2011年ESL之旅行交通购物 08 Dangerous Freeway Driving

 

08 Dangerous Freeway Driving

GLOSSARY

each way – in both directions; going somewhere and coming back; both halvesof a round-trip

* Kyoko’s commute is 45 minutes each way.

to get old – to become tiresome, boring, monotonous, and uninteresting

* Laura doesn’t like working as a customer service representative. She says thatlistening to people complain all the time gets old.

interminable – very long, uninteresting, and boring

* Doesn’t Professor Faber notice that almost half of the students fall asleepduring her interminable lectures?

to pass – to move around another car when driving, usually because one wantsto go faster than that car

* Trent drives 50 miles per hour on the freeway, so of course most other driverstry to pass him.

passing lane – the parallel area on the left-hand side of the road, separated bypainted lines, intended to be used by the fastest cars that want to move aroundslower cars, which should travel in the other parallel areas on the middle andright-hand side of the road

* Can you get a ticket for driving too slowly in the passing lane?

to tailgate – to follow another moving car very closely, leaving dangerously littlespace between the two cars

* Please stop tailgating the car in front of us! If the other driver slows down, youwon’t be able to brake quickly enough and we’ll get in an accident!

to weave – to change direction many times while moving, especially while drivingand changing lanes frequently

* Asu likes to ride a motorcycle because he can weave through heavy trafficmore easily than he can in a car.

back and forth – repeatedly going in one direction and then in the oppositedirection

* Look how everyone is swaying back and forth to the music.

what can I say – an informal phrase used when one is admitting that one’sactions are slightly bad or inappropriate, but one does not want to change thatbehavior

* I know smoking is bad for me, but what can I say? It helps me relax.

to keep (someone) from – to prevent someone from having or doing something;to not allow someone to have or do something

* How long are you going to try to keep your daughter from dating?

open road – the feeling of freedom one has when driving in an area with littletraffic

* Troy can’t wait to get his driver’s license so he can start to explore the openroad.

to encounter – to find or meet someone without planning to do so

* As a teacher, do you find it uncomfortable when encountering your studentsoutside of school, like in a grocery store?

drag race – an informal competition to see which car can go faster when bothcars are stopped at the beginning of the race, often at a stoplight

* This car accelerates really quickly, so I’m sure it could win a drag race.

to bird dog – to observe, watch, or monitor something very carefully

* Police officers have been bird dogging the suspect for weeks.

to speed up – to accelerate; to go faster; to do something more quickly; toincrease in speed

* They asked the taxi driver to speed up because they were worried they mightmiss their flight.

to overtake – to pass; to go past another car or person because one wants to gofaster

* It’s very dangerous to overtake another car on a curve because you can’t seewhether other cars are coming from the other direction.

to spice up – to make something more interesting and exciting

* Let’s spice up this party by putting on some dance music.

on the road – while traveling, especially by car

* I’ll be on the road next week, but you can reach me on my cell phone.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does he do when there is a slow-moving car in the passing lane?

a) He waits patiently for it to speed up.

b) He follows it very closely.

c) He honks his horn and yells.

2. What does he mean when he says, “I know how to spice up a boring drive”?

a) He likes to eat spicy food while driving.

b) He knows which routes are the least boring.

c) He knows how to entertain himself while driving.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to get old

The phrase “to get old,” in this podcast, means to become tiresome, boring,monotonous, and uninteresting: “I used to like that show, but now it’s getting old.

They need to add some new characters.” The phrase “the good old days” refersto a period of time in the past that one believes is better than today: “In the goodold days, we didn’t have television, cell phones, or the Internet, but life wassimple and we were happy.” The phrase “for old times’ sake” means to dosomething as a reminder of something fun or enjoyable one used to do: “Let’s goto the beach together one last time, for old times’ sake.” Finally, the phrase “tobe an old hand at” means to have experience doing something and to be good atit: “After 20 years of working in a mechanic’s shop, she’s an old hand at fixingcars.”

to pass

In this podcast, the verb “to pass” means to move around another car whendriving, usually because one wants to go faster than that car: “You can get aticket if you go faster than the speed limit while passing other cars.” The phrasalverb “to pass over” means to overlook someone or something, especially whensomeone was not given a raise or promotion: “Ingrid was really upset when shewas passed over for a promotion at work.” The phrase “to pass away” means todie: “Did you hear that her mother just passed away?” Finally, the phrase “topass the time of day with (someone)” means to spend time speaking withsomeone else in a friendly way: “I spent a few hours at Blake’s house, justpassing the time of day.”

CULTURE NOTE

Seatbelt Laws – “Click it or Ticket”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was created by the HighwaySafety Act of 1970. It tries to make people safer by “preventing” (not lettingsomething happen) “crashes” (car accidents). One of its most successfulprograms is the “Click It or Ticket” “campaign” (efforts to create some change inpeople or society).

The campaign “encourages” (tries to make something happen) people to weartheir “seatbelts” (two pieces of strong fabric that connect around one’s waist withmetal pieces while one is seated in a car, airplane, etc.). The campaign “warns”

(says something bad will happen) that people will get a “ticket” (a piece of paperfrom a police officer stating one has broken the law and needs to pay money as apunishment) unless they “click” (fasten; put together) their seatbelt.

The campaign uses a lot of advertising, both nationally and locally, to “raiseawareness” (make people more aware of something) of the need to wearseatbelts. The campaign’s “target audience” (the group of people a campaignwants to reach) is men ages 18-34, because they are the people who are leastlikely to wear seatbelts.

Most people believe the campaign “has been success” (has done what it issupposed to). Studies show that 83% of Americans “have heard of” (are familiarwith; recognize the name of) the campaign. Other studies have shown anincrease in seatbelt usage when there is a “mobilization” (increase in efforts andvisibility) of the Click It or Ticket campaign.

Nationally, the seat belt usage “rate” (percentage; frequency) is 85%.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 691: DangerousFreeway Driving.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 691. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Go to our website at eslpod.com to download a Learning Guide for this episodethat includes a complete transcript of everything we say. How do you get theLearning Guide? Well, you can become a member of ESL Podcast and get thatguide; just go to eslpod.com for more information.

This episode is called “Dangerous Freeway (or Highway) Driving.” Let’s getstarted.

[start of story]

I do a lot of driving in my job. You would think that driving several hours eachway would get old really fast, but I have ways of making an interminable driveseem much more exciting.

I like to drive fast on the freeways. I usually pass all of the slower cars by stayingin the passing lane. When there’s a slow-moving car in the passing lane, though,I tailgate it until the driver moves over to another lane. If the driver doesn’t moveover, I weave back and forth from one lane to another until I get around it. Whatcan I say? I just don’t like anyone to keep me from the open road.

Sometimes, I encounter another driver who likes to drive fast and we have a dragrace. I know how to bird dog the other car until I see a way to speed up andovertake it. That’s why I almost always win.

As you can see, I know how to spice up a boring drive. I hope to see you soon –on the road.

[end of story]

Our story begins with the person telling the story – not me, I don’t do a lot ofdriving in my job. But, the person in our story does a lot of driving. He says,“You would think that driving several hours each way would get old really fast.”

“Each way” is another way of saying in both directions, going somewhere and coming back. When you leave your house, go to your work, then leave yourwork at the end of the day and return to your house, we would call that a “roundtrip.” Well, this is both ways of the round trip, each way. “To get old” here meansto become boring, uninteresting, we might say “monotonous.” There are othermeanings of that expression, “get old.” Take a look at our Learning Guide forsome additional explanations.

So he says, “You would think (in other words, it would seem likely to you) thatdriving several hours each way would get old real fast, but I have ways of makingan interminable drive seem much more exciting.” “Interminable” (interminable)means very long, almost without an end; in fact, it does mean without an end.

But more generally, it means uninteresting, boring, very long. That’s the ideahere.

The narrator here, the person telling the story, says that he has ways of makingan interminable drive “seem” or appear much more exciting. How does he makeit more exciting? Well, he tells us. He says he likes to drive fast on thefreeways. The “freeway” is the same as the highway. In some parts of the U.S.,they call it an “expressway.” These are roads that are built that you can drivefast on, often you don’t even half to stop, especially if it’s what we call an“interstate” freeway. Those usually have no stops in them; you get on and off,but you don’t have stop signs or stop lights. He says he likes to drive fast on thefreeways, “I usually pass all of the slower cars by staying in the passing lane.”

“To pass” (pass) here means to drive your car around another car so that youcan be in front of them or ahead of them. “Pass” has many meanings in English;take a look, once again, at the Learning Guide for some more explanation.

So, he likes to pass all of these slower cars, the cars moving more slowly. Howdoes he pass them? He stays in the passing lane. “Lanes” are the areas on thefreeway where you have a line of cars driving. If it’s a two-lane freeway, thereare cars in one direction and cars in the other direction, only one section of theroad for each way. Of course, in most big cities, in fact in all of the United States,you will find four-lane freeways, with two lanes going each way, six-lanefreeways, eight-lane freeways, ten-lane freeways, and so forth. Here in SouthernCalifornia, some of our freeways probably have total 12 or 14 lanes, at least attheir widest section. However, there are only usually three or four lanes going ina single direction. In the United States the “passing lane,” the fastest lane is thelane that is farthest to the left. The left lane is the lane where faster cars travel;it’s sometimes called the “passing lane,” because that’s how you get around theslower moving cars in front of you. Here in Los Angeles, I’m not sure about othercities, we also number the lanes. The left-most lane, the passing lane, is thenumber one lane. Sometimes when there are accidents, they will announce on the news that there is an accident blocking the number four lane. That would bethe lane four over from left, and so forth.

Continuing on then, the narrator says that when there’s a slow-moving car in thepassing lane, in other words a car that is not going fast in the so-called fast laneor passing lane, he tailgates the car until the driver moves over to another lane.

“To tailgate,” here, means to follow another car too closely, meaning it’sdangerous. It’s used sometimes by drivers to indicate to the driver in front ofthem that they need them or want them to move over. Tailgating a car can bevery dangerous, as well as illegal. There’s another meaning of “tailgate,” andthat is to have a party – have a celebration where you eat and especially whereyou drink before a sporting event. You drive your car to the parking lot, and thenyou have a little party outside of the stadium before you go in. That’s called“tailgating.” The reason is is that when you have a big station wagon, a long car,the back door is called the “tailgate door,” or simply the “tailgate,” and that’swhere the expression, I think, comes from. We used to tailgate at baseballgames and soccer games when I was a boy, many years ago.

The narrator says, “If the driver doesn’t move over,” doesn’t move to the numbertwo lane, next to the number one or fast lane, he weaves back and forth from onelane to another. “To weave” (weave) here means to change lanes many differenttimes in order to go faster. So, there’s a slow car in front of you, you move overto the next lane, and then there’s another slow car, you move back to thatoriginal lane, and so forth. In California, where we have many lanes going ineach direction, it’s a little easier for you to do; people do it all the time, weaveback and forth. But of course, it can also be dangerous if you are weaving, ormoving at a high speed.

The narrator says, “What can I say?” That expression, an informal one, meansthat you are saying that what you do is not good, is bad, or is inappropriate,perhaps even dangerous, but that you are not going to change the way you act.

You might say, “What can I say? I know smoking is bad for me, but I’m going tocontinue to smoke.” That’s not a personal example; I don’t smoke, but someonewho does could say that. So he says, “What can I say? I just don’t like anyoneto keep me from the open road.” “To keep (someone) from (someone else orsomething)” means to prevent that person from having or doing something, notallow them to have or do something. “The father kept his son from driving,because the son was not a very good driver.” He did not allow him – give himpermission to drive.

The narrator doesn’t like anyone keeping him from the open road. “The openroad” is the idea that you can drive fast down the freeway, and there are very few other cars around you. Here, he’s referring to slow moving cars, if youremember. He’s trying to get around them so he can move fast. Some peoplelike the feeling of driving fast. He says, “Sometimes, I encounter (that is, I meet)another driver who likes to drive fast and we have a drag race.” A “drag (drag)race” is an informal competition to see which car can go fast enough. If you’vewatched a movie about the 1950s and 60s in the United States, you may haveseen a drag race, where two high school boys will be in their cars and they willrace to see who is the fastest. That’s a “drag race.” More commonly, perhaps,two usually young male drivers will be next to each other at a stop light, and theywill race each other to the next stop light or to wherever they’re going.

The narrator says, “I know how to bird dog the other car until I see a way tospeed up and overtake it.” “To bird dog” (two words) means to observe, towatch, to monitor something very carefully. He bird dogs, or watches the othercar until he sees a way, sees a manner in which he can speed up. “To speed up”

means to go faster; “to accelerate,” we could also say. He speeds up and heovertakes the other car. “To overtake (someone)” means to go faster than themso that you are in front of them. You were behind them before, but now you go infront of them because you are moving faster. That’s why, he says, he almostalways wins these drag races, because he’s able to speed up and overtake theother car.

Finally he says, “As you can see, I know how to spice up a boring drive.” “Tospice up” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning here to make something moreexciting, to make something more interesting. “Spice” is what you add to foodthat gives it a different taste, or perhaps for certain kinds of food makes it hotter –hotter in taste, not necessarily temperature. So, he spices up his boring drive.

He ends by saying, “I hope to see you soon – on the road.” “On the road” meansin your car while you are traveling. Of course, most of us hope that we don’t seethis kind of dangerous driver on the road, or anywhere else. That’s whathappens when you get older, you realize just how dangerous you were when youwere younger!

Now let’s listen to the story, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

I do a lot of driving in my job. You would think that driving several hours eachway would get old really fast, but I have ways of making an interminable driveseem much more exciting.

I like to drive fast on the freeways. I usually pass all of the slower cars by stayingin the passing lane. When there’s a slow-moving car in the passing lane, though,I tailgate it until the driver moves over to another lane. If the driver doesn’t moveover, I weave back and forth from one lane to another until I get around it. Whatcan I say? I just don’t like anyone to keep me from the open road.

Sometimes, I encounter another driver who likes to drive fast and we have a dragrace. I know how to bird dog the other car until I see a way to speed up andovertake it. That’s why I almost always win.

As you can see, I know how to spice up a boring drive. I hope to see you soon –on the road.

[end of story]

Our scripts never get old. Even after writing hundreds and hundreds ourscriptwriter, Dr. Lucy Tse, spices them up and keeps them interesting.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan – not very interesting. But Ithank you for listening and hope that you’ll listen to us again here on ESLPodcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2011 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.