ESL Podcast 480 – Riding in a Carpool

Roberto: Hey, Loreto. Got a minute?

Loreto: I’m going to a meeting off-site, but we can talk if you don’t mind walking me to my car.

Roberto: Sure, okay. I just wanted to ask if you’re interested in carpooling to work. We only live a few blocks from each other.

Loreto: Thanks for asking, but I’m not sure carpooling would work for me. Sometimes I run late in the morning and I wouldn’t want to hold you up.

Roberto: We wouldn’t have to commute¹ together every day, only on those days that are convenient for both of us. Carpooling has its advantages, too. In addition to doing our part for the environment, we could use the high-occupancy carpool lanes². That’ll save time, especially if there’s a lot of traffic congestion³.

Loreto: Yeah, I guess that could cut down on our commute time.

Roberto: We also get preferential treatment for parking on the days we carpool.

Loreto: How would it work? Do we set up a schedule and take turns driving?

Roberto: Why don’t I swing by and pick you up tomorrow morning and we can talk more about it?

Loreto: If you don’t mind picking me up en route, that would be great. By the way, how do you know where I live?

Roberto: Oh, I asked around. See you tomorrow.


Script⁴ by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 lanes   

n.小路( lane的名词复数 )；车道；航道；分道

参考例句：

• A headless rider haunts the country lanes. 一个无头骑士常出没于乡间的小路上。
• He made a kamikaze run across three lanes of traffic. 他不要命地冲过了三条车道。

3 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

4 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。