Buying a Car
购买汽车
对话 Dialogue
Hi there, can I help you folks?
喂，你们好，有什么需要帮忙的吗？
I’m just browsing; seeing what’s on the lot. My daughter wants a car for her birthday, you know how it is.
我就随便看看，逛逛停车场。我女儿想要辆车当生日礼物，你懂的。
Dad! I’m sixteen already and I’m, like, the only one at school who doesn’t have a car!
爸！我都十六了，好像全校就我没车！
She is right, you know. Kids these days all have cars. Let me show you something we just got in: a 1996 sedan. Excellent gas mileage, it has dual airbags and anti lock brakes; a perfect vehicle for a young driver.
她说得没错，现在的孩子都有车。我带你看个刚到的新货：一辆1996年的轿车。油耗低，有双气囊和防抱死刹车，年轻司机开正合适。
Dad, I love it! It’s awesome! Can we get this one please?
爸，我太喜欢了！超酷！我们就买这辆好不好？
I see... What can you tell me about this one?
我看看……这辆车能介绍一下吗？
Oh, that’s just an old World War Two tank that we use for TV commercials. Now about this sedan...
哦，那只是辆老旧的二战坦克，我们用来拍电视广告的。现在我们说回这辆轿车……
Whoa, whoa wait a minute. Tell me more about this tank.
哇哦，等等，先说说这辆坦克。
Well, Sir, if you are looking for quality and safety then look no further! Three inches of reinforced steel protect your daughter from short range missile attacks.
先生，如果您追求质量和安全，那就别看了！三英寸厚的强化钢，能让您女儿免受短程导弹攻击。
Does the sedan protect her from missile attacks?
那辆轿车能让她免受导弹攻击吗？
It does not.
不能。
Well, I don’t know. Let me sleep on it.
嗯，我不太确定。让我再考虑一晚吧。
Did I mention the tank is a tank?
我有没有说过这辆坦克它就是辆坦克？
I’ll take it!
我要了！
Dad!
爸！
完整节目 Full Program
Hello English learners! Welcome back to EnglishPod! My name is Marco.
And I’m Erica.
And today we’re bringing you another great lesson for all of you, who are interested in shopping.
Especially those of you, who are interested in shopping for a car.
A car.
Uhu.
Exactly. So, we’re gonna give you some great language about describing a car or characteristics of a car.
Yeah.
And also some really interesting language for shopping.
Yes, especially buying something really big and expensive.
Yeah, like a car.
Yeah.
So, before we listen to our dialogue let’s take a look at “vocabulary preview”. Voice: Vocabulary preview.
On vocabulary preview today we’re brining two words. The first one is vehicle.
Vehicle.
Vehicle.
Vehicle.
So, again a vehicle is a machine, right?
Right, a machine that carries people from one place to another.
So, it’s important to say that a vehicle could be an airplane…
A car.
A car.
A boat.
Boat.
Even a bicycle.
Right.
Yeah.
That’s a vehicle. Our second word is sedan.
Sedan.
Sedan.
Sedan.
So, a sedan is a type of car.
Exactly. It… it’s a type of car with four doors that can fit five people inside.
So, to make it more clear, most taxies are sedans.
Exactly.
Right?
Yeah.
They have four doors.
Yeah.
Five people can fit in there…
Yeah.
Including the driver. Except taxies in Mexico.
They’re not sedans?
They’re little Beetles.
Oh.
The Volkswagen Beetles.
Okay.
So, those are not sedans. But, yeah, most, uh, countries have sedans as taxies.
Yeah.
To give you some examples, like a Toyota Corolla or a Toyota Camry is a sedan.
Yeah, yeah. Maybe like, uh, a Volkswagen Getta is that a….
A Jetta, yeah…
Yeah.
A Jetta is the sedan.
Yeah.
Now, we could listen to our dialogue and it’s gonna be at a normal speed, the first time, but you don’t have to worry about it.
We’ll come back and teach you some of the important words from the dialogue.
I think she’s really lucky. She’s…
Really?
She’s getting a tank to go to school. How awesome is that?
Uh, I would be so embarrassed if I had to drive to school on a tank.
That’s like the coolest car.
Oh, you’re such a boy.
Hehe. Alright, a surprising ending to, uh, relatively easy shopping day.
Yeah.
Uh, let’s take a look at some… language that we saw in our dialogue on “language takeaway”. Voice: Language takeaway.
We have four words for you today. The first one is gas mileage.
Gas mileage.
Gas mileage.
Gas mileage. So, gas mileage is how many miles you can travel on a gallon or liter of gasoline.
Well, you know, it’s interesting in some English speaking countries like Australia, New Zeeland, Canada, we use kilometers…
Right.
To measure distance. But we still talk about gas mileage.
Uh.
Yeah.
I guess you can’t say gas kilomiliage.
No.
Or… or some like that. But, yeah, it’s… yeah, basically, how many kilometers or how many miles you can travel on a tank or on a liter or gallon of gas.
Exactly.
Okay.
The next word is airbags.
Airbags.
Airbags.
Airbags.
These are like big bags of air that fill up and come out of the car when there’s a crash.
Right, so, that way you don’t hit your head against…
Yeah.
The steering wheel or…
Yeah.
Something like that.
So, they protect you.
Right, I’ve heard that Volvo has like eighteen airbags now in their cars.
They are very safe cars, you know.
Hehe. Like a big balloon.
Aha.
Okay, our third word today is brakes.
Brakes.
Brakes.
Brakes. So, what are brakes?
Brakes are little… What are breaks? Breaks are what make your car stop.
Okay, so, that the little machines maybe that stop your car.
Yeah, they’re on the wheels.
Yeah.
They make your car stop.
Aha.
You have brakes on your bike.
Yes.
On your car, etcetera.
Uhu.
Our last word today on language takeaway – reinforced.
Reinforced.
Reinforced.
Reinforced.
So, we have some examples of how we use reinforced, because it’s a little bit weird.
Yeah, these will help you understand the meaning. Voice: Example one.
So, I reinforced all the walls; there’s no way they’re gonna fall down. Voice: Example two.
This plastic is reinforced with the glass, so it’s both light and strong.
So, basically, anything that’s reinforced is made stronger.
Perfect.
Reinforced steel…
Yep.
Reinforced table.
Aha.
Anything. Okay. Great, so now we could listen to our dialogue again. You can practice all these words that we just talked about and we’ll come back shortly. DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (slow)
So, we have a couple of interesting phrases to talk about shopping.
Right.
Let’s look at these in “fluency builder”. Voice: Fluency builder.
The first one is I’m just browsing.
I’m just browsing.
I’m just browsing.
I’m just browsing.
This is a really useful phrase, because usually salespeople will come up to you and ask you “can I help you?” or…
Yeah.
Are you interested in something?
Yeah.
And you’re just looking, so…
Yeah, you maybe… you don’t really wanna buy today.
Right.
Yeah.
So, you’re just “uh, I’m just browsing”.
Uhu.
So, then they’ll just leave you alone and…
Yeah, they won’t bother you as much.
Yeah, it’s a good, good phrase.
Another good phrase.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
So, we have some examples of how we use sleep on it. Voice: Example one.
I don’t know if we should buy that house. It’s perfect for us, but it’s so expensive.
Let’s sleep on it. Voice: Example two.
Why don’t you sleep on it and tell me tomorrow? Voice: Example three.
This is a bit more than what I can afford; let me sleep on it.
To sleep on it means to…
Like to think about it overnight.
To think about it, right?
Yeah.
So, maybe you wanna buy this really expensive car.
But you need to think about it.
Right.
So, you’ll sleep on it.
So… yeah. You go home, sleep on it, think about it twice and then make a decision.
Exactly.
Okay, great words and great dialogue, so…
Yeah, I love this dialogue.
Yeah, it was… it’s kind of funny. So, we could listen to it again and then we’ll come back and talk a little bit about it.
So, Marco, have you ever driven a tank?
Hehe. Well…
I… I mean know you were in the army, so…
Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, actually I did… I did drive, uh, a tank before.
Really?
A really… yeah, a really old one…
Really?
Kind of like a World War Two type tank. But, yeah, they’re really fun and interesting. You have… it’s not like driving a normal car. You have pedals and you have…
So, there’s no steering wheel?
No, no, no. You have, um, levers…
Yeah.
And, uh… what many people don’t know is that actually tanks are… manual transmission, so you have to change gears.
Oh, really?
And it’s really hard to change gears on those things.
And what’s the gas mileage like on a tank?
Hehe. I don’t know, maybe like five miles per gallon, well…
Okay.
They run on diesel…
Aha.
Witch is a different type of fuel, right?
Yep. Okay, well, very cool. I never knew that my podcast partner had driven a tank. That’s pretty awesome.
Yeah, well, it was… it was fun, definitely and… I hope I get to do it again some day.
Alright. Well, uh, guys, have you ever driven a tank?
Or a submarine or any type of, uh, armor vehicle.
Yeah, tell us about it at our website englishpod.com.
Right, we’ll be there to answer all your questions. I’ll also be there to maybe post some more crazy stories.
Or some pictures of the tank or something.
Yeah, maybe.
Yeah.
Alright guys, we’ll see you there… until then it’s…
Good bye!
Bye!
复习 Review
The EnglishPod audio review.
Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
Look around to see if anything is interesting.
Browse.
A car with four doors.
Sedan.
The amount of gas used per mile.
Gas mileage.
Dual airbags.
A device that slows down or stops something.
Break.
Something that carries people from one place to another.
Vehicle.
Strengthen. Make something stronger.
Reinforce.
Think about something further and make a decision later.
Sleep on it.
A vehicle that is larger than a car has four doors and is shaped like a box.
Minivan.
A large vehicle that is suitable to run on rough surfaces.
SUV.
An event where goods or services are sold at a price lower than usual.
Sale.
Something that is done to increase sales.
Promotion.
The amount of reduction in price.
Discount.
Something but or sold at a price lower than its actual value.
Bargain.
Let's try that faster.
A vehicle that is larger than a car has four doors and is shaped like a box.
Minivan.
The amount of gas used per mile.
Gas mileage.
A car with four doors.
Sedan.
Something that is done to increase sales.
Promotion.
A large vehicle that is suitable to run on rough surfaces.
SUV.
Look around to see if anything is interesting.
Browse.
That carries people from one place to another.
Vehicle.
A device that slows down or stops something.
Break.
Dual airbags.
Think about something further and make a decision later.
Sleep on it.
An event where goods or services are sold at a price lower than usual.
Sale.
Strengthen.
Make something stronger.
Reinforce.
Something but or sold at a price lower than its actual value.
Bargain.
The amount of reduction in price.
Discount.
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Browse.
I'm just browsing.
I don't need any help.
Browse.
Lena was browsing through the department store when she sat Tom.
Browse.
There's a lot of people browsing through the store but no one is buying.
Sleep on it.
I don't know if we should buy that house.
It's perfect for us but it is so expensive.
Let's sleep on it.
Sleep on it.
Why don't you sleep on it and tell me tomorrow.
Sleep on it.
This is a bit more than what I can afford.
Let me sleep on it.
Vehicle.
There were a lot of vehicles on the road today.
Vehicle.
Three vehicles were involved in the accident.
Vehicle.
Remember, do not leave any valuable items in your vehicle.
Gas mileage.
What kind of gas mileage does this car get?
Gas mileage.
The gas mileage is great.
The car gets 30 miles to the gallon.
Gas mileage.
The gas mileage improves if you drive on the highway.
Break.
There's something wrong with the car's break.
I can't stop.
Break.
Make sure you get your bikes breaks checked.
I don't want you to get in an accident.
Break.
The brakes didn't work and he crashed into a tree.
Reinforce.
So I reinforced all the walls.
There's no way they're going to fall down.
Reinforce.
The plastic is reinforced with glass so it's both light and...
Reinforce.
The building is made with reinforced steel so it is quite...