2011年ESL之旅行交通购物 06 Reporting Damaged Luggage（打印版）

2011年ESL之旅行交通购物 06 Reporting Damaged Luggage（在线收听）

06 Reporting Damaged Luggage

GLOSSARY

luggage – suitcases; baggage; the cloth, leather, or plastic containers that onefills with objects one wants to have while traveling

* This airline allows each passenger to check two pieces of luggage.

baggage carousel – the large conveyor belt in an airport that movespassengers’ luggage slowly in a circle so that passengers can find their bag andtake it off the device when they arrive at their final destination

* Most suitcases are placed on the baggage carousel, but very large items likelarge musical instruments and skis are placed over here.

handle – the part of something that fits in one’s hand and is used to lift up andcarry objects

* When she dropped the tea kettle, the handle broke.

zipper – two long pieces of metal or plastic with many small teeth that areattached together with a small piece of metal or plastic that is moved up anddown to separate or connect two pieces of fabric, often used on clothing

* Do you prefer jackets with zippers or buttons?

to mishandle – to treat something poorly; to use something in an inappropriateway, often damaging it

* Our application was mishandled, and that’s why we had not received aresponse.

to tamper with – to do something that damages an object, especially when onedoes not have permission to touch or look at it

* It looks like someone tampered with the lock on our car.

to retrieve – to get back; to obtain again; to find and recover something that onehas not had for a period of time

* Do you know how I can retrieve my sent messages in this email program?

to go through – to open something and quickly look at all the different piecesinside it, often when searching for something

* Harriet went through everything in her purse three times, but she still hasn’tbeen able to find her keys.

to search – to look for something; to seek

* The security guards searched everyone’s backpacks and bags before they letthem into the football stadium.

missing – something that cannot be found; something that has been misplacedand whose current location is unknown

* How long have your sunglasses been missing?

disarray – disorder; messy; without things being put in their proper place

* After the robbery, the entire house was in disarray.

inspection – investigation; the act of reviewing something, often when searchingfor a particular piece of information

* The health department conducts inspections of all the restaurants in the city atleast once each year.

claim – an official report describing a problem and requesting payment orcompensation as a solution

* Somebody hit our car while it was parked on the street last night, so now weneed to file a claim with the insurance company.

to compensate – to pay someone for a specific purpose, often for a service thathas been provided or to apologize for one’s mistake

* In my opinion, getting more vacation time doesn’t compensate for reducing mysalary.

to not be able to say – to not know the answer to something and not know howto respond to another person’s question

* A: Do you think it will rain tomorrow?

* B: I really can’t say.

blow off – an excuse; something one says to avoid answering another person’squestion, or to avoid dealing with a certain problem, especially because onethinks it is unimportant

* If this company really cared about customer service, it wouldn’t send thesestandard letters as a blow off every time a customer complained aboutsomething.

miracle – something that happens and cannot be explained by nature orscience; something that has been performed by a supernatural force or God

* Jean thought it was a miracle that her husband was able to walk again after thebad car accident.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does she mean when he says it looks like her bag had beenmishandled?

a) The handle was broken.

b) The handle was missing.

c) The bag was treated poorly.

2. What does she mean when she says that everything is in disarray?

a) Everything is very messy.

b) Everything is broken.

c) Everything is expensive.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

handle

The word “handle,” in this podcast, means the part of something that fits in one’shand and is used to lift up and carry objects: “The handle on my briefcase brokewhile I was walking down the street, but my laptop wasn’t damaged when it fell tothe ground.” As a verb, “to handle” means to deal with or cope with a situation:

“Do you think you can handle taking care of five kids all day by yourself?” Thephrase “to handle” can also mean to be responsible for completing some work:

“I’ll handle the billing while you’re on vacation next month.” Finally, the phrase“to handle” can mean to control an animal or drive a vehicle: “How old were youwhen you learned to handle wild horses?” Or, “Was it difficult to learn how tohandle a motorcycle?”

to blow off

In this podcast, the phrase “to blow off” means to make an excuse or to saysomething to avoid answering another person’s question or avoid dealing with acertain problem, especially because one thinks it is unimportant: “Reporters arestarting to ask questions about our company’s scandal and we can’t just blow itoff. We need to give them real answers.” The phrase “to blow off steam” meansto engage in some activity to become calmer and less angry or stressed:

“Exercising can be a great way to blow off steam when work gets too stressful.”

Finally, the phrase “to blow over” means for something unpleasant to beforgotten: “I know she’s angry at you right now, but this will all blow over in a fewweeks.”

CULTURE NOTE

If your luggage or the “contents” (the things that were kept inside) are damagedby an airline, it is important to “notify” (officially let someone know) the airlineright away. In general, you need to file a complaint within 24 hours for a“domestic” (within the country) flight, and within seven days for an internationalflight.

When you file a complaint, you’ll need to “present” (show) your “boarding pass”

(the document one shows when stepping onto an airplane), “baggage claimticket” (a small piece of paper with the same number shown on the piece ofpaper attached to your bag), and identification. The airline may give you a formto fill out.

You’ll also need to describe the damage. If you notice the damage at the airport,you can show your suitcase to the airline employee. If you don’t notice thedamage until you have already left, take a picture of the damage, preferably witha “date stamp” (text placed on a photograph by a digital camera showing thedate).

If you had “travel insurance” (a policy that gives you money if something badhappens while you are traveling), don’t forget to report the damage to theinsurance company, too. They might file the claim “on your behalf” (for you) andthey might pay you even if the airline doesn’t.

Finally, if the airline doesn’t reply quickly, “follow up” (continue to contactsomeone until you receive an answer). “Otherwise” (if you don’t), the airlinemight lose your complaint and never “get back to you” (contact you with ananswer).

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 678: ReportingDamaged Luggage.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 678. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there today to download a Learning Guide forthis episode to help you improve your English – and live longer. It’s true!

This episode is called “Reporting Damaged Luggage.” “Luggage” is what youuse to carry your clothing and other things when you go on a trip. Let’s getstarted.

[start of dialogue]

Ipicked up my luggage off of the baggage carousel and noticed that the handlewas broken and some of my clothes were falling out of the open zipper. The baglooked like it had been mishandled, but could someone have tampered with it,too? I went to the baggage claim office to report what I found.

Clerk: Next. How can I help you?

Jordan: I retrieved my bag and found that it’s been damaged.

Clerk: What’s the problem?

Jordan: The handle is broken and I think someone has gone through my bag.

Clerk: That was probably security. They may have searched your luggage.

Jordan: Yes, but my camera is missing and everything is in disarray. I’m notsure if other things are missing.

Clerk: Why don’t you make a more thorough inspection over there and then youcan file a claim for anything that’s missing or broken.

Jordan: Will I be compensated for the damage to my luggage and for my missingcamera?

Clerk: I really can’t say.

Jordan: How long will it take for someone to contact me?

Clerk: I really can’t say. Next!

…Iknew a blow off when I heard it, but I looked through my bag anyway and filledout the forms. Who knows? Miracles do happen, don’t they?

[end of dialogue]

Our story begins with Jordan telling us about the unfortunate problems she hadon her trip. She says, “I picked up my luggage (I removed my luggage) off of thebaggage carousel and noticed that the handle was broken.” “Luggage” is thesame as suitcases; we might call them “baggage.” They are the things that youput your clothing and other objects into when you travel. Especially if you aretraveling on a train or a plane, you will typically bring some luggage with you.

“Baggage” is another word for “luggage.” “Carousel” (carousel) is actually, in itsoriginal meaning, something that you would find at a fair or an amusement park.

It’s a round ride – a round game that moves in circles, and there are typicallyhorses that go up and down. It’s a thing that you would bring a four or five-yearoldto. That’s a carousel; it’s also called a “merry-go-round.” But here, the“baggage carousel” is a round – typically round thing that has your luggage.

What they do is they have what’s called a “conveyor belt,” which is a long pieceof plastic or rubber that moves around and around. They put the luggage on topof that; it moves it – it conveys it to the carousel, and the carousel spins aroundand when you see your luggage – your baggage – you pick it up, you take it off ofthe baggage carousel. The “handle” of a piece of luggage is the part that fits intoyour hand and is used to lift up the suitcase – the piece of luggage – thebaggage. A “handle” can be anything that you grab onto with your hand in orderto move it or open it. Most bags or suitcases have handles.

So Jordan notices that her handle is broken – it’s not working correctly – and thatsome of her clothes were falling out of the open zipper. A “zipper” is somethingyou use with a piece of clothing or a bag to close it, to bring two parts of theobject together. A zipper is made with two long pieces of metal or plastic thathave many small what we call “teeth,” and the teeth, which are little parts thatstick out, sort of like what you will see on a comb for your hair – anyway, theseteeth come together and they stay together, and they keep the two parts of thebag or the parts of your clothing where there is a zipper together. Men often have zippers on the top of their pants in the front for reasons you probably canguess.

So Jordan has a problem with her luggage. She says, “The bag looked like ithad been mishandled.” “To mishandle” means to use something in a way thatwill damage it, to treat it poorly. She says, “how could someone have tamperedwith it, too?” “To tamper (tamper) with (something)” is more than justmishandling it; it’s really different from mishandling. “To tamper with” is topurposely – on purpose, intentionally – try to damage or do something with anobject that you do not have permission to do, usually with something that belongsto someone else. She said, “I went to the baggage claim office to report what Ifound. The “baggage claim office” would be the place in the airport or train orbus station that takes care of problems people have with their luggage.

The clerk says, “Next. How can I help you?” You have to think that there’s a lineof people – several people waiting, so when the clerk says “next” he means thenext person should come forward, should come and talk to him. Jordan says, “Iretrieved my bag and found that it’s been damaged.” “To retrieve” means to getback, to get something that you didn’t have and now you have it again. In thiscase, you give the airline or the bus company or train company your luggage;you put it in a separate area, and then when you arrive at the place you are going– your destination – you then retrieve it, you get it back.

The clerk says, “What’s the problem?” Jordan says, “The handle is broken and Ithink someone has gone through my bag.” To “go through” is a two-word phrasalverb meaning to open something and look through it very quickly. It’s what youwould do if you were looking for something, trying to find something. Jordansays that someone went through her luggage. The clerk says, “That wasprobably security. They may have searched your luggage.” “To search” is tolook for something. In the United States, for example, when you give the airlineyour piece of luggage – your suitcase – sometimes they will look through it. Theywill look at it even after it has been given to them and you are already on theplane. Before the bags go on the plane, underneath in the bottom part of theplane, there may be security officers who are inspecting it for any possibledangerous object.

Jordan says, “Yes, but my camera is missing and everything is in disarray.”

Something that is “missing” is something that cannot be found, something that islost, something that is no longer there. “Disarray” (disarray) means messy,things are not in their proper place. Another word we might use for “disarray” is“disorder.” The prefix (dis) is similar to the prefix “un” (un); when put before a word it often gives it the opposite meaning or something that is not that thing.

So, “disorganization” is the opposite of “organization.”

Anyway, Jordan is complaining that her camera is missing; she says, “I’m notsure if other things are missing.” The clerk says, “Why don’t you make a morethorough (a more complete) inspection over there and then you can file a claimfor anything that’s missing or broken.” “To inspect” means to look at verycarefully. So, an “inspection” is the noun, which is the act of looking or searchingfor something. The clerk is telling her to go to another place to look through herluggage carefully, write down all of the things that she thinks are missing ordamaged, and then come back to him to file a claim. A “claim” (claim) heremeans an official report describing something, usually something that you wouldgive to an insurance agency or a company asking for money, money forsomething that has been stolen or lost. In this case, it’s the airline that would beresponsible. But if you have accident with your car, you would file a claim withthe insurance agency so they can pay you money to fix your car.

Jordan says, “Will I be compensated for the damage to my luggage and for mymissing camera?” “To compensate” means to pay someone for a specificpurpose. It may be because they made a mistake and they have to give youmoney in order to basically apologize, say that they’re sorry. You can also use“compensate” to mean simply pay: “I compensate my employees,” I pay them asalary. “To be compensated” means that someone will give you some money forthe damage to your luggage and for anything that’s missing. Jordan asks if shewill be compensated for these things; the clerk says, “I really can’t say.” Whensomeone says they “can’t say,” they mean they don’t know the answer; it’sanother way of saying “I don’t know.” It’s a little more formal perhaps, a littlemore polite. Jordan says, “How long will it take for someone to contact me?”

The clerk says, again, “I really can’t say. Next!” When he says “next,” he’ssaying to Jordan “I’m not going to talk to you anymore,” and he’s asking the nextperson waiting in line to come forward.

Jordan says, “I knew a blow off when I heard it.” “To blow off” is a two-wordphrasal verb, an informal way of saying an excuse, usually when someone sayssomething to avoid answering your question or to avoid dealing with a certainproblem, perhaps because they don’t think it’s very important. “I talked to themanager but she blew me off.” She stopped talking to me or she made someexcuse; she didn’t want to have to deal with me, to talk to me. Jordan says, “Ilooked through my bag anyway and filled out (or completed) the forms,” thepieces of paper to file the claim. “Who knows?” she says, “Miracles do happen,don’t they?” A “miracle” is something that happens that cannot be explained bythe normal laws of science or laws of nature. The idea is that it is something supernatural, something that perhaps God has done, or some higher power;that’s a miracle. “To blow off” has some additional meanings; you can find thosein our Learning Guide.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.