Part Ⅰ Situational Dialogues

Situational Dialogue 1

Susan works as a secretary to Mr.Brown. Now, Mr.Brown is telling her what to do.

Mr.Brown: Susan, come to my office, please There are three things I'd like you to do for me this morning.

Susan: Yes, of course.

Mr.Brown: I want you to send this file to HR Department first. And then call Mr.Yang, the General Manager of ABC Company, to make an appointment for me with him.

Susan: When do you want the appointment to be?

Mr.Brown: Any time after 2:30 this afternoon.

Susan: What if Mr.Yang is occupied today?

Mr.Brown: Then make it at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon.

Susan: All right, Mr.Brown. I'll do that immediately. What's the third thing?

Mr.Brown: Oh, yes. Please photocopy these two contracts and file them.

Susan: OK. I'll finish it as soon as possible.

Practice 1

Task 1: Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.

Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.

Suppose you are Mr.Brown. You are asking your secretary about your schedule for next week.

Situational Dialogue 2

The next day, Mr.Yang, the General Manager of ABC Company, comes to visit Mr.Brown. Susan is receiving him.

Susan: Good afternoon, sir. May I help you?

Mr.Yang: Good afternoon, Miss. Can I see Mr.Brown now?

Susan: Do you have an appointment, sir?

Mr.Yang: Yes. I have an appointment with him at 3 o'clock.

Susan: What name is it, please?

Mr.Yang: Bruce Yang from ABC Company.

Susan: I'm sorry, Mr.Yang, Mr.Brown is on a long-distance call. Would you please wait for a minute?

Mr.Yang: Yes, of course.

Susan: Would you like something to drink? Do you prefer coffee or tea?

Mr.Yang: Thank you. Tea, please!

Susan: Here you are, Mr.Yang. And there are some magazines if you'd like to read them.

Mr.Yang: Oh, good. Thank you very much.

Susan: You are welcome.

Practice 2

Task 1: Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.

Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.

Suppose you are Jennifer, a secretary to the manager, Mr.Zhou. You are receiving a visitor, Mr.Green, who doesn't have an appointment with your manager.

Situational Dialogue 3

Mr.Clinton is asking his secretary Janet for the files he requested earlier.

Mr.Clinton: Janet, have you looked up the files related to Rainbow Company?

Janet: I'm sorry, Mr.Clinton. I could not find any information on that company, even though I checked all the cross references.

Mr.Clinton: I am quite sure that information was filed.

Janet: I've checked all the folders, but there is no file on Rainbow Company.

Mr.Clinton: Do you know how our filing system works?

Janet: Yes, I do. All files are arranged in alphabetical order.

Mr.Clinton: Maybe you can check the files under “B”. Mr.Bush is the CEO of Rainbow Company. The information on his company may be filed by his name.

Janet: I'll try it immediately. Oh, here they are! Is this what you're looking for?

Mr.Clinton: Let me have a look. Yes, thanks, Janet.

Janet: You are welcome.

Mr.Clinton: By the way, you'd better rearrange the files so that they can be found easily.

Janet: Arrange them by the company name?

Mr.Clinton: Yes, you are right.

Janet: I'll finish it as soon as possible.

Practice 3

Task 1: Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.

Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.

Suppose you are Helen, a new secretary. You are asked to file all the reports of last quarter. But you are not quite familiar with the new filing system. So you ask Bill for help.