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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

1

GLOSSARY

traffic report – information about how quickly cars are moving on different
streets and freeways, especially on the radio
* According to the traffic report, it might take us two hours to get out of the city.

detour – an alternative route, especially around an area with a lot of construction
* The city is replacing sewer pipes on main street, so we’ll have to take this
detour.

commute – one’s drive or travel to and from work; the route between one’s
home and workplace
* Would you consider moving into a condo downtown to shorten your commute?

slowdown – a situation where cars are moving very slowly, usually because too
many cars are trying to drive along the same road
* Heavy rain can cause a major slowdown on the freeway.

overturned – flipped over; with the bottom facing up and the top resting on the
ground
* Their home was broken into, and when they got home they found that all the
tables and chairs had been overturned.

big rig – a large truck used for transporting goods long distances; a tractor-
trailer; a semi-trailer truck
* Bob drives a big rig, taking food from farms to huge warehouses.

to block – to not allow passage or access; to be in the way of something so that
nothing else can get through
* Could you please sit down? You’re blocking my view of the stage.

number two lane – the line of cars immediately to the right of the left-most lane
(the fast lane, where cars drive at the highest speeds)
* Why is that car in the fast lane? If it’s going to drive that slowly, it should move
into the number two lane and let us pass.

congestion – traffic that is moving very slowly or not at all, because there are
too many cars on a particular road
* There’s always a lot of congestion early in the morning and late in the
afternoon, when people are driving to and from work.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

2

down to – reduced to; decreased to; limited to
* It’s only the 25

th

, but we’re already down to our last $50 until payday.

lane – the space between two painted lines on a freeway, designed for one line
of cars to travel in
* Is that driver drunk? He’s swerving in and out of the lane.

pileup – a crash involving more than two vehicles
* Did you hear about the horrible pileup caused by a speeding driver?

emergency vehicle – a police car, ambulance, or fire truck
* Where are all those emergency vehicles going? Is there a fire somewhere?

to respond – for an emergency vehicle to go to the scene of an accident or
emergency
* We called 9-1-1 almost 20 minutes ago. Why haven’t the police responded yet?

surface street – a less important street where traffic moves more slowly, used to
access homes and businesses; not a freeway, highway, or expressway
* When there’s a lot of traffic on the freeway, we can often get home more quickly
on surface streets.

stalled – a car that will not move because something is wrong with the engine or
other mechanical part
* When Sharon’s car stalled in the middle of the intersection, we had to get out
and push it to the side of the road.

construction – the process of making new buildings and roads
* As soon as the city decided to host the Olympics, they started a lot of new
construction projects.

no-win situation – a situation that does not have any good outcomes; a situation
where one must make a decision or choice, but cannot get what one wants
* If we say yes to the client, we’ll have far too much work to do, but if we say no
we risk losing them to our competitor. It’s a no-win situation.

gridlock – a traffic jam; a situation where cars are not able to move because
there are too many cars on the street
* Immediately after the earthquake, the entire downtown area was in gridlock as
people tried to leave the city.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

3

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is there a slowdown on I-35 north?
a) Because there was an accident.
b) Because the road has been closed for repair.
c) Because there is heavy traffic.

2. He can spend two hours at work or two hours…
a) …looking for an alternative route.
b) …traveling in very slow traffic.
c) …complaining about the traffic report.

______________


WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

slowdown
The word “slowdown,” in this podcast, means a situation where cars are moving
very slowly, usually because too many cars are trying to drive along the same
road: “Bad weather caused a major slowdown on all the major freeways.” The
word “slowdown” also means a reduction in some activity: “Will an economic
slowdown really affect cell phone manufacturers?” A “slowpoke” is someone who
does something too slowly, especially someone who is moving too slowly: “Come
on, slowpoke, we have to be there in 10 minutes!” Finally, someone who is “slow-
witted” is stupid or at least unable to understand things quickly: “Kenji is so slow-
witted that we had to explain the new process to him at least five times before he
understood it.”

stalled
In this podcast, the word “stalled” describes a car that will not move because
something is wrong with the engine or other mechanical part: “If you see a stalled
car on the side of the road, do you stop to offer assistance?” The verb “to stall”
means to procrastinate or delay so that one does not have to do something right
away: “Stop stalling and finish up the report so we don’t have to worry about it
anymore.” The verb “to stall” also means to make something or someone wait
until someone is ready: “The presenter is stuck in traffic. Can you stall the client
until she gets here?” Finally, as a noun, a “stall” is a small, enclosed area inside
a building: “Olivia’s horse is in the third stall in the red barn.” Or, “How many
stalls are in the women’s bathroom?”

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

4

CULTURE NOTE

Traffic Information

Traffic reporters need to have “up-to-the-minute” (updated; current; timely)
information about the traffic, and they have developed several “methods” (ways
of doing something) to get that information.

Many TV stations and radio stations use helicopters to observe traffic from the
air. This lets reporters quickly identify where traffic is stalled and which
“alternative” (other) routes are available. Reporters can also “eavesdrop” (listen
to something without participating) on police radio. This lets them hear about
accidents and road closures as they are “occurring” (happening), in “real time”
(when something happens, not later).

There are also many electronic methods that don’t rely on individuals. For
example, some traffic “sensors” (electronic devices that measure something and
send signals about it) are placed in the “pavement” (the hard surface of a road),
and they can measure the number of cars that pass over a certain point in a
certain amount of time. The sensor “reads” (information coming from the
sensors) can be used to calculate the average speed and the “density” (the
number of cars in a given area) of the cars on that road.

“Heavily used streets” (streets that have a lot of traffic) and busy “intersections”
(places where roads cross each other) are often “monitored” (observed; watched)
by traffic cameras, so reporters can view the “video footage” (recorded images)
to “assess” (measure and evaluate) the current traffic conditions.

Finally, some reporters ask individuals to help them improve their reporting.
Individuals are “encouraged” (asked to do something) to “call in” (call a radio
station with information) when they see an accident or another source of traffic
congestion. Some news programs even have “smart phone apps” (application
designed for phones that can access the Internet) that people can use to report
traffic “hang-ups” (problems that cause traffic to slow down).

______________

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

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

5

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 903: Listening to a
Traffic Report.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 903. I'm your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is ESLPod.com. Go there. Become a member. Download a Learning
Guide for this episode.

This episode is a story about listening to the traffic report – a report about how
the traffic is on the freeways and roads in your city. Let's get started.

[start of story]

Every afternoon before I leave work, I listen to the traffic report to see if I should
take my usual route home or make a detour. So today, like every day, I turned
on my radio.

“It’s a tough commute today if you’re traveling on I-35 north. There’s a major
slowdown due to an overturned big rig that’s blocking the number two lane.”

Oh no. That meant that I had to take the 40W instead.

“If you’re traveling on the 40W, you’ll find a lot of congestion. It’s down to one
lane because of a pileup. Emergency vehicles are responding.”

Wow, that meant I might have to take surface streets all the way home.

“And if you’re thinking of taking Broadway Boulevard west from downtown, think
again. There is a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane and construction all the
way to Main Street.”

Well, I was in a no-win situation. Do I want to spend two hours in gridlock or two
more hours at work?

[end of story]

Our story begins when I say that every afternoon before I leave work, before I
leave my job, I listen to the traffic report. The “traffic report” is information about

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

6

how fast cars are moving on different streets and freeways. Usually, people listen
to the traffic report on the radio in their car. They turn on the radio and there are
certain radio stations that frequently give you a traffic report. Here in Los
Angeles, because traffic is always so bad, because we have so many cars, there
are a couple of stations that give traffic reports every five to 10 minutes
throughout the entire day. So, within five or 10 minutes of getting in your car, you
can hear what the road conditions are. That is how much traffic there is on the
road.

I said that, “I listen to the traffic report to see if I should take my usual route
home” – my usual way of going from my office to my home – “or make a detour.”
A “detour” (detour) is when you go a different way than you would normally go,
either because there are problems on the road – there's a lot of traffic, for
example – or because the road is closed due to construction, because they're
fixing or building it. You can't drive on it, so you have to take a detour. You have
to take another road that will get you to the same place although, usually, it will
take longer. I say that “Today, like every day, I turned on my radio.”

Next, we hear the voice of the person who is giving the traffic report. I've always
wanted to be the person on the radio giving the traffic report. Maybe someday I
will be able to get that job. It's kind of an interesting job here in Los Angeles
because the traffic reporters – the people who tell you how the traffic is doing –
often are in helicopters and they’re flying around the city looking down at the
freeways and the streets to see how the traffic is doing, whether it is crowded or
not. So, it's kind of an exciting job, at least here in Los Angeles.

The traffic reporter says, “It's a tough” – or difficult – “commute today if you're
traveling on I-35 North.” Your “commute” (commute) is the trip between your
home and your office, and your office and your home. That time traveling, that
act of traveling, typically in a car, is what we call your “commute.” “It's a tough
commute,” the announcer, the reporter says, “if you're traveling” – if you are
going on – “I-35 North.” The “I” stands for “interstate.” In the United States, we
have the most important, the largest highways and freeways as part of something
called the interstate highway system. I-35 North would be a freeway that I just
happen to know, runs in the middle of the United States through my home state
of Minnesota. I-35 North would be the people who were traveling north on that
road.

The traffic announcer says there is a major, or a very serious – important –
slowdown. A “slowdown” – one word – is a situation where the cars are slowing
down but they're not stopped completely. They're still moving, but they're going
more slowly than they normally would. I say there is a major slowdown due to, or

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

7

because of, an overturned big rig. “To overturn something” is to flip it over, to
make the bottom be facing the top, and the top facing the bottom. “Overturned,”
when used in describing a car or a vehicle, means the car or the truck has turned
over, and now it is upside down. A “big rig” (rig) is a large truck. It's an informal
word we use to describe a very large truck that would, for example, carry things
from one city to another. It’s a very long truck. If the big rig overturned, that would
be very serious because, of course, it's a very big truck and it probably would
cause problems for people trying to drive on the road. In fact, this big rig is
blocking the number two lane.

“To block” (block) means not allow someone access, not allow someone to go
through a certain area. If the truck is blocking traffic, it's preventing other cars
from driving through that area. The truck is blocking the number two lane. A
“lane” (lane) is the area on a freeway or a road where the car drives. Some
freeways, most freeways, have more than one lane going in each direction so
you can have two cars traveling side-by-side, next to each other, going in the
same direction. In Los Angeles, some of our freeways have four, five or even six
lanes of cars – six lines of cars – going in the same direction. In many cities, at
least here in Los Angeles, the traffic reporters will number the lanes so you'll
know which lane they’re talking about. The number one lane is the lane that is
farthest to the left as you drive down the freeway. That's the lane where people
go fast. So, if you don't want to go fast, you should not be in the number one
lane. The number two lane, then, would be the lane next to the number one lane,
to the right of the number one lane, and then, of course, number three, number
four, and so forth, depending on their position on the freeway. So, this overturned
big rig is blocking the number two lane. It's blocking part of the freeway.

I then say, “Oh no. That meant that I had to take the 40W instead.” I had to take
another freeway. But then we hear the traffic reporter again telling us about the
problems on the other freeway, on the 40W. He says, “If you're traveling on the
40W, you'll find a lot of congestion.” “Congestion” is traffic that's moving very
slowly, cars that are moving very slowly. The reporters says that “its” – meaning
the freeway – “it's down to one lane because of a pileup.” “To be down to,”
means that it has been reduced to. It has been lowered to that number. You
might say, if you only have one dollar left in your pocket, “I'm down to one dollar,”
meaning the amount of money I have has been reduced to one dollar. I spent all
the rest of it buying coffee at Starbucks, or wherever. The freeway is down to one
lane because of a “pileup.” A “pileup” (pileup) – one word – is a crash involving
more than two cars or more than two vehicles. A pileup would be three or more
cars that have hit each other on the freeway or on a road somewhere, and are
blocking other people from driving by, or at least that's what typically happens.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

8

The traffic reporter says that, “Emergency vehicles are responding.” “Emergency
vehicles” refers to a police car, an ambulance – for people who are injured – or a
fire truck, if there's a fire. All of those are emergency vehicles – a police car, an
ambulance, or fire truck. When we say the emergency vehicles are responding,
we mean they're actually going to the scene, the place where the accident is, in
order to help. We talk about responders being people who, in an emergency, are
the first to go and help – the police men and women, the firemen and women,
and so forth.

I then say, “Wow. That meant I might have to take surface streets all the way
home.” Because the two freeways are congested, I say that I might have to take
surface streets. “Surface (surface) streets” are any roads, any boulevards, any
streets in a city, not including freeways, highways, and expressways. Those
three words all mean the same thing, really. “Surface streets” is anything but the
freeway. It's all of the other streets, not including the freeway or the highway.

The traffic report’s final announcement is that, “If you're thinking of taking,” of
driving on, “Broadway Boulevard west of downtown, think again,” meaning you
should reconsider your plans. You should come up with a better idea – “think
again.” “There is a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane.” “Stalled” (stalled) is an
adjective we use to describe a car that won't move because of some mechanical
problem. That's a stalled car. In this case, there is a stalled vehicle, which is just
a more general word for car or a truck, blocking the right lane and construction all
the way to Main Street. “Construction” here means they are building a new road
or fixing the road and you can't drive on it.

“Well,” I said, “I was in a no-win situation.” A “no-win situation” is a situation
where no matter what happens, it's going to be bad. It's a situation where
regardless of the decision you make, something bad will happen. I say, “Do I
want to spend two hours in gridlock or two more hours at work?” “Gridlock”
(gridlock) is a situation where there are so many cars that nobody can move or it
seems like nobody can move. The cars are all stopped because there are too
many cars on the road. That's “gridlock.” If I go home now, I'm going to be on the
road for two hours before I get home. The other option is to stay at work and
work later waiting for the traffic to die down, to reduce, to be less of a problem.
Neither of those are very good options for me, and that's why I say, “This is a no-
win situation.”

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

[start of story]

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 903 – Listening to a Traffic Report

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

9

Every afternoon before I leave work, I listen to the traffic report to see if I should
take my usual route home or make a detour. So today, like every day, I turned
on my radio.

“It’s a tough commute today if you’re traveling on I-35 north. There’s a major
slowdown due to an overturned big rig that’s blocking the number two lane.”

Oh no. That meant that I had to take the 40W instead.

“If you’re traveling on the 40W, you’ll find a lot of congestion. It’s down to one
lane because of a pileup. Emergency vehicles are responding.”

Wow, that meant I might have to take surface streets all the way home.

“And if you’re thinking of taking Broadway Boulevard west from downtown, think
again. There is a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane and construction all the
way to Main Street.”

Well, I was in a no-win situation. Do I want to spend two hours in gridlock or two
more hours at work?

[end of story]

She builds freeways to better English that are never congested, never blocked. I
speak poetically of our very own Dr. Lucy Tse. Thank you, Lucy.

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come
back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. Copyright 2013 by the Center for Educational
Development.