Hot Lines and Toll-Free Numbers

 

A number of businesses, charitable organizations, and trade groups have set up hot lines and toll-free numbers that let the public contact them directly. Usually the pur­pose is to help people request information or ask questions. Here are some examples;

• The American Plastics Council will gladly send you a brochure describing how plastics make a contribution to the quality of our lives if you call its toll-free number.

• The National Turkey Association establishes a turkey hot line every Thanksgiving to advise anxious cooks on how to prepare the bird. The hot line receives thousands of calls every year.

• Credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard have free numbers for cardhold­ers to inquire about the status of their accounts or to ask questions about billing.

• Companies that sell goods and services by telephone have toll-free numbers lor consumers to order merchandise.

Other phone lines require that users pay a fee for each call placed. The phone com­pany takes a service charge from this fee, and the remainder goes to the party being called. Charitable organizations are increasingly using such numbers to reduce their fund-raising costs.

Most organizations promote their use through advertising, direct mail, and media publicity.

□ Notes:

theAmericanPlasticsCouncil - Американский Комитет по распространению изделий из пластмассы

theNationalTurkeyAssociation - Национальная ассоциация Америки по выращиванию индюков (Национальная ассоциация «Индейка»)

ThanksgivingDay - День Благодарения. Национальный праздник ежегодно отмечаемый в США в четвертый четверг ноября. Посвящен первому урожаю, собранному пилигримами из Плимутской колонии в 1621 г. после голодной зимы в Новом Свете. Колонисты выжили во многом благодаря помощи индейцев.

VisaCard - кредитная карточка компании «Виза», одна из самых распростра­ненных среди американцев. Выдается большинством банков.

MasterCard - «Мастеркард». Популярная в США кредитная карточка, учреж­денная группой банков. Входит в международную систему расчетов.

□ Vocabulary:

 

hotline - горячая линия

toll-free - бесплатный (звонок по телефону)

request - просьба, заявка

makeacontributionto - вносить вклад в; дополнять

quality - качество

anxious - озабоченный

cook - кухарка, повар

turkey - индейка

cardholder - владелец карточки

inquire - расспрашивать

account - счет (в банке)

hilling - оформление счетов

consumer - потребитель

merchandise - товар, товары

require - требовать

user - пользователь

fee - плата, гонорар; взнос

placeacall - заказать разговор по телефону; позвонить

charge - сбор, плата

remainder - остаток

charitable - благотворительный

increasingly - все больше; все чаще

reduce - сократить

fund-raisingcosts - расходы, идущие на сбор пожертвований в пользу фонда promote - содействовать, способствовать

Exercises

 

1)Find the English equivalents in the text. Use them in sentences of your own:

1. вносить вклад в

2. благотворительные организации

3. кредитная карточка

4.заказать телефонный разговор

5. взимать плату за обслуживание

6.организовать горячую линию

7. заказать товар

8.расходы, идущие на сбор пожертвований в пользу фонда

 

2)Find in the text the words which describe or mean the following:

 

1. relating to money or gifts given to people who need help, or organizations that give this kind of help -

2. the thing that an event, process, or activity is supposed to achieve -

3. goods that are produced to be sold, especially goods that are shown in a store fo people to buy -

4. very worried about something -

5. the part of something that is left after everything else is gone or has been deal with -

6. more and more all the time -

7. an act of asking for something politely or formally -

8. someone who has a credit card -

 

3)Translate the following sentences into Russian:

 

1. He was feeling anxious and depressed.

2. The rebel group's actions have become increasingly violent.

3. They have made an urgent request for international aid.

4. Consumers will soon be paying higher bus fares.

5. Contributions to charities are tax deductible.

 

4)Match the words:

charitable	a contribution
to ask	numbers
to make	a call
hot	organizations
toll-free	lines
to place	questions

5)Match the words which are close in their meaning:

charitable	ordinarily
to establish	straight
to request	to accept
directly	to set up
commonly	to ask for
anxious	generous
to receive	eager

6)Match the words having the opposite meaning:

charitable	deviating
to establish	unusually
to request	to reject
directly	unwilling
commonly	to reply
anxious	mean
to receive	to destroy

7) Complete the following sentences from the text. Translate them into Russian:

 

1. A number of businesses, charitable organizations, and trade groups have set up _____that let the public contact them directly.

2.Usually the purpose is to help people request_____.

3. Other phone lines require that users_____for each call placed.

4. The phone company takes a service_____.

5.Charitable organizations are increasingly using such numbers to reduce_.

6. The National Turkey Association establishes a turkey hot line every Thanksgiving to advise____.

8) Insert prepositions if necessary (through; about; by; for; up; of):

 

1. Credit card companies have free numbers_____cardholders to inquire___the status of their accounts.

2. Most organizations promote their use________advertising, direct mail, andmedia publicity.

3. Companies that sell goods and services______telephone have toll-free numbers

4. The hot line receives thousands_________calls________every year.

5.A number__________businesses, charitable organizations, and trade groups have sethot lines and toll-free numbers.

 

9) Explain the grammatical structure of the sentence:

Other phone lines require that users pay a fee...