Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1161, Traveling by Light Rail.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1161.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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On this episode we're going to listen to a dialogue between Gene and Gordon and about using a light rail train.
Let's get started.
Look out!
Don't worry.
That's just a light rail train.
The new light rail system shares the road with street traffic.
Phew!
For a second there, I thought we were going to collide with it.
Didn't you see the operator seated at the front of the train?
She watches out for other drivers.
I didn't know they have operators.
I thought they were automatic drivers.
No, they're not like some forms of rapid transit.
I see now that they ride on tracks and are powered by overhead electric lines.
That's right.
I'd like to give light rail a try.
Really?
Well, there's no time like the present.
But I thought you agreed to give me a ride into the city.
Never.
Gene begins our dialogue by yelling to Gordon, speaking very loudly to Gordon, Look out!
Look out is an expression we use to tell someone they need to be careful to warn someone that something perhaps bad, is about to happen to them.
In particular, something is about to hit them or they are about to accidentally hit something and injure or hurt themselves.
Another way of saying look out is watch out.
If you were standing next to a bookcase a large piece of furniture that holds books and the bookcase was about to fall on you, someone might yell look out or watch out.
The person is warning you to look around and notice the danger that might affect you.
And, of course, to do something about it, to get out of the way in this case.
Gordon says to Gene, don't worry, that's just a light rail train.
It appears that Gordon and Gene are driving and Gene is telling Gordon who is the person driving to look out.
Why?
Because apparently the car is near a light rail train.
A light rail train is a train that usually goes inside of a city, from one part of a city to another.
It might also go from two different cities.
Light rail trains are not trains that go for long distances, like say between Los Angeles and New York City or between Paris and London.
A light rail train would be a smaller train that's usually used for what we might call commuting.
Here in Southern California we have a light rail train that goes from different suburbs of Los Angeles into the downtown area.
Gordon says the new light rail system shares the road with street traffic.
Street traffic refers to cars, trucks and other vehicles that travel on the streets and roads.
Buses motorcycles, vans these are all examples of vehicles that use the streets.
In some cities, the light rail train goes on the same street as the cars travel and In many cases however, the light rail train is on a different part of the street.
The cars aren't driving exactly on the same part of the street as the light rail train, except perhaps when the street crosses another street.
Gene says, phew, this is a word that we use to express relief.
Or perhaps when we're really tired, we might go, phew.
People pronounce it differently, I think.
It's spelled P-H-E-W.
Gene continues for a second there, meaning for a very brief moment or brief time.
I thought we were going to collide with it.
To collide, C-O-L-L-I-D-E, with something means to run into something.
The two cars collided with each other.
They hit each other.
They ran into each other.
Gordon says, didn't you see the operator seated at the front of the train?
She watches out for other drivers.
The operator, O-P-E-R-A-T-O-R, is the person who, in this case, drives a large vehicle or a train.
The operator of the train could also be called the conductor, C-O-N-D-U-C-T-O-R.
The word operator is a more general term to describe a person who drives, operates or controls a vehicle or machine.
Conductor specifically refers to the operator, if you will, of a train.
Gordon says the operator of this train watches out for other drivers.
To watch out for something means to look for possible problems so that you can avoid them.
Someone may say to you if you visit Los Angeles, watch out for crazy drivers, people who don't know how to drive and could cause an accident.
I mentioned earlier that you can use watch out in some of the same situations as you would use lookout.
You might also say lookout for, in similar situations as you would use to watch out for.
Look out for the dangerous drivers in Los Angeles, especially me.
Gene says, I didn't know they have operators.
I thought they were automatic.
Something that is automatic.
A-U-T-O-M-A-T-I-C is something that is controlled by a machine, often nowadays by a computer, not a real live human being, we might say.
Gene is surprised that the train has a actual human being operating it, running it, conducting it.
Gordon says, no, they're not like some forms of rapid transit.
Transit, T-R-A-N-S-I-T, refers to moving something or a group of people from one place to another.
Rapid, R-A-P-I-D, means fast or quick.
So rapid transit refers to something that can move people from one place to another quickly.
Usually rapid transit is a kind of public transportation.
Public transportation refers to transportation or modes of transportation that anyone can use as long as he pays money.
This would include buses, subways, light rail, trains, and so forth.
Gene says.
I see now that they meaning the trains, the light rail trains, ride on tracks and are powered by overhead electric lines.
The tracks T-R-A-C-K-S of a train are the long metal pieces that the train sits on and moves across.
To be powered by something means to get the energy in order to operate.
Something that is powered by gasoline is something that gets its energy from some form of gasoline, usually gasoline that goes into a motor or an engine.
The trains are powered by overhead electric lines.
Something that is overhead.
O-V-E-R-H-E-A-D is something that is above you, something that is literally over your head.
Electric lines are cables or long, thin pieces of metal that carry electricity.
Overhead electric lines would be cables or lines that go above the train but that are connected to the train and allow the train to move.
The electric lines carry electricity that power the train, that give it energy to move.
Gordon says that's right, meaning yes, Gene is correct.
Gene says, I'd like to give light rail a try.
To give something a try, T-R-Y, means to do something, usually something you have not done before.
Gordon says, really?
Well, there's no time like the present.
The expression, there's no time like the present, means that we should do something right away.
We shouldn't wait and do it later.
He says, I'll take you to the nearest stop.
There's a platform over there.
A stop.
S-T-O-P here refers to a station or a place where a train or a bus regularly stops to let the people on the train or bus off and to allow different people to come on.
In most cities there are bus stops every couple of blocks where the bus stops to allow you to get on and off.
A platform, P-L-A-T-F-O-R-M, is a place where you get on a train.
Specifically, platforms are used for trains, typically.
We don't talk about a bus platform.
A platform is an area that is usually above ground and higher than the ground around it.
It allows you to get on and off a train.
Gene says, but I thought you agreed to give me a ride into the city.
Gene is wondering why Gordon is telling her to get out of the car and get on one of these light rail trains, when he promised to give Gene a ride into the city.
Gene and Gordon are obviously not in the city but are going in that direction.
Gordon says, and deprive you of a new travel experience?
Never.
To deprive D-E-P-R-I-V-E someone of something is to not allow someone to have something or do something.
Gordon doesn't want to deprive or prevent Jean from having this new travel experience.
We're not so sure if Jean herself wants that new travel experience right away.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Look out!
Don't worry, that's just a light rail train.
The new light rail system shares the road with street traffic.
For a second there, I thought we were going to collide with it.
Didn't you see the operator seated at the front of the train?
She watches out for other drivers.
I didn't know they have operators.
I thought they were automatic.
No, they're not like some forms of rapid transit.
I see now that they ride on tracks and are powered by overhead electric lines.
That's right.
I'd like to give light rail a try.
Really?
Yeah.
Well, there's no time like the present.
I'll take you to the nearest stop.
There's the platform over there.
But I thought you agreed to give me a ride into the city.
And deprive you of a new travel experience?
Never.
There's no time like the present to thank our wonderful script writer for her wonderful scripts.
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 Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2015 by the Center for Educational Development.
