【英语语言学习】空乘员的不易

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Air travel can be stressful - think tedious check-in, long TSA lines, crying babies, cranky passengers. Who would willingly submit themselves to life in these sometimes unfriendly skies? The good folks who make sure we are safe and well hydrated. On this week's Winging It - the life of a flight attendant.

Gailen David was a flight attendant for 24 years. He now co-hosts a travel show called "Take Off With The Savvy¹ Stews²." You can see it on Destination America and Hulu. Even though he left his job as a flight attendant a few years ago, there are some passengers he just can't forget.

GAILEN DAVID: One comes to mind where it was a passenger that was very, very difficult about their carry-on luggage and the fact that they had to have it on at all costs. And the fact that we wanted to check one of the bags. As the trip went on, it was one issue after another. And he ended up breaking down.

MARTIN: Oh, no.

DAVID: I thought that I was dealing³ with someone that was going to just come after me, and actually he was very combative⁴. But he ended up breaking down and just crying. And that's one of the lessons that I learned when I was a flight attendant is that so much that's going on does not have to do with me. And if you can just give them a little bit of room and a little bit of credit that something is affecting them, usually the situation can get diffused⁵.

MARTIN: I have to say, though, I have flown on airplanes and encountered a lot of flight attendants who are less understanding, less patient. Do you ever lose your patience?

DAVID: Oh, yeah. That's what I say. I wish I could go back and do it over because I did really freak out on some people.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

DAVID: And I think that we're just dealing with so many things at play. When you look at the economic situation that flight attendants find themselves in where they're in a job that they have invested so much in, and what's happened is their pay has been rolled back. Plus, seats are getting, you know, packed into airplanes, passengers are being charged for everything. And the flight attendants are the ones that have to deliver that message time and time again to the customers. That this is - you don't get this. You don't get that. You have to pay for this. You have the pay for that. So the flight attendants are getting it from all different directions.

MARTIN: You have to have thick skin.

DAVID: Yes.

MARTIN: I don't suppose you want to share a story of losing your patience. Do you remember a particular episode? What triggered it?

DAVID: Yeah. It was during the dot com era where all these people had so much money. The planes were packed, and I used to say, you know, New York to Los Angeles. I would say where do these people get all this money? Business class is full. First class is full. And this family came on the airplane. And at the last minute, and they sat down. And they were just so snippy with me. Their kids were throwing Fruit Loops around the cabin. And there were crayons. And the parents just didn't even care. And then they were standing⁶ in the aisle⁷ blocking the carts while we're trying to serve. And when I asked them to sit down, they freaked out on me. The father and I were yelling at each other going up the aisle. It was extreme. And then I got to the front, and the mother looked over at me and said whatever happened to something special in the air? What ever happened to the customer is always right? And I was, like, you were the one that started this. So I actually took some time off after that flight.

MARTIN: Are there some tips or things you can share for passengers to make the overall experience more pleasurable? Things you perhaps - you should just be aware of, things maybe we shouldn't do.

DAVID: I like to call it jet-icate. It's walking on and not having these huge carry-on bags and clogging⁸ up the aisles⁹ when the flight attendants are under pressure to get everybody on and get that door closed. Every once in a while when I have extra time, and I can pick up maybe some brownies from Starbucks. When I have walked on the airplane and done a nice thing for the flight attendants, who a lot of times do not have time to get something to eat when they're working a 12 hour day because the airlines don't give them food. And they usually don't have time to go and grab food. So it's only if there are leftovers¹⁰ on board that they get something to eat. So when I have done that, let me tell you something. I have been treated like a rock star.

MARTIN: That is a good tip. Gailen David is a former flight attendant. He now co-hosts the TV show "Take Off With The Savvy Stews." Gailen, thanks so much for talking with us.

DAVID: Thanks, Rachel.

1 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

2 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

5 diffused   

散布的，普及的，扩散的

参考例句：

• A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
• Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

8 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

9 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

10 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。