英语播客EnglishPod 319

 A:    Excuse me, waiter? Waiter!

 B:    Yes, sir? What can I do for you?

 A:    I’ve  been sitting here for the past twenty min-
       utes and no one has offered me a glass of water,
       brought any bread to the table and our appetizers¹
       haven’t been served yet! You know, in this kind of
       establishment, I’d expect much better service.

 B:    I am sorry, sir. I’ll check on your order right away.

 C:    Relax honey, the place is busy tonight, but I’ve
       heard the food is amazing. Anyway...

 B:    Here you are, sir. The foie gras for the lady, and a
       mushroom soup for you.
 A:    Waiter, I ordered a cream of mushroom soup with
       asparagus.  This soup is obviously too runny, and
       it’s over-seasoned. It’s completely inedible²!

 B:    Okay, I do apologize for that.  Can I bring you an-
       other soup, or would you like to order something
       else?

 A:    Take this foie gras back as well, it’s rubbery and
       completely  overcooked. And look at the portion
       size! How can you charge twenty-five dollars for
       a sliver³ of duck liver?

 B:    Right away... sir.

 C:    Honey come on!  The foie gras was fine, why are
       you making such a big deal? Are you trying to get
       our meal comped again?

 A:    What do you mean? We are paying for this. If I’m
       shelling out my hard earned bucks⁴, I expect value
       for money!
 B:    Here you are, sir. I hope it is alright now. The chef
       has prepared it specially⁵ for you.

 A:    Yes, fine.

 C:    Honey, are you alright?

1 appetizers   

n.开胃品( appetizer的名词复数 )；促进食欲的活动；刺激欲望的东西；吊胃口的东西

参考例句：

• Here is the egg drop and appetizers to follow. 这是您要的蛋花汤和开胃品。 来自互联网
• Would you like appetizers or a salad to go with that? 你要不要小菜或色拉？ 来自互联网

2 inedible   

adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的

参考例句：

• The food was totally inedible.食物完全无法下咽。
• These chemicals make the fruit inedible.这些化学品使这种水果不宜食用。

3 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。