ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment GLOSSARY
to make an appointment– to schedule a time when one will be able to do something
* 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 doing certain things and meeting with certain people
* His appointment schedule is full this week, but he could see you next Tuesday in the afternoon.
tied up– busy; unavailable
* Lately, she has been really tied up at work, staying at the office until late at night.
to shuffle around– to move or change things; to reorganize things so that they are in different positions in space or time
* Why are all these articles due on the same day? Unless we can shuffle around the deadlines, we’ll never get them all finished on time.
commitment– obligation; something that one has promised to do; something that one has agreed to do and therefore should do
* As a married couple, they made a commitment to donate 10% of their income to their church.
to free (someone or something) up– to make someone or something available for a particular purpose at a particular time微生物学
* 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 to participate
* I’ve been looking for a place where we can have the wedding reception, but all the nice hotels are out, because other events have been planned there for months.
to bump– to change when something will happen, so that something else can happen at that time
* Our client meeting was bumped because there was an emergency company meeting scheduled at the last minute for that same time.
ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment
to last– to happen for a certain period of time; to not end until a certain amount of 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 had planned 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 lot of traffic, but he’ll be here as soon as he can.
better yet– an expression used to introduce a better idea or another solution that 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 go out to eat at a nice restaurant.
to finagle– to behave in a clever, tricky or secretive way to get something that one 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 time to review and discuss your résumé before you get here.
to pencil (someone) in– to write someone’s name on a calendar showing when one 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 change depending 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 news article.
heads up– information shared in advance; a warning联合光子 * 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 get anything finished.
every single day– every day; each day, used to stress that something happens every day, without it missing a day
* Every single day, Bettina brings the same food to the office for lunch.
ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. 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.哥白尼革命
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.
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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
bump
The verb “to bump,” in this podcast, means to change when something will happen, so that something else can happen at that time: “The performance was bumped to next week, because there was flooding in the theater.” The verb “to bump” also means to make an airplane passenger ta
ke another flight, usually because the first flight didn’t have enough seats for everyone: “The airline bumped us to a later flight, giving us a $300 travel voucher for the inconvenience.” 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 little bit: “Do you think the company will bump up your salary next year?”
to last
逆变效率In this podcast, the verb “to last” means to happen for a certain period of time, or to not end until a certain amount of time has passed: “The concert lasted all evening.” 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 particular period 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 of something: “Who ate the last of the chocolate cake?” Finally, the phrase “last but not least” is used to mean that even if something is the final thing mentioned in a list, it is not the least important: “We need to thank our friends, our family members, and last but not least, our co-workers for the success on this project.”
ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment
CULTURE NOTE
The “etiquette” (good, appropriate, polite behavior) for making appointments is “pretty” (mostly) “straightforward” (easy to understand). When making an appointment, it’s important to be “courteous” (polite) and clearly state why the appointment is needed, as well as how long it will last. The person requesting the 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 is available for the meeting.
Once the meeting time has been “established” (set, created), it’s a good idea to send an email confirming the appointment and, if the appointment is far in the future, 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 change and cancel appointments. This might happen because the appointment is no longer needed, because something more “urgent” (important and not able to wait) has “come up” (appeared), or because they have “double-booked” (agreed to do two things or attend two appointments at the same time). It’s im
portant to give 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 other person 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, and then try to suggest several “alternative” (other) times when one is available to meet. And, of course, once the new appointment is scheduled, try not to change it again!
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – a
ESL Podcast 556 – Scheduling an Appointment COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 556: Scheduling an Appointment.
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 in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod. Go there to download a Learning Guide for this episode that contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes, comprehension quiz, and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called “Scheduling an Appointment.” It’s going to be a conversation between Ann and Serge about setting up a meeting – arranging a meeting between two people. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
mdi格式Ann: Hello.
Serge: Hi, Ann. It’s Serge. I’m calling to make an appointment for LeeAnn. She wants to meet with Miles next week sometime.
Ann: Let me take a look at his appointment schedule. Let’s see, can LeeAnn be here on Tuesday at 2:00?
Serge: No, she’s tied up all Tuesday afternoon, but I could shuffle around some of her commitments to free her up on Tuesday morning, if that helps.
Ann: Unfortunately, Tuesday morning is out. I could bump someone on Wednesday 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 more than 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 that appointment until she gets back to the office. Why don’t you pencil her in for now?
Ann: Okay, I’ll do that, but can you confirm with me by Monday?
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