#0302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF
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English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check
GLOSSARY
to get (someone’s) attention –
to do something so that another person pays
attention to oneself; to do something to get another person to look at oneself
and/or listen to what one is saying
* During the football game, Rhonda got her husband’s attention by standing in
front of the TV so that he couldn’t see it!
check –
bill; a piece of paper at a restaurant that shows what one has ordered,
how much each thing costs, and how much a person needs to pay
* Our check for dinner was more than $120 because we ordered a very nice
bottle of wine.
dessert –
a sweet thing eaten after the rest of a meal
* Hank’s favorite dessert is chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
to ring (something) up –
to enter the cost of what someone is buying into a
machine, and then take that person’s money to make the sale
* When the sales clerk rang up my book, she accidentally typed an extra zero, so
instead of costing $10, it was $100!
mistake –
error; something that is incorrect; something that is wrong
* Tanya made a mistake when she decided to buy that car. It broke down the
first time she drove it.
appetizer –
a small amount of food eaten before the rest of a meal
* This restaurant has delicious appetizers, like spinach dip and stuffed
mushrooms.
to adjust –
to make a small change to correct something; to make a small
change to make something better
* Did you adjust your watch for the time difference when you flew from New York
to San Francisco?
to take (something) off –
to remove something from a list
* Please take my name off of the participant list because I won’t be able to go to
the conference after all.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check
two-for-one coupon –
a small piece of paper that lets one receive two of
something for the price of one; a small piece of paper that lets the holder pay for
one thing, and get a second one for free
* With this two-for-one coupon, we can go to go to Disneyland together for the
price of one.
to be charged for –
to be asked to pay for something; to be billed for something
* Even though we returned the movie at 6:05 p.m., we were charged the late fee
because we were supposed to have returned it by 6:00 p.m.
to place (one’s) order –
to tell a waiter or waitress what one would like to eat; to
tell someone what one would like to buy
* We called the Thai restaurant and placed our order over the phone so that the
food would be ready when we got to the restaurant.
stated –
said or written; made clear; expressed; communicated
* The sign we just passed stated that we needed to turn right to go to Dollywood,
but we made a mistake and turned left instead.
to be a pain –
to make trouble; to make things difficult for another person
* My little brother is a pain! He always comes into my room when I want to be
alone.
to make an exception –
to do something that one normally wouldn’t do; to not
follow the regular rules just once; to decide to change the way that one does
something this time
* Normally the professor makes all of his students take tests at the same time,
but he made an exception when Shelby was sick, and let him take the test a
week later.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What did the waiter do with the appetizer?
a) He took it off of the table.
b) He took it off of the bill.
c) He used it to adjust the check.
2. According to the waiter, when should Leslie have presented the coupon?
a) During dessert.
b) After paying.
c) While ordering.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
to ring (something) up
The phrase “to ring (something) up,” in this podcast, means to enter the cost of
what someone is buying into a machine, and then take that person’s money to
make the sale: “The store employee was new, so it took her a long time to ring
up my purchases.” The phrase “to ring (something) in” means to celebrate
something noisily: “They rang in the New Year with a big party in Chicago.” The
phrase “to ring a bell” means to seem familiar, as if one had heard something
before but isn’t able to remember where or when: “The name ‘Kelly Drake’ rings
a bell, but I can’t think of how I know her.” Finally, the phrase “to ring off the
hook” means for a telephone to ring repeatedly, too many times: “The phone has
been ringing off the hook all afternoon, and I’m tired of answering it!”
to take off
In this podcast, the phrase “to take (something) off” means to remove something
from a list: “Please take Jaime’s name off of your mailing list because he no
longer works here.” The phrase “to take (something) off” also means to remove
a piece of clothing: “Please take off your jacket and get comfortable.” The verb
“to take off” can mean for a plane to leave the ground and begin to fly: “Our plane
didn’t take off until almost 5:50 p.m. because it was too foggy earlier in the day.”
A similar phrase, “to take some time off,” means to take a short vacation, or to
spend a few days not working: “Janice is very stressed out, and she needs to
take some time off to relax.”
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check
CULTURE NOTE
When you eat at a restaurant in the United States, you might be surprised to see
that your restaurant check includes “charges” (costs) for things “other than” (that
are not) the food and drinks that you ordered. Some of these additional charges
may include taxes, corkage fees, and tips for large parties.
Many cities have “dining taxes” and customers are charged a percentage of the
cost of their meal as a “tax” (money that is given to the government). The dining
tax is usually just a few percentages, but it will make your meal more expensive.
The dining tax “revenues,” or the money that the government earns from the
dining tax, is usually used for city government programs, and is sometimes used
to help poor people who don’t have enough money to buy food.
Another common charge on a restaurant check is a “corking fee.” Sometimes
people like to bring a favorite bottle of wine to a restaurant to enjoy with their
meal, rather than buy a bottle of wine from the restaurant. Some restaurants will
allow this, but will charge a “corking fee” for opening and “pouring” (moving the
bottle so that the liquid falls out) the wine.
Finally, when “diners” (the people who eat at a restaurant) are in a large group,
usually of eight or more people, the restaurant check may include a “tip for large
parties.” In the United States, restaurants expect diners to pay about 15% “tip”
(extra money for service) to the waiter or waitress. Waiters and waitresses are
usually paid a small hourly rate and are expected to rely mainly on tips for their
earnings. Large groups can be even more work for the waiters and waitresses,
and diners often “under-tip” (pay less than the expected 15%), so the restaurant
includes a “mandatory” (required) tip for large parties, so that they cannot leave
without paying the tip for the service they’ve received.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ESL Podcast 302 – A Problem with a Restaurant Check
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 302: A Problem
with a Restaurant Check.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 302. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com and take a look at the Learning Guide for this
episode. Each episode has its own 8 to 10 page Learning Guide that contains all
of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, cultural notes, and a complete
transcript of this podcast episode, as well as other things to help you in learning
English.
This episode is called “A Problem with a Restaurant Check,” or a restaurant “bill”
(the little piece of paper that tells you how much money you have to pay). Let’s
get started.
[start of dialogue]
I waved my hand to get the waiter’s attention.
Waiter: Yes?
Leslie: The check, please.
Waiter: Would you like any dessert, or some tea or coffee?
Leslie: No, just the check. Thanks.
Waiter: Here you are. I’ll ring that up for you when you’re ready.
Leslie: Thank you. Oh, there seems to be a mistake on our bill. We didn’t order
this appetizer.
Waiter: Let me check this and I’ll be right back...Here you are. I’ve adjusted the
check. I took off the appetizer.
Leslie: Thanks, but there still seems to be a problem. We had a two-for-one
coupon, but we’ve been charged for both meals.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
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