| Level: | Topic: | Speakers: | Length: |
| difficult | sales calls | man – woman | 01:49 |
Pre-Listening Exercise
Have you ever received phone calls from telemarketers trying to sell you something? If so, what was the product or service that was being advertised?
Idioms
“do something until someone is blue in the face” = do something a lot without achieving your goal
“Listen. You can talk to me about the product until you’re blue in the face, but I still won’t buy it.”
“one-track mind” = always thinking about one specific think
“Telemarketers only have a one-track mind: money, money, and more money. They never think about what customers really need.”
Listening Exercise
A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.
What is the man's name?
Telemarketer: Good evening, Sir. Is this Mr. Charles Philips?
The telemarketer is promoting _____.
Telemarketer: No, no, actually . . . Mr. Jones. [Huh?] Oh, sorry. That was the last guy. [Ah, great.] Uh, we want to offer you a free trial membership to our sports club downtown at the introductory price of $39.95 . . .
_____ is part of this offer.
Telemarketer: Well, it includes unlimited access to all our facilities, including the gym, weight room, racquetball courts, and swimming pool.
The man turns down the offer because _____.
Man: Again, I'm not interested. I have my own fitness program I do around the house anyway.
Post-Listening Exercise
Do you feel there should be laws that restrict the hours when telemarketers can call people at home? What do you think of companies that sell your personal information, including your home phone number, to other companies for business (sales) purposes?
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