Episode 0058

Hello English learners, welcome back to English Pod. My name is Marco.

And I'm Erica. And today we have a great lesson for all our upper intermediate students.

That's right. We're talking about airplane travel today.

Airplane travel. Right. So we're gonna be in an airplane, basically.

And we're going to be listening to some of the common things you might hear on an announcement in the airplane.

Yeah, usually the flight attendant or the captain will come on and say something, and, well, usually it's in English, so we gotta understand what they're saying.

That's right. And we'll also learn some great phrases that you can use when you want to describe flights to your friends, when you're talking to them.

Right. Yeah, that always happens. You arrive somewhere and people are like, hey, how was your flight? Now you know how to answer it. Exactly.

Okay. So, why don't we take a look at our vocabulary preview?

Well, we've got three words for you here in Vocabulary Preview, all about flying.

Okay, so what's our first one?

Turbulence.

Turbulence. Turbulence.

So, turbulence. Um, how can we describe this?

Well, turbulence when you're in an airplane, basically, is air that is moving in all directions really fast.

Okay, so what happens?

So, the airplane will start to shake. Okay. Right. It's the same thing if you're flying a kite and maybe some turbulence is in the air, your kite will maybe fall to the ground.

Oh. Yeah.

So it's air that's moving in all directions. It's really turbulent.

All right. Well, we'll hear how this word is used in the dialogue. Um, but another airplane word we hear a lot, um, crew.

Crew.

Crew.

Flight crew. Yes.

C. R. E. W. Crew. Mhm.

So the flight crew is basically the team. Yes. Right? Yeah.

It's all the people that are in the airplane.

So, it's basically the captain and the co-pilot. Yes. And all the flight attendants, right? Exactly. Yeah.

That's the flight crew. Yes.

Okay. And what about our last word?

Bumpy ride.

Bumpy ride.

A bumpy ride.

Bumpy. Not smooth.

Not smooth. Yeah.

So, what would be an example of a bumpy ride?

Okay, imagine if you're driving in your car, um, and you're driving on a dirt road, like with many holes in it and everything.

And rocks and everything.

You're driving on that road and it would be really, really bumpy.

Right. So your car will be moving a lot. Shaking. Exactly. Yeah.

So a bumpy ride is, um, a trip where you move and shake a lot. It's kind of uncomfortable.

So you can say that is a bumpy road.

Uh-huh, or it was a bumpy ride. It was a bumpy ride.

Okay. So now let's listen to our dialogue. We're gonna be listening to these people on an airplane and the captain is gonna give some instructions.

And the next thing you know, we're running towards the Oh, did you feel that?

Yeah, don't worry about it. We're just going through a bit of turbulence.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It looks like we've hit a patch of rough air, so we're going to have a bit of a bumpy ride for the next several minutes. And

At this time I'd like to remind all of our passengers to fasten their seatbelts and remain seated until the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off. Please ensure that all cabin baggage is carefully stowed under the seat in front of you. I'll be back to update you in a minute.

Don't worry about it. This is totally normal. It happens all the...

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain again. We've got quite a large patch of rough air ahead of us, and so for your safety, we will be suspending in-flight service. I would ask all the in-flight crew to return to their seats at this time. I would also ask that all our passengers refrain from using the lavatory until the seatbelt sign has been switched off. We can expect...

Well, here we are with another dramatic dialogue, another explosion in English pod. What's happening?

Um, I don't know, a lot of adventure is going on, so we'll see what happens. Um, but I'm sure they're all right. Don't worry, everyone. I'm sure they're.

I hope so. It's kind of making me nervous for my next flight.

All right. So let's take a look at some of the words that the captain used in language takeaway.

All right, all of these words you'll hear really, really often when you're flying. Um, and the first one we have for you is fasten.

Fasten.

Fasten.

Fasten your seatbelt.

Mhm. Now, this is a great word. Fasten means to do up.

Do up or put on or connect.

Connect, right?

So, usually it'll be with a seatbelt or a belt or something like that, right?

Now, the pronunciation here is interesting. Yes. It's spelled F. A. S. T. E. N. Right.

So it would be fast. And. No.

No, right. Fasten. Fasten.

Fasten. The T kind of becomes silent.

Mhm. So it's fasten. Yeah.

Okay. Let's look at our next word. Lavatory.

Lavatory.

Lavatory.

Lavatory.

Okay. So what is a lavatory exactly? Cause I'm always confused. What's the difference between bathroom, restroom, washroom, W. C. lavatory?

I know, so many words for bathroom. Um, a lavatory is a room with a toilet and sink only. Only a toilet and sink. So no bathtub. No. No shower either. No shower.

So it's very, very common to find a lavatory in boats, airplanes or and trains.

Yeah. But never in your house. Never in your house, right?

Even if your room in your house is only a sink and a toilet, it's still not a lavatory.

It's uh, a bathroom. Yeah. Okay.

I don't know why. That's just the way it is in English.

And something interesting that you told me today, W. C. Uh-huh. Right? That's a common thing that you'll see on a bathroom. Yeah. What does that stand for?

Water closet. Water closet. Yeah. Wow, I didn't know that. Yeah. Water closet. Okay, anyways.

Let's take a look at our next word. Stow.

Stow.

To stow. Yes.

Stow your luggage.

Stow your luggage.

So if I stow my luggage, it means you put it in a place where you can get it easily, but it is very safe.

And maybe it's not even visible, right?

Yeah, so you put it away in a safe spot.

Okay. So usually in airplanes they will tell you to stow your luggage under your seat. Yes. Or stow your luggage in the overhead bin. Overhead bin or overhead compartment. Yes.

Okay. And our last word.

Refrain.

Refrain.

Refrain.

Refrain from doing something.

Mhm. So this is a verb, um, meaning avoid doing. Avoid doing.

Do not do. Exactly.

Something interesting about this grammar-wise is it's usually followed by from.

Yeah. Refrain from and the verb that follows is always gerund, right?

Yeah. So refrain from I N G. Right.

Refrain from using the lavatory.

Yes, refrain from smoking.

Refrain from smoking. Okay. So refrain from. Yeah.

All right, so some really great examples in language takeaway. And, uh, well, now let's take a look at fluency builder and see some of these great phrases.

All right, three phrases we have for you here. Um, the first one, remain seated.

Remain seated.

Remain seated.

Remain seated. So to remain seated.

Really simple to stay sitting.

To stay on your seat. Don't stand up. Yes.

This is really important in airplanes, right?

Yeah, because otherwise if there's turbulence, you could, you know, end up flying around the airplane.

Or fall, exactly and hurt yourself. Mhm. Remain seated.

Now, one of the reasons they had to remain seated was because they were going to go through a patch of rough air. Patch of rough air. Mhm. So patch.

Now, interesting. Okay. So patch is a small area, right?

Yeah. Yeah. So a small area of turbulence.

A small area of turbulence. Now, what would be another example of patch?

Um, maybe a patch of strawberries. So it's like a little strawberry garden, right?

Yes. Or a patch of grass. A patch of grass. Usually in front of your house, you'll have a little patch of grass. Yep.

Okay, so patch of. And now our last phrase. Suspend.

Suspend.

Suspend in-flight service.

Yeah. So stop for a short time. Stop for a short time.

So you could suspend your work.

Yeah, and if you're going on vacation, you could suspend your subscription to the newspaper. Mhm.

Okay. So suspend to temporarily stop. Yes. Okay. So we've covered a lot of vocabulary and some great phrases. So why don't we listen to our dialogue one more time and we'll come back and talk about flying.

And the next thing you know, we're running towards the Oh, did you feel that?

Yeah, don't worry about it. We're just going through a bit of turbulence.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It looks like we've hit a patch of rough air, so we're going to have a bit of a bumpy ride for the next several minutes. And

At this time I'd like to remind all of our passengers to fasten their seatbelts and remain seated until the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off. Please ensure that all cabin baggage is carefully stowed under the seat in front of you. I'll be back to update you in a minute.

Don't worry about it. This is totally normal. It happens all the...

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain again. We've got quite a large patch of rough air ahead of us, and so for your safety, we will be suspending in-flight service. I would ask all the in-flight crew to return to their seats at this time. I would also ask that all our passengers refrain from using the lavatory until the seatbelt sign has been switched off. We can expect...

Erica, have you ever had a turbulent flight like this? No, no, never this bad. A little bit of turbulence. Actually, I kind of like turbulent flights. Why?

It's sort of like, I don't know, it's kind of fun. You get shaken around, and your like stomach moves up and down and like.

Well, it is true that flying is actually very, very safe, right?

Yeah. Um, I know we all hear that like more people are killed in car accidents than uh flight accidents. So it's very, very safe. So yeah, I don't worry about the turbulence. Yeah. Yeah.

Knock on wood. Yeah, so flying is really safe and, you know, as long as you remain seated, you fasten your seatbelt and you, you know, you follow the instructions, you shouldn't have any problems.

Yeah. Yeah, actually that's a really good point, cuz actually when I was reading about flight turbulence for this dialogue, I kept reading all these stories about these people who, you know, when they got into some turbulent air, were, you know, knocked over or they ended up like actually literally flying through the cabin and getting really badly hurt. So Yeah, Yeah. Everyone, you gotta fasten your seatbelt. Yes. Remain seated.

Yeah, flying tips here at English pod. Flying tips at English pod. We don't want you to get hurt. And we know that you travel a lot, so be safe, right?

Yeah. And use this language to describe your flights.

Okay. So, come to our website englishpod.com where you can leave questions, you can also leave your comments. Yeah.

Marco and I are always there and actually, in fact, we have to go check the site now, so Yeah.

We're out of time. So we'll see you guys next time. Thanks for listening. Bye-bye.

Bye.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Sudden strong movement of air, especially that causes a plane to move up and down in the air.

Turbulence.

Having or causing sudden violent movements.

Rough.

Small area.

Patch.

Having sudden up and down movements.

Bumpy.

Do up, connect one part with another.

Fasten.

Suitcase and luggage that travels inside the plane with the passengers.

Cabin baggage.

Put something in a place where it is safe but can be accessed easily.

Stow.

Stop something for a short time.

Suspend.

Refrain.

A room with a sink and a toilet, chiefly on an airplane or train.

Lavatory.

Luggage, suitcases or bags that travel inside the plane with you.

Cabin baggage.

Place above the seat in an airplane where you can store luggage.

Overhead bin.

A suitcase that you bring onto the plane.

Carry-on.

A table that folds down from the seat in front of you on an airplane.

Table tray.

A piece of clothing that you wear to stay floating in the water.

Life jacket.

A mask worn over your mouth and nose so you can breathe.

Oxygen mask.

Let's try that faster.

Having sudden up and down movements.

Bumpy.

Having or causing sudden violent movements.

Rough.

Do up, connect one part with another.

Fasten.

Suitcase and luggage that travels inside the plane with the passengers.

Cabin baggage.

Refrain.

Stop something for a short time.

Suspend.

Small area.

Patch.

A table that folds down from the seat in front of you on an airplane.

Table tray.

Luggage, suitcases or bags that travel inside the plane with you.

Cabin baggage.

Sudden strong movement of air, especially that causes a plane to move up and down in the air.

Turbulence.

Place above the seat in an airplane where you can store luggage.

Overhead bin.

A suitcase that you bring onto the plane.

Carry-on.

A room with a sink and a toilet, chiefly on an airplane or train.

Lavatory.

Put something in a place where it is safe but can be accessed easily.

Stow.

A mask worn over your mouth and nose so you can breathe.

Oxygen mask.

A piece of clothing that you wear to stay floating in the water.

Life jacket.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Turbulence.

There was a lot of turbulence on the flight.

Turbulence.

Turbulence.

We hit some turbulence when we were flying over the Atlantic.

Stow.

Can you stow this under your desk for me?

Stow.

Didn't stow your bags. You put them somewhere.

Stow.

I'll stow your computer under my seat, okay?

Patch.

We hit a patch of turbulence.

Patch.

There were some icy patches on the road.

Patch.

We drove through some foggy patches on the way here.

Bumpy.

It was a bit of a bumpy ride because the roads were terrible.

Bumpy.

We might have a bumpy ride because there is a lot of turbulence.

Bumpy.

It was a long and bumpy ride through the desert.

Refrain.

Please refrain from smoking until you have left the building.

Refrain.

I refrained from telling her what I really thought of her.

Refrain.

Please refrain from using your mobile phone in the hospital.