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Transcription

You are going to listen to a true story about a woman who paid a lot of money for some tea and cookies.
Before you listen, lets practise some vocabulary from the story. Listen to some words in Spanish and try to say the English translation before I do. Then, repeat the word. or phrase, to practise pronunciation.

encargar - to order
chocolate sin leche - dark chocolate
la cuenta - the bill
receta - recipe
bandeja de plata - silver tray
cobrar - to charge
abogado/abogada - lawyer
demandar a alguien o llevar a alguien a juicio - to take someone to court
ganar un pleito o juicio – to win a case
venganza - revenge

Now listen to some questions and try to answer them while you’re listening.

1. What kind of cookies did the woman order?
2. How much did she pay for the recipe?
3. What did she do with the recipe at the end?

An Expensive Afternoon Tea

About 5 years ago, a 72 year-old woman decided to go to have afternoon tea at one of the most famous English hotels in Piccadilly, London.

She sat by herself near a window and ordered a small pot of Earl Grey tea and some chocolate chip cookies from the polite young waiter who came to her table.

The tea and cookies arrived almost immediately, and the cookies were the most delicious the woman had ever tasted. They were soft, warm and with large pieces of excellent dark chocolate chips.

When the time came for the woman to ask for the bill, she also asked the waiter if he would mind speaking to the chef and asking him to give her the recipe for the excellent cookies. She was sure her grandchildren would love to taste them.

Soon, the waiter returned with the bill and the recipe on a silver tray.
Imagine the look of surprise and horror on the woman’s face when she saw that the bill was for £5,007,50!

“There must be some mistake”, said the woman. “No, madam”, replied the waiter “the tea and the cookies cost £7.50, and we are charging £5,000 for the cookie recipe.

Shocked and very angry, the woman paid the bill. A few months later, her lawyer took the hotel to court and won the case. The woman got her £5,000 back. But she wasn’t satisfied and she wanted revenge. So, she published the recipe on the Internet for all of the world to see.

Did you answer the questions? Lets check.

1. What kind of cookies did the woman order? Chocolate chip cookies
2. How much did she pay for the recipe? £5,000
3. What did she do with the recipe at the end? She published it on the Internet.

Listen and repeat the following words and sentences.

To order – the waiter took my order. / my order / took my order / the waiter took my order
Excuse me, I’d like to order some lunch, please. / some lunch, please / order some lunch, please / I’d like to order some lunch, please / Excuse me, I’d like to order some lunch, please

The bill – Can I have the bill, please? / Can I have the bill, please? In British English, la cuenta is the bill. In American English it’s the check.
Repeat: Excuse me, can I have the bill, please? / Excuse me can I have the check, please?

The recipe – How do you spell recipe? Spell it now…..
recipe - r-e-c-i-p-e - recipe.
Listen and repeat: You must give me the recipe. / give me the recipe / You must give me the recipe.
Can I have the recipe? / Can I have…? / Can I have the recipe?
Be careful not to confuse recipe and receipt. Receipt is what you get when you buy something in a shop. In Spanish, recibo
Can you spell receipt? Spell it now….
Receipt – r-e-c-e-i-p-t – receipt. The letter P is silent
So, what’s recibo in English?…… Receipt
What’s receta in English?……. Recipe

To charge - Listen and repeat: How much did they charge you? / charge you / they charge you / did they charge you / How much did they charge you? / How much did they charge you?
It’s free of charge – es gratis – it’s free of charge
a charge card, in the USA, is a credit card. You may hear “Cash or charge?” / “Cash or charge, madam?” / “Cash or charge, sir?” this means, “Would you like to pay with cash or credit card?”

Lawyer - The general term for abogado or abogada in English is lawyer. The pronunciation is aw – lawyer, not ai liar. There is not usually a connection between lawyer and liar, so be careful of your pronunciation!

In American English, you may hear attorney or counsellor, depending on which American state you’re in. The words counsellor and attorney both mean lawyer.

Revenge – the verb that usually goes with revenge is to take.
Listen and repeat: to take revenge – I’m going to take my revenge / I’m going to take my revenge. She took her revenge on him / She took her revenge on him..

Revenge is a dish best served cold.