ESL Podcast 287 - A Traffic Jam
traffic jam - when there are so many cars on a road that they move very slowly, or cannot move at all
There are traffic jams every morning on many of the freeways in Los Angeles.
congested - with many cars that are moving very slowly, without very much room between cars
Main Street is congested at this time of day. Let's drive on a different road.
bridge - a part of a road that is built over water or another road so that cars or people can cross over
The city of Eugene is building a new bridge over the Willamette River.
to have no choice but to... - to be forced to do something; to have no other option but...; to have no choice to do anything except...
We were lost in the forest, very hungry and tired, but we had no choice but to continue walking to try to get home.
bumper-to-bumper - with very little space between cars, so that their "bumpers" (the long pieces of metal on the front and back of a car) are almost touching
When I'm driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I have to pay attention because if the car in front of me stops suddenly, I'll have to stop very quickly, too.
shoulder - the side of a road, where cars should not drive; the side of the road, where cars can stop if there is an emergency
Too many people throw their garbage onto the road's shoulder.
backup - the area where cars are moving slowly or not at all because there is too much traffic
We heard on the radio that there's a big backup on the freeway, so we're going to wait a few hours before starting to drive home.
to bypass - to go around something
You can bypass the construction if you drive down Lincoln Street.
stalled car - a car that has stopped working while it is on the road
The other cars are honking because there's a stalled car in the intersection and it's blocking traffic.
rubbernecker - a person who slows down his or her car to look out the window and see an accident, making the cars behind it slow down
Let's not be rubberneckers! When we pass that accident, let's look straight ahead and continue driving at a normal speed.
road construction - the process of fixing a road, usually requiring that all or part of the road be closed temporarily
There's a lot of road construction on Highway 58, because the government is making it wider.
lane - the space between painted lines on the road that is meant for one line of cars
Slower cars should be in the right-hand lane, and faster cars should be in the left-hand lane.
stop-and-go traffic - cars that move a short distance, then stop, then move another short distance, then stop, and so on
In the stop-and-go traffic, it took me 50 minutes to get home, when it usually takes only 15 minutes.
at my wit's end - very frustrated; desperate; feeling like one will go crazy
After spending more than eight hours in a classroom with 30 noisy six-year- olds, I was at my wit's end!
recklessly - not carefully; without being cautious; dangerously
Timothy was in a car accident because he was driving recklessly.
to make up for lost time - to do something quickly because one was delayed and wasn't able to do it earlier
The team had to work on some other things last week, so now it's making up for lost time, staying at the office very late to finish the project.
to stand (someone) up - to not meet someone when one is supposed to, especially if the two people arranged a romantic date
Tanya waited at the restaurant for 30 minutes before she realized that Dorian had stood her up.