ESL Podcast 1035 - Using a Self-Checkout Machine
cashier line - a group of people who are standing one behind the other to wait for the store employee to become available to help them make their purchase
The woman at the front of the cashier line had to run back to the aisles to find something that she forgot to buy, so the rest of us had to keep waiting.
self-checkout - a process or machine designed to allow people to purchase items or process their own transaction before leaving a store, without help from an employee
The self-checkout area is constantly monitored to make sure that nobody steals items without paying for them.
machine - an electronic device that performs some task, especially to save time, effort, and/or money for humans
When will someone invent a machine that folds laundry?
to scan - to have a computer "read" or get information
The airport has special machines that scan luggage tags and send the luggage to the correct airplane.
barcode - a series of wide and narrow parallel (running in the same direction) lines with numbers on the bottom, read by computers, and used as a label to identify a product or another item
The store employee couldn't find the barcode on the box to find out the price.
grocery - related to food and other household items that are sold in stores
Can you pick up some milk and bananas at the grocery store on your way home from work?
scale - balance; a device that measures the weight of a person or object
According to this scale, I've gained 14 pounds. That can't be right!
touch-screen - a flat, digital screen that allows the user to provide information by touching certain parts of the screen, without needing to type anything
The ATM uses a touch-screen interface, so you can just tap here if you want to make a deposit, or here if you want to make a withdrawal.
to bag - to place groceries or other purchased items into paper, plastic, or cloth bags so that they can be carried out of the store
Janine always bags her groceries in reusable bags, but yesterday, she accidentally left her bags at home.
bagging area - the place in a store where purchased items are placed and then picked up and put into bags so that they can be taken out of the store
It's important to organize the bagging area so that you can pack up the heavy items first and leave the fragile items like bread and eggs for the last bag.
attendant - a person who provides service to customers, meeting their needs
The flight attendant offered the passengers a variety of drinks.
to clear - to erase or delete something so that it is no longer visible, relevant, or applicable
How can I paste this text, but clear the formatting?
to void a transaction - to undo a sale before it is final, making it as if it had never happened; to cancel a sale
Please present your coupons first. Otherwise I'll have to void the transaction and re-enter everything.
I'll tell you what - an informal phrase used to propose something or present an idea
I don't really like that paint color, but I'll tell you what. You can paint the dining room that color if I can pick out the paint color for the living room.
sucker bet - a gambling offer that only a naïve, inexperienced person is likely to accept, because the investment or risk is higher than the reward or benefit
That was a sucker bet. Why did Kile agree to it? They really tricked him.
well done - a way of cooking a piece of meat, especially beef, so that it is very thoroughly cooked, with no red or pink parts showing
My grandfather always said that steaks are best served medium rare and juicy, not well done and dry.