Lesson 36
Section 1 A.MakingaReservation.
RobertGordonisphoningtobookahotelroominParis.
45-21-64. Allo?
IsthattheSaint-MartineHotel?
Oui. Yes, itis. CanIhelpyou?
Haveyougotadoubleroomforthenightof 23rdJuly?
Onemomentplease. I'lljusthavealook. Yes, wehavegotadoubleroomonthatdate.
Hasitgotadoublebedortwosingles?
Twosingles, monsieur.
Andisthatwithorwithoutbath?
It'saroomwithshowerandtoilet, monsieur.
Thatsoundsfine. IsthereaTV?
Couldyourepeatthat, please?
Isthereacolortelevisionintheroom?
Yes, butofcourse. Andavideo, ifyouchoose.
Howmuchwillitbeforonenight?
Aboutfourhundredfrancs.
Andwhatdoesthatinclude?
Itincludesmorningnewspaper, continentalbreakfastandservice.
Whereisthenearestmetro?
Opera, monsieur. It'sonlyfiveminutesfromhere.
Andisthereanextrachargeforchildren?
Ifthechildisundersixteenandweputanextrabedinyourroom, thechargeisseventy-fivefrancs. Doyouwanttheroom?
Yes, foronenight—23rdJuly.
Oui, monsieur. MayIhaveyourname, please?
Actually, it'sformywifeandtwodaughters—Mrs. JeanGordon, LindaandMaggie.
Yes, monsieur. Soyouneedanextrabed. AndwhattimewilltheybearrivingonJuly 23rd ...
B.Vet.
Nowyou'vebeenaveterinarydoctorforsomethirtyyears, whatwasitthatmadeyoubecomeavetinthefirstplace?
Well, Istudiedasanordinarydoctorinthebeginning, butIslowlyrealizedthatIlikedanimalsverymuch. Ialmostpreferanimalstopeople. SoItookanextracourseinanimalmedicine. It'sassimpleasthatreally.
Andyoustillenjoyworkingwithanimals?
Oh, yes, verymuchso. Infact, morethanevernow. I'vegottoknowanimalsmuchbetter, yousee, andIgetonbetterwiththemineveryway. Theirownerssometimesgetonmynerves, though.
Oh ... whyisthat?
Well, somepeopleknowverylittleaboutanimalsandkeeptheminthewrongconditions.
Whatsortofconditions?
Oh, youknow, somepeoplebuyalargedogandthentrytokeepitinasmallflat; theydon'ttakeitoutenoughtogiveitproperexercise.
Otherpeoplehaveacatandtrytokeepitinthehouseallday, butacatneedstogetoutandbefreetocomeandgoasitpleases. Alotofpeopledon'tfeedtheiranimalsproperly.
It'sverycommontogivepetstoomuchfoodwhichisverybadforthem, especiallyifthey'renotgettingenoughexercise. Ornottofeedthemregularly, whichisequallybad. Ananimalisaresponsibilitywhichissomethingmanypeopledon'tseemtorealize.
Youmeanpeoplekeeppetsforthewrongreasons?
Yes, somepeoplewantapetbecausethey'relonely, orsimplyfordecoration, orjusttoshowhowrichtheyare.
Andjusthowdoyoudealwiththesepeople?
Well, Itrytotellthemwhattheanimalneeds, whatistherightsortoffood, theproperexercise. Itrytoteachthemthatanimalsarenottoysandifthey'retobehealthy, theyhavetobehappy.
Yes, Isupposeyou'reright. Inyourthirtyyearsasavetyoumusthavecomeacrosssomeinterestingcases?
Ohyes, therearelotsofinterestingcases. Iwasoncecalledtoalionesswhowasgivingbirthandhavingdifficulty. Nowthatwasreallyinteresting.
Section 2
A.Monologue.
Well, now, ladiesandgentlemen, thatwasourlastitem, andallthatremainsformetodoistothankourperformerssincerelyonbehalfofusallforthepleasuretheyhavegivenusthisevening.
AndofcourseImustexpressthankstothosewho'veworkedbehindthescenes. Andespeciallyourproducer.ButmostofallIwanttosaythankyoutoallofyouforcomingherethiseveningandsupportingthisevent, especiallyinsuchweather.
IthinkperhapsIshouldtakethisopportunitytorenewmysincereapologiestothosesittinginthebackrows. We'vemadetemporaryrepairstotheroof, butunfortunatelytheraintonightwasunexpectedlyheavy,andwe'regratefultoyouforyourunderstandingandcheerfulgoodhumor.
Imaysaythatwehadhopedthattemporaryrepairswouldsuffice. Butwewererecentlyinformedbyoursurveyorthatthewholeroofwillhavetobereplaced: whichisofcourseasevereblowwhenyouthinkit'sonlyfiveyearssincewereplacedtheroofofthechurchitself.
Andsoweshallbehavinganotherconcertsoon, Ihope.