Unit 8B

Text 1

M: Will you be here before lunch? 

W: I'm not sure. I have to pick up my son on the way. 

Text 2

W: I really appreciate it if you can lend me some money. I want to buy a gift for my mother.

M: I wish I could, but I have spent all the money on my brother's bike. 

Text 3

W: What happened to our flight? It should have been here 15 minutes ago according to the timetable. But it's already 9:30. 

M: Don't be worried. The announcement says it has a 30-minute delay. 

Text 4

W: What are you doing?

M: I'm designing a dress. I entered a contest and the winning designer gets a trip to Paris. 

W: Wow! I think you're going to do well in the contest! 

Text 5

M: What are you doing this afternoon, Clara? I'm preparing a birthday party for my mom. Would you mind helping me cook some food?

W: Sorry Joe, I can't. I'm going to visit my grandfather. He's feeling a bit lonely. 

M: OK. I see.

Text 6

M: Can you see how close we are on the map?

W: It looks like we're pretty close but these smartphone maps are hard to read. 

M: Yeah, I always prefer to look at a paper map. I think I still have some in the pocket of the right door if you want to grab one. 

W: No, I'd probably be even worse with that. Oh, I think you were supposed to turn left back there.

M: Are you sure?

W: No. I don't have a phone like this, so I'm afraid I don't really know what I am doing. Do you want to pull over and take a look? 

M: No, it's okay. Just push that little button on the side of the phone to turn on the sound. That will allow us to hear the clear directions. 

Text 7

M: We're struggling to find a place to hold our wedding.

W: Is it because everywhere is booked up or it's too expensive?

M: The main reason is that Melissa wants something different. We started looking at castles in Scotland. 

W: What about something smaller? Like a farm house?

M: We looked at a couple of those, but they are very common.

W: If you want to be really different, you could get married in the zoo. 

M: Really?

W: Yeah. I was at a wedding there in summer. Plus, you both love animals.

M: I'll phone them and see what dates they have.

W: I have a friend that works there. What date are you looking at?

M: I want a spring wedding, but Melissa wants something in January. She won. 

W: Let me check with him.

Text 8

W: This box was just delivered for you. What is it? Is it a gift for the coming festival?

M: Oh, honey, it's a small smart board for us. 

W: A smart board?

M: Yeah, we have a big one at my office. My boss uses it to share calendars, announce important events and remind us of deadlines. It's really useful.

W: So, you're thinking we can do the same thing at home? We are not such big figures as your boss.

M: Not exactly the same. We can hang it up in the living room and share our everyday to-do list on it. So, we can always know what things have to be done first, in case the electricity bill issue happens again. 

W: That was my bad. But the fine was just crazy. It was almost as expensive as our rent. I could never forget to pay the bill again. 

M: I guess that's what this board could prevent.

Text 9

W: John, how have your two sons been doing recently?

M: Just same old same old.

W: I hear Jason is very likely to be accepted by some very good universities like Yale University and Harvard University, etc. Medicine or business, which will he choose?

M: Well, he's been determined to go to Stanford University to study law, and he's been burning the midnight oil for months. Sometimes I wish he'd go out and enjoy himself a little bit. Like playing basketball or something else. You know, he liked baseball very much when he was in secondary school. 

W: Hmm...What about Mark?

M: He is quite the opposite. He spends like 15 minutes on his homework every day and then just rushes out to play football. His mother tries hard to force him to study. 

W: Yeah, after all, every man has his own fate. No one can be certain that Mark won't be a good football player or something in the future. 

M: Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. 

Text 10

M: Hi, I'd like to talk to the manager about something. I have to travel every day from Souk Road to the airport. Only the Number 16 bus travels along this road. Your timetable is there. It shows that there are buses from Souk Road to the airport every ten minutes. If so, why do I have to wait half an hour for a bus nearly every day? 

The rules say that no bus may carry more than 40 seated passengers and 20 standing passengers. Yesterday I was the first to get off the bus when I reached the airport. I counted the other passengers as they got off. There were 80 of them. 

Clearly printed on the back of every bus is a sign that says “highest speed: 50 mph”. The distance from Souk Road to the airport is 12 miles. On Saturday morning a Number 16 bus travelled this distance in 10 minutes. At times, it must have done at least 80 or 90 mph. 

It is obvious that our bus companies have no respect for the rules or consideration for the passengers. Can nothing be done about this?