Travel Alternatives When a Friend Is on a Tight Budget

Dialogue script

Each entry shows the English sentence first, with the translation on the line below it. To practise speaking, cover the translation and repeat after the audio.

1. Emma 0:00

   My friend can't afford our original Japan trip this autumn.

   Line 1
2. Tom 0:04

   Is the budget gap from flights, hotels, or daily spending?

   Line 2
3. Emma 0:08

   Mostly flights; prices have climbed since we delayed booking.

   Line 3
4. Tom 0:12

   Then changing destination may protect the friendship and still keep the break.

   Line 4
5. Emma 0:17

   She thought I'd be disappointed, so she stayed quiet.

   Line 5
6. Tom 0:21

   That misunderstanding hurts, because honesty gives more choices.

   Line 6
7. Emma 0:25

   Option one is a shorter trip to Taiwan with trains.

   Line 7
8. Tom 0:29

   Option two is local hiking plus one nearby city weekend.

   Line 8
9. Emma 0:34

   We picked Taiwan for five days and a clear spending cap.

   Line 9
10. Tom 0:38

    Nice, who tracks bookings so costs stay transparent?

    Line 10
11. Emma 0:42

    I'll track flights, and she handles hostels and food estimates.

    Line 11
12. Tom 0:46

    Perfect, confirm the cap in writing before paying deposits.

    Line 12

Native audio, line-by-line recording and pronunciation scoring for this dialogue are in the EngTalk app.

Key vocabulary

Content words from this dialogue, ranked by the CEFR level at which they appear across the whole 500-dialogue library. Function words and proper nouns are excluded.

• afford /əˈfɔrd/ verb

  to have enough money or time for

• flights /flaɪts/ noun

  journeys made by aircraft

• spending /ˈspɛndɪŋ/ noun; present participle

  the use of money or time

• mostly /ˈmoʊstli/ adverb

  mainly; for the most part

• prices /ˈpraɪsəz/ noun

  amounts of money needed to buy things

• protect /prəˈtɛkt/ verb

  to keep safe from harm or loss

• friendship /ˈfrɛndʃɪp/ noun

  a close and friendly relationship

• stayed /steɪd/ past verb

  remained in a place or condition

• honesty /ˈɑnəsti/ noun

  the quality of being truthful

• shorter /ˈʃɔrtər/ adjective

  less long, tall, or lasting

• writing /ˈraɪtɪŋ/ noun

  the activity or skill of composing text

• paying /ˈpeɪɪŋ/ verb

  giving money for something

More dialogues like this

• Risk and Transition Advice for Quitting Without a Plan 12 · 1 min
• Communication Advice for a Night-Owl Roommate Conflict 12 · 1 min
• Learning Path Advice for a Cross-Field Job Switch 12 · 1 min
• Steps to Ease a Family Communication Deadlock 12 · 1 min