2010年ESL之商务英语 04 Scheduling an Appointment_在线英语听力室

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04 Scheduling an Appointment

GLOSSARYto make an appointment – to schedule a time when one will be able to dosomething* Don’t forget to make an appointment with the doctor for your son’s shots.

appointment schedule – a calendar showing when one is committed to doingcertain things and meeting with certain people* His appointment schedule is full this week, but he could see you next Tuesdayin the afternoon.

tied up – busy; unavailable* Lately, she has been really tied up at work, staying at the office until late atnight.

to shuffle around – to move or change things; to reorganize things so that theyare in different positions in space or time* Why are all these articles due on the same day? Unless we can shuffle aroundthe deadlines, we’ll never get them all finished on time.

commitment – obligation; something that one has promised to do; somethingthat one has agreed to do and therefore should do* As a married couple, they made a commitment to donate 10% of their incometo their church.

to free (someone or something) up – to make someone or something availablefor a particular purpose at a particular time* Can you please try to free up the conference room for tomorrow’s meeting?

to be out – to not be an option; to not be available for use; to not be able toparticipate* I’ve been looking for a place where we can have the wedding reception, but allthe nice hotels are out, because other events have been planned there formonths.

to bump – to change when something will happen, so that something else canhappen at that time* Our client meeting was bumped because there was an emergency companymeeting scheduled at the last minute for that same time.

to last – to happen for a certain period of time; to not end until a certain amountof time has passed* I have only one class today, but it lasts nearly three hours.

to run late – to be behind schedule; to be doing things later than one hadplanned because each thing is taking longer than expected* Jay called from his cell phone to say that he’s running late because there’s a lotof traffic, but he’ll be here as soon as he can.

better yet – an expression used to introduce a better idea or another solutionthat might work better than the one that was being discussed previously* We could celebrate by cooking a nice meal at home or, better yet, we could goout to eat at a nice restaurant.

to finagle – to behave in a clever, tricky or secretive way to get something thatone wants or needs* How did you finagle front-row tickets for the concert?

to push back – to move something to a later time or date* Can we push back your interview until 3:00? That should give us enough timeto review and discuss your résumé before you get here.

to pencil (someone) in – to write someone’s name on a calendar showing whenone plans to meet with that person, but while waiting to receive final confirmation* Let’s pencil in the conference for March 9th, but that might need to changedepending on whether the facility is available then.

to confirm – to verify that something is true or correct* A good reporter always confirms information before writing about it in a newsarticle.

heads up – information shared in advance; a warning* If you think you might get here late, please call to give us a heads up.

to spin (one’s) wheels – to be involved in a lot of activities or to be very busy,but without having results to show for it* Mojtaba was spinning his wheels all day at work, but he didn’t really getanything finished.

every single day – every day; each day, used to stress that something happensevery day, without it missing a day* Every single day, Bettina brings the same food to the office for lunch.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. According to Serge, what is LeeAnn doing on Tuesday?

a) She’ll be learning how to tie knots.

b) She’ll be in meetings all day.

c) She’ll be out of the office.

2. Why does Ann think they’re spinning their wheels?

a) Because they spend too much time undoing their work.

b) Because they weren’t able to find a time for a new appointment.

c) Because they spend too much time driving between appointments.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

bumpThe verb “to bump,” in this podcast, means to change when something willhappen, so that something else can happen at that time: “The performance wasbumped to next week, because there was flooding in the theater.” The verb “tobump” also means to make an airplane passenger take another flight, usuallybecause the first flight didn’t have enough seats for everyone: “The airlinebumped us to a later flight, giving us a $300 travel voucher for theinconvenience.” The verb “to bump” can mean to hit something by accident:

“Quincy bumped his head against the table as he bent down to pick up his keys.”

Finally, the phrase “to bump (something) up” means to increase something a littlebit: “Do you think the company will bump up your salary next year?”

to lastIn this podcast, the verb “to last” means to happen for a certain period of time, orto not end until a certain amount of time has passed: “The concert lasted allevening.” Or, “The conference will last four days.” The phrase “to last(someone)” for a period of time means to be enough for a person for a particularperiod of time: “They bought enough food to last them all winter.” The phrase“the last of (something)” means the small amount that remains, or what is left ofsomething: “Who ate the last of the chocolate cake?” Finally, the phrase “last butnot least” is used to mean that even if something is the final thing mentioned in alist, it is not the least important: “We need to thank our friends, our familymembers, and last but not least, our co-workers for the success on this project.”

CULTURE NOTEThe “etiquette” (good, appropriate, polite behavior) for making appointments is“pretty” (mostly) “straightforward” (easy to understand). When making anappointment, it’s important to be “courteous” (polite) and clearly state why theappointment is needed, as well as how long it will last. The person requestingthe appointment should try to offer maximum “flexibility” (willingness to change)in his or her schedule, suggesting at least a few times when he or she isavailable for the meeting.

Once the meeting time has been “established” (set, created), it’s a good idea tosend an email confirming the appointment and, if the appointment is far in thefuture, another email as a reminder one or two days before the meeting will“occur” (happen).

Because businesspeople “tend to be” (are often) busy, they often need to changeand cancel appointments. This might happen because the appointment is nolonger needed, because something more “urgent” (important and not able towait) has “come up” (appeared), or because they have “double-booked” (agreedto do two things or attend two appointments at the same time). It’s important togive the other person as much “advance notice” (extra time to know something)as possible. It is rude to cancel a meeting a few minutes before it starts.

Canceling a meeting a week ahead of time is better, because it allows the otherperson to plan how he or she will use the time that had been “set aside”

(intended for) the appointment.

It’s also important to “apologize” (say that one is sorry) for the “inconvenience”

(difficulties or trouble) created by changing or canceling the appointment, andthen try to suggest several “alternative” (other) times when one is available tomeet. And, of course, once the new appointment is scheduled, try not to changeit again!

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 556: Scheduling anAppointment.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 556. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guide for thisepisode that contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences,additional definitions, cultural notes, comprehension quiz, and a completetranscript of everything we say on this episode.

This episode is called “Scheduling an Appointment.” It’s going to be aconversation between Ann and Serge about setting up a meeting – arranging ameeting between two people. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Ann: Hello.

Serge: Hi, Ann. It’s Serge. I’m calling to make an appointment for LeeAnn. Shewants to meet with Miles next week sometime.

Ann: Let me take a look at his appointment schedule. Let’s see, can LeeAnn behere on Tuesday at 2:00?

Serge: No, she’s tied up all Tuesday afternoon, but I could shuffle around someof her commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning, if that helps.

Ann: Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out. I could bump someone onWednesday afternoon at 3:00. Can LeeAnn be here at that time?

Serge: She has an appointment at 2:30 in this office, but it shouldn’t last morethan a half hour. She should be able to make it by 3:00 if she’s not running late.

Better yet, I may be able to finagle something, maybe push back thatappointment until she gets back to the office. Why don’t you pencil her in fornow?

Ann: Okay, I’ll do that, but can you confirm with me by Monday?

Serge: Sure, I’ll give you a heads up no later than noon on Monday if I can’tpush back her other appointment.

Ann: Okay, sounds good. Tell me, do you ever feel like we’re spinning ourwheels, spending our days making, changing, and canceling appointments?

Serge: Yeah, every single day!

[end of dialogue]

Ann begins by saying, “Hello,” answering the phone. Serge says, “Hi, Ann. It’sSerge. I’m calling to make an appointment for LeeAnn.” “To make anappointment” is to schedule a time to do something, usually to meet withsomeone. Serge says that LeeAnn wants to meet with Miles next weeksometime. Ann says, “Let me take a look at his appointment schedule.” Your“appointment schedule” is a calendar showing when you have meetings. Annsays, “Let’s see, can LeeAnn be here on Tuesday at 2:00?” meaning 2:00 in theafternoon.

Serge says, “No, she’s tied up all Tuesday afternoon.” When we say we are “tiedup” we mean we are busy, we are not available. “I meant to answer his emailthis afternoon, but then I got all tied up with other things.” I was busy; I wasoccupied. Serge says that he could shuffle around some of LeeAnn’scommitments to free her up on Tuesday morning. “To shuffle around” is aphrasal verb meaning to move or change things, to reorganize things in adifferent position, either physically (in space) or temporally (in time). Peopleoften use this when talking about their schedule: “I’m going to shuffle around myschedule so that I can see you tomorrow morning.” Serge says he can shufflearound some of LeeAnn’s commitments (some of her obligations; some of herother meetings, most likely) to free her up. “To free (someone or something) up”

means to make someone or something available; to change things so that theyare no longer tied up; they’re no longer busy. “Let me see if I can free up sometime to see you this afternoon,” let me see if I can move some of my meetings sothat we can talk this afternoon.

Serge is offering to free up LeeAnn on Tuesday morning. Ann says,“Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out.” When we say something is “out,” wemean it’s not possible; it’s not an option; I cannot do it at that time or day. SoTuesday morning is not possible, then Ann says, “I could bump someone onWednesday afternoon at 3:00.” “To bump (bump) (someone)” means to changewhen something will happen so that something else can happen. For example:

“My friend was supposed to sing at the performance, but she was bumped by another singer.” They decided that they wanted someone else to sing. We oftenuse this expression when, for example, you are flying and the airline sold toomany tickets, which happens frequently. They sold more tickets than they hadseats for, and so they had to force some people to take a different plane. Youwould say they were bumped. That’s the meaning here, Ann is going to try tomove someone on Wednesday afternoon.

Serge says that unfortunately LeeAnn has an appointment at 2:30 in this office,but it shouldn’t last more than a half hour. “To last,” as a verb, means to go onfor a certain amount of time, not to end until a certain amount of time has passed.

So for example someone might ask, “How long is this rain going to last?”

meaning how long will it be raining. You might say, “Well, until probably 5:00 thisafternoon,” it will last until 5:00. Both “bump” and “last” have additional meaningsin English; taking look at our Learning Guide for those explanations.

Serge says that LeeAnn should be able to make it (meaning arrive to themeeting) by 3:00 if she’s not running late. “To run late” means to be behind yourschedule, to be doing things later than you had planned because things tooklonger than expected. If you tell someone you are going to meet them at a caféat 8:00 and you see that you are not going to arrive on time, you would want tocall them, or text them, and tell them that you are running late, that you will bethere at whatever time you will be there, hopefully not too late.

So, Serge says that she should be there by 3:00 if she’s not running late. “Betteryet,” he says, “I may be able to finagle something.” “Better yet” is an expressionused to introduce another idea or another solution that you thought of that wouldwork better than the one you were talking about previously. So I give you plan A,and then I think: “Oh, no. Plan B is better.” So I’ll say, “Better yet, let’s do planB.” It’s always supposed to be a better idea. “Better yet,” Serge says, “I may beable to finagle (finagle) something.” “To finagle” means to be, perhaps, verysmart about something, very clever. It could also mean that you’re being tricky;you’re doing something that you would not normally do in order to get what youwant. We use this somewhat informal verb in situations that are difficult, but wethink we can, somehow, arrange it so that it will be possible. Serge is going to tryto finagle something, try to figure something out: “maybe push back thatappointment until she gets back to the office.” To “push back” an appointment ora meeting is to move it to a later time or even to a later day. You were going tomeet someone Tuesday, but then they were going to busy, so they asked topush back the meeting until Friday – to change it to a later date or time.

Serge is suggesting that he push back LeeAnn’s appointment – her 2:30appointment, so that she can make a 3:00 meeting. Serge says, “Why don’t you pencil her in for now?” This expression, “to pencil (pencil) (someone) in,” meansto write someone’s name on a calendar, showing when they plan on meeting thatperson, but still waiting for final confirmation. The reason we say “pencil” isbecause a pencil is something you write with that you can erase if you make amistake. A pen, of course, cannot be easily erased – most pens. So that’s whywe use the word “pencil,” and we actually make it a verb: “to pencil (someone)in.” It means to put their name down for a certain time, but knowing that youhave to wait until the person says, “I can definitely do it.” So, it’s when you’re notdefinite, when you’re not certain about something.

Ann says, “Okay, I’ll do that (I’ll pencil her in), but can you confirm with me byMonday?” “To confirm” is to verify that something is true or correct. So Serge isgoing to have to call Ann back sometime before Monday to say definitely –certainly – yes or no, LeeAnn will be at the appointment. Serge says, “Sure, I’llgive you a heads up no later than noon on Monday if I can’t push back her otherappointment.” “Heads up” means I’m giving you information in advance.

Sometimes “heads up” means a warning. If you are out playing baseball and youthrow a ball and it goes towards someone who doesn’t see it coming, you wouldyell “Heads up!” You’re warning them that they might get hit in the head with abaseball. Well, it doesn’t always have to be related to your head; it can be awarning about anything. Or, it can be information about something that willhappen in the future: “I’ll give you a heads up when I am about to leave myoffice.” That means I will call you or communicate with you before I leave myoffice, or when I know what time I will be leaving my office.

So, Serge is going to give Ann a heads up no later than Monday at noon. Annsays, “Okay, sounds good. Tell me, do you ever feel like we’re spinning ourwheels.” “To spin your wheels” means to be involved in a lot of activities thatkeep you very busy, but that don’t accomplish very much; you don’t seem to getvery much done, but you are constantly busy. That would be spinning yourwheels. Serge says, “Yeah, every single day!” meaning, simply, every day.

“Single” is just used to emphasize – to stress something happens every day,without missing a single day.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.