节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-08-23
难易度:Medium
关键字:hostel, travel agent, stressful, monitor
Hi, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And you're joining us for an interesting VIEWPOINTS lesson today.
It is called Travel Troubles. Hmm.
Well, many people love to go traveling.
I knew we talk about traveling a lot here at Studio Classroom.
And I do wonder if you prefer going other places traveling by yourself or maybe
with a group of other people.
What about you, Carolyn?
Well, I don't like traveling by myself just as one person.
I mean, I've traveled back and forth between places going to visit people, but
to actually travel by myself I don't think I would like.
But I do like to take one or two other people, not a big group.
Not a big group of people, I'm... I'm with you.
I agree.
I like to go with a couple of good friends or family members, and sometimes do
things with a tour group, and sometimes do things just by ourselves.
So that's kind of what our lesson is about today.
Let's get started.
Travel Troubles.
Travel Troubles.
Should you try to plan your trip yourself or take a tour?
Michael is sitting in a coffee shop doing research on his computer.
His classmate Jade walks over and starts a conversation.
(Music).
Hey, Michael!
You're really focused.
Are you working on homework?
No, I'm researching hotel prices.
Oh! Where are you going?
I'm going on a trip to Europe with some friends in a few months.
I'm in charge of finding hostels or hotels for us to stay in.
Can't you ask a travel agent to do that for you?
Oh, we're arranging the trip ourselves.
That sounds really stressful.
I always travel with a tour group.
You're kidding me!
Why would you want to go with a tour group?
(Music).
All right, a good conversation so far.
Let's go back to the beginning of our lesson.
We see a question here.
It's kind of what the lesson is about.
Should you try to plan your trip by yourself... or plan your trip yourself or
take a tour?
OK. This is the options that we have today - planning a trip yourself or taking
a tour, letting someone else help you plan.
That's right.
And so we are going to listen to this conversation, go through it.
And we see that Michael is sitting in a coffee shop doing research on his
computer.
Well, that seems pretty normal.
Lots of people go to coffee shops to do research.
And his classmate Jade walks over and starts a conversation.
And this is what Jade says:
Hey, Michael! You're really focused...
Um, Gabe. Gabe, Gabe...
I think maybe I should read Jade's part.
Oh. Hey, that's a good idea! You know why?
Why?
Because you're wearing a green shirt, and jades are green.
Well, that's... that's true.
Jade is a green stone, and I'm wearing green, maybe got a little jade on my
necklace. Yes, OK.
I will be Jade, this beautiful girl's name.
Hey, Michael!
You're really focused.
Are you working on homework?
A great question.
I love Jade's question - Are you working on homework?
And of course you can ask this in other ways.
What are you working on?
That means, what are you busy with? OK?
Michael says:
No, I'm researching hotel prices.
Oh. Well, that's some interesting research that he's doing, not homework or
researching information but researching hotel prices.
So, Jade's response:
Oh, where are you going?
I'm going on a trip to Europe with some friends in a few months.
I'm in charge of finding hostels or hotels for us to stay in.
Wow. That sounds pretty interesting, don't you think?
They're going on a trip to Europe.
Well, that's very exciting.
And he has to find hostels or hotels for his friends and himself to stay in.
So let's look at that word "hostel." Now a hostel and a hotel are a little bit
different, but they are both places that you stay.
Usually a hostel is some place very cheap and usually for younger people that
are traveling.
That's true.
Sometimes in a hotel you might rent a whole room.
It might cost a little bit of money, but that's OK.
In a hostel, actually you maybe just rent a bed.
And you might be in a room with other people that you don't even know at some
hostels, especially youth hostels.
So there are different kinds of hostels and hotels.
There are.
But hostels can also be very nice.
I stayed in a very beautiful one in Bali, Indonesia.
And it was just gorgeous and not expensive.
Well, right now we're going to learn something with Steve and Ken in the
Information... in the Information Cloud about those words:
hostel, hotel and a third one.
Today let's talk about word triplets, which are three distinct words that come
from the same place but enter the English language at different times and by
different means.
OK. Today's lesson mentions two words of a triplet set in the same sentence:
hostel and hotel.
The third missing member of the triplet is hospital.
These three words come from the same Latin root, but each entered English at a
different time.
Hostel was first.
It arrived in the early 13th century via old French.
It meant inn, lodgings or shelter.
And it still does.
A few years later came "hospital," which meant shelter for the needy.
Its modern usage of "institution for sick people" came later in the mid-16th
century.
OK. Finally, "hotel" from modern French.
When it first entered the English language in the early 17th century, it meant
public official residence.
We know it by its more common definition: lodgings of a nicer sort.
The common thread running through these words is obvious, right?
They're all places that provide people temporary shelter.
Another example of an English triplet are the words captain, chef and chief -
three distinct words that all come from the Latin word "cap," meaning head.
(Chinese).
Thank you, gentlemen.
So far in our conversation we know that Michael is in charge of finding or
booking hotels or hostels for him and his friends.
Now Jade, what is the next line?
Oh. Well, she says:
Can't you ask a travel agent to do that for you?
Travel agent?
That's a good word.
We should all know this word.
It's from our Word Bank.
Your travel agent is someone that you hire or you ask, sometimes actually often
you don't have to pay them money, you ask them to help you plan a trip.
You can organize a trip for yourself, or you might ask a travel agent to do that
for you.
Carolyn, sometimes do you have to pay a travel agent?
There are times when you do need to pay a travel agent.
Although a lot of times, if they help you to book the trip,
the fee will be included in your booking expenses or in the amount of money you
have to pay for your tickets.
OK. Usually I think of a travel agent as helping someone book a flight.
But they can do a lot more than that.
And of course, a travel agent might work at a place called a travel agency.
A-G-E-N-C-Y.
That's right.
Well, I think uh, Michael, you have the next line.
OK, great.
Oh, we're arranging... (I change my voice a little bit).
Oh, I see.
Oh, we're arranging the trip ourselves.
Oh, you're doing it by yourself?
Mmhm.
Oh, well. Jade's response:
That sounds really stressful.
Well, hold on a second.
We need to look at that word, Jade.
It is "stressful." If something is stressful for you, that means you don't
really... really enjoy doing it.
It means you have a lot of pressure when you're doing it.
And uh... yeah.
Are things stressful for you, Carolyn?
Well, right now I don't think things are very stressful because I enjoy what I'm
doing.
But sometimes maybe you have deadlines approaching, you have so much work to do
and no time to do it, it might be really stressful for you.
It could be a stressful situation.
Now here is an important English point.
People are stressed.
They're not stressful.
Situations are stressful.
But if you have a lot of pressure, you could say: Oh, I'm really stressed or
stressed out.
OK. So Jade uh, is... finds this really stressful.
And what does she say?
Yes. She says it's really stressful.
I always travel with a tour group.
Hmm. All right.
She always travels with a tour group.
And we'll find out why, but first: "You're kidding me!" I love that.
You're kidding me.
You could also say: You're joking, or: Are you really serious?
Michael says: Why would you want to go with a tour group?
Well, we will find out in the next part of the reading.
But right now it is time to join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.