ESL之旅行 08 Missing the Tour Group Bus（在线收听）

08 Missing the Tour Group Bus

GLOSSARY

to talk to (oneself) – to speak quietly to oneself, not expecting anyone else tohear* Sawyer shares an office with someone who always talks to himself, so it’s difficult for him to concentrate on his work.

tour group – a group of people who go to see a city, town, or place together withone person who leads them and explains what they’re seeing* Shelly doesn’t like tour groups because she prefers seeing things by herselfand not following a schedule.

to rendezvous – to meet someone at a specific time and place* After they finish their final exam, all of the students are going to rendezvous atthe restaurant down the street to celebrate.

return trip – a journey to go back to the place one came from, or to where onebegan* We came to Hawaii last Tuesday, and our return trip to Duluth is this Friday.

no trace of – no sign of something; no indication of something; not there at all* There was no trace of the original house after they demolished it to build thenew one.

to take off – to leave a place quickly* What time did you take off from work last night?

(a time)-ish – around that time; at approximately that time; about that time* The movie starts at 8:00, so let’s meet 6:30-ish and have dinner first.

precisely – exactly* This shirt and this skirt are precisely the same color, so when I wear themtogether it looks like I’m wearing a dress.

tour guide – a person who leads a group of tourists to different places andexplains what they are seeing* When Wayne and his family went to Machu Picchu, they had a wonderful tourguide who spoke English very well and talked about the history of the place.

to stick to (something) – to follow a plan or a decision without changing it* Sanjay wanted to change the meeting to Friday afternoon, but everyone elsethought they should stick to Wednesday morning, as they had planned.

tour company – a business that organizes visits to interesting places for tourists* This tour company takes people to three different islands with guides who talk about the birds that live there.

idiot – a stupid person; a person who does stupid things; a person who is notvery intelligent* Gwen, don’t call your brother an idiot!  It isn’t nice.

oh my gosh – an expression used to show surprise or shock* Oh my gosh!  Is that Antonio Banderas eating at the next table?  He’s my favorite actor!

to make a run for it – to run quickly to try to do something when one has littletime; to leave or escape by running* Your plane is leaving in five minutes, but if you make a run for it, you might getthere in time.

to spot – to see something that is difficult to see* We were supposed to meet our friends at the basketball game, but there wereso many people there that we couldn’t spot them inside the stadium.

to step on it – to hurry; to rush; to do something very quickly* Your friends are coming in 15 minutes.  You need to step on it if you’re going totake a shower and get ready before they get here.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  Why does Kelly say that she feels like an idiot?

a)  Because she was talking to herself.

b)  Because she came at 5:10 instead of 5:00.

c)  Because she doesn’t have the tour company’s phone number.

2.  Why does the man tell Kelly she should step on it?

a)  Because she needs to hurry.

b)  Because she needs to step through the park.

c)  Because she is stepping on his foot.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to take offThe phrase “to take off” has many meanings.  In this podcast, “to take off” means to leave a place very quickly: “The Stubbert family took off early because they were bored at the party.”  “To take off” can also mean for a plane to leave theground and start flying: “What time did your plane take off this morning?”  Thesame phrase, “to take off,” means to remove a piece of clothing: “Please take offyour dirty shoes before you walk into the house.”  Finally, “to take off” can meanthat a business or product is doing very well or is becoming very popular very quickly: “Her cake business is taking off and she can’t make enough cakes for allher new customers!”

to stickIn this podcast, the verb “to stick to (something)” means to follow a plan withoutchanging it: “Do you want to stick to our original idea and write about Sacajawea,or should we write about something else?”  “To stick with (something) has thesame meaning: “Let’s stick with our plan to save our money and buy a housenext year.”  “To stick to (something)” can also mean to continue doing somethingthat is very difficult: “I don’t know how you can stick to a diet that doesn’t let youeat any chocolate.”  The phrase, “to stick out,” means to be seen easily: “If youmake the letters on your sign bigger, they’ll stick out when people drive by yourstore.”

CULTURE NOTEIn the United States, many people like to be in tour groups during their vacations because the tour company makes all the “arrangements,” such as reservations and transportation, and a tour guide is there to explain what they are seeing. However, it’s important to ask questions before the tour begins, to make sure thatthe tour “offers” (provides) everything you’re looking for.

Before you “select” (choose) a tour company, you should be clear about what theprice includes.  Does the price include all transportation, “entrance fees” (money paid to enter a park, museum, or other location), food, and drinks?  Are youexpected to give the bus driver and the guide a “tip” (money given to thank someone for good service)?

It’s also a good idea to ask about the guide.  What kind of “background,” orexperience and education, does the guide have?  How much will he or she talk about the “sites” (the places that you’re visiting)?  Will the guide mostly talk abouthistory, nature, or art?  Does the guide speak more than one language?  Will theguide speak while you are on the bus, or only when you’re at a site?

Try to understand what the tour will be like.  Some questions you may want toask are: How many people will be in the tour group?  How old are they andwhere are they from?  Is smoking allowed?  How many hours will the tour be,and how early will you have to wake up each day?  Will the tour bus “pick youup,” or come to meet you, at your hotel?  If you’re very interested in one site, willyou be able to stay there longer, or will you have to stay with the rest of the groupall the time?

Tour companies should be able to answer all of these questions to help you findthe right type of tour.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 262:  Missing theTour Group Bus.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 262.  I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California. Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com to download the Learning Guide forthis episode as well as to look at some of the other new things we have on ourwebsite.

This episode is called “Missing the Tour Group Bus.”  It's going to be aconversation between a woman who is looking for her group that she is on a tourwith - visiting; vacationing - and a man standing on the street.  Let's get started.

[start of story]

Kelly:  Where is everybody?

Man:  Excuse me?  Were you talking to me?

Kelly:  Oh, no.  I was just talking to myself.  Our tour group was supposed torendezvous here at five o’clock for our return trip to the hotel.  But there’s notrace of the bus and I don’t see any other people from my group anywhere.

Man:  You know, it’s 5:10.  Maybe the bus took off already. Kelly:  That can’t be!  Our tour guide said that we would meet back here at fiveish.  She didn’t say precisely at five. Man:  Maybe that’s what she meant.  You know, tour guides usually stick prettyclosely to a time schedule. Kelly:  Yes, I know, but what am I supposed to do now?  I don’t have any way toget back to the hotel.

Man:  Do you have the number of the tour company?  I could lend you my cellphone to call them.

Kelly:  Let me see.  No, I don’t.  I feel like such an idiot!    

Man:  Wait a second.  Is that your bus over there?

Kelly:  Where?  Oh my gosh, I think it is!  I must be on the wrong side of the park. If I make a run for it, I may be able to catch it before it takes off.  Thanks a lot forspotting it!

Man:  No sweat, but you’d better step on it!

[end of story]

The title of our episode is “Missing the Tour Group Bus.”  “To miss something”

means that, in this case, you are too late; you arrive too late.  We say, “I missedmy bus,” or “I missed my train,” it means that I did not get to the train before itleft, or the bus.  So, “Missing the Tour Group Bus” is about a woman who thinks that she missed her bus with her group, where she is taking a vacation.

Kelly says, to begin the dialogue, “Where is everybody?”  And the man standingon the street, who does not know her, says, “Excuse me?  Were you talking tome?”  Kelly says, “Oh, no.  I was just talking to myself.”  “To talk to yourself”

means to speak quietly to yourself, not expecting other people to hear.  This is something that I think we actually - all of us - do at one time or another - “talk toyourself.”  Some people think that talking to yourself is a sign of, or an indication,that you are crazy, so I must be crazy!

Kelly says that, “Our tour group,” the group of people that she was with, visitingthe city or the town where she was, “was supposed to rendezvous here at fiveo’clock for our return trip to the hotel.”  “To rendezvous” (rendezvous) means tomeet someone at a specific place and time.  “Let's rendezvous at the restaurantat seven p.m.”  That means let us meet - we will meet at the restaurant at seveno'clock in the evening.  The “return trip” would be the trip going back to the placewhere you began, or the place where you came from. So, Kelly says that her “tour group was supposed to rendezvous here at fiveo’clock for” their “return trip to the hotel.  But,” she says, “there’s no trace of thebus.”  The expression “no trace (trace) of something” means there's no sign ofsomething; there's no indication of something; it's not there at all.  You might say,“There's no trace of the original house after they built the new house.”  They destroyed the old house and they built a new house - there's no trace of; no signof; no indication; no way for you to tell that there was an old house there before.

The man says, “You know, it’s 5:10.”  They were supposed to rendezvous at fiveo'clock, and it is now ten minutes after five.  “Maybe,” the man says, “the bus took off already.”  “To take off” (“took off” is the past tense), “to take off” means toleave a place quickly.  “We're going to take off at five o'clock” - we're going toleave here at five o'clock.  “To take off” has a couple of meanings in English; takea look at the Learning Guide today for additional explanations.

Kelly is not very happy.  She says, “That can’t be!”  “That can't be,” meaningthat's not possible.  “Our tour guide,” the person who leads the group, “said thatwe would meet back here at five-ish.”  When we talk about a time and we add theword, or the suffix, “ish,” such as “five-ish,” or “six-ish,” or “ten-ish,” we meanapproximately at that time; not exactly at that time; around that time; about thattime.  Someone may say, “Let's meet at the restaurant at three-ish,” or “We'llmeet here around three-ish,” they mean somewhere around three o'clock but notexactly at three o'clock.

Kelly says the woman “didn't say precisely at five.”  To say “precisely” (precisely)means exactly.  You could also say, “five o'clock sharp,” that would also mean atan exact time.  The man says, “Maybe that’s what she meant,” meaning she said“five-ish” but the tour guide meant exactly or precisely at five.  The man says,“tour guides,” the person leading the tours, “usually stick pretty closely to a timeschedule.”  “To stick (stick) to something” means to follow a plan very carefully;to do exactly what you plan to do without making any changes.

Kelly says, “Yes, I know, but what am I supposed to do now” - what can I donow?  “I don’t have any way to get back to the hotel.”  The man asks Kelly if shehas “the number,” meaning the telephone number, “of the tour company?”  The“tour company” is a business that organizes visits to interesting places, oftenusing buses.  So for example, there are tour companies here in Los Angeles thatorganize tours on buses to visit all of the important sites - the important things here in Los Angeles things, the beach and Hollywood; the Center for EducationalDevelopment - all the most important things!

The man says that he could lend his cell phone to Kelly so she could call them. Kelly says that she does not have the telephone number of the tour company. She says, “I feel like such an idiot!”  An idiot (idiot) is a very stupid person,someone who is not very intelligent.

The man says, “Wait a second.  Is that your bus over there?”  And Kelly says,“Where?  Oh my gosh, I think it is!”  The expression “oh my gosh” (gosh) is onewe use to show surprise or shock.  “Oh my gosh, it's very warm outside!”  Youweren't expecting it to be warm outside; it's a surprise - “Oh my gosh!”

Kelly says, “I must be on the wrong side of the park.  If I make a run for it, I maybe able to catch it before it takes off” - before it leaves.  “To make a run forsomething” means to run or walk very quickly when you have very little time.  Itcould also mean to leave or escape by running.  So, “to make a run for it” means basically to run or to walk quickly so you can get somewhere very quickly.

Kelly thanks the man “for spotting” the bus.  “To spot” (spot) here means to seesomething that is difficult to see.  Kelly didn't see the bus, but the man spotted it;he saw something even though it was difficult to see because it was on the otherside of the park.

The man says, “No sweat,” (sweat).  “No sweat,” which is informal for it's noproblem; you're welcome.  The man says to Kelly, “You'd better step on it!”  Youshould - “You'd better step on it.”  “To step on it” means to hurry; to rush; to dosomething very quickly.

Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.

[start of story]

Kelly:  Where is everybody?

Man:  Excuse me?  Were you talking to me?

Kelly:  Oh, no.  I was just talking to myself.  Our tour group was supposed torendezvous here at five o’clock for our return trip to the hotel.  But there’s notrace of the bus and I don’t see any other people from my group anywhere.

Man:  You know, it’s 5:10.  Maybe the bus took off already. Kelly:  That can’t be!  Our tour guide said that we would meet back here at fiveish.  She didn’t say precisely at five. Man:  Maybe that’s what she meant.  You know, tour guides usually stick prettyclosely to a time schedule. Kelly:  Yes, I know, but what am I supposed to do now?  I don’t have any way toget back to the hotel.

Man:  Do you have the number of the tour company?  I could lend you my cellphone to call them.

Kelly:  Let me see.  No, I don’t.  I feel like such an idiot!  Man:  Wait a second.  Is that your bus over there?

Kelly:  Where?  Oh my gosh, I think it is!  I must be on the wrong side of the park. If I make a run for it, I may be able to catch it before it takes off.  Thanks a lot forspotting it!

Man:  No sweat, but you’d better step on it!

[end of story]

Our thanks to Dr. Lucy Tse for writing the script for this podcast.

If you have a question or comment, be sure to email us.  Our email address is [email protected].

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  We'll seeyou next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2007.