MẪU CÂU TIẾNG ANH VỀ BƯU ĐIỆN VÀ NGÂN HÀNG

Welcome to Lesson 11 of the Everyday English Speaking Course! Today we’re going to run some errands. “Errands” are activities of daily life that you do outside your house – for example, going to the bank and going to the store.

First, let’s go to the post office – that’s the place where you can send mail and packages.

 Conversation #1 – At the post office  

Conversation Vocabulary & Phrases

•  The word “mail” can be a noun or a verb. “Mail” as a noun refers to the letters and magazines you receive. “Mail” as a verb means to send something through the post office system.
•  At the post office, you’ll probably have a choice of several sending options. First-class mail is the slowest and cheapest option; priority mail is a little faster and a little more expensive, and express mail is the fastest, most expensive option. Some post offices also offer overnight delivery, which means it’s guaranteed to arrive the next day.
•  Business days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (except for major national holidays).
•  A tracking number is a number that identifies the location of the package. You can put the tracking number into the post office website to find out where the package is, or if it has already been delivered.
•  You can also get insurance – this means you would receive money as compensation if your package got lost or destroyed in the mail – or delivery confirmation – that’s a service that notifies you when the package is delivered.
•  Finally, you can also buy stamps and envelopes at the post office:

 An envelope (with a letter inside) and a stamp

 Notice the attendant’s pronunciation in the questions starting with, “Would
you like...” – it sounds like wudjalike
Let’s practice and review the post office phrases:
 “I’d like to...

• o mail/send this package.
• o mail/send some letters.
• o mail/send some postcards.
• o buy some stamps / envelopes.
• o add insurance / delivery confirmation
• o send it overnight. It’s urgent.

 “Can I get a tracking number for the package?”

 “When will it arrive?”

 Conversation #2 – At the Bank 
Before we go to the bank, let’s learn some money vocabulary! As in most countries, the United States has two types of money – paper money (called bills) and metal money (called coins).
Don’t confuse “coins” with “cash” – cash includes both bills and coins; it is used to distinguish paying with physical money from paying with a credit card or check.
This diagram will help:
In the U.S., the different coins have different names:

•  The 1-cent coin is called a penny
•  The 5-cent coin is called a nickel
•  The 10-cent coin is called a dime
•  The 25-cent coin is called a quarter.
•  There is also a 50-cent coin called a half-dollar, but it’s not very common.

Penny, nickel, dime, and quarter

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also use the system of dollars and cents. In the United Kingdom, however, the unit of currency is the pound and each pound is made of 100 pence.

Conversation Vocabulary & Phrases

•  The exchange rate tells you how to convert from one country’s currency to another – for example, 1 Euro to $1.25, or $1 to 4.5 Argentine pesos.
•  The expression “Could you tell me...” is a polite way to ask for information. It is more indirect and more polite than saying just “Tell me...” or “I want to know...”
•  Also, in this conversation as well as in the post office dialogue, the man uses the phrase “I’d like to...” instead of “I want to...” – again, because it is more polite.
•  The teller may ask if you want your money in large or small bills. Large bills would be $50 or $100 bills, and small bills would be 20s, 10s, 5s, and 1s.

In addition to exchanging money, here are a few more things you can do at the bank:
 “I’d like to...
o open a checking/savings/investment account.
    checking account = for day-to-day expenses
    savings account = for keeping money for a long time
investment account = for putting money into the stock market
o make a deposit / make a withdrawal.
   = put money into / take money out of the account.
o deposit a check.
   = put the money from a check into the account.
o cash a check.
    cash a check = exchange a check for money
o take out a loan.
    = borrow money from the bank, to pay back later
o check my balance.
    = find out how much money you currently have in your account.
o talk to a manager about a problem with my account.

If you want to find a machine to withdraw (take out) money, you can ask somebody:

•  “Is there an ATM around here?”
•  “Where’s the nearest ATM?”

Another question you might want to ask an employee of the bank is: “Does this
ATM accept international cards?”
Now try the quiz to test your vocabulary from the banking and post office phrases.

Quiz – Lesson 11
1) Can you give me a __________ number?
A. mailing
B. posting
C. tracking
2) I'm going to England, so I need to change my dollars to _________.
A. pence
B. pennies
C. pounds
3) Could you ________ me where the post office is?
A. speak
B. talk
C. tell
4) My credit card's not working, so I'll have to pay _________.
A. coins
B. cash
C. change
5) How much does it cost to add delivery ___________?
A. information
B. notification
C. confirmation
6) Do you have a _________ I can borrow? This candy costs 25 cents.
A. dime
B. quarter
C. nickel
7) Today's my lucky day! I found a 10-dollar _______ on the sidewalk.
A. dime
B. coin
C. bill

8) Please send it with ___________ mail - it needs to get there fast.
A. urgent
B. express
C. first-class
9) Overnight mail will arrive the next __________ day.
A. post office
B. business
C. busy
10) Excuse me, is there an _______ around here?
A. ATM
B. ITM
C. ETM
11) ____________ to mail this letter.
A. I'd like
B. I want
C. I would
12) I have $5,000 in my savings ___________.
A. account
B. check
C. deposit
13) Mr. and Mrs. Hughes took out a ________ to buy their car.
A. balance
B. lend
C. loan
14) Someone made an unauthorized __________ from my account! I need to call the
bank right away!
A. investment
B. exchange
C. withdrawal
15) I need a bigger _________ to mail these documents.
A. folder
B. envelope
C. stamp

Lesson 11 Quiz - Answers
1.C 2.C 3.C 4.B 4.C 6.B 7.C 8.B

9.B 10.A 11.A 12.A 13.C 14.C 15.B