More and more residences, businesses, and even government agencies are using telephone answering machines to take messages or give information or instructions. Sometimes these machines give (1)_____ instructions, or play messages that are difficult to understand. If you (2)_____ telephone calls, you need to be ready to respond if you get a (3)_____. The most common machine is the (4)_____ used in residence. If you call a home (5)_____ there is a telephone answering machine in operation you (6)_____ hear several rings and then a recorded message (7)_____ usually says something (8)_____ this: 'Hello. We can't come to the (9)_____ right now. If you want us to call you back, please leave your name and number after the beep'. Then you will hear a 'beep', (10)_____ is a brief, high-pitched (11)_____. Alter the beep, you can say who you are, whom you want to speak to, and what number the person should call to (12)_____ you, or you can leave a (13)_____. Some telephone answering machines (14)_____ for only 20 or 30 seconds after the beep, so you must respond quickly. Some large businesses and government agencies are using telephone answering machines to provide information on (15)_____ about which they receive a large volume of (16)_____. Using these systems (17)_____ you to have a touch-tone phone (a phone with buttons rather than a rotary dial). The voice on the machine will tell your to push a certain button on your telephone if you want information on Topic A, another button for Topic B, and so on. You listen (18)_____ you hear the topic you want to learn about, and then you push the (19)_____ button. After making your (20)_____, you will hear a recorded message on the topic.