BEP 186 – Air Travel: Connecting Flights

Chào đón trở lại Business English Pod as we continue to look at the language and vocabulary of air travel.

Air travel relies on a very complex system of scheduling. Unfortunately, that means that travel plans don’t always work perfectly. The possibility of problems goes up whenever you have one or more connecting flights. What if one airplane is late? What if your bags aren’t transferred properly to your next flight? What if the connecting airport has delays?

Problems happen, and you need to be prepared to deal with them. This is what we’ll be looking at in this lesson. Last time (trong BEP 185), we heard Robert check in for a flight to London, with a connecting flight in Chicago. Everything went smoothly at check-in. Robert stated his destination, checked his bags, chose a seat, and confirmed his gate and timing. But his connecting flight was scheduled to leave soon after he arrived in Chicago. Và vì lý do đó, a delay in landing has ruined Robert’s travel plans.

Today we’ll hear Robert trying to work through the problem of a missed connection. He needs to work out a solution so that he can get to London for an important meeting the following morning. To do that, he’ll need to explain his problem, express urgency, make special requests, work through options, and agree reluctantly.

Listening Questions

1. Why did Robert miss his connecting flight?
2. What solution does Robert request from the ticket agent?
3. What does the ticket agent remind Robert about?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Online Practice | PhraseCast

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 185 – Air Travel: Checking In to a Flight

Trong bài học Pod tiếng Anh thương mại hôm nay, we’re going to look at language and vocabulary related to air travel, particularly checking in to your flight at the airport.

You’ve probably been in this situation before. You are taking a trip, either for business or pleasure, and you’ve already reserved your ticket. It’s the day of your flight, and you’ve packed your suitcase and another bag that you want to carry with you onto the plane. You make sure you have your passport and wallet, and you catch a taxi to the airport.

What’s the first thing you have to do when you get there? You need to “check-in,” as we say. So you find the correct airline desk and wait in line. Finally, it’s your turn to talk with the ticket agent. What is she going to ask you about? What information do you need to give her? And what information is she going to give you? This is what we’re going to talk about today.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Robert and a ticket agent. Robert is traveling to London on business. He and the ticket agent have several things to discuss before he can go through security and get on the airplane.

Listening Questions

1. What is Robert concerned about regarding his suitcase?
2. Where does Robert want to sit?
3. Why does the ticket agent recommend going through security immediately?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Online Practice | PhraseCast

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 135 – Travel English: Airport Security

In this Business English Pod lesson on business travel, we’ll be looking at how to deal with security checks.

In recent years getting through the security check at the airport has become a chore. In some cities, the whole process can take fifteen to twenty minutes or more. This includes standing in line, sending your bags through the X-ray machine, and walking through a metal detector, which “detects” or finds any metal you might have hidden on your body. Most security checks thus require passengers to take metal items out of their pockets and put them on a trayor flat containerto send through the X-ray machine. Some countriesnotably the United Statesmay even insist that passengers remove their coats and shoes.

And of course it’s not just airports that have high securitymore and more tourist attractions arebeefing up” or increasing their security too. So negotiating security checks is a good skill to practice.

In this episode, Honesto and Alan are on their way home. They arrive at the airport late, so they are anxious about missing their flight. When the dialog begins, they have checked in to get their boarding passes. Now they need to go through security.

Listening Questions

1. At the beginning of the dialog, what does the security officer ask passengers to do?
2. What problem does security find with Alan’s baggage?
3. Alan has to leave an item behind at the security check. What is it?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Online Practice | PhraseCast

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 134 – Travel English: Getting Online at the Coffee Shop

For many people, visiting a café or coffee shop is a normal part of business travel, if not everyday life. Not only are coffee shops a good place to get a cup of espresso, they are also a great location to have a quick meeting with a customer, take a short break, Và – most importantly for the business travelerget online to check your email. Many cafés are now equipped with WiFi, or wireless internet. So while you sip on your latte or your mocha, you can surf the web and keep connected.

But despite people’s attempts to make WiFi services user-friendly, or easy to use, they are sometimes difficult to connect to. Vì vậy trong bài học này, we’ll not only look at ordering coffee, we’ll also practice troubleshooting an internet connection.

Đối với bài học hôm nay, we’ll be rejoining our friend Honesto as he stops by a coffee shop at the airport. We’ll hear to Honesto ordering a drink and attempting to connect to the cafe’s WiFi. As you listen, try to answer the following questions.

Listening Questions

1) What kind of drink does Honesto order?
2) Whatdealdoes the coffee shop offer Honesto?
3) Why can’t he get online?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Online Practice | PhraseCast

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 125 – Travel English: Renting a Car

Business travelers can’t always get where they need to go by catching a plane or taking a taxi. Sometimes we need our own means of transport, and that usually means renting a car. So, in this Podcast tiếng Anh we’ll cover language you can use when choosing a car, discussing features and clarifying insurance options.

Trong tập cuối (BEP 124 – Checking our of a Hotel), we met Honesto Salvador and Alan Chan, who have just finished attending a training program sponsored by their company in Boston. They’ve just arrived now at Logan Airport, where they need to rent a car for their upcoming trip to New Haven.

As you listen, pay attention to the language they use to ask about vehicle types, standard features, extras and insurance options.

Listening Questions

1. What kind of car would Honesto prefer?
2. What features are standard on all Beevis cars?
3. Why does Honesto not need extra insurance?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | PhraseCast

Download: Podcast MP3