She's a Smooth Operator.

Elaine Mills is a telephone operator for BC Tel. She helps more than 700 people every day. Most calls are for directory assistance. Mills looks up the telephone numbers for callers. Sometimes people call her in an emergency. She says most emergency calls are from children or seniors. Mills says some calls are funny. Not long ago a man called her from New York. He wanted the number of a family in Vogimo, BC.

Mills told him there was no such place. "Of course there is," he said. "I've got the address right here". He read the name and street address including "Kaslo, BC". Then he added "Vogimo". "The postal code there is V0G 1M0," Mills laughs.

Background Information

Talk about what telephone operators do. What kinds of things would you ask an operator? Also, think about misunderstandings. Have you ever misunderstood something you read?

Questions

1. What does Elaine Mills do?

2. What is directory assistance?

3. Use the word emergency in a sentence.

4. Why do you think most emergency calls are from children or seniors?

5. Where is New York?

6. What mistake did the man on the phone make?

7. What is the American name for postal code?

8. What did he read to Elaine?

9. What does operator mean in this story?

10. What's another word for laugh?