地道美语听力播客:Wait-Listed for a Flight

I can't believe I made it into San Francisco, at long last! This morning, I went to the airport to catch my 10 a.m. flight. I got there early to go through security¹. The folks at the TSA can really slow things down sometimes. Since I had an electronic ticket, I didn't have to wait at the ticket counter to check in, but instead used a kiosk. I then went straight to the gate. But, when I got there, I couldn't believe my eyes. The flight was delayed--for two hours!

I decided² to look at the flight monitors to see if there was an earlier flight to San Francisco. I thought maybe I could either switch to that flight or get wait-listed. I saw that there was another flight leaving in 40 minutes and so I bolted³ for the gate. When I got there, I got into the back of the long line. When I got to the front of the line, I asked the gate agent if I could get on that flight instead and she said I would be wait-listed. She said that I needed to stay in the gate area and wait for my name to be called if they have a seat available. So, I waited, and waited, and waited.

The gate agent began calling out names over the PA system and guess what? The last name called was mine. What a relief! The last seat left on the plane was a middle seat and I usually prefer an aisle⁴ or window , but I was just happy to get on board . I didn't want my vacation to get delayed because of a late flight.

When the plane landed, I went out to the curb⁵ to catch a taxi to my hotel. I only had carry-on bags so I didn't need to wait in baggage claim. I was out of the airport and off on my vacation.

 

1 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 bolted   

a.脱离的

参考例句：

• As soon as I came downstairs the burglar bolted out. 我一下楼，窃贼便狂奔而逃。
• She bolted her husband out. 她把丈夫关在门外。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。