Sending the Right Message

Reading Comprehension for January 30

Jan giggled as she hung up the phone.

"What's so funny?" asked Sara. "Did you hear a joke?"

Jan shook her head. "It was the answering machine message. It was pretty silly, and it made me laugh."

"What did it say?" asked Sara.

"A funny voice answered and said, 'This is the refrigerator speaking. The answering machine is broken. If you want to leave a message, I'll write it down and stick it on myself,' " she said.

Sara rolled her eyes. "That's really silly." Then she suddenly smiled. "My Aunt Brenda has a funny message on her machine. She pretends she is an English nanny who is stuck at home looking after the children while their parents are out doing something fun. I always laugh the biggest laugh when I hear it."

"I wish I could come up with something like that for our house. My brother recorded the one for our machine," said Jan. "It says, 'At the beep, speak.' "

"I know," said Sara. "It's not very original."

"The one he wanted to do was funny, but Dad wouldn't let him do it," said Jan.