地道美语听力练习:Dining at a Restaurant I

地道美语听力播客English as a Second Language Podcast (ESLPod)，是一家位于美国加州洛杉矶的英语教育研究机构推出的英文听力会话，于2005年7月23日首播， 主播Dr. Jeff McQuillan为南加州大学的语言学博士， 现专注于外国语学生的英语学习研究。该播客在iTunes store播客的教育子分类中，与Grammar Girl Just Vocabulary常居前三甲.

Well, I love going out to restaurants to eat. One of the best experiences I've had recently was at a place here in Los Angeles called Il Fornaio. It's an Italian restaurant in a very nice part of Beverly Hills. I don't go there very often--I can't really afford it, but every once in a while I'll treat myself.

The last time I went, I walked in with a friend and I was greeted by the hostess. She asked how many people were in my party, and I said, "Just two." "Right this way! I'll show you to your table" she said. She was very polite. When we reached our table by the window, she asked us, "Is this all right?" We said, "Of course!," and then she handed us the menus, along with the wine list. The place setting with the silverware was very complete. There were two forks (one for the salad course, one for the main course), a spoon, a knife, a dinner plate, a dessert spoon on top, a wine glass and a water glass, a cup and saucer for coffee, and a bread basket. I was already getting hungry!

"Your waiter will be with you shortly," the hostess said. So we looked over the menus—so many choices, especially for a lover of Italian food like me.

The waiter came up to the table a few minutes later and said, "Good evening. My name is Giorgio, and I'll be your waiter this evening. Is there anything I can get you started with -a cocktail, a glass of wine?" Well, my friend and I are not exactly big drinkers, so we just ordered a couple of iced teas. "Would you like a few minutes to look at the menu?" he said. We nodded our heads, and he went off to get our drinks.

As I was looking at the appetizers, I spotted one of my favorite dishes-crab cakes! I told my friend that the crab cakes were a must. Just then the waiter returned to our table, with our drinks on a large tray. Now, I was ready to order.

Script by Dr. Jeff McQuillan