ESL之餐饮娱乐 07 A Restaurant Drive-Thru

07 A Restaurant Drive-Thru

GLOSSARY 1

to save time – to do something quickly so that one has more time to do otherthings later* Washing machines are a wonderful way to save time in the home.

May I take your order? – a polite phrase used in restaurants to ask customers to let the waiter know what they would like to eat or drink* May I take your order?  Yes, please.  I’d like the chicken salad and a glass ofmineral water.

to speak up – to speak more loudly; to talk more loudly* Your presentation was good, but you need to speak up so that the people in theback of the room can hear you.

microphone 2 – an electronic device 3 someone speaks into which takes the soundto another place or makes the sound louder * We can’t hear the presenter 4 in the back.  Could you tell her to speak into themicrophone?

barely 5 – hardly; only just; almost unable to do something; almost not able to dosomething* Wynona barely got to class on time.  The bell rang as soon as she stepped intothe classroom.

cheeseburger – a hot sandwich that is made from a round piece of bread cutinto two pieces with a “hamburger patty” (ground beef formed into a circle) and aslice of cheese inside, usually with ketchup 6, mustard 7, lettuce 8, onion, and tomato* Some people like to put bacon on their cheeseburgers.

French fries – long, thin pieces of potato that are cooked in oil, salted, and eatenhot* French fries have a lot of cholesterol 9, so they aren’t good for your heart.

soda 10 – pop; a sweet, carbonated liquid like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, 7-Up, Sprite,Fanta, A&W Rootbeer, etc.

* How many cans of soda do you drink in a week?

sundae – a dish of ice cream covered with chocolate, caramel, or berry 11 sauce,usually with nuts and a cherry on top* Dad’s favorite sundae is vanilla 12 ice cream with chocolate syrup 13 and peanuts.

to shout – to say something very loudly; to yell* The restaurant was very noisy and we almost had to shout to be heard.

to add – to put something else in a group of things; to put something withanother thing* Please add this letter to the ones you’re taking to the post office.

to pull up to (something) – to drive one’s car forward and stop next tosomething* My house is there.  Please pull up to that corner so that I can get out of the car.

mix-up – confusion 14; a misunderstanding; a communication problem* I ordered a blue jacket, but I received an orange one.  There must have been amix-up at the store.

to hold up – to make other people wait, usually because one is doing somethingtoo slowly* The accident held up downtown traffic for more than two hours.

to change (one’s) mind – to decide to do something different that originally planned; to change one’s idea* Ezekiel was planning to go skiing with us, but he changed his mind and decidedto stay at home.

to cancel – to undo 16 something; to not do something that was planned* Let’s cancel our hotel reservation 17 and stay with my uncle instead.

to lose (one’s) appetite – to no longer be hungry; to not be hungry anymore; tosuddenly not be hungry although one was hungry a little while ago* When Katya saw dog on the menu, she lost her appetite and wanted to leavethe restaurant.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  Why does the order-taker ask Daniel to speak up?

a)  Because Daniel needs to save time.

b)  Because Daniel is speaking too quietly.

c)  Because Daniel was speaking down.

2.  Why does Daniel cancel his order?

a)  Because he is frustrated 18 that the order-taker can’t understand him.

b)  Because he doesn’t have enough money to pay $18.95.

c)  Because he has changed his mind about how many burgers he wants.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to speak upThe phrase “to speak up,” in this podcast, means to speak more loudly: “Youneed to speak up when you talk to Grandma, because her hearing isn’t very good.”  The phrase “to speak over (someone)” means to interrupt someone, or totalk when another person is speaking: “The children were speaking over eachother and nobody could understand what they were saying.”  The phrase “tospeak out against (something)” means to say publicly that one doesn’t agree withsomething: “Millions of Americans spoke 19 out against the Vietnam War.”  Finally,the phrase “to speak for (someone)” means to speak while sharing other people’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions: “I speak for the entire department when I say that we will miss you when leave to take another job.”

to addIn this podcast, the verb “to add” means to put something else in a group ofthings or with another thing: “Please add these names to the list of participants.” “To add” can also mean to say something in addition to what has already beensaid: “After Diane described the new project, Lulu added that it was the biggestproject the company has had in years.”  In mathematics, the verb “to add” meansto sum two or more numbers: “Students, what do you get when you add 82 and203?  285.”  Finally, the verb “to add” can mean to increase the size, amount, orcost of something: “The phone company adds a 13% tax to the bill each month.” Or, “The Hardwicks are adding a new bedroom to their home.”

CULTURE NOTEIn the United States, people drive to most places and rarely walk or take busses. When they need to “run errands” (make many short trips to buy or do things),they usually park as close as they can to the places they need to visit.  Many businesses have “drive-thru windows” so that customers can use their services without getting out of their cars.

Like most fast-food restaurants, many coffee shops offer drive-thru windows. People who have to drive a long way like to quickly pull up to the drive-thruwindow to buy a cup of coffee, because the “caffeine” (a chemical in coffee)helps them stay awake and concentrate on driving.

In addition, most U.S. banks have drive-thru windows.  The bank “teller 20,” or theemployee, is inside the bank behind a glass window. The car pulls up to thewindow and the driver communicates with the employee through a microphone. A special drawer lets the driver and the teller pass papers and money to eachother.  Unless the line is very long, using the drive-thru is usually faster thangoing into the bank.

Many “dry-cleaning” shops, or stores that clean one’s clothes without using waterthat might damage special fabrics 21, also offer drive-thru services.  The car pulls upto the drive-thru window and the driver can “drop off” or leave dirty clothes there. A few days later, the driver can return to pay and “pick up” or get the cleanclothes.

There really is no limit to the types of services that can be done through a drivethru window.  Probably the most “bizarre” or strange drive-thru service is in Las Vegas, Nevada, where people can get married through a drive-thru window!

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 283: A RestaurantDrive-Thru.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 24 283.  I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Go to our website at eslpod.com to find out more about this podcast.  You canalso see a transcript 22 of the dialogue by clicking on the name of the podcast.  Ifyou want a complete transcript, you can download the Learning 25 Guide for this episode.  More information is available on the website.

This episode is called “A Restaurant Drive-Thru.”  A “drive-thru restaurant” is onewhere you are in your car, and you get your food in your car.  Let's get started.

[start of story]

I had a little time between appointments and stopped at a fast food restaurant toget some lunch.  The idea was to save time by using the drive-thru, but it didn’twork out that way.

Order-taker:  Welcome to McDenny’s.  May I take your order?

Daniel:  Yes.  I’d like a cheeseburger, an order of French fries, and a large soda.

Order-taker:  I’m sorry, sir.  Can you speak up and speak directly into themicrophone?  I can barely hear you. Daniel:  Oh, okay.  I want to order one cheeseburger, one order of fries, and alarge soda. Order-taker:  That’s four hamburgers, an order of French fries, and a sundae. Would you like anything else?

Daniel:  No, I mean, yes.  That order isn’t right.  I wanted one cheeseburger, oneorder of fries, and a soda.

Order-taker:  No problem, sir.  There’s no need to shout.  I can add those to yourorder.  That’s four hamburgers, one cheeseburger, two orders of French fries, a sundae, and a soda.  Your total comes to $18.95.  Please pull up to the nextwindow.

Daniel:  Wait!  Hello, hello.  There’s been a mix-up.  Hello!

Order-taker:  Please pull up to the next window, sir.  There are cars behind youand you’re holding up the line. Daniel:  But you don’t understand.  My order is all wrong.  I don’t want fiveburgers!

Order-taker:  Well, sir, if you’ve changed your mind, just tell me your new order. There are other customers waiting.

Daniel:  Forget it.  Cancel my order.  I’ve lost my appetite!

[end of story]

Our dialogue begins with Daniel saying that he had a little time between“appointment,” places where he had to go, or be, so he stopped at a fast foodrestaurant to get some lunch.  A “fast food restaurant” is a restaurant that gives you your food within, usually, three or four minutes. The title of this episode is “A Restaurant Drive-Thru.”  A “drive-thru” is when youare in your car, and you can order and pick up your food without getting out ofyour car.  It's a very common kind of restaurant you'll see in big cities like Los Angeles, especially since everyone in Los Angeles drives a car because we don'thave a good public transportation system.

Well, in the story Daniel explains that the idea of going to a fast food drive-thrurestaurant was to save time, meaning to do something quickly now so that youhave more time to do something else in the future.

The person who works 26 at the restaurant says, “Welcome to McDenny’s.”  Now, ofcourse, Daniel is in his car; he is not talking to this person “directly,” face to face. He's talking to her through a speaker and a microphone.  The order-taker says,“Welcome to McDenny’s” – not a real restaurant.  There is a restaurant called“McDonald's,” but this is not McDonald's this is McDenny’s, just a name that weinvented for our dialogue.  The order-taker says, “May I take your order?”  This is what they will say to you if you drive up to drive-thru restaurant.  “May I take yourorder,” in other words, “Let me know what you want to eat.  Tell me what youwant.”

Daniel says, “I’d like a cheeseburger, an order of French fries, and a large soda.” A “cheeseburger” (one word) is a hamburger that has cheese on top of it.  It is very bad for your heart, but it tastes great.  I'm getting hungry just thinking aboutit!  “French fries” are potatoes that are cut up and put in hot oil, and a “soda” is something that you drink such as Coke – Coca-Cola – or Pepsi.  In some parts ofthe U.S., especially where I am from in Minnesota, we say, “pop” (pop).  In someplaces, they say, “soda-pop,” and in other places they just say, “soda.”  So, youmay hear all of those expressions when talking about things like Coke and Pepsi.

The order-taker says, “I’m sorry, sir.  Can you speak up and speak directly intothe microphone?”  “To speak up” means to talk louder.  If someone says to you,“Please speak up,” they mean, “Please talk louder,” they can't hear you.  The“microphone” is what someone talks into, in this case, so that the order-taker canhear you.  We use a microphone to record things as well; I am speaking into amicrophone right now.

The order-taker says, “I can barely hear you.”  “Barely” (barely) means almostunable to do something; you can do it, but you are close to not being able to doit.  You could also say, “hardly” (hardly).  You could say, for example, “She isbarely old enough to drive,” meaning she is just old enough; she's 16 years old,she's barely old enough to drive.  She is old enough to drive, but not by much.

In this case, the order-taker says, “I can barely hear you,” meaning “I can hearyou, but it is very difficult.”  So, Daniel repeats his order of one cheeseburger,one order of fries, meaning one bag of French fries, and a large soda.  Theorder-taker, however, doesn't understand – doesn't hear Daniel.  So, she repeats the order – she tells Daniel what he said to her just to make sure, and she gets the order wrong.

She says, “That’s four hamburgers, an order of French fries, and a sundae.”  A“sundae” (sundae) is a dish of ice cream, usually with something on top of it likechocolate or nuts.  Many fast food restaurants that sell hamburgers also sellthese “sundaes” – ice cream sundaes.  Of course, Daniel did not want a sundae,he did not want four hamburgers; he wanted one cheeseburger and a large soda.

The order-taker then says, “Would you like anything else?  Daniel is a littleconfused, he says, “No, I mean, yes.  That order isn’t right” – it is not correct.  Hethen repeats his order, saying it louder.

The order-taker says, “No problem, sir.  There’s no need to shout.”  “To shout”

(shout) is to talk in a very loud voice.  It means the same as “to yell” (yell).  “To yell” or “to shout” is to speak very loudly.  Of course, the order-taker told Danielto speak up just a few minutes ago, and now she's telling him not to shout.

The order-taker is still wrong about the order.  She says, “I can add those to yourorder.”  She now thinks that Daniel wants even more food.  She then tells himthat “Your total comes to $18.95.”  Your “total” means the amount that you “owe,”

how much money you have to pay for everything. She then says, “Please pull up to the next window.”  “To pull up to something”

means to move forward in your car and stop next to something.  So in this case,she is asking Daniel to move his car forward to the window, where he can get his food from her.  Daniel says wait a minute; hold on.  “Wait,” he says, “There’s been a mix-up.”  A “mix-up” (mix-up) is a “misunderstanding,” when there is confusion, a communication problem.

The order-taker says, “Please pull up to the next window, sir.  There are carsbehind you and you’re holding up the line.”  “To hold up (two words) something”

means to make other people wait, usually because you're doing somethingslowly.  So, if someone says, “You're holding up the line,” they mean you aregoing too slowly, and there are other people behind you who are waiting, and youare preventing them from moving forward.

Daniel says that his order is wrong, and the order-taker, still not understanding,says, “Well, sir, if you’ve changed your mind, just tell me your new order.”  “Tochange your mind” means to decide to do something differently, somethingdifferent than what you originally planned.  For example, you could say, “I amgoing to jump into the pool to swim,” and then you could say, “Oh, I changed my mind.  I'm not going to swim today; I remembered that I don't know how to swim.” That would be “changing your mind,” and it would be very good idea, in this case!

Finally, Daniel says, “Forget it,” meaning “I've had enough; this is ridiculous.”  Hetells her to cancel his order.  “To cancel” (cancel) means to not do something thatyou were planning to do.  “I canceled my trip.  I was going to go to SanFrancisco, and then I changed my mind and canceled it” – decided 15 not to do it.

In this case, Daniel says he's lost his appetite.  “To lose your appetite” means tono longer be hungry – not to be hungry any more.  We usually use thatexpression when something happens; you see something or you hear somethingand you are no longer hungry.

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

[start of story]

I had a little time between appointments and stopped at a fast food restaurant toget some lunch.  The idea was to save time by using the drive-thru, but it didn’twork out that way.

Order-taker:  Welcome to McDenny’s.  May I take your order?

Daniel:  Yes.  I’d like a cheeseburger, an order of French fries, and a large soda.

Order-taker:  I’m sorry, sir.  Can you speak up and speak directly into themicrophone?  I can barely hear you. Daniel:  Oh, okay.  I want one cheeseburger, one order of fries, and a large soda. Order-taker:  That’s four hamburgers, an order of French fries, and a sundae. Would you like anything else?

Daniel:  No, I mean, yes.  That order isn’t right.  I wanted one cheeseburger, oneorder of fries, and a soda.

Order-taker:  No problem, sir.  There’s no need to shout.  I can add those to yourorder.  That’s four hamburgers, one cheeseburger, two orders of French fries, asundae, and a soda.  Your total comes to $18.95.  Please pull up to the nextwindow.

Daniel:  Wait!  Hello, hello.  There’s been a mix-up.  Hello!

Order-taker:  Please pull up to the next window, sir.  There are cars behind youand you’re holding up the line. Daniel:  But you don’t understand.  My order is all wrong.  I don’t want fiveburgers!

Order-taker:  Well, sir, if you’ve changed your mind, just tell me your new order. There are other customers waiting.

Daniel:  Forget it.  Cancel my order.  I’ve lost my appetite!

[end of story]

The script 23 for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.  

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  We'll seeyou next time on 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 27 2007.