节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-02-04
难易度:High
关键字:on a shoestring, significantly, pay for itself, quality, off-season, break
the bank
Hopefully, you're finding these travel tips helpful.
We've already discussed a couple of them.
Let's review those very quickly.
The first one is that if you can, you should travel during the off-season when
things are not as busy.
Prices might be cheaper during that time.
Second is to choose a hotel or stay farther away from the popular area.
That might be cheaper as well.
Let's see what other tips there are in the second reading.
(Music).
Traveling on a Shoestring.
Look for deals on metro or subway passes for your destination.
A day pass will pay for itself if you use mass transportation instead of taking
cabs.
Plan your meals and eat like a local.
Don't waste money at expensive hotel restaurants or fast-food chains.
Depending on where you stay, it may be cheaper to buy your own groceries.
Check online for special rates - if you're a student, a senior citizen, or
traveling with children, you could qualify for discounts!
A little research could save you a lot of money.
Whether you're backpacking alone or going on a family vacation, your trip
doesn't have to break the bank.
The key is to plan ahead and track what you spend.
Then put the money you save toward your next trip!
Well, these all sound like wonderful tips for traveling on a shoestring.
Our first one here after the break is: Look for deals on metro or subway passes
for your destination.
Look for these kinds of things.
You want to look for deals because a day pass will pay for itself if you use
mass transportation instead of taking cabs.
Carolyn, what is a day pass?
Well, a day pass is something that you buy to use the public transportation for
one day.
You don't have to charge your card or add money to it.
You pay one single rate one time.
And then you can use it as much as you want during that day.
And I actually bought a day pass when I went to Hong Kong, and it saved me a lot
of money.
So you would think it's worth it to get a day pass, especially if you go to a
place like Hong Kong?
Absolutely.
I think it's very worth it, especially if you want to visit a lot of different
places in a short amount of time.
All right. If you know you will be traveling a lot within a city, you might want
to get a day pass on that city's metro.
Well, we find out it will pay for itself.
That's one of our Word Bank phrases here: to pay for itself.
That means it's really worth the cost because if you did not do that, you will
be paying a lot more.
So something pays for itself.
How would you use that phrase, Nathanael?
Well, I also thought about a city pass.
When you go to a big city, you can buy a city pass that allows you to go to
several big areas or destinations.
And it covers the costs for all of those places.
A good city pass will pay for itself quickly.
All right, so these things can pay for themselves when you are traveling.
I also thought about maybe purchasing something expensive that will help you in
the long run.
Like if you are trying to get a good job, if you buy a really nice suit or a
really good interview suit, then that will pay for itself.
It might cost a lot at first, but people might be impressed.
It will pay for itself in the long run.
So if you are traveling, then maybe you want to consider getting a day pass for
the city you are visiting.
What is our next tip here, Carolyn?
We continue with: Plan your meals and eat like a local.
What's a local, Nathanael?
Well, a "local" here is a kind of person.
It's a person that lives locally.
So eat like someone that knows what they're doing would eat.
Oh, OK. Well, so you should eat like someone who is from that area.
And it continues:
Don't waste money at expensive hotel restaurants or fast-food chains, and those
can be quite expensive.
Gabe, how do we continue?
Well, depending on where you stay, it may be cheaper to buy your own groceries.
Well, that could possibly be cheaper.
I've never really bought my own groceries when I was staying in another city.
Have either of you bought your own groceries when you're staying overseas or
traveling somewhere?
Well, while I was in Hong Kong, and I had my day pass, I went to a fruit market
because Hong Kong has a great selection of fruit.
And I bought several different kinds while I was there to eat during my trip.
Well, that reminds me of another thing.
If you are visiting somewhere different, try to check out the different kinds of
food that is there.
It might be worth your time and with your money.
Well, we continue.
Check online for special rates.
OK. I want to take a look at that word "rate" here.
This word kind of reminds me of the word "price." But how are these words
different, Nathanael?
Well, they are often pretty similar.
But "rate" is really price per unit of something.
Now the unit could be if you're talking about a hotel, maybe a day or a week.
But you might also talk about the rate of silver or the rate of corn in the
stock market.
How much is it costing at this moment?
That would also be considered a rate.
OK. That is the rate.
Or you may also hear the phrase, "the going rate." Someone might ask: What's the
going rate for staying in this country at this time?
As you can see, a rate might depend on the time when you go, the rate.
Of course, the rate is also a kind of price, but it's used a little bit
differently.
Now we continue.
If you're a student, a senior citizen, or traveling with children, you could
qualify for discounts.
I see that word "qualify" there.
That's from our Word Bank.
And when you qualify for something, what does that mean, Carolyn?
It means that you meet certain criteria or certain standards so that you can get
a discount in this case.
But there are many things that you can qualify for.
Perhaps you come from a certain area or you have a certain background, you can
qualify for special scholarships to go to college.
What are other things you can qualify for, Nathanael?
Well, you should be qualified for your job.
You might say: I applied for this job, but I'm not really sure if I'm qualified.
That means you don't know if you have the right education, right kind of
education or knowledge for the job.
All right.
There are different things you could qualify for.
I think of qualifying for a race, or qualifying for a speech contest.
Are you good enough?
Right now it's time for us to join two gentlemen who are good enough for the
Information Cloud.
Let's go there now.
Isn't it good to get a discount?
How can you get a discount?
Well, if you're a student or a senior citizen, you will likely be able to get
one.
Now Ken, I know many in our audience are students, but let's talk about seniors.
And by that, I mean senior citizen.
Ah, yes.
Instead of calling people old, it's better to refer to elderly folks as senior
citizens.
Yes, it's more polite.
A senior citizen is anyone who is over the age of 65.
Some businesses offer senior citizens a senior citizen discount.
So if you are senior citizen, you might be able to get movie tickets or train
tickets at a cheaper price.
That's right.
You'll also find the term "senior citizen" in legal documents and in
legislation.
So it's found in both common speech and in official documents.
Now earlier you used the word: senior.
Right. "Senior" is short for senior citizen and is often used in less formal
contexts.
Thanks, Steve.
(Chinese).
Thanks, guy.
And we see: A little research could save you a lot of money.
Now this sentence brings us to Liz over in the Grammar Gym.
Hello, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
Here is today's Grammar Tip sentence:
A little research could save you a lot of money.
Our focus is on the sentence pattern: A little [something] could save you a lot
of [something else].
This is a great sentence pattern to use when you want to tell people they don't
have to do too much of something to get a lot of something else.
In today's sentence, the writer knows that most readers want to save money, so
she gives this advice: Just do a little research.
Doing a little research could save people a lot of money.
However, notice how there is no verb.
It's just a phrase, a little research.
So think of something that isn't much but having it or doing it can make a huge
difference.
For example:
A smile could save you a lot of time and energy when you need to ask for a
favor.
Or: A quick phone call to confirm your flight could save you a lot of headaches
at the airport.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym, saying goodbye.
To finish this article:
Whether you're backpacking alone or going on a family vacation, your trip
doesn't have to break the bank or spend up all of your money.
Gabe, what's the next sentence say?
Well, we find out the key is to plan ahead and track what you spend.
Make sure you're keeping track of what you spend.
Write it down.
And then put the money you save toward your next trip.
That's a good way to think about traveling on a shoestring.
Think about the fact that you will travel again in the future, you want to save
for your next trip.
Right now let's continue learning something with Michelle in the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And let's get back to our teachers.
Well, Joe has given us some great suggestions about how to save money.
But how have you two saved money on trips before, Carolyn?
Well, I usually try to spend as little as possible on transportation and hotel
so that I have more money to enjoy the places I visit and eat a lot of good
food.
Well, I would say that I usually go through a travel agent to try to get the
cheapest prices for traveling.
That's how I travel on a shoestring, in this case.
OK, friends.
So get out and go on a trip somewhere.
We'll see you next time onStudio Classroom. Bye-bye.