Travel Agent:____________________________

Jenny: What time does the flight leave?

Travel Agent:____________________________

Jenny: And what is the check-in time, please?

Travel Agent:____________________________

Exercise 26 Booking a Flight

Learn the dialogue by heart and role-play it.

• Good afternoon. My name’s Jenkins. I’d like to make a reservation.

• Certainly. How many people are travelling?

• There are three of us.

• And where are you going?

• We want to go to Tokyo – in business class, please.

• Of course. Well, let me just check … yes, there’s a flight daily at 22.00.

• I see.

• Yes, the flight leaves at 22.00, so you must check in by eight thirty. Your arrival in Tokyo will be at 20.45, local time.

• Is there a stopover?

• No, there isn’t a stopover. It’s a direct flight.

Exercise 27 

[5, Unit 6, ex.12]

Now it’s your turn to book a flight. Listen to a clerk and answer the questions.

Clerk: Good afternoon. How may I help you?

Y

Say your name.

ou:

Clerk: And where are you travelling to?

Y

State your destination.

ou:

Clerk: And how many passengers will there be?

Y

Say how many passengers.

ou:

Clerk: Which class do you prefer: economy, business or first class?

Y

Choose your class.

ou:

Clerk: Let me see … there’s a flight tomorrow morning at 10.40.

Y

Check the departure time.

ou:

Clerk: tomorrow, at 10.40 – that’s twenty minutes to eleven.

Y

Ask about the check-in time.

ou:

Clerk: You should check-in 90 minutes before departure – that’s ten past nine.

Y

Check the flight – is it direct?

ou:

Clerk: Yes, the flight is direct: there’s no stopover.

Y

Check the arrival time.

ou:

Clerk: You will arrive at … one moment, let me just check …

Grammar notes

Употребление выражений “could you…” и “would you…”.

“Could you…” и “would you…” используются для выражения просьбы. Эта просьба более вежливая, чем при употреблении выражения “can you…”.

Exercise 28

Look at the list of things Howard asked Helen to do. In pairs, ask and answer as Howard and Helen do:

• phone Mr. Smith

• send the telex to New York

• write to Paul Sawyers

• photocopy the report

• type the letters

• give the memo to Sheila

• do the filing

• ask Ms. Mathews to come in

Howard: Could you phone Mr Smith, please?

Would you phone Mr Smith, please?

Helen: Certainly, Mr. Spencer. I’ll phone him at once.

Exercise 29

Request politely.

Example: Send a taxi.

A Could you send a taxi, please?

B I’d like a taxi, please.

1. Reserve me a seat to Frankfurt.

2. Book a flight to Tokyo for me.

3. Send a taxi to Atlanta.

4. Check the flights to Malaysia.

5. Hire a four-door saloon.

6. Non-smoking.

Supplementary reading and discussion

Exercise 30

Think and answer.

1. Have you ever experienced misunderstanding due to cultural differences? If so, how did you cope with it?

2. Why is it so important to be aware of the cultural background of the people you deal with?

1. What is the attitude to this problem in your environment?

2. How can neglect of the problem affect a business?

3. Is the awareness of cultural differences vital only for businesspeople? Why not?

3. What cultural differences are you aware of? Give examples.

Exercise 31

Read and discuss the text.