Full transcript
0:00hey everybody welcome to this b1 English
0:03listening practice video you can use
0:05this video to practice your listening
0:07and comprehension as I speak you ready
0:09so today I'm gonna talk about
0:11restaurants this is a topic that I could
0:14talk about all day because I love eating
0:16out so let's talk specifically about
0:18American restaurants we could probably
0:20classify American restaurants into
0:22several different categories there are
0:24fast-food restaurants like your typical
0:26burger joints like McDonald's Burger
0:28King jack-in-the-box etc these would
0:31obviously be considered the lowest class
0:33restaurants then there are normal
0:35average restaurants that are chains or
0:37franchises these places usually have
0:39locations all over the country as well
0:41as multiple locations in the same city
0:43then you've got your normal average
0:45restaurants that are individually or
0:47family-owned in the US we sometimes call
0:50family-owned businesses ma and pas
0:53businesses so some of the restaurants in
0:55this category could be called Mon paw
0:57restaurants then you've got your
0:59high-end restaurants which would be
1:01considered fine dining these can be
1:03really fancy and expensive and if
1:05they're really highly acclaimed they
1:07might even have a Michelin star too
1:09needless to say most people can't afford
1:11to eat at these restaurants too often
1:13one of the type of restaurant that's
1:15distinctly American is called a diner
1:17diners are restaurants that sell typical
1:20American food like American breakfast
1:22food burgers sandwiches steak etc a lot
1:26of diners sell breakfast all day so you
1:28can order eggs sausage and pancakes at
1:309:00 p.m. if you want
1:32I've always loved diners because they
1:34have a really American feel to them
1:35whenever I go on a road trip I always
1:38look forward to stopping in the middle
1:39of nowhere and one of these classic
1:41American diners you can always find
1:43diners off the highway in the middle of
1:45nowhere
1:45all right now let's talk about tipping
1:47in the US this is something that all
1:50foreigners need to know because it's a
1:51custom that's different in the u.s. than
1:53it is in other countries when you eat it
1:56a sit-down restaurant in the US you're
1:58expected to give a tip for the service
2:00you receive there are no exceptions here
2:02even though it's not mandated by law
2:04it's an unspoken rule that all Americans
2:07abide by you have to tip your waiter
2:09whether you feel like it or not so now
2:11you might be wondering how
2:13you have to tip well until recently 15%
2:16has been the standard tip at most
2:18restaurants but in the last few years
2:20they've been trying to raise this
2:21nowadays many restaurants expect 18% or
2:25more which i think is ludicrous I always
2:27give 15% no matter what and this is
2:30still acceptable but there's definitely
2:32a visible effort on the part of
2:33restaurants to raise this percentage so
2:36be aware of this if you're traveling to
2:37the US any time soon lastly let's talk
2:40about the common expressions we use in
2:42the restaurant environment when you
2:44first enter the restaurant and talk to
2:45the host you normally say how many
2:47people there are in your party so you
2:49can say can we have a table for two
2:51please and to order food you can say a
2:54few different things you could say I'll
2:56have the cheeseburger I'll take the
2:59cheeseburger or can I have the
3:01cheeseburger you can use any of these
3:03phrases and just substitute the word
3:04cheeseburger for whatever dish you're
3:06ordering if you want to ask the waiter
3:08for something else after you've already
3:09ordered you can just use the phrase
3:11could I have so for example you could
3:14say could I have another glass of water
3:16please and one more note in the u.s. you
3:19don't ask for the check when you're done
3:21eating the waiter brings it to you
3:23without you asking I know this might
3:25seem weird but it's the custom okay
3:28that's all for today leave a comment and
3:30tell me what your favorite type of
3:31restaurant is I'll see you next time
3:37[Music]
3:44[Applause]
3:47[Music]