Cultural notes

The drive along Highway 1 in California is spectacular. One of the most scenic stretches runs from the city of Monterey south to Big Sur. The coastal highway hangs perilously above the Pacific Ocean.

Big Sur is 80 miles of treacherous ocean and rocky shore. Along your drive, you will see otters, sea lions, and whales. The coast line is dotted with redwoods, the world's largest trees.

Carmel (its offical name is Carmel by the Sea) is a storybook village. One of its most famous inhabitants, and former mayor, is the American movie actor Clint Eastwood. If you go to the Hog's Breath pub, you may just run into him.

Action

YOU (reading your aunt's instructions): "One of my favorite places in America is the area around Monterey, California.

I would like my niece to visit Monterey the way I did, as a tourist. She should do the following:

1. Have lunch at a restaurant on Cannery Row. Sit at a table overlooking the water. Perhaps you'll be able to catch a glimpse of the famous sea otters.

2. Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

3. Take the scenic 17 (Seventeen)-Mile Drive.

4. Drive on Highway 1 down to Big Sur for a splendid view of the rugged California coastline.

5. On the return drive to Monterey, spend a night at the quaint Lamp Lighter Inn in beautiful Carmel by the Sea. Ask for the Hansel and Gretel cottage if you can get it."

NARRATOR: The next morning, you check out of your hotel and drive for two hours, heading south to Monterey.

NARRATOR (Cont'd.): You spend the next few days exploring the sights your aunt wanted you to see.

Lesson 25 «Business Lunch»

Vocabulary

anxious (adj.)

A more familiar way to express this is "You can't wait to get back to Atlanta."

Chinatown (prop. noun)

San Francisco's "Chinatown" is a well-known area of San Francisco filled with wonderful Chinese restaurants and shops. Many other U.S. cities have their own version of "Chinatown," for the word applies to any Chinese quarter outside of China.

closer (adj., comp.)

company (noun)

Other words for "company" include "business," "corporation," "enterprise," "firm," and "partnership."

delight (noun)

To say that "someone is a delight" usually means that person is "delightful," that it is a "delight" to be around that person.

distributors (noun, pl.)

eventually (adv.)

finances (noun, pl.)

Fisherman's Wharf (prop. noun)

Much like Monterey's Cannery Row but larger, Fisherman's Wharf is an area right on San Francisco Bay where you can shop and dine out. There you can get on a "cable car" and take a ride through the city.

founded, we (to found, past)

get back (inf., to get back)

Another common word for "get back" is "return." The interjection "Get back!" means to "move away!"

Golden Gate Bridge (prop. noun)

The "Golden Gate" strait -- across which spans the Golden Gate Bridge -- was so named in 1846 by John Charles Fremont in anticipation of the flow of Oriental riches that was predicted to pass through it.

grew, it (to grow, past)

handled, I (to handle, past)

ill (adj.)

Instead of saying that someone is "ill," one can use the more common "sick" (as in "Henry got sick yesterday."). If you say you are "sick and tired" of something, you mean that you are "fed up," that you can no longer "deal" with someone or something.

marketing (noun)

met, we (to meet, past)

realize, I didn't (to realize, past)

Pay special attention to the use of various past tenses in this lesson. Simple past tenses often alternate with the past perfect, as in "I didn't realize she had lived here."

receive, I'll (to receive, fut.)

Sausalito (prop. noun)

A city across San Francisco Bay from which the entire skyline of San Francisco can be seen.

shares (noun, pl.)

One can trade "shares" of a company's stock on "Wall Street." The New York Stock Exchange is probably the most well-known "Stock Market."

small (adj.)

sold, she (to sell, past)

specializing (pres. part., to specialize)

"Specializing" implies that one has a "special" service or product. A "specialist" is a person who "specializes" in a field of study or "specialty," as opposed to a "generalist."

States (noun, pl.)

It is quite common for a person to refer to the United States as "the States" without further clarification.

together (adv.)

Story

You've returned to San Francisco after spending several days in Monterey. You're anxious to get back to Atlanta. You're tired of hotels and driving; you also want to collect your inheritance and go home to see your family. You dial the number of your aunt's former business colleague. You both decide to have lunch together at Fisherman's Wharf.