You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod.
Today is the first in a series of shows that will follow an employee of a technology company on a training trip to the US.
Over the series we'll practice many situations that will be useful for you on your business trips overseas, including going through immigration, renting a car, checking into a hotel using wireless internet, and so on.
But just before we look at the dialogue, I'd like to let you know that we have some new online activities taking off this month on the website.
Check them out at www.businessenglishpod.com.
Okay, today's episode starts at the beginning of the business trip with boarding the airplane.
The main character in our story is Alan Chen.
He works for a major multinational electronics manufacturer Ambient, which is headquartered in Michigan in the USA.
Having recently received a promotion, Alan is going to America to learn Six Sigma, which is a system for improving quality.
Alan's colleague, Onesto, is also going on the training trip.
Since Alan comes from Beijing and Onesto from the Philippines, they speak English together.
Alan and Onesto have met up in Hong Kong and now they're boarding the same flight for San Francisco.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
The answers will be posted in a few days on our website.
First, what time will Alan and Onesto arrive in San Francisco?
Second, what should passengers turn off before the plane takes off?
And three, what does Alan mean by murder a Scotch?
May I have your attention, please?
We're now ready to board all first class passengers and members of our frequent flyer club.
Wow, it would be nice to be flying first class.
No kidding.
I could have used some leg room on the flight from Beijing.
But at least we got an emergency exit row seat on this one.
Yeah, that's a good trick.
Now boarding all passengers from rows 43 to 60.
That's us.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
This is flight 756 bound for San Francisco.
Our arrival time in San Francisco is 5 p.m.
Pacific time.
The plane is about to depart.
Please look at the card in your seat pocket and locate the emergency exit nearest to you.
In case of an emergency, an oxygen mask will come down from an overhead compartment.
For over-water emergencies, your life vest is under your seat.
For takeoff, please put your seat in the upright position and lock your tray table in front of you.
Turn off all electronic devices, including computers and cell phones, and be sure your seat belt is securely fastened.
After takeoff, our crew will be serving beverages.
Thank you.
All right, here we go.
I don't know about you, but I could murder a Scotch.
Yeah, but this is an American airline.
I've heard you have to pay for them.
Don't worry.
They always serve complimentary drinks on international flights.
Hello, this is your captain speaking.
We are expecting a little turbulence as we fly over southern China, so I do ask you, stay in your seats until the flight attendants have turned off the seatbelts on.
Darn.
Well, I guess we're going to have to wait for those drinks.
Hope it isn't like this the whole way.
Yeah, I hate turbulence.
It sounds like Alan and Onesto have gotten off to a good start on their trip, though we hope they don't have to wait too much longer for their drinks.
Let's go through the dialogue bit by bit to highlight some key language.
May I have your attention please?
We're now ready to board all first class passengers and members of our frequent flyer club.
Can you guess what frequent flyer club means?
This is a club for customers, mostly business people, who fly a lot.
As you know, frequent flyers receive special benefits from airlines, such as being able to board or enter the aircraft early, along with first-class passengers.
Keep listening.
Wow, it would be nice to be flying first class.
No kidding.
I could have used some legroom on the flight from Beijing.
What does Alan mean by legroom?
Literally, this is room for your legs.
Space.
So when Alan says...
I could have used some more legroom.
He means he wishes he had more space.
We can also say this in the present tense.
I could use more legroom.
Similarly, Onesto says, It would be nice to be flying first class.
Onesto and Alan are both expressing wishes.
This makes good small talk when you're waiting around.
Let's practice these and other phrases you can use to express wishes.
I'd love a cup of coffee right now.
It'd be great to have something to eat right now.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get up and move around?
All right, let's get back to the conversation.
But at least we got an emergency exit row seat on this one.
Yeah, that's a good trick.
Emergency exit row seats are seats next to the exits you use to leave the airplane in case of an emergency such as a crash or a fire.
These seats have more legroom.
It sounds like Alan and Onesto have made a point of requesting emergency exit row seats so that they can be more comfortable on their long international flights.
As Alan says, this is a good trick, a good tip for handling a problem.
After Alan and Onesto board the airplane, The flight attendant that is, the person who attends to or serves the passengers reads the usual information before the plane takes off.
First, she greets everybody.
Then she starts talking about emergency procedures.
Oxygen is air, the stuff we breathe.
A mask is something that covers your mouth.
So an oxygen mask helps you breathe if there is no air.
What do you think overhead compartment means?
A compartment is a storage space.
So an overhead compartment is a small storage space above your head.
So the place where you put your bags on an airplane is called an overhead compartment.
For overwater emergencies, your life vest is under your seat.
For takeoff, please put your seat in the upright position and lock your tray table in front of you.
What's a life vest?
A vest is like a shirt, but without arms or sleeves.
A life vest is something you wear to help you swim, and it saves your life.
Your tray table... is the small table that you use to eat on when you're on an airplane.
Lock your tray table in front of you means put the table away so that people can move back and forth along the row in case of an emergency.
Emergency exit row seats do not have tray tables coming down from the seats in front of them.
What else does the flight attendant say?
She asks the passengers to turn off all electronic devices, such as cell phones and computers, and to fasten their seatbelts.
And, as is usual, she mentions that they'll be serving beverages, drinks, after the plane takes off.
Alan is looking forward to that, isn't he?
What does he say?
I don't know about you, but I could murder a Scotch.
Yeah, but this is an American airline.
I've heard you have to pay for them.
What does to murder a Scotch mean?
Don't worry.
Alan doesn't want to kill anybody.
He wants a drink, a Scotch whiskey.
I could murder a Scotch means something like, I really, really want a drink right now.
Ernesto responds by saying, this is an American airline.
I've heard you have to pay for them.
I've heard that is a way of talking about what someone told you or what you know from other people from word of mouth.
This is another very useful expression for making small talk on an airplane or while you're waiting around.
Let's practice some more useful language for saying what you've heard.
I understand that the Shanghai stock market is getting into trouble.
There's a rumor going around that Tony Blair is going to go into business with George W. Bush.
I've heard the new Airbus A380 is really a great plane to fly in.
I've got a tip that US interest rates could be on the rise again.
All right, what happens next?
After Onesto comments that he's heard you have to pay for drinks on US airlines.
Alan reassures him that drinks are complimentary.
That is free on international flights.
But just when Onesto and Alan are finally going to get their drinks, what happens?
Hello, this is your captain speaking.
We are expecting a little turbulence as we fly over southern China, so I do ask you, stay in your seats until the flight attendants have turned off the seatbelts on.
Can you guess what turbulence means?
It refers to weather that causes the airplane to shake up and down during flight.
Interestingly enough, pilots and flight attendants informally refer to it as bumpy air.
How do Onesto and Alan respond to the turbulence announcement?
Darn.
Well, I guess we're going to have to wait for those drinks.
Hope it isn't like this the whole way.
Yeah, I hate turbulence.
Onesto hopes that it isn't going to be like this the whole way.
That is, he hopes that there won't be turbulence for the whole flight to San Francisco.
Turbulence is a useful word.
It can be used metaphorically to describe any number of situations where things do not go smoothly.
The adjective is turbulent.
Let's listen to some more example sentences with turbulence.
After a turbulent year, the economy recovered.
In the past there has been some turbulence in our working relationship, but now things are going quite smoothly.
I would describe the 60s as a turbulent decade.
Before we finish today, it's your turn to practice.
Imagine you're on a flight and you want to make some small talk with your friend or the person sitting next to you.
First, practice expressing a wish.
You'll hear a series of prompts or hints.
Then, after each beep, use the language we learned today to express a wish according to the hint.
For example, if you hear long vacation, you can say...
I could really use a long vacation.
Then, after you've finished saying each phrase, you'll hear an example answer that you can compare to your own.
Answer.
It would be great to have a cup of orange juice right now.
More legroom.
Answer.
I could really use some more legroom.
Now let's try the same thing with saying something that you heard.
For example, if you hear the price of oil falling, you can say I understand that the price of oil is falling.
Let's begin.
Answer.
I heard a rumor that Beckham is playing again for the England team.
Price of gold keep going up.
Answer.
I understand that the price of gold is just going to keep going up and up.
Well that's about all for our show today.
We've practiced some great language for making small talk on the plane, along with a lot of useful vocabulary for business travel.
Be sure to come back for the next episode when we'll deal with immigration and customs.
Also, don't miss out on our new online exercises at www.businessenglishpod.com.
Thanks again for listening.
See you again soon.
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