节目资讯
刊物:美国行
日期:2009-03-10
难易度:Low
关键字:suppose, awful, cool one’s heels, convenience stor
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Today we continue our lesson on American gas stations.
They’re everywhere except when you need one, right?
And they’re definitely important if we drive a vehicle that uses gas.
So we’re learning some good gas station vocabulary, handy language tools should
we ever find ourselves in America buying gas.
Let’s look at two more words.
The first is the verb suppose as in:
What do you suppose is wrong with Lynn?
She’s so quiet.
The second is an adjective awful as in:
What do you think about the awful, rainy weather today?
Now it’s time to join Jack and Laura in conversation A which is found on page
sixteen in the right-hand column.
(Music).
Gas Stations.
Conversation A.
Jack pulls into a gas station.
I’ll fill up the car.
And I’ll go inside.
I’ll have to go inside too.
The sign says the credit card reader is broken.
I’ll have to prepay our gas inside.
What a bother.
Well, prepaying is the station’s protection against drive-offs.
You know, those people who drive away without paying.
I suppose so.
It’s just too bad you can’t trust people anymore.
I know.
It’s awful.
Don’t forget to wash the windshield.
It’s really dirty.
I won’t.
I see the washing stuff over there.
Hi, friends.
I’m Chip.
And I’m Esther. And we’re so glad that we’re continuing our article about gas
pumps in America.
And this article was very important because if you ever go to America to travel
or in many countries,
then you might need to pay at the pump when you put gas into your car.
OK.
And today we’re looking at a conversation between two people that we know.
Uh, Jack and Laura.
And they have an interesting story.
Uh... the... an interesting thing that happens to them at the gas station in
America.
So Jack and Laura are driving in a car and they need to fill their car with gas.
So Jack pulls into a gas station and he tells Laura:
I’ll fill up the car,
meaning I’ll fill up the car with gas.
And Laura responds:
OK, you can fill up the car.
I’ll go inside.
And then Jack looks at the pump and it looks like he’ll have to go inside the
gas station also.
Now why would that... why would that be?
Well, because what happens is usually you can pay at the pump or remember,
friends?
We talked about how at the gas pump, you can insert your credit card,
and you can usually pay there at almost every gas station in America.
But at this gas station, there is a sign that says that their credit card reader
is broken.
It’s not working.
Right.
The credit card reader.
Now yesterday we looked at a word that was in our More Information list that was
”readout”.
And a readout uh, there we talked about was a screen that has a message for you
to read.
But this is a little different.
This is a credit card reader that’s broken.
And what is the reader?
Well, the reader is some... something in the machine that reads the numbers on
your credit cards to see that if your credit card is valid,
if it... it’s OK to use or if it’s not OK to use.
And sometimes we use this word reader to talk about other things as well, right,
Chip?
What does a card reader?
Well, it looks like Jack probably inserted his credit card into the machine and
he could tell that the machine didn’t work right or something.
It didn’t read his credit card correctly.
And so, well, the credit card reader must be broken.
So Jack says that, you know, I’ll have to prepay our gas inside.
So he’ll go inside and first pay for their gas.
But Laura also wants to go inside.
And that’s because in many gas stations in America, there is a store at the gas
station.
So the credit card reader is broken.
And Jack and Laura both have to go inside the store to prepay for the gas.
And so Laura says:
What a bother.
Or you know, how annoying.
We both need to go inside.
And Jack tells Laura that prepaying is a way for this station to protect against
drive-offs.
OK.
This word drive-offs is someone drives off without paying.
Well, that’s a drive-off.
So they don’t want people to not pay.
They want to make sure that people do pay.
That’s why they have prepaying.
And Laura says:
Well, OK.
I suppose so.
I suppose that prepaying is a way to prevent people from driving off without
paying.
And that word suppose is one of our Word Bank words.
That’s right.
It means I guess so.
But before we continue, let’s go to Liz and see what she has to say at Grammar
on the Go.
Hi there, friends.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go.
I’m in a road trip with a friend right now.
And we just stop at this gas station to make a quick stop.
She’s gone inside to buy gas and maybe get some food.
So while I’m waiting for her, let’s go ahead and look at today’s grammar tip.
The sentence is:
You know, those people who drive away without paying.
Notice the phrase:
you know.
It actually is an idiom that gives this whole sentence an interesting twist to
its meaning.
The speaker of the sentence, Jack, he’s not saying that Laura personally knows
those people who drive away without paying as in:
Laura knows those people who drive away without paying.
Instead, it’s:
You know, (comma) those people who drive away without paying.
With this idiom ”you know,” there is an emphasis that what the speaker’s talking
about is something that is already known,
that there are people in real life who drive away without paying and this is a
commonly known fact.
One more point.
This idiom ”you know” can often be used as a conversation filler like the
expression ”um”.
It’s not necessary nor is it emphasizing anything,
but you will hear a lot of native speakers use this idiom when they talk.
For example:
You know, I think it’s time for a quick coffee break.
Or:
You know, that guy who just came in reminds me of my cousin.
If you want to see some other examples, you’ll find them in today’s grammar tip
in your Studio Classroom magazine.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Now I wonder why my friend is taking so long.
So Laura responds:
I suppose so.
It’s just too bad that you can’t trust people anymore.
And Jack says:
I know.
It’s awful.
And if we say something is awful, we mean that, oh, it’s too bad; it’s scary;
it’s something that’s not good that’s happening.
But Laura reminds him to do something.
Right.
Laura says:
Don’t forget to wash the windshield.
And the windshield is the glass that is on the front of the car that goes in
front of the driver and the passenger.
And in many gas stations, you can use tools that they have there for you to wash
your windshield of your car.
So Jack says, oh, let me go over there and get the washing stuff.
Well friends, let’s go to the Chat Room now.
And then we’ll take a break.
There.
Now that our gas tank is full, we’re ready to go.
Uh, can you wait just a few more minutes?
I need to use the restroom.
Well, I suppose so.
But hurry up.
OK.
You know, this place is great, isn’t it?
It even has snacks and drinks inside.
I know.
Many gas stations are just like convenience stores.
They have everything.
Well, I’m going to get a hot dog and some sodas too.
OK.
But don’t take too long.
Well, instead of cooling your heels, why don’t you clean the car’s windshield?
It’s awful.
I’m surprised you can see to drive.
All right.
I’ll do that.
Oh, and after I buy the snacks, I want to look at the T-shirts and the souvenirs
too.
OK.
But please don’t take too long.
Oh, maybe I’ll check out the hats and the sunglasses.
Oh, let’s see.
Am I forgetting anything?
Uh, yes.
Don’t forget to use the restroom.
Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot.
Ha... All right. Now get going.