secretary’s work. The first impression that a client receives about a business is very often through a telephone contact. A caller who is left hanging on “hold” will get the feeling that he or she has been forgotten or ignored. If a call is answered rudely, the caller may become angry. And if the call is not routed directly to the right person, the caller may feel that he or she is getting the “runaround.” Laura Needham is a secretary in the executive offices of a large manufacturing company. As a good office secretary, Laura knows that all phone calls must be answered promptly and handled efficiently. She knows that a secretary must be pleasant and helpful, no matter how busy she is or what kind of mood she may be in. She knows she must keep calm if a caller gets impatient or becomes angry; also, of course, she knows she can never allow herself to lose her temper. If she does not have the information the caller asks for, she must know who does have the information. Finally, she knows that one of her most important responsibilities is to “screen” telephone calls and to know which calls to refer to other people, and which calls to handle herself. A well-handled telephone call will give the caller a good impression of the company he or she is dealing with. For this reason, an office secretary who can handle telephone calls cheerfully, tactfully, and efficiently is valuable asset to any organization. (4.5 minutes 328 words) 1. Good secretaries find it _____________ to handle office calls well. a. extremely difficult b. quite necessary c. very important d. very boring 2. It is frequently through ___________that a customer receives his first impression about a business. a. telephone contacts b. newspaper advertisements c. telegrams d. person –to –person contacts 3. “Runaround” here means ___________. a. “an unpleasant excuse” b. “a flat refusal” c. “ a not-so-warm welcome” d. “an unhelpful response
4.Laura Needham is aacapable executive of amanufacturing factory b.a secretary as well as an executive c.an efficient office secretary d but a belpful telephone operator 5.In her opinion a secretary can never be a good one until a she knows how to please her clients b.she often asks her boss how to answer a telephone call c.she has the information her clients need d.she can keep calm and never lose her temper 6.The definition of the word"screen"in the third paragraph is probably a.to give an answer b.toshow something ona piece of clo c.to protect from view with a screen d.to separate things of one sort from things of another 7.This passage is mainly about a well-handled telephone calls rance of how office are dealt with d.asecretary being a valuable asset to her company
12 4. Laura Needham is _____________. a. a capable executive of a manufacturing factory b. a secretary as well as an executive c. an efficient office secretary d. but a helpful telephone operator 5. In her opinion a secretary can never be a good one until____________________. a. she knows how to please her clients b. she often asks her boss how to answer a telephone call c. she has the information her clients need d. she can keep calm and never lose her temper 6. The definition of the word “screen” in the third paragraph is probably ___________. a. to give an answer b. to show something on a piece of cloth c. to protect from view with a screen d. to separate things of one sort from things of another 7. This passage is mainly about ________________. a. well-handled telephone calls b. the importance of how office calls are dealt with c. an efficient office secretary called Laura Needham d. a secretary being a valuable asset to her company
7.Sold Out! I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday.The announcement in the paper said hat you could buy tickets at the theatre box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00.Since I work from 9o'clock to 5:30. the only time I could go to the theater was during my 45-minute lunch break. Jnfortunately. the the re ison the other side of the the bus servic between my office and Richland Hills is not very good.But if you are lucky,you car make the round trip in 45 minutes.Last Monday,I stood at the bus stop tor fifteen minutes waiting for a bus.By the time I saw one come around the corner,there was not enough time left to make the trip---so I gave up and went back to the office.The same thing happened on Tuesday,and again on Wedr .On Thursday.my luck changed,I gotona busright away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes When I got there.however,I found a long line of people at the box office.I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour.Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line.I caught the next bus and headed back across the town. By Friday I realized my ony hope was to make the trip by taxi.It was ert.The trip by ive,but felt i would be worth it to he but it felt like an hour to me.When I got to the theatre,I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line.The reason,I quickly discovered,was that they had already sold all the tickets. 1.The writer is probably a.a worke b.a college teacher c.manager of a company d.a clerk 2 He learned that there would be last Friday a from his friends b.from one of his colleagues c.over the radio d.from the newspaper 3 he could go and buy the ticket aany day before k hour b.both before and after work hour c.only during lunch time d.on Saturday and Sunday 4.He tried to go to the theatre every day but only managed to get there a.once c.three times d.four times 5.One day the writer took to get to the theater by bus
13 7. Sold Out! I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday. The announcement in the paper said hat you could buy tickets at the theatre box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00. Since I work from 9 o’clock to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theater was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unfortunately, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop tor fifteen minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip--- so I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday, my luck changed, I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back across the town. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets. 1. The writer is probably ________. a. a worker b. a college teacher c. manager of a company d. a clerk 2. He learned_________ that there would be a concert last Friday. a. from his friends b. from one of his colleagues c. over the radio d. from the newspaper 3. he could go and buy the ticket __________-. a. any day before work hours b. both before and after work hours c. only during lunch time d. on Saturday and Sunday 4. He tried to go to the theatre every day but only managed to get there__________. a. once b. twice c. three times d. four times 5. One day the writer took __________ to get to the theater by bus
a forty-five minutes c.exactly twenty minutes d.over an hour 6.He failed to get the ticket on Friday because a.it was impossible to make the round trip to the theater in 45 minutes b.the conce t wasn't on Friday c.the taxi fare was tooexpensive d.the tickets had been sold out 7.The word"relieved"in the last sentence but one may best be replaced by a“surprised' b "pleased" c.puz☑ d.“sory 8.The story is about aa good concert b.agood ing to ouy concert ickets for his friends
14 a. forty-five minutes b. fifteen minutes c. exactly twenty minutes d. over an hour 6. He failed to get the ticket on Friday because__________. a. it was impossible to make the round trip to the theater in 45 minutes b. the concert wasn’t on Friday c. the taxi fare was too expensive d. the tickets had been sold out 7. The word “relieved” in the last sentence but one may best be replaced by _______. a. “surprised” b. “pleased” c. “puzzled” d. “sorry” 8. The story is about _________. a. a good concert b. someone enjoying a good concert c. someone trying to buy concert tickets for his friends d. someone’s disappointment at not being able to go to the concert