I have studied and lived in Australia for many years, and my English has also experienced a transformation from Chinese textbook-style to authentic and practical . I found that in fact, as long as you master some very simple vocabulary and expressions, you can use English for daily communication. I will share with you practical spoken English through my overseas experience.
Brisbane street scene near the hotel
Continuing from the previous content, I traveled to Brisbane, Australia, and booked a hotel room in advance. I booked a double room at that time. The English name is "Double room", and the English corresponding to the single room is "Single room".
At that time, I was very surprised why there was no "standard room" option. Later I learned that in fact, the term standard room is not popular abroad. If I insist on it, it can be translated into "Standard room".
When checking in, the front desk guy also said that their suites are currently discounted and do they need to be upgraded? Only then did I notice that the suite is called "Suite", and its pronunciation is /swiːt/, which is exactly the same as the pronunciation of the word "Sweet"! It is not spelled literally, it is pronounced /sju:t/. Everyone must note that many people do not know its correct pronunciation.
After I confirmed the room with the front desk guy, I then confirmed the room price and departure time. The word "Daily" means "daily", plus the word "Rate", it means "daily room rate" . The staff told me the price per day was AUD 150.
Here I will give you two little knowledge about the cultural differences between China and the West. One is about tipping and . Not all countries are accustomed to tipping, but it is a common rule in the United States and Canada. When checking in at a hotel, if a bellman helps you park your car or carry your luggage, you need to give a nominal tip.
The second difference is the pre-tax price of and . The prices we buy things in China are all after-tax prices. Just ask for the price and everything will be fine. However, many prices abroad are pre-tax prices. So when you check in at the hotel, you must find out whether the room price is before tax or after tax, and if it is before tax, what is the tax rate?
After talking about the price, the little brother confirmed the date of my departure. The check-out date in English is "Departure date" . He asked me "How long will you be staying with us? ", which means "How many days will you stay here?" I answered him "I will be staying here for 3 days." I will stay here for 3 days.
At this point, I have to pay the room fee and deposit. The English name of the deposit is "Deposit" . This fee will be returned to you when you check out. The front desk told me "We will hold $200 as a deposit.", we will charge a deposit of AUD 200. Then the boy asked me "How would you like to pay?":
How would you like to pay the bill?
Payment methods are generally divided into cash, debit card and credit card , and their corresponding English expressions are "Cash", "Debit card" and "Credit card" respectively. However, since the deposit is refundable, payment is usually made by credit card.
In Australia, I basically use the local Commonwealth Bank credit card. The more common domestic credit cards that can be used abroad are "MasterCard" MasterCard and "Visa Card" Visa credit card.
Okay, that’s all for today. Remember to like and collect . Next, I will talk with you about practical spoken English related to breakfast . See you in the next issue!
