— Patron: “I’m looking for a book.”

— Mental answer 1: “Well, you’re in the right place.”

— Mental answer 2: “Here’s one.” (Hand over nearest volume.)

— Audible answer : “Can you be a little more specific?”


— Patron: “I got a quote from a book I turned in last week but I forgot to write down the author and title. It’s big and red and I found it on the top shelf. Can you find it for me?”

— Mental answer: “Books classified by color are shelved downstairs in the [non-existent] third sub-basement.”

— Audible answer: “What were you looking for when you found the book the first time?”


— Patron: “Do you have anything good to read?”

— Reference person getting her audible and mental answers mixed up: “No, ma´am. I’m afraid we have 75,000 books, and they’re all terrible”.

Vocabulary Help

  • find (find, found, found) – encontrar, achar
  • forget (forget, forgot, forgotten) – esquecer
  • I’m afraid – temo que
  • look for – procurar
  • mixed up – misturadas
  • nearest – mais próximo
  • quote – citação
  • shelved – colocados nas estantes
  • turned in – entreguei
  • week – semana

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