custody流利说L3-U2-3

2021年1月9日发(作者：曹思明)
Listening
Last month, Paul went on a trip. He went to Japan and China. There were a couple of
reasons for the trip. One reason for the trip was for business. He wanted to start some
restaurants in both countries. The other reason was for pleasure. Paul enjoys traveling
and wants to visit some friends.

Before leaving on the trip, Paul has several problems. Frist, his passport was going to
expire. As a result, he needed to apply for a new passport. Second, he needed to get a
visa to enter China. In order to apply for a visa, he needed his new passport. He had
six weeks to get everything done.

After applying for a new passport, it took two weeks to get it. Once he got the
passport, he went to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto and applied for a visa. He filled
out an application form and stood in a long line. He was surprised by how many
people were applying for visas. It took more than an hour to submit his application.

He submitted his application for the visa on a Friday. A week later, he went back to
the Consulate and picked up his visa. To his surprise, when he got there, the consulate
was closed. The consulate was closed because it was a Chinese holiday. Paul was
angry at himself for not checking the Consulate’s website. On its website, the
consulate schedule was posted. There was a notice saying that the consulate would be
closed that day.

As a result, Paul had to come back the next Monday. This was because the consulate
was closed on weekends. Finally, on Monday, he got the visa and he was ready to go.

Another problem of this trip was travel schedule. He needed to extent his stay in
Japan. One week in Japan wasn’t enough. Three Japanese restaurant owners want to
meet with him. He needed more time for the meetings than a couple of days. And he
didn’t want to miss staying with a good friend of his.

His friend lives near Mount Fuji and owns a great restaurant. This was one thing Paul
didn’t want to miss. As a result, he extended his stay in Japan. Instead of staying for
just a week, he decided to stay for 10 days.

As a result, he had to change the days for stay in China. The meetings in China were
delayed by three days. Instead of arriving on the first of the month, he arrived on the
fourth. Fortunately, there were no problems with his new schedule in China.

However, there were a few meetings that he expected. There wasn’t much interest in
opening new Italian restaurants. Still, he had one very good meeting. He met a young
Chinese restaurant owner who was interested. The young man already has a restaurant
but he wants to improve it. He and Paul liked each other right away. They met twice
in Beijing and are planning to meet again.

The young Chinese man’s name is Yi. He is planning to come to see Paul. They are
going to meet late next week in Toronto. Together, they will work on a business plan.
Paul is glad that he took the trip. He thinks it was a successful and enjoyable trip.

Vocabulary
1. Ambulances are used to transport injured or sick people to a hospital. An
ambulance has trained medical personnel who can treat injured or sick people.
2. A wheelchair is for people who can’t walk. Wheelchairs have four wheels and are
often pushed by people from behind.
3. Fire engines are used to fight fires. Firefighters, like this one, often rescue people
from burning buildings.
4. Tow trucks are used to tow cars. This tow truck is towing a car to a repair shop. If
your car won’t start, you should call for a tow truck.
5. Helicopters are used to rescue people from dangerous places. This helicopter is
lifting someone from a sinking boat.