When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone
lived an amazing
person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she
did not know. 
My first personal experience with this person came one day while my
mother was out. Amusing myself at the tool bench, I hit my finger
with a hammer.
The pain was terrible, but there was no one home to give me any sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my pounding finger, finally arriving
at the telephone!
Alexander Graham Bell
Born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Alexander Graham
Bell was the son and grandson of authorities in elocution
and the correction of speech. Educated to pursue a career
in the same specialty, his knowledge of the nature of sound
led him not only to teach the deaf, but also to invent the
telephone. In 1876, at the age of 29, Alexander Graham Bell
invented the telephone. Bell might easily have been content
with the success of his invention. His many laboratory notebooks
demonstrate, however, that he was driven by a genuine and
rare intellectual curiosity that kept him regularly searching,
striving, and wanting always to learn and to create.
亚力山大，格厄姆，贝尔
亚力山大，格厄姆，贝尔1847年3月3日生于苏格兰的爱丁堡。其父亲和爷爷均为辩论术和正音权威。贝尔受其教育，从事父业。贝尔对声音本质的知识使他不仅指导失聪者，而且发明了电话。1876年，29岁的贝尔使电话问世，其发明足以使他功成名就。但从他试验室的笔记可以发现，他一直在以执著和罕见的好奇心孜孜不断地研究、探索和努力创造。 |
Quickly, I unhooked
the receiver and held it to my ear. “Information
Please," I said into the mouthpiece.
After a click
or two, a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Information."
"I hurt my finger. . ." I wept
loudly. The tears came readily  enough,
now that I had an
audience.
"Isn't your mother home?"
"Nobody's home but me," I cried.
"Are you bleeding?"
"No, I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
"Then chip
off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger."
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.
I asked her for help with my geography or with my math.
When my pet canary
died. I told "Information Please" the sad story. She tried
to soothe me. But, I was not consoled. I asked
her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring
joy to all families, only
to end up as a heap
of
feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed
my deep concern,
for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other
worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the
telephone
Telephone Booth
The early telephone booth was quite ornate and lavish, almost
to a fault. The original patent specified a booth made of
wood, four or five feet square, with a domed and ventilated
roof and a strong door. When a prospective customer wanted
to make a call, an attendant would usher him into one of these
specially made rooms. The attendant would then lock the customer
in after the connection was made, so he could not leave without
paying for the call.
电话亭
早期的电话亭格外考究和奢华，差点儿好事变坏事。首创电话亭的专利人将亭子设计为木头制成，4至5平米大小，带通风孔的拱顶，一扇坚固的门。当来了一位可能打电话的顾客时，
服务员便会引导他进入某一这些特制的亭子中，等电话挂通后便把顾客锁在里面。顾客若不付话费，休想出来。 |
, “How do you spell ‘grateful’?
"
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When
I was 9, we moved to Boston.
As I grew into my teens,
the memories of those childhood
conversations never really left me. I appreciated now how patient,
understanding,
and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle.
I had about half an hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I
dialed
my hometown operator
How People May Answer the Telephone in
English
After receiving a telephone call, some people may say “hello,”
some people may say “hi,” some people may say their own first
and/or last names, perhaps followed by “here” or “speaking,”
and some people may say their own names followed by “residence”
or “office” to indicate which it is. All of these are considered
OK. Secretaries are often trained to say either the name of
the company or the boss’s name followed by “office,” and then
perhaps their own name followed by “here” or “speaking.” Businesses
may train their employees to include friendly phrases like
“may I help you” or “how may I help you?” in their phone greetings.
Here are some examples:
“Hello” “Hi” “John
here” / “John speaking” “Johnson here”
/“Johnson speaking” “John Johnson here” / “John Johnson speaking”
“Johnson residence” “Mr. Johnson’s
office” “Johnson Computer Sales, Jane
speaking” “Johnson Computer Sales,
(how) may I help you?”
英语接电话
接电话时，有人会说“hello (您好)”，而有的人则说“hi（喂）”，还有的人会自报姓名，加上“here”或“speaking”。也有人会自报姓名和“residence
(住所)”或“office (办公室)”，以示这是哪儿。任用其中哪一种方式都没问题。秘书们常训练有素，接电话时会先说公司名称或老板的名字加上“office”，然后再报自己的姓名加上“here”或“speaking”。企业的员工要学会接电话时用诸如“may
I help you”或“how may I help you?”等礼貌用语。
|
and said, "Information, please."
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information."
I hadn't planned on this but I heard myself saying, "Could you
please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"
There was a long pause.
Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."
I laughed. "So it's really still you,"
I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to
me during that time."
I told her how often I had thought of her
over the years and I asked if I could call her again."Please
do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?"
She said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to tell you this,"
she said, "Sally died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up she said, "Wait
a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?"
"Yes."
"Well, Sally left a message for you.
She said, ‘Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in.
He'll know what I mean.’"
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today? |
Listen
