ESL Podcast 726 - Taking the Driving Test
driving test - an exam that must be passed to receive permission to drive, where one drives a car while the examiner sits in the passenger seat, giving instructions and observing how well one drives
Nick hit a stop sign during his driving test and didn't pass.
license - legal permission to do or have something
How long have you had a license to carry a gun?
play-by-play - detailed information, describing what is happening as it occurs or every step in a process
Teenage girls love to share the play-by-play of their dates with each other.
to freak out - to be very worried or nervous about something, thinking about it all the time and not being able to control one's emotions and/or actions
If the client doesn't sign the contract soon, our boss is going to freak out.
to fasten (one's) seat belt - to pull the long piece of fabric across one's chest and upper legs while sitting in a car or an airplane and connect the metal piece on the end with the metal piece attached to the seat so that one is attached to the car or airplane and will not move very much
Karina refuses to start the car until everyone has fastened their seat belt.
block - in a city, the square area and all the buildings in it surrounded by four crossing streets
The pharmacy is on the same block as the library.
stop sign - a red 8-sided sign with the word "STOP" printed on it in white letters, letting drivers know they need to stop before going through an intersection (two crossing streets)
Did you see that other car? The driver didn't stop at the stop sign and drove right through the intersection. She could have killed someone!
traffic signal - a box with lights that tell drivers when they can drive through an intersection (two crossing streets) and when they need to stop, usually with a red light, a yellow light, and a green light
Is this traffic signal working? It seems like we've been stopped here with a red light forever.
freeway - a wide road with many lanes where cars drive very quickly and do not need to stop because there are no intersections (two crossing streets)
Normally cars move quickly on this freeway, but yesterday there was an accident, so everyone had to drive really slowly.
onramp - a short road that joins a freeway at an angle so that cars can increase their speed until they are going the same speed as the cars on the freeway and then they can enter the freeway lanes and drive with the rest of the cars
If an onramp is too short, it can be difficult for drivers to make their cars go fast enough before they reach the faster cars on the freeway.
to merge - for two lanes to join, so that drivers have to make room for each other so that all the cars can be in one lane
In rural areas, drivers are more likely to slow down and make room for other cars to merge onto the freeway.
to change lanes - to move one's car from one lane to another one going in the same direction, usually so that one can drive more quickly or more slowly
If you want to go faster, change lanes and drive in the passing lane.
to accelerate - to increase one's speed; to make something go faster
Can electric cars accelerate as quickly as gasoline-powered cars?
to signal - to make colored lights on the front and back of one's car turn on and off repeatedly to show other drivers that one wants to turn or change direction
According to the law, we're supposed to signal about 100 feet before we make a turn.
speed limit - the maximum allowed speed; the fastest speed one can legally drive at
The speed limit on many residential streets is just 20 or 25 miles per hour.
to parallel park - to park on the side of a street so that one is parallel to the cars that are moving, with one car in front and another car behind, so that one has to drive backward and forward several times to fit into the space
Teraz hates parallel parking, so he spends a lot of time looking for parking lots with standard parking spaces that he can turn into.
behind the wheel - driving a car; sitting in the driver's seat of a car
Do you think most 16-year-olds are responsible enough to be behind the wheel?
to have (got) someplace to be - a phrase used to show that one should be somewhere else at a certain time, without providing any details, often used when one is lying and simply does not want to do whatever the other person is talking about
Can you watch the kids tonight?
Uh, no, sorry, I've got someplace to be.