Introduction

Tipping at a restaurant or cafe is a complicated issue. Should you leave a cash tip or is a card just as good? Do you prefer to pay a fixed service charge or do you think the whole thing is unnecessary? In 6 Minute English we discuss this tricky subject and discover some regional variations. Plus we serve up some useful vocabulary.

This week's question

What is the biggest tip that we know somebody gave? Is it…

A: $10,000

B: $250,000

C: $3,000,000

The answer is at the end of the programme.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript??

Catherine

Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Catherine.

Sam

And I'm Sam.

Catherine

Sam, how do you feel about?tipping?

Sam

Tipping??You?mean giving extra money to people in certain jobs for doing their jobs?

Catherine

Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that. But yes, it’s giving money to waiters and waitresses, hairdressers, taxi drivers - money that is more than the actual bill.

Sam

It’s a nightmare! I never know who to tip, how to tip, by cash or by card, how much to tip – is it 10, 12.5, 20?per cent?or even if I should tip at all because in some places a service charge is automatically added to the bill.

Catherine

Yes, tipping is a really complicated issue which we will be looking at in this?programme. But to start with, a question. What is the biggest tip that we know somebody gave? Is it…

A: $10,000, is it…

B: $250,000, or is it…

C: $3,000,000?

What do you think, Sam?

Sam

I’m going to go for $250,000.

Catherine

OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the?programme. Now, back to the topic of?tipping?and?in particular, tipping people who work in restaurants. William Beckett runs a number of restaurants and he recently appeared on the BBC Food Programme. He was asked about his view of tipping. Now as we hear him, listen out for this information: in how many cities does he say he currently has restaurants?

William Beckett

It is cultural,?i.e.?it?differs?from place to place. I mean, we have restaurants in London, we have a restaurant in Manchester, we’re also opening a restaurant in New York and those three cities have quite different attitudes to?tipping. In London,?the?norm?is, it’s there, it’s on your bill. That’s not?the norm, for example, in Manchester and it’s not?the?norm?in New York where we’re going to open a restaurant later this year.

Catherine

So, first, how many cities does he currently have restaurants in?

Sam

That would be two. London and Manchester. He's going to open one in New York later in the year, but it's not open yet.

Catherine

And what does he say about tipping?

Sam

Well, he says that it is very cultural. What is the?norm?in one city is not necessarily the?norm?in another.?The norm?is an expression that means, as you might guess, what is normal, what is usual.

Catherine

So in London, for example, a service charge is usually added to the bill, but in?Manchester?it isn’t. So the policy in London and Manchester?differs?which means, again as you might guess, it's different.

Sam

There's another short expression that he used that I'd like to highlight. Before he talks about how the policies?differ, he says?i.e.?These two letters stand for the Latin phrase 'id est'. Now we never say 'id est' but we do write and say?i.e.?We use it to show that what comes next is using different words to say what we have just said or written. So he says, about tipping, it's cultural?i.e.?it differs from place to place. 'It's cultural' is a more general statement and 'it differs from place to place' is a more specific definition of what he means.

Catherine

So, one difference is that in some places people prefer an automatic service charge so that they don't have to think about or try to calculate a tip. But in other places, people hate that - they want to decide who and how much to tip themselves. But do people actually make use of that freedom not to tip? Here’s William Becket again and this he's time talking about New York.

William Beckett

New York exactly the same. There's a?tacit?pressure to tip. But?theoretically?you just stand up and walk out. You don't, everybody tips 20% or, there is a theory of an option. But people like that.

Catherine

So he says there is a?tacit?pressure to tip. What does he mean by that?

Sam

Something that is?tacit?is not spoken, not said, yet it is still understood. So in New?York?no one tells you that you have to tip, but everyone knows that you have to.

Catherine

And because there is no service charge on the bill and no one tells you what to tip, you could just walk out after paying. He says that's?theoretically possible. That means although it may be possible it's actually very unlikely because of the?tacit?pressure and the way we behave.

Sam

But he does say people like that freedom not to tip, even if they don't actually use that freedom.

Catherine

Right, nearly vocabulary time, but first, let's have the answer to our question. Now Sam what is the biggest tip we know someone gave?

Sam

I thought $250,000.

Catherine

Wellit was actually, believe it or not, a whopping $3,000,000. Yes! Now, on with today's vocabulary review.

Sam

Right. So we've been talking about?tipping, the practice of giving extra money to, for example, waitresses and waiters.

Catherine

To differ from?is a verb which means to be different from.

Sam

The norm?is what is usual or normal.

Catherine

i.e.?is a short form of a Latin expression and it means 'in other words'.

Sam

Something that is?tacit?is not said but is nevertheless understood.

Catherine

And if something is?theoretically?possible it can be done but for different?reasons?it probably won't be. And that is where we must leave it today. Goodbye!

Sam

Bye?everyone!

Vocabulary

tipping

giving someone extra money as a 'thank you' for good service

i.e.

Short for the Latin phrase 'id est' and means 'in other words' or 'that is'. It's used to indicate that what comes next is a clear definition of what was just said or written.

differs

is different

the norm

normal or usual

tacit

not spoken or written but still understood

theoretically

adverb used to describe something that can be done but probably won't be

雙語版Transcript

Catherine

Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Catherine.

大家好，這里是六分鐘英語，我是凱瑟琳。

?

Sam

And I'm Sam.

我是薩姆。

?

Catherine

Sam, how do you feel about?tipping?

薩姆，對于給小費(fèi)你有什么感覺？

?

Sam

Tipping? You mean giving extra money to people in certain jobs for doing their?jobs?

給小費(fèi)？你是指給從事特定工作的人額外的錢？

?

Catherine

Well,?I wouldn’t put it quite like that. But yes, it’s giving money to waiters and waitresses, hairdressers, taxi drivers - money that is more than the actual bill.

好吧，我不會像你這么說。但是，是的，給服務(wù)員、理發(fā)師、出租車司機(jī)的錢——那筆錢要比實(shí)際需要付的多。

?

Sam

It’s a nightmare! I never know who to tip, how to tip, by cash or by card, how much to tip – is it 10, 12.5, 20 per cent or even if I should tip at all because in some places a service charge is automatically added to the?bill.

它就是一場噩夢?。∥覐牟恢涝摻o誰小費(fèi)，如何給小費(fèi)，是付現(xiàn)金還是信用卡，也不知道應(yīng)該給多少——是消費(fèi)的10%，12.5%還是20%？或者說我是否應(yīng)該給小費(fèi)，因?yàn)樵谝恍┑胤椒?wù)費(fèi)是自動加到賬單上的。

?

Catherine

Yes, tipping is a really complicated issue which we will be looking at in this programme. But to start with, a question. What is the biggest tip that we know somebody gave? Is it…

是的，給小費(fèi)是一個非常復(fù)雜的問題，我們將在本期節(jié)目中探討這個問題。但是首先有一個問題，我們知道的別人所給的最大金額的小費(fèi)是多少？

?

A: $10,000,?B:$250,000,??C: $3,000,000

What do you think, Sam?

你覺得呢，薩姆？

?

Sam

I’m going to go for $250,000.

我選25萬美元。

Catherine

OK, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now, back to the topic of?tipping?and in particular, tipping people who work in restaurants. William Beckett runs a number of restaurants and he recently appeared on the BBC Food Programme. He was asked about his view of tipping. Now as we hear him, listen out for this information: in how many cities does he say he currently has restaurants?

好的，我們將在節(jié)目最后揭曉你的答案正確。現(xiàn)在，回到給小費(fèi)的話題上，尤其是給在餐廳工作的人小費(fèi)。威廉·貝克特經(jīng)營多家餐廳，最近還做客BBC美食節(jié)目。他被問到關(guān)于小費(fèi)的看法?，F(xiàn)在我們來聽聽他是怎么說的，聽一聽這個問題：他說他目前在幾個城市開了餐廳？

?

William Beckett

It is cultural,?i.e.?it?differs?from place to place. We have restaurants in London, we have a restaurant in Manchester, we’re also opening a restaurant in New York and those three cities have quite different attitudes to?tipping. In London,?the norm?is, it’s there, it’s on your bill. That’s not?the norm, for example, in Manchester and it’s not?the?norm?in New York where we’re going to open a restaurant later this year.

它是與文化有關(guān)的，也就是說，它因地而異。我們在倫敦有餐廳，在曼徹斯特也有餐廳，我們也在紐約開了一家餐廳，這三個城市對于給小費(fèi)有不同的態(tài)度。在倫敦，正常情況下消費(fèi)會在賬單上。但是在曼徹斯特和紐約就不是慣例。我們今年晚些會在紐約開一家餐廳。

?

Catherine

So, first, how many cities does he currently have restaurants in?

所以，首先他目前在幾個城市開了餐廳？

?

Sam

That would be two. London and Manchester. He’s going to open one in New York later in the year, but it’s not open yet.

是兩個。倫敦和曼徹斯特。

?

Catherine

And what does he say about tipping?

對于小費(fèi)，他說了什么？

?

Sam

Well, he says that it is very cultural. What is the?norm?in one city is not necessarily the?norm?in another.?The norm?is an expression that means, as you might guess, what is normal, what is usual.

他說那和文化相關(guān)。在一個城市是慣例在另一個城市不一定是?！癟he norm”是一個表達(dá)，意思是，你可能猜到了，正常的，平常的。

?

Catherine

So in London, for example, a service charge is usually added to the bill, but in Manchester it isn’t. So the policy in London and Manchester?differs?which means, again as you might

guess, it’s different.

例如，在倫敦服務(wù)費(fèi)通常加在賬單上，但是在曼徹斯特就沒有。所以倫敦和曼徹斯特的原則相異，正如你猜到的。

Sam

There’s another short expression that he used that I’d like to highlight. Before he talks about how the policies?differ, he says?i.e.?These two letters stand for the Latin phrase 'id est'. Now we never say ‘id est’ but we do write and say?i.e.?We use it to show that what comes next is using different words to say what we have just said or written. So he says, about tipping, it’s cultural?i.e.?it differs from place to place. ‘It’s cultural’ is a more general

statement and ‘it differs from place to place’ is a more specific definition of what he means.

我想強(qiáng)調(diào)他使用的另一個簡短表達(dá)。在談到這些原則有何不同之前，他說了“i.e.”這兩個字母代表了拉丁短語“id est”?，F(xiàn)在我們從來不說“id est”，但是我們會寫和說“i.e.”。我們用它來表示接下來用不同的單詞來表達(dá)我們剛剛說過或?qū)戇^的東西。所以他說給小費(fèi)是與文化相關(guān)的，也就是說因地而異?！八c文化相關(guān)”是一個跟通常的說法,“它因地而異”是對他所指的一個更具體的解說。

?

Catherine

So, one difference is that in some places people prefer an automatic service charge so that they don’t have to think about or try to calculate a tip. But in other places, people hate that- they want to decide who and how much to tip themselves. But do people actually make?use of that freedom not to tip? Here’s William Becket again and this he's time talking about New York.

所以一個不同之處在于，在一些地方人們更喜歡自動算上服務(wù)費(fèi)，這樣他們就不用考慮或計(jì)算小費(fèi)了。但在其它地方，人們討厭那樣—他們想決定給誰以及給多少小費(fèi)。但人們真的會利用那種自由不給小費(fèi)嗎？這里是威廉·貝克特又談到的，這次他要談?wù)摰氖羌~約。

?

William Beckett

New York exactly the same. There’s a?tacit?pressure to tip. But?theoretically?you just stand up and walk out. You don’t, everybody tips 20% or, there is a theory of an option. But people like that.

紐約也是一樣。給小費(fèi)的壓力是不言而喻的。但理論上你只要站起來走出去。你不用給每個人20%的小費(fèi)，或者說你可以選擇給不給。但人們喜歡那樣。

?

Catherine

So he says there is a?tacit?pressure to tip. What does he mean by that?

所以他說給小費(fèi)的壓力是不言而喻的。他那么說是什么意思？

?

?

Sam

Something that is?tacit?is not spoken, not said, yet it is still understood. So in New York no one tells you that you have to tip, but everyone knows that you have to.

不言而喻的事物就是不說出來但仍被了解。所以在紐約沒有人告訴你要給小費(fèi)，但每個人都知道你必須給。

?

Catherine

And because there is no service charge on the bill and no one tells you what to tip, you could just walk out after paying. He says that’s?theoretically possible. Thatmeans?although?it?may?be?possible?it’s?actually?very?unlikely?because?of?the?tacit?pressure?and?the way we?behave.

因?yàn)橘~單上沒有服務(wù)費(fèi)，而且也沒有人告訴你給多少小費(fèi)，所以你付完錢就可以走。他說理論上這是可能的。這意味著，盡管它是可能的，但實(shí)際上是非常不可能的，因?yàn)椴谎远鞯膲毫σ约拔覀兊男袨榉绞健?/span>

?

Sam

But he does say people like that freedom not to tip, even if they don’t actually use that freedom.

但是他確實(shí)說人們喜歡不給小費(fèi)的那種自由，即使他們實(shí)際上并不利用這種自由。

?

Catherine

Right, nearly vocabulary time, but first, let’s have the answer to our question. Now Sam what is the biggest tip we know someone gave?

好了，快到詞匯時間了，但首先，讓我們來看看問題的答案。薩姆，我們所知道的最大金額的小費(fèi)是多少？

?

Sam

I thought $250,000.

我認(rèn)為是25萬美元。

?

Catherine

Well it was actually, believe it or not, a whopping $3,000,000. Yes! Now, on with today’s vocabulary review.

他實(shí)際上是數(shù)量龐大的300萬美元，信不信由你。是的！現(xiàn)在來回顧一下今天的詞匯。

?

Sam

So we’ve been talking about?tipping, the practice of giving extra money to, for example waitresses and waiters.

所以我們一直在討論給小費(fèi)，給服務(wù)員額外的錢的慣常做法。

?

?

Catherine

To differ from?is a verb which means to be different from.

“相異”是一個動詞，意思是“不同”。

?

Sam

The norm?is what is usual or normal

“慣例”就是指通常的或正常的。

?

Catherine

i.e.?is a short form of a Latin expression and it means ‘in other words’.

“i.e.”是一個拉丁文表達(dá)的縮寫形式，意思是“換句話說”。

?

Sam

Something that is?tacit?is not said but is nevertheless understood.

不言而喻的事物就是不說出來卻能被了解。

?

Catherine

And?if?something?is?theoretically?possible?it?can?be?done?but?for?different?reasons?it probably?won’t?be.?And?that?is?where?we?must?leave?it?today.?Goodbye!

如果某件事在理論上是可能的，那么它可能會被做，但出于不同原因，它可能不會被做。

?

Sam

Bye everyone!

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