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Learn English with this traffic English lesson

Date: Nov 21 2018

Themes: Travel

Grammar: Second Conditional

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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You’re cruising down the freeway when suddenly you see a long line of red lights ahead. You hit the brakes, your car stops, and you wait. And wait. And wait. You’re stuck in a traffic jam.

It’s nice to own a car, but planning trips around traffic can be tough. If you try to drive across town when everyone is leaving work, it will take twice as long. That’s why some people would rather ride bikes. They can avoid congested roads during rush hour and get exercise, too!

Find out how Amanda and Mason handle traffic in this English lesson.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amanda

Amanda

Mason

Mason

Amanda:  Well, it took me 90 minutes to get here to meet you. That was fun.

Mason:  Seriously? How far do you drive?

Amanda:  Well, it was about 18 miles away, and I sat in rush hour traffic and went about 7 miles per hour.

Mason:  That is terrible. Don’t you get road rage doing that?

Amanda:  If it weren’t for music, I would probably lose it.

Mason:  That’s really why I ride my bike most of the time. Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to get there, but in times like that, I’m going to get there faster than you and I’m going to feel like I did something positive along the way. I got a little exercise.

Amanda:  I completely agree, and I’m open to trying it. However, I don’t own a bike, I don’t know how to ride a bike, and I don’t know any of the rules.

Mason:  The big thing with the rules are you’ve got to be careful when it’s congested out, when there’s a lot of traffic. Basically never assume that you have the right of way. Always assume someone’s probably going to hit you. Not because they’re a bad person, just because they’re not paying attention.

Amanda:  Now are you one of those obnoxious, pushy bike riders?

Mason:  Absolutely not. Those people are the worst, and they give bike riding a bad name for all of us.

Amanda:  I agree. It makes me want to flip them off.

Mason:  Almost worse than being mad at other drivers because you might just do something to the poor guy on a bike.

Amanda:  The only thing that I dislike about being stuck in traffic is I find myself talking to myself all the time. And then you look over, and you see that someone’s been watching you. Embarrassing.

Mason:  Awesome.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Amanda tells Mason about the terrible traffic she was in. It seems pretty normal for her, though. She says listening to music helps keep her calm when she’s stuck in a long line of cars.

Mason likes to ride his bike everywhere. Not only does he avoid rush hour traffic, he also gets some exercise along the way.

Amanda would maybe ride a bike, too, if she had one. But she’d have to learn the rules of the road first. Mason says there are not many rules. Just watch out for all the cars!

Do you ride your bike or prefer to drive? What is traffic like where you live? Are there special rules for people on bikes?

 

Comments

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TangJun815

TangJun815

China

I live in Chengdu China. There traffic is congested. Rush hour of every day, driving car is very difficult, you must carefully if you don’t want to crash other cars. I prefer ride bike or by bus. I think It Should be better, I can control my time. Don’t spend your time, Free your hands.

09:20 AM Dec 10 2018 |

1 person likes this

sainijitu979

India

No, I neither possess licence nor I am driving the car or bike on roads. In peak ours we can aspect huge traffic across the town otherwise traffic is not a issue of concern. There are number of seperate rules in my city to ride the bike such as helmet for rider and passenger, lane changing rule, parking rules etc. In addition to that, one should have specific two wheeler driving licence to ride a bike.

05:16 PM Nov 25 2018 |

1 person likes this

GWTA

GWTASuper Member!

Germany

I live in a rural area there the traffic is relaxed 

03:43 PM Nov 21 2018 |

1 person likes this

maryamnl

maryamnl

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i prefer ride bike but there is no dedicated bike path in my country and it wouldnt be safe for riding bike.


traffic is congested in rush houre in some of streets in my city


09:36 AM Nov 21 2018 |

1 person likes this

digidigdigidig

Antarctica

If I had an opportunity not to drive, I would do it. However bike riding  is boring and waste more times. If you want to do exercise , you have more options of good quality. In this day and age, Time is vital significance Thus, everyone make hurry to keep up with somethings.

07:48 AM Nov 21 2018 |

1 person likes this

sara1998

sara1998

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Well,those who are on bikes have their own ways and no car can pass from that way.


I prefer to ride bicycle because not only there’s no traffic and it helps your health ,but also i enjoy it!


:)

07:20 AM Aug 25 2014 |

1 person likes this

fabsir

fabsir

Brazil

I used to drive to work everyday. Then I and another 15 coworkers who live in the same neighbourhood hired the services of a commuter van to take us to and from work. We all chip in so we pay less for commuting. But traffic over here is a huge problem during rush hour. It´s always congested. We´ve got bike lanes but not many parts of town have them so they still have a lot of work to do adding more bike lanes and making it a habit over here because not many people bike to work or ride a bike to run errands or go where they want to go.

02:34 PM Feb 07 2014 |

1 person likes this

mukh

mukh

Jordan

traffic is the most horrible thing that you can face, waiting in your car doing nothing and watching the people who violate the law without any respect to others just for their benifit drive me crazy so i prefer to drive longer rather than waiting in my car, so sometimes I drive 7-10 Km more just to avoid traffic.

08:33 PM Dec 08 2013 |

1 person likes this

Staisy

Staisy

Russian Federation

I feel happy when driving my car, as it has been my dream for a long time.


But I avoid freeways and congested roads during rush hour, as I am not smart  enough to drive there yet. And there are  some things, which make me scared- big  trucks, for example, cruising close to me or going behind me,  or when suddenly  other drivers cut me off. I hope to overcome it soon to feel myself free on road.  I want it so much.

07:10 AM Nov 30 2013 |

1 person likes this

ahmet55

ahmet55

Germany

Since the beginning of car innovation nobody was thought about traffic jam. But nowedays our main problem in big cities and specially capitals in everywhere is the traffic issue and everyone wants to handle it somehow. No matter who says what indeed, finding light traffic is unusual these days. Car accidents are ordinary news in gazettes and listening crushes and closed highways or bridges could be relized by radio. Some people who involve in it so much prefer to use other vehicles or maybe decide to change their work places, anyway. Always I see road rages among people of course not include me bcz i just flip them off. When I hear on moving smooth traffic i find myself happy. 

05:08 PM Nov 21 2013 |

1 person likes this

Fernandinha

Brazil

My house is near my work, supermarket, drug stores, banks, etc. so I don’t need to drive a car to go to these places. Thank’s God! I am used to walk and I go there on foot.


In my city the traffic is terrible. It would take me more time going to work by car than on foot. Because of this terrible traffic, many local residents are riding bikes. There is byclicle path for them in some areas, but the drivers still don’t respect it.

05:24 PM Nov 20 2013 |

roze1997

roze1997

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

luckily in my city never there is heavy traffic


i think it made me crazy because i never like to wait :)

04:34 PM Nov 20 2013 |

1 person likes this

Chanella_13

Indonesia

at the past time, when i lived in Situbondo, i seldom met terrible traffics. And now I lived in jember, I never ever met it yet.

03:01 PM Nov 20 2013 |

maoukil

Germany

I live in a small town (Erlangen) in Germany. However during rush hour trafic, there is more trafic than else. Fortunately there are a special routes for bikes, so it’s no probleme to drive in a congested trafic or to get road rage.

01:56 PM Nov 20 2013 |

1 person likes this

nurhakim

nurhakim

Indonesia

live in Jakarta almost make me crazy. bacause every where and every time we gets the terrible traffic. it was so congsted.

01:08 AM Nov 19 2013 |

Mystical_Pal

Turkey

Well, I would prefer to ride a bike however as Mason mentined above, riding a bike is one of the points that needs to be taken into consideration when it’s congested out because drivers can be inattentive due to some cases that they had during the day and they might not see you while you’re riding the bike. Besides, there’s not a particular cycle path for cycling, therefore I prefer to go on foot as it’s the best way not to get stuck in the traffic. 

09:57 PM Nov 18 2013 |

Ngubo Sixtus

South Africa

i do like this lesson. i do go on rush hour traffic. it’s not a good time if you are hurry

05:50 PM Nov 18 2013 |

3 people like this

SÉRGIO

SÉRGIO

Brazil

i think it’s a big problem! We all have cars, but we don’t have planning streets enough! i’d really change my car for my bike to go work, if we had rules and structure for them! but i think it seems not to be interesting for big car companies!!

05:05 PM Nov 18 2013 |

3 people like this

 julito

julito

Argentina

Stop the world i want to get off !!!,now  you  might ask why ? , the culprit is none other that  the inferno  that I get into whenever i have to get around  in my city, either by car or bus. Congested avenues , streets  , to top it off  , parking spaces available  in the street  are so scarce that  to find one is like hitting the jackpot . An option is  to get around  by bicycle   , we have bikes lanes on that purpose, however few people  make use of them. In my country rarely people will point fingers , instead they prefer to insult  fourteen generations in your family… so to speak…...   what a pity , where are old times good manners.

04:21 PM Nov 18 2013 |

3 people like this

shmily87

China

Actually,in my city the traffic is not that bad, so  I prefer to be a good driver, if i have license. Because i always miss my bus. It’s painful. And riding bike, you know, it’s not a good choice in my city, because the environmental problem is really serious. If you ride bike to work everyday, you are definitely pushing your life to the death. 

03:10 PM Nov 18 2013 |

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