You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on giving directions and getting around a city.
Getting from point A to point B in a city isn't always simple.
Even with a map, there are lots of opportunities for confusion.
First of all, a map doesn't include the names of every little shop or house, and even though a map might show you where some major things are, it won't tell you how to get there.
For these reasons, we still rely on people for advice on getting around.
And whether you're traveling and need to understand someone's directions, or whether someone asks you for directions, you need the right language.
This is what we'll look at in today's lesson.
We'll learn language and techniques for describing a location, suggesting the best travel option and describing distance.
We'll also look at how to give basic directions, how to explain a change of course and how to ask a stranger for help on the street.
In the dialogue, we'll rejoin Cam and Vanessa, who have traveled to Shanghai on business.
They're talking to the concierge at the hotel who is explaining to them how to get to a specific coffee shop in the city's Pudong business district.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What does the concierge recommend as the best travel option?
2.
How does the concierge describe the distance to Hengshan Lu Station?
3.
When Cam approaches a stranger in the street, what is the first question he asks?
Hello, can I help you?
Yes.
Well, we're supposed to be meeting someone at a Starbucks in the Shanghai IFC building and we're just wondering the best way to get there.
Ah, yes, the IFC.
That's in Pudong, which is just across the river from here.
Yeah, right.
And so, is it best just to take a taxi?
No, sir.
With this traffic, you're best to take the metro.
You can take a train from Hengshanlu Station.
And about how far is that?
Oh, not far at all.
It's about five minutes.
Just two blocks, a couple of hundred meters.
Oh, great.
So what you want to do is turn left as you head out of the hotel and walk north through two sets of lights.
The station is just past that second set of lights, across Gaoanlu.
You'll see the metro entrance clearly marked.
All right.
And once you buy your ticket, you'll need to catch the train headed for Fujinlu Station, the one going north.
Then it's four stops to People's Square.
You'll know when you're there because there's always lots of people getting on and off.
And from there, you're going to transfer to Line 2, heading east.
Okay so far?
Line 1 north to People's Square, transfer to line 2 east.
Right.
Then you'll just travel two stops until you reach Lujiazui Station.
And then you want to get out and take the stairs up to the exit.
Okay, so I thought she said exit 6 comes out right into the IFC building, but...
We're back on the main road.
Is that it across the street?
Maybe we should have taken that other exit.
I guess we should just ask somebody.
Excuse me?
Excuse me, do you speak English?
We're looking for the IFC building.
No, no, sorry, no English.
Okay, so... Uh, hello?
Did you say you're looking for the IFC building?
Yes, that's right.
It's right behind you.
There.
Oh, okay.
Thank you so much for your help.
Okay, we made it.
So now let's find that Starbucks.
Where did she say that was?
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language used by the speakers to give directions.
Hello, can I help you?
Yes well, we're supposed to be meeting someone at a Starbucks in the Shanghai IFC building and we're just wondering the best way to get there.
Ah, yes, the IFC.
That's in Pudong, which is just across the river from here.
Cam and Vanessa need some help getting from their hotel to the Shanghai IFC building, so they ask the concierge.
And the first thing she wants to do is give them a sense of location.
That is, she wants to identify where the building is.
How does she do that?
Well, she says it's in Pudong, which is an area of the city, and then explains that Pudong is just across the river.
Adding the word just means that it's not far across the river.
By describing the location first, Cam and Vanessa will have a general sense of where they're going.
Then the concierge can explain how to get there.
What are some other ways of describing location?
Well, we can say something is in a certain area, on a certain street or off a certain street, which means it's close to that street.
Let's practice some of these expressions.
That's located on First Avenue, just past Fifth Street.
It's on Victoria Road, catty corner from City Hall.
The Sutton Place Hotel?
That's downtown, just off Bernard Street.
That's down in Palo Alto, by the City Hotel.
You might have heard another useful expression in there catty corner, which indicates that two things are on opposite corners of an intersection.
You might also hear Americans say catty corner or kitty corner.
The concierge has told the travelers where the IFC building is, but now they want to know the best way to get there.
Yeah, right.
And so, is it best just to take a taxi?
No, sir.
With this traffic, you're best to take the metro.
You can take a train from Hengshanlu Station.
In many cases, a taxi is the easiest way to get around.
But in a big city with heavy traffic, as the concierge explains, it's best to take the metro or subway.
If you say someone is best to do something, you're recommending it as the easiest option.
There are other ways of recommending the best travel option as well, such as I'd suggest, and it's probably quickest.
And as far as the different travel options go, you probably know that we take a subway or bus, which we can also call public transit.
But we can also suggest going on foot or walking.
Let's run through some more ways of suggesting the best way of getting somewhere.
I'd suggest taking a taxi because it's kind of hard to find on foot.
You won't need public transit.
From here, it's probably quickest just to walk.
The bus is probably the best way to get there at this time of day.
If you catch the subway, it'll take you right to Comex Mall.
Now remember, the concierge suggested catching a train at Hangshanlu Station.
So let's listen to Vanessa's next question.
And about how far is that?
Oh, not far at all.
It's about five minutes.
Just two blocks, a couple of hundred meters.
Vanessa is asking about distance, which is obviously important when you're trying to get around.
And the concierge actually shows a few different ways to describe distance when she says five minutes, two blocks and a couple of hundred meters.
You could describe distance by how far something is, in meters or kilometers.
You can also describe it in blocks, which is the distance between two city streets.
Or you could describe distance in terms of how long it takes to get there.
Let's practice describing distance using these different techniques.
It's about three blocks north and another two blocks west.
That's only about 300 meters from here, just past Olive Street.
It's about 5 kilometers, I'd say, which should be about 15 minutes by taxi.
That's probably 20 minutes on foot, or 5 if you catch the number 12 bus.
Cam and Vanessa now know the location of the building and they know they should take the metro and how far the station is.
But they don't know exactly how to get to that station.
Let's listen to the concierge's explanation.
Oh, great!
So what you want to do is turn left as you head out of the hotel and walk north through two sets of lights.
The station is just past that second set of lights, across Gau An Lu.
You'll see the metro entrance clearly marked.
As you can hear, there's special language we use when we're giving directions.
As the concierge explains, the travelers need to turn left when they leave the hotel.
You can also say take a left or hang a left.
Next, they have to go through two sets of lights.
Counting the number of lights, which means traffic lights, is a useful way to explain how far to go.
The concierge also states the general direction, north, and explains the location very specifically.
So, by telling the travelers exactly where to turn, which direction to go, how far to walk and which streets to look for, the concierge has given them very clear directions to get to the station.
Let's try giving basic directions using this kind of language.
Go straight for three blocks, then hang a right on boundary lane.
Just head up Mercer Street until you get to the museum and then head west two blocks.
You'll want to take a left at the next set of lights and then follow that road for about 200 meters.
Follow Lakeshore Drive and then take Burton Way until you get to the bridge.
Hangshan Lu Station isn't Cam and Vanessa's final destination.
They need to know more to get to the IFC building, as we can hear.
All right.
And once you buy your ticket, you'll need to catch the train headed for Fujian Lu Station, the one going north.
Then it's four stops to People's Square.
You'll know when you're there because there's always lots of people getting on and off.
And from there, you're going to transfer to Line 2, heading east.
Okay so far?
In this part of the dialogue, the concierge is explaining how to take the metro to their destination.
You'll notice that we use some of the same language as giving street directions.
The travelers need to go north, on the train, headed for, or going to, Fuzhenglu Station.
And on the metro, instead of counting blocks, we talk about stops, which is the number of stations.
Now, it would be nice if getting around always meant going in a straight line from A to B, But that's rarely the case.
So the concierge has to explain about a change in direction.
On the metro, that means the travelers have to transfer or change to another line.
In a subway system, the lines are the different routes, which are often given numbers and colors.
When we talk about a change in direction, we normally mention the point at which someone has to change or transfer.
And because we're talking about their future actions, we use a future tense.
Let's practice this idea of explaining a change in direction.
You'll need to get off the highway at exit 82, which is at Fuller Road.
Once you get to the terminal, you'll need to switch to the number 15 bus headed to James Bay.
At Clinton Station, you'll transfer to the blue line to O'Hare Airport.
When you see the beach, you'll need to get off the expressway at Lakeshore Boulevard.
The rest of the concierge's directions will use the same language and patterns as what we've just learned.
Now let's jump ahead and listen to what happens when Cam and Vanessa come out of the station in Budong, where they've been told they can find the IFC building.
Okay, so I thought she said exit 6 comes out right into the IFC building, but We're back on the main road.
Is that it across the street?
Maybe we should have taken that other exit.
I guess we should just ask somebody.
It sounds like Cam and Vanessa are a little confused.
They're discussing whether they've taken the right exit.
In a metro station there are usually several different exits or places where you can come out of the station and onto the street.
And if you come out of the station and you're not sure where to go next, what can you do?
Well, you can ask a stranger for help.
Let's listen to how Cam does this.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, do you speak English?
We're looking for the IFC building.
When we approach a stranger for directions, we need to be polite.
To start with, it's a good idea to say, excuse me, as Cam does, or pardon me, or even hi there.
In this way, we can get someone's attention.
Then we can actually ask for help.
To do that, you can mention the place that you're looking for and then ask for help.
Let's try doing this with a few more examples.
Pardon me, but I'm a bit lost.
Could you help me?
Excuse me, I'm looking for the post office.
Could you point me in the right direction?
Pardon me, but I wonder if you could help me.
I'm trying to find Hobart Street.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue, as Vanessa and Cam finally find the IFC building.
No, no, sorry, no English.
Okay, so... Uh, hello, did you say you're looking for the IFC building?
Yes, that's right.
It's right behind you, there.
Oh, okay.
Thank you so much for your help.
Okay, we made it.
So now let's find that Starbucks.
Where did she say that was?
Well, Cam and Vanessa have finally made it to their destination, with the help of the concierge and a stranger in the street.
And this means that the directions were clearly expressed and clearly understood, which is the ultimate goal.
Now, let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are in a big city and someone has asked you how to get to City Hall.
You will need to give the person directions to help them get to their destination.
You'll hear a cue by the other person, then I'll give you a suggestion for how you can respond.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Excuse me, but I'm trying to get to City Hall.
Could you help me?
Start by agreeing to help and saying that City Hall is on George Street in downtown.
Answer Yeah, sure.
City Hall is on George Street, downtown.
Okay, and so what's the best way to get there?
Now, tell the person that it's best to catch the number 10 bus headed for First Avenue.
Answer It's probably best to catch the number 10 bus headed for First Avenue.
Oh, all right.
And do I have to go far to catch the number 10?
Now tell the person that the number 10 bus stop is just three blocks away.
Answer.
No.
The number 10 bus stop is just two blocks north from here.
Great.
And could you tell me how to get there?
Now tell the person to go north to Fulton Street and head left for one block.
Answer.
Sure.
Just go north to Fulton Street and head left for one block.
Okay.
And so the number 10 takes me right to City Hall?
Finally, explain that the person should walk east from First Avenue Station to find City Hall.
No, you'll have to walk east from First Avenue Station to get to City Hall.
To finish off today, let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear, You'll need to take subway 5 heading west.
You can say, You'll need to take subway line 5 heading west.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
You need to catch the bus that's for University Drive.
Answer.
You need to catch the bus that's headed for University Drive.
According to the subway map, it's just four more to Central Station.
Answer.
According to the subway map, it's just four more stops to Central Station.
Sorry to bother you, but could you point me in the right for City Hall?
Answer.
Sorry to bother you, but could you point me in the right direction for City Hall?
Keep going straight for a few blocks, then a left at Elm Street.
Keep going straight for a few blocks, then hang a left at Elm Street.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our series on taking a business trip.
We've learned how to describe location and distance and how to suggest the best mode of travel.
We've also learned how to give basic directions, explain a change in direction and approach a stranger on the street for help.
We'll rejoin our group of travelers in later lessons as they continue their business trip in China.
They'll be meeting with potential suppliers and inspecting production facilities and factories.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
