节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-08-24
难易度:Medium
关键字:exaggeration, itinerary, pace, sightseeing, tourist trap
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And you are joining us for the second day of our lesson Travel Troubles.
We joined Michael and Jade, two friends, yesterday in a conversation about which
is better,
going... or planning a trip by yourself with your friends or letting someone
else plan it for you and maybe doing some kind of tour event or going with a
tour group.
Now what's one of the things that we talked about yesterday, Carolyn?
Well, we've talked about many things.
Michael is planning this trip himself.
And he is researching information on prices for hostels and hotels.
We learned the word "hostel." But Jade thought that this would be a very
stressful process.
Yes, it seems kind of stressful.
She thinks that you have to keep monitoring these websites to make sure that you
catch a good price.
But Michael thinks that there are problems with going with a group of people or
planning with a tour group.
Jade's last question yesterday was: Such as?
So we're going to continue this conversation now.
What are these problems?
Travel Troubles.
There's always someone that you end up waiting for which slows down the whole
tour.
And in Europe you get dragged around to 16 different countries in one week and
only get to visit tourist traps.
That's a slight exaggeration.
There are some great tours out there.
I choose ones that go to the places I want to go and do off-the-beaten-path
things.
But there's still the problem of following a strict itinerary.
I really appreciate that the tour company plans everything out.
They help you make the most of your time.
(Music).
Well, there are good points all around here between Michael and Jade.
Now Michael, you have the first line today, answering Jade's question from
yesterday.
What kind of problems are there with going in a group?
There's always someone that you end up waiting for which slows down the whole
tour.
I like Michael's point here, something that slows down the whole tour.
If you go with a tour, it might be nice in some ways.
But there might be someone who's always late, and this will slow down the whole
process of the tour.
That's right, because you have to wait until everyone in the group arrives.
You can't leave someone behind because the travel agent and the agency is
responsible for each member of the group.
And they don't want to lose anyone on the trip.
Yeah.
Unfortunately, Michael's comment makes me think of uh, well, me.
I'm usually the one that's late somewhere.
I might slow down the whole tour.
Anyway, Michael continues.
And in Europe you get dragged around to 16 different countries in one week and
only get to visit tourist traps.
Well, that would be very tiring to be drug around or to get dragged around to 16
different countries in just one week.
That seems almost impossible.
Yeah. It does seem kind of impossible.
Well, this phrase is not impossible to talk about.
If you get dragged around, that means you're unwilling to do something but you
kind of have to do it because of other reasons.
So you're dragged around.
That's right.
So you don't really want to go.
And he says that you only get to visit tourist traps.
Now tourist traps are something that we've kind of talked about in other
lessons.
And it's a place where you get a large group of tourists, and they just buy
really expensive things or they go to places that all tourists go to, to very
famous sights.
And maybe it's not quite as interesting as other places in the city.
It's true.
Well, Jade, you continue.
Your response to Michael is?
Oh, yes.
That's a slight exaggeration.
That's a great word, a great word there from our Word Bank: exaggeration.
OK. If you exaggerate, that means you are making a situation bigger than it
really is.
So that is an exaggeration.
That's right.
So Michael said that you get dragged around to 16 different countries in a week.
And that is an exaggeration.
Maybe you go to five or six or maybe seven or eight countries in a week, but not
16.
So that is an exaggeration.
And maybe people will say things like: I have been waiting in line for a million
yeas.
When are we going to move?
But that is an exaggeration.
You can't be waiting in line for a million years.
That's right.
That's an exaggeration.
You're exaggerating.
That's the verb form of this word.
My dad would always say, "I've told you a thousand times!" Stop exaggerating.
He's funny, my dad.
Well, that is an exaggeration, yes.
Well, Jade continues.
There are some great tours out there.
I choose ones that go to the places I want to go and do off-the-beaten-path
things.
Well, Jade, or Carolyn, I like off-the-beaten-path things.
If you're doing something off-the-beaten-path, or a beaten path, that just kind
of means it's a trail or something that lots of other people have already done
before.
So if you're off the beaten path, you're doing something new or different or
exciting.
I recently went hiking with one of my friends.
And we didn't go on the main trail.
We literally went off the beaten path.
It was difficult and challenging but a lot of fun.
Well, it can be a lot of fun.
And it allows you to really explore places that you want to go instead of going
to tourist traps.
Well, Michael, you have the next line.
Of course.
But there's still the problem of following a strict itinerary.
Oh, great.
You have to follow a strict itinerary if you go with a group.
And that is true.
But "itinerary" is a word from the Word Bank.
It's just a plan or a schedule that is laid out so that you know where you need
to be and when you need to be there.
It's a plan for each day.
And a lot of tour groups will have itineraries.
That's right.
I usually think of this word when I think of traveling somewhere.
Often my family will ask me to send them my itinerary just so that they know
where I am and what I'm doing.
I will often receive an itinerary from my parents if they travel somewhere as
well.
And it's good for other people to know the itinerary if they're traveling with
you.
That's right.
So tour groups do use itineraries.
And Michael thinks that this is not really a good thing because it is so strict.
You must follow it, and you have to be exactly in a certain place at a certain
time.
And you don't have a lot of free time to do things you might want to do.
That's right, if you stick to this itinerary, the strict itinerary.
All right, Jade, your line.
Yes. Well, Jade:
I really appreciate that the tour company plans everything out.
They help you make the most of your time.
Hmm, "make the most of your time," a wonderful phrase.
I think Liz has something to share about that in the Grammar Gym.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
We find this sentence in our POINT OF VIEW article today:
They help you make the most of your time.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Jade is telling Michael she likes having the tour company plan her trip because
she can do a lot of things without wasting any time.
Notice the phrase: to make the most of.
It's an expression native speakers use to mean to get the most out of something.
And besides talking about time, you can use it to talk about money.
If you are a student and you get a small allowance from your parents, then you
would need to budget carefully so you can make the most of your allowance.
Or you can use it to talk about experiences.
For example, if you get the chance to study abroad for three months, you would
probably want to make the most of your opportunity while you are overseas.
If you turn to today's Grammar Tip section in your magazine, you'll find more
example sentences there.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.