Helen: Today we gave a new phase ‘pay-as-you-go’. Pay-As-You-Go.

Zoë: Pay as you go. 這個短語對于一些在英國留學(xué)過的人一定不陌生。還是讓我們來先聽聽它的英文解釋吧.

Helen: Well, if you have a mobile phone you can pay for your calls on a monthly contract or you can pay as you go – paying for calls as you make them

Zoë: 你猜對了嗎？和我們的中國聯(lián)通一樣，英國的手機(jī)也有那種邊打電話邊充值，沒有月租的服務(wù)，就叫pay as you go, 說的就是先買充值卡，再打電話。

Helen: That’s right. The meaning is in the phrase: Pay-As-You-Go.

Insert

A: Is that a new mobile phone?
B: Yes, I got it last week.
A: Did you change your contract?
B: No, it’s a pay-as-you-go phone.
Zoë: 為什么在英國，有些人是和電話公司簽的合同，有些人用的是手機(jī)充值卡呢？

Helen: Good question, Zoë. In the UK a contract usually lasts for 12 months and you have to pay every month for a year no matter if you don’t use the phone.

Zoë: 哦，和電話公司簽合同，至少是一年，這就意味著，你要一直被束縛在和這個公司的合同上。

Helen: Yes, but with pay-as-you-go you only pay for the calls you make. So for some people it’s more flexible and economical.

Zoë: 如果你是用充值卡來打電話，就不會被任何公司的合同束縛，所以這是個既經(jīng)濟(jì)又自由的辦法。

Helen: That’s what a lot of people think.