Please speak with normal velocity. Thank you very much for your help.
splinter
A splinter is a little piece of wood, metal or glass that dives under the skin, making a small wound that can cause big pain. Splinter is also a verb:
John watched the wine glass splinter into a thousand pieces on the stone floor.
Sliver can be used interchangeably, but only as a noun:
I haven't sanded that board yet, so watch out for slivers.
The board is rough. Later it will be sanded using sandpaper. Then it will be smooth - and free of slivers.
If you are lucky, a bit of your splinter will remain exposed. That way you can pull it out with a tweezers. If not, you will have to sterilise a pin or needle and try to dig it out.
long-distance
As can be seen in the text, this is a type of telephone call. The longer the distance, the more it costs. The opposite of long-distance is local:
May I use the phone please? Yes, it's just a local call.
The cheapest call of all is to an 800-number. In the U.S. the area code 800 has been dedicated to toll-free telephone numbers nation-wide. Other area codes connect you to the various parts of the country.
You can pay by having the phone company send you a bill, by credit card or telephone card, by long-distance cash card, or by calling collect, in which case the person who receives the call agrees to pay for the call. A collect call is called a trunk call in the UK. So look out when the operator says:
I have a collect call from David Goliath. Will you accept the charges?
