20091128 I Bought It From a Vending Machine (1)

I Bought It From a Vending Machine

Vending machines don't just sell junk food anymore

For years now, vending machines have offered convenience and comfort to rushed travelers, students and business people alike. But at a vending machine in the Mondrian South Beach Hotel in Miami, Florida, guests can get much more than toothbrushes and snack foods.

The Mondrian Semi-Automatic, a $250,000 high-end vending machine, offers 90 items ranging in price from $5 to $1.2 million. Among other things, the Semi-Automatic peddles T-shirts, consumer electronics and dinner cruises.

The giant purple and white machine holds rows of shiny, white boxes. The machine also has two small screens that let customers view images and details of each product. To make a purchase, customers swipe a credit card and make a selection.

For larger items, the machine issues cards that can be exchanged for the purchases at the hotel's front desk. The largest items - such as cars and condominiums - require a non-refundable $1,500 deposit. Once the deposit has been paid, staff take customers to view their item before they make the final purchase.

So don't be surprised the next time you ask someone where she got her designer dress and she says, "I bought it from a vending machine."


vendor n.
=> a person that sell things

vending machine n.
=> a machine that you put your money into, push a buttom and something come out of it
eg: Ted is angry because the vending machine took his money - again.

peddle v. 叫賣/兜售
=> try to sell you something
eg: The shops in the market peddle a variety of local foods.
eg: Vacuum cleaner salesmen peddle from door to door(挨家挨戶) trying to sell their product.
eg: The drup dealer was arrested last weekend for peddling drugs to an undercover police officer(假扮買家的警察).

swipe v. 刷卡的動作
swipe swiped swiped swiping
swipe a credit card 刷卡
eg: To get onto the train, passengers need to swipe their tickets at the gate.
eg: All you have to do to enter the office building is swipe your ID card.
eg: The clerk swiped the credit card several times but it was continuously rejected.

refundable adj. 可以退還的
eg: The apartment deposit is only refundable for two weeks. After that you can't get your money back.

non-refundable adj. 不可退還的/不可償還的
=> you cannot get your money back
eg: Charlene can return the bottled water to the store, but the fruit is non-refundable.
eg: The applicantion fee is non-refundable whether you're accepted or not.

condominium n. 【美】各戶有獨立產權的公寓(大廈)
=> a place that you would live, kind of like a apartment

//== Chat room ==//

semi-
=> 來自拉丁語指"half"
=> used to mean partly
=> 表示一半或是部份的
eg: semi-chocolate
eg: semi-finals 準決賽
eg: semi-automatic 半自動的
eg: semi-sweet 微甜的

bi-
=> twice or every two
=> 兩次或是每兩個
=> 如果要避免混淆則
=> 每週兩次最好用 semiweekly
=> 兩週一次最好用 every two weeks
eg: biweekly 兩週一次或是每週兩次

monthly 每個月一次地
semimonthly 每個月兩次地

//== Grammer on the go ==//

Among other things, the Semi-Automatic peddles T-shirts, consumer electronics and dinner cruises.

among other things 除了別的以外

eg: The art exhibition was, among other things, a very creative expression of the artist's interpretation
of current events.

eg: Janie is responsible for many chores; she needs to do the dishes, mop the floor, and take out the trash,
among other things.

//== Did You Know ==//

How old is the vending machine? Believe it or not, the first document vending dates back to about 215 B.C., when the mathematician hero invented a device that accepted bronze coins and dispensed holy wather in the temples of Alexandria, Egypt. In A.D. 1076, Chinese inventors developed a coin-operated pencil vendor. Coin-activated tobacco boxes appeared in English taverns during 1700s.


dispense v. 分配/分發/施給

tavern n. 小酒館/小客棧