2010年ESL之旅行交通购物 18 Arranging Airport Transfer

 

18 Arranging Airport Transfer

GLOSSARY

vacation package – an arrangement that includes airfare, lodging,transportation, admission fees, and possibly food and drink so that one can enjoya vacation without worrying about the details, usually for one price

* This five-day vacation package includes everything except alcohol.

to double-check – to make sure something is a certain way, often by askingmore than once

* I know I just asked this question a few moments ago, but I want to doublecheck:

Are you sure there won’t be any hidden fees on our bill?

airport transfer – transportation from the airport to one’s hotel or otherdestination

* They’ve arranged our airport transfer – we just need to look for a man holdingup a sign with our name once we get off the plane.

hindsight is 20/20 – a phrase used to express the idea that one cannotunderstand something fully until after it has happened, and it is impossible tohave that information before it happens

* If we’d known that everyone here would be wearing tuxedos and formaldresses, we would have dressed better, but hindsight is 20/20.

taxi – a car with a driver who is paid to take different people to different locations

* Let’s take a taxi to the next meeting because it will be hard to find parking if wedrive there.

to nix – to not let something happen; to say no; to deny or refuse something

* They were planning an outdoor wedding, but they had to nix that idea when itbegan to rain heavily.

to cost an arm and a leg – to be very expensive; to be very costly

* Adding another bedroom to your home is going to cost an arm and a leg. Areyou sure you don’t just want to move to a bigger house?

option – one of many choices; one of many things that one can have or do

* The cable company offers three payment options: cash, credit card, or check.

limo service – a company that arranges to drive people from one place toanother in a limousine (a very fancy, expensive, and long black car)

* If you really want to impress your date, pick her up using a limo service.

to be out – to not be an option; to be impossible; to be eliminated as a choice

* Peter is afraid of heights so flying across the country is out. We have to driveor take a bus.

shuttle service – a company that arranges to drive groups of people from oneplace to another, usually in a large van, normally going to and from the sameplaces every day

* This airport shuttle service will pick you up from your home and take you to theairport, but it takes a while because you’ll have to wait while the driver picks upother people, too.

stop – one of many places where a vehicle pauses for a short period of time tolet people on or off

* Do you live near a bus stop?

public transportation – types of vehicles that are provided by a city foreveryone to use, usually after paying a small fee, such as buses, subways, ortrams

* If everyone used public transportation, there would be less traffic in this city.

bus – a large vehicle that has many seats and follows the same route each day,or many times in a day, taking people to and from different places

* Taking the bus to work is kind of slow, but I enjoy being able to read thenewspaper instead of driving.

subway – a type of train that moves underground, taking people from one placeto another quickly in large cities

* Max rides the subway to work each morning, transferring from the yellow line tothe red line.

courtesy shuttle – a large van operated by a hotel that moves people betweenthe airport and the hotel whenever they need it, for free

* I’ve reserved one room with a queen-sized bed for two nights, and the hotel isgoing to send its courtesy shuttle to meet us at the airport.

on its way – coming toward oneself; in movement, but not yet at the destination

* Your package was mailed last Thursday, so it is on its way and should arrivewithin the next day or two.

to relish – to enjoy; to look forward to

* I don’t relish the thought of our daughter moving so far away, but I know it’s agood career opportunity for her.

red-eye – an airplane flight that travels during the night-time hours

* Sandra could have saved money by taking the red-eye flight, but she decidedshe didn’t want to be so tired when she arrives.

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these transportation options would be most expensive?

a) A limo service.

b) A shuttle service.

c) A bus.

2. What does the phrase “a long red-eye” mean?

a) A tearful goodbye.

b) A strong allergic reaction.

c) A flight that lasts all night.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to be out

The phrase “to be out,” in this podcast, means to not be an option, or to beeliminated as a choice: “Now that Horatio is unemployed, eating at restaurants isout. We have to save money by cooking at home.” The phrase “to be out of it”

means to be unaware of what is happening around oneself, often because one isdaydreaming, tired, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs: “Sheila has beenout of it all day. I wonder what she’s thinking about.” The phrase “to be out ofthe loop” means not to have all the information that other people have: “After twoweeks on vacation, I’m out of loop on the Omega project.” Finally, the phrase “tobe out of (something)” means to use all of something so that nothing is left:

“We’re out of eggs. Could you please buy some on your way home from work?”

shuttle

In this podcast, the phrase “shuttle service” means a company that arranges todrive groups of people from one place to another, usually in a large van, normallygoing to and from the same places every day: “Our hotel has a shuttle servicethat can take you to any of the popular beaches.” A “space shuttle” is a type ofrocket that is made to take astronauts into outer space and back to Earth severaltimes: “How many space shuttles have flown to the moon?” Finally, as a verb,“to shuttle” means to move between two places many times: “After the divorce,their kids were shuttled between their mom and dad’s home every week.” Or, “How many times did you shuttle between Miami and Rio de Janeiro to close thedeal?”

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CULTURE NOTE

A “standard” (regular; normal) vacation package usually includes just “the basics”

(the most common, necessary things), such as “airfare” (the cost of airplanetickets) and “lodging” (the cost of staying in a hotel). Most tours, “admissionfees” (the price paid to enter an area), and meals are “extra” (additional) andmust be paid for separately.

A luxury vacation package includes everything in a standard vacation package,plus much more. For example, it might include airport transfers, localtransportation, and “tour guides” (people who lead a small group to differentplaces, sharing information about those places). A luxury vacation packagemight also include admission fees to various sites. A luxury vacation packagecould include some or all meals and even alcoholic beverages. Some luxuryvacation packages might include “spa treatments” (beauty routines like amassage, manicure, or pedicure) or special arrangements to meet a local“celebrity” (famous person) or “chef” (professional cook).

Another difference between standard and luxury vacation packages is the qualityof the items included. For example, a standard vacation package usuallyincludes “coach” (the least expensive airfare in the most uncomfortable seats)airfare, “whereas” (while) a luxury vacation package includes “first-class” (themost expensive airfare in the most comfortable seats) airfare. “Likewise”

(similarly; in the same way), a standard vacation package includes lodging at abasic hotel while a luxury vacation package includes lodging at a “five-star hotel”

(very nice and expensive hotel, with many features).

The items included in standard and luxury vacation packages can “vary” (bedifferent) a lot, so it is important to ask for a full list of all inclusions and“exclusions” (things that are not included) before paying for any vacationpackage.

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 635: ArrangingAirport Transfer.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 635. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episode fromour website that will help you improve your English even faster – faster than thespeed of light! That’s pretty fast!

This episode is called “Arranging Airport Transfer.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

My wife and I bought a vacation package and we thought that it includedeverything. We should have double-checked that it included airport transfer toour hotel as well. Hindsight is 20/20, they say.

My wife wanted to take a taxi, but I nixed that idea. It would cost an arm and aleg. I wanted a cheaper option so we went to ask about it at the airportinformation desk.

…Don: Hello, my wife and I need to get to our hotel downtown. What are ouroptions?

Clerk: Well, you could take a taxi.

Don: We’re hoping to find a cheaper option.

Clerk: Okay, in that case, a limo service would be out, too. There are privateshuttle services, but since you’re so far from downtown, you’ll be making a lot ofstops and it will take a long time to get there. You could also take publictransportation – the bus or the subway – but that’ll take even longer. Doesn’tyour hotel have a courtesy shuttle?

Don: I never thought of that.

Clerk: Many downtown hotels do. Call your hotel and they’ll be able to tell you.

They’ll probably have the best suggestion on how to get there, too, if they don’thave their own shuttle. If you decide on a private shuttle service or to take publictransportation, come back and I’ll give you more information.

Don: Thanks a lot. I’ll give the hotel a call right now.

…Lucky for us, the hotel had a courtesy shuttle and it was on its way. Good thing,too, since I didn’t relish spending any more time at the airport after a long redeye!

[end of dialogue]

Our story begins: My wife and I bought a vacation package and we thought that itincluded everything. A “vacation package” is when a company sells you airplanetickets, your hotel, transportation, often your meals; all of this is part of one price.

He says, “We should have double-checked that it included airport transfer to ourhotel as well.” “To double-check” means to make sure that something is correct.

To go back again to check something is to make sure it’s correct, or to inspect –to look at something.

They should have double-checked that their vacation package included airporttransfer. The “airport” is where the planes fly in and out of. “Transfer” is takingsomeone from one place to another. So, “airport transfer” is transporting, ortaking you in a car or a bus from your airport to the hotel. Many hotels that arenear the airport have free what are called “shuttles,” which are small buses orvans that pick you up from the airport and take you back to the hotel so you don’thave to pay for a taxi. That’s true in a lot of big cities in the U.S.

“Hindsight is 20/20,” he says. This is an old expression. “Hindsight” meanslooking back at what has happened in the past, considering what has alreadytaken place. “20/20” refers to the system that we use to determine how goodyour eyesight or your seeing ability is. 20/20 is what we call perfect vision; youcan see perfectly, you don’t need glasses. I am definitely not 20/20, buthindsight is always 20/20, meaning it’s always easy to understand something thathas already happened. The difficult part is seeing what is going to happen in thefuture!

The story continues: My wife wanted to take a taxi (a taxicab), but I nixed theidea. A “taxi,” or a “cab,” or a “taxicab” – they’re all the same – is when you havea driver that you pay, usually based on how long you are in the car or how far the car travels, or both. The taxi idea, however, was nixed by this man, Don we laterlearn his name is. “To nix (nix) (something)” means to say no to it, to refuse todo it, to make sure it does not happen. He says, “It would cost an arm and aleg.” Taking a taxi, that is, would cost an arm and a leg. This expression meansvery expensive, something that costs a lot of money, too much money. He says,“I wanted a cheaper option (a cheaper choice) so I went to ask about it at theairport information desk.” Many airports have information desks. I’m not sure ifthey would give you information about this, but maybe.

Don says, “Hello, my wife and I need to get to our hotel downtown.” He’s talkingto the woman who works at the information desk in the airport. “What are ouroptions?” The clerk says, “Well, you could take a taxi.” Don says, “We’re hopingto find a cheaper (less expensive) option.” The clerk says, “Okay, in that case(meaning if that’s what you are looking for), a limo service would be out, too.”

“Limo” is short for “limousine.” It’s a very large, usually black car that is verylong. You often see limousines at expensive parties. When there are awardshows here Los Angeles – and there are lots of them – there are alwayslimousines that take the stars – the celebrities – to the event. There are alsolimos or limousines that are not long, that are more like a regular car, but verynice and comfortable. A “limo service” is a company that will send a car to you –a nice car, not a taxi – and you pay typically one price; they charge you a certainamount and you know what that is in advance. With a taxi you may not know,because it depends on how long or how far it is that you ride in the taxicab.

Anyway the clerks says, “a limo service would be out.” “To be out” is a two-wordphrasal verb meaning not to be a possibility, to be impossible, to be eliminated asa choice. She says, “There are private shuttle services, but since you’re so farfrom downtown, you’ll be making a lot of stops and it will take a long time to getthere.” A “shuttle service” is a company that arranges to drive groups of peoplefrom one place to another, normally in a large car – a large van. What happenshere in Los Angeles, and in some other cities, is you can call up one of theshuttle services and they will come by and pick you up at your house just like ataxicab would. But they’ll also, on their way to the airport, stop and pick up otherpeople, and so there, all of you go together. It takes a longer time, then, to gofrom your house or your hotel to the airport because the shuttle may be stoppingat three or four more places to pick up more people. However, a shuttle ischeaper than a taxi, for sure, but you’ll be making a lot of stops if you take it. A“stop” is one of the places where the vehicle – the van stops to pick up someoneor to leave someone at their hotel or house.

I should mention also that the word “shuttle” and the expression “be out” haveadditional meanings, which can be found only in our Learning Guide. Well, youcan find them other places, too, but most especially in our Learning Guide!

The clerk says, “You could also take public transportation.” “Publictransportation” is something that the government provides. Usually buses,subways, some trains are part of what we call public transportation. Shementions two of these: the bus and the subway. The “subway,” of course, is atype of train that goes typically underground, although sometimes it may be anelevated train, what is called in cities that have elevated trains an “el,” short forelevated, meaning up above the ground. Subways, however, such as the one inNew York, at least in the main part – the downtown Manhattan – areunderground. Even Los Angeles now has a subway. Unfortunately, it doesn’t govery far from downtown and isn’t really very useful to you – but we have one!

The clerk says, “Doesn’t your hotel have a courtesy shuttle?” We talked earlierabout how the hotels have their own shuttles – their own cars or vans that go andpick people up from the airport and bring them back to the hotel. That’s called acourtesy shuttle. “Courtesy” means, in this case, free; it doesn’t cost you anymoney.

Don, who’s not exactly an intelligent man, says, “I never thought of that.” Hmm,Don, wake up! The clerk says, “Many downtown hotels do (meaning many ofthem do have courtesy shuttles). Call your hotel and they’ll be able to tell you.

They’ll probably have the best suggestion on how to get there, too, if they don’thave their own shuttle. If you decide on a private shuttle service or to take publictransportation, come back and I’ll give you more information.” So the clerk istelling Don, the idiot, to call his hotel, see if they have a free shuttle, if they don’task them what’s the best way to get from the airport to downtown where the hotelis located. In Los Angeles, the downtown and the airport – the main airport areseveral miles apart. Driving it takes, with no other cars on the road, probablyabout 25 to 30 minutes to get downtown. So, this is a big problem if you don’thave cheap transportation.

Don says, “Thanks a lot. I’ll give the hotel a call right now.” “To give (someone)a call” means to call them on the telephone. Don says, “Lucky for us, the hotelhad a courtesy shuttle and it was on its way.” Something that is “on its way” issomething that is moving toward you, something that is coming to you but is notyet there – not yet arrived. He says, “Good thing, too (which means it was agood thing, it was a lucky or fortunate thing), since I didn’t relish spending anymore time at the airport after a long red-eye!” “To relish” (relish) means to enjoy,to look forward to. Don says he did not relish – he did not look forward tospending more time at the airport after a long red-eye. A “red-eye” (eye), like the eye you use to see, is an airplane flight that travels during the night. So forexample, there’s a plane that leaves Los Angeles at midnight that flies to NewYork City. It takes six hours to get there roughly, and because New York is threehours ahead of Los Angeles – the time difference is three hours – if you leave atmidnight from Los Angeles you’ll arrive in New York City at nine o’clock in themorning. The plane flies all night, normally when you would be sleeping. Whathappens if you don’t get enough sleep? Sometimes you will wake up and youreyes will be red, that’s why we call that kind of plane a red-eye. Strange but true!

Now let’s listen to the story and dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

My wife and I bought a vacation package and we thought that it includedeverything. We should have double-checked that it included airport transfer toour hotel as well. Hindsight is 20/20, they say.

My wife wanted to take a taxi, but I nixed that idea. It would cost an arm and aleg. I wanted a cheaper option so we went to ask about it at the airportinformation desk.

…Don: Hello, my wife and I need to get to our hotel downtown. What are ouroptions?

Clerk: Well, you could take a taxi.

Don: We’re hoping to find a cheaper option.

Clerk: Okay, in that case, a limo service would be out, too. There are privateshuttle services, but since you’re so far from downtown, you’ll be making a lot ofstops and it will take a long time to get there. You could also take publictransportation – the bus or the subway – but that’ll take even longer. Doesn’tyour hotel have a courtesy shuttle?

Don: I never thought of that.

Clerk: Many downtown hotels do. Call your hotel and they’ll be able to tell you.

They’ll probably have the best suggestion on how to get there, too, if they don’thave their own shuttle. If you decide on a private shuttle service or to take publictransportation, come back and I’ll give you more information.

Don: Thanks a lot. I’ll give the hotel a call right now.

…Lucky for us, the hotel had a courtesy shuttle and it was on its way. Good thing,too, since I didn’t relish spending any more time at the airport after a long redeye!

[end of dialogue]

If you relish listening to these scripts as much as I do, you can thank ourscriptwriter Dr. Lucy Tse. Thank you, Lucy.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.