Bus Trip

 

 

Listening Exercises

Listen to the conversation again by pressing the Play Audio button and read along with the conversation. Review the Key Vocabulary and the sample sentences.

 

[ What are these different audio choices? ]

[ Other Audio Option: Play Window Media ]

 

 

 

Woman: Excuse me. Is this seat taken? Man: It is now. Take a seat. Woman: Thanks. I had been waiting for over two hours for the bus to come. Man: Yeah. The bus broke down about 50 miles back. Actually, the bus driver lost control of the bus when he split hot chocolate on himself, and then as he tried to regain control of the bus, he hit a rock and the bus blew a tire. Woman: Uh. Are you sure this bus in safe? Man: I'm not sure if it's safe, but you can't beat the price of the trip. Woman: So, where are you from? Man: To tell the truth, I really don't know. Woman: Uh, what do you mean? Man: Well, you see, I was adopted when I was a baby. I was told that I was born in New York City, but I can't be sure about that. Then, my new parents raised me in a small town Texas. I'm sure you've never heard of it. Woman: Oh. Man: My parents, Fred and Norma, had a farm, so I grew up milking cows and herding sheep. Actually, I'm on my way to visit them now. Woman: You mean back to Texas? Man: Oh no. They sold that farm years ago when they discovered oil on their property. They live on a ranch right outside of Las Vegas. Beautiful place with a pool . . . Woman: Las Vegas. Las Vegas? I thought this bus was heading to Chicago . . . in the opposite direction! Man: Ah. You're on the wrong bus. Woman: I got to get off. Man: Hey, relax. Spend a weekend with me and my parents on the ranch. I can teach you how to milk a cow or something. Woman: I have to get off. Man: Relax. Anyway, once this bus left the station, it ain't gonna stop until the next stop . . . three hours from now. The driver got really upset when the last passenger made a similar mistake. Hey, sit and relax. Let me tell you about farm. I have plenty of stories.

 

 

Key Vocabulary [Top]

 

• Is this seat taken? (adjective): being used or occupied
  - I'm sorry, but this seat is taken. My wife is using the restroom right now, but she'll be back in a minute.

   

• break down (verb): stop working
  - The buses always break down on my way to work, so I now drive instead.

   

• regain (verb): recover something after it is lost
  - My brother almost crashed his car into a tree during the snow storm, but he regained control of the car at the last second.

   

• beat (verb): do better than something else
  - I know that taking the bus isn't always very comfortable and fast, but you sometimes can't beat the price.

   

• herd (verb; also a noun): gather animals
  - Our dog herds the sheep very quickly in the fields.

   

• discover (verb): find
  - You can discover interesting places when you travel the country by bus.

   

• ranch (noun): a place where people live in the country and raise animals such as horses and cows
  - My father grew up on a large ranch in California, and his family raised a lot of animals. He said it was very hard work.

   

• head somewhere (verb): go in the direction of a particular place
  - I'm heading to California to visit my family. What about you? Where are you heading on this trip?

   

• upset (adjecitve): unhappy or angry
  - Brittany is really upset about the trip. She can't go because she doesn't have money to buy a bus ticket.

   

 

 

Vocabulary Activities [Top]

Now, do these exercises to review the vocabulary. Then, return back to the Post-Listening Exercise to use the vocabulary in real conversations. [Why do these?]

• Mixed-Up Sentence
• Sentence and Vocabulary Matching