Telephone conversations to help improve your listening skills. AUDIO
Crank Calls CRANK CALLS
Here are some more crank calls - those funny telephone calls that are designed to wind people up. Have fun listening to these two. (Answers on page 44.)
Call II: Car for Sale For this call, we placed a classified ad in a local newspaper offering a car for sale. Listen to the conversation and answer this question, what’s wrong with the car? Hot: Victim:
Call I: The Suspect For this call, we pretended to be the police, offering a member of the public some useful information. Listen to the conversation and answer this question, why do the police phone?
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Jane Grace speaking, how may I help you? Hello, this is Chief Inspector Broadstone. I’m afraid you’re going to have to speak up. I can’t hear you very well. Please listen carefully. I, Chief Inspector Broadstone, am part of an undercover surveillance operation. What? I said. Oh, never mind. I am just calling to inform you that we have the suspect under surveillance. What suspect? The suspect. But what suspect? What are you talking about? The man who lives in your building. What? There’s a middle-aged, balding man who lives in your building. He leaves the house every day at 07:00 in the morning and returns at about 18:00. What? I don’t understand. What’s going on? We believe that this man is involved in an international narcotics operation. But that man is my husband. What are you talking about? We have reason to believe that this man is highly dangerous. I don’t understand… Just exercise extreme caution. We’ll be in contact shortly.
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Hello, Nigel speaking. Oh, hi. I was just calling about the ad you have offering the car for sale. Oh, yeah, right, yes. Can you tell me anything about it? Yes, it’s a 1997 Opel Corsa. It’s got about 30,000 miles on the clock. Sounds good. Could I come round and see it? Take it for a test drive, maybe? Yes, of course. I’m just on my way home now. (Car horn sounds.) (Shouting to another driver.) Get out of the way, you idiot! Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were driving. I can call back later if you want. Yes, perhaps you should. It’s just I’m driving up the motorway in first gear. In first gear? The gears are jammed. But don’t worry. It doesn’t happen often. Oh. (Beeping sound.) (Shouting to a driver.) And the same to you! Erm, I think I’ll call back later, if that’s OK. Yeah, no problem. Damn! What’s wrong? Nothing. The wing mirror just fell off. (More beeping sounds.) Erm, I think you should pull over. I’m going to turn around and see if I can pick up the mirror. Call me about the car later. OK! Oh, and be careful.
GLOSSARY to wind someone up exp to really annoy someone to speak up phr vb to speak more loudly an undercover surveillance operation n a secret operation to observe a suspect under surveillance exp if someone is “under surveillance”, the police are watching them secretly a balding man n a man who is losing his hair
an international narcotics operation n importing illegal drugs into a country a classified ad n a little piece of publicity in a newspaper offering something or asking for something 30,000 miles on the clock exp if a car has this, it has been driven for 30,000 miles to come round phr vb to go to someone’s house a test drive n a journey in a car to see how it works. This helps you decide whether to buy it or not
a car horn n an object in a car that you press and that makes a loud noise get out of the way! exp move away! a motorway n a road with many lanes (lines) of traffic in first gear exp the gears in a car control the energy being used. A car travelling in first gear on the motorway would be making a very strange noise jammed adj
if something is “jammed”, you cannot move it a beeping sound n a short loud, sound made by a car horn damn! exp informal an exclamation of anger a wing mirror n a mirror on the side of your car you use to see behind you to pull over phr vb to stop a car
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