18. Disputing the Bill

Exercise 1 Practice reading the following words and word combinations. Be sure in their pronunciation. Learn them by heart.

amenities bill	cчет за услуги
to owe	быть должным
This is outrageous!	Это возмутительно!
bear with me a moment	потерпите меня немного
to overrule	опровергать
highway robbery	разбой, грабеж
to get a good mind to do smth.	иметь намерение сделать ч-л.
a rip-off	грабеж
to blame	винить
to stick a gun in the ribs	воткнуть пистолет в ребра

Exercise 2 Learn the following dialogues

1

 A: My amenities bill says that I owe $10 for a movie, but I never ordered one. B: Let's see. It says that you were charged Monday at 9:00 p.m. for the movie "Titanic." A: That's absolutely wrong! I was out exploring the city Monday night. B: Okay, let me see what I can do. A: Thank you. I didn't think it would be this simple. B: I can take the $10 off your bill, but I need to charge you $2 for the service. A: Are you serious? I have to pay $2 for a movie I never watched? B: Unfortunately, sir, it's how the computer is programmed. A: This is outrageous! I'm never coming back to this hotel again! B: I'm sorry, sir. Perhaps you'd like to write a letter to headquarters. 2

A: I just discovered that I owe $10 for a movie that I never ordered. B: Let me check, sir. You were charged for watching "Titanic" Monday night. A: That is absolutely incorrect! I was out on the town Monday night. B: Okay, sir, bear with me a moment. A: Thank you for taking my word over the computer's word. B: One slight problem, sir. I need to charge you $2 to remove this error from your file. A: You can't be serious. You're making me pay $2 for a movie I never watched? B: I feel your pain, sir. A: Absolutely unbelievable! You people should be ashamed of yourselves.  B: I agree with you, sir, but all I do is work here. 3

A: You guys are charging me $10 for a movie that I never ordered or saw. B: Let's see, sir. According to your file, you watched "Titanic" Monday evening. A: The wrong information is in my file. I was at a concert Monday night. B: Well, your word overrules the file, sir. One moment, please. A: I knew you'd see it my way. B: Sir, I deleted the $10, but I had to add a $2 service charge to your bill. A: Am I in the Twilight Zone? You're charging me for a movie I never saw? B: Please don't blame me, sir. Blame the computer programmer. A: This is highway robbery. I've got a good mind to call the police! B: If it makes you feel any better, other guests feel the same way. 4

 A: Why am I being charged $10 for a movie that I never ordered? B: Sir, according to your file, you spent Monday evening watching "Titanic." A: The file is wrong. I was at a great concert that night. B: Well, this wouldn't be the first time that a file was wrong. Just a moment, please. A: Thank you for taking care of it so quickly. B: Sir, when I deleted the $10, the program automatically added a $2 service charge. A: You can't do that! You can't charge me for a mistake that you made! B: Sometimes you can't win for losing, sir. A: Now I've seen it all! What a rip-off this place is! B: I don't blame you, sir. Two dollars is a lot of money. 5

 A: I need to know why I'm being charged $10 for a movie that I never ordered. B: Hmm. Your file shows that you watched "Titanic" Monday night. A: Monday night? Monday night I was at a great concert. B: Well, as they say, garbage in, garbage out. Let me correct this error, please. A: Thank you. It's very nice when problems can be solved quickly. B: When I deleted the $10, the computer automatically added a $2 service charge. A: Are you crazy? You made the mistake and now you're charging me for your mistake? B: Sir, if it makes you feel any better, the $2 service fee used to be $5. A: Why don't you just stick a gun in my ribs and take everything I have? B: Unfortunately, sir, you'll have to pay the $2, whether you like it or not.

Exercise 3 Render the contents of the dialogue in indirect speech with the use of the highlighted words.

Exercise 4 Give all possible answers to the given phrases:

1) – I need to know why I'm being charged $10 for a movie that I never ordered.

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2) – I can take the $10 off your bill, but I need to charge you $2 for the service.

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3) – Okay, sir, bear with me a moment.

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