生活英语对话 Episode 44: A free lunch

本单元是关于免费午餐的对话

Tim: That food was delicious!
Mrs Hall: It took ages to come but yes, absolutely scrummy. Ready for afters?
Tim: Thank you.
Mrs Hall:Go on, open it.
Tim: World Cup tickets! How can I ever thank you Mrs Hall?
Mrs Hall: Well you can start by dropping the formality. Please, call me Janet.
Tim: Alright ... Janet.
Mrs Hall: Much better. Now, my husband's away on business next month. So we'll do lunch again then.
Tim: Your husband?
Mrs Hall: Well where did you think those corporate¹ tickets came from? Yes, he's good for some things but quite dreadful² for others - like decent³ lunch company.
Tim: I'm not sure if I'm free. Let me check the rota first.


Vocabulary:（词汇）

scrummy (informal): 美味的（非正式用法）
delicious

afters (informal, uncountable):甜点（非正式用法，不可数名词）
dessert, the dish which comes after the main meal

to drop something:（停止做某事）
to stop doing something

corporate:（企业）
business

a rota:（轮班表）
a schedule or timetable which shows what days and times employees⁴ work

本单元的语言点是时间介词短语，请看下面的时间介词短语例句。

Prepositions⁵ of time

at/on/in:

At, on and in are the basic prepositions of time

We use at with particular times:
I start work at 9 o'clock
The banks closes at 4 o'clock

We use on with particular days:
I don't work on Mondays
See you on New Year's day

We use in with seasons, months and years:
I started working here in 2004
I am getting married in June
I went on holiday in the winter

There are some special times when we use at:
at the weekend
at night
at Christmas
at the moment

Notice the difference between on and in in these sentences:
I'll see you on Friday evening - this is a particular evening
I often use the internet in the evening - this is a general period of time

We don't use at/on/in before phrases⁶ like this week, last year, next month, every day

More uses of in

We use in to refer to a future event:
Hurry up! The TV show starts in ten minutes

We use in to stay how long it takes to finish something:
I did the exam in one hour

If you arrive in time for an event, then you arrive early enough. You do not miss the start of the event:
The taxi driver drove⁷ quickly to the festival, so we arrived in time to see the first band

If an event happens on time, then it happens at the correct and planned time:
There were no delays⁸, so the plane left on time


for/since/until:

We use for to talk about a period of time, referring to the length of that period. This period of time can be in the past, present or future:
I lived in Spain for 2 years
I have been waiting for half an hour

We use since to talk about a period of time, referring to the beginning point of that period; a period from a point in the past to now:
I have worked here since 1996. I think it's time to change my job
I have been waiting since 10 o'clock. Has the doctor arrived yet?

We use until to talk about a period of time, referring to the end point of that period
My parents are on holiday until Sunday. Shall we have a party on Friday?
I worked in New York until 1999, then I came back home to the UK

We often use for/since/until to answer questions with How long?

How long have you lived in Dubai?
I've lived there for 3 years. I've lived there since January, 2004

How long do we have to finish this work?
We've got until 5 o'clock this evening

But, when we use the verb⁹ 'to take' or 'to last' to talk about the length of an activity, we don't use for/since/until:

How long does it take to get to work?
It takes 30 minutes
How long does a normal lesson last at your school?
It lasts an hour

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

3 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

4 employees   

n.雇工，雇员( employee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She is always polite and considerate towards her employees. 她对待雇员总是客客气气，关心体谅。
• The company has a strict dress code—all male employees are expected to wear suits. 公司有严格的着装规定—所有男职员都要穿西服。

5 prepositions   

n.介词( preposition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She lays a lot of emphasis on the usage of prepositions. 她把重点放在介词的使用上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Prepositions and conjunctions are particles. 介词和连词是小品词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 phrases   

n.短语( phrase的名词复数 )；成语；说法；乐句

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

8 delays   

（使）耽搁，延误( delay的第三人称单数 )； 推迟； 使延期； 使延迟

参考例句：

• Commuters will face long delays on the roads today. 路远乘车上下班的人今天要在路上耽误很多时间了。
• Things were working well when we were brought up against unexpected delays. 事情本来进行得很顺利，不料我们遇到了耽搁。

9 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。