Hello? Hello? Can You Hear Me Now?

Hello? Hello? Can You Hear Me Now?

WE can hear you—and we don’t want to hear you!

Come on, admit it. We know it’s happened to you, too. You were sitting quietly on the bus, reading your newspaper, when she took the seat next to you. Yak, yak, yak!

You heard all about her boyfriend’s cooking skills. You heard about her sister’s new chocolate diet. You heard about the neighbor’s dog. Do you care? We don’t care!

Okay, we all love cell phones. They make it easy to stay in touch with friends and family at all times. The convenient features of new cellphones are irresistible: cameras, Internet access, cool ring tones, voice mail, qwerty keyboard for texting even GPS guidance to help you get where you want to go!

There are touch screens and flip phones, and applications that can help you do just about anything you want to do. Want to find a restaurant near your class tonight? Check your phone. Need a map of the neighborhood?

Check your phone. Want to know what movie is showing at the theater on Tuesday? Check your phone. Even the simplest phones have a multi-tap function for texting.

Oh, and if you just want to make a phone call, you can do that, too.

All of these communication conveniences come with a cost. And we’re not just talking about the monthly bill! But now that we’ve mentioned it, let’s talk about the monthly bill.

Most companies offer a bundle of services for a set price each month. You can add features to your plan, but that will usually add to your bill, too.

Each special apps (applications) or games that you download will be charged to your bill . And if you want to access to the Internet, you’ll need to have a more expensive plan for that, too.

But the biggest cost of all this convenience is suffering when people don’t observe simple phone etiquette. It’s rude to speak loudly on the phone in a public place.

It’s rude when your phone rings or vibrates in a meeting. It’s rude when you interrupt a face-to-face conversation to answer a phone call.

Many places ban cell phone use. Some trains have special “quiet cars” where no cell phones are allowed. Good cell phone etiquette means that you are respectful of others around you.

No matter how interesting your bowl of cereal is to you, trust us: The guy sitting next to you does not want to hear about it!

Good morning, Officer. Was I speeding when you pulled me over? I thought I was being very careful.

I didn’t pull you over for speeding. I pulled you over because you were talking on a cell phone while driving.

For talking on the phone? Is that a problem? My wife just called to remind me about an appointment when I get back from my business trip.

Sir, using a handheld device while driving is illegal in this state. I can see from your plates that you’re from out of town, so I’ll let you go with just a warning this time.

But, sir, next time just check the law before your trip. Maybe you should buy a hands-free device if you do a lot of driving for business.

I will do that, Officer. In fact, I was thinking about buying a Bluetooth earpiece when I bought my phone. I will definitely get one as soon as I get home. Thanks.

By the way, I hope you weren’t texting when I pulled you over. Texting while driving is even more dangerous than talking.

Pronunciation pointer

Cell and sell are pronounce the same way, the fancy word we use to talk about these word homophones.

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.