Phoning the doctor's in Britain can feel stressful. The receptionist speaks quickly and offers days and times in a friendly rush. Many learners translate directly from their own language and say "I want to take an appointment" or "I have a cough since two weeks". In this episode: • Before you listen: key words • The scene with decode lines • Listen again for details • Polite requests, dates and times • Shadowing • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: the GP (JEE-PEE) — your family doctor (neutral) the surgery — the place where you see your GP, not an operation (neutral) the receptionist — the person who answers the phone and books you in an appointment — a booked time to see someone the waiting room — where you sit until your name is called a prescription — the doctor's written order for medicine a fortnight (FORT-nite) — two weeks I'm ringing about... — I'm phoning about... (neutral) Could I book an appointment, please? — polite request (polite) Have you got anything sooner? — asking for an earlier time (neutral) Would that suit you? — is that time convenient? (polite) That's fine, I'll take it. — accepting a time (neutral) quarter to nine — 8.45 half three — 3.30 (casual) Real British English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — modern British accent, everyday grammar, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, he/she/it for things, and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.