[originaltext]Alan: Come in !Sally: Hi Alan—I just wondered if you would like

Alan: Come in !
Sally: Hi Alan—I just wondered if you would like to come out for a coffee.
Alan: Oh, hi, Sally. I was just writing a letter.
Sally: Writing a letter! Is your phone out of order?
Alan: No—well, not exactly a letter. Alex has applied for a job at children’s summer camp, and they’ve asked me for a character reference.
Sally: Oh dear—you’re not going to tell them the truth, are you?
Alan: What do you mean?
Sally: Well, that he’s a big-headed show off who never does a day’s work.
Alan: Oh, come on, he’s not that bad—I mean, kids love him. He’s always entertaining his little brother’s friends with his magic tricks.
Sally: Oh, yes, he’s great with children, but he’s big kid himself, isn’t he?
Alan: Yes, I suppose he is a bit immature.
Sally: And I hope they don’t expect him to work before four o’clock in the afternoon. You know what he’s like—he needs a bomb under him to get him up in the morning.
Alan: Mm.
Sally: Also, he hates taking orders from anybody. Do you remember that job he had last summer in a restaurant? He ended up throwing a bucket of water over the chef when she asked him to wash the kitchen floor.
Alan: Oh no, don’t remind me. But he did run that restaurant single-handed when the chef and two of the waiters were off sick with food poisoning.
Sally: That’s true. Hers good in a crisis. Now shall we go and get some coffee?
Alan: All right.