ESL Podcast 231 – The Supermarket Checkout

#ESL Podcast 231 – The Supermarket Checkout##GLOSSARY**cashier –** a store employee who takes the money for things that a customer buysand provides a receipt*The cashier said he couldn’t help me with the clothes I wanted to buy becausehe works only in the shoe department.**lane –** a narrow (small and long) area in a grocery store where shoppers stand ina line to wait for a cashier to help them make their purchases*I wanted to use the express lane at the grocery store, but in that lane, peoplecan pay only with cash and I needed to use a credit card.**15 items or less –** a restriction at express (fast) checkout lanes at a grocerystore, meaning that only people buying 15 or fewer items may use that lane*Mindy became very angry when she saw that the woman in front of her had atleast 20 items in her basket, even though the sign clearly said, *“15 items or less.”***coupon –** a small piece of paper usually cut from an advertisement or anewspaper that gives a shopper a lower price on a particular item*Brice found a coupon for $0.35 off his favorite brand of shampoo in themagazine.**belt –** a wide band of rubber (soft plastic) that moves along the counter at acheckout lane to move groceries from the end where the shopper is taking itemsfrom their cart to the other end where the cashier is checking prices*Please don’t let your child play with the belt! His fingers might get caughtunderneath it and I don’t want him to get hurt.**cart –** a large basket with wheels and a handle that is pushed through a store bya shopper, who fills it with the items that he or she wants to purchase*Every time I go to the grocery store, I get a cart that has broken wheels!**per pound –** for each pound (one pound is approximately 2.2 kilograms)*In the early summer, strawberries are very inexpensive, but in the winter, theycan cost up to $5 per pound!**price check –** an employee in a store asking or finding out the price ofsomething for a customer*I thought the TV was on sale, but the cashier’s computer showed that it costmore than $500, so I asked her to do a price check to make sure.These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (200 7). Posting of**club card –** a membership card that gives shoppers lower prices on many items*With a club card, my favorite ice cream is only $1.50 this week.**to swipe –** to quickly move one’s card through an electronic machine that getsinformation from the card about the cards’ owners and their accounts*I swiped my credit card four times, but the machine couldn’t read it, so thecashier had to type in the account number by hand.**debit –** a type of card that deducts money directly from a person’s checkingaccount; to take money out of an account*He tried paying for his purchase with his debit card, but the computer told thecashier that he didn’t have enough money in his account.**credit –** a type of card that connects to a credit card account and allows a personto buy something now and pay for it later*When I got my first credit card, my father warned me that if I don’t pay the entirecredit card bill every month, I’d have to pay a lot of interest.**cash back –** money in cash (dollars and coins) that one receives at the end of adebit-card transaction by adding that amount to the total amount of the purchase*Going to the bank to get cash is inconvenient, so we usually ask for cash backat the grocery store instead.**Paper or plastic? –** a phrase used by grocery store cashiers or baggers to askshoppers if they would prefer to have their purchases placed in paper or plasticbags*When the cashier asked, *“Paper or plastic?”* Sharon pointed to the cloth bagsthat she had brought from home and asked them to put her items in thoseinstead.**tabloid –** a newspaper with scandalous (shocking) stories about unusual eventsor famous people, usually which cannot or should not be believed*Reading the tabloids is a waste of time. Why don’t you read about world newsinstead?**Do you need any help out? –** a phrase used by grocery store cashiers to askshoppers if they want someone to help them carry their purchases