Using English at Work：57 Socializing with Coworkers(3)

When we say we have "big plans," we are talking about something that would be exciting or interesting to do.

You may have big plans for your career or you can have big plans for building a new house - something big and exciting.

But I don't have big plans for this evening, so I say "yes" to Van's invitation to go to happy hour with him and my other coworkers.

There are eight of us in the group and we walk down the street to a bar called Steve's Cantina.

"Cantina" is a Spanish word used to mean a bar.

We find a table in the back of the bar, away from the door (far from the door), and we look at the drinks menu.

At this bar, Steve's Cantina, happy hour is from 4 to 7 and the drinks are half price.

When we say something is "half price," it's being sold at 50%, or one-half of the normal price. For example, a $20 shirt at half price is $10.

After we order our half-price drinks, I go to get some snacks and appetizers².

An "appetizer¹" is a small amount of food that is usually eaten at a restaurant before your main meal, or your entree³.

It's usually something small like a cup of soup, a salad, if you at a bar, perhaps some chicken wings.

I go get snacks and appetizers while we're waiting for drinks to arrive.

I look at the food that's available and I see a lot of deep-fried foods and chips and dip.

"Deep-fried food" is food that has been cooked in a lot of hot oil for a certain time.

Usually, it has a brown color after it's been cooked and is crunchy or slightly hard on the outside.

Deep-fried food tastes very good, I think, but it can also be somewhat⁴ unhealthy (not good for your health - for your body).

1 appetizer   

n.小吃，开胃品

参考例句：

• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetizer.我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。
• I would like a cucumber salad for an appetizer.我要一份黄瓜沙拉作开胃菜。

2 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

3 entree   

n.入场权，进入权

参考例句：

• She made a graceful entree into the ballroom.她进入舞厅时显示非常优雅。
• Her wealth and reputation gave her entree into upper-class circles.她的财富和声望使她得以进入上层社会。

4 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。