Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 330, Traveling by Bus.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 330.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development, in Transcription by CastingWords, comprehension questions and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Traveling by Bus.
It's a dialogue between Samantha and an employee of the bus company.
They're talking about different kinds of bus travel.
We'll go over some vocabulary in this dialogue later that you would need if you were going to travel by bus in English.
Let's get started.
Good morning.
I had a few questions about buying a bus ticket.
You can, but it's not necessary.
You just need to arrive at the terminal at least an hour before the scheduled departure time to buy your ticket.
Boarding begins about 15 to 30 minutes before departure.
Can I reserve a seat?
No, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
I recommend getting there early during peak times, but getting a good seat isn't usually a problem with the night service buses.
I want to go from Charleston to Myrtle Beach.
Do you know how many stops the bus will be making?
I think that bus makes six stops to pick up passengers en route, but you can check the schedule to be sure.
That doesn't include rest stops and meal stops.
If you want to make fewer stops, you can buy a ticket for one of our express buses.
You're allowed two bags.
The handler can help you load them upon boarding, but you're responsible for retrieving them when you get off.
Can I help you with anything else?
No, thanks.
Thank you for calling and have a safe trip.
Our dialogue begins with Samantha saying to the employee we would probably call them the agent who works for the bus company Good morning.
I had a few questions about buying a bus ticket.
Do I need to buy one in advance?
When we say you buy something in advance, we mean ahead of time, before something actually happens.
The dentist is always very busy, so we need to make our appointments at least four weeks in advance before the time of the actual appointment.
You can't just wait and do it on the same day.
So Samantha is asking if she needs to buy a bus ticket in advance, a day or a week or sometime before the day that she is going to travel.
The agent says you can but it's not necessary.
You don't need to.
You just need to arrive at the terminal at least an hour before the scheduled departure time to buy your ticket.
The agent is telling Samantha she needs to arrive at the terminal, which is another word for the station and the large building where buses or trains stop to let people off in a town and let people get on the bus or the train.
We also use that word terminal in an airport.
The different parts of the airport are called the terminal.
Some airports have just one terminal.
Big airports like here in Los Angeles, we have eight terminals.
The agent says boarding begins about 15 to 30 minutes before departure.
To board means to get on a bus or to get on a plane or to get on a train.
Boarding, then, is the verb for getting onto a bus, train, plane, or perhaps a boat.
So the agent says she can buy the tickets on the same day, as long as she buys them at least one hour before the time that the bus leaves the departure time.
Departure is when the bus or plane leaves.
Arrival is when it comes to or arrives at a place.
Samantha says can I reserve a seat?
To reserve means to make arrangements for something in advance for you to use.
You're asking if you can have a seat reserved assigned to you, given to you so that when you get on the bus you know where your seat is.
You're going to sit in a specific seat.
So she wants to reserve a seat.
The agent says, no, that's not possible.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Seating, or deciding where you're going to sit, is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
That expression first-come means whoever gets there first.
First-serve means you get to do what you want.
You get to...
In this case, select your seat.
So the first people who get there are the ones who get to select their seats.
And as new people arrive, they can select any seat that hasn't been taken.
We use that expression a lot.
It's first come, first serve.
That means there are no possibilities of reserving a seat.
You can't ask for a specific seat.
Most airplanes, for example, have reservations and you can reserve a seat.
There are some airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, here in California and other states where it is first come, first serve.
Whoever is in the line first gets to pick the seat first.
The agent says, I recommend getting to the terminal early during peak hours.
Peak, P-E-A-K, means very busy, when something is being used the most.
So the peak times would be the busiest times of, in this case, the terminal, where the buses are.
The agent says getting a good seat isn't usually a problem with the night service buses.
Night service, you can guess, are buses that go at night versus during the day.
I should mention the word peak has a couple of different meanings in English.
You know what to do.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional explanations.
Samantha says I want to go from Charleston Charleston, South Carolina, in the southeast part of the United States to Myrtle Beach, which is also located in South Carolina.
A stop, as a noun is, is the place where a bus or a train stops for a short time before going on to another place.
So, for example, if you're taking a bus between New York City and Boston Massachusetts, the bus might stop at some cities in between to pick up new passengers or to let some passengers leave who don't want to go to Boston, who want to go to some city in between Boston and New York.
If you have a bus that doesn't stop, that goes directly from one city to another, We would call that a non-stop.
If it makes just a couple of stops or very few stops, you could also call it an express bus E-X-P-R-E-S-S.
So Samantha is asking how many stops the bus will make.
The agent says, I think it makes six stops. to pick up passengers en route.
En route, E-N-R-O-U-T-E, two words, means on the way, in between one place and another.
So in between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, there are six stops.
The agent tells her she can check the schedule to be sure.
A rest stop is when you stop after traveling for a long time to let people get out of the bus, stretch their legs, walk around, use a restroom, that sort of thing.
A meal stop would be a place where you would stop and pick up a meal, something to eat.
The agent says, if you want to make fewer stops, you can buy a ticket for one of our express buses.
That word express has a couple of meanings in English.
Take a look at the learning guide for some additional definitions.
Samantha then asks, how many bags can I bring on board?
On board means on the bus or on the train, things that you carry with you, bags that you are taking to the place where you are going.
The agent says you are allowed two bags, two pieces of luggage.
The handler can help you load them upon boarding.
The handler, H-A-N-D-L-E-R, is the person that carries, in this case, heavy luggage, helps people put them onto the bus or the train.
The handler can help you load the luggage.
To load, in this case, means to put many things onto the bus or in the back of a car or on a train.
So the handler will carry and put the luggage on the bus when you board or upon boarding, when you get on the bus.
But you are responsible for retrieving them when you get off the bus.
To retrieve means to get something back from where it has been kept or stored.
To pick something up that belongs to you that was being kept in a different place.
In this case, below the bus or on the bottom or back of the bus.
Can I help you with anything else?
The agent asks.
Samantha says no thanks.
The agent says, thank you for calling.
She calls on the telephone.
Thank you for calling and have a safe trip.
The expression have a safe trip is a polite way of saying have a good trip, have a safe trip, have a nice trip.
In French you may say, and we use this expression in English, bon voyage.
Have a good trip.
Have a safe trip.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Good morning.
I had a few questions about buying a bus ticket.
Do I need to buy one in advance?
You can, but it's not necessary.
You just need to arrive at the terminal at least an hour before the scheduled departure time to buy your ticket.
Boarding begins about 15 to 30 minutes before departure.
Can I reserve a seat?
No, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
I recommend getting there early during peak times, but getting a good seat isn't usually a problem with the night service buses.
I want to go from Charleston to Myrtle Beach.
Do you know how many stops the bus will be making?
I think that bus makes six stops to pick up passengers en route, but you can check the schedule to be sure.
That doesn't include rest stops and meal stops.
If you want to make fewer stops, you can buy a ticket for one of our express buses.
How many bags can I bring on board?
I'll have two big pieces of luggage.
You are allowed two bags.
The handler can help you load them upon boarding, but you're responsible for retrieving them when you get off.
Can I help you with anything else?
No, thanks.
Thank you for calling, and have a safe trip.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
