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Fender Bender

Date: Oct 08 2002

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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

Hi Friends!
Fall is here, which is difficult to believe! It seems like yesterday that summer was just beginning!
I like the fall season, especially seeing the leaves on the trees change color and fall to the ground. One thing I don’t enjoy though is the rain that usually starts to come down at this time of year, especially because it makes the dry Summer roads slick and scary to drive on!
Last night John actually saw a traffic accident. Listen to our conversation below as he tells me about it!

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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

Tanis

John

Tanis: Boy, the roads are getting slick now that uh, the rain started up again.

John: Yeah, last night I actually saw a car accident.

Tanis: Oh my gosh. No way. Were you driving, or were you walking?

John: I was just walking down the street.

Tanis: What happened?

John: Well, one car tried to pull out in front of another one, and the car that was coming down the street tried to put on its brakes. But it was too late and he slid right into the other one.

Tanis: Oh no. Did he, like, broadside ’em, or was it just a fender bender?

John: He kinda broadsided ‘em, but it was mostly in the back of the car. And he was going kinda slow so, it was just a little fender bender.

Tanis: Oh, well that’s good for the people who were inside.

John: Yeah, they got out of the car and they were fine, but what a pain to have to deal with insurance and all the rest of that stuff.

Tanis: Oh, I know. It’s just the worst feeling in the world when, when it’s inevitable that you’re going to hit and you know it, but… in that split second before you do… I, I just hate that feeling.

John: And then dealing with the insurance and your deductible and paying the money for your car to get repaired. It’s just a real headache.

Tanis: Tell me about it. Let’s both knock on wood that we don’t, uh, have any accidents this, this season.

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

Wow! It sounds like we should all be a bit more careful while driving! I am glad that I have not been in a car accident for several years now, and fortunately I have never been in a serious accident!
One thing that is interesting to note when listening to this conversation is that John mentions two times what a pain in the neck it is to have to deal with your insurance company after having an accident. What do you think this tells us about John? I would imagine that he may have had to recently deal with his auto insurance carrier, and may not have had a positive experience. I have actually never had to deal with my insurance company in this way, so I empathize with how the people driving the cars yesterday feel about being in an accident, as that is what I remember about having a fender bender!
I hope you all have a wonderful week and will catch you back here next Tuesday!
Your Friend,
Tanis