Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 453, Making an Emergency Medical Call.
This is English as a Second Language podcast number 453.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development.
In guess where?
Beautiful Los Angeles, California.
In case you don't know, we have a website.
It's at ESLPOD.com.
If you go there, you can download this episode's learning guide, which will help you improve your English.
It will also make you stronger and more beautiful.
It's a telephone conversation between an emergency operator, somebody who answers the phone calls for the government's police and fire emergency system, and someone who has an emergency.
Let's get started.
Emergency operator, state your emergency.
We need an ambulance right away.
What is your name?
Can you tell me what happened?
Where are you?
I'm not sure.
I was driving in my car when I saw the pileup.
I'm somewhere on Blossom Road.
Can you trace my location?
Yes, will try to do that.
Can you see if anyone is hurt?
One of the drivers is lying on the ground unconscious, and the other one is bleeding.
There's someone trapped in the back of her car, too.
We need to rescue her before the car explodes.
I'm going to see if I can help.
The paramedics will be there very soon.
Okay, but hurry!
In the United States, when you have an emergency, you dial three numbers on your telephone, 911.
So this is a case where someone calls 911 and the operator answers, saying, emergency operator.
The operator says to Dirk, the person calling, State your emergency.
To state here means to say something, to give the information.
If you go, for example, to a court in the United States, the judge may ask you state your name meaning.
Tell me what your name is.
State has several meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for a complete explanation.
Dirk says we need an ambulance right away.
An ambulance is a special car, a van that is driven usually very quickly, with loud noises and bright lights, to help people who have urgent or emergency medical conditions.
The ambulance goes and picks the person up and takes them to the nearest hospital.
The ambulance is allowed to go faster than anyone else And if you hear or see an ambulance that has its lights on and is making noises with what we would call the sirens of the ambulance, you are required in the US to stop your car, to move it to the side of the road so the ambulance can go through.
Well, Dirk says they need an ambulance right away.
The operator says, what is your name?
Dirk says, Dirk, Dirk Omora.
The operator then says, can you tell me what happened?
The operator is asking for more specific information.
Dirk says, there was a car accident.
A car accident is a collision or a crash between two or more cars, when one car hits another car or when one car hits an object like a tree, for example.
The operator says, where are you?
Dirk says, I'm not sure.
A pile-up... is a large serious car accident that involves many different cars.
For example, if it is very icy on the freeway or if there is a lot of fog and it is difficult for drivers to see, one car could hit the car in front of it, then the car behind it hits that car, then another car, then another car.
Sometimes these pileups can be 20, 30, 50 or more cars.
Usually this is caused in part because people are driving too close to each other, but sometimes it's simply because of bad weather.
Dirk says that he was driving his car when he saw this pileup.
He says he's somewhere on Blossom Road.
He then asks the operator, can you trace my location?
To trace, T-R-A-C-E, means to figure out where something is or where something is coming from.
In the US, if you are calling from a phone that is in your house or at a building and you call 911, usually they know exactly where you are.
They can tell where you are.
If you have a cell phone, it is, of course, much more difficult, although now in many places they can also figure out approximately where you are, even when you have a cell phone.
The operator says, Yes, we'll try to do that.
We can trace your location.
Can you see if anyone is hurt?
To be hurt means to be injured.
You break your leg, you break your arm, maybe you hit your head.
Those would be injuries.
Dirk says, To be unconscious means that you're not aware of what is around you.
Usually your eyes are closed, you can't hear anyone.
It's basically like being asleep, but it's often caused because you hit your head hard against something.
Well, one person is unconscious on the road, on the ground, and one is bleeding.
To bleed B-L-E-E-D means to lose blood when blood is coming out of your body, that red liquid that comes out of your body if you cut yourself, for example.
Dirk says there's someone trapped in the back of her car, too.
To be trapped means to be somewhere where you can't move.
You can't get out.
You can't leave a place, usually because something is in your way, a person or a thing.
Trap can also be a noun.
If someone says this is a trap, they mean someone is trying to get us in trouble or cause us problems on purpose in order to do something bad to us afterwards.
Here it means to be unable to move, not to be able to leave a place.
So there's someone trapped in the back of the car.
Dirk says we need to rescue her before the car explodes.
Sounds like a television program.
We need to rescue her.
To rescue someone means to save someone, to help someone get out of a difficult or dangerous situation.
The person is trapped in the back of the car and because there is gasoline in the car, When there's an accident there's a danger that the car might catch on fire, might explode.
To explode means to make a large noise and to break into smaller pieces, usually with fire.
And in this case, that's what would be the situation.
The car could catch on fire.
Dirk says I'm going to see if I can help.
The operator then says sir I need you to stay on the line.
To stay on the line means not to hang up the phone, not to stop or disconnect your phone connection, to continue to talk to someone and not leave to do something else.
So the operator is saying, I need you to stay on your phone, to stay on the line.
I'm sending an ambulance right now and they'll have the jaws of life and other equipment to do the job.
The Jaws of Life is a large machine that can cut a hole in something to help people get out of a car, for example, after a serious accident.
So it's a special machine.
The operator is sending this machine and other equipment to do the job.
To do the job means to do something well, to do something correctly.
The operator says the paramedics will be there very soon.
A paramedic is a person who is not a nurse or a doctor, but who is trained to help people in medical emergencies.
Someone who picks them up in the ambulance and then takes them back to the hospital.
One of my brother-in-laws is a paramedic, works in an ambulance.
Finally, Dirk says, okay, but hurry.
To hurry means to do something quickly, to rush, to get it done right away.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Emergency operator.
State your emergency.
We need an ambulance right away.
What is your name?
Dirk.
Dirk Amora.
Can you tell me what happened?
There was a car accident.
Where are you?
I'm not sure.
I was driving in my car when I saw the pileup.
I'm somewhere on Blossom Road.
Can you trace my location?
Yes, we'll try to do that.
Can you see if anyone is hurt?
One of the drivers is lying on the ground unconscious and the other one is bleeding.
There's someone trapped in the back of her car, too.
We need to rescue her before the car explodes.
I'm going to see if I can help.
Sir, I need you to stay on the line.
I'm sending an ambulance right now and they'll have the jaws of life and other equipment to do the job.
The paramedics will be there very soon.
Okay, but hurry.
I will now state the name of the person who wrote this episode, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
