生活英语对话 Episode 44: A free lunch

本单元是关于免费午餐的对话

Tim: That food was delicious!
Mrs Hall: It took ages to come but yes, absolutely scrummy. Ready for afters?
Tim: Thank you.
Mrs Hall:Go on, open it.
Tim: World Cup tickets! How can I ever thank you Mrs Hall?
Mrs Hall: Well you can start by dropping the formality. Please, call me Janet.
Tim: Alright ... Janet.
Mrs Hall: Much better. Now, my husband's away on business next month. So we'll do lunch again then.
Tim: Your husband?
Mrs Hall: Well where did you think those corporate 1 tickets came from? Yes, he's good for some things but quite dreadful 2 for others - like decent 3 lunch company.
Tim: I'm not sure if I'm free. Let me check the rota first.


Vocabulary:（词汇）

scrummy (informal): 美味的（非正式用法）
delicious

afters (informal, uncountable):甜点（非正式用法，不可数名词）
dessert, the dish which comes after the main meal

to drop something:（停止做某事）
to stop doing something

corporate:（企业）
business

a rota:（轮班表）
a schedule or timetable which shows what days and times employees 4 work

本单元的语言点是时间介词短语，请看下面的时间介词短语例句。

Prepositions 5 of time

at/on/in:

At, on and in are the basic prepositions of time

We use at with particular times:
I start work at 9 o'clock
The banks closes at 4 o'clock

We use on with particular days:
I don't work on Mondays
See you on New Year's day

We use in with seasons, months and years:
I started working here in 2004
I am getting married in June
I went on holiday in the winter

There are some special times when we use at:
at the weekend
at night
at Christmas
at the moment

Notice the difference between on and in in these sentences:
I'll see you on Friday evening - this is a particular evening
I often use the internet in the evening - this is a general period of time

We don't use at/on/in before phrases 6 like this week, last year, next month, every day

More uses of in

We use in to refer to a future event:
Hurry up! The TV show starts in ten minutes

We use in to stay how long it takes to finish something:
I did the exam in one hour

If you arrive in time for an event, then you arrive early enough. You do not miss the start of the event:
The taxi driver drove 7 quickly to the festival, so we arrived in time to see the first band

If an event happens on time, then it happens at the correct and planned time:
There were no delays 8, so the plane left on time


for/since/until:

We use for to talk about a period of time, referring to the length of that period. This period of time can be in the past, present or future:
I lived in Spain for 2 years
I have been waiting for half an hour

We use since to talk about a period of time, referring to the beginning point of that period; a period from a point in the past to now:
I have worked here since 1996. I think it's time to change my job
I have been waiting since 10 o'clock. Has the doctor arrived yet?

We use until to talk about a period of time, referring to the end point of that period
My parents are on holiday until Sunday. Shall we have a party on Friday?
I worked in New York until 1999, then I came back home to the UK

We often use for/since/until to answer questions with How long?

How long have you lived in Dubai?
I've lived there for 3 years. I've lived there since January, 2004

How long do we have to finish this work?
We've got until 5 o'clock this evening

But, when we use the verb 9 'to take' or 'to last' to talk about the length of an activity, we don't use for/since/until:

How long does it take to get to work?
It takes 30 minutes
How long does a normal lesson last at your school?
It lasts an hour