【一起听英语】网上订票度假期

在网上订票然后去旅游似乎日益成为一种趋势和潮流，你是否喜欢这种方式，这种方式又有什么利弊呢？

Stephen: Hello, I'm Stephen.

Alice: And I'm Alice.

Stephen: And this is 6 Minute English. This week we're talking about booking holidays

online. Some travel companies have been criticised for making misleading

claims about holidays or flights they're selling on their websites. Well, you're

probably familiar with the kind of language used in advertising 1 holidays.

Sometimes, the way a holiday is described doesn't really match what it's really

like.

Alice: For example, ‘azure blue waters’ might turn out to be a dirty blue sea, and a

‘cosy hotel room’ - a nice way of saying it's a very small room.

Stephen: But it's not just the descriptions that are controversial 2 - travel companies have

been getting in trouble for the way they sell their services online. Before we

find out more Alice, let's hear today's question.

Alice: OK.

Stephen: Online travel is big business, and the top online travel company in China is

called Ctrip.com. They announced a huge increase in profits between January

and March, but how much was that increase? Was it: 

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a) 13%

b) 23%

c) 33%

Alice: Oh, because you said it’s a huge increase I’ll go for the biggest figure – 33%.

Stephen: Well, we'll find out the answer at the end of today's 6 Minute English. First,

let's talk some more about booking holidays online. If you're like me, at this

time of the year, you're searching through lots of holiday websites for a really

good deal.

Alice: A really good deal - a bargain, a great offer.

Stephen: But it might not turn out to be that cheap in the end. There can be hidden costs

and something can end up being more expensive than you were expecting.

Alice: Hidden costs include anything that's not very obvious. It could be taxes or

administration 3 charges - payments 4 for the office staff who deal with money

and booking your flights or hotel.

Stephen: It can be really frustrating 5 after lots of clicking to discover that the final price

of your holiday is considerably 6 more expensive. Here's Stephen Dunk, the

Commercial Director of Travel Zoo, a company which sells holidays online. 

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Insert 1: Stephen Dunk

You see a great offer and you think “I’d like to go and do that”, and then you start

trying to book it and you actually see that it’s no longer available, or that you’re going to

have to pay much more money. And having made that emotional 7 commitment 8 to go and

do something there’s nothing worse than having to make a decision to either pull out or

to pay much more than you perhaps were anticipating 9.

Stephen: So Stephen Dunk says that you might see a holiday you like. When you try to

book it, it's no longer available or it could be much more expensive than you

had budgeted for.

Alice: To budget for something is to plan to spend a certain amount of money on it.

Stephen: He also says if you have chosen a holiday, often you've made an emotional

commitment to go on it. It's a difficult decision then to pull out.

Alice: An emotional commitment. I think he means if you’ve set your heart on doing

something - you’ve decided 10 you really want to do it - you’re less likely to pull

out, even if the price goes up.

Stephen: To pull out, means to withdraw 11 or not do something. Also, booking holidays

online can mean clicking lots of buttons. There can be quite a few stages

before you see the final cost. Let's hear about some of the hidden costs of plane

flights. Here's George Hobica from airfarewatchdog.com. 

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Insert 2: George Hobica

I think it’s a great boon 12 for consumers to actually see all the taxes in the airfares.

Unfortunately a lot of airlines when they send you an email will say $179 to Europe,

say from New York City, or even in the reverse 13 direction. And in fact it requires a

round-trip purchase so it’s twice that, and it doesn’t include taxes – so the real fare is

$1000. It’s very, very deceptive 14 and I think it is time that the airlines be upfront about

it.

Stephen: George Hobica thinks it's a great boon to be able to know all the price details

of a flight - to be able to see all the taxes.

Alice: A great boon – that’s something really helpful or beneficial.

Stephen: But he said, a flight from Europe to New York being advertised for $179 could

end up costing $1000. That's a very large difference in price.

Alice: He also used some interesting words and phrases associated with travel. In

American English a return trip is called a round-trip.

Stephen: George Hobica says the way fares are advertised can be deceptive. He wants

airlines to be more upfront.

Alice: Deceptive - misleading. He wants airlines to be more upfront - more honest -

about their pricing.

Stephen: Well, there’s certainly plenty to be thinking about when I'm booking my next

holiday! Have you any holiday plans this summer, Alice?

Alice: Not yet. I think I might go away in the autumn. 

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Stephen: A bit of sunshine would be nice, I’m sure. And earlier I asked you how much

profits went up at the Chinese travel company ctrip.com?

Alice: I said 33% between January and March.

Stephen: Close enough – it was actually 23%.

Alice: Oh, that’s still pretty big.

Stephen: So, before we go, would you reading some of the words we heard in today's

programme, please?

Alice: Of course.

 hidden costs

 clicking

 budgeted for

 an emotional commitment

to pull out

 boon

Stephen: Thanks, Alice. Well, that's all we have time for on today's 6 Minute English.

Both: Bye!