 | | | The young stars of Real English -Zoe and Helen |
Helen: Hello, this is Real English from BBC Learning English, I’m Helen. Zoë: 还有我，刘佳。 Helen: In Real English, we look at words and phrases that you might not find in your dictionary. Zoë: 那Helen, 我们今天要学的新词是什么呢？ Helen: Today’s phrase is ‘pay-as-you-go’. Pay-As-You-Go. Zoë: Pay as you go. 这个短语对于一些在英国留学过的人一定不陌生。还是让我们来先听听它的英文解释吧. Helen: Well, if you have a mobile phone you can pay for your calls on a monthly contract or you can pay as you go – paying for calls as you make them Zoë: 你猜对了吗？和我们的中国联通一样，英国的手机也有那种边打电话边充值，没有月租的服务，就叫pay as you go, 说的就是先买充值卡，再打电话。 Helen: That’s right. The meaning is in the phrase: Pay-As-You-Go. Insert A: Is that a new mobile phone? B: Yes, I got it last week. A: Did you change your contract? B: No, it’s a pay-as-you-go phone. Zoë: 为什么在英国，有些人是和电话公司签的合同，有些人用的是手机充值卡呢？ Helen: Good question, Zoë. In the UK a contract usually lasts for 12 months and you have to pay every month for a year no matter if you don’t use the phone. Zoë: 哦，和电话公司签合同，至少是一年，这就意味着，你要一直被束缚在和这个公司的合同上。 Helen: Yes, but with pay-as-you-go you only pay for the calls you make. So for some people it’s more flexible and economical. Zoë: 如果你是用充值卡来打电话，就不会被任何公司的合同束缚，所以这是个既经济又自由的办法。 Helen: That’s what a lot of people think. Well, that’s all we have time for today. Zoë: Bye. Helen: See you next time. | 
