LINGUAWIRE
A study found that people were more willing to order small meals when the price ended in .99. Vancouver had a warm but very wet week, with possible sun later.
A current English news story adapted for language learners at A2, with audio, transcript, vocabulary and comprehension work.
This is our Sunday special, with stories from across the English-speaking world from the past week.
This Sunday, we look at small-plate prices in US restaurants and wet weather in Vancouver.
To help you follow today's episode, full transcripts and vocabulary look-ups are available at linguawire.com.
Our first story is about restaurant prices for smaller meals.
Ethan is LinguaWire's correspondent for business.
Hello, Daniel. A study from Ohio State University looked at how people react to small-plate prices.
What did the researchers find?
They found that people were more likely to order a smaller meal when its price ended in .99.
So, one cent can make a difference?
Yes. The study compared a small plate costing five dollars with one costing four dollars ninety-nine.
Why did people react differently to those prices?
The price of four dollars ninety-nine often seemed fairer. Five dollars exactly was more likely to seem too expensive for a reduced portion.
What is a reduced portion?
It is a smaller amount of food than a regular meal. Small plates are often smaller than the usual restaurant serving.
Did customers dislike small plates themselves?
No. In interviews, people said small plates could be healthier. They also said they could reduce food waste and offer more variety in one meal.
But the price needs to feel right.
That was an important point. Many people said small plates seemed overpriced compared with their portion size.
Who carried out the research?
Stephanie Liu, an associate professor of hospitality management at Ohio State University, was the senior author of the study.
What did she say about restaurant pricing?
She said pricing is not only about costs and profits. It is also a marketing strategy, because prices can change how customers see a product.
Where did the idea for this research come from?
The first author was Xi Yu, who did the work as a PhD student at Ohio State. During pandemic lockdowns, she often ordered half-sized sandwiches.
What was her experience?
Yu said she could not eat a full sandwich, so she ordered a six-inch sandwich. She felt its price was unfair because it was not half the price of a full-sized sandwich.
How did the team test these ideas?
They interviewed 36 consumers and also ran an experiment with 244 people in the United States.
What did the experiment ask people to consider?
People rated whether prices seemed fair. They also said if they intended to order regular-sized or smaller meals with different price structures.
What could this mean for restaurants?
The study suggests that a .99 price may make a smaller portion seem like better value. That may make customers more willing to order it.
Thank you, Ethan.
Our second story is about rain, warm weather, and a possible sunny break in Vancouver.
Chloe is LinguaWire's correspondent for environment.
Hello, Daniel. Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia had storms and a lot of wet weather over the past week.
Will the weather become drier soon?
Not immediately. The seven-day forecast said Vancouver had a chance of showers, rain, or cloudy weather on every day.
That sounds like a long wet spell.
It is. This wet November followed an unusually dry October.
There was also unusual warmth this past week. What happened?
On Wednesday, several temperature records were broken across British Columbia. It was an unusually warm and muggy November day.
How warm did it get near Vancouver?
The West Vancouver area reached 17.1 degrees Celsius. That was a record temperature for the area.
Were many other places unusually warm too?
Yes. Thirty-one places in British Columbia either tied or set temperature records on Remembrance Day.
And Vancouver itself broke a record?
Yes. Vancouver's high temperature on Wednesday broke a record from 1996.
What did the forecast say about temperatures at night?
Over the next couple of nights, overnight temperatures were expected to average around 10 degrees Celsius. Saturday night was expected to have a low of 11 degrees.
Then the nights were expected to get colder.
Yes. The forecast gave a low of 10 degrees on Sunday night, then 5 degrees on Monday and 4 degrees on Tuesday.
When was there a chance of sunshine?
The forecast pointed to Wednesday, November 18. It predicted a mix of sun and cloud, with a high of 10 degrees Celsius.
Can people depend on that sunny break?
Not yet. That day was still several days away when the forecast was published, so the forecast could change.
So Vancouver was expected to have more rain first, with a possible brighter day later.
That is right. People in Vancouver were waiting to see whether the forecast for sun and cloud on November 18 would remain the same.
Thank you, Chloe.
Part one: vocabulary.
forecast.
Forecast means a report about expected weather; in the story, “The seven-day forecast said Vancouver had a chance of showers, rain, or cloudy weather on every day.”
The forecast says it will be sunny tomorrow.
shower.
A shower is a short period of rain; in the story, “The seven-day forecast said Vancouver had a chance of showers, rain, or cloudy weather on every day.”
We had a few showers in the afternoon.
muggy.
Muggy means unpleasantly warm and humid; in the story, “It was an unusually warm and muggy November day.”
It is muggy today, so I want a cold drink.
Part two: the grammar.
Comparatives: colder.
Use “colder” to compare two temperatures. It means lower in temperature than before or than another temperature.
In the story, “Then the nights were expected to get colder.”
Monday is colder than Sunday.
Repeat after me: Then the nights were expected to get colder.
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