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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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1

GLOSSARY

to test drive – to drive a car that is for sale to determine whether one likes it and
wants to buy it
* We can’t afford a Porsche, but it’s fun to test drive one anyway.

prospective – potential; possible; with the possibility of becoming a customer or
client
* Is it better to spend our time and other resources on building relationships with
current clients, or trying to find potential clients?

driver’s license – a small card issued by the government that officially gives one
permission to drive a car
* The police officer asked to see Michel’s driver’s license, vehicle registration,
and proof of insurance.

driver’s seat – the chair where the driver of a car sits while driving
* From the driver’s seat, the driver can reach all the controls for the car, the
heating system, and the radio.

passenger seat – the chair where a passenger sits next to the driver, not in the
back
* If nobody else is riding the car, Chelsea usually puts her purse and jacket on
the passenger seat so she can reach them while driving.

to buckle up – to fasten one’s seatbelt; to put on the strap that holds one’s body
onto the seat in a car or airplane
* For safety, Zeida never starts her car until all the passengers have buckled up.

block – a square or rectangular area of land surrounded by four streets
* To get to the pharmacy, walk down the next two blocks and then turn left.

farther – at a great distance away; involving a bigger distance
* Do you think you can run farther than 10 miles without stopping?

to get a feel for – to become familiar with something; to understand what
something is like
* Heather took an introductory class in Korean just to get a feel for the language.

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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driving style – the way in which one drives, especially referring to how quickly
and aggressively one drives
* Kyle has a courteous driving style, and he always lets cars pass in front of him
and stops to let pedestrians cross the street.

to put the pedal to the metal – to push the accelerator with one’s foot so that a
car goes very fast
* We’re late! Put the pedal to the metal and let’s go!

to put (something) through its paces – to use a machine or vehicle to its
maximum capacity or limits to determine what or how much it can do
* Let’s put this robot through its paces and see if it can really do everything the
engineers say it can do.

recklessly – carelessly; without caution; without worrying about dangers to
oneself or other people
* Teenage boys have to pay more for automobile insurance because the
insurance companies believe they often drive recklessly.

car lot – the paved, open area of a car dealership, where cars that are for sale
are parked so that buyers can see them
* The northern part of the car lot has new cars, and the southern part has used
cars.

tires screeching – for the tires of a car to make a loud, high-pitched sound
because they are accelerating very quickly
* With tires screeching, the bank robbers left the bank.

nauseous – feeling as if one will vomit (throw up); with an upset stomach and
possibly some dizziness
* About an hour after eating that fish, we all felt nauseous.

racecar driver – a person who drives sports cars very quickly in competitions to
see who can finish the racecourse first
* Racecar drivers wear helmets, goggles, and fireproof clothing to protect
themselves in case they crash into something.

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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3

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Leah mean when she says, “Buckle up”?
a) Put on your seatbelt.
b) Adjust the mirrors.
c) Look carefully before backing up.

2. How does Leah feel after the test drive?
a) She’s worried that he isn’t going to buy the car.
b) She wants to buy the car herself.
c) She feels like she might throw up.

______________


WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to buckle up
The phrase “to buckle up,” in this podcast, means to fasten one’s seatbelt, or to
put on the strap that holds one’s body onto the seat in a car or airplane: “Do the
police officers really give tickets to people who don’t buckle up?” The phrase “to
buckle down” means to start working very hard: “Final exams are in just two
weeks. It’s time to buckle down and really study.” The verb “to buckle” means to
bend, especially under a lot of weight or pressure: “Charles was so nervous
about his presentation that his knees buckled as he walked onto the stage.” Or,
“The earthquake caused all the bridge supports to buckle.” Finally, the phrase “to
buckle under pressure” means to do something that one doesn’t want, because
the situation was too extreme: “The senator finally buckled under pressure from
his constituents and decided to support the law.”

car lot
In this podcast, the phrase “car lot” means the paved, open area of a car
dealership, where cars that are for sale are parked so that buyers can see them:
“Are any of the newest models on the car lot yet?” A “parking lot” is a flat, paved
area where many cars can park: “When you come to our office, park in the
parking lot off of 14

th

Street.” The phrase “to draw lots” means to decide

something randomly, so each person picks a piece of paper, only one of which
has a mark, and the person who picks that piece of paper is selected: “Nobody
wanted to volunteer for the project, so we decided to draw lots.” Finally, at an
auction, a “lot” is a group of things that are being sold together: “Let’s start the
bidding for Lot 34 at $100.”

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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CULTURE NOTE

Driver's Ed

In most states, people can get their “learner’s permit” (permission to drive under
the supervision of an adult) at age 15. They spend the next year learning how to
drive, and when they are 16 they can try to pass the written and driving tests to
“earn” (get something through hard work) their driver’s license. Most people learn
how to drive with the help of parents or an older “sibling” (brother or sister), but
many also take “driver’s ed” or “driver’s education” classes.

Many “insurance companies” (companies that make payments if one gets in an
accident, in exchange for monthly payments) will lower the “premium” (the
amount paid per month to have insurance) for drivers who have completed
driver’s ed, so there is a significant “incentive” (reason or motivation to do
something) for parents to put their teenagers in driver’s ed. Some larger high
schools offer driver’s ed courses for students, but in most cases families pay for
driver’s ed classes offered by local businesses or a community college.

In a driver’s ed course, students learn “the rules of the road” (laws about how one
should drive) and the importance of becoming a “defensive driver” (a driver who
is always looking ahead for potential problems and doing things to avoid getting
into accidents). Once students have “mastered” (completely understood) the
basics, they “get behind the wheel of” (drive) a “modified” (changed; adapted)
car. The instructor sits in the passenger seat, but has access to emergency
controls to stop or turn the car as needed, in case the student gets into a
dangerous situation.

Students begin by driving in empty parking lots, learning how to “accelerate”
(increase speed), “brake” (slow down or stop), and park. Then they go onto
regular roads, but the car is marked with the words “student driver” so that other
drivers can be “cautious” (careful).

______________

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

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,039 – Taking a
Test Drive.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,039. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at ESLPod.com. Become a member of ESL Podcast. If you do,
you can download the Learning Guide for this episode and get a complete
transcript of every word I say. You can also like us on Facebook at
facebook.com/eslpod.

On this episode, we’re going to listen to a dialogue between Mario and Leah
about buying a new car. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Mario: I’d like to test drive the new Racer.

Leah: Sure, all prospective buyers can take one of our cars for a test drive. May I
see your driver’s license?

Mario: Here it is.

Leah: Okay, come with me. Why don’t you get into the driver’s seat and I’ll get
into the passenger seat? All right, please buckle up and you can drive it around
the block.

Mario: I think I may need to drive it a little farther to get a feel for the car.

Leah: That’s fine, but you’ll need to slow down!

Mario: Slow down? How will I know if this car is right for my driving style if I don’t
put the pedal to the metal and put it through its paces?

Leah: I understand you want to get a complete driving experience, but unless you
stop driving recklessly, we’ll need to return to the car lot.

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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Mario: You call this reckless? This isn’t reckless. It’s how I always drive. If you
don’t hear the tires screeching, you’re not driving a car the way it should be
driven.

Leah: Well, an interesting way of looking at it. Uh, I think we’d better head back
to the car lot. I’m feeling a little nauseous.

Mario: Let me guess. You’ve never ridden in a car driven by a racecar driver
before.

Leah: That’s right.

Mario: Then this is your lucky day!

[end of dialogue]

Mario says to Leah, “I’d like to test drive the new Racer.” The “Racer” is a name
of a car, an imaginary car. Mario wants to test drive the car. “To test drive” is to
drive a car that you’re thinking of buying, a car that someone is selling. You want
to see if you like the car before you buy it, so you take it for a test drive – or, to
use the verb, you “test drive the car.” The word “test” in English in this case
means to try something – to do something in preparation, often, for something
else. We also use the word “test” when we are talking about giving someone an
examination in school, for example.

Leah says, “Sure, all prospective buyers can take one of our cars for a test
drive.” Leah works for the place that sells these cars. We call that place a “car
lot” – or, if they sell new cars, we call it a “dealership.” Leah says that “all
prospective buyers can take one of our cars for a test drive.” A “prospective
(prospective) buyer” is a possible or potential buyer. We can talk about a
“prospective student” – someone who isn’t a student yet, but might be a student
in the future. It’s possible.

Leah then asks Mario, “May I see your driver’s license?” Your “driver’s license”
(license) is a small card given by, in the United States, the state government that
gives you permission to drive a car. Here in the U.S. we don’t have a national
driver’s license. Each state or territory issues, or gives you, a driver’s license.
Now normally, the driver’s license allows you to drive anywhere in the United
States, even outside of your own state.

However, if you move from one state to another, you often have to take another
driving test in order to get a driver’s license from a different state. The reason for

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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that is that states have slightly different rules about driving, although most of the
rules are the same. Mario says, “Here it is.” He’s giving Leah his driver’s license.
Leah says, “Okay, come with me. Why don’t you get into the driver’s seat and I’ll
get into the passenger seat.” The “seat” (seat) is where you sit in a car. The
“driver’s seat” is, in an American car, on the left-hand side of the car. That’s
where the driver sits, who controls the car.

All the other seats in the car are called “passenger seats.” A “passenger”
(passenger) is any person who is riding in the car who is not the driver. You
could also be a passenger on a train or a passenger on a boat. You could be a
passenger on an airplane. As long as you’re not the one controlling the vehicle,
you are a passenger. Although on an airplane, there are other people on the
airplane who are not controlling the airplane. We would not call them
“passengers,” typically; they would be members of the airline staff. But back to
our story.

Leah is telling Mario to “get into the driver’s seat.” Notice we use that phrasal
verb “to get into” for getting into a seat, for sitting down in the seat. Leah says,
“All right, please buckle up and you can drive it around the block.” “To buckle
(buckle) up” means to put your seatbelt on. A “seat belt” is a strap, a piece of
material, that holds your body into the seat of the car in case there’s an accident.

In the United States, I believe in every state – I could be wrong – there are laws
that require you to wear a seatbelt, especially if you are in the front of the car. In
California, you are required to wear a seatbelt in any of the seats in the car, the
driver’s seat or a passenger seat. If you don’t wear your seatbelt, you can get
fined. You can get what we would call a “ticket” from the police. You’ll have to
pay money and maybe even go to jail – although you probably won’t go to jail if
you don’t buckle up, but you’ll definitely get a ticket from the police.

Leah tells Mario he can drive “around the block.” A “block” (block) is a square or
rectangular area that is surrounded by four streets. Mario says, “I think I may
need to drive it a little farther to get a feel for the car.” “Farther” (farther) means at
a great distance, or involving a large distance. “Farther” is used for physical
distances. Mario is saying that he may need to drive the car more than just
around the block in order to “get a feel for the car.” “To get a feel (feel) for”
something means to become familiar with something, to understand what
something is like.

Mario is saying that he needs to drive the car for a longer period of time or for a
longer distance in order to really see if he likes the car not. That’s what he means
here. Leah says, “That’s fine, but you’ll need to slow down.” She’s telling Mario

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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not to drive so fast. Mario says, “Slow down?” He’s confused. “How will I know if
this car is right for my driving style if I don’t put the pedal to the metal and put it
through its paces?”

Mario is asking how he can know if this is the right car for him, if this is the right
car for his “driving style,” if he doesn’t “put the pedal to the metal.” Your “driving
style” is the way that you like to drive. Some people drive fast. Some people drive
slow. Some people drive like idiots, such as here in Los Angeles. The driving
style of Mario is to go fast. That’s what he means by the expression “put the
pedal (pedal) to the metal (metal).” “To put the pedal to the metal” is an old
expression meaning to drive a car really fast.

The “pedal” is the thing that your foot steps on in order to make the car go faster.
The “metal” would be the car itself – the metal of the car, I suppose. “To put the
pedal to the metal” means to drive really fast. Mario wants to do this in order “to
put the car through its paces” (paces). “To put something through its paces”
means to use the machine or whatever it is that your testing at the maximum
capacity to determine the limits of what it can do.

So, if you are putting a car through its paces, you would want to drive the car
very fast, or perhaps you would want to go around in circles to see how well the
car handles, how well it drives, going around in circles. In general, to put
something through its paces means to test it to see how much it can do of
whatever it is the thing is supposed to do. If I was going to put my computer
through its paces, I might, for example run a bunch of different programs at the
same time and see how quickly or how slowly the programs operated.

Leah is a little worried here. She says, “I understand you want to get a complete
driving experience, but unless you stop driving recklessly, we’ll need to return to
the car lot.” “To drive recklessly” (recklessly) means to drive without being careful
– carelessly, dangerously. The “car lot” is the place where the cars are kept,
where they are parked. Mario says, “You call this reckless?” “You call” is an
expression we use to mean “Are you saying that this is something?” Mario’s
asking Leah if she considers the way he is driving to be reckless. Obviously,
Mario doesn’t.

In fact, he says, “This isn’t reckless. It’s how I always drive. If you don’t hear the
tires screeching, you’re not driving a car the way it should be driven.” “Tires”
(tires) are the pieces of rubber that go around the wheel on the car. The verb “to
screech” (screech) means to make a very loud, high pitched sound. This would
be an example of a tire screeching. Mario says if you don’t hear the tires

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ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

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screeching, you’re not driving a car correctly. Of course, most people would say
just the opposite – that you driving the car too fast.

Leah says, “Well, an interesting way of looking at it.” She’s trying to be polite
because, of course, Mario is a prospective buyer of this car. She doesn’t want to
make him angry, but she also doesn’t want to die. She says, “Uh, I think we’d
better head back,” meaning return, “to the car lot. I’m feeling a little nauseous.” If
you feel “nauseous” (nauseous), you feel as though you might vomit, or throw up.
Your stomach is not right and you feel sick.

Mario says, “Let me guess. You’ve never ridden in a car driven by a race car
driver before?” A “race car driver” is someone who drives cars very quickly in a
competition such as the Indianapolis 500 or other car competitions where people
drive cars very fast. Leah says, “That’s right.” Mario says, “Then this is your lucky
day.” Mario thinks it’s a good thing for Leah to be driving with him, and Leah does
not agree.

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

[start of dialogue]

Mario: I’d like to test drive the new Racer.

Leah: Sure, all prospective buyers can take one of our cars for a test drive. May I
see your driver’s license?

Mario: Here it is.

Leah: Okay, come with me. Why don’t you get into the driver’s seat and I’ll get
into the passenger seat? All right, please buckle up and you can drive it around
the block.

Mario: I think I may need to drive it a little farther to get a feel for the car.

Leah: That’s fine, but you’ll need to slow down!

Mario: Slow down? How will I know if this car is right for my driving style if I don’t
put the pedal to the metal and put it through its paces?

Leah: I understand you want to get a complete driving experience, but unless you
stop driving recklessly, we’ll need to return to the car lot.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 1039 – Taking a Car for a Test Drive

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2014). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

10

Mario: You call this reckless? This isn’t reckless. It’s how I always drive. If you
don’t hear the tires screeching, you’re not driving a car the way it should be
driven.

Leah: Well, an interesting way of looking at it. Uh, I think we’d better head back
to the car lot. I’m feeling a little nauseous.

Mario: Let me guess. You’ve never ridden in a car driven by a racecar driver
before.

Leah: That’s right.

Mario: Then this is your lucky day!

[end of dialogue]

When it comes to scripts, Lucy Tse is in the driver’s seat here at ESL Podcast.
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 was written and produced by Dr. Lucy
Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. Copyright 2014 by the Center for Educational
Development.