M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

E: And I’m Erica.

M: And today we’re gonna be taking you to the airport.

E: That’s right. We’re gonna listen as a man, um, checks in at the airport and, uh, deals with his luggage.

M: That’s right. So, we’re gonna be looking at a lot of great stuff that can help you the next time you are at the airport at the checking counter. So, why don’t we take a look at one word that we’re gonna preview today in “vocabulary preview”?

Voice: Vocabulary preview.

E: We’re gonna hear this guy say “I’d like to check three pieces”.

M: He’s gonna check three pieces of what?

E: Pieces of luggage.

M: So, when we talk about luggage we can say pieces of luggage.

E: That’s right. Luggage is a non-count noun. So, you can’t say one luggage, two luggages, three luggages - that’s wrong.

M: Right, so, we use…

E: Pieces of luggage.

M: Okay. So, three pieces of luggage.

E: Uhu.

M: Very good. Let’s listen to our dialogue for the first time. We’re gonna see what happens with this guy at the airport and with his pieces of luggage.

DIALOGUE, FIRST TIME

E: Alright, well, that’s a l… whole lot of money, isn’t it?

M: Well, I think it’s a very common situation. I’m sure many of our listeners can relate to this situation.

E: Overweight charges are pretty expensive wh…

M: Very high.

E: I know from personal experience. But that’s not what we wanna talk about. Now we wanna talk about some really useful vocabulary in “language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

M: Alright, on language takeaway today we have five words. So, why don’t we start with the first one?

E: So, the woman asked: “will you be checking any begs today?”

M: Will you be checking any bags today?

E: To check bags.

M: Right, so, the verb to check.

E: It means to, uh, to give your bags to the airline, to register them.

M: Okay, so, that’s what happens with your luggage. You check them, so, basically, they become responsible for your bags.

E: Right. It reminds me of checking in to a hotel. [Comment: please listen to the lesson Hotel Upgrade for more information about this topic - checking in]

M: Right, very similar.

E: Uhu.

M: When you go to a hotel you register at the hotel, you check in. In this case you just check your luggage.

E: You don’t check in you luggage.

M: Right.

E: Okay, so, check luggage.

M: So, he wanted to check three pieces of luggage and he also had carry-on luggage.

E: Carry-on luggage.

M: Carry-on.

E: So, carry-on luggage; it’s pretty simple.

M: That’s right, you carry it on yourself.

E: Exactly, you carry it on to the plane. Now, we…

M: Okay.

E: We can talk about carry-on luggage, right?

M: Uhu.

E: Or a carry-on bag.

M: Right, or a carry-on suitcase.

E: Uhu.

M: A very small suitcase that can fit under your seat.

E: Exactly. Alright, so, carry-on luggage. Now, he was traveling on an intercontinental flight.

M: Intercontinental.

E: Intercontinental.

M: We have two words there – inter…

E: Between.

M: Between, right? And continental…

E: So, this sounds like continent.

M: Okay, so, he’s traveling maybe form Asia…

E: Uhu.

M: To… North America.

E: Okay, intercontinental.

M: He’s trying to board this intercontinental flight.

E: So, to board a flight.

M: Board a plane.

E: Board a train.

M: Alright, so, basically it means to…

E: To get on.

M: To get on.

E: To get on a vehicle.

M: Okay, so, I can say board the ship.

E: Uhu.

M: Board the car.

E: No.

M: No?

E: No, but board the… board the train.

M: Board the train.

E: Board the bus. All aboard!

M: That’s right. That’s why in movies you see that somebody will yell “all aboard”.

E: Yeah.

M: In the train station, right?

E: Exactly.

M: All aboard! Okay, so, board a vehicle. And our last phrase for today – overhead compartment. [Comment: you can also say overhead bin; we’ve talked about that before in the lesson This Is Your Captain Speaking]

E: Overhead compartment.

M: Overhead compartment.

E: Alright, let’s break this phrase down. Um, overhead…

M: So, that’s on top of your head, right?

E: Exactly, yeah.

M: Above you.

E: Yeah, and the compartment is, um, a place where you can put something and store it. [Comment: you can also say “to stow your luggage in the overhead compartment” instead of “to put”; please see the lesson This Is Your Captain Speaking for more details]

M: Uhu.

E: Kind of like a box.

M: Right.

E: Yeah.

M: So, you have an overhead compartment that… big box where you put your bags and your purse or whatever on an airplane.

E: Uhu.

M: Very similar of two… for example, an overhead projector.

E: Right, so, that’s the machine that, uh, puts an image or a picture on a wall like sometimes you see them in meetings.

M: Right, so, because the image is over your head…

E: Yeah.

M: And it’s big, it’s called an overhead projector.

E: Okay, so, some great language. Why don’t we hear it again in context by listening to the dialogue for the second time?

DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (Slow)

M: Alright, so, I think it’s a little bit more clear now. And with this it’s time for us to take a look at some great phrases in “putting in together”.

Voice: Putting it together.

E: So, this guy was pretty angry about, uh, this airline policy and he said “how am I supposed to…”

M: How am I supposed to.

E: How am I supposed to.

M: Okay, so, before we get into explaining this, why don’t we listen to a couple of examples? So, we can try and understand what it means?

Voice: Example one.

A: How am I supposed to fit the dog in the car? There’re ten people in there already.

Voice: Example two.

B: How’s she supposed to get to work if her car is in the shop?

Voice: Example three.

C: How’re we supposed to know the answer to that? It’s impossible!

E: Okay, so, I… can understand that it means “how can I do this?”

M: Right. How do you expect me to do this?

E: How is this possible for me to do this?

M: Very good.

E: It’s a phrase you use when you’re frustrated, right?

M: Yeah, exactly, you’re maybe a little bit frustrated or you’re maybe nervous of… of something that you can’t do or don’t know how.

E: Yeah, this phrase… it’s not impolite, but it sort of gives the idea that you’re challenging the other person a little bit.

M: Maybe, yeah.

E: Yeah.

M: Okay. So, a good phrase that you can use on… in different situations and you can try and mix it up with different verbs, right?

E: Right.

M: Alright. Now, let’s take a look at our next phrase: “I’m sorry, sir, there’s nothing I can do”.

E: There’s nothing I can do.

M: There’s nothing I can do.

E: There’s nothing I can do.

M: So, basically, the woman can’t help the man even though he’s insisting and he’s pushing that he wants another solution.

E: Yeah.

M: Right? So, finally, she says “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do”.

E: So, we use this phrase, um, when someone’s pushing you too much, right?

M: Right, and you would use it only in that situation…

E: Yeah.

M: Towards them, because it is a little bit…

E: It… it’s strong.

M: It’s not impolite, but it’s just… you’re saying “you know what? I’m sorry, there’s… th… I can’t do anything about it”. Now, let’s move on to our third phrase: “You charge next to nothing”.

E: Next to nothing.

M: Next to nothing.

E: Next to nothing.

M: Alright, so, we’re talking about charging, we’re talking about money. Why don’t we listen to some examples of what this next to nothing phrase means?

Voice: Example one.

A: Do you like my new house? It was so cheap that it almost cost next to nothing.

Voice: Example two.

B: Let’s go to Thailand; tickets costs next to nothing right now.

Voice: Example three.

C: The real estate agent charged me next to nothing for his commission, so I got a really good deal.

E: So, when something costs next to nothing it’s really cheap, right?

M: It’s really cheap.

E: Yeah.

M: Or you consider it to be cheap.

E: Uhu.

M: And now, for our last phrase, it’s the complete opposite of next to nothing.

E: Right, charge an arm and a leg.

M: An arm and a leg.

E: An arm and a leg.

M: Alright, so, this means it’s really expensive.

E: It’s so expensive it’s like giving your arm and your leg.

M: Right, to pay for it.

E: Yeah.

M: Very good, so, next to nothing – really cheap; an arm and a leg – really expensive.

E: Can we look at the use here? Um, alright, so, in the dialogue we heard “you charge an arm and a leg”, but we can also say “it costs an arm and a leg”.

M: Right, because we are referring to money.

E: Uhu.

M: Right?

E: Alright, so, some great phrases here. Now, I think it’s time we listen to our dialogue one more time.

DIALOGUE, THIRD TIME

M: Okay, so, airline policies, luggage - it’s always a problem, right? Most of the time you always end up paying overweight, when you travel.

E: Yeah, um, I know that this happened to me once and it was really expensive.

M: Really? What happened?

E: I was flying on an intercontinental flight from…

M: Uhu.

E: From India back to Europe and, um, I had too many extra begs, but I really need it to bring them and so, it cost me six thousand dollars!

M: Six thousand dollars.

E: Yeah.

M: Wow!

E: So, my credit card was pretty maxed out after that.

M: Hehe. That’s incredible.

E: Yeah.

M: Well, I’m sure many of our users probably suffered similar experiences like this, so, please come to our website and share it with us at englishpod.com.

E: That’s right. Marco and I are always around to answer your questions, so, please check us out and thanks for downloading you guys. Until next time… Good bye!

M: Bye!

A: Next please! Hello sir, may I see your passport please?
B: Yes, here you go.
A: Will you be checking any bags.
B: Yes, I’d like to check three pieces.
A: I’m sorry, sir. Airline policy allows only two pieces of checked luggage, at twenty kilograms each,
plus one piece of carry-on luggage. I will have to charge you extra for the additional suitcase.
B: What? Why! I am taking an intercontinental flight!I’m flying sixteen thousand kms! How am I supposed to only take two, twenty kilo bags? That’s absurd!
A: I am sorry, sir, there’s nothing I can do. You cannot board the flight with that large bag either.Carry-on bags must fit in the over-head compartment or under your seat. That bag is clearly too big.
B: Now I see. You charge next to nothing for an international ticket, but when it comes to charging for any other small thing, you charge an arm and a leg! So tell me, miss, how much will I have to pay for all of this.
A: Let’s see... six hundred and twenty-five US dollars.
B: That’s more than my round-trip ticket!