評論
打印
Craig: Alright, just pull over here and I'll get out. This is the last time I hail a cab.
Driver: What? Why? We're almost there.
Craig: You've been saying that for the past 30 minutes. I'm going to walk.
Driver: Well, at least you got to see a lot of the city. Will you give me a good tip for that?
Craig: A tip? I'm not even paying the fare!
MC: 好樣的，Craig! 他明智地讓司機停車，決定自己走到公司去。對了，Professor，什么叫hail a cab？
Professor: "Hail a cab" is when you stand on the side of the road and raise your hand to tell the taxis to stop and pick you up.
MC: 哦，就是站在路旁招手叫出租車。Craig說，他以后再也不打車了！對了，Professor，是不是在美國打車時都得給司機 a tip——小費呢？
Professor: Usually you give a tip, but not if he cheats you.
MC: 難怪Craig說，別說小費，他連車錢都不想付! 唉，希望他能順利地走到公司！
Professor: Listen next time to find out!
B: Poor Craig! He was taken for a ride.
A: Yeah, but he got out of the taxi before the cabbie can take more advantage of him. 如果換成我，可能就不好意思，只能認倒霉挨宰了。
B: 我也是。
A: 所以還是自己開車好！ 對了，CAT, you don't drive, do you?
B: No I don't. I live in the city and it's very convenient─everything is within walking distance. So I don't need a car.
A: But there must be some places outside the city where you want to go, right?
B: That's right. In that case, I'll have to ask other people for a ride or get a taxi.
A: 那不是要張嘴求人？要不就是要花很多錢。
B: 對啊。
A: 不如買車吧！來聽聽今天的“禮節美語”，講的就是買車的事兒。
Business Etiquette: buying a car I
Chris告訴同事Jason, 準備買輛新車。
Jason: Hey there Chris, what are you up to?
Chris: I'm just poring over some brochures about various car models.
J: Oh, so you're thinking about buying a new car?
C: Yeah, it looks that way. My wife has been bugging me about it. I thought we could probably survive without one, but with a baby on the way, maybe it is time to get a car.
J: So this would be your first automobile?
C: That's right. For quite a few years, I rode a bicycle to work. Then I got a motorbike.
Chris太太懷孕，所以不得不考慮買車。Chris說，my wife has been bugging me about it. 意思是我太太一直在軟磨硬泡要說服我，to bug someone是沒完沒了煩某人的意思，比如說，Stop bugging me. 意思就是別煩我了。這是Chris的第一輛車，他以前都是騎自行車或是騎摩托車上班，但現在 with a baby on the way 眼看就要有孩子了，所以只好考慮買車。Jason表示理解。
J: Yeah, I think I can understand your wife's position. Asking her to ride on a motorcycle when she's pregnant is a tall order.
C: Oh...I don't let her ride with me. It's just too dangerous. She takes the bus to work, but it is sometimes difficult to get a seat and it's crowded and hot.
J: So it's time to buy your very first car! Wow, that's exciting!
C: Yes, but it's also a pretty big financial responsibility.
J: Yeah. I still remember my first car. It was an old clunker that my dad gave me when I turned 17. I drove it around for a couple of years until I scraped together enough money to buy a better secondhand car.
