Conversation Lesson 26
 
 
 
 
Lesson 26 - Transportation

Dialogs for everyday use. Short situational dialogs for students of English as a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL) Language.
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Transportation

Joyce: Shall we take a taxi or a bus to the meeting?

Bill: We’d better take a bus. It’s almost impossible to find a taxi during rush hour.

Joyce: Isn’t that a bus stop over there?

Bill: Yes... Oh, oh! There’s a bus now. We’ll have to run to catch it.

Joyce: 0.K.… Oh, no! We just missed it.

Bill: Never mind. There’ll be another one in ten minutes.
Conversation Notes
  • Shall we
  • Do you think we should…? (Will is never used for this meaning.)
  • take a taxi or a bus
  • Note there is a rising intonation on taxi and falling intonation on bus in this “or” sentence.
  • We’d better
  • Meaning is we ought to…; It would be wise to….
  • rush hour
  • Meaning is the time of day when most people are going to or from work and therefore the traffic is heaviest. In most American cities, rush hour is from seven thirty to nine in the morning and from about five to six thirty in the evening. Note that Rush hour is a compound noun, with the principal stress on the first word.
  • Isn’t that
  • The negative question expresses an expectation of an affirmative answer.
  • bus stop
  • Is a compound noun, with the principal stress on the first word.
  • Oh, oh
  • An exclamation expressing alarm or sudden caution. Note there is a high to low intonation.
  • Oh, no
  • An exclamation expressing sudden disappointment, shock, or discouragement. Note the emphatic stress and intonation.
  • We just missed it
  • Meaning is we arrived a moment too late to catch the bus.
  • Never mind
  • Meaning is it doesn’t matter; don’t concern yourself.
Source: U.S. State Department
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