ESL Podcast 336 – Going Out of Business

Julianne: I’m really glad to be back in Macville. What happened to the market that used to be here?

Helio: Oh, it went belly¹ up. It struggled for many years. The owners tried to downsize and reduced the space they were renting, but they had to throw in the towel when they got into debt.

Julianne: What a shame! It was such a nice store, and the family who owned it was always so friendly.

Helio: Yeah, things have changed a lot around here.

Julianne: Where is the restaurant that was next to the market? I used to eat lunch there all the time.

Helio: The owners couldn’t make it profitable and after trying to get loans to bail² themselves out, they ran out of options. They had to pack it in.

Julianne: What’s happening here?

Helio: The gift shop is going out of business. It’s having a big sale to liquidate³ the store. The owners lost their lease and have to close. This store has been in the family for generations, but the property owners want to tear down the building for a parking lot.

Julianne: A parking lot? For what? With this economic downturn and all of these businesses going bankrupt, who will want to park here?

Helio: Your guess is as good as mine.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

3 liquidate   

v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产

参考例句：

• A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.全体投票一致通过停业清理公司。
• They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。