Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 335, Getting a Car Serviced.
This is English as a Second Language podcast, episode 335.
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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This episode is a dialogue between Sophia and her mechanic.
She's getting her car serviced.
We'll find out what that means and learn some car vocabulary in this episode.
Let's get started.
Is my car ready?
I'm finished with your oil change and I've replaced the oil filter.
I've also replaced the wiper blades in your windshield wipers.
But I've had a good look under your hood and your car needs a lot of work.
Really?
Really?
Your battery is very low, and it should be replaced, too.
I can't believe it.
It's true.
Your tires need to be rotated, too, and I also suggest getting a wheel alignment.
Well, this is all a big surprise, especially since I just bought this used car a couple of months ago.
You did?
Well, you got ripped off.
Whoever sold you this car is a crook.
I bought it here.
I bought this from the owner of this garage.
He said that it was in tip-top shape.
Our dialogue begins with Sophia saying to her mechanic, the person who fixes a car...
Is my car ready?
The mechanic says, I'm finished with your oil change and I replaced the oil filter.
When you have your car serviced, there's nothing wrong with the car, but you need to do certain things to keep your car running smoothly so that you won't have any problems.
Part of that is usually having your oil changed.
Oil is what you put into the engine to help it work properly, so that the parts of the engine move properly smoothly.
An oil change is when you take out the oil in the engine and you put in new oil.
The oil filter is a small part of the engine that cleans the oil, takes away the dirt in the oil or other objects so that the oil can do its job.
So when you change your oil, you often change your oil filter.
The mechanic says I've also replaced the wiper blades with On your windshield wipers.
Most cars have two windshield wipers.
Your windshield is that piece of glass in the front of the car that protects you.
The windshield wipers are two long metal and plastic bars long pieces of metal that are on the bottom of your window and clean your window, remove the water from your window.
They go side to side in what we would call a partial semi-circle.
That's how you clean the water from your car.
For example, if it's raining, you need your windshield wiper.
A wiper comes from the verb to wipe W-I-P-E, which is to dry something with a cloth or some other instrument.
Now, the windshield wipers have blades in them.
A blade, B-L-A-D-E, is usually a small rubber or plastic piece that actually touches the window.
You don't have metal touching your window.
You have this rubber or plastic blade that touches the window and removes the water from it.
The word blade has several different meanings in English.
Take a look at our What Else Does It Mean section in this episode's learning guide for some additional explanations.
Well, the mechanic says that he's replaced the wiper blades in your windshield wipers, but I've had a good look under your hood and your car needs a lot of work.
To say I've had a good look means I've examined very closely.
I've looked at very carefully.
In this case, the mechanic has looked carefully under the hood.
The hood.
H-O-O-D in American English is a large flat piece of metal that covers the front of your car.
If your engine is in the front of your car in most cars it is the hood is the metal that covers it?
It's like a door that you lift up in order to get to the engine.
The little door in the back of your car is called the trunk, or the trunk door.
In the front, it's called the hood.
So he looked at the engine, he looked under the hood, and the car, he thinks, needs a lot of work.
Of course, whenever you go to a mechanic, many mechanics will try to tell you you need to do more work on your car.
Unfortunately, mechanics don't have a very good reputation, at least in the United States, for telling you the truth all the time.
That's why it's so hard to find a good mechanic, probably harder than finding a good doctor.
The mechanic says, you have some serious problems.
I bet your engine is running really rough.
I bet means I'm guessing, or I believe your engine, the motor of your car that keeps the car running, is running really rough, meaning it's not working very smoothly.
Your transmission is leaking, your shocks need to be replaced, and you need new brake pads.
These are three parts of the car.
Your transmission is the part of the car that transmits the energy from the car's engine to the wheels.
You can have either an automatic transmission or a manual transmission, what we sometimes call a stick shift.
In both cases, the transmission controls, the gears.
Small round wheels that help transfer the power coming from your engine and direct that, if you will, to the rest of the car.
It controls it.
It controls how fast you can go.
The transmission is leaking.
To leak means to allow a small amount of liquid to escape, usually by accident.
You don't want it to.
You could say, my roof is leaking.
It rains and there is water coming down through my house into the inside of the house.
The roof, the top of the house, is leaking.
Well, here the transmission is leaking, meaning there's transmission oil coming out of the car.
It should not be, and that's a problem.
Your shocks, S-H-O-C-K-S, is another word for your shock absorbers.
This is the part of the car that makes the ride smoother.
Instead of having the car go up and down quickly, the shocks help keep the car from going up and down as you are driving down the road and hit a bump, for example.
So the shock absorbers need to be replaced, according to the mechanic.
The word shock actually has several different meanings in English.
Once again, take a look at the learning guide for this episode for more explanations.
The mechanic also says Sophia needs new brake pads.
The brake pad is the part of the car that stops the wheels from moving when you want to slow down or stop the car.
The brakes is the name of the system that stops the wheels.
The pads are the actual parts that go against the wheel to slow it or stop it.
The mechanic says...
Your battery is very low and should be replaced too.
The battery is the part of the car that stores electrical energy.
So the mechanic is saying that the battery needs to be replaced as well.
Sophia says, I can't believe it.
The mechanic says, it's true.
Your tires need to be rotated too.
The tire is the thick rubber part that goes around the wheel.
You have a tire with a car, a bicycle, or some other machines.
The tires need to be rotated, the mechanic says.
To rotate your tires means to move them in different positions.
You have typically two tires in the front, two tires in the back.
To rotate them would mean to put the ones on the front on the back and some on the back on the front.
The mechanic also suggests Sophia get a wheel alignment.
A wheel alignment is when you make a change to the position of a car's wheels so that they are all going straight.
If you're driving a car and you let go of the steering wheel you're not touching the steering wheel and you notice your car moves to the left or moves to the right, then That could be because you need a wheel alignment, where the mechanic makes sure the car's wheels are all pointed in the same direction so the car goes straight.
Sophia says well, this is all a big surprise, especially since I just bought this used car a couple of months ago.
The mechanic says, you did?
You did buy it a few months ago?
He's obviously surprised.
He says, well, you got ripped off.
To get ripped off means to lose money because someone else has stolen it from you or lied about something.
Someone has cheated you.
This is to get ripped off.
When someone is dishonest, when someone basically tries to steal your money.
That is also another way we can use this expression.
The mechanic says, whoever sold this car to you or whoever sold you this car is a crook.
A crook, C-R-O-O-K, is another word for a thief, a criminal, someone who steals things.
The mechanic asks, where did you buy it?
And Sophia says, I bought it here.
I bought it from the owner of this garage.
She's saying that she bought the car where the mechanic works.
The place where a mechanic works is called the garage.
We also use that word for the place where you store or park your car at home or at work.
But it's also used as a word to describe the place where you get your car fixed, a place where there are mechanics.
Sophia says she bought the car from the owner of this garage.
The owner told her that it was in tip-top shape.
The expression tip-top means perfect, best, excellent, without any problems.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Is my car ready?
I'm finished with your oil change and I replaced the oil filter.
I've also replaced the wiper blades and your windshield wipers.
But I've had a good look under your hood and your car needs a lot of work.
Really?
Yes, you have some serious problems.
I bet your engine is running really rough.
Your transmission is leaking, your shocks need to be replaced, and you need new brake pads.
Your battery is very low and it should be replaced too.
I can't believe it.
It's true.
Your tires need to be rotated, too.
And I also suggest getting a wheel alignment.
Well, this is all a big surprise, especially since I just bought this used car a couple of months ago.
You did?
Well, you got ripped off.
Whoever sold you this car is a crook.
Where'd you buy it?
I bought it here.
I bought this from the owner of this garage.
He said that it was in tip-top shape.
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.
