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
Well, today we are reading a conversation between Jade and Michael in this POINT
OF VIEW article.
And Michael is busy researching prices on hostels and hotels for his trip to
Europe.
And Jade is a little bit confused because she always uses a travel agent to help
her arrange her trips.
Michael can't believe this and wonders why.
Well, we will find out in the next part of our reading right now.
Travel Troubles.
Because the tour company takes care of all of the travel arrangements.
I don't have to worry about anything or waste time doing my own research.
That's true, but you really pay for that service.
You can save a lot of money making your own arrangements.
That might be true, but doing everything yourself can be difficult.
You have to monitor so many sites to catch the best prices.
We don't mind doing that since we can save money.
And by planning ahead, we shouldn't encounter too many difficulties.
We can also set our own schedule and not have the problems you get with a group.
Such as?
(Music).
Such as?
Oh, there's more in tomorrow's lesson. OK.
But let's go back to the beginning of this section.
We're continuing this conversation with Jade and Michael. OK.
And Jade uh...
Michael just said: Why would you want to go with a tour group?
That's right.
Well, Jade has an answer.
Because the tour company takes care of all the travel arrangements.
I don't have to worry about anything or waste time doing my own research.
That's a very good point.
I like that, Jade.
Michael says:
That's true, but you really pay for that service.
I also like this line a lot: when you really pay for something.
He means, of course, that you have to pay for a service.
When you really pay for it, that means it must be pretty expensive.
Right. So you might say that Michael is really paying for his trip, though, in
time.
So you can really pay for something in different ways.
It can be money.
It can be time.
It can be energy.
Maybe it's very difficult to do and you need to use a lot of energy, and then
you're very tired afterward.
That's a great point.
So Michael continues saying:
You can save a lot of money making your own arrangements.
Ah! So it sounds like Michael is trying to research the prices because he wants
to save money on this trip with his friends.
And if he's looking at hostels and hotel prices, hostels are usually cheaper.
So that would also probably save him some money.
Well, I think Jade has the next line.
That might be true, but doing everything yourself can be difficult.
You have to monitor so many sites to catch the best prices.
Excellent.
And that is an excellent word from our Word Bank - to monitor something.
And if you are monitoring something like Jade says here, monitoring many sites
or many websites to catch the best price,
that means you keep your eye on something.
You don't just look at it once and go away. No.
You have to keep looking at it, keep checking to see what is there.
That's right.
So you're looking to see if anything has changed.
And a lot of times I think about new parents who need to monitor their children.
They like to monitor their babies.
So maybe they put a monitor (also a noun and not just a verb).
You can use it as a noun.
They put a baby monitor in the baby's room so that they can monitor the child.
It's true.
Or maybe you went to the hospital, and the doctor says that you have to monitor
something about your health or your body.
So to keep your eye on it, not just to check it once but to make sure that you
are OK.
You're monitoring something.
And here we're monitoring the best prices... or monitoring these hotels to catch
the best prices.
That's right.
Well, I think, Michael, you have the next line.
Oh, yes, of course.
We don't mind doing that since we can save money.
So of course, you want to try to save money.
And Michael might not be saving time, but he's saving money right now.
And he might save time later.
Anyway.
And by planning ahead, we shouldn't encounter too many difficulties.
Well, those do sound like pretty good points.
Michael is making a good case for the time that he is spending monitoring these
sites and doing research.
Now I think you have a little bit more there, Michael.
We can also set our own schedule and not have the problems you get with a group.
Oh. So, OK, Michael has several reasons why he is deciding to plan this trip
himself instead of using a travel agency.
And Jade has a question for him: Such as?
And uh, that's it.
Well, yes.
That's it for the day. I man...
That is where it stops today.
It ends with a question?
It does. So we will have to wait and find out tomorrow how this conversation
continues.
But Jade is very curious to know what kinds of problems you can encounter with a
group since that's what she always goes with.
Uh-huh. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what Michael will respond with.
For now it's time to enjoy a review skit and then some time with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
(Music).
Hey, what are you doing?
Hey, I'm planning my vacation.
Oh. You know, I need to plan my vacation, too.
Yeah. Planning a vacation takes a lot of work.
You know, maybe we could plan something together.
Good idea.
Let's take a trip to Europe.
Oh, great idea!
I've always wanted to go there.
I'll call my travel agent.
Travel agent?
What for?
Well, to get a group tour.
No... I think we can plan this trip ourselves.
That's a lot of work.
Why bother?
Well, by making our own arrangements, we can save a lot of money.
And waste a lot of time!
I'll call my agent.
No. If we take a tour, we won't see what we want to see.
Of course we will.
We can visit 16 countries in one week.
That's too rushed.
Let's set our own schedule.
We'll encounter too many difficulties.
But we'll avoid the problems you get with a group.
Like what problems?
Like people that can't agree on things.
Like you.
No, like you.
Like you!
Let's call.
No. We don't need to call.
(Chinese).
And now, back to our lesson.
We've been enjoying a good conversation between two friends, Michael and Jade.
And of course, today's lesson is called Travel Troubles.
You might encounter some troubles if you plan things by yourself or if you go
with a group of people.
There are pros and cons to both.
Now I wonder if you've ever had any travel troubles... travel troubles.
Carolyn, have you had any travel troubles?
Well, that is a mouthful, those two words together.
And actually, I did have some travel troubles earlier this year.
I wanted to change my flight date, and I had used an online booking agency.
And it was so difficult to change the date.
It took me three weeks from the time I first started calling to the time that it
was finally changed.
And it was really expensive.
No way.
That does sound like a lot of travel troubles.
The beginning of travel troubles... I hope your trip was good.
The trip was pretty good.
I was very happy.
Good. At least the trip was good.
Well, you might encounter travel troubles of different kinds.
We're going to continue this conversation next time right here on Studio
Classroom.
See you then.