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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
在网上订票然后去旅游似乎日益成为一种趋势和潮流，你是否喜欢这种方式，这种方式又有什么利弊呢？
Stephen: Hello, I'm Stephen.
Alice: And I'm Alice.
Stephen: And this is 6 Minute English. This week we're talking about booking holidays
online. Some travel companies have been criticised for making misleading
claims about holidays or flights they're selling on their websites. Well, you're
probably familiar with the kind of language used in advertising1 holidays.
Sometimes, the way a holiday is described doesn't really match what it's really
like.
Alice: For example, ‘azure blue waters’ might turn out to be a dirty blue sea, and a
‘cosy hotel room’ - a nice way of saying it's a very small room.
Stephen: But it's not just the descriptions that are controversial2 - travel companies have
been getting in trouble for the way they sell their services online. Before we
find out more Alice, let's hear today's question.
Alice: OK.
Stephen: Online travel is big business, and the top online travel company in China is
called Ctrip.com. They announced a huge increase in profits between January
and March, but how much was that increase? Was it:
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 2 of 6
a) 13%
b) 23%
c) 33%
Alice: Oh, because you said it’s a huge increase I’ll go for the biggest figure – 33%.
Stephen: Well, we'll find out the answer at the end of today's 6 Minute English. First,
let's talk some more about booking holidays online. If you're like me, at this
time of the year, you're searching through lots of holiday websites for a really
good deal.
Alice: A really good deal - a bargain, a great offer.
Stephen: But it might not turn out to be that cheap in the end. There can be hidden costs
and something can end up being more expensive than you were expecting.
Alice: Hidden costs include anything that's not very obvious. It could be taxes or
administration3 charges - payments4 for the office staff who deal with money
and booking your flights or hotel.
Stephen: It can be really frustrating5 after lots of clicking to discover that the final price
of your holiday is considerably6 more expensive. Here's Stephen Dunk, the
Commercial Director of Travel Zoo, a company which sells holidays online.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 3 of 6
Insert 1: Stephen Dunk
You see a great offer and you think “I’d like to go and do that”, and then you start
trying to book it and you actually see that it’s no longer available, or that you’re going to
have to pay much more money. And having made that emotional7 commitment8 to go and
do something there’s nothing worse than having to make a decision to either pull out or
to pay much more than you perhaps were anticipating9.
Stephen: So Stephen Dunk says that you might see a holiday you like. When you try to
book it, it's no longer available or it could be much more expensive than you
had budgeted for.
Alice: To budget for something is to plan to spend a certain amount of money on it.
Stephen: He also says if you have chosen a holiday, often you've made an emotional
commitment to go on it. It's a difficult decision then to pull out.
Alice: An emotional commitment. I think he means if you’ve set your heart on doing
something - you’ve decided10 you really want to do it - you’re less likely to pull
out, even if the price goes up.
Stephen: To pull out, means to withdraw11 or not do something. Also, booking holidays
online can mean clicking lots of buttons. There can be quite a few stages
before you see the final cost. Let's hear about some of the hidden costs of plane
flights. Here's George Hobica from airfarewatchdog.com.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 4 of 6
Insert 2: George Hobica
I think it’s a great boon12 for consumers to actually see all the taxes in the airfares.
Unfortunately a lot of airlines when they send you an email will say $179 to Europe,
say from New York City, or even in the reverse13 direction. And in fact it requires a
round-trip purchase so it’s twice that, and it doesn’t include taxes – so the real fare is
$1000. It’s very, very deceptive14 and I think it is time that the airlines be upfront about
it.
Stephen: George Hobica thinks it's a great boon to be able to know all the price details
of a flight - to be able to see all the taxes.
Alice: A great boon – that’s something really helpful or beneficial.
Stephen: But he said, a flight from Europe to New York being advertised for $179 could
end up costing $1000. That's a very large difference in price.
Alice: He also used some interesting words and phrases associated with travel. In
American English a return trip is called a round-trip.
Stephen: George Hobica says the way fares are advertised can be deceptive. He wants
airlines to be more upfront.
Alice: Deceptive - misleading. He wants airlines to be more upfront - more honest -
about their pricing.
Stephen: Well, there’s certainly plenty to be thinking about when I'm booking my next
holiday! Have you any holiday plans this summer, Alice?
Alice: Not yet. I think I might go away in the autumn.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 5 of 6
Stephen: A bit of sunshine would be nice, I’m sure. And earlier I asked you how much
profits went up at the Chinese travel company ctrip.com?
Alice: I said 33% between January and March.
Stephen: Close enough – it was actually 23%.
Alice: Oh, that’s still pretty big.
Stephen: So, before we go, would you reading some of the words we heard in today's
programme, please?
Alice: Of course.
hidden costs
clicking
budgeted for
an emotional commitment
to pull out
boon
Stephen: Thanks, Alice. Well, that's all we have time for on today's 6 Minute English.
Both: Bye!
收听单词发音 |
1
advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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2
controversial
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| adj.引起争论的，有争议的 | |
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3
administration
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| n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门 | |
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4
payments
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| n.支付，付款，缴纳，报酬( payment的名词复数 )；付出的[要付出的]款项；报答，报偿 | |
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5
frustrating
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| adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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6
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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7
emotional
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| adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的 | |
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8
commitment
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| n.奉献，忠诚，辛劳，委托，实行，承担义务，赞助 | |
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9
anticipating
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| 预感( anticipate的现在分词 )； 预见； 预料； 先于…行动 | |
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10
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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11
withdraw
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| vt.收回，撤消，撤退；vi.缩回，退出，撤退 | |
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12
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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13
reverse
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| v.推翻，颠倒，反向；n.反面，逆境；adj.反向的 | |
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14
deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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