生沢浩の体育会式英語塾

Dean: What's that? D'you get a new mobile?

Amy: Yep, cool, isn't it? It's a smartphone.

Dean: . . .(1) Which is. . .?

Amy: Um, (2) I guess you could say that it's like a PC you can make phone calls on. It's got a built-in keyboard just like the one on a computer so it's really easy to use — especially when you want to write e-mails. It takes me forever to write e-mails using those buttons on a Japanese mobile. The same smartphone that I used to use back home just went on sale here so I thought, what the heck, why not get the same one.

Dean: How much did that cost you?

Amy: Ninety-eight thousand.

Dean: You paid that much money?!

Amy: Well, (3) compared to a normal mobile it is so much easier to browse the Web and besides, it'll come in real handy when you need Internet access, (4) say, if you're on the train or something and you don't have your PC around.

Dean: If you can afford it, that is. Bet the packet transmission charges> are gonna kill you.

Amy: Not really. See, these things can be used at wireless LAN access points too. So (5) when you need to connect to the Net, you can just go to a nearby hotspot and you won't be charged.

Dean: It seems pretty tricky to master though.

Amy: Probably because you're used to those local mobiles. Not me though. If only I had access to our wireless network at the office, then I could cut down on the amount of charges even more. . .

Dean: Um, but personal Web surfing is prohibited at the office, right?

Amy: Yeah, right. Thanks for the reminder. . .