Using English at Work：37 Scheduling a Meeting(2)

The vendor¹ who calls me wants to set up a meeting for the following week.

"To set up a meeting" means² to schedule or arrange³ a meeting, or to find a time when two or more people are available to meet.

You might set up a time to have lunch with a friend, or meet someone to fix your broken sink in your house - you'll set up a time.

The vendor called to set up a meeting with me for the following, or next week.

Since I was away from my desk at the time that she called, she left a voicemail message.

To be "away from your desk" means not to be in your office, maybe because you're having another meeting or you're taking a break.

Because I was away from my desk, I wasn't able to answer my phone when it rang, so the vendor left me a voicemail message.

When I get back to my desk, or return to my office, I retrieve⁴ the message and listen to it.

"To retrieve" means to get something, especially when we're talking about information that was stored on a computer or, in this case, in a voicemail system.

To retrieve a voicemail message, I have to call the voicemail system, enter my PIN (or personal identification⁵ number), and then I can listen to the recorded message.

Sometimes when you call someone in an office and they don't answer their phone, you may hear a message like this:

"I'm away from my desk right now. Please leave a message and I'll return your call when I get back."

That's a very common outgoing message.

"Outgoing," here, means that's what people will hear when they call you.

After listening to the vendor's message, then I return her call.

"To return someone's call" means to call someone back on the telephone after he or she has called you and left a message.

When people leave a message, they usually give their name, their telephone number, and the time they called.

I call the vendor twice, but she isn't there, meaning that she isn't answering her phone.

So I leave a voicemail message for her.

Now we're playing something we call "phone tag⁶."

1 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 arrange   

vt.安排，整理，计划，改编(乐曲)；vi.协商，计划

参考例句：

• He began to arrange the flowers in the vase.他开始把花瓶内的花摆好。
• We must arrange about that.这事我们得安排一下。

4 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

5 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

6 tag   

n.标签，附属物，名称，谚语；vt.附以签条，尾随，添饰，指责，连接；vi.紧随，尾随

参考例句：

• Please tag your baggage.请在你的行李上贴上标签了。
• The clerk attached a price tag to each article.店员给每一件商品系上标价签。