You work at a reception desk. A caller you do not know asks to speak to Mr Brown, who is out of the office. Choose the reply that best follows the norms of polite, formal telephone speech.
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Верный ответ
- AI'm afraid Mr Brown is out. Can I take a message?
Разбор
A formal phone reply to an unknown caller should be polite, neutral and helpful: it softens the refusal ("I'm afraid"), gives the information (Mr Brown is out) and offers a solution ("Can I take a message?"). "Brown's not here, so call him back some other time, mate." is too informal ("mate", no title, no politeness). "Who are you? Mr Brown isn't here at the moment, and I don't know when he'll be back." begins with a blunt, rude question and offers no help. "Mr Brown is out, and I have no idea when he'll be back, so don't bother calling." is impolite and discourages the caller. So the correct reply is "I'm afraid Mr Brown is out. Can I take a message?".