【英语趣味课堂】搭计程车-The Taxi Ride

Todd: You know, Greg, you were talking about being lost in Thailand. I have my own story about being lost in Bangkok.

 

Greg: Really?

 

Todd: Yeah, I was supposed to go and stay with some Thai friends in Thailand and I was coming from America and I had a business card, like you suggested and so I got in the cab¹ and I just showed the guy the business card and he took off. And he was this really old taxi driver. Kind of a sweet guy but I didn't know anything about Thailand. And we get in the cab and in the cab he had this smell like an orchid² flower or something and it was really strong and it was really making me sick.

 

Greg: Probably jasmine³ flower.

 

Todd: Maybe yeah. That could have been it. And so we are driving and driving and we get out of the city and we're way out in the countryside in like rice fields and things like that. Now, I've only been in Thailand for about an hour.

 

Greg: And you're probably getting worried

 

Todd: Yeah.

 

Greg: Thinking, maybe you are going to get ripped⁴ off.

 

Todd: Right, like I'm thinking, "Oh, no!" This guy's gonna take me somewhere and take advantage of me or he's lost and he doesn't know, and I'm just getting really, really skeptical⁵, so before we had left I had negotiated⁶ a price and I think I said I'd pay him a thousand baht or something like forty dollars and he was very happy with the price.

 

Greg: That's a lot of money in Thailand,

 

Todd: Yeah, and I didn't know that. So this guy is driving here, driving there. He's stopping the cab. He's asking people. He can't find the business, so eventually, I'm getting sick cause of the flowers, it's been like three hours, we've been driving around in the cab and I'm worried that I don't have enough money for the cab fare. So I feel really, reallyy worried so I just tell the guy, "back to the airport" cause he doesn't know any English, and I don't know any Thai, so I just sort of communicate, "back to the airport." The guy is like, "Huh! Alright", so he takes me back.

 

Listen to Interview #732 for the second half of the story.

1 cab   

n.计程车，出租车，出租单马车；vi.乘出租马车

参考例句：

• The cab drove over his legs.马车从他腿上碾过。
• Shall we walk or take a cab?我们步行还是坐出租车？

2 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

3 jasmine   

n.茉莉

参考例句：

• It's a kind of green tea with the smell of jasmine.这是一种带有茉莉花香的绿茶。
• You can smell the perfume of jasmine.你可以闻到茉莉花的香味。

4 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。