[début du texte] When you first hear that all-too-common message that you’ll have to wait—‘‘All our operators are busy. Your call is important to us and will be answered soon.’’—you’re likely to accept your fate and gaze at the street scene outside your window or doodle on your notepad. But as time passes and still no one has answered, slowly you start to disengage from all other activities—you turn away from the window, you stop doodling—and, as your expectation heightens (‘‘Surely it must be my turn by now.’’), you concentrate all your attentional resources on hearing the operator’s voice.