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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
05 Talking About Prices
price – cost; the amount of money that must be used to buy something; theamount of money for which something is sold* The price of chicken is usually less than the price of beef.
recession – a period of time when a country’s economy slows down and there is less business activity* The United States had a recession in the 1980s and many people think that thecountry is entering another recession now.
necessity – something that one needs; something that one must have to live;something that is more than just a want or desire* If you don’t find a job, how will you pay for your basic necessities, like food andhousing?
to skyrocket – to increase very much and very quickly* When the band made its third CD, its popularity skyrocketed and soon its music was heard on the radio all the time.
shortage – a lack of something; the state of not having enough of something;having less of something than one needs* That country has a lot of gold and zinc2, but a shortage of copper3.
produce – fresh fruits and vegetables* There are a lot of apples in the produce section of the grocery store at this timeof year.
to gouge4 – to extort5; to charge more money than usual; to charge an unfair price* The university is gouging6 its students, charging $6,000 more in tuition this yearthan it did last year.
at the drop of a hat – very quickly, without cause or reason; without advancenotice and/or without a reason for doing something* They said that they were going to buy the house, but then they changed theirminds at the drop of a hat, without giving any explanation.
par7 for the course – normal; usual; typical; to be expected* Some parents think it is par for the course that their children drink alcohol incollege.
you said it – an informal phrase used to show that one fully8 agrees with whatanother person has just said* Hermione said that she thought the government should spend more money oneducation and health care. Her sister nodded her head and said, “You said it!”
supply – the amount of something that is available, especially for sale* My economics professor said that when the supply of something increases, theprice usually drops.
dirt cheap – extremely inexpensive; very low price* During the summer, tomatoes were dirt cheap, only $0.75 per pound!
to pass (something) on to (someone) – to share something with someone; togive something that one has received to another person* Mindy heard some great ideas for saving money and she decided9 to pass themon to her friends.
to have a mind to – a phrase used to show that one is thinking about doingsomething, or that one is tempted10 to do something* I have a mind to quit my job, but I don’t want to do that until I’ve found anotherplace to work.
boycott11 – an agreement not to buy or use something until conditions change* The families in this neighborhood decided that a boycott of that store was necessary to force them to stop selling adult magazines.
to keep (something) up – to continue to do something; to be able to dosomething* Gunther recently started exercising for two hours every day, but I don’t think he’ll be able to keep it up for very long.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. What prices are increasing?
a) The prices of skyrockets.
b) The prices of produce.
c) The prices of hats.
2. What does Rosalba think should happen?
a) When there is a lot of something, it should cost more.
b) Stores should do what they can to make extra money.
c) When the store saves money, customers should too.
______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
produceThe word “produce,” in this podcast, means fresh fruits and vegetables: “Doctorssay that we should eat at least five servings of produce each day.” As a verb, “toproduce,” the pronunciation is different, with the accent on the second syllable12. “To produce” means to manufacture, make, or create something: “This factory produces thousands of tires every day.” The verb “to produce” can also mean tocause something, or to cause something to happen: “This medication produces headaches in 5% of the patients who take it.” Or, “The government’s decisionproduced a rise in interest rates.” “To produce” can mean to show something toanother person: “The lawyer produced very compelling evidence in court.” Finally, “to produce” can mean to provide the money for a movie to be made: “Doyou know who produced that film?”
to keep (something) upIn this podcast, the phrase “to keep (something) up” means to continue to dosomething or to be able to do something: “Kulon is working three jobs. How longwill she be able to keep that up?” The phrase “to keep (something) going”
means to manage a business or organization so that it continues to operate:
“When the value of the dollar fell, so did the company’s sales, but the presidentwas able to keep it going for several years.” The phrase “to keep at (something)”
or “to keep at it” means to continue to do something even though it is difficult,and is used to encourage other people so that they don’t stop doing something: “Iknow that playing the violin is difficult, but if you keep at it, you’ll soon be playingbeautiful music!”
CULTURE NOTEThe phrase “consumer protection” refers to laws and government actions thathelp “consumers” (people who buy or use things). Consumer protection caninclude getting customers the information they need to make educated buyingdecisions and stopping companies from “taking advantage of” (doing things thatwill hurt another person) consumers.
In the United States, there are many consumer protection “acts” (laws). Some ofthem are “federal” (national) and other are at the state level. The Fair DebtCollection Practices Act, for example, limits how companies can collect “debts”
(money owed to another person or organization) from consumers. It limits whencompanies can call consumers, states that they have to stop contacting them ifthey are requested to do so “in writing” (with a written letter), and prevents themfrom using “threatening” (making one feel fearful for one’s safety) language,among other things.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is another consumer protection act. It controls howconsumers’ credit information can be used. Certain companies have detailedinformation about how individuals use “credit” (money that is loaned to a personor organization), including whether they are good about paying that money back when and how they are supposed to. The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits whocan “access” (see copies of) that information.
The Truth in Lending Act creates rules for “lenders” (organizations that givemoney to people and other organizations for a short period of time so that they will be paid back that money and more in the future). It requires “full disclosure”
(a statement that contains all the facts) about how the loan is made and howmuch it really costs to borrow the money.
These are just a few of the acts that are designed to protect Americanconsumers.
______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 366: Talking AboutPrices.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 366. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for this episode.
The Learning Guide is an 8 to 10 page PDF file you can download for all of ourcurrent episodes. It gives you the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences,comprehension questions, additional definitions and cultural notes, and acomplete transcript13 of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called “Talking About Prices,” when you buy and sell things, as well as some general vocabulary related to the economy. Let’s get started.
[start of dialogue]
Rosalba: Can you believe these prices? I know we’re in a recession, but thecost of everyday necessities shouldn’t skyrocket overnight. William: I think it has something to do with the shortage of produce. I don’t knowwhy I’m surprised that stores like this one try to gouge customers at the drop of ahat. I guess it’s par for the course – anything to make a little extra money.
Rosalba: You said it! Even when there’s a good supply, the prices are never dirtcheap. Any savings14 the stores get are never passed on to the customers.
William: I have a mind to stop buying fruits and vegetables until the prices godown.
Rosalba: You mean a boycott? William: Yeah, I won’t eat any fruits and vegetables until these high prices comedown.
Rosalba: How long do you think you can keep that up?
William: I don’t know, but let’s find out!
[end of dialogue]
Our dialogue begins with Rosalba saying to William, “Can you believe theseprices (can you believe the cost of these things)? I know we’re in a recession,but the cost of everyday necessities shouldn’t skyrocket overnight.” “Recession”
is used to describe a period of time when a country’s economy is not doing very well. We might say it “slows down,” there isn’t enough or the same amount ofbusiness activity. This is a “recession.” If things are very serious, then we havewhat’s called a “depression.” Many times, in recessions, at least in recentrecessions in the last 30 years, sometimes during a recession you also havesomething called “inflation,” where the prices go up as well.
Rosalba says, “we’re in a recession, but,” she says, “the cost of everyday necessities (or things that you need – things that you must have – things that arenecessary) should not skyrocket overnight.” “To skyrocket” means to “increase,”
or go up, very quickly. We often use that word when prices go up very quickly. “The price of gasoline skyrocketed last year,” it went up very quickly in the UnitedStates. She’s saying that prices “shouldn’t skyrocket (or go up) overnight,”
meaning suddenly, quickly. Literally, “overnight” means from one day to the nextday, but here it’s used more generally to mean very, very quickly. William says, “I think it has something to do with the shortage of produce.” A“shortage” is when you don’t have enough of something. “We have a shortage ofgood ESL teachers in Los Angeles,” we need more good teachers.” We have ashortage of intelligent politicians,” we need a lot more! In this case, there’s ashortage of produce. “Produce” is a word we use to describe vegetables andfruits. If you go into a grocery store, there’s usually a “produce department,”
where all of the vegetables and fruits are found. This word has a couple ofdifferent meanings; take a look at our Learning Guide for some additionalexplanations of “produce,” which can also be a verb, “to produce.”
William says, “I don’t know why I’m surprised that stores like this one try to gougecustomers at the drop of a hat.” William is saying that he doesn’t understand –he doesn’t know why that he’s surprised. In other words, he should not besurprised; it should be something that he expects. He should expect that stores like this one try to gouge customers. “To gouge” (gouge) means to charge moremoney or to raise the price on something much higher than usual. It’s a negativeway of describing someone – a business – that increases their prices. Somepeople say, “This is an unfair price; they’re charging too much money – they’regouging us.” This is often done when you don’t have anywhere else to go or anyother option; you must pay this because you need it.
William says he should expect that stores “try to gouge customers at the drop ofa hat.” That expression, “at the drop of a hat,” means very quickly, withoutadvance notice, or without any good reason. Something that happens “at thedrop of a hat” happens very quickly. We might even snap our fingers and usethe expression “just like that” (Jeff snaps his fingers). Very quickly – “at the dropof a hat.”
William says, “I guess it’s par for the course – anything to make a little extramoney.” The expression “par (par) for the course” means normal, usual,something that’s to be expected. This expression actually comes from the gameof golf. A “golf course” is a place where you play golf. “To be par for the course”
means to have the average score that you would expect from the course.
Rosalba says to William, “You said it!” This is an informal phrase that we use toshow that you agree with someone completely. For example, someone says,“The government is not doing a good job with health care in the United States;people don’t have good medical insurance,” and someone else says, “You saidit,” meaning I agree with you completely. “Even when there’s a good supply,” Rosalba continues, “the prices are never dirtcheap.” She’s talking about the produce – the fruits and vegetables. She says,“Even when there’s a good supply (meaning an amount of something that is available, something that the store is selling, even when they have a lot) theprices are never dirt cheap.” For something to be “dirt cheap” means it’s very inexpensive, a very low price; this is “dirt cheap.” ESL Podcast is dirt cheapcompared to many places where you could study English – well, that’s what Ithink!
“Any savings the stores get are never passed on to the consumers.” Rosalba is saying that even when the store has a lot of something, and it isn’t expensive forthem to buy the product, they never pass on those savings to the customers. “Topass something on to someone” means to share it with someone; someone givesyou something, and you give it to someone else – you “pass it on.” The stores do not pass on the money they save to the customers.
William then says, “I have a mind to stop buying fruits and vegetables until theprices go down.” The expression “I have a mind to do something” is used toshow that you are thinking seriously about doing something, or that, perhaps, youare tempted to do something. It’s something that seems very attractive to you todo. We often use this expression when we are talking about doing something inreaction to a negative situation. So your girlfriend calls you up and says, “Oh, I’msorry. I cannot meet you for dinner, I have to go with my friend from college.”
You suspect that your girlfriend’s friend is a boy, and you say to someone, “Ihave a mind to go and find my girlfriend and make sure she’s not with anotherman.” That’s never happened to me – well, not recently! But, that would be anexample of the expression “I have a mind to do something.”
Rosalba asks William, “You mean a boycott?” “You mean” means do you mean– is this what you are talking about, a boycott (boycott)? A “boycott” is whenpeople agree not to buy or use something until the conditions change, until thesituation changes. Back in the 1970s, there were people who boycotted15 grapes,the fruit. The reason they were boycotting16 them is because they were“protesting,” they were saying there was something wrong with the way that thefarms were paying and treating the workers. Many of them came from Mexico,and people thought that they were not giving them enough money so there was aboycott. People didn’t buy grapes so that the companies would be punished.
William says, “Yeah, I won’t eat any fruits and vegetables until these high prices come down,” until they are reduced to a lower amount. Rosalba says, “How longdo you think you can keep that up?” “To keep something up” is a two-wordphrasal verb meaning to continue to do something, to be able to do something. “I’m running five miles an hour, and I can keep that up for about five minutes, andthen I get too tired.” That’s to “keep something up,” to keep doing it. There aresome additional explanations of that phrasal verb in our Learning Guide; take alook at that.
Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
[start of dialogue]
Rosalba: Can you believe these prices? I know we’re in a recession, but thecost of everyday necessities shouldn’t skyrocket overnight. William: I think it has something to do with the shortage of produce. I don’t knowwhy I’m surprised that stores like this one try to gouge customers at the drop of ahat. I guess it’s par for the course – anything to make a little extra money.
Rosalba: You said it! Even when there’s a good supply, the prices are never dirtcheap. Any savings the stores get are never passed on to the customers.
William: I have a mind to stop buying fruits and vegetables until the prices godown.
Rosalba: You mean a boycott?
William: Yeah, I won’t eat any fruits and vegetables until these high prices comedown.
Rosalba: How long do you think you can keep that up?
William: I don’t know, but let’s find out!
[end of dialogue]
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Tse, who can write a goodscript at the drop of a hat! From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. We’ll seeyou next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2008.
收听单词发音 |
1
glossary
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| n.注释词表；术语汇编 | |
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2
zinc
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| n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌 | |
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3
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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4
gouge
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| v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈 | |
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extort
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| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
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6
gouging
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| n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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7
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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8
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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9
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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10
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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11
boycott
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| n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与 | |
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12
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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13
transcript
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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14
savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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15
boycotted
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| 抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boycotting
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| 抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 ) | |
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