ESL Podcast 903 - Listening to a Traffic Report

traffic report - information about how quickly cars are moving on different streets and freeways, especially on the radio

According to the traffic report, it might take us two hours to get out of the city.

detour - an alternative route, especially around an area with a lot of construction

The city is replacing sewer pipes on main street, so we'll have to take this detour.

commute - one's drive or travel to and from work; the route between one's home and workplace

Would you consider moving into a condo downtown to shorten your commute?

slowdown - a situation where cars are moving very slowly, usually because too many cars are trying to drive along the same road

Heavy rain can cause a major slowdown on the freeway.

overturned - flipped over; with the bottom facing up and the top resting on the ground

Their home was broken into, and when they got home they found that all the tables and chairs had been overturned.

big rig - a large truck used for transporting goods long distances; a tractor- trailer; a semi-trailer truck

Bob drives a big rig, taking food from farms to huge warehouses.

to block - to not allow passage or access; to be in the way of something so that nothing else can get through

Could you please sit down? You're blocking my view of the stage.

number two lane - the line of cars immediately to the right of the left-most lane (the fast lane, where cars drive at the highest speeds)

Why is that car in the fast lane? If it's going to drive that slowly, it should move into the number two lane and let us pass.

congestion - traffic that is moving very slowly or not at all, because there are too many cars on a particular road

There's always a lot of congestion early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when people are driving to and from work.

down to - reduced to; decreased to; limited to

It's only the 25th , but we're already down to our last $50 until payday.

lane - the space between two painted lines on a freeway, designed for one line of cars to travel in

Is that driver drunk? He's swerving in and out of the lane.

pileup - a crash involving more than two vehicles

Did you hear about the horrible pileup caused by a speeding driver?

emergency vehicle - a police car, ambulance, or fire truck

Where are all those emergency vehicles going? Is there a fire somewhere?

to respond - for an emergency vehicle to go to the scene of an accident or emergency

We called 9-1-1 almost 20 minutes ago. Why haven't the police responded yet?

surface street - a less important street where traffic moves more slowly, used to access homes and businesses; not a freeway, highway, or expressway

When there's a lot of traffic on the freeway, we can often get home more quickly on surface streets.

stalled - a car that will not move because something is wrong with the engine or other mechanical part

When Sharon's car stalled in the middle of the intersection, we had to get out and push it to the side of the road.

construction - the process of making new buildings and roads

As soon as the city decided to host the Olympics, they started a lot of new construction projects.

no-win situation - a situation that does not have any good outcomes; a situation where one must make a decision or choice, but cannot get what one wants

If we say yes to the client, we'll have far too much work to do, but if we say no we risk losing them to our competitor. It's a no-win situation.

gridlock - a traffic jam; a situation where cars are not able to move because there are too many cars on the street

Immediately after the earthquake, the entire downtown area was in gridlock as people tried to leave the city.