2010年ESL之旅行交通购物 13 Reading a Bus Schedule_在线英语听力室

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13 Reading a Bus Schedule

GLOSSARY

bus schedule – written information about where buses go and stop, how often,and at what times

* According to this bus schedule, there isn’t any bus service on Sundays.

route number – the number assigned to all buses that follow a certain path

* Route numbers 14, 28, and 59 pass by the university.

stop – a place where a bus stops for a short period of time to let passengers geton and off

* Start gathering your things. We’ll get off at the next stop.

column – information printed vertically (not horizontally) in a table; words ornumbers that are printed above and below each other (not side by side)

* This table of sales data has one column for sales in each of the past five years.

to work backwards – to solve a problem or answer a question by starting withthe end result and using logic to find what must have been true at the beginning

* If we know we have $360 in the cash register and we’ve made $200 in sales sofar today, then we can work backwards to figure out that we started the day with$160 in the cash register.

starting point – where someone or something begins; the initial location orsituation

* Yes, I’d be happy to give you directions to our store, but first I need to knowwhere your starting point is. Will you becoming from the north or south?

directly – moving in a line that is as straight as possible between points A and B,without going to any other places

* Their kids are supposed to come home directly from school, but sometimesthey stop at the candy store first.

transfer – a piece of paper that is given to a passenger by a bus driver andallows that passenger to get on another bus without paying for a certain period oftime, usually a few hours

* If you ride the subway, be sure to get a transfer so that you can take a bus toyour final destination without needing to pay again.

to take (something) into account – to consider something; to includesomething as a factor in one’s decision* When deciding whether you can afford to stay home with the kids, take intoaccount all the added expenses of working outside the home, like transportation,professional clothing, dry cleaning, and lunches at restaurants.

peak – when something is busiest or most heavily used* Many doctors’ offices experience peak call volume on Monday mornings, sothey recommend that their patients call at other times if possible.

commuter – a person who is traveling between his or her home and workplace* Ryan hates wasting time as a commuter, so he is looking for an apartmentdowntown so he can walk to and from the office.

bus pass – a small card or other piece of paper that allows one to ride the bus acertain number or an unlimited number of times during a certain period of time,often one month* Since we ride the bus at least twice each day, it’s cheaper for us to buy amonthly bus pass than to pay for individual tickets.

exact change – coins and/or bills that add up to the price or cost of something,so that one does not need to receive any money in return* Riding the bus costs $1.90 and requires exact change, so if you only have two$1 bills, there’s no way to get the extra $0.10 back.

fare – the cost of riding a bus or some other form of transportation* The city is going to increase bus fares to cover the rising cost of gas.

to board – to get on a bus, train, boat, or plane* The flight is scheduled to leave at 3:45, so we should start boarding around3:20.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What would you find on a list of route numbers?

a) Information about how long it takes to go certain places.

b) Information about what the bus looks like.

c) Information about which buses go where.

2. What does Curt mean by saying, “mornings are peak times”?

a) More people ride the bus in the morning than at other times of day.

b) It costs more to ride the bus in the morning.

c) Buses come more frequently in the morning.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

peak

The word “peak,” in this podcast, means when something is busiest or mostheavily used: “February is a peak month for florists, because many people buyflowers to celebrate Valentine’s Day.” Or, “Very hot weather causes a peak inenergy demand because many businesses use powerful air conditioners.” As anoun, a “peak” is the top of a mountain: “Have you ever climbed to the peak ofMount Washington?” When something is “at its peak,” it is at its best, strongest,or highest: “When was the Roman Empire at its peak?” Finally, if someone“looks peaked,” he or she appears sick, tired, and very pale (without much coloron their face): “Charlene was sick with the flu last week, and although she feelsbetter now, she still looks peaked.”

board

In this podcast, the verb “to board” means to get on a bus, train, boat, or plane:

“I’ve never seen such a long line of people waiting to board the train!” The verb“to board” can also mean to pay to live in a room in someone’s home: “If youneed to make some extra money, consider having students board with youduring the school year.” The phrase “to board (something) up” means to coverthe windows and doors of a building with long pieces of wood so that no one canget in: “We were really surprised to see that they had boarded up the restaurant.

Why did it go out of business?” Finally, a “board game” is a type of game playedon a printed piece of heavy paper or cardboard: “Monopoly and Scrabble areHal’s favorite board games.”

CULTURE NOTE

People who ride buses, trains, and subways in the United States should beaware of the expected “etiquette” (polite ways of behaving).

Some of the rules of etiquette are written on the walls of the stops and vehicles.

For example, many signs “remind” (help someone remember) people to“surrender” (give to someone else) their seat to “the elderly” (old people),“disabled” (handicapped; with physical problems) individuals, and pregnantwomen. Certain seats near the doors are usually “reserved for” (set aside for;intended for) these people, but if those seats are full, then people sittinganywhere in the bus should surrender their seat as needed.

Other signs remind people to “refrain from” (not do; avoid) eating, drinking,smoking, listening to loud music, talking loudly, or using a cell phone if it“disturbs” (annoys or troubles) other passengers. Animals are generally notallowed on buses, trains, and subways unless they are “service dogs” (dogs thathelp blind people).

One of the “unwritten” (not stated in writing, but generally understood) rules ofetiquette is to leave empty seats between people whenever possible. Forexample, on a bus where seats are in “pairs” (groups of two), riders will generallysit alone in each row. As the bus continues to fill and there aren’t enough seatsfor everyone to sit alone, riders begin to sit next to “strangers” (unknown people),but this is almost never their first choice.

Another “unwritten” rule of etiquette on “public transportation” (transportationshared by many people) is to keep one’s “personal belongings” (the things onebrings on a ride) near one’s body. It is important to keep jackets, bags, andpackages out of the “aisle” (the area where people walk). It would also be “rude”

(not polite; inappropriate) to place personal belongings on an empty seat in a fullbus.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 606: Reading aBus Schedule.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 606. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guide for thisepisode, an 8- to 10-page guide including a complete transcript of everything wesay.

This episode is called “Reading a Bus Schedule.” It’s a dialogue between Louisaand Curt about how you read the “schedule,” the information about places andtimes, for a bus. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

This was my first visit to McQuillanville. I wanted to avoid driving, so I decided totake the bus around the city. However, I was having some trouble figuring outthe bus schedule.

Louisa: Excuse me, could you help me read this bus schedule?

Curt: I can try. Where do you want to go?

Louisa: I want to go downtown, but I’m not sure which bus to take.

Curt: Let me see that bus schedule. Here’s a listing of the route numbers on theback of this schedule. Look for a bus that goes downtown.

Louisa: Oh, I see. That’s great. Tomorrow, I want to arrive at the PodcastMuseum at 10 a.m. when it opens. Which bus will I have to take?

Curt: Let me look at this bus schedule. That’s simple. All you have to do is findthe stop closest to the museum, then look down the column to find the arrivaltime of 10 a.m. or before, and work backwards to see what time that bus passesthe stop at your starting point. Got it?

Louisa: I think so, but I don’t think there’s a bus that goes directly from here todowntown.

Curt: In that case, it says on the schedule that you’ll need to get a transfer fromthe driver of the first bus so you can ride for free on the second bus. Just takethe additional time into account. Mornings are peak times, and according to thisschedule, the buses run more frequently to accommodate commuters, so itshouldn’t take you a lot longer. It also says here that you’ll need to have a buspass or exact change for the fare when you board.

Louisa: Thanks a lot for all the help. Do you know how much the fare is?

Curt: I have no idea. I’ve never ridden the bus before in McQuillanville.

Louisa: Then how do you know so much about riding the bus?

Curt: I can read.

[end of dialogue]

Louisa says that this is her first visit to McQuillanville. McQuillanville, of course,is one of the more beautiful places in the world; you should really visit! She saysthat she wanted to avoid driving during her visit, so she decided to take the bus,or ride the bus, around the city. She’s going to use the bus to get from one placeto another. “However,” she says, “I was having some trouble (some difficulty)figuring out (or understanding) the bus schedule,” which is the written informationabout where buses go, where they stop, how often they go, at what times, and soforth. Louisa asks someone on the street, someone she sees, she says, “Excuseme, could you help me read this bus schedule?” Curt says, the other personshe’s talking with, “I can try. Where do you want to go?” Louisa responds, “Iwant to go downtown,” to the center, main part of the city, where most of thebusinesses are located in a typical city. “But,” she says, “I’m not sure which busto take.”

Curt says, “Let me see that bus schedule. Here’s a listing (here’s a list) of theroute numbers on the back of this schedule.” A “route” is the streets that the busdrives. In your city, you will have buses that always go down Main Street, andthen go down First Street, and then cross over to Lincoln Avenue, and so forth,and they go back and forth along those same streets. Each one of those routesis given, in U.S. cities, a number. The numbers depend on the city you are in;there isn’t any consistent pattern across the United States. Every city has its own bus system. So, the “route number” is the number of the bus that tells youwhere that bus goes, and those are listed – those are printed on the back of thebus schedule. Curt says, “Look for a bus that goes downtown.” This issomewhat obvious advice, but Louisa is in the brightest, smartest person in theworld it seems.

Louisa says, “Oh, I see. That’s great. Tomorrow, I want to arrive at the PodcastMuseum at 10 a.m. (10 o’clock in the morning) when it opens.” The PodcastMuseum is located in McQuillanville; it’s a museum with all the greatest podcastsrepresented. I think we are in the Podcast Museum! Louisa wants to go and seethe museum, and she wants to be there at 10 o’clock a.m., or 10 o’clock in themorning. “Which bus will I have to take?”

Curt says, “Let me look at this bus schedule.” Again, this is something thatLouisa could do if she were a little more intelligent. Curt says, “That’s simple. Allyou have to do (the only thing you have to do) is find the stop closest to themuseum, then look down the column to find the arrival time of 10 a.m. or before.”

Let’s stop there and go back. A “stop” is a place where the bus stops for a shortperiod of time to allow passengers to get off the bus and get on the bus. In somecities the buses will stop at any corner where there is a person standing wantingto take the bus. But in most cities you have to go to a place that has a sign thatsays “bus stop,” and that is the only place you get on or, we would say, catch thebus.

So, Louisa has to look at a bus schedule. The bus stops, usually the streetswhere the bus stops, are listed on the schedule. She has to look down thecolumn. A “column” is information that is printed vertically, up and down, nothorizontally, side to side. A column is part of a table; the up and down parts ofthe table are called columns; the horizontal parts are called rows (rows). So,Louisa has to look at the column for the bus that she is interested in to find thearrival time, the time the bus will get there. She wants to get there before 10a.m. Then, Curt says, she has to “work backwards,” meaning solve her problemor answer her question by starting from the result and using logic to get back tothe beginning. So in this case, she has to see what time the bus goes past thestop where she is going to get on, her starting point. A “starting point” is wheresomeone or something begins.

Curt then asks Louisa if she understands. He says, “Got it?” Louisa says, “Ithink so, but I don’t think there’s a bus that goes directly from here (from whereshe is standing) to downtown.” Curt says, “In that case (in that situation), it sayson the schedule (it is printed on the schedule) that you’ll need to get a transfer from the driver of the first bus so you can ride for free on the second bus.”

Louisa wants a bus that goes directly from where she is to downtown. “Directly”

means going in as straight a line as possible between one point and the otherwithout going to other places. If you are working and you say you are going to godirectly to your house, you mean you’re not going to stop anywhere else. You’regoing to leave your workplace and drive to your house in the fastest, most directway possible.

Curt says that Louisa is going to have to get a “transfer,” which is a piece ofpaper that is given to a passenger by the bus driver. It allows the passenger toget on another bus without having to pay again, usually for a certain number ofhours. For two or three hours they can use this transfer to ride another buswithout having to pay extra. This allows people to take two or three buseswithout having to pay two or three times.

Curt says, “Just take the additional time into account.” “To take (something) intoaccount” (account) means to consider something, to include something as part ofyour thinking when you are making a decision. In this case, Louisa has to takeinto account the extra or additional time it will take to get on one bus, get off, andthen transfer, or get on, another bus. He says, “Mornings are peak times.”

“Peak (peak) means when something is busiest, when it is most heavily used. Inmany doctors’ offices, Monday morning is a peak time; everyone who was sickover the weekend comes to the doctor’s office on Monday morning. That’s apeak time, a busy time.

Curt says, “according to this schedule, the buses run more frequently (in themornings they run more often) to accommodate (to help) commuters.” A“commuter” (commuter) is someone who travels usually a long distance betweentheir house and where they work. That’s a commuter. When I used work at theuniversity I was a commuter; I would have to drive 45 minutes to an hour from myhouse to the university, and then, of course, to get back to my house it wasanother 45 minutes to an hour. That’s what a commuter does. Curt says itshouldn’t take you a lot longer in the morning because there are more buses inthe morning.

Curt says the schedule says that you’ll need to have a bus pass or exact changefor the fare when you board. A “bus pass” is a small card, typically, that you buy.

It allows you to ride the bus either a certain number of times – 10 times, 20 times– or often it’s for an entire month or an entire week. You can use it as much asyou want during that time. “Exact change” means the coins or paper money thatequals the price or the cost of something so that the person is not going to get any money back. So, if you’re buying something for $1.50 and you givesomeone $2.00 that is not exact change. Exact change would be one dollar andfifty cents. The bus drivers in the U.S. don’t give you change; you have to havethe exact amount of money. If you pay more money you will not get that extramoney back. The “fare” (fare) is the cost of taking some form of transportationsuch as a bus or an airplane. We call the price you pay for your airplane ticketyour airfare, that’s the same idea. He says you’ll need exact change for the farewhen you board. To “board” (board) as a verb means to get on the bus or get onthe train; we also use it for a boat or a plane. “The plane is now boarding,”

people are getting onto it. Both the word “board” and “peak” that we mentionedearlier have different meanings in English; take a look at our Learning Guide forsome additional explanations.

Louisa says, “Thanks a lot for all the help. Do you know how much the fare is?”

She wants to know the price of getting on the bus. Curt says, “I have no idea.

I’ve never ridden the bus before in McQuillanville.” Notice “ridden” is the pastparticiple of “to ride.” Louisa says, “Then how do you know so much about ridingthe bus?” Curt answers, “I can read.” He knows about the bus because he canread and he read the bus schedule – something that we hope Louisa will be ableto do some day!

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