"IwanttoflyfromBostontoMilwaukeenext
Saturdayformysisters
birthdayandIdontwanttostopin
ChicagoandIdontwantto
paymorethanfourhundreddollars
andthepartystartsatthreeoclocksoI
needtogettherebeforethen."

Say that to a human airline agent nicely, and he or she will quickly disentangle your words and find flights that meet your criteria. Say it to the airline's automated reservations line, however, and all you're likely to get is a cheery digital voice intoning, "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Select from the choices above to read the entire article.