Page 8 -In the office there were a cat and two men. The two men was talking. The cat was listening to them.- "I see, I'll extend the deadline for a few days." "Thank you, Mr. Collins!" You are a real fool. You are too soft. -After the student went out, Rickey drank coffee.- Trurururu, trurururu. "Hello." "Hello, Rickey? This is Robert." "Hi, Robert." "Guess what? Do you want to go out for drinking?" "Drink? Okay." "How about tonight?" Today's points -The point 1- Thank you, Mr. Collins! "Collins" is the last name of Rickey. His full name is Rickey Collins. When we call the professor or teacher, we don't say "teacher." Instead, we call the name with "Mr", "Miss", "Mrs", "Ms." (1) Mr. Collins, I need the credit to graduate. I'll credit you. -The point 2- Hello. When we answer the phone, we say "hello." And we use "speaking" when the hearer who the speaker calls is us. "It's me." is the same, it is used between friends. The following examples are the conversation by phone. (2) Trurururu, trurururu. Hello. Hello, is Rickey there, please? Speaking. Who's calling? This is Robert. When we say our name on the phone, we use "this is" instead of "I'm." Like the above, "Who's calling?" is used to ask who are you. Moreover, if we change the hearer, we use "I'll put … on." And if we hang up the phone, we can say "thanks for calling." (3) Hello, is this Rickey? Speaking. Who's calling? This is Robert. Hello, this is Robert. Is Rickey there, please? Yes, I'll put him on. Hold on, please. If the hearer asks the speaker who are you, we can use "is this" like the above. Moreover, "Hold on, please." means "wait a little time." "Just a moment, please." is the same meaning but when we answer the phone, we use it. "Hold on" means keeping the phone. (4) Hello, Robert. Sorry, I'm busy now. I'll call back later. Thanks for calling. If we call again, we use "I'll call back later." like the above. -The point 3- Guess what? "Guess" means the estimate. "Guess what?" means I want you to consider what I think. We can use it when we start the conversation to attract attention. (5) Guess what? I got a driver's license. Oh, really? Congratulations. Guess what? I lost my way again. Oh, Roy, where did you want to go? The tennis courts. …. Guess what? What? Libre has fallen in love. "You know what?" is also used. -The point 4- How about tonight? This is used to suggest something or invite someone. Ing verbs are put after "how about." (6) How about a drink? That's a good idea. How about going to the theater? Good idea. How about tonight? I'm afraid I can't. How about tomorrow? "I'm afraid I can't." means I love to do but I can't. It is the polite expression to decline. How about Sherry's office? Good idea, Libre. Let's go now. Is the office yours? There is not much difference, Buttered. Moreover, when "you" is put after "how about", it means I want to know your idea. Have you ever been to the Faculty of Literature building, Libre? No, I've never been there. How about you, Sherry? Do you like natto? Yes. How about you? I don't like natto. I like tuna fish. How about you, Buttered? Me, too. But you have to look for it. Ah, I'm really a stray cat. "How about you?" is used to hear the hearer's idea, and it makes the conversation happy. "Me, too." which is used as the answer means I have the same idea with you. It is the casual expression between friends. (7) Do you like noodles? Yes. What kind of noodles do you like? I like soy sauce. Me, too. But it is used to the affirmative sentence. If the hearer say the negative sentence, we have to use "Me, neither." Do you like noodles? Yes. But I don't like miso. Me, neither. By the way, "What kind of" is used to let the hearer choose something among many things. For example, when "food" is put on, we can use like the following example. (8) What kind of food do you like? This means I want to know which countries foods do you like. (9) What kind of food do you like? I like an Italian food. Me, too. I went to see the movie yesterday. What movies did you see? I saw The Lord of the Rings. Oh, it's a fantasy. Yes, I like a fantasy movie. What kind of movies do you like? I like suspense movies.

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