ESL之旅行 12 All-Inclusive Vacations

12 All-Inclusive Vacations

GLOSSARY 1

all-inclusive – including everything; with nothing omitted or left out; complete* The cable company has an all-inclusive offer that includes cable TV andinternet service for one monthly cost.

resort – a nice place to go on vacation; a vacation destination; a large hotel withmany luxurious 2 or upscale services* This beach resort has nice rooms, a beautiful view of the ocean, a fullrestaurant, and a swimming pool.

vacation package – a combination of transportation, hotel rooms, meals, andadmission fees that are sold together for a vacation* Monica paid $2,000 for a 6-day vacation package in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

to pay extra – to pay an additional amount; to pay money in addition to what onehas already paid* If you want Adriana to finish building the website in less than 72 hours, you’llhave to pay extra.

fixed 3 price – a price that does not change, regardless of how much of somethingone uses; a price that does not change with usage* We pay a fixed price of $29 per month for Internet access whether we’re onlinefor two hours or 200 hours during that month.

unlimited 4 – without limits; without a maximum or minimum; as much as onewants* When you buy a monthly ticket, you get unlimited travel on the city’s busses.

predictable – knowing what will happen; knowing what something will be like;without surprises* In Washington, the weather in February is very predictable because it is coldand rainy every day.

off the beaten track – unusual; not done by many other people; not common* Instead of going to the Statue of Liberty, let’s go off the beaten track and visitsome neighborhoods that the tourists don’t usually go to in New York City.

character – the qualities and characteristics that make a person or place special,unique, and different from other people and places* This hotel used to be a railroad station, so it has a lot of 19th-century character.

plus – advantage; good thing; a thing that makes something better* One of the pluses of studying at a small university is that you get to know theprofessors and the other students better.

first rate – very high quality; excellent; high class* The food at this café is first-rate, but there are so many people eating there thatit is hard to find a table.

substandard – not as good as what one wanted or expected; below anacceptable level* This store sells substandard electronics that break down easily.

amenity 5 – something that makes a place good and comfortable to stay at* This hotel’s amenities 6 include a gym, swimming pool, restaurant, salon 7, andconference rooms.

convinced – certain about something; sure that something is correct; believingthat something is right* Why are you convinced that Nicholas was the thief?

compromise – an agreement between two people who want different things, sothat each person gives up a little bit of what he or she wants, but both are happy with the final agreement* Everyone says that If you want to have a happy marriage, you need to learnhow to make compromises.

spontaneity – doing things that were not planned; doing things without thinkingabout them very much, simply because one wants to do them* Gerry is known for his spontaneity.  Yesterday, for example, he bought a ticketand flew to Miami for the day because he thought it would be fun.

…or bust 8 – a phrase meaning that one plans to do something, or that one willwork very hard to be able to do something* After almost four years of studying at the university, it’s graduation or bust!

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  Why does Mei want an all-inclusive vacation package?

a)  Because she wants to pay extra.

b)  Because she wants to do the planning.

c)  Because everything’s included in one price.

2.  Why does Guy say, “I’m still not convinced”?

a)  Because he thinks Jamaica will be a bust.

b)  Because he thinks a vacation package is too predictable.

c)  Because he thinks there will be too much character.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

resortThe word “resort,” in this podcast, means a nice place to go on vacation: “This skiresort has lots of snow, beautiful views, private rooms with fireplaces, and a very good restaurant.”  A “last resort” is the last thing that one can do in a situation ifnothing else works: “If we need more money at the end of the month, we can sellthe car as a last resort.”  The phrase “to resort to (something)” means to dosomething that one doesn’t want to do because there aren’t any other options: “Ifwe can’t get this project done ourselves, we’ll resort to hiring outside consultants 9 to finish the job.”  Or, “The robber resorted to violence when his victims refusedto give him their money.”

characterIn this podcast, the word “character” means the qualities and characteristics thatmake a person or place special, unique, and different from other people andplaces: “The town lost much of its character when the old buildings were torndown.”  A “character” can also be an interesting or unusual person: “Cheyenne is such an interesting character!  She has fascinating stories to tell about her lifeworking in the circus.”  Depending on the context, a “character” can also be astrange or unpleasant person: “Who were those characters you were talking withat the bar?”  Sometimes a “character” is a person in a book, movie, or televisionshow: “Bill Cosby is the main character in The Cosby Show.”  In writing, a“character” is one letter or symbol: “This Learning Guide has about 6,000characters.”

CULTURE NOTEBuying an all-inclusive vacation package can make your vacation moreenjoyable.  You won’t need to worry about making plans and “reservations,”

which are arrangements to do something at a certain time in the future.  The“travel agency” or the company that creates the vacation package, does thatwork for you.

Before you buy an all-inclusive vacation package, be sure to find out exactly whatis included.  Some companies might say that their vacation package is allinclusive, but it might not include the things you were hoping for.

Most all-inclusive vacation packages include the cost of transportation to thevacation destination from a major airport.  If you live far away, you will probably have to pay extra to cover the costs of transportation from your home to themajor airport.  Vacation packages usually include all of the costs of localtransportation for going to museums or other places that are nearby.

Vacation packages typically also include the cost of the hotel rooms where you’llbe staying, but they may or may not include “room service,” which is food beingbrought to your room.  Be sure to ask whether the package includes the use ofhotel amenities, such as the gym or swimming pool.

Ask what meals and “beverages 10” (drinks) are included in the price of the vacationpackage.  Some vacation packages include the cost of only non-alcoholic 11 beverages, such as soda 12, but not alcoholic drinks, such as beer and wine.  Alsoask whether “tips,” the money that is paid for good service, are included in thepackage.  Learn what kind of entertainment and activities are included in theprice.  If the vacation package includes outdoor activities, ask whether you’ll haveto pay extra to “rent” (pay to temporarily use something) the equipment.

With all this information, there won’t have any unpleasant surprises on yourvacation.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – c; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 281: All-InclusiveVacations.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 281.  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 take a look at the ESL Podcast Store, whereyou will find some additional premium 13 courses that you may be interested in.

In this episode, we're going to talk about a special kind of vacation called an “allinclusive vacation.”  Let's get started.

[start of story]

Mei:  Let’s go on an all-inclusive vacation to a resort in Jamaica!

Guy:  I’d like to go to Jamaica, but I don’t know about going to an all-inclusiveresort.

Mei:  It saves so much time in planning.  With these vacation packages, all of ourlodging is included and we don’t have to pay extra for anything.  For one fixedprice, we get unlimited food and drinks, and all of the activities and entertainmentwe want. Guy:  It sounds a little too predictable to me.  You know that when I travel, I liketo go off the beaten track.  The fun is in going out of the tourist areas to find thereal character of a place.

Mei:  I know, but a resort has its pluses.  If we pick a good resort, we’ll know thateverything will be first rate.  There won’t be any problems with substandardamenities or service.

Guy:  That may all be true, but I’m still not convinced.  I’d rather keep lookinguntil we find a good compromise that will have the predictability you want and thespontaneity that I want.  Mei:  Okay, but we agree on Jamaica, right?  Guy:  Yeah, that’s right.  It’s Jamaica or bust!

[end of story]

This dialogue between Mei and Guy – Guy, here, is a man's name – is about allinclusive vacations.  The expression “all-inclusive” means that the vacationincludes everything.  The word “inclusive” comes from the verb “to include,” and itrefers to a, in this case, vacation where you pay one amount that covers all ofyour food, hotel, and transportation usually. All-inclusive vacations are popular, especially at resorts.  A “resort” (resort), as anoun, is a large hotel, usually a little more expensive, that has many things foryou to do.  It has many nice services available.  That would be a “resort,” a bighotel.  An all-inclusive vacation at a resort means you would pay one price, andthen you get all of your food, all of your hotel costs, and so forth 15 included.

Mei, in the dialogue, says, “Let’s go on an all-inclusive vacation to a resort inJamaica!”  Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean, south of the United States. Guy says, “I’d like to go to Jamaica, but I don’t know about going to an allinclusive resort.”  When Guy says “I don't know about,” what he means is “I'm notsure.  I have my doubts about this.”

Mei then tries to convince him that it is a good idea to go on an all-inclusivevacation.  She says, “It saves so much time in planning.  With these vacationpackages, all of our lodging 14 is included.”  A “vacation package” is a combinationof transportation, hotel rooms, meals, and sometimes other fees and expenses that are included and sold together, usually by travel agencies, as one packagefor one price.

The vacation package that Mei is talking about includes lodging.  “Lodging” is another word for where you are going to sleep.  A “lodge” is another name for ahotel.  So, “lodging” is your room – where you are sleeping in the hotel.

Mei says, “we don’t have to pay extra for anything.”  “To pay extra” means to pay more money – an additional amount.  Mei says that “For one fixed price, we getunlimited food and drinks.”  A “fixed (fixed) price” is a price that does not change,no matter how much you use it or don't use it.  So, a fixed price for your meals may mean that you can eat as much as you want.  Mei says that you “getunlimited food and drinks.”  Unlimited: without limits – without a maximum – asmuch as you want.

Guy says that “It sounds a little too predictable to me.”  “Predictable” means youknow will happen; there are no surprises.  Guy uses this word because he thinks it may be, perhaps, a little boring.  He says, “You know that when I travel, I like togo off the beaten track.”  “To go off the beaten (beaten) track (track)” means todo something unusual or uncommon 16, to go somewhere where most people don'tgo.  A “track” is like a path or a road. When we say the “beaten path,” we're referring to, for example, when you arewalking out in a field, out where there are no concrete roads.  The place wheremost people walk will usually not have any grass.  It will be obvious; you can seewhere most other people have walked.  That's the “beaten path,” or the “beatentrack.”  “To go off the beaten track,” or “off the beaten path,” means to go whereother people haven't gone before.

Guy says, “The fun,” or what is fun about a vacation, “is going out of the touristareas to find the real character of a place.”  The “character of a place” refers tothe qualities or characteristics that make someplace special or unique.  Thatword, “character,” has a couple different meanings in English.  Take a look at theLearning Guide for this episode for some additional explanations.

Mei says, “I know” – I understand what you are saying Guy – “but a resort has its pluses.”  “Pluses” are positive things; the opposite of a “plus” would be a “minus,”

which would be a negative thing.  People may talk about “the pluses and theminuses” – the good and the bad – the advantages and the disadvantages ofsomething.

Mei says, “If we pick a good resort, we know that everything will be first rate.” The expression “first rate” (rate) means very high quality – excellent – very, very good.  “There won’t be any problems with substandard amenities or service.” The word “substandard” means below what you would expect – not as good is itshould be – below an acceptable level.  “Amenities” are things that make a placecomfortable – the nice things about a place.  A hotel could have a gym and aswimming pool and a restaurant; these are all extra things that make it nice tostay there.  Those would be the “amenities,” the singular is “amenity” (amenity).

Guy says that “That may all be true” – it may be true what you say – “but I’m stillnot convinced” – I'm still uncertain about it – “I’d rather keep looking until we finda good compromise that will have the predictability you want and the spontaneity that I want.”  Guy is looking for a “compromise,” an agreement on something thatboth people can say “yes” to.  Usually, both people have to give up somethingthey want.  So, a compromise is when two people agree to something.  It's notexactly what either person wants, but it's good enough.

A compromise here would mean finding a place that has predictability for Mei,she wants to know what she's going to get, it has to the predictable, andspontaneity for Guy.  “Spontaneity” (spontaneity) it is the opposite of“predictability.”  It's when you do things that aren't planned – you don't knowwhat's going to happen.  That would be “spontaneity.”

Mei says, “Okay, but we agree on Jamaica, right,” meaning we both want to go tothe island of Jamaica.  Guy says, “Yeah, that’s right.  It’s Jamaica or bust” (bust). We use that expression, “something or bust,” to mean that you have plans to dosomething and you're going to work very hard to do it.  “To go bust” means tolose – to fail to do something.  Often, it can mean to lose all your money.  Wesometimes use the expression when we talk about traveling to a place.  “It's NewYork City or bust,” meaning we're going to go to New York, we're going to doeverything possible to get there.

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

[start of story]

Mei:  Let’s go on an all-inclusive vacation to a resort in Jamaica!

Guy:  I’d like to go to Jamaica, but I don’t know about going to an all-inclusiveresort.

Mei:  It saves so much time in planning.  With these vacation packages, all of ourlodging is included and we don’t have to pay extra for anything.  For one fixedprice, we get unlimited food and drinks, and all of the activities and entertainmentwe want. Guy:  It sounds a little too predictable to me.  You know that when I travel, I liketo go off the beaten track.  The fun is in going out of the tourist areas to find thereal character of a place.

Mei:  I know, but a resort has its pluses.  If we pick a good resort, we’ll know thateverything will be first rate.  There won’t be any problems with substandardamenities or service.

Guy:  That may all be true, but I’m still not convinced.  I’d rather keep lookinguntil we find a good compromise that will have the predictability you want and thespontaneity that I want.  Mei:  Okay, but we agree on Jamaica, right?    

Guy:  Yeah, that’s right.  It’s Jamaica or bust!

[end of story]

The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Tse. If you have a question or comment, you can email us.  Our email address is eslpod@eslpod.com.

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  Pleasejoin us again next time, here at 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 2007.