【英语趣味课堂】在泰国搭计程车-Taxi Ride in Thailand

Continued from #731

 

Todd: So, then we go back to the airport. I don't know what to do because I'll be back where I started and I see a hotel. A big hotel, right next to the airport and I tell the cab¹ driver to go there, and so he goes and there's a bellman, you know, waiting for the cab. I go up and I get out of the cab and I'm really sick and I just wasted three hours. I'm back where I started.

 

Greg: And you paid the man, like forty dollars and you didn't get where you wanted to go.

 

Todd: Right, and this is the interesting point. So we come back and the sweet old cab driver is there and he's trying to explain to the guy about how he couldn't find the place I guess, and he looks really flustered².

 

So then, I'm thinking he wants more money so I pull out my wallet and and I give him another thousand baht. I put it in the cab driver's hand and he looks at it like it's a dead fish, like doesn't want it. And he's just looking at it and looking at me and he has this really puzzled³ look, like he doesn't get it.

 

So finally the bellman kind of snaps⁴ at him in Thai, like you know, something and then the Thai cab driver takes the money and he walks back to the cab and he's looking back at me like like he feels guilty⁵ or he feels bad and he gets in the cab and he drives away.

 

And then it dawned on me that the cab driver didn't want to take the money. Like he felt bad. He had been trying to find this place for three hours. He couldn't find it and he didn't even want the extra money, but I was just the foolish foreigner and didn't know what to do and the bellman said, just come on, you silly cab driver, take the money and go away.

 

But I think it was a good story because I think that is so indicative⁶ of my time in Thailand, you know, like the people are so sweet and bad things can happen to you when you travel but in this story, it was just a sweet old guy and he actually didn't want to take anymore money from me. He didn't want to take advantage of me. He was just disappointed⁷ that he couldn't get me to where I wanted to go.

 

Greg: Did you actually get to the place you wanted to go?

 

Todd: Well, yeah, eventually I called my friend and they came and picked me up.

 

Greg: Was there a phone number on the card?

 

Todd: Yeah, there was.

 

Greg: Why didn't you stop with the cab driver and call them?

 

Todd: Well, because I was given the card and they said use this card to go to this place and it was a factory and then so when I called the place they realized what was happening. Before the cab driver was calling the place and so he couldn't find it but once there was a foreigner they put me with somebody who speaks English and it was all worked out, and I should have thought of that in the first place.

 

Greg: You learn from experience.

 

1 cab   

n.计程车，出租车，出租单马车；vi.乘出租马车

参考例句：

• The cab drove over his legs.马车从他腿上碾过。
• Shall we walk or take a cab?我们步行还是坐出租车？

2 flustered   

adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

3 puzzled   

adj.迷惑的；困惑的

参考例句：

• The student was puzzled about what to do next.这个学生对下一步做什么伤透了脑筋。
• I was somewhat puzzled at his unwillingness to help.他不愿意帮忙让我有点困惑。

4 snaps   

v.猛地咬住( snap的第三人称单数 )；（使某物）发出尖厉声音地突然断裂[打开，关闭]；厉声地说；拍照

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder. 这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As the fish snaps at the bait, it gets caught on the hook. 鱼咬饵时，就被钓在钩上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 guilty   

adj.犯罪的；有罪的；内疚的

参考例句：

• There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
• Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。

6 indicative   

adj.(of)象征的；陈述的；n.陈述语气

参考例句：

• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。
• Use the indicative mood to make a sentence.请用陈述语气造句。

7 disappointed   

adj.失望的，不满意的，不如意的

参考例句：

• He seemed disappointed when the man refused his request.当那个人拒绝了他的要求时他看起来很失望。
• He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless.他屡次失望，以致变为了绝望。