Professor: Todd just arrived at his parents’ house in Alaska after flying there from California. He is telling his parents about what a disastrous flight he had.
我还担心Todd因为去错了候机楼赶不上飞机呢。这么说他并没有误机，那有什么好倒霉的呢？
Professor: Well, let’s listen and find out!
Todd: I can’t tell you how glad I am to be home! I had a horrible flight.
Mom: What happened? And why do you have that big stain on your shirt?
Todd: The flight attendant was reaching to serve a drink to the man sitting next to me, and suddenly the plane hit some turbulence and she spilled it all over me.
Dad: Well, did the airline company offer to pay for a new shirt?
Todd: Are you kidding me? They’re too cheap even to give you peanuts now, much less a new shirt. The flight attendant gave me some soap and showed me where the lavatory was.
哦，飞机遇到了turbulence，气流，结果飞机一颠簸，空姐就把给别人的饮料洒到Todd的衬衫上了。
Professor: That’s exactly what happened, Winnie.
航空公司也没赔新衬衫，给Todd一块肥皂，把他打发到 lavatory去了？Professor Bowman, lavatory和bathroom是一回事么？
Professor: Yes, but when you’re on an airplane you always call the bathroom the “lavatory.”
Mom: The airline companies have gotten so cheap these days! When I was your age they gave really good service.
Dad: And can you believe that today they charge you to check your luggage? It’s ridiculous!
Todd: Well that isn’t even the worst part. When I got to the airport I accidentally went to the wrong terminal, so I had to run to make my flight.
Mom: Oh no! Did you make it on time?
Todd: Well, I got to the gate on time, but then the ticketing agent said that the flight had been overbooked!
这么说，Todd一路小跑总算赶上了飞机。可是飞机overbooked，这是什么意思？
Professor: Sometimes the airline companies sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane because they expect some people won’t show up. But if everyone shows up and there aren’t enough seats, you can say the flight was “overbooked.”
噢，就是航班订位超员了！这下可糟了。
Mom: So what happened? Did they let you get on the plane?
Todd: No, the plane was already full, so they bumped me to the next flight. But that flight wasn’t until the next morning, so I had to stay the night in a lousy hotel.
Dad: Wow, that sounds terrible. Did they compensate you in some way?
Todd: Well, they gave me a voucher for a free flight.
Mom: Well that’s not so bad! For one night of inconvenience, you can visit anywhere you want for free.
航空公司”bumped” Todd to the next flight，是不是安排他坐下一班飞机？
Professor: Exactly. The word “bump” is a casual way to say “move or “transfer.” For example, “I was originally sitting in the economy cabin, but since I had lots of frequent flier miles the airline bumped me up to first class.”
哦，这么说Todd因祸得福，虽然被迫在一个破酒店过夜，但却得到了一张voucher， 机票代金券!
Dad: So where are you going to go with your free ticket? What about Hawaii?
Todd: No, the airline says I can only use it in the continental United States.
Mom: Well what about Florida? It’s warm and sunny there too.
Todd: Actually, after this experience, I don’t think I want to fly anywhere ever again.
Professor, 机票代金券只能飞the continental United States是什么意思呢？
Professor: The continental United States are all the US states except for Alaska and Hawaii. Sometimes they are called the contiguous United States.
哦，所以continental United States指美国大陆，是除了阿拉斯加和夏威夷以外的美国各州。那也不错啦！
Professor: Well, apparently Todd is not interested in flying ever again.
可他几天后还要坐飞机回洛杉矶啊？看来我们只能祝他下次旅途比这次顺利喽!
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。