ESL Podcast 414 - Common Traffic Signs

to squint - to mostly close one's eyes so that only a small part of the eye can be seen and the skin around the eye is very wrinkled, usually because there is too much light or because one has poor vision

When Younceoul saw that her son was squinting, she decided to take him to the eye doctor to see if he needed glasses.

sign - a large piece of wood, metal, plastic, or paper that has writing and/or pictures on it, giving people information, especially about what they should do or where they should go

According to that sign, Disneyland is just 20 miles further.

dead end - a street that ends without connecting to another street, making cars turn around

The Seelig family wants to live on a dead end so that there will be fewer cars driving by and their kids can play in the street more safely.

no U-turn - a sign that lets drivers know that they are not allowed to turn around and change direction in the road

There's a big "no U-turn sign" on the road, so we had to use a store's parking lot to turn around.

do not enter - a sign that lets people know that they should not enter or drive on a particular street or area, usually because it would be dangerous because cars are coming the other way

The city put a "Do Not Enter" sign at the entrance to the freeway when it had to close the freeway for two weeks of construction.

one way - a sign that lets drivers know that cars are allowed to drive in only one direction on a particular street

All of the downtown streets are one-way, which makes it very hard to get to some of the buildings.

to pull off (the road/street) - to slow down one's car and stop driving, putting one's car on the side of the road or street for a short period of time

When Pauline's car started making strange noises, she pulled off the road and looked at the engine.

no stopping - a sign that lets drivers know that they should not stop in a particular part of the street and must continue driving

Drivers were stopping in front of the airport, making it difficult for people to drive in the street, so the airport put up "No Stopping" signs.

back on track - doing something correctly after a period of time when one was doing it incorrectly

Ulysses did very poorly in school last year, but now he is back on track, getting good scores on his exams.

speed bump - a small section of the road that is higher than the rest of the road, placed so that cars have to drive over it very slowly, used to make drivers drive more slowly in a particular area

People drive through our neighborhood too quickly, so we want to have some speed bumps to slow them down.

blind - unable to see; without the ability to see; without vision

Izra is blind, but he has learned how to read Braille by touching special pages in books with his fingers.

school crossing - an area where many children cross the street next to a school; an area where many children go from one side of the street to another as they go to and from school

Jake had to pay $340 for not stopping in front of the school crossing when there were a lot of children walking there.

posted - put where many people can see something; hung or held up in a public place

The little girl posted her telephone number and a picture of her missing cat on the store's door, hoping that someone would find it for her.

speed limit - the maximum speed that drivers are allowed to drive at in a particular area; the fastest speed that is allowed in an area

In the United States, the speed limit on most freeways is 65 miles per hour.

to flash - for a light to turn on and off repeatedly and quickly

This little light will start to flash when the camera needs a new battery.

detour - an alternate route; a way to go from one place to another place when the normal way is closed, usually because of construction or a special event

More than 3,000 runners are running downtown today, so there are a lot of detours for cars to go around them.

will I never...? - a phrase used to show that one does not believe that something will happen, even though one wants it to happen

I studied so much, but I still didn't do well on the exam. Will I never get an "A"?