2011年ESL之旅行交通购物 03 Traveling to Less Popular Sites（打印版）

2011年ESL之旅行交通购物 03 Traveling to Less Popular Sites（在线收听）

03 Traveling to Less Popular Sites

GLOSSARY

guidebook – a small book that describes interesting things to do, places to visit,restaurants to eat in, and other activities for a particular city, region, or country,written for tourists

* This guidebook has more than 20 pages of restaurant recommendations forManhattan alone!

unique – unlike anything else; different

* Kaitlin likes to give handmade gifts because they’re unique.

cookie cutter – with everything being the same; with many identical copies ofsomething

* I’d hate to live in one of those new housing developments, where all the homesare cookie cutter.

site – a place or location, especially a place to visit as a tourist

* This was the site of the first store in this town.

to explore – to learn about a place by going there and walking around it andthrough it, experiencing it instead of reading about it in a book

* Lauren dreams of becoming an astronaut so that she can explore outer space.

off the beaten path – places, sights, and activities that are unusual oruncommon and that most visitors are unaware of

* This city has a lot of museums that are off the beaten path, but really interestingfor the people who visit.

to make (one’s) way around – to be able to navigate an unfamiliar place, area,or region; to be able to move in an area without getting lost

* We moved to Pittsburgh more than two months ago, but I still can’t make myway around without a map.

to plan out – to have a plan for what one will do and when

* Do you plan out your family’s meals, or do you just decide what to cook eachevening based on what you want to eat that day?

to fly by the seat of (one’s) pants – to be spontaneous; to do things withoutplanning or worrying about them ahead of time, often when one doesn’t have allthe necessary information or skills

* The previous head of the committee didn’t leave any papers or instructions forNoemi, so she had to fly by the seat of her pants for the first few months.

sensible – practical; reasonable and rational; logical

* Spending all our money on a trip to Las Vegas wasn’t very sensible, but it wasa lot of fun.

to lose sleep over (something) – to spend a lot of time worrying aboutsomething so that it interferes with one’s ability to sleep well

* Yes, there are a few errors in the report, but don’t lose sleep over it. We canmake those corrections in the next version.

local – a local resident; a person who is from a particular place or has lived therefor a long time; not a tourist or visitor

* If you want to try authentic regional foods, eat where the locals eat.

hidden – secret; not seen or known by many people, often because someonedoes not want it to be obvious or well-known

* People say this house is connected to the church by a hidden undergroundtunnel.

secluded – away from other people, very quiet and private; without many people

* They watched the sunset on a secluded, romantic beach.

offbeat – unusual, quirky and interesting

* Pierre has an offbeat sense of humor, and sometimes people don’t understandhis jokes.

insurance – a guarantee; something one does or has to protect oneself fromproblems and risks

* Carrie thinks having an umbrella in her purse is good insurance against rain.

embassy – a country’s official presence in another country, usually a largebuilding with an ambassador and other staff members

* If you want to apply for a resident visa, you first need to go to the embassy.

to get lost – to become confused or disoriented and not know where one is,usually because one has moved into an area one is unfamiliar with

* When we hike in the woods, we should always take a whistle and a cell phone,just in case we get lost.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these sites could most likely be described as “unique”?

a) A cookie cutter place.

b) An embassy.

c) An offbeat site.

2. What does Vanessa mean when she says, “I’m not going to lose sleep overit”?

a) She isn’t worried about not having a plan.

b) She can’t sleep well if they don’t have a plan.

c) She thinks they’ll be able to find a hotel room.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to plan out

The phrase “to plan out,” in this podcast, means to have a plan for what one willdo and when: “Akira planned out every detail of the wedding, from the invitationsto the napkins.” A “floor plan” refers to the layout of a building: “I really like thisfloor plan, because the kitchen is next to the laundry room.” A “game plan” isone’s plan for being successful: “What’s the company’s game plan for increasingsales next year?” A “master plan” is a more detailed plan that provides totalcontrol in a difficult situation: “Passing that law is part of his master plan toimprove healthcare.” Finally, an “installment plan” is an arrangement wheresomeone can pay the money owed through several small, usually monthlypayments: “We didn’t have enough cash to pay for a new washing machine, butfortunately, the store offered us an installment plan.”

to get lost

In this podcast, the phrase “to get lost” means to become confused or disorientedand not know where one is, usually because one has moved into an area one isunfamiliar with: “It’s really easy to get lost in that part of town, because therearen’t very many street signs.” The phrase “get lost!” is a rude, informal phraseused to tell someone to go away: “Ingrid got in trouble for telling her little brotherto ‘get lost.’” The phrase “to get lost in (something)” means to become verydistracted by something and unaware of anything else: “I miss the days when Ihad time to get lost in a good book for hours.” The phrase “to get lost in(something)” can also mean to be forgotten or unnoticed because something elsegets the attention: “The speech wasn’t very good, because the main ideas gotlost in the details.”

CULTURE NOTE

Each year, publisher Houghton Mifflin publishes an “anthology” (a collection ofsmall pieces written by many different people) called “The Best American TravelWriting” and each year has a guest editor who writes the introduction. Many ofthese guest editors are famous American “travel writers” (people who write abouttheir travels and other cultures).

In 2000, Bill Bryson was the guest editor. He has written many “humorous”

(funny) books about his travels, including The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America and A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on theAppalachian Trail.

Paul Theroux was the anthology’s guest editor in 2001. His best-known novel,The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, “recounts” (describes) hisexperience as he traveled across Asia by train for four months.

Frances Mayes, who was the anthology’s guest editor in 2002, wrote a verypopular book called Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy. That book is a“memoir” (a book about someone’s life and experiences), but also an example oftravel writing, because it talks about her experience buying and living in an Italian“villa” (house).

The guest editor in 2006, Tim Cahill, is the “founding” (original; present when anorganization or business begins) editor of Outside magazine and he often writesfor National Geographic Adventure magazine. People enjoy reading his “tales”

(stories) of “adventure travel” (very exciting and possibly dangerous types oftravel). For example, he drove from Argentina to Alaska in “just under” (slightlyless than) 24 days – more quickly than anyone else had ever done.

Author Bill Buford was the guest editor in 2010. Much of his work focuses onfood and travel. For example, his article Extreme Chocolate: The Quest (Search)for the Perfect Bean describes his experience traveling with the founder ofDagoba Chocolates.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 666: Traveling toLess Popular Sites.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 666. 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. Go there to download a Learning Guide for thisepisode, an 8- to 10-page PDF file that will improve your English – and bringhappiness to everyone around you!

This episode is a dialogue between Vanessa and Justin. It’s a travel episodethat will be using vocabulary related to going to places that are not very popularfor vacations. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Vanessa: Put away that guidebook. I want our vacation to be exciting andunique, not cookie cutter. Tourists all visit the same sites. I want to explore andgo to some places off the beaten path.

Justin: That would be fine except we’ve never traveled to Podville before and wedon’t speak the language. How are we going to make our way around if we don’tplan out our trip?

Vanessa: We’ll be fine. Stop worrying. We spend too much time planning.

Let’s just fly by the seat of our pants.

Justin: You really want to just go unprepared? That’s just not sensible.

Anything could happen.

Vanessa: I’m not going to lose sleep over it. We just need to meet some localsand they’ll be able to tell us about the hidden, secluded, and offbeat sites. Thoseare the ones I want to see.

Justin: You can explore all you like, but I’m bringing some insurance.

Vanessa: What insurance?

Justin: I’m bringing two guidebooks and this phone number.

Vanessa: Phone number for what?

Justin: The phone number for the American embassy. That’s where I plan to gofor help when you get lost off the beaten path!

[end of dialogue]

Vanessa begins our dialogue by saying to Justin, “Put away that guidebook.”

“Put away” means stop using it, put it down, put it back into your bag. A“guidebook” (one word) is a small book that describes interesting things to doand places to visit when you are traveling. So you might buy a guidebook to LosAngeles; it would have hotels and restaurants, places where you can visit. It’soften very useful to have a book like this when you are traveling to tell you whatyou should see and where you should go. Vanessa says, “I want our vacation tobe exciting and unique,” meaning different, unlike anything else, “not,” she says,“cookie cutter.” “Cookie (cookie) cutter (cutter)” is when everything is the same,when it isn’t original, when it is a copy of something else. Literally, a cookiecutter is a small piece of plastic or metal in a certain shape, and when you aresmall sweets for dessert called “cookies” you often make them in a certainshape, and to make sure that they all look the same, for example at Christmastime you might have a cookie cutter that looks like Santa Claus, you use thecookie cutter to make sure all the cookies look exactly the same. But we use itmore generally as a term meaning unoriginal, just like everything or everyoneelse.

Vanessa, who’s very hard to please I think – very hard to make happy, maybeJustin should be looking for someone else at this point! Vanessa says, “Touristsall visit the same sites.” A “site” (site) is a place or a location that is visited,especially by a “tourist,” someone vacationing in a certain area. Notice it’spronounced the same as “sight” (sight), which refers to your ability to see.

Vanessa says, “I want to explore,” meaning I want to experience an area not byreading it in a book, but by going out and walking around, discovering on my ownwhat is there. She says she wants to go to some places off the beaten path.

This expression, “to be off the beaten (beaten) path (path),” is to go somewherethat is unusual or uncommon, somewhere that is not popular. A “path” is thesame as a trail; it’s a place where you walk. A “beaten path” would be one wherea lot of people have gone before you. So if you go up into, say, the mountains,you may see a path where other people have walked before you. “Unbeatenpath” would be a path where people have not gone before you and therefore it isnot common, not usual. That’s what Vanessa wants; she wants excitement – justlike all women, don’t you think?

Justin says, “That would be fine (that would be okay) except we’ve never traveledto Podville before (Podville is not a real place) and we don’t speak the language(we don’t speak the language they speak in Podville). How are we going tomake our way around if we don’t plan out our trip?” “To make your way around”

means to be able to go somewhere that you are not familiar with perhaps, but notget lost, to be able to find out where you have to go in an unfamiliar place. “Toplan out” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to have a plan for what you aregoing to do; have an idea about where you’re going to go first, what time you’regoing to go, and so forth. You have the details of what you are going to do.

“Plan” has a couple of different meanings, some of them are found in theLearning Guide.

So, Justin thinks they should plan out their trip. Vanessa says, “We’ll be fine(we’ll be okay). Stop worrying. We spend too much time planning (too muchtime thinking about what we want to do). Let’s just fly by the seat of our pants.”

“Let’s just” means why don’t we or I want to have us do this. What she wantsthem to do is to fly by the seat of their pants (pants). Well, your “pants” arethings that you wear that go on your legs, and the “seat of your pants” would bewhere you sit down, that part of your pants – your behind, your rear, what wemight informally call your “butt” (butt). However, the expression “to fly by the seatof your pants” means to do things without planning, to do things spontaneously.

That is, you don’t worry about it, you just go and you do something because youfeel like doing it; there’s no planning involved. You’re not, of course, actuallyflying up in an airplane; it’s just an expression, to do something without planningit.

Justin says, “You really want to just go unprepared? That’s just not sensible.”

Something that is “sensible” is something that is reasonable, something thatmakes sense, that is logical. Justin says, “Anything could happen.” Vanessasays, “I’m not going to lose sleep over it.” “To lose sleep over (something)”

means to spend a lot of time worrying about it, being very anxious about it.

You’re so anxious, you’re so worried, you can’t even sleep because you keepthinking about it. But Vanessa is not going to lose sleep over this thing or aboutthis thing. She says, “We just need to meet some locals and they’ll be able to tellus about the hidden, secluded, and offbeat sites.” “Locals” (locals) are peoplewho live permanently in a certain area. If you come to Los Angeles, I would be alocal; I am someone who lives here. You would be a tourist or a vacationer; atraveler, we might say.

Vanessa wants to meet some locals so she can ask them about hidden,secluded, offbeat sites. Something that is “hidden” is something that you cannot see. More generally, it’s something that is secret; not a lot of people know aboutit. “Secluded” (secluded) is very private and quiet, away from other people, aplace that is not close to anyone else. “Offbeat” (one word) means somewhatunusual, something that is interesting but not the normal kind of thing you mightgo see. So that’s what Vanessa wants, the hidden, secluded, and offbeat sites.

“Those are the ones I want to see.”

Justin says, “You can explore all you like (all you want), but I’m bringing someinsurance.” “Insurance” is normally something you buy from a company in caseyou have an accident or something goes wrong. You can have health insurance;if you get sick the insurance will pay for your medical care. Here, “insurance” isused more generally to mean something that will protect you from problems,something that will give you a guarantee in case something goes wrong thatthings will be okay. Vanessa asks, “What insurance?” Justin says, “I’m bringingtwo guidebooks and this phone number.” Vanessa says, “Phone number forwhat (which phone number)?” Justin says, “The phone number for the Americanembassy.” An “embassy” (embassy) is the official presence of another country inyour country. Usually the embassies are located in the capital of the country, soin Washington, D.C. there is a Russian embassy. That’s the building where theRussian representatives – the “diplomats,” we would call them – are working andperhaps some of them living. Embassies are usually considered, in some ways,property of the other country and are protected by international law. The U.S.

embassy, or American embassy, would be the American place in a countrywhere the American diplomats and representatives are. Justin says, “That’swhere I plan to go for help when you get lost off the beaten path!” “To get lost”

means to become confused and not know where you are, usually because youare somewhere that you are not used to – that you are not familiar with. Justinsays he’s going to call the American embassy when Vanessa gets lost off thebeaten path, going somewhere that is not popular.

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